WE GIVE UP THE SHIP.
The “Flipper” made good time, and sighted the Oregon coast on the
morning of the fifth day. From there she followed the dim outlines of
the distant land down to the Golden Gate, and cast anchor safely and
without event in the bay of San Francisco.
The Major had been sullen and ill-tempered during the entire voyage, but
although he made repeated efforts to see Captain Gay privately and renew
his request for the location of the golden island, that officer
positively refused to hold any further communication with him.
Therefore the Major was helpless. After all, the Captain might be
speaking the entire truth; and if so all argument was useless. Threats
do not affect a man of his temperament, and beyond threats the Major did
not care to go, even to secure the information he wished. Bribery, in
such a case, was absurd. Therefore nothing could be done but bear the
disappointment with a good grace. The Major’s fortune was, for the
present, ample, and I wondered why he should ever care to visit the
island again.
As soon as the anchors were dropped the miners clamored to be set
ashore, and by night they had all quitted the ship and established
themselves in lodgings in the town, from whence they at once flocked to
the bankers and began to turn their golden grains into cash.
Uncle Naboth and I remained on board another day. There were settlements
to be made with the sailors and various other details that needed
attention at the close of the voyage; so that I was kept busy with my
books of accounts and Uncle Naboth stood constantly at my elbow to give
me the necessary instructions.
We both longed to be on shore again, however; so as soon as the last
formalities were completed, we put our heavy sacks of gold into a boat
and carried them to the docks, from whence an escort of our trusty
sailors accompanied us to the bank wherein Mr. Perkins was accustomed to
keep his deposits.
So many ships had lately returned from Alaska bearing gold from the
mines that Mr. Perkins’ heavy deposit aroused no wonder except as to its
extent, and the banker warmly congratulated him upon his good fortune in
making so successful a voyage.
Both Uncle Naboth and I remained at the bank until every sack of gold
had been carefully weighed and sealed, and the proper receipt given.
Then, breathing freely for the first time since the gold had been in our
possession, we repaired to my Uncle’s former lodging house, where Mr.
Perkins was warmly welcomed.
“We’ll have the best dinner tonight the establishment can set up, Sam,
my boy,” said the old man, rubbing his hands gleefully together; “for
we’ve got to celebrate the success of the new partnership. You must ’a
brought the firm luck, my lad, for this here is the biggest haul I’ve
heard of since I’ve been in the business. We’re rich, nevvy—rich as
punkins!”
“How much do you suppose we’re worth, Uncle?” I enquired, rather
curiously.
“I can’t tell exactly, o’ course, till after we’ve got the quality of
our gold properly graded, and put it on the market; but my opinion is,
we’re at least fifty thousand dollars to the good.”
“As much as that!” I exclaimed, greatly elated.
“Full as much, I judge.”
“Then,” said I, drawing a sigh of relief, “I can pay Mrs. Ranck that
four hundred dollars I owe her for my board.”
Uncle Naboth made a wry face.
“It’s a shame to throw good money away on that old termagan’,” he
remarked, “and I’ve no doubt she’s been overpaid already, by stealin’
the contents o’ Cap’n Steele’s chest. But if it’d make you feel easier
in your mind, Sam, I’ll fix it so you can send her the money as soon as
you like.”
“Thank you, Uncle,” I replied, gratefully, “I’ll never be happy until
the debt is off my shoulders. Whether she’s entitled to the money or
not, I promised Mrs. Ranck I’d pay the debt, and I want to keep my
word.”
“An’ so you shall,” said Uncle Naboth, with an approving nod.
We feasted royally at dinner, and afterward Uncle Naboth took me to the
theatre, where we sat in the top gallery among the crowd of laborers and
sailors, but enjoyed the play very much indeed.
“Some folks who had just banked fifty thousand,” remarked my Uncle,
reflectively, “would want to sit down there among them nabobs, in a seat
that costs a dollar apiece—or perhaps two dollars, for all I know. But
what’s the use, Sam? Do they hear or see any better than we do up here?”
“Probably not,” I answered, with a smile.
“Then we’re getting as much fun for our quarter as they get for a
dollar,” declared Uncle Naboth, chuckling, “an’ tomorrow mornin’ we’ll
be so much richer, an’ nothin’ lost by it. Sam, the secret o’ spendin’
money ain’t in puttin’ on airs; it’s in gettin’ all the pleasure out of
a nickel that the nickel will buy. ‘Live high,’ is my motto; but do it
economical. That’s the true philosophy o’ life.”
Next morning, as we were sitting in Uncle Naboth’s little room, we were
surprised by the entrance of Captain Gay. He was accompanied by two of
the sailors from the “Flipper,” bearing in their arms the easily
recognized canvas sacks of gold from the island.
The Captain motioned his men to place the sacks upon the rickety table,
(which nearly collapsed beneath the weight), and then ordered them to
leave the room. When they were gone he carefully closed the door and
turning to my Uncle said, abruptly:
“There, sir, is every grain of gold I got in that accursed island. The
most of it was given me for turning the bed of the mountain stream, as
you will remember.”
“No more than you deserved, sir,” said Uncle Naboth, puffing his pipe
vigorously.
“It ought to be worth a good deal of money,” continued the Captain, his
voice faltering slightly.
“Twenty thousand at least, in my judgment,” said Uncle Naboth, eyeing
the sacks.
