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THE WRECKER................................................................................................................................................1

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON and LLOYD OSBOURNE .................................................................1

It was about three o'clock of a winter's afternoon in Taiohae, the French capital and port of entry of the

Marquesas Islands. The trades blew strong and squally; the surf roared loud on the shingle beach; and the

fiftyton schooner of war, that carries the flag and influence of France about the islands of the cannibal

group, rolled at her moorings under Prison Hill. The clouds hung low and black on the surrounding

amphitheatre of mountains; rain had fallen earlier in the day, real tropic rain, a waterspout for violence; and

the green and gloomy brow of the mountain was still seamed with many silver threads of torrent.

In these hot and healthy islands winter is but a name. The rain had not refreshed, nor could the wind

invigorate, the dwellers of Taiohae: away at one end, indeed, the commandant was directing some changes

in the residency garden beyond Prison Hill; and the gardeners, being all convicts, had no choice but to

continue to obey. All other folks slumbered and took their rest: Vaekehu, the native queen, in her trim house

under the rustling palms; the Tahitian commissary, in his beflagged official residence; the merchants, in their

deserted stores; and even the clubservant in the club, his head fallen forward on the bottlecounter, under

the map of the world and the cards of navy officers. In the whole length of the single shoreside street, with its

scattered board houses looking to the sea, its grateful shade of palms and green jungle of puraos, no moving

figure could be seen. Only, at the end of the rickety pier, that once (in the prosperous days of the American

rebellion) was used to groan under the cotton of John Hart, there might have been spied upon a pile of lumber

His eyes were open, staring down the bay. He saw the mountains droop, as they approached the entrance, and

break down in cliffs; the surf boil white round the two sentinel islets; and between, on the narrow bight of

blue horizon, Uapu upraise the ghost of her pinnacled mountain tops. But his mind would take no account of

these familiar features; as he dodged in and out along the frontier line of sleep and waking, memory would

serve him with broken fragments of the past: brown faces and white, of skipper and shipmate, king and chief,

would arise before his mind and vanish; he would recall old voyages, old landfalls in the hour of dawn; he

would hear again the drums beat for a maneating festival; perhaps he would summon up the form of that

island princess for the love of whom he had submitted his body to the cruel hands of the tattooer, and now sat

on the lumber, at the pierend of Taiohae, so strange a figure of a European. Or perhaps from yet further

back, sounds and scents of England and his childhood might assail him: the merry clamour of cathedral bells,

It is bold water at the mouth of the bay; you can steer a ship about either sentinel, close enough to toss a

biscuit on the rocks. Thus it chanced that, as the tattooed man sat dozing and dreaming, he was startled into

wakefulness and animation by the appearance of a flying jib beyond the western islet. Two more headsails

followed; and before the tattooed man had scrambled to his feet, a topsail schooner, of some hundred tons,

The sleeping city awakened by enchantment. Natives appeared upon all sides, hailing each other with the

magic cry "Ehippy" ship; the Queen stepped forth on her verandah, shading her eyes under a hand that was

a miracle of the fine art of tattooing; the commandant broke from his domestic convicts and ran into the

residency for his glass; the harbour master, who was also the gaoler, came speeding down the Prison Hill; the

seventeen brown Kanakas and the French boatswain's mate, that make up the complement of the

warschooner, crowded on the forward deck; and the various English, Americans, Germans, Poles,

Corsicans, and Scotsthe merchants and the clerks of Taiohaedeserted their places of business, and

So quickly did these dozen whites collect, so short are the distances in Taiohae, that they were already

exchanging guesses as to the nationality and business of the strange vessel, before she had gone about upon

her second board towards the anchorage. A moment after, English colours were broken out at the main truck.

"I told you she was a Johnny Bullknew it by her headsails," said an evergreen old salt, still qualified (if he

could anywhere have found an owner unacquainted with his story) to adorn another quarterdeck and lose

"She has American lines, anyway," said the astute Scots engineer of the ginmill; "it's my belief she's a

"That's it," said the old salt, "a yacht! look at her davits, and the boat over the stern."

"A yacht in your eye!" said a Glasgow voice. "Look at her red ensign! A yacht! not much she isn't!"

"You can close the store, anyway, Tom," observed a gentlemanly German. "Bon jour, mon Prince!" he added,

as a dark, intelligent native cantered by on a neat chestnut. "Vous allez boire un verre de biere?"

But Prince Stanilas Moanatini, the only reasonably busy human creature on the island, was riding hotspur to

view this morning's landslip on the mountain road: the sun already visibly declined; night was imminent; and

if he would avoid the perils of darkness and precipice, and the fear of the dead, the haunters of the jungle, he

must for once decline a hospitable invitation. Even had he been minded to alight, it presently appeared there

"Beer!" cried the Glasgow voice. "No such a thing; I tell you there's only eight bottles in the club! Here's the

first time I've seen British colours in this port! and the man that sails under them has got to drink that beer."

The proposal struck the public mind as fair, though far from cheering; for some time back, indeed, the very

name of beer had been a sound of sorrow in the club, and the evenings had passed in dolorous computation.

"Here is Havens," said one, as if welcoming a fresh topic. "What do you think of her, Havens?"

"I don't think," replied Havens, a tall, bland, coollooking, leisurely Englishman, attired in spotless duck, and

deliberately dealing with a cigarette. "I may say I know. She's consigned to me from Auckland by Donald &

With that he placidly resumed his walk, and was soon seated in the sternsheets of a whaleboat manned by

uproarious Kanakas, himself daintily perched out of the way of the least maculation, giving his commands in

an unobtrusive, dinnertable tone of voice, and sweeping neatly enough alongside the schooner.

"That is right, sir," replied the captain, shaking hands. "You will find the owner, Mr. Dodd, below. Mind the

Havens stepped along the alleyway, and descended the ladder into the main cabin.

"Mr. Dodd, I believe," said he, addressing a smallish, bearded gentleman, who sat writing at the table.

"Myself, my dear fellow," replied Mr. Dodd, springing to his feet with companionable alacrity. "I had a

halfhope it might be you, when I found your name on the papers. Well, there's no change in you; still the

"I can't return the compliment; for you seem to have become a Britisher yourself," said Havens.

"I promise you, I am quite unchanged," returned Dodd. "The red tablecloth at the top of the stick is not my

flag; it's my partner's. He is not dead, but sleepeth. There he is," he added, pointing to a bust which formed

Havens politely studied it. "A fine bust," said he; "and a very nicelooking fellow."

"He doesn't seem to be particularly short of it," added the other, peering with growing wonder round the

"His money, my taste," said Dodd. "The blackwalnut bookshelves are Old English; the books all

mine,mostly Renaissance French. You should see how the beachcombers wilt away when they go round

them looking for a change of Seaside Library novels. The mirrors are genuine Venice; that's a good piece in

"Yes; I remember something about that," said the other. "I think, too, you said you were interested in

"Surely, I never went so far as that," said Dodd. "Interested? I guess not. Involved, perhaps. I was born an

artist; I never took an interest in anything but art. If I were to pile up this old schooner tomorrow," he added,

"Yes," responded Dodd. "There's some fool in 'Frisco who insures us, and comes down like a wolf on the fold

"We'll have all tomorrow, you know," said Havens; "and they'll be rather expecting you at the club. C'est

Mr. Dodd signified his acquiescence; drew on his white coat, not without a trifling difficulty, for he was a

man of middle age, and welltodo; arranged his beard and moustaches at one of the Venetian mirrors; and,

taking a broad felt hat, led the way through the traderoom into the ship's waist.

The stern boat was waiting alongside,a boat of an elegant model, with cushions and polished hardwood

"Call it my partner's, and cry quits," returned Loudon, getting nonchalantly down the side.

Havens followed and took the yoke lines without further protest. "I am sure I don't know how you make this

pay," he said. "To begin with, she is too big for the trade, to my taste; and then you carry so much style."

"I don't know that she does pay," returned Loudon. "I never pretend to be a business man. My partner appears

happy; and the money is all his, as I told youI only bring the want of business habits."

While they were yet on board, the sun had dipped; the sunset gun (a rifle) cracked from the warschooner,

and the colours had been handed down. Dusk was deepening as they came ashore; and the Cercle

Internationale (as the club is officially and significantly named) began to shine, from under its low verandas,

with the light of many lamps. The good hours of the twentyfour drew on; the hateful, poisonous dayfly of

Nukahiva, was beginning to desist from its activity; the landbreeze came in refreshing draughts; and the

club men gathered together for the hour of absinthe. To the commandant himself, to the man whom he was

then contending with at billiardsa trader from the next island, honorary member of the club, and once

carpenter's mate on board a Yankee warship to the doctor of the port, to the Brigadier of Gendarmerie, to

the opium farmer, and to all the white men whom the tide of commerce, or the chances of shipwreck and

desertion, had stranded on the beach of Taiohae, Mr. Loudon Dodd was formally presented; by all (since

he was a man of pleasing exterior, smooth ways, and an unexceptionable flow of talk, whether in French or

English) he was excellently well received; and presently, with one of the last eight bottles of beer on a table at

his elbow, found himself the rather silent centrepiece of a voluble group on the verandah.

Talk in the South Seas is all upon one pattern; it is a wide ocean, indeed, but a narrow world: you shall never

talk long and not hear the name of Bully Hayes, a naval hero whose exploits and deserved extinction left

Europe cold; commerce will be touched on, copra, shell, perhaps cotton or fungus; but in a faraway,

dilettante fashion, as by men not deeply interested; through all, the names of schooners and their captains,

will keep coming and going, thick as mayflies; and news of the last shipwreck will be placidly exchanged

and debated. To a stranger, this conversation will at first seem scarcely brilliant; but he will soon catch the

tone; and by the time he shall have moved a year or so in the island world, and come across a good number of

the schooners so that every captain's name calls up a figure in pyjamas or white duck, and becomes used to a

certain laxity of moral tone which prevails (as in memory of Mr. Hayes) on smuggling, shipscuttling,

barratry, piracy, the labour trade, and other kindred fields of human activity, he will find Polynesia no less

Mr. Loudon Dodd, though he was new to the group of the Marquesas, was already an old, salted trader; he

knew the ships and the captains; he had assisted, in other islands, at the first steps of some career of which he

now heard the culmination, or (vice versa) he had brought with him from further south the end of some story

which had begun in Taiohae. Among other matter of interest, like other arrivals in the South Seas, he had a

wreck to announce. The John T. Richards, it appeared, had met the fate of other island schooners.

A smile and a glance of intelligence went round the group; and perhaps Loudon gave voice to the general

sentiment by remarking, "Talk of good business! I know nothing better than a schooner, a competent captain,

"Good business! There's no such a thing!" said the Glasgow man. "Nobody makes anything but the

"It's a good job to strike a tabooed pearlisland, say, about the fourth year," remarked a third; "skim the

whole lagoon on the sly, and up stick and away before the French get wind of you."

"There's something in wrecks, too," said Havens. "Look at that man in Honolulu, and the ship that went

ashore on Waikiki Reef; it was blowing a kona, hard; and she began to break up as soon as she touched.

Lloyd's agent had her sold inside an hour; and before dark, when she went to pieces in earnest, the man that

bought her had feathered his nest. Three more hours of daylight, and he might have retired from business. As

"Yes, there's something in wrecks sometimes," said the Glasgow voice; "but not often."

"Well, I believe that's a Christian fact," cried the other. "What I want is a secret; get hold of a rich man by the

"I don't care for that; it's good enough for me," cried the man from Glasgow, stoutly. "The only devil of it is,

a fellow can never find a secret in a place like the South Seas: only in London and Paris."

"And what if I have?" cried M'Gibbon. "It's all true. Look at the newspapers! It's just your confounded

ignorance that sets you snickering. I tell you, it's as much a trade as underwriting, and a dashed sight more

The sudden acrimony of these remarks called Loudon (who was a man of peace) from his reserve. "It's rather

singular," said he, "but I seem to have practised about all these means of livelihood."

"No. I have been most kinds of fool in my time," returned Loudon, "but not the golddigging variety. Every

"Well, mine was a peculiar kind of wreck," replied Loudon. "I don't know, on the whole, that I can

"Well, I'm not a lucky man, you see," returned the stranger. "It ought to have been good."

"He wasn't exactly Jay Gould, but I guess he could buy these islands if he wanted."

"He couldn't have been particular, you mean?" asked Dodd pleasantly. "Well, no; he's a man of rather large

"If you're done talking nonsense, Loudon," said Havens, "let's be getting to my place for dinner."

Outside, the night was full of the roaring of the surf. Scattered lights glowed in the green thicket. Native

women came by twos and threes out of the darkness, smiled and ogled the two whites, perhaps wooed them

with a strain of laughter, and went by again, bequeathing to the air a heady perfume of palmoil and

frangipani blossom. From the club to Mr. Havens's residence was but a step or two, and to any dweller in

Europe they must have seemed steps in fairyland. If such an one could but have followed our two friends into

the wideverandahed house, sat down with them in the cool trellised room, where the wine shone on the

lamplighted tablecloth; tasted of their exotic foodthe raw fish, the breadfruit, the cooked bananas, the

roast pig served with the inimitable miti, and that king of delicacies, palmtree salad; seen and heard by fits

and starts, now peering round the corner of the door, now railing within against invisible assistants, a certain

comely young native lady in a sacque, who seemed too modest to be a member of the family, and too

imperious to be less; and then if such an one were whisked again through space to Upper Tooting, or

wherever else he honored the domestic gods, "I have had a dream," I think he would say, as he sat up,

rubbing his eyes, in the familiar chimneycorner chair, "I have had a dream of a place, and I declare I believe

it must be heaven." But to Dodd and his entertainer, all this amenity of the tropic night and all these dainties

of the island table, were grown things of custom; and they fell to meat like men who were hungry, and drifted

"Well, it seemed to me there was sulphur in the air, so I talked for talking," returned the other. "But it was

"Do you mean to say it was true?" cried Havens,"that about the opium and the wreck, and the blackmailing

"Yes, it's a queer yarn," said his friend; "if you think you would like, I'll tell it you."

Here follows the yarn of Loudon Dodd, not as he told it to his friend, but as he subsequently wrote it.

The beginning of this yarn is my poor father's character. There never was a better man, nor a handsomer, nor

(in my view) a more unhappyunhappy in his business, in his pleasures, in his place of residence, and (I am

sorry to say it) in his son. He had begun life as a landsurveyor, soon became interested in real estate,

branched off into many other speculations, and had the name of one of the smartest men in the State of

Muskegon. "Dodd has a big head," people used to say; but I was never so sure of his capacity. His luck, at

least, was beyond doubt for long; his assiduity, always. He fought in that daily battle of moneygrubbing,

with a kind of sadeyed loyalty like a martyr's; rose early, ate fast, came home dispirited and overeary, even

from success; grudged himself all pleasure, if his nature was capable of taking any, which I sometimes

wondered; and laid out, upon some deal in wheat or corner in aluminium, the essence of which was little

Unluckily, I never cared a cent for anything but art, and never shall. My idea of man's chief end was to enrich

the world with things of beauty, and have a fairly good time myself while doing so. I do not think I

mentioned that second part, which is the only one I have managed to carry out; but my father must have

"Well," I remember crying once, "and what is your life? You are only trying to get money, and to get it from

He sighed bitterly (which was very much his habit), and shook his poor head at me. "Ah, Loudon, Loudon!"

said he, "you boys think yourselves very smart. But, struggle as you please, a man has to work in this world.

You can see for yourself how vain it was to argue with my father. The despair that seized upon me after such

an interview was, besides, embittered by remorse; for I was at times petulant, but he invariably gentle; and I

was fighting, after all, for my own liberty and pleasure, he singly for what he thought to be my good. And all

the time he never despaired. "There is good stuff in you, Loudon," he would say; "there is the right stuff in

you. Blood will tell, and you will come right in time. I am not afraid my boy will ever disgrace me; I am only

vexed he should sometimes talk nonsense." And then he would pat my shoulder or my hand with a kind of

As soon as I had graduated from the high school, he packed me off to the Muskegon Commercial Academy.

You are a foreigner, and you will have a difficulty in accepting the reality of this seat of education. I assure

you before I begin that I am wholly serious. The place really existed, possibly exists today: we were proud

of it in the State, as something exceptionally nineteenth century and civilized; and my father, when he saw

me to the cars, no doubt considered he was putting me in a straight line for the Presidency and the New

"Loudon," said he, "I am now giving you a chance that Julius Caesar could not have given to his sona

chance to see life as it is, before your own turn comes to start in earnest. Avoid rash speculation, try to

behave like a gentleman; and if you will take my advice, confine yourself to a safe, conservative business in

railroads. Breadstuffs are tempting, but very dangerous; I would not try breadstuffs at your time of life; but

you may feel your way a little in other commodities. Take a pride to keep your books posted, and never throw

good money after bad. There, my dear boy, kiss me goodby; and never forget that you are an only chick,

The commercial college was a fine, roomy establishment, pleasantly situate among woods. The air was

healthy, the food excellent, the premium high. Electric wires connected it (to use the words of the prospectus)

with "the various world centres." The readingroom was well supplied with "commercial organs." The talk

was that of Wall Street; and the pupils (from fifty to a hundred lads) were principally engaged in rooking or

trying to rook one another for nominal sums in what was called "college paper." We had class hours, indeed,

in the morning, when we studied German, French, bookkeeping, and the like goodly matters; but the bulk of

our day and the gist of the education centred in the exchange, where we were taught to gamble in produce and

securities. Since not one of the participants possessed a bushel of wheat or a dollar's worth of stock,

legitimate business was of course impossible from the beginning. It was colddrawn gambling, without

colour or disguise. Just that which is the impediment and destruction of all genuine commercial enterprise,

just that we were taught with every luxury of stage effect. Our simulacrum of a market was ruled by the real

markets outside, so that we might experience the course and vicissitude of prices. We must keep books, and

our ledgers were overhauled at the month's end by the principal or his assistants. To add a spice of

verisimilitude, "college paper" (like poker chips) had an actual marketable value. It was bought for each pupil

by anxious parents and guardians at the rate of one cent for the dollar. The same pupil, when his education

was complete, resold, at the same figure, so much as was left him to the college; and even in the midst of his

curriculum, a successful operator would sometimes realize a proportion of his holding, and stand a supper on

the sly in the neighbouring hamlet. In short, if there was ever a worse education, it must have been in that

When I was first guided into the exchange to have my desk pointed out by one of the assistant teachers, I was

overwhelmed by the clamour and confusion. Certain blackboards at the other end of the building were

covered with figures continually replaced. As each new set appeared, the pupils swayed to and fro, and roared

out aloud with a formidable and to me quite meaningless vociferation; leaping at the same time upon the

desks and benches, signalling with arms and heads, and scribbling briskly in notebooks. I thought I had

never beheld a scene more disagreeable; and when I considered that the whole traffic was illusory, and all the

money then upon the market would scarce have sufficed to buy a pair of skates, I was at first astonished,

although not for long. Indeed, I had no sooner called to mind how grownup men and women of considerable

estate will lose their temper about halfpenny points, than (making an immediate allowance for my

fellowstudents) I transferred the whole of my astonishment to the assistant teacher, whopoor

gentlemanhad quite forgot to show me to my desk, and stood in the midst of this hurlyburly, absorbed

"Look, look," he shouted in my ear; "a falling market! The bears have had it all their own way since

"It can't matter," I replied, making him hear with difficulty, for I was unused to speak in such a babel, "since

"True," said he; "and you must always bear in mind that the real profit is in the bookkeeping. I trust, Dodd,

to be able to congratulate you upon your books. You are to start in with ten thousand dollars of college paper,

a very liberal figure, which should see you through the whole curriculum, if you keep to a safe, conservative

business.... Why, what's that?" he broke off, once more attracted by the changing figures on the board.

"Seven, four, three! Dodd, you are in luck: this is the most spirited rally we have had this term. And to think

that the same scene is now transpiring in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and rival business centres! For two

cents, I would try a flutter with the boys myself," he cried, rubbing his hands; "only it's against the

"Would that be a safe, conservative business?" I inquired, as innocent as a lamb.

He looked daggers at me. "See that sandyhaired man in glasses?" he asked, as if to change the subject.

"That's Billson, our most prominent undergraduate. We build confidently on Billson's future. You could not

Presently after, in the midst of a still growing tumult, the figures coming and going more busily than ever on

the board, and the hall resounding like Pandemonium with the howls of operators, the assistant teacher left

me to my own resources at my desk. The next boy was posting up his ledger, figuring his morning's loss, as I

discovered later on; and from this ungenial task he was readily diverted by the sight of a new face.

"Say, Freshman," he said, "what's your name? What? Son of Big Head Dodd? What's your figure? Ten

thousand? O, you're away up! What a softheaded clam you must be to touch your books!"

I asked him what else I could do, since the books were to be examined once a month.

"Why, you galoot, you get a clerk!" cries he. "One of our dead beatsthat's all they're here for. If you're a

The noise had now become deafening; and my new friend, telling me that some one had certainly "gone

down," that he must know the news, and that he would bring me a clerk when he returned, buttoned his coat

and plunged into the tossing throng. It proved that he was right: some one had gone down; a prince had fallen

in Israel; the corner in lard had proved fatal to the mighty; and the clerk who was brought back to keep my

books, spare me all work, and get all my share of the education, at a thousand dollars a month, college paper

(ten dollars, United States currency) was no other than the prominent Billson whom I could do no better than

follow. The poor lad was very unhappy. It's the only good thing I have to say for Muskegon Commercial

College, that we were all, even the small fry, deeply mortified to be posted as defaulters; and the collapse of a

merchant prince like Billson, who had ridden pretty high in his days of prosperity, was, of course, particularly

hard to bear. But the spirit of makebelieve conquered even the bitterness of recent shame; and my clerk took

Such were my first impressions in this absurd place of education; and, to be frank, they were far from

disagreeable. As long as I was rich, my evenings and afternoons would be my own; the clerk must keep my

books, the clerk could do the jostling and bawling in the exchange; and I could turn my mind to

landscapepainting and Balzac's novels, which were then my two preoccupations. To remain rich, then,

became my problem; or, in other words, to do a safe, conservative line of business. I am looking for that line

still; and I believe the nearest thing to it in this imperfect world is the sort of speculation sometimes

insidiously proposed to childhood, in the formula, "Heads, I win; tails, you lose." Mindful of my father's

parting words, I turned my attention timidly to railroads; and for a month or so maintained a position of

inglorious security, dealing for small amounts in the most inert stocks, and bearing (as best I could) the scorn

of my hired clerk. One day I had ventured a little further by way of experiment; and, in the sure expectation

they would continue to go down, sold several thousand dollars of PanHandle Preference (I think it was). I

had no sooner made this venture than some fools in New York began to bull the market; PanHandles rose

like a balloon; and in the inside of half an hour I saw my position compromised. Blood will tell, as my father

said; and I stuck to it gallantly: all afternoon I continued selling that infernal stock, all afternoon it continued

skying. I suppose I had come (a frail cockleshell) athwart the hawse of Jay Gould; and, indeed, I think I

remember that this vagary in the market proved subsequently to be the first move in a considerable deal. That

evening, at least, the name of H. Loudon Dodd held the first rank in our collegiate gazette, and I and Billson

(once more thrown upon the world) were competing for the same clerkship. The present object takes the

present eye. My disaster, for the moment, was the more conspicuous; and it was I that got the situation. So

For my own part, I cared very little whether I lost or won at a game so random, so complex, and so dull; but it

was sorry news to write to my poor father, and I employed all the resources of my eloquence. I told him

(what was the truth) that the successful boys had none of the education; so that if he wished me to learn, he

should rejoice at my misfortune. I went on (not very consistently) to beg him to set me up again, when I

would solemnly promise to do a safe business in reliable railroads. Lastly (becoming somewhat carried

away), I assured him I was totally unfit for business, and implored him to take me away from this abominable

place, and let me go to Paris to study art. He answered briefly, gently, and sadly, telling me the vacation was

When the time came, he met me at the depot, and I was shocked to see him looking older. He seemed to have

no thought but to console me and restore (what he supposed I had lost) my courage. I must not be

downhearted; many of the best men had made a failure in the beginning. I told him I had no head for

business, and his kind face darkened. "You must not say that, Loudon," he replied; "I will never believe my

"But I don't like it," I pleaded. "It hasn't got any interest for me, and art has. I know I could do more in art,"

and I reminded him that a successful painter gains large sums; that a picture of Meissonier's would sell for

"And do you think, Loudon," he replied, "that a man who can paint a thousand dollar picture has not grit

enough to keep his end up in the stock market? No, sir; this Mason (of whom you speak) or our own

American Bierstadtif you were to put them down in a wheat pit tomorrow, they would show their mettle.

