THE ACCIDENT
Evan's talk with Corinna did not help him at all with the brotherhood.
Whether they knew or not that he had had his five minutes with her, the
fact that Corinna had ordered him put ashore and had then countermanded
the order, was enough to rouse their jealous suspicions. One and all
they sent Evan to Coventry. Let him work as willingly and cheerfully
as he might, they ignored him: when they met they looked straight
through him or over his head. Evan told himself he didn't care--and
devoted his time to the children; but he was a man, and the heart in
his breast was hot against them. With the children his popularity grew
apace.
To-day the _Ernestina_ was bound for Sandy Hook to give the small
passengers a sight of the real ocean. They saw the ocean, and were not
much impressed. Apparently they had expected the waves to come rolling
in mountains high, whereas the ocean was as flat as Central Park lake.
To be sure there was a slow swell that mysteriously heaved the
_Ernestina_ and troubled squeamish tummies, but it was not at all
spectacular.
Later they lay in calm water inside the Hook while everybody ate. As
the day wore on the weather began to thicken. The wind veered to the
East and blew chill, and banks of white fog gathered on the horizon.
Evan wondered why no one gave the word to return. It was hardly his
place to interfere, but in the end he felt obliged to.
Tenterden happened to be the one that he spoke to. "We're going to
have some dirty weather," Evan said lightly, "and we're a long way from
the Bowery."
Tenterden looked him up and down. "Say, are you going to tell us how
to run this show?" he asked. "That's good."
Evan shrugged and left him. "I owe you one for that, old man," he
thought. "All right, my time will come."
It came sooner than he expected.
Someone did give the word, and the little _Ernestina_ started back up
the lower Bay at her customary head-long rate of eight miles an hour.
And none too soon; the white wall of fog was creeping fast on her trail.
Evan was doing duty on the forward deck where the largest crowd of
children was gathered. These were the healthiest and most obstreperous
of their passengers. With his back in the point of the bow he could
survey all his charges at once. No other helper was in that part of
the boat at the moment. All was serene; the children for the most part
swinging their legs in camp chairs and amiably disputing.
Suddenly from the very bowels of the vessel there came a horrifying
report. The _Ernestina_ staggered sickeningly, listed to port, and
commenced to limp around in a circle like a wounded bird. Terrible
smashing and rending sounds succeeded the first crash. It seemed as if
the frail little vessel must fly asunder under such blows.
After a second's frozen silence on deck a dreadful chorus broke forth.
Only those who have witnessed a panic at sea will know. On land one
may always run from a horror; at sea there is nothing between horror
and horror. When the majority of passengers are helpless children the
scene surpasses horror. With sharp animal cries of fright, they ran
around in blind circles, or charged in a body from side to side of the
deck.
An icy hand was laid on Evan's breast. He expected to see little
bodies with flying skirts drop into the water. How could he be
everywhere at once? He sprang on a seat.
"Sit down, children!" he cried. "She's broken her engine, that's all.
The danger's over now."
They were deaf to his voice. The most frantic of them all was not a
child but a woman, who half lay on a bench with limbs stiffened out,
screaming continuously like a maniac. Evan's voice was powerless
against those cries. He was obliged to silence her. She fell over on
the bench limply. Evan sprang up into sight of all again.
"Sit still!" he cried. "The danger's over. Sing with me!"
He raised his voice in Suwanee River, the song every child knew. A few
joined in, some of the mothers helped. The frantic cries were stilled
a little. The crashing sounds had ceased, but presently the roar of
escaping steam renewed the confusion. Panic broke out afresh. Evan
sang louder.
They looked in his steady face and ceased their aimless running about.
Many joined in. The chorus swelled louder and louder. It was
extraordinary what reassurance there was in the sound. The children
sat down again, and presently like children, many of them were laughing
at their late terrors.
The situation was saved on the forward deck, but Evan sang on with a
sick anxiety in his breast. He looked up at the pilot-house. It was
empty. Under the chorus he could hear ominous sounds from below, and
from the saloon. And Corinna, what of her?