“Well, sir,” announced Captain Gay, with decision, “I want to exchange
this gold for a bill of sale of the ship.”
“What! The ‘Flipper?’”
“Yes, sir.”
Uncle Naboth winked at me gravely, as if to convey the suggestion that
the man had gone crazy.
“Cap’n,” said he, after a pause, “I don’t mean to say as Sam and I won’t
sell the ship, if you’d like to buy her; but the tub is old, and has
seen her best days. She’s worth about six thousand dollars, all told,
and not a penny more.”
“You must take all that gold or nothing, sir.”
“What do you mean?” asked my Uncle, in amazement.
Captain Gay sat down and looked thoughtfully out of the window.
“Perhaps I must take you into my confidence,” he remarked, in his slow,
quiet tones, “although at first I had thought this action would be
unnecessary. I’ve an idea I’d like to own a ship myself, and to trade in
a small way between here and Portland.”
“And the golden island, occasionally; eh, Cap’n?” returned Uncle Naboth,
shrewdly. “I’ve heard from Sam here how you lost the paper containing
your observations; but, I suppose you could find the place again, if you
wanted to.”
Captain Gay flushed a deep red.
“Sir,” he answered, “you wrong me with your suspicions. I shall never
revisit that island under any circumstances. Nor do I wish anyone else
to do so. That is the true explanation of why I lost that paper.”
“Did you lose it?”
“I threw it overboard.”
Uncle Naboth whistled.
“I’m free to confess, sir, that I’m all at sea,” he said.
The Captain arose and paced the room with unusual agitation.
“Mr. Perkins,” said he, “I once had an older brother, who, when a boy,
robbed my father and ran away from home. I never saw him again until we
reached that island, where I recognized my erring brother in the man who
called himself Daggett.”
Uncle Naboth scratched a match, and relit his pipe.
“I marked the resemblance between you,” he observed, “but I thought
nothing of it.”
“To my grief I saw that he had not altered his course for the better,”
resumed the Captain. “Of his final theft of the gold and the awful
judgment that overtook him and his fellows you are well aware. I shall
never forget the horror of those days, sir. It seems to me that that
isolated unknown island is my brother’s tomb, where he must lie until
the call of the last judgment. I do not wish anyone ever to visit the
spot again, if I can help it.”
“That’s nonsense,” declared Uncle Naboth, coldly.
“Perhaps so; but it’s the way I feel. That’s why I don’t wish to touch
the gold. I’ll take the ship in exchange for it, but I won’t use the
stuff in any other way, or have anything more to do with it.”
“You’re foolish,” said Uncle Naboth, with a sternness quite foreign to
his nature. “But if you really want to give away a matter of twenty
thousand for an old hulk that’s worth about six, I’ll let you have your
way.”
“That’s my desire, sir,” announced our visitor, meekly.
“Well, then, we’ll go to a lawyer and draw up the papers. Sam, you stay
here and look after the gold, till I get back.”
“Very well, sir,” I replied, full of wonder at this queer business
transaction.
Together they left the room, and it was an hour before Mr. Perkins
returned.
“I signed for both of us, partner,” he said, briskly, “an’ the
‘Flipper’s’ now the sole property of Cap’n Gay. With the money this gold
will bring, we can buy a ship twice as good as the old one, in which,
with good luck to back us, we ought to make many a prosperous voyage.”
“Why do you think he did it, sir,” I enquired musingly.
“It’s just one of two things,” replied Mr. Perkins. “Either the man’s a
bit cracked, as I’ve sometimes suspected, and really feels sentimental
about his brother’s death, or else he’s got a sly scheme to make trips
to the island in an old ship that won’t attract attention, and bring
away many cargoes of gold. That ain’t so unlikely, Sam. No one will
remark on Cap’n Gay’s owning the old ship he’s commanded for years; but
if he bought a new one, and started out for the island, he might be
watched and his true business suspected. Either the feller’s mighty
deep, or mighty innocent; but it ain’t our business to decide which.
We’ve got the money, and now we’ll look for a newer and finer ship.”
“New England’s the best place to buy a good ship, sir. I’ve often heard
my father say so,” I suggested.
“Then let’s go to New England,” returned Uncle Naboth, promptly. “We’ll
travel together, and you can run up to Batteraft and pay the old hag
that money.”
“I’d like to do that,” said I, greatly pleased. “It would do me good to
see her surprise when she finds I’ve earned so much money already.”
“Then it’s all settled,” declared Uncle Naboth. “I’ll go up to the
village with you, and see fair play. ’Twould be a fine chance to give
that cankered Venus a piece of my mind, just as a parting shot.”
“Would you dare, sir,” I asked, recollecting his former experience with
Mrs. Ranck.
“Would I dare? Do you take me for a coward, then?” demanded the old man,
indignantly.
“No, sir, but I remember——”
“Never mind that, Sam. I was worried about other things that day, and
wasn’t quite myself. But _now_—well, just wait till I get the old
serpent face to face. That’s all!”
“All right, Uncle. When shall we go?”
“Just as soon as we’ve paid all the bills and settled our accounts for
the last voyage. A week’ll do that, I reckon. An’ now, partner, just run
out and hire a closed carriage, and we’ll get Cap’n Gay’s gold to the
bank as soon as possible. Sam, my boy, if this streak o’ luck holds good
we’ll be the envy of Rockyfeller in a few years!”