Come, Loudon, my dear; heaven knows I have no thought but your own good, and I will offer you a bargain.

I start you again next term with ten thousand dollars; show yourself a man, and double it, and then (if you

still wish to go to Paris, which I know you won't) I'll let you go. But to let you run away as if you were

My heart leaped at this proposal, and then sank again. It seemed easier to paint a Meissonier on the spot than

to win ten thousand dollars on that mimic stock exchange. Nor could I help reflecting on the singularity of

such a test for a man's capacity to be a painter. I ventured even to comment on this.

He sighed deeply. "You forget, my dear," said he, "I am a judge of the one, and not of the other. You might

"And then," I continued, "it's scarcely fair. The other boys are helped by their people, who telegraph and give

them pointers. There's Jim Costello, who never budges without a word from his father in New York. And

"I'll keep you posted," cried my father, with unusual animation; "I did not know it was allowed. I'll wire you

in the office cipher, and we'll make it a kind of partnership business, Loudon:Dodd & Son, eh?" and he

patted my shoulder and repeated, "Dodd & Son, Dodd & Son," with the kindliest amusement.

If my father was to give me pointers, and the commercial college was to be a steppingstone to Paris, I could

look my future in the face. The old boy, too, was so pleased at the idea of our association in this foolery that

he immediately plucked up spirit. Thus it befell that those who had met at the depot like a pair of mutes, sat

And now I have to introduce a new character that never said a word nor wagged a finger, and yet shaped my

whole subsequent career. You have crossed the States, so that in all likelihood you have seen the head of it,

parcelgilt and curiously fluted, rising among trees from a wide plain; for this new character was no other

than the State capitol of Muskegon, then first projected. My father had embraced the idea with a mixture of

patriotism and commercial greed both perfectly genuine. He was of all the committees, he had subscribed a

great deal of money, and he was making arrangements to have a finger in most of the contracts. Competitive

plans had been sent in; at the time of my return from college my father was deep in their consideration; and as

the idea entirely occupied his mind, the first evening did not pass away before he had called me into council.

Here was a subject at last into which I could throw myself with pleasurable zeal. Architecture was new to me,

indeed; but it was at least an art; and for all the arts I had a taste naturally classical and that capacity to take

delighted pains which some famous idiot has supposed to be synonymous with genius. I threw myself

headlong into my father's work, acquainted myself with all the plans, their merits and defects, read besides in

special books, made myself a master of the theory of strains, studied the current prices of materials, and (in

one word) "devilled" the whole business so thoroughly, that when the plans came up for consideration, Big

Head Dodd was supposed to have earned fresh laurels. His arguments carried the day, his choice was

approved by the committee, and I had the anonymous satisfaction to know that arguments and choice were

wholly mine. In the recasting of the plan which followed, my part was even larger; for I designed and cast

with my own hand a hotair grating for the offices, which had the luck or merit to be accepted. The energy

and aptitude which I displayed throughout delighted and surprised my father, and I believe, although I say it

whose tongue should be tied, that they alone prevented Muskegon capitol from being the eyesore of my

Altogether, I was in a cheery frame of mind when I returned to the commercial college; and my earlier

operations were crowned with a full measure of success. My father wrote and wired to me continually. "You

are to exercise your own judgment, Loudon," he would say. "All that I do is to give you the figures; but

whatever operation you take up must be upon your own responsibility, and whatever you earn will be entirely

due to your own dash and forethought." For all that, it was always clear what he intended me to do, and I was

always careful to do it. Inside of a month I was at the head of seventeen or eighteen thousand dollars, college

paper. And here I fell a victim to one of the vices of the system. The paper (I have already explained) had a

real value of one per cent; and cost, and could be sold for, currency. Unsuccessful speculators were thus

always selling clothes, books, banjos, and sleevelinks, in order to pay their differences; the successful, on the

other hand, were often tempted to realise, and enjoy some return upon their profits. Now I wanted thirty

dollars' worth of artisttruck, for I was always sketching in the woods; my allowance was for the time

exhausted; I had begun to regard the exchange (with my father's help) as a place where money was to be got

for stooping; and in an evil hour I realised three thousand dollars of the college paper and bought my easel.

It was a Wednesday morning when the things arrived, and set me in the seventh heaven of satisfaction. My

father (for I can scarcely say myself) was trying at this time a "straddle" in wheat between Chicago and New

York; the operation so called is, as you know, one of the most tempting and least safe upon the chessboard

of finance. On the Thursday, luck began to turn against my father's calculations; and by the Friday evening, I

was posted on the boards as a defaulter for the second time. Here was a rude blow: my father would have

taken it ill enough in any case; for however much a man may resent the incapacity of an only son, he will feel

his own more sensibly. But it chanced that, in our bitter cup of failure, there was one ingredient that might

truly be called poisonous. He had been keeping the run of my position; he missed the three thousand dollars,

paper; and in his view, I had stolen thirty dollars, currency. It was an extreme view perhaps; but in some

senses, it was just: and my father, although (to my judgment) quite reckless of honesty in the essence of his

operations, was the soul of honour as to their details. I had one grieved letter from him, dignified and tender;

and during the rest of that wretched term, working as a clerk, selling my clothes and sketches to make futile

speculations, my dream of Paris quite vanished. I was cheered by no word of kindness and helped by no hint

All the time he was no doubt thinking of little else but his son, and what to do with him. I believe he had been

really appalled by what he regarded as my laxity of principle, and began to think it might be well to preserve

me from temptation; the architect of the capitol had, besides, spoken obligingly of my design; and while he

was thus hanging between two minds, Fortune suddenly stepped in, and Muskegon State capitol reversed my

"Loudon," said my father, as he met me at the depot, with a smiling countenance, "if you were to go to Paris,

"A man that could be entrusted with the highest styles," he answered; "the nude, for instance; and the

"You think Paris necessary?" he asked. "There are great advantages in our own country; and that man

Prodgers appears to be a very clever sculptor, though I suppose he stands too high to go around giving

"Well, I think myself it will sound better," he admitted. "A Young Man, a Native of this State, Son of a

Leading Citizen, Studies Prosecuted under the Most Experienced Masters in Paris," he added, relishingly.

"But, my dear dad, what is it all about?" I interrupted. "I never even dreamed of being a sculptor."

"Well, here it is," said he. "I took up the statuary contract on our new capitol; I took it up at first as a deal;

and then it occurred to me it would be better to keep it in the family. It meets your idea; there's considerable

money in the thing; and it's patriotic. So, if you say the word, you shall go to Paris, and come back in three

years to decorate the capitol of your native State. It's a big chance for you, Loudon; and I'll tell you what

every dollar you earn, I'll put another alongside of it. But the sooner you go, and the harder you work, the

better; for if the first halfdozen statues aren't in a line with public taste in Muskegon, there will be trouble."

My mother's family was Scotch, and it was judged fitting I should pay a visit on my way Parisward, to my

Uncle Adam Loudon, a wealthy retired grocer of Edinburgh. He was very stiff and very ironical; he fed me

well, lodged me sumptuously, and seemed to take it out of me all the time, cent per cent, in secret

entertainment which caused his spectacles to glitter and his mouth to twitch. The ground of this

illsuppressed mirth (as well as I could make out) was simply the fact that I was an American. "Well," he

would say, drawing out the word to infinity, "and I suppose now in your country, things will be so and so."

And the whole group of my cousins would titter joyously. Repeated receptions of this sort must be at the root,

I suppose, of what they call the Great American Jest; and I know I was myself goaded into saying that my

friends went naked in the summer months, and that the Second Methodist Episcopal Church in Muskegon

was decorated with scalps. I cannot say that these flights had any great success; they seemed to awaken little

more surprise than the fact that my father was a Republican or that I had been taught in school to spell

COLOUR without the U. If I had told them (what was after all the truth) that my father had paid a

considerable annual sum to have me brought up in a gambling hell, the tittering and grinning of this dreadful

I cannot deny but I was sometimes tempted to knock my Uncle Adam down; and indeed I believe it must

have come to a rupture at last, if they had not given a dinner party at which I was the lion. On this occasion, I

learned (to my surprise and relief) that the incivility to which I had been subjected was a matter for the family

circle and might be regarded almost in the light of an endearment. To strangers I was presented with

consideration; and the account given of "my American brotherin law, poor Janie's man, James K. Dodd, the

wellknown millionnaire of Muskegon," was calculated to enlarge the heart of a proud son.

An aged assistant of my grandfather's, a pleasant, humble creature with a taste for whiskey, was at first

deputed to be my guide about the city. With this harmless but hardly aristocratic companion, I went to

Arthur's Seat and the Calton Hill, heard the band play in the Princes Street Gardens, inspected the regalia and

the blood of Rizzio, and fell in love with the great castle on its cliff, the innumerable spires of churches, the

stately buildings, the broad prospects, and those narrow and crowded lanes of the old town where my

But there was another curiosity that interested me more deeply my grandfather, Alexander Loudon. In his

time, the old gentleman had been a working mason, and had risen from the ranks more, I think, by

shrewdness than by merit. In his appearance, speech, and manners, he bore broad marks of his origin, which

were gall and wormwood to my Uncle Adam. His nails, in spite of anxious supervision, were often in

conspicuous mourning; his clothes hung about him in bags and wrinkles like a ploughman's Sunday coat; his

accent was rude, broad, and dragging: take him at his best, and even when he could be induced to hold his

tongue, his mere presence in a corner of the drawingroom, with his openair wrinkles, his scanty hair, his

battered hands, and the cheerful craftiness of his expression, advertised the whole gang of us for a selfmade

family. My aunt might mince and my cousins bridle; but there was no getting over the solid, physical fact of

That is one advantage of being an American: it never occurred to me to be ashamed of my grandfather, and

the old gentleman was quick to mark the difference. He held my mother in tender memory, perhaps because

he was in the habit of daily contrasting her with Uncle Adam, whom he detested to the point of frenzy; and he

set down to inheritance from his favourite my own becoming treatment of himself. On our walks abroad,

which soon became daily, he would sometimes (after duly warning me to keep the matter dark from

"Aadam") skulk into some old familiar pothouse; and there (if he had the luck to encounter any of his

veteran cronies) he would present me to the company with manifest pride, casting at the same time a covert

slur on the rest of his descendants. "This is my Jeannie's yin," he would say. "He's a fine fallow, him." The

purpose of our excursions was not to seek antiquities or to enjoy famous prospects, but to visit one after

another a series of doleful suburbs, for which it was the old gentleman's chief claim to renown that he had

been the sole contractor, and too often the architect besides. I have rarely seen a more shocking exhibition:

the bricks seemed to be blushing in the walls, and the slates on the roof to have turned pale with shame; but I

was careful not to communicate these impressions to the aged artificer at my side; and when he would direct

my attention to some fresh monstrosityperhaps with the comment, "There's an idee of mine's: it's cheap

and tasty, and had a graand run; the idee was soon stole, and there's whole deestricts near Glesgie with the

goathic adeetion and that plunth,"I would civilly make haste to admire and (what I found particularly

delighted him) to inquire into the cost of each adornment. It will be conceived that Muskegon capitol was a

frequent and a welcome ground of talk; I drew him all the plans from memory; and he, with the aid of a

narrow volume full of figures and tables, which answered (I believe) to the name of Molesworth, and was his

constant pocket companion, would draw up rough estimates and make imaginary offers on the various

contracts. Our Muskegon builders he pronounced a pack of cormorants; and the congenial subject, together

with my knowledge of architectural terms, the theory of strains, and the prices of materials in the States,

formed a strong bond of union between what might have been otherwise an illassorted pair, and led my

grandfather to pronounce me, with emphasis, "a real intalligent kind of a cheild." Thus a second time, as you

will presently see, the capitol of my native State had influentially affected the current of my life.

I left Edinburgh, however, with not the least idea that I had done a stroke of excellent business for myself,

and singly delighted to escape out of a somewhat dreary house and plunge instead into the rainbow city of

Paris. Every man has his own romance; mine clustered exclusively about the practice of the arts, the life of

Latin Quarter students, and the world of Paris as depicted by that grimy wizard, the author of the _Comedie

Humaine_. I was not disappointedI could not have been; for I did not see the facts, I brought them with me

readymade. Z. Marcas lived next door to me in my ungainly, illsmelling hotel of the Rue Racine; I dined at

my villainous restaurant with Lousteau and with Rastignac: if a curricle nearly ran me down at a

streetcrossing, Maxime de Trailles would be the driver. I dined, I say, at a poor restaurant and lived in a

poor hotel; and this was not from need, but sentiment. My father gave me a profuse allowance, and I might

have lived (had I chosen) in the Quartier de l'Etoile and driven to my studies daily. Had I done so, the

glamour must have fled: I should still have been but Loudon Dodd; whereas now I was a Latin Quarter

student, Murger's successor, living in flesh and blood the life of one of those romances I had loved to read, to

At this time we were all a little Murgermad in the Latin Quarter. The play of the _Vie de Boheme_ (a

dreary, snivelling piece) had been produced at the Odeon, had run an unconscionable timefor Paris, and

revived the freshness of the legend. The same business, you may say, or there and thereabout, was being

privately enacted in consequence in every garret of the neighbourhood, and a good third of the students were

consciously impersonating Rodolphe or Schaunard to their own incommunicable satisfaction. Some of us

went far, and some farther. I always looked with awful envy (for instance) on a certain countryman of my

own who had a studio in the Rue Monsieur le Prince, wore boots, and long hair in a net, and could be seen

tramping off, in this guise, to the worst eatinghouse of the quarter, followed by a Corsican model, his

mistress, in the conspicuous costume of her race and calling. It takes some greatness of soul to carry even

folly to such heights as these; and for my own part, I had to content myself by pretending very arduously to

be poor, by wearing a smokingcap on the streets, and by pursuing, through a series of misadventures, that

extinct mammal, the grisette. The most grievous part was the eating and the drinking. I was born with a

dainty tooth and a palate for wine; and only a genuine devotion to romance could have supported me under

the catcivets that I had to swallow, and the red ink of Bercy I must wash them down withal. Every now and

again, after a hard day at the studio, where I was steadily and far from unsuccessfully industrious, a wave of

distaste would overbear me; I would slink away from my haunts and companions, indemnify myself for

weeks of selfdenial with fine wines and dainty dishes; seated perhaps on a terrace, perhaps in an arbour in a

garden, with a volume of one of my favourite authors propped open in front of me, and now consulted

awhile, and now forgotten:so remain, relishing my situation, till night fell and the lights of the city kindled;

and thence stroll homeward by the riverside, under the moon or stars, in a heaven of poetry and digestion.

One such indulgence led me in the course of my second year into an adventure which I must relate: indeed, it

is the very point I have been aiming for, since that was what brought me in acquaintance with Jim Pinkerton.

I sat down alone to dinner one October day when the rusty leaves were falling and scuttling on the boulevard,

and the minds of impressionable men inclined in about an equal degree towards sadness and conviviality. The

restaurant was no great place, but boasted a considerable cellar and a long printed list of vintages. This I was

perusing with the double zest of a man who is fond of wine and a lover of beautiful names, when my eye fell

(near the end of the card) on that not very famous or familiar brand, Roussillon. I remembered it was a wine I

had never tasted, ordered a bottle, found it excellent, and when I had discussed the contents, called (according

to my habit) for a final pint. It appears they did not keep Roussillon in halfbottles. "All right," said I.

"Another bottle." The tables at this eatinghouse are close together; and the next thing I can remember, I was

in somewhat loud conversation with my nearest neighbours. From these I must have gradually extended my

attentions; for I have a clear recollection of gazing about a room in which every chair was half turned round

and every face turned smilingly to mine. I can even remember what I was saying at the moment; but after

twenty years, the embers of shame are still alive; and I prefer to give your imagination the cue, by simply

mentioning that my muse was the patriotic. It had been my design to adjourn for coffee in the company of

some of these new friends; but I was no sooner on the sidewalk than I found myself unaccountably alone. The

circumstance scarce surprised me at the time, much less now; but I was somewhat chagrined a little after to

find I had walked into a kiosque. I began to wonder if I were any the worse for my last bottle, and decided to

steady myself with coffee and brandy. In the Cafe de la Source, where I went for this restorative, the fountain

was playing, and (what greatly surprised me) the mill and the various mechanical figures on the rockery

appeared to have been freshly repaired and performed the most enchanting antics. The cafe was

extraordinarily hot and bright, with every detail of a conspicuous clearness, from the faces of the guests to the

type of the newspapers on the tables, and the whole apartment swang to and fro like a hammock, with an

exhilarating motion. For some while I was so extremely pleased with these particulars that I thought I could

never be weary of beholding them: then dropped of a sudden into a causeless sadness; and then, with the

same swiftness and spontaneity, arrived at the conclusion that I was drunk and had better get to bed.

It was but a step or two to my hotel, where I got my lighted candle from the porter and mounted the four

flights to my own room. Although I could not deny that I was drunk, I was at the same time lucidly rational

and practical. I had but one preoccupationto be up in time on the morrow for my work; and when I

observed the clock on my chimneypiece to have stopped, I decided to go down stairs again and give

directions to the porter. Leaving the candle burning and my door open, to be a guide to me on my return, I set

forth accordingly. The house was quite dark; but as there were only the three doors on each landing, it was

impossible to wander, and I had nothing to do but descend the stairs until I saw the glimmer of the porter's

night light. I counted four flights: no porter. It was possible, of course, that I had reckoned incorrectly; so I

went down another and another, and another, still counting as I went, until I had reached the preposterous

figure of nine flights. It was now quite clear that I had somehow passed the porter's lodge without remarking

it; indeed, I was, at the lowest figure, five pairs of stairs below the street, and plunged in the very bowels of

the earth. That my hotel should thus be founded upon catacombs was a discovery of considerable interest;

and if I had not been in a frame of mind entirely businesslike, I might have continued to explore all night this

subterranean empire. But I was bound I must be up betimes on the next morning, and for that end it was

imperative that I should find the porter. I faced about accordingly, and counting with painful care, remounted

towards the level of the street. Five, six, and seven flights I climbed, and still there was no porter. I began to

be weary of the job, and reflecting that I was now close to my own room, decided I should go to bed. Eight,

nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen flights I mounted; and my open door seemed to be as wholly lost to me as

the porter and his floating dip. I remembered that the house stood but six stories at its highest point, from

which it appeared (on the most moderate computation) I was now three stories higher than the roof. My

original sense of amusement was succeeded by a not unnatural irritation. "My room has just GOT to be here,"

said I, and I stepped towards the door with outspread arms. There was no door and no wall; in place of either

there yawned before me a dark corridor, in which I continued to advance for some time without encountering

the smallest opposition. And this in a house whose extreme area scantily contained three small rooms, a

narrow landing, and the stair! The thing was manifestly nonsense; and you will scarcely be surprised to learn

that I now began to lose my temper. At this juncture I perceived a filtering of light along the floor, stretched

forth my hand which encountered the knob of a doorhandle, and without further ceremony entered a room.

A young lady was within; she was going to bed, and her toilet was far advanced, or the other way about, if

"I hope you will pardon this intrusion," said I; "but my room is No. 12, and something has gone wrong with

She looked at me a moment; and then, "If you will step outside for a moment, I will take you there," says she.

Thus, with perfect composure on both sides, the matter was arranged. I waited a while outside her door.

Presently she rejoined me, in a dressinggown, took my hand, led me up another flight, which made the

fourth above the level of the roof, and shut me into my own room, where (being quite weary after these

I tell you the thing calmly, as it appeared to me to pass; but the next day, when I awoke and put memory in

the witnessbox, I could not conceal from myself that the tale presented a good many improbable features. I

had no mind for the studio, after all, and went instead to the Luxembourg gardens, there, among the sparrows

and the statues and the falling leaves, to cool and clear my head. It is a garden I have always loved. You sit

there in a public place of history and fiction. Barras and Fouche have looked from these windows. Lousteau

and de Banville (one as real as the other) have rhymed upon these benches. The city tramples by without the

railings to a lively measure; and within and about you, trees rustle, children and sparrows utter their small

cries, and the statues look on forever. Here, then, in a seat opposite the gallery entrance, I set to work on the

events of the last night, to disengage (if it were possible) truth from fiction.

The house, by daylight, had proved to be six stories high, the same as ever. I could find, with all my

architectural experience, no room in its altitude for those interminable stairways, no width between its walls

for that long corridor, where I had tramped at night. And there was yet a greater difficulty. I had read

somewhere an aphorism that everything may be false to itself save human nature. A house might elongate or

enlarge itselfor seem to do so to a gentleman who had been dining. The ocean might dry up, the rocks melt

in the sun, the stars fall from heaven like autumn apples; and there was nothing in these incidents to boggle

the philosopher. But the case of the young lady stood upon a different foundation. Girls were not good

enough, or not good that way, or else they were too good. I was ready to accept any of these views: all

pointed to the same conclusion, which I was thus already on the point of reaching, when a fresh argument

occurred, and instantly confirmed it. I could remember the exact words we had each said; and I had spoken,

and she had replied, in English. Plainly, then, the whole affair was an illusion: catacombs, and stairs, and

I had just come to this determination, when there blew a flaw of wind through the autumnal gardens; the dead

leaves showered down, and a flight of sparrows, thick as a snowfall, wheeled above my head with sudden

pipings. This agreeable bustle was the affair of a moment, but it startled me from the abstraction into which I

had fallen like a summons. I sat briskly up, and as I did so, my eyes rested on the figure of a lady in a brown

jacket and carrying a paintbox. By her side walked a fellow some years older than myself, with an easel

under his arm; and alike by their course and cargo I might judge they were bound for the gallery, where the

lady was, doubtless, engaged upon some copying. You can imagine my surprise when I recognized in her the

heroine of my adventure. To put the matter beyond question, our eyes met, and she, seeing herself

remembered and recalling the trim in which I had last beheld her, looked swiftly on the ground with just a

I could not tell you today if she were plain or pretty; but she had behaved with so much good sense, and I

had cut so poor a figure in her presence, that I became instantly fired with the desire to display myself in a

more favorable light. The young man besides was possibly her brother; brothers are apt to be hasty, theirs

being a part in which it is possible, at a comparatively early age, to assume the dignity of manhood; and it

occurred to me it might be wise to forestall all possible complications by an apology.