In a moment Corinna herself came out on deck, deathly pale but mistress
of herself. Her eyes sought Evan's eyes. His heart swelled that she
had thought of him in her extremity. Amazement filled her eyes at the
sight of the laughing, singing children, amazement and a passion of
relief. She closed her eyes, and swayed, clinging to the door-handle.
"Sing!" cried Evan quickly. "That's _your_ job!"
She quickly pulled herself together, and throwing back her head let her
full voice go out. It gathered up the ragged chorus, and gave the song
a fresh start. Fog began to creep around the vessel.
"Inside with you!" cried Evan. "Show those crazy kids in there how to
sing!"
He and Corinna herded them in by the two doors. The singing procession
streaming into the cabin had an effect little short of magical on the
bedlam within. Corinna changed the tune to Annie Laurie. The cabin
roof rang with it.
Little Domville was rushing to and fro in well-meant but futile efforts
to reassure the children. Evan seized him and planted him at one of
the doors.
"Let no one go out!" he commanded. "And sing!"
Another youth rushed up. "Corinna, are you all right?"
"Sure, she's all right! Everybody's all right!" cried Evan. He put
him at the other door. "Stand there and sing!"
The young man yielded instinctive obedience to the commanding voice.
Evan and Corinna passed down the saloon, Corinna singing and Evan
beating time with extravagant gestures like an Italian bandmaster.
Even the children who were still weeping had to laugh. They met
Dordess on the way. Denton and Anway were bringing in the children
from the after deck. As far as the passengers were concerned the
crisis was passed--but ominous sounds still rose from below.
Evan whispered to Dordess: "Put a man at each door and at the stairway
and keep the kids together. I'll go below and see what's the matter."
Dordess nodded. There was that in Evan's eye which caused all the men
to look to him. Their late animosity was forgotten. He was avenged.
Evan hastened down the stairway. Below there was nobody in the after
part of the vessel. Up forward he found a scene of dire confusion.
Alongside the engine room the engineer lay prone on the deck with his
second bending over him. Up in the nose of the vessel the remainder of
the ship's company it appeared was engaged in a free-for-all fist fight
with oaths and stamping.
At first Evan could not make head or tail of the fracas. Then he saw
that it was the mate, a manly, up-standing young fellow and Tenterden
against the four deckhands and the two firemen. But the two were more
than holding their own; the six cringed and sought to escape their
blows. Evan rushed between them.
"Leave off! Leave off!" he cried. "You'll start the kids off again."
"These ---- ---- cowards won't work!" cried the mate.
"Let them be. We've enough without them."
The mate and Tenterden reluctantly drew off.
"First of all is there any immediate danger?" asked Evan.
"No, she's not taking water," said the mate.
"Go up to the pilot-house. There's nobody there."
"I left the Captain there," the mate said, surprised.
"He's gone. Sound a distress signal on the whistle. Tenterden, you go
with him to help keep a look-out."
The two hastened up the forward hatch. Even the truculent Tenterden
made no bones about taking orders from Evan now.
Evan returned to the second engineer, leaving the sulky crew to their
own devices.
"What's the damage?" he asked.
The second waved a tragic hand towards the engine, and Evan saw for
himself what had happened. The main shaft on the port side had broken
clean through. The sudden shifting of the strain had thrown the
walking-beam out of plumb, and the connecting rods had snapped off and
threshed wildly about. The ruin was complete, but fortunately, all
above the water-line.
"Is the chief badly hurt?" asked Evan.
"I don't think so. Got a side swipe from the connecting rod. I can't
find any fracture."
"Leave him to me. Get the fires banked so you can shut off that
infernal steam. Just keep steam enough to blow the whistle."
"Come on, boys," said the Second to his firemen.
They did not budge.
"Come on, boys!" said Evan. "Don't let the kids shame you! Listen to
the little beggars singing up there."
