THREE CANOES, AND THE FATE OF ONE.
As Sumner's mother opened the door, she saw that the gentleman who,
politely lifting his hat, asked if she were Mrs. Rankin, was too young
to be the father of the boy by his side.
"May I introduce myself as Mr. Tracy Manton, of New York?" he said,
when she had answered his question in the affirmative; "and my nephew,
Master Worth Manton? We have called to see if we can engage rooms here
for a week or so. We will take our meals at the hotel; but we have two
canoes that we propose fitting out here for a cruise up the reef, and
we want to find a place close to the water where we can keep them in
safety, and at the same time be near them. Mr. Merrill advised us to
come here, and it looks as though this were exactly the place of which
we are in search. So if you can accommodate us we shall esteem it a
great favor."
With the remembrance of Sumner's last words, Mrs. Rankin hesitated a
moment before replying; whereupon Mr. Manton added: "I trust you are
not going to refuse us, for I have set my heart on coming here, and
will gladly pay full hotel rates for the accommodation."
"If my vacant rooms suit you I shall be pleased to let you have them
at my regular rate, which is all they are worth," answered the widow,
quietly, as she reflected on the poverty which would not allow even a
mother's feelings to interfere with honorable bread-winning. "Will you
step in and look at them?"
"We are in luck, my boy, and our little expedition has begun most
prosperously," said Mr. Tracy Manton an hour later, as he and his
nephew sat in one of the two pretty back-rooms that they had engaged,
surrounded by their belongings, and looking out on the sparkling
waters of the Gulf. On the grass of the palm-shaded back yard, and in
plain sight from the windows, lay the two canoes that had so excited
Sumner's admiration and envy. They were indeed beauties as they lay
there divested of their burlap wrappings, and that they were fresh
from the builder's hands was shown by their unscratched varnish and
gleaming metal fittings. They were fifteen feet long by thirty inches
wide amidships, were provided with folding metal centre-boards, metal
drop-rudders, foot-and-hand steering gear, water-tight compartments
fore and aft, and were decked, with the exception of their roomy
cockpits. These were surrounded by stout oak coamings three inches
high, sharp-pointed, and flaring outward at the forward ends, but cut
down so as to be flush with the deck aft. Beside them lay the confused
mass of paddles, sails, spars, canoe tents, rubber aprons, cushions,
and cordage, that completed their equipment. They were simply perfect
in every detail, and the most beautiful things Sumner Rankin had ever
set his eyes upon. At least he thought so, as, returning from a long
tramp on which he had tried to walk off his unhappiness, he found them
lying in the yard. In spite of his surprise at seeing them there, and a
return of his unwelcome feeling of envy, he could not help stopping to
admire them and study their details.
"Hello!" exclaimed Mr. Manton, again looking from his window. "There's
a chap down there staring his eyes out at our boats. I shouldn't wonder
if he were our landlady's son--the one, you know, we were advised to
engage as a guide. You wait here while I run down and find out."
So Worth waited and watched from the window to note the result of his
uncle's negotiations.
At a first glance one would have said that Worth Manton was an
effeminate boy, with a pale face, blue eyes, and fair hair. If,
however, the observer looked long enough to note the square chin, the
occasional compression of the thin lips, and flash of the eyes, he
might form a different opinion. He was the son of Guy Manton, the great
Wall Street operator who had made a fortune out of western railroads,
and he had all his life been accustomed to lavish luxury. He was
rather delicate, and it was largely on his account that his parents
had decided to spend a winter at St. Augustine. The boy had taken but
slight interest in the gayeties of the Ponce de Leon, nor had he gained
any benefit from the chill rain-storms driven in from the ocean by
the east winds of midwinter. The doctor had advised his going farther
south; and when his uncle Tracy proposed that they make a canoe trip
up the great Florida Reef, which lies off the most southerly coast of
the United States, Worth had eagerly seconded the proposition, and had
finally won the reluctant consent of his parents.
He knew nothing of canoeing, nor did his uncle know much more; but the
latter was a good yachtsman, and Worth had had some experience of the
same kind, so they felt confident they could manage. They intended
to devote some time to studying their craft, and learning their
possibilities in the waters about Key West; so two canoes, completely
equipped, were ordered from the builder by telegraph. Worth's father
promised to charter a yacht, sail down the coast in it, and meet them
at Cape Florida about the first of April, and the two would-be canoemen
started for Key West full of pleasant anticipations.
Sumner Rankin started at being asked if that were his name, for he
had not heard Mr. Manton's step on the grass behind him, and answered
rather curtly that it was.