On this reasoning I drew near to the gallery door, and had hardly got in position before the young man came

out. Thus it was that I came face to face with my third destiny; for my career has been entirely shaped by

these three elements,my father, the capitol of Muskegon, and my friend, Jim Pinkerton. As for the young

lady with whom my mind was at the moment chiefly occupied, I was never to hear more of her from that day

The stranger, I have said, was some years older than myself: a man of a good stature, a very lively face,

"My dear sir," he replied, "I don't know what it can be about, but you may have a hundred if you like."

"You have just left the side of a young lady," I continued, "towards whom I was led (very unintentionally)

into the appearance of an offence. To speak to herself would be only to renew her embarrassment, and I seize

the occasion of making my apology, and declaring my respect, to one of my own sex who is her friend, and

"You are a countryman of mine; I know it!" he cried: "I am sure of it by your delicacy to a lady. You do her

no more than justice. I was introduced to her the other night at tea, in the apartment of some people, friends

of mine; and meeting her again this morning, I could not do less than carry her easel for her. My dear sir,

I was disappointed to find he had so little bond with my young lady; and but that it was I who had sought the

acquaintance, might have been tempted to retreat. At the same time, something in the stranger's eye engaged

"My name," said I, "is Loudon Dodd; I am a student of sculpture here from Muskegon."

"Of sculpture?" he cried, as though that would have been his last conjecture. "Mine is James Pinkerton; I am

He admitted his identity with a laugh of boyish delight; and indeed any young man in the quarter might have

In order to explain the name, I must here digress into a chapter of the history of manners in the nineteenth

century, very well worth commemoration for its own sake. In some of the studios at that date, the hazing of

new pupils was both barbarous and obscene. Two incidents, following one on the heels of the other tended to

produce an advance in civilization by the means (as so commonly happens) of a passing appeal to savage

standards. The first was the arrival of a little gentleman from Armenia. He had a fez upon his head and (what

nobody counted on) a dagger in his pocket. The hazing was set about in the customary style, and, perhaps in

virtue of the victim's headgear, even more boisterously than usual. He bore it at first with an inviting

patience; but upon one of the students proceeding to an unpardonable freedom, plucked out his knife and

suddenly plunged it in the belly of the jester. This gentleman, I am pleased to say, passed months upon a bed

of sickness, before he was in a position to resume his studies. The second incident was that which had earned

Pinkerton his reputation. In a crowded studio, while some very filthy brutalities were being practised on a

trembling debutant, a tall, pale fellow sprang from his stool and (without the smallest preface or explanation)

sang out, "All English and Americans to clear the shop!" Our race is brutal, but not filthy; and the summons

was nobly responded to. Every AngloSaxon student seized his stool; in a moment the studio was full of

bloody coxcombs, the French fleeing in disorder for the door, the victim liberated and amazed. In this feat of

arms, both English speaking nations covered themselves with glory; but I am proud to claim the author of

the whole for an American, and a patriotic American at that, being the same gentleman who had subsequently

to be held down in the bottom of a box during a performance of _L'Oncle Sam_, sobbing at intervals, "My

country! O my country!" While yet another (my new acquaintance, Pinkerton) was supposed to have made

the most conspicuous figure in the actual battle. At one blow, he had broken his own stool, and sent the

largest of his opponents back foremost through what we used to call a "conscientious nude." It appears that,

in the continuation of his flight, this fallen warrior issued on the boulevard still framed in the burst canvas.

It will be understood how much talk the incident aroused in the students' quarter, and that I was highly

gratified to make the acquaintance of my famous countryman. It chanced I was to see more of the quixotic

side of his character before the morning was done; for as we continued to stroll together, I found myself near

the studio of a young Frenchman whose work I had promised to examine, and in the fashion of the quarter

carried up Pinkerton along with me. Some of my comrades of this date were pretty obnoxious fellows. I could

almost always admire and respect the grownup practitioners of art in Paris; but many of those who were still

in a state of pupilage were sorry specimens, so much so that I used often to wonder where the painters came

from, and where the brutes of students went to. A similar mystery hangs over the intermediate stages of the

medical profession, and must have perplexed the least observant. The ruffian, at least, whom I now carried

Pinkerton to visit, was one of the most crapulous in the quarter. He turned out for our delectation a huge

"crust" (as we used to call it) of St. Stephen, wallowing in red upon his belly in an exhausted receiver, and a

crowd of Hebrews in blue, green, and yellow, pelting himapparently with buns; and while we gazed upon

this contrivance, regaled us with a piece of his own recent biography, of which his mind was still very full,

and which he seemed to fancy, represented him in a heroic posture. I was one of those cosmopolitan

Americans, who accept the world (whether at home or abroad) as they find it, and whose favourite part is that

of the spectator; yet even I was listening with illsuppressed disgust, when I was aware of a violent plucking

"Is he saying he kicked her down stairs?" asked Pinkerton, white as St. Stephen.

"Yes," said I: "his discarded mistress; and then he pelted her with stones. I suppose that's what gave him the

idea for his picture. He has just been alleging the pathetic excuse that she was old enough to be his mother."

Something like a sob broke from Pinkerton. "Tell him," he gasped"I can't speak this language, though I

understand a little; I never had any proper educationtell him I'm going to punch his head."

"For God's sake, do nothing of the sort!" I cried. "They don't understand that sort of thing here." And I tried

"Tell him first what we think of him," he objected. "Let me tell him what he looks in the eyes of a

"Monsieur se sent mal au coeur d'avoir trop regarde votre croute,"[2] said I, and made my escape, scarce with

[2] "The gentleman is sick at his stomach from having looked too long at your daub."

After this scene, the freedom with which I had ejected my new acquaintance, and the precipitation with which

I had followed him, the least I could do was to propose luncheon. I have forgot the name of the place to

which I led him, nothing loath; it was on the far side of the Luxembourg at least, with a garden behind, where

we were speedily set face to face at table, and began to dig into each other's history and character, like terriers

Pinkerton's parents were from the old country; there too, I incidentally gathered, he had himself been born,

though it was a circumstance he seemed prone to forget. Whether he had run away, or his father had turned

him out, I never fathomed; but about the age of twelve, he was thrown upon his own resources. A travelling

tintype photographer picked him up, like a haw out of a hedgerow, on a wayside in New Jersey; took a

fancy to the urchin; carried him on with him in his wandering life; taught him all he knew himselfto take

tintypes (as well as I can make out) and doubt the Scriptures; and died at last in Ohio at the corner of a road.

"He was a grand specimen," cried Pinkerton; "I wish you could have seen him, Mr. Dodd. He had an

appearance of magnanimity that used to remind me of the patriarchs." On the death of this random protector,

the boy inherited the plant and continued the business. "It was a life I could have chosen, Mr. Dodd!" he

cried. "I have been in all the finest scenes of that magnificent continent that we were born to be the heirs of. I

wish you could see my collection of tintypes; I wish I had them here. They were taken for my own pleasure

and to be a memento; and they show Nature in her grandest as well as her gentlest moments." As he tramped

the Western States and Territories, taking tintypes, the boy was continually getting hold of books, good,

bad, and indifferent, popular and abstruse, from the novels of Sylvanus Cobb to Euclid's Elements, both of

which I found (to my almost equal wonder) he had managed to peruse: he was taking stock by the way, of the

people, the products, and the country, with an eye unusually observant and a memory unusually retentive; and

he was collecting for himself a body of magnanimous and semiintellectual nonsense, which he supposed to be

the natural thoughts and to contain the whole duty of the born American. To be pureminded, to be patriotic,

to get culture and money with both hands and with the same irrational fervourthese appeared to be the

chief articles of his creed. In later days (not of course upon this first occasion) I would sometimes ask him

why; and he had his answer pat. "To build up the type!" he would cry. "We're all committed to that; we're all

under bond to fulfil the American Type! Loudon, the hope of the world is there. If we fail, like these old

The trade of a tintyper proved too narrow for the lad's ambition; it was insusceptible of expansion, he

explained, it was not truly modern; and by a sudden conversion of front, he became a railroadscalper. The

principles of this trade I never clearly understood; but its essence appears to be to cheat the railroads out of

their due fare. "I threw my whole soul into it; I grudged myself food and sleep while I was at it; the most

practised hands admitted I had caught on to the idea in a month and revolutionised the practice inside of a

year," he said. "And there's interest in it, too. It's amusing to pick out some one going by, make up your mind

about his character and tastes, dash out of the office and hit him flying with an offer of the very place he

wants to go to. I don't think there was a scalper on the continent made fewer blunders. But I took it only as a

stage. I was saving every dollar; I was looking ahead. I knew what I wantedwealth, education, a refined

home, and a conscientious, cultured lady for a wife; for, Mr. Dodd"this with a formidable outcry"every

man is bound to marry above him: if the woman's not the man's superior, I brand it as mere sensuality. There

was my idea, at least. That was what I was saving for; and enough, too! But it isn't every man, I know that

it's far from every mancould do what I did: close up the livest agency in Saint Jo, where he was coining

dollars by the pot, set out alone, without a friend or a word of French, and settle down here to spend his

"Neither, Mr. Dodd," he admitted. "Of course I had learned in my tintyping excursions to glory and exult in

the works of God. But it wasn't that. I just said to myself, What is most wanted in my age and country? More

culture and more art, I said; and I chose the best place, saved my money, and came here to get them."

The whole attitude of this young man warmed and shamed me. He had more fire in his little toe than I had in

my whole carcase; he was stuffed to bursting with the manly virtues; thrift and courage glowed in him; and

even if his artistic vocation seemed (to one of my exclusive tenets) not quite clear, who could predict what

might be accomplished by a creature so fullblooded and so inspired with animal and intellectual energy? So,

when he proposed that I should come and see his work (one of the regular stages of a Latin Quarter

He lodged parsimoniously at the top of a tall house near the Observatory, in a bare room, principally

furnished with his own trunks and papered with his own despicable studies. No man has less taste for

disagreeable duties than myself; perhaps there is only one subject on which I cannot flatter a man without a

blush; but upon that, upon all that touches art, my sincerity is Roman. Once and twice I made the circuit of

his walls in silence, spying in every corner for some spark of merit; he, meanwhile, following close at my

heels, reading the verdict in my face with furtive glances, presenting some fresh study for my inspection with

undisguised anxiety, and (after it had been silently weighed in the balances and found wanting) whisking it

away with an open gesture of despair. By the time the second round was completed, we were both extremely

"O!" he groaned, breaking the long silence, "it's quite unnecessary you should speak!"

"You don't see any promise?" he inquired, beguiled by some return of hope, and turning upon me the

embarrassing brightness of his eye. "Not in this stilllife here, of the melon? One fellow thought it good."

It was the least I could do to give the melon a more particular examination; which, when I had done, I could

but shake my head. "I am truly sorry, Pinkerton," said I, "but I can't advise you to persevere."

He seemed to recover his fortitude at the moment, rebounding from disappointment like a man of

indiarubber. "Well," said he stoutly, "I don't know that I'm surprised. But I'll go on with the course; and

throw my whole soul into it, too. You mustn't think the time is lost. It's all culture; it will help me to extend

my relations when I get back home; it may fit me for a position on one of the illustrateds; and then I can

always turn dealer," he said, uttering the monstrous proposition, which was enough to shake the Latin Quarter

to the dust, with entire simplicity. "It's all experience, besides;" he continued, "and it seems to me there's a

tendency to underrate experience, both as net profit and investment. Never mind. That's done with. But it

took courage for you to say what you did, and I'll never forget it. Here's my hand, Mr. Dodd. I'm not your

"You know nothing about that," I interrupted. "I have seen your work, but you haven't seen mine.

"No more I have," he cried; "and let's go see it at once! But I know you are away up. I can feel it here."

To say truth, I was almost ashamed to introduce him to my studiomy work, whether absolutely good or

bad, being so vastly superior to his. But his spirits were now quite restored; and he amazed me, on the way,

with his lighthearted talk and new projects. So that I began at last to understand how matters lay: that this

was not an artist who had been deprived of the practice of his single art; but only a business man of very

extended interests, informed (perhaps something of the most suddenly) that one investment out of twenty had

As a matter of fact besides (although I never suspected it) he was already seeking consolation with another of

the muses, and pleasing himself with the notion that he would repay me for my sincerity, cement our

friendship, and (at one and the same blow) restore my estimation of his talents. Several times already, when I

had been speaking of myself, he had pulled out a writingpad and scribbled a brief note; and now, when we

entered the studio, I saw it in his hand again, and the pencil go to his mouth, as he cast a comprehensive

"Are you going to make a sketch of it?" I could not help asking, as I unveiled the Genius of Muskegon.

He walked round my statue and had the design explained to him. I had represented Muskegon as a young,

almost a stripling, mother, with something of an Indian type; the babe upon her knees was winged, to indicate

our soaring future; and her seat was a medley of sculptured fragments, Greek, Roman, and Gothic, to remind

"Now, does this satisfy you, Mr. Dodd?" he inquired, as soon as I had explained to him the main features of

"Well," I said, "the fellows seem to think it's not a bad bonne femme for a beginner. I don't think it's entirely

bad myself. Here is the best point; it builds up best from here. No, it seems to me it has a kind of merit," I

"Ah, that's the word!" cried Pinkerton. "There's the word I love!" and he scribbled in his pad.

"What in creation ails you?" I inquired. "It's the most commonplace expression in the English language."

"Better and better!" chuckled Pinkerton. "The unconsciousness of genius. Lord, but this is coming in

"If you're going to be fulsome," said I, "I'll close the place of entertainment." And I threatened to replace the

"No, no," said he. "Don't be in a hurry. Give me a point or two. Show me what's particularly good."

"The trouble is," said he, "that I've never turned my attention to sculpture, beyond, of course, admiring it, as

everybody must who has a soul. So do just be a good fellow, and explain to me what you like in it, and what

"Well, in sculpture, you see, the first thing you have to consider is the masses. It's, after all, a kind of

architecture," I began, and delivered a lecture on that branch of art, with illustrations from my own

masterpiece there present, all of which, if you don't mind, or whether you mind or not, I mean to

conscientiously omit. Pinkerton listened with a fiery interest, questioned me with a certain uncultivated

shrewdness, and continued to scratch down notes, and tear fresh sheets from his pad. I found it inspiring to

have my words thus taken down like a professor's lecture; and having had no previous experience of the

press, I was unaware that they were all being taken down wrong. For the same reason (incredible as it must

appear in an American) I never entertained the least suspicion that they were destined to be dished up with a

sauce of pennya lining gossip; and myself, my person, and my works of art butchered to make a holiday for

the readers of a Sunday paper. Night had fallen over the Genius of Muskegon before the issue of my theoretic

eloquence was stayed, nor did I separate from my new friend without an appointment for the morrow.

I was indeed greatly taken with this first view of my countryman, and continued, on further acquaintance, to

be interested, amused, and attracted by him in about equal proportions. I must not say he had a fault, not only

because my mouth is sealed by gratitude, but because those he had sprang merely from his education, and

you could see he had cultivated and improved them like virtues. For all that, I can never deny he was a

It may have been a fortnight later that I divined the secret of the writingpad. My wretch (it leaked out) wrote

letters for a paper in the West, and had filled a part of one of them with descriptions of myself. I pointed out

"Why, this is just what I hoped!" he exclaimed. "I thought you didn't seem to catch on; only it seemed too

"I know it's generally considered etiquette," he admitted; "but between friends, and when it was only with a

view of serving you, I thought it wouldn't matter. I wanted it (if possible) to come on you as a surprise; I

wanted you just to waken, like Lord Byron, and find the papers full of you. You must admit it was a natural

He became immediately plunged in despair. "You think it a liberty," said he; "I see that. I would rather have

cut off my hand. I would stop it now, only it's too late; it's published by now. And I wrote it with so much

I could think of nothing but how to console him. "O, I daresay it's all right," said I. "I know you meant it

"That you may swear to," he cried. "It's a pure, bright, A number 1 paper; the St. Jo _Sunday Herald_. The

idea of the series was quite my own; I interviewed the editor, put it to him straight; the freshness of the idea

took him, and I walked out of that office with the contract in my pocket, and did my first Paris letter that

evening in Saint Jo. The editor did no more than glance his eye down the headlines. 'You're the man for us,'

I was certainly far from reassured by this sketch of the class of literature in which I was to make my first

appearance; but I said no more, and possessed my soul in patience, until the day came when I received a copy

of a newspaper marked in the corner, "Compliments of J.P." I opened it with sensible shrinkings; and there,

wedged between an account of a prizefight and a skittish article upon chiropodythink of chiropody treated

with a leer!I came upon a column and a half in which myself and my poor statue were embalmed. Like the

editor with the first of the series, I did but glance my eye down the headlines and was more than satisfied.

In the body of the text, besides, my eye caught, as it passed, some deadly expressions: "Figure somewhat

fleshy," "bright, intellectual smile," "the unconsciousness of genius," "'Now, Mr. Dodd,' resumed the reporter,

'what would be your idea of a distinctively American quality in sculpture?'" It was true the question had been

asked; it was true, alas! that I had answered; and now here was my reply, or some strange hash of it, gibbeted

in the cold publicity of type. I thanked God that my French fellowstudents were ignorant of English; but

when I thought of the Britishof Myner (for instance) or the Stennises I think I could have fallen on

To divert my thoughts (if it were possible) from this calamity, I turned to a letter from my father which had

arrived by the same post. The envelope contained a strip of newspapercutting; and my eye caught again,

"Son of Millionaire DoddFigure somewhat fleshy," and the rest of the degrading nonsense. What would

my father think of it? I wondered, and opened his manuscript. "My dearest boy," it began, "I send you a

cutting which has pleased me very much, from a St. Joseph paper of high standing. At last you seem to be

coming fairly to the front; and I cannot but reflect with delight and gratitude how very few youths of your age

occupy nearly two columns of pressmatter all to themselves. I only wish your dear mother had been here to

read it over my shoulder; but we will hope she shares my grateful emotion in a better place. Of course I have

sent a copy to your grandfather and uncle in Edinburgh; so you can keep the one I enclose. This Jim

Pinkerton seems a valuable acquaintance; he has certainly great talent; and it is a good general rule to keep in

I hope it will be set down to the right side of my account, but I had no sooner read these words, so touchingly

silly, than my anger against Pinkerton was swallowed up in gratitude. Of all the circumstances of my career,

my birth, perhaps, excepted, not one had given my poor father so profound a pleasure as this article in the

_Sunday Herald_. What a fool, then, was I, to be lamenting! when I had at last, and for once, and at the cost

of only a few blushes, paid back a fraction of my debt of gratitude. So that, when I next met Pinkerton, I took

things very lightly; my father was pleased, and thought the letter very clever, I told him; for my own part, I

had no taste for publicity: thought the public had no concern with the artist, only with his art; and though I

owned he had handled it with great consideration, I should take it as a favour if he never did it again.

"There it is," he said despondingly. "I've hurt you. You can't deceive me, Loudon. It's the want of tact, and it's

incurable." He sat down, and leaned his head upon his hand. "I had no advantages when I was young, you

"Not in the least, my dear fellow," said I. "Only the next time you wish to do me a service, just speak about

my work; leave my wretched person out, and my still more wretched conversation; and above all," I added,

with an irrepressible shudder, "don't tell them how I said it! There's that phrase, now: 'With a proud, glad

"Oh, there now, Loudon, you're entirely wrong," he broke in. "That's what the public likes; that's the merit of

the thing, the literary value. It's to call up the scene before them; it's to enable the humblest citizen to enjoy

that afternoon the same as I did. Think what it would have been to me when I was tramping around with my

tintypes to find a column and a half of real, cultured conversationan artist, in his studio abroad, talking of

his artand to know how he looked as he did it, and what the room was like, and what he had for breakfast;

and to tell myself, eating tinned beans beside a creek, that if all went well, the same sort of thing would,

sooner or later, happen to myself: why, Loudon, it would have been like a peephole into heaven!"

"Well, if it gives so much pleasure," I admitted, "the sufferers shouldn't complain. Only give the other fellows

The end of the matter was to bring myself and the journalist in a more close relation. If I know anything at all

of human natureand the IF is no mere figure of speech, but stands for honest doubtno series of benefits

conferred, or even dangers shared, would have so rapidly confirmed our friendship as this quarrel avoided,

Whether it came from my training and repeated bankruptcy at the commercial college, or by direct

inheritance from old Loudon, the Edinburgh mason, there can be no doubt about the fact that I was thrifty.

Looking myself impartially over, I believe that is my only manly virtue. During my first two years in Paris I

not only made it a point to keep well inside of my allowance, but accumulated considerable savings in the

bank. You will say, with my masquerade of living as a penniless student, it must have been easy to do so: I

should have had no difficulty, however, in doing the reverse. Indeed, it is wonderful I did not; and early in the

third year, or soon after I had known Pinkerton, a singular incident proved it to have been equally wise.

Quarterday came, and brought no allowance. A letter of remonstrance was despatched, and for the first time

in my experience, remained unanswered. A cablegram was more effectual; for it brought me at least a

promise of attention. "Will write at once," my father telegraphed; but I waited long for his letter. I was

puzzled, angry, and alarmed; but thanks to my previous thrift, I cannot say that I was ever practically

embarrassed. The embarrassment, the distress, the agony, were all for my unhappy father at home in

Muskegon, struggling for life and fortune against untoward chances, returning at night from a day of

illstarred shifts and ventures, to read and perhaps to weep over that last harsh letter from his only child, to

Nearly three months after time, and when my economies were beginning to run low, I received at last a letter

"My dearest boy," it ran, "I believe, in the press of anxious business, your letters and even your allowance

have been somewhile neglected. You must try to forgive your poor old dad, for he has had a trying time; and

now when it is over, the doctor wants me to take my shotgun and go to the Adirondacks for a change. You

must not fancy I am sick, only overdriven and under the weather. Many of our foremost operators have gone

down: John T. M'Brady skipped to Canada with a trunkful of boodle; Billy Sandwith, Charlie Downs, Joe

Kaiser, and many others of our leading men in this city bit the dust. But BigHead Dodd has again weathered

the blizzard, and I think I have fixed things so that we may be richer than ever before autumn.