The two firemen slunk aft and disappeared down their ladder.
Evan presently had the satisfaction of seeing the engineer open his
eyes. He was apparently not seriously injured. Two of the deckhands
carried him to his berth which was on the same deck.
Evan returned to the saloon. "All straightened out below," he said
cheerfully. "The old flivver has made a complete job of her engine.
We'll have to get a horse."
The children laughed. Evan said aside to Dordess: "When they're tired
of singing, get up a show."
He went on up to the pilot-house. The mate and Tenterden were
anxiously straining their eyes through the fog. At minute intervals
the mate sounded the distress signal of five short blasts on the
_Ernestina's_ whistle.
"Where's the Captain?" asked Evan.
"In his room," was the curt reply.
"What's the matter with him?"
The mate made a significant gesture of turning his hand up at his mouth.
Evan whistled noiselessly. "Has he been that way all day?"
"No, he took a dram when the crash came to steady his nerves."
"Well, let him be," said Evan. "What chance have we of being picked up
here?"
"Not very good," said the mate. "We're on the flats inside the Hook.
Few small vessels come down here, and a big vessel couldn't come to us
even if she heard us. I'm afraid it's a case of wait till the fog
lifts."
"We can't keep this gang out all night," said Evan. "That's flat."
"What do you propose?"
"Somebody must go ashore in a boat to telephone for a tug."
"No easy matter to take a boat ashore in this fog."
"It can be done. Just before the fog came down on us I marked that
Atlantic Highlands was due south of us, and not above a mile distant.
The wind has just come in from the east, and she'll hold there a while.
By keeping the wind abeam on the port side you'd hit the shore
somewhere near the pier."
"Well, I'll try it."
"No; you're our only qualified seaman. You must stand by the vessel.
I'll go."
"How will you get back?"
"I'll borrow or beg a compass ashore. You keep the whistle going, and
if the steam gives out, ring your bell."
"I doubt if you'll get the deckhands to bring you back. They'll go
quick enough."
"I'll get boatmen from the shore if they desert."
The deckhands were brought up through the forward hatch, and one of the
_Ernestina's_ boats was lowered away. As Evan stepped in he said:
"Don't tell them below that I've gone ashore unless you have to."
It was a ghostly trip. At a hundred yards' distance the _Ernestina_
was swallowed up entire in the fog, and thereafter they proceeded
blindly in a grey void. Only a little circle of leaden water was
visible around them, which travelled with them as they went. At minute
intervals the sound of her whistle reached them, but it was only
confusing for it seemed to come now from this side, now from that. Fog
plays strange tricks with acoustics. Evan steered, keeping the wake of
his boat straight and the wind in his left ear.
Finally to his relief the shapes of trees swam out ahead, and he had
the comfortable sensation of touching reality again. It is a thickly
settled shore, and he was quickly directed to the pier and the village.
Here Evan's story quickly won him help from the water-farers. To be
sure, two of his men incontinently walked off, but a dozen volunteers
offered to replace them. After patient telephoning he succeeded in
getting the promise of a tug from Perth Amboy, and stopping only to buy
out the greater part of a grocer's stock, he started back.
Within an hour of leaving the _Ernestina_ he was back on board. The
mate and Tenterden were still on deck. For a single moment the latter
looked at Evan with friendly eyes. No vessel had come within hail,
they reported.
Evan hastened down to the saloon. Corinna and her aides had the
children pretty well in hand--but a cry of welcome went up at the sight
of Evan. Somehow the smallest toddler on board had gathered that Evan
was the man of the hour.
"A tug will be along in half an hour to pick us up," Evan announced.
Cheers from the crowd.
"Why, how do you know that?" Corinna demanded of him privately.
"Oh, I just stepped ashore to telephone," said Evan airily.
Corinna sat down suddenly. "You went ashore, and left us!"
Within the promised time they heard a deep-toned whistle searching for
them in the fog.