"Well," said the young man, plunging into business at once, as was his
habit, "I have been told that you are a first-class sailor, as well as
a good reef pilot. My nephew and I are going to cruise up the reef,
and I should like to engage your services as boatman and guide. I am
willing to pay--"
"It makes no difference what you are willing to pay," interrupted
Sumner, with flushed cheeks and flashing eyes. "My services as boatman
are not for hire at any price."
With this assertion of his pride, or, as he imagined, of his
independence, the boy turned and walked into the house.
"Whew!" whistled Mr. Manton, gazing after the retreating form in
amazement. "There's a bit of dynamite for you! Pride and poverty mixed
in equal parts do make a most powerful explosive. However, I haven't
forgotten my own days of poverty, and can fully appreciate the boy's
feelings. I'll try him on a different tack as soon as this little
squall has blown over. He and his mother must be different from the
majority of the people down here, for they are the first we have met
who don't seem to want to make money out of us."
Mr. Tracy Manton had no idea of giving up his purpose of engaging
Sumner to accompany them on their trip, for he was the kind of a man
who wins his way by sticking to whatever plan he has decided upon, in
which respect his nephew Worth strongly resembled him. So the next
time he met the lad, which was in the afternoon of the following day,
he held out his hand and said: "I beg your pardon for my unintentional
rudeness of yesterday, and my forgetfulness of the fact that a
gentleman is such, no matter where he is found. Now, I want you to
forgive me, forget my offence, and do me a favor. I can't make head or
tail of our sails, and they don't seem to me right somehow. If you will
come and look at them I shall be greatly obliged."
By this time Sumner was so heartily ashamed of his conduct of the day
before that he was only too glad to accept this overture of friendship,
and a few minutes later the two were busily discussing the sails of the
_Cupid_ and _Psyche_, as the Mantons' canoes were named. The spars were
much heavier than they need be, while the sails were of the ill-shaped,
unserviceable pattern generally furnished by canoe builders, and these
defects were quickly detected by Sumner's experienced eye. When he
pointed them out to Mr. Manton, the latter readily comprehended them,
but was at a loss how to make the improvements that were evidently
demanded.
In order to explain more thoroughly the idea that he wished to convey,
Sumner dragged out his own canvas canoe, stepped her masts, and hoisted
her sails. They were of a most ingenious and effective lateen pattern,
such as Mr. Manton had never before seen.
"Where did you get hold of that idea?" he asked, after studying them
carefully a few moments. "It is a capital one."
"I got it partly from an Arab dhow that I once saw off Madagascar, and
partly from the feluccas at Civita Vecchia."
"Madagascar and the Mediterranean!" repeated Mr. Manton, in
astonishment. "If you have visited both of those places you must have
travelled extensively."
"Yes," answered Sumner, quietly, but with a twinkle of amusement in
his eye. "The son of a naval officer who attempts to follow his father
about the world is apt to see a good bit of it before he gets through."
Mr. Manton, who had known nothing of Sumner's history, no longer
wondered that he had been offended at being taken for a boatman whose
services could be hired. He was, however, too wise to make further
mention of the subject, and merely said,
"Then you have had a splendid chance to study sails." And again turning
to the subject under consideration, he asked, "Would you be willing to
help us cut out some for our canoes after your models?"
Sumner answered that he would not only be willing but glad to lend
every aid in his power towards properly equipping the two canoes for
their trip.
In the mean time the sun had set, and the sky was black with an
approaching squall that caused them to watch with some uneasiness for
Worth's return. He had gone out in one of the canoes, an hour before,
for a paddle, and had not since been seen. Just as the storm broke he
appeared around a point and headed towards the little landing-place
near which they were standing. As his course lay directly in the
teeth of the wind, his struggle was long and hard. They watched him
anxiously, and more than once Sumner offered to go to the boy's
assistance; but his uncle said he wished Worth to learn self-reliance
more than anything else, and this was too good a lesson to be spoiled.
Finally the young paddler conquered, and, reaching the landing-place in
safety, sprang ashore. He was either too exhausted or too careless to
properly secure his canoe, and as he stepped from it a spiteful gust of
wind struck it full on the side. In another moment it was beyond reach
and drifting rapidly out to sea.
Both the Mantons were confused by the suddenness of the mishap. Before
they could form any plan for the recovery of the runaway, Sumner had
shoved his own canvas canoe into the water, jumped aboard, and was
dashing away in pursuit of the truant. He was almost within reach of
his prize, and his tiny sail was almost indistinguishable amid the
blackness of the squall, when the watchers on shore were horrified to
see another and much larger sail come rushing down, dead before the
wind, directly towards it. Then the tiny canoe sail disappeared; and
as the larger one seemed to sweep over the spot where it had been, the
Mantons gazed at each other with faces that betokened the dread they
dared not put into words.