"Now I will tell you, my dear, what I propose. You say you are well advanced with your first statue; start in

manfully and finish it, and if your teacherI can never remember how to spell his namewill send me a

certificate that it is up to market standard, you shall have ten thousand dollars to do what you like with, either

at home or in Paris. I suggest, since you say the facilities for work are so much greater in that city, you would

do well to buy or build a little home; and the first thing you know, your dad will be dropping in for a

luncheon. Indeed, I would come now, for I am beginning to grow old, and I long to see my dear boy; but

there are still some operations that want watching and nursing. Tell your friend, Mr. Pinkerton, that I read his

letters every week; and though I have looked in vain lately for my Loudon's name, still I learn something of

Here was a letter that no young man could possibly digest in solitude. It marked one of those junctures when

the confidant is necessary; and the confidant selected was none other than Jim Pinkerton. My father's

message may have had an influence in this decision; but I scarce suppose so, for the intimacy was already far

advanced. I had a genuine and lively taste for my compatriot; I laughed at, I scolded, and I loved him. He,

upon his side, paid me a kind of doglike service of admiration, gazing at me from afar off as at one who had

liberally enjoyed those "advantages" which he envied for himself. He followed at heel; his laugh was ready

chorus; our friends gave him the nickname of "The Henchman." It was in this insidious form that servitude

Pinkerton and I read and reread the famous news: he, I can swear, with an enjoyment as unalloyed and far

more vocal than my own. The statue was nearly done: a few days' work sufficed to prepare it for exhibition;

the master was approached; he gave his consent; and one cloudless morning of May beheld us gathered in my

studio for the hour of trial. The master wore his manyhued rosette; he came attended by two of my French

fellowpupilsfriends of mine and both considerable sculptors in Paris at this hour. "Corporal John" (as we

used to call him) breaking for once those habits of study and reserve which have since carried him so high in

the opinion of the world, had left his easel of a morning to countenance a fellowcountryman in some

suspense. My dear old Romney was there by particular request; for who that knew him would think a

pleasure quite complete unless he shared it, or not support a mortification more easily if he were present to

console? The party was completed by John Myner, the Englishman; by the brothers Stennis,Stennisaine

and Stennisfrere, as they used to figure on their accounts at Barbizona pair of harebrained Scots; and by

I suppose I was little better myself when I unveiled the Genius of Muskegon. The master walked about it

"It is already not so bad," said he, in that funny English of which he was so proud. "No, already not so bad."

We all drew a deep breath of relief; and Corporal John (as the most considerable junior present) explained to

"He! Quoi?" cried he, relapsing into French. "Qu'estce que vous me chantez la? O, in America," he added,

on further information being hastily furnished. "That is anozer sing. O, very good, very good."

The idea of the required certificate had to be introduced to his mind in the light of a pleasantrythe fancy of

a nabob little more advanced than the red Indians of "Fennimore Cooperr"; and it took all our talents

combined to conceive a form of words that would be acceptable on both sides. One was found, however:

Corporal John engrossed it in his undecipherable hand, the master lent it the sanction of his name and

flourish, I slipped it into an envelope along with one of the two letters I had ready prepared in my pocket, and

as the rest of us moved off along the boulevard to breakfast, Pinkerton was detached in a cab and duly

The breakfast was ordered at Lavenue's, where no one need be ashamed to entertain even the master; the

table was laid in the garden; I had chosen the bill of fare myself; on the wine question we held a council of

war with the most fortunate results; and the talk, as soon as the master laid aside his painful English, became

fast and furious. There were a few interruptions, indeed, in the way of toasts. The master's health had to be

drunk, and he responded in a little wellturned speech, full of neat allusions to my future and to the United

States; my health followed; and then my father's must not only be proposed and drunk, but a full report must

be despatched to him at once by cablegraman extravagance which was almost the means of the master's

dissolution. Choosing Corporal John to be his confidant (on the ground, I presume, that he was already too

good an artist to be any longer an American except in name) he summed up his amazement in one

oftrepeated formula"C'est barbare!" Apart from these genial formalities, we talked, talked of art, and

talked of it as only artists can. Here in the South Seas we talk schooners most of the time; in the Quarter we

Before very long, the master went away; Corporal John (who was already a sort of young master) followed

on his heels; and the rank and file were naturally relieved by their departure. We were now among equals; the

bottle passed, the conversation sped. I think I can still hear the Stennis brothers pour forth their copious

tirades; Dijon, my portly French fellowstudent, drop witticisms wellconditioned like himself; and another

(who was weak in foreign languages) dash hotly into the current of talk with some "Je trove que pore oon

sontimong de delicacy, Corot ...," or some "Pour moi Corot est le plou ...," and then, his little raft of French

foundering at once, scramble silently to shore again. He at least could understand; but to Pinkerton, I think

the noise, the wine, the sun, the shadows of the leaves, and the esoteric glory of being seated at a foreign

We sat down about half past eleven; I suppose it was two when, some point arising and some particular

picture being instanced, an adjournment to the Louvre was proposed. I paid the score, and in a moment we

were trooping down the Rue de Renne. It was smoking hot; Paris glittered with that superficial brilliancy

which is so agreeable to the man in high spirits, and in moods of dejection so depressing; the wine sang in my

ears, it danced and brightened in my eyes. The pictures that we saw that afternoon, as we sped briskly and

loquaciously through the immortal galleries, appear to me, upon a retrospect, the loveliest of all; the

comments we exchanged to have touched the highest mark of criticism, grave or gay.

It was only when we issued again from the museum that a difference of race broke up the party. Dijon

proposed an adjournment to a cafe, there to finish the afternoon on beer; the elder Stennis, revolted at the

thought, moved for the country, a forest if possible, and a long walk. At once the English speakers rallied to

the name of any exercise: even to me, who have been often twitted with my sedentary habits, the thought of

country air and stillness proved invincibly attractive. It appeared, upon investigation, we had just time to hail

a cab and catch one of the fast trains for Fontainebleau. Beyond the clothes we stood in, all were destitute of

what is called (with dainty vagueness) personal effects; and it was earnestly mooted, on the other side,

whether we had not time to call upon the way and pack a satchel? But the Stennis boys exclaimed upon our

effeminacy. They had come from London, it appeared, a week before with nothing but greatcoats and tooth

brushes. No baggagethere was the secret of existence. It was expensive, to be sure; for every time you

had to comb your hair, a barber must be paid, and every time you changed your linen, one shirt must be

bought and another thrown away; but anything was better (argued these young gentlemen) than to be the

slaves of haversacks. "A fellow has to get rid gradually of all material attachments; that was manhood" (said

they); "and as long as you were bound down to anything,house, umbrella, or portmanteau,you were still

tethered by the umbilical cord." Something engaging in this theory carried the most of us away. The two

Frenchmen, indeed, retired, scoffing, to their bock; and Romney, being too poor to join the excursion on his

own resources and too proud to borrow, melted unobtrusively away. Meanwhile the remainder of the

company crowded the benches of a cab; the horse was urged (as horses have to be) by an appeal to the pocket

of the driver; the train caught by the inside of a minute; and in less than an hour and a half we were breathing

deep of the sweet air of the forest and stretching our legs up the hill from Fontainebleau octroi, bound for

Barbizon. That the leading members of our party covered the distance in fiftyone minutes and a half is (I

believe) one of the historic landmarks of the colony; but you will scarce be surprised to learn that I was

somewhat in the rear. Myner, a comparatively philosophic Briton, kept me company in my deliberate

advance; the glory of the sun's going down, the fall of the long shadows, the inimitable scent and the

inspiration of the woods, attuned me more and more to walk in a silence which progressively infected my

companion; and I remember that, when at last he spoke, I was startled from a deep abstraction.

"Your father seems to be a pretty good kind of a father," said he. "Why don't he come to see you?" I was

ready with some dozen of reasons, and had more in stock; but Myner, with that shrewdness which made him

feared and admired, suddenly fixed me with his eyeglass and asked, "Ever press him?"

The blood came in my face. No; I had never pressed him; I had never even encouraged him to come. I was

proud of him; proud of his handsome looks, of his kind, gentle ways, of that bright face he could show when

others were happy; proud, too (meanly proud, if you like) of his great wealth and startling liberalities. And

yet he would have been in the way of my Paris life, of much of which he would have disapproved. I had

feared to expose to criticism his innocent remarks on art; I had told myself, I had even partly believed, he did

not want to come; I had been (and still am) convinced that he was sure to be unhappy out of Muskegon; in

short, I had a thousand reasons, good and bad, not all of which could alter one iota of the fact that I knew he

"Thank you, Myner," said I; "you're a much better fellow than ever I supposed. I'll write tonight."

"O, you're a pretty decent sort yourself," returned Myner, with more than his usual flippancy of manner, but

Well, these were brave days, on which I could dwell forever. Brave, too, were those that followed, when

Pinkerton and I walked Paris and the suburbs, viewing and pricing houses for my new establishment, or

covered ourselves with dust and returned laden with Chinese gods and brass warmingpans from the dealers

in antiquities. I found Pinkerton well up in the situation of these establishments as well as in the current

prices, and with quite a smattering of critical judgment; it turned out he was investing capital in pictures and

curiosities for the States, and the superficial thoroughness of the creature appeared in the fact, that although

he would never be a connoisseur, he was already something of an expert. The things themselves left him as

near as may be cold; but he had a joy of his own in understanding how to buy and sell them.

In such engagements the time passed until I might very well expect an answer from my father. Two mails

followed each other, and brought nothing. By the third I received a long and almost incoherent letter of

remorse, encouragement, consolation, and despair. From this pitiful document, which (with a movement of

piety) I burned as soon as I had read it, I gathered that the bubble of my father's wealth was burst, that he was

now both penniless and sick; and that I, so far from expecting ten thousand dollars to throw away in juvenile

extravagance, must look no longer for the quarterly remittances on which I lived. My case was hard enough;

but I had sense enough to perceive, and decency enough to do my duty. I sold my curiosities, or rather I sent

Pinkerton to sell them; and he had previously bought and now disposed of them so wisely that the loss was

trifling. This, with what remained of my last allowance, left me at the head of no less than five thousand

francs. Five hundred I reserved for my own immediate necessities; the rest I mailed inside of the week to my

The news of his death was scarcely a surprise and scarce a grief to me. I could not conceive my father a poor

man. He had led too long a life of thoughtless and generous profusion to endure the change; and though I

grieved for myself, I was able to rejoice that my father had been taken from the battle. I grieved, I say, for

myself; and it is probable there were at the same date many thousands of persons grieving with less cause. I

had lost my father; I had lost the allowance; my whole fortune (including what had been returned from

Muskegon) scarce amounted to a thousand francs; and to crown my sorrows, the statuary contract had

changed hands. The new contractor had a son of his own, or else a nephew; and it was signified to me, with

businesslike plainness, that I must find another market for my pigs. In the meanwhile I had given up my

room, and slept on a trucklebed in the corner of the studio, where as I read myself to sleep at night, and

when I awoke in the morning, that now useless bulk, the Genius of Muskegon, was ever present to my eyes.

Poor stone lady! born to be enthroned under the gilded, echoing dome of the new capitol, whither was she

now to drift? for what base purposes be ultimately broken up, like an unseaworthy ship? and what should

befall her illstarred artificer, standing, with his thousand francs, on the threshold of a life so hard as that of the

It was a subject often and earnestly debated by myself and Pinkerton. In his opinion, I should instantly

discard my profession. "Just drop it, here and now," he would say. "Come back home with me, and let's throw

our whole soul into business. I have the capital; you bring the culture. Dodd & PinkertonI never saw a

better name for an advertisement; and you can't think, Loudon, how much depends upon a name." On my

side, I would admit that a sculptor should possess one of three thingscapital, influence, or an energy only

to be qualified as hellish. The first two I had now lost; to the third I never had the smallest claim; and yet I

wanted the cowardice (or perhaps it was the courage) to turn my back on my career without a fight. I told

him, besides, that however poor my chances were in sculpture, I was convinced they were yet worse in

business, for which I equally lacked taste and aptitude. But upon this head, he was my father over again;

assured me that I spoke in ignorance; that any intelligent and cultured person was Bound to succeed; that I

must, besides, have inherited some of my father's fitness; and, at any rate, that I had been regularly trained for

"Pinkerton," I said, "can't you understand that, as long as I was there, I never took the smallest interest in any

"It's not possible," he would cry; "it can't be; you couldn't live in the midst of it and not feel the charm; with

all your poetry of soul, you couldn't help! Loudon," he would go on, "you drive me crazy. You expect a man

to be all broken up about the sunset, and not to care a dime for a place where fortunes are fought for and

made and lost all day; or for a career that consists in studying up life till you have it at your fingerends,

spying out every cranny where you can get your hand in and a dollar out, and standing there in the

midstone foot on bankruptcy, the other on a borrowed dollar, and the whole thing spinning round you like

To this romance of dickering I would reply with the romance (which is also the virtue) of art: reminding him

of those examples of constancy through many tribulations, with which the role of Apollo is illustrated; from

the case of Millet, to those of many of our friends and comrades, who had chosen this agreeable mountain

path through life, and were now bravely clambering among rocks and brambles, penniless and hopeful.

"You will never understand it, Pinkerton," I would say. "You look to the result, you want to see some profit

of your endeavours: that is why you could never learn to paint, if you lived to be Methusalem. The result is

always a fizzle: the eyes of the artist are turned in; he lives for a frame of mind. Look at Romney, now. There

is the nature of the artist. He hasn't a cent; and if you offered him tomorrow the command of an army, or the

presidentship of the United States, he wouldn't take it, and you know he wouldn't."

"I suppose not," Pinkerton would cry, scouring his hair with both his hands; "and I can't see why; I can't see

what in fits he would be after, not to; I don't seem to rise to these views. Of course, it's the fault of not having

had advantages in early life; but, Loudon, I'm so miserably low that it seems to me silly. The fact is," he

might add with a smile, "I don't seem to have the least use for a frame of mind without square meals; and you

"O, I don't know," he replied. "Why in snakes should anybody want to be a sculptor, if you come to that? I

would love to sculp myself. But what I can't see is why you should want to do nothing else. It seems to argue

Whether or not he ever came to understand meand I have been so tossed about since then that I am not

very sure I understand myselfhe soon perceived that I was perfectly in earnest; and after about ten days of

argument, suddenly dropped the subject, and announced that he was wasting capital, and must go home at

once. No doubt he should have gone long before, and had already lingered over his intended time for the sake

of our companionship and my misfortune; but man is so unjustly minded that the very fact, which ought to

have disarmed, only embittered my vexation. I resented his departure in the light of a desertion; I would not

say, but doubtless I betrayed it; and something hangdog in the man's face and bearing led me to believe he

was himself remorseful. It is certain at least that, during the time of his preparations, we drew sensibly

aparta circumstance that I recall with shame. On the last day, he had me to dinner at a restaurant which he

knew I had formerly frequented, and had only forsworn of late from considerations of economy. He seemed

ill at ease; I was myself both sorry and sulky; and the meal passed with little conversation.

"Now, Loudon," said he, with a visible effort, after the coffee was come and our pipes lighted, "you can never

understand the gratitude and loyalty I bear you. You don't know what a boon it is to be taken up by a man that

stands on the pinnacle of civilization; you can't think how it's refined and purified me, how it's appealed to

my spiritual nature; and I want to tell you that I would die at your door like a dog."

"Let me say it out!" he cried. "I revere you for your wholesouled devotion to art; I can't rise to it, but there's a

strain of poetry in my nature, Loudon, that responds to it. I want you to carry it out, and I mean to help you."

"Now don't get mad, Loudon; this is a plain piece of business," said he; "it's done every day; it's even typical.

How are all those fellows over here in Paris, Henderson, Sumner, Long? it's all the same story: a young

man just plum full of artistic genius on the one side, a man of business on the other who doesn't know what to

"You wait till I get my irons in the fire!" returned Pinkerton. "I'm bound to be rich; and I tell you I mean to

have some of the fun as I go along. Here's your first allowance; take it at the hand of a friend; I'm one that

holds friendship sacred as you do yourself. It's only a hundred francs; you'll get the same every month, and as

soon as my business begins to expand we'll increase it to something fitting. And so far from it's being a

favour, just let me handle your statuary for the American market, and I'll call it one of the smartest strokes of

It took me a long time, and it had cost us both much grateful and painful emotion, before I had finally

managed to refuse his offer and compounded for a bottle of particular wine. He dropped the subject at last

suddenly with a "Never mind; that's all done with," nor did he again refer to the subject, though we passed

together the rest of the afternoon, and I accompanied him, on his departure; to the doors of the waitingroom

at St. Lazare. I felt myself strangely alone; a voice told me that I had rejected both the counsels of wisdom

and the helping hand of friendship; and as I passed through the great bright city on my homeward way, I

In no part of the world is starvation an agreeable business; but I believe it is admitted there is no worse place

to starve in than this city of Paris. The appearances of life are there so especially gay, it is so much a

magnified beergarden, the houses are so ornate, the theatres so numerous, the very pace of the vehicles is so

brisk, that a man in any deep concern of mind or pain of body is constantly driven in upon himself. In his

own eyes, he seems the one serious creature moving in a world of horrible unreality; voluble people issuing

from a cafe, the queue at theatre doors, Sunday cabfuls of secondrate pleasureseekers, the bedizened ladies

of the pavement, the show in the jewellers' windowsall the familiar sights contributing to flout his own

unhappiness, want, and isolation. At the same time, if he be at all after my pattern, he is perhaps supported by

a childish satisfaction: this is life at last, he may tell himself, this is the real thing; the bladders on which I

was set swimming are now empty, my own weight depends upon the ocean; by my own exertions I must

perish or succeed; and I am now enduring in the vivid fact, what I so much delighted to read of in the case of

Of the steps of my misery, I cannot tell at length. In ordinary times what were politically called "loans"

(although they were never meant to be repaid) were matters of constant course among the students, and many

a man has partly lived on them for years. But my misfortune befell me at an awkward juncture. Many of my

friends were gone; others were themselves in a precarious situation. Romney (for instance) was reduced to

tramping Paris in a pair of country sabots, his only suit of clothes so imperfect (in spite of cunningly adjusted

pins) that the authorities at the Luxembourg suggested his withdrawal from the gallery. Dijon, too, was on a

leeshore, designing clocks and gasbrackets for a dealer; and the most he could do was to offer me a corner

of his studio where I might work. My own studio (it will be gathered) I had by that time lost; and in the

course of my expulsion the Genius of Muskegon was finally separated from her author. To continue to

possess a fullsized statue, a man must have a studio, a gallery, or at least the freedom of a back garden. He

cannot carry it about with him, like a satchel, in the bottom of a cab, nor can he cohabit in a garret, ten by

fifteen, with so momentous a companion. It was my first idea to leave her behind at my departure. There, in

her birthplace, she might lend an inspiration, methought, to my successor. But the proprietor, with whom I

had unhappily quarrelled, seized the occasion to be disagreeable, and called upon me to remove my property.

For a man in such straits as I now found myself, the hire of a lorry was a consideration; and yet even that I

could have faced, if I had had anywhere to drive to after it was hired. Hysterical laughter seized upon me as I

beheld (in imagination) myself, the waggoner, and the Genius of Muskegon, standing in the public view of

Paris, without the shadow of a destination; perhaps driving at last to the nearest rubbish heap, and dumping

there, among the ordures of a city, the beloved child of my invention. From these extremities I was relieved

by a seasonable offer, and I parted from the Genius of Muskegon for thirty francs. Where she now stands,

under what name she is admired or criticised, history does not inform us; but I like to think she may adorn the

shrubbery of some suburban teagarden, where holiday shopgirls hang their hats upon the mother, and their

swains (by way of an approach of gallantry) identify the winged infant with the god of love.

In a certain cabman's eatinghouse on the outer boulevard I got credit for my midday meal. Supper I was

supposed not to require, sitting down nightly to the delicate table of some rich acquaintances. This

arrangement was extremely illconsidered. My fable, credible enough at first, and so long as my clothes were

in good order, must have seemed worse than doubtful after my coat became frayed about the edges, and my

boots began to squelch and pipe along the restaurant floors. The allowance of one meal a day besides, though

suitable enough to the state of my finances, agreed poorly with my stomach. The restaurant was a place I had

often visited experimentally, to taste the life of students then more unfortunate than myself; and I had never

in those days entered it without disgust, or left it without nausea. It was strange to find myself sitting down

with avidity, rising up with satisfaction, and counting the hours that divided me from my return to such a

table. But hunger is a great magician; and so soon as I had spent my ready cash, and could no longer fill up

on bowls of chocolate or hunks of bread, I must depend entirely on that cabman's eatinghouse, and upon

certain rare, longexpected, longremembered windfalls. Dijon (for instance) might get paid for some of his

potboiling work, or else an old friend would pass through Paris; and then I would be entertained to a meal

after my own soul, and contract a Latin Quarter loan, which would keep me in tobacco and my morning

coffee for a fortnight. It might be thought the latter would appear the more important. It might be supposed

that a life, led so near the confines of actual famine, should have dulled the nicety of my palate. On the

contrary, the poorer a man's diet, the more sharply is he set on dainties. The last of my ready cash, about

thirty francs, was deliberately squandered on a single dinner; and a great part of my time when I was alone

One gleam of hope visited mean order for a bust from a rich Southerner. He was freehanded, jolly of

speech, merry of countenance; kept me in good humour through the sittings, and when they were over,

carried me off with him to dinner and the sights of Paris. I ate well; I laid on flesh; by all accounts, I made a

favourable likeness of the being, and I confess I thought my future was assured. But when the bust was done,

and I had despatched it across the Atlantic, I could never so much as learn of its arrival. The blow felled me; I

should have lain down and tried no stroke to right myself, had not the honour of my country been involved.

For Dijon improved the opportunity in the European style; informing me (for the first time) of the manners of

America: how it was a den of banditti without the smallest rudiment of law or order, and debts could be there

only collected with a shotgun. "The whole world knows it," he would say; "you are alone, mon petit Loudon,

you are alone to be in ignorance of these facts. The judges of the Supreme Court fought but the other day

with stilettos on the bench at Cincinnati. You should read the little book of one of my friends: _Le Touriste

dans le FarWest_; you will see it all there in good French." At last, incensed by days of such discussion, I

undertook to prove to him the contrary, and put the affair in the hands of my late father's lawyer. From him I

had the gratification of hearing, after a due interval, that my debtor was dead of the yellow fever in Key West,

and had left his affairs in some confusion. I suppress his name; for though he treated me with cruel

Soon after this a shade of change in my reception at the cabman's eatinghouse marked the beginning of a

new phase in my distress. The first day, I told myself it was but fancy; the next, I made quite sure it was a

fact; the third, in mere panic I stayed away, and went for fortyeight hours fasting. This was an act of great

unreason; for the debtor who stays away is but the more remarked, and the boarder who misses a meal is sure

to be accused of infidelity. On the fourth day, therefore, I returned, inwardly quaking. The proprietor looked

askance upon my entrance; the waitresses (who were his daughters) neglected my wants and sniffed at the

affected joviality of my salutations; last and most plain, when I called for a suisse (such as was being served

to all the other diners) I was bluntly told there were no more. It was obvious I was near the end of my tether;

one plank divided me from want, and now I felt it tremble. I passed a sleepless night, and the first thing in the

morning took my way to Myner's studio. It was a step I had long meditated and long refrained from; for I was

scarce intimate with the Englishman; and though I knew him to possess plenty of money, neither his manner

I found him at work on a picture, which I was able conscientiously to praise, dressed in his usual tweeds,

plain, but pretty fresh, and standing out in disagreeable contrast to my own withered and degraded outfit. As

we talked, he continued to shift his eyes watchfully between his handiwork and the fat model, who sat at the

far end of the studio in a state of nature, with one arm gallantly arched above her head. My errand would have

been difficult enough under the best of circumstances: placed between Myner, immersed in his art, and the

white, fat, naked female in a ridiculous attitude, I found it quite impossible. Again and again I attempted to

approach the point, again and again fell back on commendations of the picture; and it was not until the model

had enjoyed an interval of repose, during which she took the conversation in her own hands and regaled us

(in a soft, weak voice) with details as to her husband's prosperity, her sister's lamented decline from the paths

of virtue, and the consequent wrath of her father, a peasant of stern principles, in the vicinity of Chalons on

the Marne;it was not, I say, until after this was over, and I had once more cleared my throat for the attack,

and once more dropped aside into some commonplace about the picture, that Myner himself brought me

"Thank you," said I. "I can take my answer," and I made as if to go, rage boiling in my heart.