"Wh-e-e-re?"
To which the _Ernestina_ agitatedly responded: "Here! Here! Here!
Here! Here!"
This duet was carried on for upwards of ten minutes. The tug appeared
to be travelling around them in a circle. It was like a game of Blind
Man's Buff with both sides blinded. All of a sudden she came charging
out of the fog, as if a magician had evoked her. The children swarmed
out on the deck with cheers. Their elders let themselves relax with
thankful hearts. A furtive tear or two stole down Corinna's cheeks.
Ropes were passed to and fro, and with the tug alongside, the slow
homeward journey began.
As soon as all danger was over Evan received another lesson in the
curious workings of human nature. Once more the brotherhood drew away
from Evan as if the latter had the plague. Evan had them in an
uncomfortable hole now, for all were conscious of being under an
obligation to him. That only made matters worse, for when a person is
resolved to hate you, to put him under an obligation only obliges him
to be more hateful. As for Corinna, she retired into herself and was
inscrutable.
It was a weary journey. The supper, materials for which Evan had
brought from shore, created a welcome diversion; but supper over, they
were still miles from home, and the helpers were hard put to it to keep
the small passengers even moderately contented. Fortunately during the
last hour the greater part fell asleep where they were, on the sofas,
on the floor, on a couple of camp-stools placed together.
Evan and Corinna happened to meet beside one child draped over the arm
of a chair in an excruciating attitude. They straightened her out
together. Corinna did not look at Evan nor speak, but from her to him
he thought he felt a warm current pass--or perhaps it was only because
he wished to believe it. None of the other helpers were near. The
child was sleeping soundly.
"Corinna, I love you," whispered Evan.
"_Please!_" she murmured distressfully. "You make it so hard for me!"
He would not remind her of what he had done for her, but he felt that
it would be only decent of her to show some recognition of it. "Is
nothing changed?" he asked.
"Nothing can be changed."
"After all we've been through?"
"I'm deeply grateful to you, but I suppose that's another story, isn't
it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well--would you be satisfied with my gratitude?"
"No!" he said promptly.
"It's all I can give you."
"Corinna, you drive me mad!"
"Ah, don't begin that again. Think of my position. Be generous!"
"You're always appealing to my better feelings," he grumbled. "I tell
you, they won't stand the strain."
So absorbed were they in this little exchange that they did not hear
footsteps approaching down the carpeted saloon. Looking up, they
beheld Dordess approaching with the whole brotherhood at his heels:
Anway, Tenterden, Domville, Burgess, and the blonde youth whose name
Evan never knew.
Corinna flushed up at the sight of them, but it was impossible to say
for sure what her feelings were--mixed, probably. She looked guilty at
being surprised in talk with Evan, and she was certainly angry; angry
at the men, or angry at herself for betraying the blush. Evan, on the
alert for trouble, smiled grimly.
Dordess was no less cynical and bland than usual, but he could not
conceal the angry glitter in his eye. As for the others, they betrayed
their feelings more or less according to their natures; Anway was hard
and composed; Tenterden vicious and truculent; little Domville
apologetic and reproachful, and the other two, youths of no particular
character, merely self-conscious and inclined to bluster.
"May we have a few words with you?" said Dordess to Corinna.
"Certainly," she said stiffly. "What's the matter?"
"I speak for all of us," said Dordess, "to save time. We wish to
convey to Mr. Weir our appreciation of the fine way he acted at the
time of the accident."
Evan was not deceived by these honeyed words. He saw that there was
more to follow. He spoke up. "Not at all. Every one of us did his
darnedest, I'm sure."
Dordess went on: "We willingly grant that he's a fine fellow.
Unfortunately we don't like him any better than we did before. And his
fine conduct does not make it any more possible for us to work with him
in future."
An involuntary exclamation of indignant reproach broke from Corinna:
"Oh!" Evan was not displeased at the turn things were taking.
"They're pushing her too far," he thought. "They'll drive her into my
arms."
