AN ADDITION FOR THE FUN OF THE BIG FOUR
The position of honor at the table on the right of the commander was
given to Judge Salazar, and Mrs. Belgrave was placed next to him. The
consul was on his left, with Mrs. Woolridge beside him. Louis was
assigned to the opposite end of the table, with the boys next to him.
Mr. Sage and Monsieur Odervie had done their best, and the dinner was
praised with great enthusiasm by all the guests.
The judge made himself exceedingly agreeable to Mrs. Belgrave, and gave
her a great deal of information in regard to Spain; but the principal
subject of conversation was her son, who was "_muy ricos_," and his
mother gave him an epitome of the life of the young millionaire,
including the recovery of the missing million which had made him so
rich.
The commander asked him if any suspicions were attached to the Salihé
as concerned in any smuggling ventures. He could only learn that the
officers of the customs kept a close watch upon her. Gray said he had
engaged her to tow out the Golondrina; but he proved that he was such
a liar he could not be believed, or the little steamer would have been
seized.
At eleven o'clock in the evening, after the ladies and others had given
the distinguished judicial dignitary a specimen of the songs they sang
in the churches and evening meetings in America, the judge was sent
home in the little steamer, attended by the consul and the commander.
He was profuse in his acknowledgments of the pleasure he had derived
from his visit, and especially from his dinner, declaring that no hotel
in Spain could elaborate such a banquet. The consul had been locked out
from his residence in the town at gun-fire, and the invitation to dine
had included the tender of a stateroom for his use.
The consul was sent in the Salihé to the Ragged Stairs after breakfast.
On her return Louis and Scott found the commander very busy measuring
the length and breadth of the little steamer. He was looking her over
with the utmost care, and it was evident to the boys that he had
some scheme in his head. When he had finished his examination and
measurements on board of the boat, he ascended to the deck of the ship,
and renewed his employment.
"The Salihé is forty feet long, Captain Ringgold," interposed Louis,
with a merry laugh, though he was wondering with all his might what the
commander's calculations indicated. "Her standing-room is cushioned
with crimson plush, and will seat eight persons comfortably, or twelve
with the addition of the tabourets in the cabin."
"Go on, Mr. Belgrave," said the captain, when he was closing the diary
from which he had read the description so far, and which he carried
in one of his pockets, having written it out while on the trip from
Madeira to Tarifa in the little steamer.
"Her cabin is twelve feet long, with four windows on a side, each
having a single pane of plate glass, with a table in the middle, and
several tabourets. The sides are occupied by broad divans, on which
beds may be made, with a full supply of bed-clothes in the lockers
under them. She has a miniature pilot-house and a cook-room forward of
the engine."
"Excellent, Sir Louis!" exclaimed the commander. "You have written out
a very complete description of the craft. Now have you inscribed in
your diary whether or not it is practicable to hoist the Salihé upon
the promenade deck of the Guardian-Mother?"
"I don't find any opinion expressed on the pages of my diary on that
subject, sir," replied Louis, as he put the book in his pocket. "But I
should say that it was quite practicable, Captain Ringgold, for I have
read that many American men-of-war carry steam-launches."
"But ships of six hundred tons don't carry steam-launches forty feet
long; or they did not when I was in the navy," added the commander.
Mr. Boulong and Mr. Shafter, the chief engineer, were sent for, and
they appeared at once. The question was put to them. They had their
doubts about carrying a steam-launch of the size of the one alongside
on the promenade deck; but they considered it possible. She might be
blocked up in the middle of the space abaft the smoke-stack, and well
secured. The steamer could carry her well enough, though she was a
rather large pattern.
While they were talking about the matter, Captain Chickworth came on
deck, but he did not join the party, and seated himself out of hearing
of what they said. The commander thanked his two officers, bowed
to them, and they retired, touching their caps to the captain, for
everything on board was done as politely as in a man-of-war, and more
so than is sometimes the case.
The commander seated himself in an arm-chair, of which a supply was
kept under the awning in pleasant weather, and invited Louis to do the
same. Scott walked over and entered into conversation with the owner.
It was evident that Captain Ringgold had had some conversation with
Chickworth in regard to the subject he appeared to be considering, as
indicated by what he had said.
"Sir Louis, you can always see through a millstone when there is a hole
through it, and sometimes you can see and read things which are not
visible to the naked eye," the commander began. "You can see what I
have in my mind."
"With the naked eye, I can," replied Louis. "And the idea is
an excellent one, as are all the ideas of the captain of the
Guardian-Mother."
"Blarney! But we will be serious now. I have been talking with
Chickworth; and I told him, what Judge Salazar informed me, that the
customs officers are keeping watch of his steamer. He was startled,
and unbosomed himself to me when he found I was not inclined to injure
him; but I roundly condemned his permitting smugglers to have the use
of the Salihé. He replied that he could not make a living with the boat
unless he did so."
"I should think there would be honest visitors enough at the Rock to
keep the craft well employed," suggested Louis.