"Of course you can go if you like," said Myner; "but I advise you to stay and have it out."

"What more is there to say?" I cried. "You don't want to keep me here for a needless humiliation?"

"Look here, Dodd, you must try and command your temper," said he. "This interview is of your own seeking,

and not mine; if you suppose it's not disagreeable to me, you're wrong; and if you think I will give you money

without knowing thoroughly about your prospects, you take me for a fool. Besides," he added, "if you come

to look at it, you've got over the worst of it by now: you have done the asking, and you have every reason to

know I mean to refuse. I hold out no false hopes, but it may be worth your while to let me judge."

ThusI was going to sayencouraged, I stumbled through my story; told him I had credit at the cabman's

eatinghouse, but began to think it was drawing to a close; how Dijon lent me a corner of his studio, where I

tried to model ornaments, figures for clocks, Time with the scythe, Leda and the swan, musketeers for

candlesticks, and other kickshaws, which had never (up to that day) been honoured with the least approval.

"O, my room is all right, I think," said I. "She is a very good old lady, and has never even mentioned her bill."

"Because she is a very good old lady, I don't see why she should be fined," observed Myner.

"I mean this," said he. "The French give a great deal of credit amongst themselves; they find it pays on the

whole, or the system would hardly be continued; but I can't see where WE come in; I can't see that it's honest

of us AngloSaxons to profit by their easy ways, and then skip over the Channel or (as you Yankees do)

"Exactly," he replied. "And shouldn't you? There's the problem. You seem to me to have a lack of sympathy

for the proprietors of cabmen's eatinghouses. By your own account you're not getting on: the longer you

stay, it'll only be the more out of the pocket of the dear old lady at your lodgings. Now, I'll tell you what I'll

do: if you consent to go, I'll pay your passage to New York, and your railway fare and expenses to Muskegon

(if I have the name right) where your father lived, where he must have left friends, and where, no doubt,

you'll find an opening. I don't seek any gratitude, for of course you'll think me a beast; but I do ask you to pay

it back when you are able. At any rate, that's all I can do. It might be different if I thought you a genius,

"I daresay it was," he returned, with the same steadiness. "It seemed to me pertinent; and, besides, when you

ask me for money upon no security, you treat me with the liberty of a friend, and it's to be presumed that I

"Honest? honest?" I cried. "What do you mean by calling my honesty in question?"

"I won't, if you don't like it," he replied. "You seem to think honesty as easy as Blind Man's Buff: I don't. It's

I went straight from this irritating interview, during which Myner had never discontinued painting, to the

studio of my old master. Only one card remained for me to play, and I was now resolved to play it: I must

"Tiens, this little Dodd!" cried the master; and then, as his eye fell on my dilapidated clothing, I thought I

I made my plea in English; for I knew, if he were vain of anything, it was of his achievement of the island

tongue. "Master," said I, "will you take me in your studio again? but this time as a workman."

He shook his head. "I have betterr workmen waiting at my door," said he, "far betterr workmen.

"Somesing, somesingyes!" he cried; "enough for a son of a reech mannot enough for an orphan.

Besides, I sought you might learn to be an artist; I did not sink you might learn to be a workman."

On a certain bench on the outer boulevard, not far from the tomb of Napoleon, a bench shaded at that date by

a shabby tree, and commanding a view of muddy roadway and blank wall, I sat down to wrestle with my

misery. The weather was cheerless and dark; in three days I had eaten but once; I had no tobacco; my shoes

were soaked, my trousers horrid with mire; my humour and all the circumstances of the time and place

lugubriously attuned. Here were two men who had both spoken fairly of my work while I was rich and

wanted nothing; now that I was poor and lacked all: "no genius," said the one; "not enough for an orphan,"

the other; and the first offered me my passage like a pauper immigrant, and the second refused me a day's

wage as a hewer of stoneplain dealing for an empty belly. They had not been insincere in the past; they

were not insincere today: change of circumstance had introduced a new criterion: that was all.

But if I acquitted my two Job's comforters of insincerity, I was yet far from admitting them infallible. Artists

had been contemned before, and had lived to turn the laugh on their contemners. How old was Corot before

he struck the vein of his own precious metal? When had a young man been more derided (or more justly so)

than the god of my admiration, Balzac? Or if I required a bolder inspiration, what had I to do but turn my

head to where the gold dome of the Invalides glittered against inky squalls, and recall the tale of him sleeping

there: from the day when a young artillerysub could be giggled at and nicknamed PussinBoots by frisky

misses; on to the days of so many crowns and so many victories, and so many hundred mouths of cannon,

and so many thousand warhoofs trampling the roadways of astonished Europe eighty miles in front of the

grand army? To go back, to give up, to proclaim myself a failure, an ambitious failure, first a rocket, then a

stick! I, Loudon Dodd, who had refused all other livelihoods with scorn, and been advertised in the Saint

Joseph _Sunday Herald_ as a patriot and an artist, to be returned upon my native Muskegon like damaged

goods, and go the circuit of my father's acquaintance, cap in hand, and begging to sweep offices! No, by

Napoleon! I would die at my chosen trade; and the two who had that day flouted me should live to envy my

Meantime, if my courage was still undiminished, I was none the nearer to a meal. At no great distance my

cabman's eatinghouse stood, at the tail of a muddy cabrank, on the shores of a wide thoroughfare of mud,

offering (to fancy) a face of ambiguous invitation. I might be received, I might once more fill my belly there;

on the other hand, it was perhaps this day the bolt was destined to fall, and I might be expelled instead, with

vulgar hubbub. It was policy to make the attempt, and I knew it was policy; but I had already, in the course of

that one morning, endured too many affronts, and I felt I could rather starve than face another. I had courage

and to spare for the future, none left for that day; courage for the main campaign, but not a spark of it for that

preliminary skirmish of the cabman's restaurant. I continued accordingly to sit upon my bench, not far from

the ashes of Napoleon, now drowsy, now lightheaded, now in complete mental obstruction, or only

conscious of an animal pleasure in quiescence; and now thinking, planning, and remembering with

unexampled clearness, telling myself tales of sudden wealth, and gustfully ordering and greedily consuming

It was towards dark that I was suddenly recalled to famine by a cold souse of rain, and sprang shivering to my

feet. For a moment I stood bewildered: the whole train of my reasoning and dreaming passed afresh through

my mind; I was again tempted, drawn as if with cords, by the image of the cabman's eatinghouse, and again

recoiled from the possibility of insult. "Qui dort dine," thought I to myself; and took my homeward way with

wavering footsteps, through rainy streets in which the lamps and the shopwindows now began to gleam; still

"Ah, Monsieur Dodd," said the porter, "there has been a registered letter for you. The facteur will bring it

A registered letter for me, who had been so long without one? Of what it could possibly contain, I had no

vestige of a guess; nor did I delay myself guessing; far less form any conscious plan of dishonesty: the lies

"O," said I, "my remittance at last! What a bother I should have missed it! Can you lend me a hundred francs

I had never attempted to borrow from the porter till that moment: the registered letter was, besides, my

warranty; and he gave me what he hadthree napoleons and some francs in silver. I pocketed the money

carelessly, lingered a while chaffing, strolled leisurely to the door; and then (fast as my trembling legs could

carry me) round the corner to the Cafe de Cluny. French waiters are deft and speedy; they were not deft

enough for me; and I had scarce decency to let the man set the wine upon the table or put the butter alongside

the bread, before my glass and my mouth were filled. Exquisite bread of the Cafe Cluny, exquisite first glass

of old Pomard tingling to my wet feet, indescribable first olive culled from the hors d'oeuvreI suppose,

when I come to lie dying, and the lamp begins to grow dim, I shall still recall your savour. Over the rest of

that meal, and the rest of the evening, clouds lie thick; clouds perhaps of Burgundy; perhaps, more properly,

I remember clearly, at least, the shame, the despair, of the next morning, when I reviewed what I had done,

and how I had swindled the poor honest porter; and, as if that were not enough, fairly burnt my ships, and

brought bankruptcy home to that last refuge, my garret. The porter would expect his money; I could not pay

him; here was scandal in the house; and I knew right well the cause of scandal would have to pack. "What do

you mean by calling my honesty in question?" I had cried the day before, turning upon Myner. Ah, that day

before! the day before Waterloo, the day before the Flood; the day before I had sold the roof over my head,

In the midst of these lamentations the famous registered letter came to my door, with healing under its seals.

It bore the postmark of San Francisco, where Pinkerton was already struggling to the neck in multifarious

affairs: it renewed the offer of an allowance, which his improved estate permitted him to announce at the

figure of two hundred francs a month; and in case I was in some immediate pinch, it enclosed an introductory

draft for forty dollars. There are a thousand excellent reasons why a man, in this selfhelpful epoch, should

decline to be dependent on another; but the most numerous and cogent considerations all bow to a necessity

It was early in December that I thus sold myself into slavery; and for six months I dragged a slowly

lengthening chain of gratitude and uneasiness. At the cost of some debt I managed to excel myself and eclipse

the Genius of Muskegon, in a small but highly patriotic Standard Bearer for the Salon; whither it was duly

admitted, where it stood the proper length of days entirely unremarked, and whence it came back to me as

patriotic as before. I threw my whole soul (as Pinkerton would have phrased it) into clocks and candlesticks;

the devil a candlestickmaker would have anything to say to my designs. Even when Dijon, with his infinite

good humour and infinite scorn for all such journeywork, consented to peddle them in indiscriminately with

his own, the dealers still detected and rejected mine. Home they returned to me, true as the Standard Bearer;

who now, at the head of quite a regiment of lesser idols, began to grow an eyesore in the scanty studio of my

friend. Dijon and I have sat by the hour, and gazed upon that company of images. The severe, the frisky, the

classical, the Louis Quinze, were therefrom Joan of Arc in her soldierly cuirass to Leda with the swan;

nay, and God forgive me for a man that knew better! the humorous was represented also. We sat and gazed, I

say; we criticised, we turned them hither and thither; even upon the closest inspection they looked quite like

Vanity dies hard; in some obstinate cases it outlives the man: but about the sixth month, when I already owed

near two hundred dollars to Pinkerton, and half as much again in debts scattered about Paris, I awoke one

morning with a horrid sentiment of oppression, and found I was alone: my vanity had breathed her last during

the night. I dared not plunge deeper in the bog; I saw no hope in my poor statuary; I owned myself beaten at

last; and sitting down in my nightshirt beside the window, whence I had a glimpse of the treetops at the

corner of the boulevard, and where the music of its early traffic fell agreeably upon my ear, I penned my

farewell to Paris, to art, to my whole past life, and my whole former self. "I give in," I wrote. "When the next

allowance arrives, I shall go straight out West, where you can do what you like with me."

It is to be understood that Pinkerton had been, in a sense, pressing me to come from the beginning; depicting

his isolation among new acquaintances, "who have none of them your culture," he wrote; expressing his

friendship in terms so warm that it sometimes embarrassed me to think how poorly I could echo them;

dwelling upon his need for assistance; and the next moment turning about to commend my resolution and

press me to remain in Paris. "Only remember, Loudon," he would write, "if you ever DO tire of it, there's

plenty of work here for you honest, hard, wellpaid work, developing the resources of this practically

virgin State. And of course I needn't say what a pleasure it would be to me if we were going at it

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER." I marvel (looking back) that I could so long have resisted these appeals, and

continue to sink my friend's money in a manner that I knew him to dislike. At least, when I did awake to any

sense of my position, I awoke to it entirely; and determined not only to follow his counsel for the future, but

even as regards the past, to rectify his losses. For in this juncture of affairs I called to mind that I was not

without a possible resource, and resolved, at whatever cost of mortification, to beard the Loudon family in

In the excellent Scots' phrase, I made a moonlight flitting, a thing never dignified, but in my case unusually

easy. As I had scarce a pair of boots worth portage, I deserted the whole of my effects without a pang. Dijon

fell heir to Joan of Arc, the Standard Bearer, and the Musketeers. He was present when I bought and frugally

stocked my new portmanteau; and it was at the door of the trunk shop that I took my leave of him, for my last

few hours in Paris must be spent alone. It was alone (and at a far higher figure than my finances warranted)

that I discussed my dinner; alone that I took my ticket at Saint Lazare; all alone, though in a carriage full of

people, that I watched the moon shine on the Seine flood with its tufted islets, on Rouen with her spires, and

on the shipping in the harbour of Dieppe. When the first light of the morning called me from troubled

slumbers on the deck, I beheld the dawn at first with pleasure; I watched with pleasure the green shores of

England rising out of rosy haze; I took the salt air with delight into my nostrils; and then all came back to me;

that I was no longer an artist, no longer myself; that I was leaving all I cared for, and returning to all that I

From this picture of my own disgrace and wretchedness, it is not wonderful if my mind turned with relief to

the thought of Pinkerton, waiting for me, as I knew, with unwearied affection, and regarding me with a

respect that I had never deserved, and might therefore fairly hope that I should never forfeit. The inequality of

our relation struck me rudely. I must have been stupid, indeed, if I could have considered the history of that

friendship without shameI, who had given so little, who had accepted and profited by so much. I had the

whole day before me in London, and I determined (at least in words) to set the balance somewhat straighter.

Seated in the corner of a public place, and calling for sheet after sheet of paper, I poured forth the expression

of my gratitude, my penitence for the past, my resolutions for the future. Till now, I told him, my course had

been mere selfishness. I had been selfish to my father and to my friend, taking their help, and denying them

(which was all they asked) the poor gratification of my company and countenance.

Wonderful are the consolations of literature! As soon as that letter was written and posted, the consciousness

I reached my uncle's door next morning in time to sit down with the family to breakfast. More than three

years had intervened almost without mutation in that stationary household, since I had sat there first, a young

American freshman, bewildered among unfamiliar dainties, Finnan haddock, kippered salmon, baps and

mutton ham, and had wearied my mind in vain to guess what should be under the teacosey. If there were

any change at all, it seemed that I had risen in the family esteem. My father's death once fittingly referred to,

with a ceremonial lengthening of Scotch upper lips and wagging of the female head, the party launched at

once (God help me) into the more cheerful topic of my own successes. They had been so pleased to hear such

good accounts of me; I was quite a great man now; where was that beautiful statue of the Genius of

Something or other? "You haven't it here? not here? Really?" asks the sprightliest of my cousins, shaking

curls at me; as though it were likely I had brought it in a cab, or kept it concealed about my person like a

birthday surprise. In the bosom of this family, unaccustomed to the tropical nonsense of the West, it became

plain the _Sunday Herald_ and poor, blethering Pinkerton had been accepted for their face. It is not possible

to invent a circumstance that could have more depressed me; and I am conscious that I behaved all through

At length, the meal and family prayers being both happily over, I requested the favour of an interview with

Uncle Adam on "the state of my affairs." At sound of this ominous expression, the good man's face

conspicuously lengthened; and when my grandfather, having had the proposition repeated to him (for he was

hard of hearing) announced his intention of being present at the interview, I could not but think that Uncle

Adam's sorrow kindled into momentary irritation. Nothing, however, but the usual grim cordiality appeared

upon the surface; and we all three passed ceremoniously to the adjoining library, a gloomy theatre for a

depressing piece of business. My grandfather charged a clay pipe, and sat tremulously smoking in a corner of

the fireless chimney; behind him, although the morning was both chill and dark, the window was partly open

and the blind partly down: I cannot depict what an air he had of being out of place, like a man shipwrecked

there. Uncle Adam had his station at the business table in the midst. Valuable rows of books looked down

upon the place of torture; and I could hear sparrows chirping in the garden, and my sprightly cousin already

banging the piano and pouring forth an acid stream of song from the drawingroom overhead.

It was in these circumstances that, with all brevity of speech and a certain boyish sullenness of manner,

looking the while upon the floor, I informed my relatives of my financial situation: the amount I owed

Pinkerton; the hopelessness of any maintenance from sculpture; the career offered me in the States; and how,

before becoming more beholden to a stranger, I had judged it right to lay the case before my family.

"I am only sorry you did not come to me at first," said Uncle Adam. "I take the liberty to say it would have

"I think so too, Uncle Adam," I replied; "but you must bear in mind I was ignorant in what light you might

"I hope I would never turn my back on my own flesh and blood," he returned with emphasis; but to my

anxious ear, with more of temper than affection. "I could never forget you were my sister's son. I regard this

as a manifest duty. I have no choice but to accept the entire responsibility of the position you have made."

"Yes," he pursued, "and there is something providential in the circumstance that you come at the right time.

In my old firm there is a vacancy; they call themselves Italian Warehousemen now," he continued, regarding

me with a twinkle of humour; "so you may think yourself in luck: we were only grocers in my day. I shall

"Stop a moment, Uncle Adam," I broke in. "This is not at all what I am asking. I ask you to pay Pinkerton,

who is a poor man. I ask you to clear my feet of debt, not to arrange my life or any part of it."

"If I wished to be harsh, I might remind you that beggars cannot be choosers," said my uncle; "and as to

managing your life, you have tried your own way already, and you see what you have made of it. You must

now accept the guidance of those older and (whatever you may think of it) wiser than yourself. All these

schemes of your friend (of whom I know nothing, by the by) and talk of openings in the West, I simply

disregard. I have no idea whatever of your going troking across a continent on a wildgoose chase. In this

situation, which I am fortunately able to place at your disposal, and which many a wellconducted young

man would be glad to jump at, you will receive, to begin with, eighteen shillings a week."

"Eighteen shillings a week!" I cried. "Why, my poor friend gave me more than that for nothing!"

"And I think it is this very friend you are now trying to repay?" observed my uncle, with an air of one

"I'm vexed you should be present at this business," quoth Uncle Adam, swinging rather obsequiously towards

My grandfather took a puff or two in silence; and then, "Ye're makin' an awfu' poor appearance, Aadam,"

My uncle visibly reared at the affront. "I'm sorry you should think so," said he, "and still more sorry you

"A believe that; A ken that, Aadam," returned old Loudon, dryly; "and the curiis thing is, I'm no very carin'.

See here, ma man," he continued, addressing himself to me. "A'm your grandfaither, amn't I not? Never you

"Set down upon your hinderlands," cried my grandfather, almost savagely. "If Aadam has anything to say, let

him say it. It's me that has the money here; and by Gravy! I'm goin' to be obeyed."

Upon this scurvy encouragement, it appeared that my uncle had no remark to offer: twice challenged to

"speak out and be done with it," he twice sullenly declined; and I may mention that about this period of the

"See here, then, Jeannie's yin!" resumed my grandfather. "A'm goin' to give ye a setoff. Your mither was

always my fav'rite, for A never could agree with Aadam. A like ye fine yoursel'; there's nae noansense aboot

ye; ye've a fine nayteral idee of builder's work; ye've been to France, where they tell me they're grand at the

stuccy. A splendid thing for ceilin's, the stuccy! and it's a vailyable disguise, too; A don't believe there's a

builder in Scotland has used more stuccy than me. But as A was sayin', if ye'll follie that trade, with the

capital that A'm goin' to give ye, ye may live yet to be as rich as mysel'. Ye see, ye would have always had a

share of it when A was gone; it appears ye're needin' it now; well, ye'll get the less, as is only just and

Uncle Adam cleared his throat. "This is very handsome, father," said he; "and I am sure Loudon feels it so.

Very handsome, and as you say, very just; but will you allow me to say that it had better, perhaps, be put in

The enmity always smouldering between the two men at this illjudged interruption almost burst in flame.

The stonemason turned upon his offspring, his long upper lip pulled down, for all the world, like a monkey's.

The effect of these words was very visible. "He will be gone to his office," stammered my uncle.

"Very well, then," cried my uncle, getting to his feet with some alacrity, as upon a sudden change of thought,

"Then how the devil am I to get him?" my uncle broke forth, with not unnatural petulance.

My grandfather (having no possible answer) grinned at his son with the malice of a schoolboy; then he rang

"Take the garden key," said Uncle Adam to the servant; "go over to the garden, and if Mr. Gregg the lawyer

is there (he generally sits under the red hawthorn), give him old Mr. Loudon's compliments, and will he step

"Mr. Gregg the lawyer!" At once I understood (what had been puzzling me) the significance of my

grandfather and the alarm of my poor uncle: the stonemason's will, it was supposed, hung trembling in the

"Look here, grandfather," I said, "I didn't want any of this. All I wanted was a loan of (say) two hundred

pounds. I can take care of myself; I have prospects and opportunities, good friends in the States"

The old man waved me down. "It's me that speaks here," he said curtly; and we waited the coming of the

lawyer in a triple silence. He appeared at last, the maid ushering him ina spectacled, dry, but not ungenial

"Here, Gregg," cried my grandfather. "Just a question: What has Aadam got to do with my will?"

"What has he got to do with it?" repeated the old man, smiting with his fist upon the arm of his chair. "Is my

"O, I see," said Mr. Gregg. "Certainly not. On the marriage of both of your children a certain sum was paid

down and accepted in full of legitim. You have surely not forgotten the circumstance, Mr. Loudon?"

"So that, if I like," concluded my grandfather, hammering out his words, "I can leave every doit I die

"Very well," says my grandfather. "You and Jeannie's yin can go for a bit walk. Me and Gregg has business."

When once I was in the hall alone with Uncle Adam, I turned to him, sick at heart. "Uncle Adam," I said,

"you can understand, better than I can say, how very painful all this is to me."

"Yes, I am sorry you have seen your grandfather in so unamiable a light," replied this extraordinary man.

"You shouldn't allow it to affect your mind though. He has sterling qualities, quite an extraordinary character;

His composure was beyond my imitation: the house could not contain me, nor could I even promise to return

to it: in concession to which weakness, it was agreed that I should call in about an hour at the office of the

lawyer, whom (as he left the library) Uncle Adam should waylay and inform of the arrangement. I suppose

there was never a more topsyturvy situation: you would have thought it was I who had suffered some rebuff,

It was plain enough that I was to be endowed: to what extent and upon what conditions I was now left for an

hour to meditate in the wide and solitary thoroughfares of the new town, taking counsel with streetcorner

statues of George IV. and William Pitt, improving my mind with the pictures in the window of a musicshop,

and renewing my acquaintance with Edinburgh east wind. By the end of the hour I made my way to Mr.