Dordess resumed: "You got us on board this boat. We look to you as our
head. So we felt we ought to tell you at once how we felt, and leave
it to you to act as you thought best."
Evan was conscious that there was a good deal more in this than
appeared on the surface. He watched them keenly. Dordess' eyes held
Corinna's unflinchingly, and Corinna's were the first to fall. Evan,
seeing this, felt a sinking in his breast. "What hold has he over
her?" he asked himself.
"What do you wish me to do?" asked Corinna in a muffled voice.
Evan was amazed. He had thought these men were Corinna's slaves, and
here was Dordess visibly wielding the whip hand over her.
"Tell him," said Dordess, "that we very much regret it will be
impossible for us to have him with us on future trips of our
Association."
"You are ungenerous!" cried Corinna. "After he has saved us all!"
The six faces changed. Evan imagined that he could feel their hate
like a wave.
Dordess' voice was still smooth. "I can't tell you how sorry we are.
He has put us in a difficult position. But there is no help for it."
"Suppose you address me directly instead of through Miss Playfair,"
said Evan, careful to keep his voice as smooth as the other man's.
"Don't let the trifling service that I am supposed to have done you
trouble you, but tell me what's the nature of your objection to me."
"I think you know that," said Dordess. "You have been pleased to refer
to us jokingly as the 'brotherhood.' All right, we accept that word.
We are a brotherhood working under a certain understood rule. Well,
you've had your chance, and you refuse to be governed by our rule. You
insist on playing your own hand. That's all right. But if every one
of us was working for himself it would make these trips impossible.
Surely you can see that."
"And if I refuse to tell him what you ask me to?" Corinna burst out
angrily.
"Then the rest of us will go," said Dordess instantly. "Our minds are
made up as to that."
"A strike of the brotherhood!" cried Evan mockingly.
Corinna kept her head down, and traced a pattern with the toe of her
slipper.
Evan became anxious at her silence. "Let them go!" he cried. "I'll
undertake to fill their places before the next trip."
To his astonishment all six men laughed scornfully. Surely there was
something going on here that he did not know. He scowled.
Finally Corinna raised her head. She ignored Evan's offer. She
appeared to be looking at him, but her eyes did not quite meet his. "I
am sorry to appear ungenerous and ungrateful," she said like a child
repeating a lesson, "but it is true, as Mr. Dordess says,
notwithstanding your brave conduct to-day, it will be impossible for us
to have you with us in future."
"Corinna!" cried Evan in dismay.
The six men triumphed. In the faces of the weaker ones it showed
offensively; the stronger hid it, but Evan was none the less conscious
of it. His self-love suffered a ghastly wound.
Dordess relentlessly resumed: "We wish to be courteous, but there must
be no misunderstanding. Please tell him that if in spite of this
friendly warning he persists in forcing himself on board, you will
authorise us to put him ashore."
A flash from under Corinna's lowered lids suggested that Dordess would
have to pay for this later on; nevertheless she repeated tonelessly:
"If in spite of this friendly warning you persist in forcing yourself
on board I will have to authorize them to put you ashore."
Evan stared at her in angry incredulity. He simply could not take in
the fact that she was putting so public an affront on him.
Dordess could no longer make believe to hide his real feelings. He
went on, sneering: "Tell him further that if he continues to force his
unwelcome attentions on you, you will feel justified in appealing to us
to protect you."
Corinna repeated: "If you continue to force your attentions on me, I
shall be obliged to appeal to these gentlemen to protect me."
Evan suddenly went cold. His lip curled. He told himself she had
killed his love dead, and he didn't give a damn anyhow. He bowed to
her.
"Oh, I assure you that won't be necessary," he said ironically.
Corinna walked away down the saloon. The brotherhood straggled after,
victors perhaps, but secretly uneasy in the moment of victory. Evan
was left standing alone, looking after them scornfully. The
_Ernestina_ blew for the pier.