"But Chickworth says that is not the case. A steamer runs regularly to
Algeciras, and another to Tangier, several times a week, and visitors
will not many of them pay him fifty shillings a day for the steamer.
Gray was his principal employer; he has gone to prison for the next two
years, and he has lost his best customer."
"He made his own nest."
"He has saved his steamer, for he would certainly have lost her if
he had kept on serving the smugglers. He was quite down-hearted this
morning, and wished he could sell the Salihé for what she cost him, and
he would return to his trade as a machinist."
"He bought her for less than half her value," added Louis.
"I am inclined to buy her out of my own pocket."
"If you can carry her, buy her, but not out of your own pocket."
"I am willing to do so. I have no use for my wages as master of the
ship, for I am not a poor man."
"I know you are not, for you have lived on your income for years."
"My whole business is to make this voyage pleasant to my employers and
passengers, and I don't care to make a dollar out of it."
"It would not be fair or just for you to buy her for our use."
"But Uncle Moses is a strict financier, and he might object to the
investment of five hundred dollars in this manner," said the captain.
"He will not object to anything that is just and fair, for he is far
from being a mean man," protested Louis; and he was thinking that the
possession of the elegant little steamer would at least double the
pleasure, or the "fun" as they called it, of their daily life on the
voyage. "Besides, Captain, you know that he did not object to the
expenses of the voyage the first six months, and then he had to pay out
double the present rate. Mr. Woolridge pays half the expense now of
everything, including repairs and alterations. I will speak to Uncle
Moses about the matter. There he is on the promenade with the rest of
the party;" and Louis rose from his seat.
"No, Sir Knight; we don't want any special pleading, and Mr. Woolridge
is as much interested in this matter as he is. Ask both of them to come
aft, and we will talk over the matter and settle it very quickly,"
added the commander.
The two gentlemen received the summons, and immediately presented
themselves before the captain, who rose and placed chairs for them.
What had been said before about the new project was repeated to the
trustee of Louis and the magnate of the Fifth Avenue.
"Mrs. Belgrave was saying to me yesterday, while we were sailing round
the Rock, that she wished we had a steam-yacht like the Salihé, only
one with a Christian name," said Uncle Moses, shaking his fat sides at
the coincidence.
"I am glad that somebody besides myself has seen the advantage of
having a steam-launch on board," added the commander. "I think they
will all see it when the matter is suggested to them."
"But what is the cost of her?" asked Uncle Moses, chuckling at
something he had in his mind till his fat form quivered like a barrel
of soft soap when shaken. "Since I have been relieved of half the cost
of this pleasure trip, I have had some of my old troubles come back to
me, for I don't see how Sir Louis will possibly be able to spend even
a reasonable portion of his income, and the subject begins to worry me
again. I had an easy time of it the first six months, for the expenses
made a considerable hole in the amount."
"Then I suppose you charge your present misery upon me for paying
half of the expenses, fair and just as that is," added Mr. Woolridge,
laughing a good deal more vigorously than he was in the habit of doing.
"By all means buy the little steamer, and relieve Uncle Moses of some
of his woe!"
"Well, how much will she cost?" demanded the lawyer. "If we can get rid
of five or ten thousand dollars in this manner, it will relieve me of a
part of the burden I have to bear."
"But I must pay half of the cost of the steamer," added the magnate.
"Then my load will be so much the heavier," puffed Uncle Moses.
"But five or ten thousand dollars, gentlemen!" exclaimed the commander.
"Why, I was proposing to buy her out of my own pocket, and not call
upon you at all."
"Not a red cent!" protested the trustee. "I believe you want to make my
burden more than I can bear, Captain."
"But the price of the boat is only one hundred pounds, or about five
hundred dollars; and that sum would not have ruined me," almost shouted
the commander.
"That will hardly take a feather's weight from my load," groaned Uncle
Moses.
"Say no more about it! I should be glad to buy the boat alone, and
present her to the ship in token of the high appreciation I have of the
boundless kindness with which my family and myself have been treated on
board of the Guardian-Mother," interposed the magnate.
"It is only a bagatelle, but it must be equitably divided," persisted
Uncle Moses; and the question was settled on this basis.
"The only doubt I had about the matter was the hoisting of her on deck
and carrying here there," added the commander.
"You needn't hoist her at all, Captain Ringgold," interposed Louis.
"The big four will organize a ship's company, and sail her from port to
port."
"O ho, Sir Knight!" exclaimed Uncle Moses, shaking his fat sides again.
"You want to be all ready for a fresh adventure night and day! If we
change the name of the craft, as Mrs. Belgrave will insist, we had
better call her the Don Quixote."
The question was definitely settled, though not till Mrs. Belgrave had
been consulted; but the name was referred to Louis. The Salihé was
purchased at once, and paid for on the spot. Chickworth went away a
happy man. Later in the day a meeting of the big four was called to
organize the ship's company.