Gregg's office, where I was placed, with a few appropriate words, in possession of a cheque for two thousand

"Mr. Loudon bids me add," continued the lawyer, consulting a little sheet of notes, "that although these

volumes are very valuable to the practical builder, you must be careful not to lose originality. He tells you

also not to be 'hadden doun'his own expressionby the theory of strains, and that Portland cement,

"I once lived in one of my excellent client's houses," observed the lawyer; "and I was tempted, in that case, to

"Under these circumstances, sir," said I, "you will be rather relieved to hear that I have no intention of

At this, he fairly laughed; and, the ice being broken, I was able to consult him as to my conduct. He insisted I

must return to the house, at least, for luncheon, and one of my walks with Mr. Loudon. "For the evening, I

will furnish you with an excuse, if you please," said he, "by asking you to a bachelor dinner with myself. But

the luncheon and the walk are unavoidable. He is an old man, and, I believe, really fond of you; he would

naturally feel aggrieved if there were any appearance of avoiding him; and as for Mr. Adam, do you know, I

think your delicacy out of place.... And now, Mr. Dodd, what are you to do with this money?"

Ay, there was the question. With two thousand poundsfifty thousand francsI might return to Paris and

the arts, and be a prince and millionaire in that thrifty Latin Quarter. I think I had the grace, with one corner

of my mind, to be glad that I had sent the London letter: I know very well that with the rest and worst of me, I

repented bitterly of that precipitate act. On one point, however, my whole multiplex estate of man was

unanimous: the letter being gone, there was no help but I must follow. The money was accordingly divided in

two unequal shares: for the first, Mr. Gregg got me a bill in the name of Dijon to meet my liabilities in Paris;

for the second, as I had already cash in hand for the expenses of my journey, he supplied me with drafts on

The rest of my business in Edinburgh, not to dwell on a very agreeable dinner with the lawyer or the horrors

of the family luncheon, took the form of an excursion with the stonemason, who led me this time to no

suburb or work of his old hands, but with an impulse both natural and pretty, to that more enduring home

which he had chosen for his clay. It was in a cemetery, by some strange chance, immured within the bulwarks

of a prison; standing, besides, on the margin of a cliff, crowded with elderly stone memorials, and green with

turf and ivy. The east wind (which I thought too harsh for the old man) continually shook the boughs, and the

"I wanted ye to see the place," said he. "Yon's the stane. Euphemia Ross: that was my goodwife, your

grandmither hoots! I'm wrong; that was my first yin; I had no bairns by her;yours is the second, Mary

Murray, Born 1819, Died 1850: that's hera fine, plain, decent sort of a creature, tak' her athegether.

Alexander Loudon, Born Seventeen NinetyTwa, Diedand then a hole in the ballant: that's me.

Alexander's my name. They ca'd me Ecky when I was a boy. Eh, Ecky! ye're an awfu' auld man!"

I had a second and sadder experience of graveyards at my next alightingplace, the city of Muskegon, now

rendered conspicuous by the dome of the new capitol encaged in scaffolding. It was late in the afternoon

when I arrived, and raining; and as I walked in great streets, of the very name of which I was quite

ignorantdouble, treble, and quadruple lines of horsecars jingling byhundredfold wires of telegraph

and telephone matting heaven above my headhuge, staring houses, garish and gloomy, flanking me from

either handthe thought of the Rue Racine, ay, and of the cabman's eating house, brought tears to my eyes.

The whole monotonous Babel had grown, or I should rather say swelled, with such a leap since my departure,

that I must continually inquire my way; and the very cemetery was brand new. Death, however, had been

active; the graves were already numerous, and I must pick my way in the rain, among the tawdry sepulchres

of millionnaires, and past the plain black crosses of Hungarian labourers, till chance or instinct led me to the

place that was my father's. The stone had been erected (I knew already) "by admiring friends"; I could now

judge their taste in monuments; their taste in literature, methought, I could imagine, and I refrained from

drawing near enough to read the terms of the inscription. But the name was in larger letters and stared at

meJAMES K. DODD. What a singular thing is a name, I thought; how it clings to a man, and continually

misrepresents, and then survives him; and it flashed across my mind, with a mixture of regret and bitter

mirth, that I had never known, and now probably never should know, what the K had represented. King,

Kilter, Kay, Kaiser, I went, running over names at random, and then stumbled with ludicrous misspelling on

Kornelius, and had nearly laughed aloud. I have never been more childish; I suppose (although the deeper

voices of my nature seemed all dumb) because I have never been more moved. And at this last incongruous

Scarce less funereal was the rest of my experience in Muskegon, where, nevertheless, I lingered, visiting my

father's circle, for some days. It was in piety to him I lingered; and I might have spared myself the pain. His

memory was already quite gone out. For his sake, indeed, I was made welcome; and for mine the

conversation rolled awhile with laborious effort on the virtues of the deceased. His former comrades dwelt, in

my company, upon his business talents or his generosity for public purposes; when my back was turned, they

remembered him no more. My father had loved me; I had left him alone to live and die among the indifferent;

now I returned to find him dead and buried and forgotten. Unavailing penitence translated itself in my

thoughts to fresh resolve. There was another poor soul who loved me: Pinkerton. I must not be guilty twice of

A week perhaps had been thus wasted, nor had I prepared my friend for the delay. Accordingly, when I had

changed trains at Council Bluffs, I was aware of a man appearing at the end of the car with a telegram in his

hand and inquiring whether there were any one aboard "of the name of LONDON Dodd?" I thought the name

near enough, claimed the despatch, and found it was from Pinkerton: "What day do you arrive? Awfully

important." I sent him an answer giving day and hour, and at Ogden found a fresh despatch awaiting me:

"That will do. Unspeakable relief. Meet you at Sacramento." In Paris days I had a private name for Pinkerton:

"The Irrepressible" was what I had called him in hours of bitterness, and the name rose once more on my lips.

What mischief was he up to now? What new bowl was my benignant monster brewing for his Frankenstein?

In what new imbroglio should I alight on the Pacific coast? My trust in the man was entire, and my distrust

perfect. I knew he would never mean amiss; but I was convinced he would almost never (in my sense) do

I suppose these vague anticipations added a shade of gloom to that already gloomy place of travel: Nebraska,

Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, scowled in my face at least, and seemed to point me back again to that other native

land of mine, the Latin Quarter. But when the Sierras had been climbed, and the train, after so long beating

and panting, stretched itself upon the downward trackwhen I beheld that vast extent of prosperous country

rolling seaward from the woods and the blue mountains, that illimitable spread of rippling corn, the trees

growing and blowing in the merry weather, the country boys thronging aboard the train with figs and

peaches, and the conductors, and the very darky stewards, visibly exulting in the changeup went my soul

like a balloon; Care fell from his perch upon my shoulders; and when I spied my Pinkerton among the crowd

at Sacramento, I thought of nothing but to shout and wave for him, and grasp him by the hand, like what he

"O Loudon!" he cried. "Man, how I've pined for you! And you haven't come an hour too soon. You're known

here and waited for; I've been booming you already; you're billed for a lecture tomorrow night: _Student

Life in Paris, Grave and Gay_: twelve hundred places booked at the last stock! Tut, man, you're looking thin!

Here, try a drop of this." And he produced a case bottle, staringly labelled PINKERTON'S THIRTEEN

"God bless me!" said I, gasping and winking after my first plunge into this fiery fluid. "And what does

"Why, Loudon! you ought to know that!" cried Pinkerton. "It's real, copperbottomed English; you see it on

"But if I'm not mistaken, it means something Warranted Entirely different," said I, "and applies to the public

"It's very possible," said Jim, quite unabashed. "It's effective, anyway; and I can tell you, sir, it has boomed

that spirit: it goes now by the gross of cases. By the way, I hope you won't mind; I've got your portrait all

over San Francisco for the lecture, enlarged from that carte de visite: H. Loudon Dodd, the

AmericoParisienne Sculptor. Here's a proof of the small handbills; the posters are the same, only in red and

I looked at the handbill, and my head turned. What was the use of words? why seek to explain to Pinkerton

the knotted horrors of "AmericoParisienne"? He took an early occasion to point it out as "rather a good

phrase; gives the two sides at a glance: I wanted the lecture written up to that." Even after we had reached

San Francisco, and at the actual physical shock of my own effigy placarded on the streets I had broken forth

in petulant words, he never comprehended in the least the ground of my aversion.

"If I had only known you disliked red lettering!" was as high as he could rise. "You are perfectly right: a

clearcut black is preferable, and shows a great deal further. The only thing that pains me is the portrait: I

own I thought that a success. I'm dreadfully and truly sorry, my dear fellow: I see now it's not what you had a

right to expect; but I did it, Loudon, for the best; and the press is all delighted."

At the moment, sweeping through green tule swamps, I fell direct on the essential. "But, Pinkerton," I cried,

"this lecture is the maddest of your madnesses. How can I prepare a lecture in thirty hours?"

"All done, Loudon!" he exclaimed in triumph. "All ready. Trust me to pull a piece of business through. You'll

find it all typewritten in my desk at home. I put the best talent of San Francisco on the job: Harry Miller, the

And so he rattled on, beyond reach of my modest protestations, blurting out his complicated interests, crying

up his new acquaintances, and ever and again hungering to introduce me to some "wholesouled, grand

fellow, as sharp as a needle," from whom, and the very thought of whom, my spirit shrank instinctively.

Well, I was in for it: in for Pinkerton, in for the portrait, in for the typewritten lecture. One promise I

extortedthat I was never again to be committed in ignorance; even for that, when I saw how its extortion

puzzled and depressed the Irrepressible, my soul repented me; and in all else I suffered myself to be led

uncomplaining at his chariot wheels. The Irrepressible, did I say? The Irresistible were nigher truth.

But the time to have seen me was when I sat down to Harry Miller's lecture. He was a facetious dog, this

Harry Miller; he had a gallant way of skirting the indecent which (in my case) produced physical nausea; and

he could be sentimental and even melodramatic about grisettes and starving genius. I found he had enjoyed

the benefit of my correspondence with Pinkerton: adventures of my own were here and there horridly

misrepresented, sentiments of my own echoed and exaggerated till I blushed to recognise them. I will do

Harry Miller justice: he must have had a kind of talent, almost of genius; all attempts to lower his tone

proving fruitless, and the HarryMillerism ineradicable. Nay, the monster had a certain key of style, or want of

style, so that certain milder passages, which I sought to introduce, discorded horribly, and impoverished (if

By an early hour of the numbered evening I might have been observed at the sign of the Poodle Dog, dining

with my agent: so Pinkerton delighted to describe himself. Thence, like an ox to the slaughter, he led me to

the hall, where I stood presently alone, confronting assembled San Francisco, with no better allies than a

table, a glass of water, and a mass of manuscript and typework, representing Harry Miller and myself. I read

the lecture; for I had lacked both time and will to get the trash by heartread it hurriedly, humbly, and with

visible shame. Now and then I would catch in the auditorium an eye of some intelligence, now and then, in

the manuscript, would stumble on a richer vein of Harry Miller, and my heart would fail me, and I gabbled.

The audience yawned, it stirred uneasily, it muttered, grumbled, and broke forth at last in articulate cries of

"Speak up!" and "Nobody can hear!" I took to skipping, and being extremely illacquainted with the country,

almost invariably cut in again in the unintelligible midst of some new topic. What struck me as extremely

ominous, these misfortunes were allowed to pass without a laugh. Indeed, I was beginning to fear the worst,

and even personal indignity, when all at once the humour of the thing broke upon me strongly. I could have

laughed aloud; and being again summoned to speak up, I faced my patrons for the first time with a smile.

"Very well," I said, "I will try, though I don't suppose anybody wants to hear, and I can't see why anybody

should." Audience and lecturer laughed together till the tears ran down; vociferous and repeated applause

hailed my impromptu sally. Another hit which I made but a little after, as I turned three pages of the copy:

"You see, I am leaving out as much as I possibly can," increased the esteem with which my patrons had

begun to regard me; and when I left the stage at last, my departing form was cheered with laughter, stamping,

Pinkerton was in the waitingroom, feverishly jotting in his pocketbook. As he saw me enter, he sprang up,

"My dear boy," he cried, "I can never forgive myself, and you can never forgive me. Never mind: I did it for

the best. And how nobly you clung on! I dreaded we should have had to return the money at the doors."

The pressmen followed me, Harry Miller in the front ranks; and I was amazed to find them, on the whole, a

pleasant set of lads, probably more sinned against than sinning, and even Harry Miller apparently a

gentleman. I had in oysters and champagnefor the receipts were excellentand being in a high state of

nervous tension, kept the table in a roar. Indeed, I was never in my life so well inspired as when I described

my vigil over Harry Miller's literature or the series of my emotions as I faced the audience. The lads vowed I

was the soul of good company and the prince of lecturers; andso wonderful an institution is the popular

pressif you had seen the notices next day in all the papers, you must have supposed my evening's

I was in excellent spirits when I returned home that night, but the miserable Pinkerton sorrowed for us both.

"O, Loudon," he said, "I shall never forgive myself. When I saw you didn't catch on to the idea of the lecture,

The food of the body differs not so greatly for the fool or the sage, the elephant or the cocksparrow; and

similar chemical elements, variously disguised, support all mortals. A brief study of Pinkerton in his new

setting convinced me of a kindred truth about that other and mental digestion, by which we extract what is

called "fun for our money" out of life. In the same spirit as a schoolboy, deep in Mayne Reid, handles a

dummy gun and crawls among imaginary forests, Pinkerton sped through Kearney Street upon his daily

business, representing to himself a highly coloured part in life's performance, and happy for hours if he

should have chanced to brush against a millionnaire. Reality was his romance; he gloried to be thus engaged;

he wallowed in his business. Suppose a man to dig up a galleon on the Coromandel coast, his rakish schooner

keeping the while an offing under easy sail, and he, by the blaze of a great fire of wreckwood, to measure

ingots by the bucketful on the uproarious beach: such an one might realise a greater material spoil; he should

have no more profit of romance than Pinkerton when he cast up his weekly balancesheet in a bald office.

Every dollar gained was like something brought ashore from a mysterious deep; every venture made was like

a diver's plunge; and as he thrust his bold hand into the plexus of the moneymarket, he was delightedly

aware of how he shook the pillars of existence, turned out men (as at a battlecry) to labour in far countries,

I could never fathom the full extent of his speculations; but there were five separate businesses which he

avowed and carried like a banner. The Thirteen Star Golden State Brandy, Warranted Entire (a very flagrant

distillation) filled a great part of his thoughts, and was kept before the public in an eloquent but misleading

treatise: _Why Drink French Brandy? A Word to the Wise._ He kept an office for advertisers, counselling,

designing, acting as middleman with printers and billstickers, for the inexperienced or the uninspired: the

dull haberdasher came to him for ideas, the smart theatrical agent for his local knowledge; and one and all

departed with a copy of his pamphlet: _How, When, and Where; or, the Advertiser's VadeMecum._ He had

a tug chartered every Saturday afternoon and night, carried people outside the Heads, and provided them with

lines and bait for six hours' fishing, at the rate of five dollars a person. I am told that some of them (doubtless

adroit anglers) made a profit on the transaction. Occasionally he bought wrecks and condemned vessels; these

latter (I cannot tell you how) found their way to sea again under aliases, and continued to stem the waves

triumphantly enough under the colours of Bolivia or Nicaragua. Lastly, there was a certain agricultural

engine, glorying in a great deal of vermilion and blue paint, and filling (it appeared) a "longfelt want," in

This for the face or front of his concerns. "On the outside," as he phrased it, he was variously and

mysteriously engaged. No dollar slept in his possession; rather he kept all simultaneously flying like a

conjurer with oranges. My own earnings, when I began to have a share, he would but show me for a moment,

and disperse again, like those illusive money gifts which are flashed in the eyes of childhood only to be

entombed in the missionary box. And he would come down radiant from a weekly balancesheet, clap me on

the shoulder, declare himself a winner by Gargantuan figures, and prove destitute of a quarter for a drink.

"Into the mill again; all reinvested!" he would cry, with infinite delight. Investment was ever his word. He

could not bear what he called gambling. "Never touch stocks, Loudon," he would say; "nothing but legitimate

business." And yet, Heaven knows, many an indurated gambler might have drawn back appalled at the first

hint of some of Pinkerton's investments! One, which I succeeded in tracking home, and instance for a

specimen, was a seventh share in the charter of a certain illstarred schooner bound for Mexico, to smuggle

weapons on the one trip, and cigars upon the other. The latter end of this enterprise, involving (as it did)

shipwreck, confiscation, and a lawsuit with the underwriters, was too painful to be dwelt upon at length. "It's

proved a disappointment," was as far as my friend would go with me in words; but I knew, from observation,

that the fabric of his fortunes tottered. For the rest, it was only by accident I got wind of the transaction; for

Pinkerton, after a time, was shy of introducing me to his arcana: the reason you are to hear presently.

The office which was (or should have been) the point of rest for so many evolving dollars stood in the heart

of the city: a high and spacious room, with many plateglass windows. A glazed cabinet of polished redwood

offered to the eye a regiment of some two hundred bottles, conspicuously labelled. These were all charged

with Pinkerton's Thirteen Star, although from across the room it would have required an expert to distinguish

them from the same number of bottles of Courvoisier. I used to twit my friend with this resemblance, and

propose a new edition of the pamphlet, with the title thus improved: _Why Drink French Brandy, when we

give you the same labels?_ The doors of the cabinet revolved all day upon their hinges; and if there entered

any one who was a stranger to the merits of the brand, he departed laden with a bottle. When I used to protest

at this extravagance, "My dear Loudon," Pinkerton would cry, "you don't seem to catch on to business

principles! The prime cost of the spirit is literally nothing. I couldn't find a cheaper advertisement if I tried."

Against the side post of the cabinet there leaned a gaudy umbrella, preserved there as a relic. It appears that

when Pinkerton was about to place Thirteen Star upon the market, the rainy season was at hand. He lay dark,

almost in penury, awaiting the first shower, at which, as upon a signal, the main thoroughfares became dotted

with his agents, vendors of advertisements; and the whole world of San Francisco, from the businessman

fleeing for the ferryboat, to the lady waiting at the corner for her car, sheltered itself under umbrellas with

this strange device: Are you wet? Try Thirteen Star. "It was a mammoth boom," said Pinkerton, with a sigh

of delighted recollection. "There wasn't another umbrella to be seen. I stood at this window, Loudon, feasting

my eyes; and I declare, I felt like Vanderbilt." And it was to this neat application of the local climate that he

owed, not only much of the sale of Thirteen Star, but the whole business of his advertising agency.

The large desk (to resume our survey of the office) stood about the middle, kneedeep in stacks of handbills

and posters, of _Why Drink French Brandy?_ and _The Advertiser's VadeMecum. _ It was flanked upon the

one hand by two female typewriters, who rested not between the hours of nine and four, and upon the other

by a model of the agricultural machine. The walls, where they were not broken by telephone boxes and a

couple of photographsone representing the wreck of the James L. Moody on a bold and broken coast, the

other the Saturday tug alive with amateur fishersalmost disappeared under oilpaintings gaudily framed.

Many of these were relics of the Latin Quarter, and I must do Pinkerton the justice to say that none of them

were bad, and some had remarkable merit. They went off slowly but for handsome figures; and their places

were progressively supplied with the work of local artists. These last it was one of my first duties to review

and criticise. Some of them were villainous, yet all were saleable. I said so; and the next moment saw myself,

the figure of a miserable renegade, bearing arms in the wrong camp. I was to look at pictures thenceforward,

not with the eye of the artist, but the dealer; and I saw the stream widen that divided me from all I loved.

"Now, Loudon," Pinkerton had said, the morning after the lecture, "now Loudon, we can go at it shoulder to

shoulder. This is what I have longed for: I wanted two heads and four arms; and now I have 'em. You'll find

it's just the same as artall observation and imagination; only more movement. Just wait till you begin to

I might have waited long. Perhaps I lack a sense; for our whole existence seemed to me one dreary bustle,

and the place we bustled in fitly to be called the Place of Yawning. I slept in a little den behind the office;

Pinkerton, in the office itself, stretched on a patent sofa which sometimes collapsed, his slumbers still further

menaced by an imminent clock with an alarm. Roused by this diabolical contrivance, we rose early, went

forth early to breakfast, and returned by nine to what Pinkerton called work, and I distraction. Masses of

letters must be opened, read, and answered; some by me at a subsidiary desk which had been introduced on

the morning of my arrival; others by my brighteyed friend, pacing the room like a caged lion as he dictated

to the tinkling typewriters. Masses of wet proof had to be overhauled and scrawled upon with a blue

pencil"rustic""sixinch caps""bold spacing here"or sometimes terms more fervid, as for instance

this, which I remember Pinkerton to have spirted on the margin of an advertisement of Soothing Syrup:

"Throw this all down. Have you never printed an advertisement? I'll be round in half an hour." The ledger and

salebook, besides, we had always with us. Such was the backbone of our occupation, and tolerable enough;

but the far greater proportion of our time was consumed by visitors, wholesouled, grand fellows no doubt,

and as sharp as a needle, but to me unfortunately not diverting. Some were apparently halfwitted, and must

be talked over by the hour before they could reach the humblest decision, which they only left the office to

return again (ten minutes later) and rescind. Others came with a vast show of hurry and despatch, but I

observed it to be principally show. The agricultural model for instance, which was practicable, proved a kind

of flypaper for these busybodies. I have seen them blankly turn the crank of it for five minutes at a time,

simulating (to nobody's deception) business interest: "Good thing this, Pinkerton? Sell much of it? Ha!

Couldn't use it, I suppose, as a medium of advertisement for my article?"which was perhaps toilet soap.

Others (a still worse variety) carried us to neighbouring saloons to dice for cocktails and (after the cocktails

were paid) for dollars on a corner of the counter. The attraction of dice for all these people was indeed

extraordinary: at a certain club, where I once dined in the character of "my partner, Mr. Dodd," the dicebox

Of all our visitors, I believe I preferred Emperor Norton; the very mention of whose name reminds me I am

doing scanty justice to the folks of San Francisco. In what other city would a harmless madman who

supposed himself emperor of the two Americas have been so fostered and encouraged? Where else would

even the people of the streets have respected the poor soul's illusion? Where else would bankers and

merchants have received his visits, cashed his cheques, and submitted to his small assessments? Where else

would he have been suffered to attend and address the exhibition days of schools and colleges? where else, in

God's green earth, have taken his pick of restaurants, ransacked the bill of fare, and departed scathless? They

tell me he was even an exacting patron, threatening to withdraw his custom when dissatisfied; and I can

believe it, for his face wore an expression distinctly gastronomical. Pinkerton had received from this monarch

a cabinet appointment; I have seen the brevet, wondering mainly at the good nature of the printer who had

executed the forms, and I think my friend was at the head either of foreign affairs or education: it mattered,

indeed, nothing, the prestation being in all offices identical. It was at a comparatively early date that I saw

Jim in the exercise of his public functions. His Majesty entered the officea portly, rather flabby man, with

the face of a gentleman, rendered unspeakably pathetic and absurd by the great sabre at his side and the

"I have called to remind you, Mr. Pinkerton, that you are somewhat in arrear of taxes," he said, with

"Well, your Majesty, what is the amount?" asked Jim; and when the figure was named (it was generally two

or three dollars), paid upon the nail and offered a bonus in the shape of Thirteen Star.

"I am always delighted to patronise native industries," said Norton the First. "San Francisco is publicspirited

in what concerns its Emperor; and indeed, sir, of all my domains, it is my favourite city."

"It's really rather a distinction," Jim admitted. "I think it must have been the umbrella racket that attracted

We were distinguished under the rose by the notice of other and greater men. There were days when Jim

wore an air of unusual capacity and resolve, spoke with more brevity like one pressed for time, and took often

on his tongue such phrases as "Longhurst told me so this morning," or "I had it straight from Longhurst

himself." It was no wonder, I used to think, that Pinkerton was called to council with such Titans; for the

creature's quickness and resource were beyond praise. In the early days when he consulted me without

reserve, pacing the room, projecting, ciphering, extending hypothetical interests, trebling imaginary capital,

his "engine" (to renew an excellent old word) labouring full steam ahead, I could never decide whether my

sense of respect or entertainment were the stronger. But these good hours were destined to curtailment.

"Yes, it's smart enough," I once observed. "But, Pinkerton, do you think it's honest?"

"You don't think it's honest!" he wailed. "O dear me, that ever I should have heard such an expression on your

At sight of his distress, I plagiarised unblushingly from Myner. "You seem to think honesty as simple as

Blind Man's Buff," said I. "It's a more delicate affair than that: delicate as any art."

"I am perfectly certain of one thing: that what you propose is dishonest," I returned.

Thus, almost at a word, my point was carried. But the trouble was that such differences continued to recur,

until we began to regard each other with alarm. If there were one thing Pinkerton valued himself upon, it was

his honesty; if there were one thing he clung to, it was my good opinion; and when both were involved, as

was the case in these commercial cruces, the man was on the rack. My own position, if you consider how

much I owed him, how hateful is the trade of faultfinder, and that yet I lived and fattened on these

questionable operations, was perhaps equally distressing. If I had been more sterling or more combative

things might have gone extremely far. But, in truth, I was just base enough to profit by what was not forced

on my attention, rather than seek scenes: Pinkerton quite cunning enough to avail himself of my weakness;

and it was a relief to both when he began to involve his proceedings in a decent mystery.

Our last dispute, which had a most unlookedfor consequence, turned on the refitting of condemned ships.

He had bought a miserable hulk, and came, rubbing his hands, to inform me she was already on the slip,

under a new name, to be repaired. When first I had heard of this industry I suppose I scarcely comprehended;

He leaped like a man shot. "What next?" he cried. "What ails you, anyway? You seem to me to dislike

"But I tell you it's a deal. The ship's in splendid condition; there's next to nothing wrong with her but the

garboard streak and the sternpost. I tell you Lloyd's is a ring like everybody else; only it's an English ring, and

that's what deceives you. If it was American, you would be crying it down all day. It's Anglomania, common

"Great Caesar! isn't all speculation a risk? Isn't the fairest kind of shipowning to risk men's lives? And

mininghow's that for risk? And look at the elevator businessthere's danger, if you like! Didn't I take my

risk when I bought her? She might have been too far gone; and where would I have been? Loudon," he cried,

"I condemn you out of your own lips," I replied. "'The fairest kind of shipowning,' says you. If you please, let

The shot told; the Irrepressible was silenced; and I profited by the chance to pour in a broadside of another

sort. He was all sunk in moneygetting, I pointed out; he never dreamed of anything but dollars. Where were

all his generous, progressive sentiments? Where was his culture? I asked. And where was the American

"It's true, Loudon," he cried, striding up and down the room, and wildly scouring at his hair. "You're perfectly

right. I'm becoming materialised. O, what a thing to have to say, what a confession to make! Materialised!

Me! Loudon, this must go on no longer. You've been a loyal friend to me once more; give me your

hand!you've saved me again. I must do something to rouse the spiritual side; something desperate; study

something, something dry and tough. What shall it be? Theology? Algebra? What's Algebra?"

The next day, by application to one of his typewriting women, he got word of a young lady, one Miss

Mamie McBride, who was willing and able to conduct him in these bloomless meadows; and, her

circumstances being lean, and terms consequently moderate, he and Mamie were soon in agreement for two

lessons in the week. He took fire with unexampled rapidity; he seemed unable to tear himself away from the

symbolic art; an hour's lesson occupied the whole evening; and the original two was soon increased to four,

and then to five. I bade him beware of female blandishments. "The first thing you know, you'll be falling in

"Don't say it even in jest," he cried. "She's a lady I revere. I could no more lay a hand upon her than I could

Meanwhile I had been long expostulating with my friend upon a different matter. "I'm the fifth wheel," I kept

telling him. "For any use I am, I might as well be in Senegambia. The letters you give me to attend to might

be answered by a sucking child. And I tell you what it is, Pinkerton: either you've got to find me some

This I said with a corner of my eye in the usual quarter, toward the arts, little dreaming what destiny was to

"I've got it, Loudon," Pinkerton at last replied. "Got the idea on the Potrero cars. Found I hadn't a pencil,

borrowed one from the conductor, and figured on it roughly all the way in town. I saw it was the thing at last;

gives you a real show. All your talents and accomplishments come in. Here's a sketch advertisement. Just run

your eye over it. "Sun, Ozone, and Music! PINKERTON'S HEBDOMADARY PICNICS!" (That's a good,

catching phrase, "hebdomadary," though it's hard to say. I made a note of it when I was looking in the

dictionary how to spell hectagonal. 'Well, you're a boss word,' I said. 'Before you're very much older, I'll have

you in type as long as yourself.' And here it is, you see.) 'Five dollars a head, and ladies free. MONSTER

OLIO OF ATTRACTIONS.' (How does that strike you?) 'Free luncheon under the greenwood tree. Dance on

the elastic sward. Home again in the Bright Evening Hours. Manager and Honorary Steward, H. Loudon

Singular how a man runs from Scylla to Charybdis! I was so intent on securing the disappearance of a single

epithet that I accepted the rest of the advertisement and all that it involved without discussion. So it befell that

the words "wellknown connoisseur" were deleted; but that H. Loudon Dodd became manager and honorary

steward of Pinkerton's Hebdomadary Picnics, soon shortened, by popular consent, to the Dromedary.

By eight o'clock, any Sunday morning, I was to be observed by an admiring public on the wharf. The garb

and attributes of sacrifice consisted of a black frock coat, rosetted, its pockets bulging with sweetmeats and

inferior cigars, trousers of light blue, a silk hat like a reflector, and a varnished wand. A goodly steamer

guarded my one flank, panting and throbbing, flags fluttering fore and aft of her, illustrative of the

Dromedary and patriotism. My other flank was covered by the ticketoffice, strongly held by a trusty character

of the Scots persuasion, rosetted like his superior and smoking a cigar to mark the occasion festive. At

halfpast, having assured myself that all was well with the free luncheons, I lit a cigar myself, and awaited

the strains of the "Pioneer Band." I had never to wait longthey were German and punctualand by a few

minutes after the halfhour, I would hear them booming down street with a long military roll of drums, some

score of gratuitous asses prancing at the head in bearskin hats and buckskin aprons, and conspicuous with

resplendent axes. The band, of course, we paid for; but so strong is the San Franciscan passion for public

masquerade, that the asses (as I say) were all gratuitous, pranced for the love of it, and cost us nothing but

The musicians formed up in the bows of my steamer, and struck into a skittish polka; the asses mounted

guard upon the gangway and the ticketoffice; and presently after, in family parties of father, mother, and

children, in the form of duplicate lovers or in that of solitary youth, the public began to descend upon us by

the carful at a time; four to six hundred perhaps, with a strong German flavour, and all merry as children.

When these had been shepherded on board, and the inevitable belated two or three had gained the deck

amidst the cheering of the public, the hawser was cast off, and we plunged into the bay.

And now behold the honorary steward in hour of duty and glory; see me circulate amid crowd, radiating

affability and laughter, liberal with my sweetmeats and cigars. I say unblushing things to hobbledehoy girls,

tell shy young persons this is the married people's boat, roguishly ask the abstracted if they are thinking of

their sweethearts, offer Paterfamilias a cigar, am struck with the beauty and grow curious about the age of

mamma's youngest who (I assure her gaily) will be a man before his mother; or perhaps it may occur to me,

from the sensible expression of her face, that she is a person of good counsel, and I ask her earnestly if she

knows any particularly pleasant place on the Saucelito or San Rafael coast, for the scene of our picnic is

always supposed to be uncertain. The next moment I am back at my giddy badinage with the young ladies,

wakening laughter as I go, and leaving in my wake applausive comments of "Isn't Mr. Dodd a funny

An hour having passed in this airy manner, I start upon my rounds afresh, with a bag full of coloured tickets,

all with pins attached, and all with legible inscriptions: "Old Germany," "California," "True Love," "Old

Fogies," "La Belle France," "Green Erin," "The Land of Cakes," "Washington," "Blue Jay," "Robin

RedBreast,"twenty of each denomination; for when it comes to the luncheon, we sit down by twenties.

These are distributed with anxious tactfor, indeed, this is the most delicate part of my functionsbut

outwardly with reckless unconcern, amidst the gayest flutter and confusion; and are immediately after sported

upon hats and bonnets, to the extreme diffusion of cordiality, total strangers hailing each other by "the

number of their mess"so we humorously name itand the deck ringing with cries of, "Here, all Blue Jays

to the rescue!" or, "I say, am I alone in this blame' ship? Ain't there no more Californians?"

By this time we are drawing near to the appointed spot. I mount upon the bridge, the observed of all

"Captain," I say, in clear, emphatic tones, heard far and wide, "the majority of the company appear to be in

"All right, Mr. Dodd," responds the captain, heartily; "all one to me. I am not exactly sure of the place you

I do, pointing with my wand. I do pilot him, to the inexpressible entertainment of the picnic; for I am (why

should I deny it?) the popular man. We slow down off the mouth of a grassy valley, watered by a brook, and

set in pines and redwoods. The anchor is let go; the boats are lowered, two of them already packed with the

materials of an impromptu bar; and the Pioneer Band, accompanied by the resplendent asses, fill the other,

and move shoreward to the inviting strains of Buffalo Gals, won't you come out tonight? It is a part of our

programme that one of the asses shall, from sheer clumsiness, in the course of this embarkation, drop a

dummy axe into the water, whereupon the mirth of the picnic can hardly be assuaged. Upon one occasion, the

In from ten to twenty minutes the boats are alongside again, the messes are marshalled separately on the

deck, and the picnic goes ashore, to find the band and the impromptu bar awaiting them. Then come the

hampers, which are piled upon the beach, and surrounded by a stern guard of stalwart asses, axe on shoulder.

It is here I take my place, notebook in hand, under a banner bearing the legend, "Come here for hampers."

Each hamper contains a complete outfit for a separate twenty, cold provender, plates, glasses, knives, forks,

and spoons: an agonized printed appeal from the fevered pen of Pinkerton, pasted on the inside of the lid,

beseeches that care be taken of the glass and silver. Beer, wine, and lemonade are flowing already from the

bar, and the various clans of twenty file away into the woods, with bottles under their arms, and the hampers

strung upon a stick. Till one they feast there, in a very moderate seclusion, all being within earshot of the

band. From one till four, dancing takes place upon the grass; the bar does a roaring business; and the

honorary steward, who has already exhausted himself to bring life into the dullest of the messes, must now

indefatigably dance with the plainest of the women. At four a buglecall is sounded; and by halfpast behold

us on board again, pioneers, corrugated iron bar, empty bottles, and all; while the honorary steward, free at

last, subsides into the captain's cabin over a brandy and soda and a book. Free at last, I say; yet there remains

before him the frantic leavetakings at the pier, and a sober journey up to Pinkerton's office with two

What I have here sketched was the routine. But we appealed to the taste of San Francisco more distinctly in

particular fetes. "Ye Olde Time PyckeNycke," largely advertised in handbills beginning "Oyez, Oyez!"

and largely frequented by knights, monks, and cavaliers, was drowned out by unseasonable rain, and returned

to the city one of the saddest spectacles I ever remember to have witnessed. In pleasing contrast, and certainly

our chief success, was "The Gathering of the Clans," or Scottish picnic. So many milkwhite knees were

never before simultaneously exhibited in public, and to judge by the prevalence of "Royal Stewart" and the

number of eagle's feathers, we were a highborn company. I threw forward the Scottish flank of my own

ancestry, and passed muster as a clansman with applause. There was, indeed, but one small cloud on this

redletter day. I had laid in a large supply of the national beverage, in the shape of The "Rob Roy MacGregor

O" Blend, Warranted Old and Vatted; and this must certainly have been a generous spirit, for I had some

anxious work between four and halfpast, conveying on board the inanimate forms of chieftains.

To one of our ordinary festivities, where he was the life and soul of his own mess, Pinkerton himself came

incognito, bringing the algebraist on his arm. Miss Mamie proved to be a wellenoughlooking mouse, with

a large, limpid eye, very good manners, and a flow of the most correct expressions I have ever heard upon the

human lip. As Pinkerton's incognito was strict, I had little opportunity to cultivate the lady's acquaintance; but

I was informed afterwards that she considered me "the wittiest gentleman she had ever met." "The Lord mend

your taste in wit!" thought I; but I cannot conceal that such was the general impression. One of my

pleasantries even went the round of San Francisco, and I have heard it (myself all unknown) bandied in

saloons. To be unknown began at last to be a rare experience; a bustle woke upon my passage; above all, in

humble neighbourhoods. "Who's that?" one would ask, and the other would cry, "That! Why, Dromedary

Dodd!" or, with withering scorn, "Not know Mr. Dodd of the Picnics? Well!" and indeed I think it marked a

rather barren destiny; for our picnics, if a trifle vulgar, were as gay and innocent as the age of gold; I am sure

no people divert themselves so easily and so well: and even with the cares of my stewardship, I was often

Indeed, there were but two drawbacks in the least considerable. The first was my terror of the hobbledehoy

girls, to whom (from the demands of my situation) I was obliged to lay myself so open. The other, if less

momentous, was more mortifying. In early days, at my mother's knee, as a man may say, I had acquired the

unenviable accomplishment (which I have never since been able to lose) of singing _Just before the Battle._ I

have what the French call a fillet of voice, my best notes scarce audible about a dinnertable, and the upper

were the best singer in the world, does _Just before the Battle_ occur to my mature taste as the song that I

would choose to sing. In spite of all which considerations, at one picnic, memorably dull, and after I had

exhausted every other art of pleasing, I gave, in desperation, my one song. From that hour my doom was gone

forth. Either we had a chronic passenger (though I could never detect him), or the very wood and iron of the

steamer must have retained the tradition. At every successive picnic word went round that Mr. Dodd was a

singer; that Mr. Dodd sang _Just before the Battle_, and finally that now was the time when Mr. Dodd sang

_Just before the Battle;_ so that the thing became a fixture like the dropping of the dummy axe, and you are

to conceive me, Sunday after Sunday, piping up my lamentable ditty and covered, when it was done, with

gratuitous applause. It is a beautiful trait in human nature that I was invariably offered an encore.

I was well paid, however, even to sing. Pinkerton and I, after an average Sunday, had five hundred dollars to

divide. Nay, and the picnics were the means, although indirectly, of bringing me a singular windfall. This was

at the end of the season, after the "Grand Farewell Fancy Dress Gala." Many of the hampers had suffered

severely; and it was judged wiser to save storage, dispose of them, and lay in a fresh stock when the

campaign reopened. Among my purchasers was a workingman of the name of Speedy, to whose house, after

several unavailing letters, I must proceed in person, wondering to find myself once again on the wrong side,

and playing the creditor to some one else's debtor. Speedy was in the belligerent stage of fear. He could not

pay. It appeared he had already resold the hampers, and he defied me to do my worst. I did not like to lose my

own money; I hated to lose Pinkerton's; and the bearing of my creditor incensed me.

"Do you know, Mr. Speedy, that I can send you to the penitentiary?" said I, willing to read him a lesson.

The dire expression was overheard in the next room. A large, fresh, motherly Irishwoman ran forth upon the

instant, and fell to besiege me with caresses and appeals. "Sure now, and ye couldn't have the heart to ut, Mr.

Dodd, you, that's so well known to be a pleasant gentleman; and it's a pleasant face ye have, and the picture

of me own brother that's dead and gone. It's a truth that he's been drinking. Ye can smell it off of him, more

blame to him. But, indade, and there's nothing in the house beyont the furnicher, and Thim Stock. It's the

stock that ye'll be taking, dear. A sore penny it has cost me, first and last, and by all tales, not worth an owld

tobacco pipe." Thus adjured, and somewhat embarrassed by the stern attitude I had adopted, I suffered myself

to be invested with a considerable quantity of what is called wildcat stock, in which this excellent if illogical

female had been squandering her hardearned gold. It could scarce be said to better my position, but the step

quieted the woman; and, on the other hand, I could not think I was taking much risk, for the shares in

question (they were those of what I will call the Catamount Silver Mine) had fallen some time before to the

bedrock quotation, and now lay perfectly inert, or were only kicked (like other waste paper) about the

A month or two after, I perceived by the stocklist that Catamount had taken a bound; before afternoon,

"thim stock" were worth a quite considerable pot of money; and I learned, upon inquiry, that a bonanza had

been found in a condemned lead, and the mine was now expected to do wonders. Remarkable to philosophers

how bonanzas are found in condemned leads, and how the stock is always at freezingpoint immediately

before! By some stroke of chance the, Speedys had held on to the right thing; they had escaped the syndicate;

yet a little more, if I had not come to dun them, and Mrs. Speedy would have been buying a silk dress. I could

not bear, of course, to profit by the accident, and returned to offer restitution. The house was in a bustle; the

neighbours (all stockgamblers themselves) had crowded to condole; and Mrs. Speedy sat with streaming

tears, the centre of a sympathetic group. "For fifteen year I've been at ut," she was lamenting, as I entered,

"and grudging the babes the very milk, more shame to me! to pay their dhirty assessments. And now, my

dears, I should be a lady, and driving in my coach, if all had their rights; and a sorrow on that man Dodd! As

It was upon these words that I made my entrance, which was therefore dramatic enough, though nothing to

what followed. For when it appeared that I was come to restore the lost fortune, and when Mrs. Speedy (after

copiously weeping on my bosom) had refused the restitution, and when Mr. Speedy (summoned to that end

from a camp of the Grand Army of the Republic) had added his refusal, and when I had insisted, and they had

insisted, and the neighbours had applauded and supported each of us in turn; and when at last it was agreed

we were to hold the stock together, and share the proceeds in three partsone for me, one for Mr. Speedy,

and one for his spouseI will leave you to conceive the enthusiasm that reigned in that small, bare

apartment, with the sewingmachine in the one corner, and the babes asleep in the other, and pictures of

Garfield and the Battle of Gettysburg on the yellow walls. Port wine was had in by a sympathiser, and we

"And I dhrink to your health, my dear," sobbed Mrs. Speedy, especially affected by my gallantry in the

matter of the third share; "and I'm sure we all dhrink to his healthMr. Dodd of the picnics, no gentleman

better known than him; and it's my prayer, dear, the good God may be long spared to see ye in health and

In the end I was the chief gainer; for I sold my third while it was worth five thousand dollars, but the Speedys

more adventurously held on until the syndicate reversed the process, when they were happy to escape with

perhaps a quarter of that sum. It was just as well; for the bulk of the money was (in Pinkerton's phrase)

reinvested; and when next I saw Mrs. Speedy, she was still gorgeously dressed from the proceeds of the late

success, but was already moist with tears over the new catastrophe. "We're froze out, me darlin'! All the

money we had, dear, and the sewingmachine, and Jim's uniform, was in the Golden West; and the vipers has

A result on which I am not ashamed to say I looked with gratitude and pride. Some eight thousand (being late

conquest) was liquid and actually tractile in the bank; the rest whirled beyond reach and even sight (save in

the mirror of a balancesheet) under the compelling spell of wizard Pinkerton. Dollars of mine were tacking

off the shores of Mexico, in peril of the deep and the guardacostas; they rang on salooncounters in the city

of Tombstone, Arizona; they shone in farotents among the mountain diggings; the imagination flagged in

following them, so wide were they diffused, so briskly they span to the turning of the wizard's crank. But

here, there, or everywhere I could still tell myself it was all mine, and what was more convincing, draw

substantial dividends. My fortune, I called it; and it represented, when expressed in dollars, or even British

pounds, an honest pot of money; when extended into francs, a veritable fortune. Perhaps I have let the cat out

of the bag; perhaps you see already where my hopes were pointing, and begin to blame my inconsistency. But

About a week after the picnic to which he escorted Mamie, Pinkerton avowed the state of his affections.

From what I had observed on board the steamer, where methought Mamie waited on him with her limpid

eyes, I encouraged the bashful lover to proceed; and the very next evening he was carrying me to call on his

"You must befriend her, Loudon, as you have always befriended me," he said, pathetically.

"By saying disagreeable things? I doubt if that be the way to a young lady's favour," I replied; "and since this

"Yes, you do nobly there; I can't describe how I admire you," he cried. "Not that she will ever need it; she has

had every advantage. God knows what I have done to deserve her. O man, what a responsibility this is for a

But when we reached Mamie's boardinghouse, it was almost with tears that he presented me. "Here is

Loudon, Mamie," were his words. "I want you to love him; he has a grand nature."

"You are certainly no stranger to me, Mr. Dodd," was her gracious expression. "James is never weary of

"My dear lady," said I, "when you know our friend a little better, you will make a large allowance for his

warm heart. My goodness has consisted in allowing him to feed and clothe and toil for me when he could ill

afford it. If I am now alive, it is to him I owe it; no man had a kinder friend. You must take good care of

him," I added, laying my hand on his shoulder, "and keep him in good order, for he needs it."

Pinkerton was much affected by this speech, and so, I fear, was Mamie. I admit it was a tactless performance.

"When you know our friend a little better," was not happily said; and even "keep him in good order, for he

needs it" might be construed into matter of offence; but I lay it before you in all confidence of your acquittal:

was the general tone of it "patronising"? Even if such was the verdict of the lady, I cannot but suppose the

blame was neither wholly hers nor wholly mine; I cannot but suppose that Pinkerton had already sickened the

poor woman of my very name; so that if I had come with the songs of Apollo, she must still have been

Here, however, were two fingerposts to Paris. Jim was going to be married, and so had the less need of my

society. I had not pleased his bride, and so was, perhaps, better absent. Late one evening I broached the idea

to my friend. It had been a great day for me; I had just banked my five thousand catamountain dollars; and as

Jim had refused to lay a finger on the stock, risk and profit were both wholly mine, and I was celebrating the

event with stout and crackers. I began by telling him that if it caused him any pain or any anxiety about his

affairs, he had but to say the word, and he should hear no more of my proposal. He was the truest and best

friend I ever had or was ever like to have; and it would be a strange thing if I refused him any favour he was

sure he wanted. At the same time I wished him to be sure; for my life was wasting in my hands. I was like

one from home; all my true interests summoned me away. I must remind him, besides, that he was now about

to marry and assume new interests, and that our extreme familiarity might be even painful to his wife."O

no, Loudon; I feel you are wrong there," he interjected warmly; "she DOES appreciate your nature."So

much the better, then, I continued; and went on to point out that our separation need not be for long; that, in

the way affairs were going, he might join me in two years with a fortune, small, indeed, for the States, but in

France almost conspicuous; that we might unite our resources, and have one house in Paris for the winter and

a second near Fontainebleau for summer, where we could be as happy as the day was long, and bring up little

Pinkertons as practical artistic workmen, far from the moneyhunger of the West. "Let me go then," I

concluded; "not as a deserter, but as the vanguard, to lead the march of the Pinkerton men."

So I argued and pleaded, not without emotion; my friend sitting opposite, resting his chin upon his hand and

(but for that single interjection) silent. "I have been looking for this, Loudon," said he, when I had done. "It

does pain me, and that's the factI'm so miserably selfish. And I believe it's a death blow to the picnics; for

it's idle to deny that you were the heart and soul of them with your wand and your gallant bearing, and wit

and humour and chivalry, and throwing that kind of society atmosphere about the thing. But for all that,

you're right, and you ought to go. You may count on forty dollars a week; and if Depew Cityone of

nature's centres for this Statepan out the least as I expect, it may be double. But it's forty dollars anyway;

"Well, the brutes gave you nothing, and I'm glad of it now!" cried Jim. "It's the triumphant return I glory in!

Think of the master, and that coldblooded Myner too! Yes, just let the Depew City boom get on its legs, and

you shall go; and two years later, day for day, I'll shake hands with you in Paris, with Mamie on my arm, God

We talked in this vein far into the night. I was myself so exultant in my newfound liberty, and Pinkerton so

proud of my triumph, so happy in my happiness, in so warm a glow about the gallant little woman of his

choice, and the very room so filled with castles in the air and cottages at Fontainebleau, that it was little

wonder if sleep fled our eyelids, and three had followed two upon the office clock before Pinkerton unfolded

It is very much the custom to view life as if it were exactly ruled in two, like sleep and waking; the provinces

of play and business standing separate. The business side of my career in San Francisco has been now

disposed of; I approach the chapter of diversion; and it will be found they had about an equal share in

building up the story of the Wreckera gentleman whose appearance may be presently expected.

With all my occupations, some six afternoons and two or three odd evenings remained at my disposal every

week: a circumstance the more agreeable as I was a stranger in a city singularly picturesque. From what I had

once called myself, The Amateur Parisian, I grew (or declined) into a waterside prowler, a lingerer on

wharves, a frequenter of shy neighbourhoods, a scraper of acquaintance with eccentric characters. I visited

Chinese and Mexican gamblinghells, German secret societies, sailors' boardinghouses, and "dives" of

every complexion of the disreputable and dangerous. I have seen greasy Mexican hands pinned to the table

with a knife for cheating, seamen (when bloodmoney ran high) knocked down upon the public street and

carried insensible on board shorthanded ships, shots exchanged, and the smoke (and the company) dispersing

from the doors of the saloon. I have heard coldminded Polacks debate upon the readiest method of burning

San Francisco to the ground, hotheaded working men and women bawl and swear in the tribune at the

Sandlot, and Kearney himself open his subscription for a gallows, name the manufacturers who were to grace

it with their dangling bodies, and read aloud to the delighted multitude a telegram of adhesion from a member

of the State legislature: all which preparations of proletarian war were (in a moment) breathed upon and

abolished by the mere name and fame of Mr. Coleman. That lion of the Vigilantes had but to rouse himself

and shake his ears, and the whole brawling mob was silenced. I could not but reflect what a strange manner

of man this was, to be living unremarked there as a private merchant, and to be so feared by a whole city; and

if I was disappointed, in my character of lookeron, to have the matter end ingloriously without the firing of

a shot or the hanging of a single millionnaire, philosophy tried to tell me that this sight was truly the more

picturesque. In a thousand towns and different epochs I might have had occasion to behold the cowardice and

carnage of street fighting; where else, but only there and then, could I have enjoyed a view of Coleman (the

intermittent despot) walking meditatively up hill in a quiet part of town, with a very rolling gait, and slapping

Minora Canamus. This historic figure stalks silently through a corner of the San Francisco of my memory:

the rest is bricabrac, the reminiscences of a vagrant sketcher. My delight was much in slums. Little Italy was

a haunt of mine; there I would look in at the windows of small eatingshops, transported bodily from Genoa

or Naples, with their macaroni, and chianti flasks, and portraits of Garibaldi, and coloured political

caricatures; or (entering in) hold high debate with some earringed fisher of the bay as to the designs of "Mr.

Owstria" and "Mr. Rooshia." I was often to be observed (had there been any to observe me) in that

dispeopled, hillside solitude of Little Mexico, with its crazy wooden houses, endless crazy wooden stairs,

and perilous mountain goatpaths in the sand. Chinatown by a thousand eccentricities drew and held me; I

could never have enough of its ambiguous, interracial atmosphere, as of a vitalised museum; never wonder

enough at its outlandish, necromanticlooking vegetables set forth to sell in commonplace American

shopwindows, its temple doors open and the scent of the jossstick streaming forth on the American air, its

kites of Oriental fashion hanging fouled in Western telegraphwires, its flights of paper prayers which the

tradewind hunts and dissipates along Western gutters. I was a frequent wanderer on North Beach, gazing at

the straits, and the huge CapeHorners creeping out to sea, and imminent Tamalpais. Thence, on my

homeward way, I might visit that strange and filthy shed, earthpaved and walled with the cages of wild

animals and birds, where at a ramshackle counter, amid the yells of monkeys, and a poignant atmosphere of

menagerie, fortyrod whiskey was administered by a proprietor as dirty as his beasts. Nor did I even neglect

Nob Hill, which is itself a kind of slum, being the habitat of the mere millionnaire. There they dwell upon the

hilltop, high raised above man's clamour, and the tradewind blows between their palaces about deserted

But San Francisco is not herself only. She is not only the most interesting city in the Union, and the hugest

smeltingpot of races and the precious metals. She keeps, besides, the doors of the Pacific, and is the port of

entry to another world and an earlier epoch in man's history. Nowhere else shall you observe (in the ancient

phrase) so many tall ships as here convene from round the Horn, from China, from Sydney, and the Indies;

but scarce remarked amid that crowd of deepsea giants, another class of craft, the Island schooner,

circulates: low in the water, with lofty spars and dainty lines, rigged and fashioned like a yacht, manned with

brownskinned, softspoken, sweeteyed native sailors, and equipped with their great doubleender boats

that tell a tale of boisterous seabeaches. These steal out and in again, unnoted by the world or even the

newspaper press, save for the line in the clearing column, "Schooner Soandso for Yap and South Sea

Islands"steal out with nondescript cargoes of tinned salmon, gin, bolts of gaudy cotton stuff, women's hats,

and Waterbury watches, to return, after a year, piled as high as to the eaves of the house with copra, or

wallowing deep with the shells of the tortoise or the pearl oyster. To me, in my character of the Amateur

Parisian, this island traffic, and even the island world, were beyond the bounds of curiosity, and how much

more of knowledge. I stood there on the extreme shore of the West and of today. Seventeen hundred years

ago, and seven thousand miles to the east, a legionary stood, perhaps, upon the wall of Antoninus, and looked

northward toward the mountains of the Picts. For all the interval of time and space, I, when I looked from the

cliffhouse on the broad Pacific, was that man's heir and analogue: each of us standing on the verge of the

Roman Empire (or, as we now call it, Western civilization), each of us gazing onward into zones

unromanised. But I was dull. I looked rather backward, keeping a kind eye on Paris; and it required a series of

converging incidents to change my attitude of nonchalance for one of interest, and even longing, which I little

The first of these incidents brought me in acquaintance with a certain San Francisco character, who had

something of a name beyond the limits of the city, and was known to many lovers of good English. I had

discovered a new slum, a place of precarious, sandy cliffs, deep, sandy cuttings, solitary, ancient houses, and

the buttends of streets. It was already environed. The ranks of the streetlamps threaded it unbroken. The

city, upon all sides of it, was tightly packed, and growled with traffic. Today, I do not doubt the very

landmarks are all swept away; but it offered then, within narrow limits, a delightful peace, and (in the

morning, when I chiefly went there) a seclusion almost rural. On a steep sandhill, in this neighbourhood,

toppled, on the most insecure foundation, a certain row of houses, each with a bit of garden, and all (I have to

presume) inhabited. Thither I used to mount by a crumbling footpath, and in front of the last of the houses,

would sit down to sketch. The very first day I saw I was observed, out of the groundfloor window by a

youngish, goodlooking fellow, prematurely bald, and with an expression both lively and engaging. The

second, as we were still the only figures in the landscape, it was no more than natural that we should nod. The

third, he came out fairly from his intrenchments, praised my sketch, and with the impromptu cordiality of

artists carried me into his apartment; where I sat presently in the midst of a museum of strange

objects,paddles and battleclubs and baskets, roughhewn stone images, ornaments of threaded shell,

cocoanut bowls, snowy cocoanut plumesevidences and examples of another earth, another climate, another

race, and another (if a ruder) culture. Nor did these objects lack a fitting commentary in the conversation of

my new acquaintance. Doubtless you have read his book. You know already how he tramped and starved,

and had so fine a profit of living, in his days among the islands; and meeting him, as I did, one artist with

another, after months of offices and picnics, you can imagine with what charm he would speak, and with

what pleasure I would hear. It was in such talks, which we were both eager to repeat, that I first heard the

namesfirst fell under the spellof the islands; and it was from one of the first of them that I returned (a

happy man) with _Omoo_ under one arm, and my friend's own adventures under the other.

The second incident was more dramatic, and had, besides, a bearing on my future. I was standing, one day,

near a boatlanding under Telegraph Hill. A large barque, perhaps of eighteen hundred tons, was coming more

than usually close about the point to reach her moorings; and I was observing her with languid inattention,

when I observed two men to stride across the bulwarks, drop into a shore boat, and, violently dispossessing

the boatman of his oars, pull toward the landing where I stood. In a surprisingly short time they came tearing

up the steps; and I could see that both were too well dressed to be foremast handsthe first even with

research, and both, and specially the first, appeared under the empire of some strong emotion.

"This way," said I, immediately falling in with their precipitate pace. "What's wrong? What ship is that?"

"That's the Gleaner," he replied. "I am chief officer, this gentleman's third; and we've to get in our depositions

before the crew. You see they might corral us with the captain; and that's no kind of berth for me. I've sailed

with some hard cases in my time, and seen pins flying like sand on a squally daybut never a match to our

old man. It never let up from the Hook to the Farallones; and the last man was dropped not sixteen hours ago.

Packet rats our men were, and as tough a crowd as ever sandbagged a man's head in; but they looked sick

"You make me tired," retorted his superior. "If he gets ashore in one piece and isn't lynched in the next ten

minutes, he'll do yet. The owners have a longer memory than the public; they'll stand by him; they don't find

"O, he's a son of a gun of a fine captain; there ain't no doubt of that," concurred the other, heartily. "Why, I

"Not to sailormen before the mast," agreed the mate. "Men cleared out; wasn't the soft job they maybe took

I could not but observe that our pace was progressively relaxing; and indeed I have often wondered since

whether the hurry of the start were not intended for the gallery alone. Certain it is at least, that when we had

reached the police office, and the mates had made their deposition, and told their horrid tale of five men

murdered, some with savage passion, some with cold brutality, between Sandy Hook and San Francisco, the

police were despatched in time to be too late. Before we arrived, the ruffian had slipped out upon the dock,

had mingled with the crowd, and found a refuge in the house of an acquaintance; and the ship was only

tenanted by his late victims. Well for him that he had been thus speedy. For when word began to go abroad

among the shoreside characters, when the last victim was carried by to the hospital, when those who had

escaped (as by miracle) from that floating shambles, began to circulate and show their wounds in the crowd,

it was strange to witness the agitation that seized and shook that portion of the city. Men shed tears in public;

bosses of lodginghouses, long inured to brutality, and above all, brutality to sailors, shook their fists at

heaven: if hands could have been laid on the captain of the Gleaner, his shrift would have been short. That

night (so gossip reports) he was headed up in a barrel and smuggled across the bay: in two ships already he

had braved the penitentiary and the gallows; and yet, by last accounts, he now commands another on the

As I have said, I was never quite certain whether Mr. Nares (the mate) did not intend that his superior should

escape. It would have been like his preference of loyalty to law; it would have been like his prejudice, which

was all in favour of the afterguard. But it must remain a matter of conjecture only. Well as I came to know

him in the sequel, he was never communicative on that point, nor indeed on any that concerned the voyage of

the Gleaner. Doubtless he had some reason for his reticence. Even during our walk to the police office, he

debated several times with Johnson, the third officer, whether he ought not to give up himself, as well as to

denounce the captain. He had decided in the negative, arguing that "it would probably come to nothing; and

even if there was a stink, he had plenty good friends in San Francisco." And to nothing it came; though it

must have very nearly come to something, for Mr. Nares disappeared immediately from view and was scarce

Johnson, on the other hand, I often met. I could never learn this man's country; and though he himself

claimed to be American, neither his English nor his education warranted the claim. In all likelihood he was of

Scandinavian birth and blood, long pickled in the forecastles of English and American ships. It is possible

that, like so many of his race in similar positions, he had already lost his native tongue. In mind, at least, he

was quite denationalised; thought only in Englishto call it so; and though by nature one of the mildest,

kindest, and most feebly playful of mankind, he had been so long accustomed to the cruelty of sea discipline,

that his stories (told perhaps with a giggle) would sometimes turn me chill. In appearance, he was tall, light of

weight, bold and highbred of feature, duskyhaired, and with a face of a clean even brown: the ornament of

outdoor men. Seated in a chair, you might have passed him off for a baronet or a military officer; but let him

rise, and it was Fo'c's'le Jack that came rolling toward you, crablike; let him but open his lips, and it was

Fo'c's'le Jack that piped and drawled his ungrammatical gibberish. He had sailed (among other places) much

among the islands; and after a Cape Horn passage with its snowsqualls and its frozen sheets, he announced

his intention of "taking a turn among them Kanakas." I thought I should have lost him soon; but according to

the unwritten usage of mariners, he had first to dissipate his wages. "Guess I'll have to paint this town red,"

was his hyperbolical expression; for sure no man ever embarked upon a milder course of dissipation, most of

his days being passed in the little parlour behind Black Tom's public house, with a select corps of old

particular acquaintances, all from the South Seas, and all patrons of a long yarn, a short pipe, and glasses

Black Tom's, to the front, presented the appearance of a fourthrate saloon, devoted to Kanaka seamen, dirt,

negrohead tobacco, bad cigars, worse gin, and guitars and banjos in a state of decline. The proprietor, a

powerful coloured man, was at once a publican, a ward politician, leader of some brigade of "lambs" or

"smashers," at the wind of whose clubs the party bosses and the mayor were supposed to tremble, and (what

hurt nothing) an active and reliable crimp. His front quarters, then, were noisy, disreputable, and not even

safe. I have seen worse frequented saloons where there were fewer scandals; for Tom was often drunk

himself; and there is no doubt the Lambs must have been a useful body, or the place would have been closed.

I remember one day, not long before an election, seeing a blind man, very well dressed, led up to the counter

and remain a long while in consultation with the negro. The pair looked so illassorted, and the awe with

which the drinkers fell back and left them in the midst of an impromptu privacy was so unusual in such a

place, that I turned to my next neighbour with a question. He told me the blind man was a distinguished party

boss, called by some the King of San Francisco, but perhaps better known by his picturesque Chinese

nickname of the Blind White Devil. "The Lambs must be wanted pretty bad, I guess," my informant added. I

have here a sketch of the Blind White Devil leaning on the counter; on the next page, and taken the same

hour, a jotting of Black Tom threatening a whole crowd of customers with a long Smith and Wesson: to such

Meanwhile, away in the back quarters, sat the small informal South Sea club, talking of another world and

surely of a different century. Old schooner captains they were, old South Sea traders, cooks, and mates: fine

creatures, softened by residence among a softer race: full men besides, though not by reading, but by strange

experience; and for days together I could hear their yarns with an unfading pleasure. All had indeed some

touch of the poetic; for the beachcomber, when not a mere ruffian, is the poor relation of the artist. Even

through Johnson's inarticulate speech, his "O yes, there ain't no harm in them Kanakas," or "O yes, that's a

son of a gun of a fine island, mountainious right down; I didn't never ought to have left that island," there

pierced a certain gusto of appreciation: and some of the rest were mastertalkers. From their long tales, their

traits of character and unpremeditated landscape, there began to piece itself together in my head some image

of the islands and the island life: precipitous shores, spired mountain tops, the deep shade of hanging forests,

the unresting surf upon the reef, and the unending peace of the lagoon; sun, moon, and stars of an imperial

brightness; man moving in these scenes scarce fallen, and woman lovelier than Eve; the primal curse

abrogated, the bed made ready for the stranger, life set to perpetual music, and the guest welcomed, the boat

urged, and the long night beguiled, with poetry and choral song. A man must have been an unsuccessful

artist; he must have starved on the streets of Paris; he must have been yoked to a commercial force like

Pinkerton, before he can conceive the longings that at times assailed me. The draughty, rowdy city of San

Francisco, the bustling office where my friend Jim paced like a caged lion daily between ten and four, even

(at times) the retrospect of Paris, faded in comparison. Many a man less tempted would have thrown up all to

realise his visions; but I was by nature unadventurous and uninitiative: to divert me from all former paths and

send me cruising through the isles of paradise, some force external to myself must be exerted; Destiny herself

must use the fitting wedge; and little as I deemed it, that tool was already in her hand of brass.

I sat, one afternoon, in the corner of a great, glassy, silvered saloon, a free lunch at my one elbow, at the other

a "conscientious nude" from the brush of local talent; when, with the tramp of feet and a sudden buzz of

voices, the swingdoors were flung broadly open and the place carried as by storm. The crowd which thus

entered (mostly seafaring men, and all prodigiously excited) contained a sort of kernel or general centre of

interest, which the rest merely surrounded and advertised, as children in the Old World surround and escort

the PunchandJudy man; the word went round the bar like wildfire that these were Captain Trent and the

survivors of the British brig Flying Scud, picked up by a British warship on Midway Island, arrived that

morning in San Francisco Bay, and now fresh from making the necessary declarations. Presently I had a good

sight of them: four brown, seamanlike fellows, standing by the counter, glass in hand, the centre of a score of

questioners. One was a Kanakathe cook, I was informed; one carried a cage with a canary, which

occasionally trilled into thin song; one had his left arm in a sling and looked gentlemanlike, and somewhat

sickly, as though the injury had been severe and he was scarce recovered; and the captain himselfa

redfaced, blueeyed, thickset man of five and forty wore a bandage on his right hand. The incident struck

me; I was struck particularly to see captain, cook, and foremost hands walking the street and visiting saloons

in company; and, as when anything impressed me, I got my sketchbook out, and began to steal a sketch of

the four castaways. The crowd, sympathising with my design, made a clear lane across the room; and I was

thus enabled, all unobserved myself, to observe with a stillgrowing closeness the face and the demeanour of

Warmed by whiskey and encouraged by the eagerness of the bystanders, that gentleman was now rehearsing

the history of his misfortune. It was but scraps that reached me: how he "filled her on the starboard tack," and

how "it came up sudden out of the nor'nor'west," and "there she was, high and dry." Sometimes he would

appeal to one of the men"That was how it was, Jack?"and the man would reply, "That was the way of it,

Captain Trent." Lastly, he started a fresh tide of popular sympathy by enunciating the sentiment, "Damn all

these Admirality Charts, and that's what I say!" From the nodding of heads and the murmurs of assent that

followed, I could see that Captain Trent had established himself in the public mind as a gentleman and a

thorough navigator: about which period, my sketch of the four men and the canarybird being finished, and

all (especially the canarybird) excellent likenesses, I buckled up my book, and slipped from the saloon.

Little did I suppose that I was leaving Act I, Scene I, of the drama of my life; and yet the scene, or rather the

captain's face, lingered for some time in my memory. I was no prophet, as I say; but I was something else: I

was an observer; and one thing I knew, I knew when a man was terrified. Captain Trent, of the British brig

Flying Scud, had been glib; he had been ready; he had been loud; but in his blue eyes I could detect the chill,

and in the lines of his countenance spy the agitation of perpetual terror. Was he trembling for his certificate?

In my judgment, it was some livelier kind of fear that thrilled in the man's marrow as he turned to drink. Was

it the result of recent shock, and had he not yet recovered the disaster to his brig? I remembered how a friend

of mine had been in a railway accident, and shook and started for a month; and although Captain Trent of the

Flying Scud had none of the appearance of a nervous man, I told myself, with incomplete conviction, that his

The next morning I found Pinkerton, who had risen before me, seated at our usual table, and deep in the

perusal of what I will call the _Daily Occidental_. This was a paper (I know not if it be so still) that stood out

alone among its brethren in the West; the others, down to their smallest item, were defaced with capitals,

headlines, alliterations, swaggering misquotations, and the shoddy picturesque and unpathetic pathos of the

Harry Millers: the _Occidental_ alone appeared to be written by a dull, sane, Christian gentleman, singly

desirous of communicating knowledge. It had not only this merit, which endeared it to me, but was

"Loudon," said he, looking up from the journal, "you sometimes think I have too many irons in the fire. My

notion, on the other hand, is, when you see a dollar lying, pick it up! Well, here I've tumbled over a whole

"Why, Jim, you miserable fellow!" I exclaimed; "haven't we Depew City, one of God's green centres for this

"Just listen to this," interrupted Jim. "It's miserable copy; these _Occidental_ reporter fellows have no fire;

"H.B.M.S. Tempest, which arrived yesterday at this port, brings Captain Trent and four men of the British

brig Flying Scud, cast away February 12th on Midway Island, and most providentially rescued the next day.

The Flying Scud was of 200 tons burthen, owned in London, and has been out nearly two years tramping.

Captain Trent left Hong Kong December 8th, bound for this port in rice and a small mixed cargo of silks,

teas, and China notions, the whole valued at $10,000, fully covered by insurance. The log shows plenty of

fine weather, with light airs, calms, and squalls. In lat. 28 N., long. 177 W., his water going rotten, and misled

by Hoyt's _North Pacific Directory_, which informed him there was a coaling station on the island, Captain

Trent put in to Midway Island. He found it a literal sandbank, surrounded by a coral reef mostly submerged.

Birds were very plenty, there was good fish in the lagoon, but no firewood; and the water, which could be

obtained by digging, brackish. He found good holdingground off the north end of the larger bank in fifteen

fathoms water; bottom sandy, with coral patches. Here he was detained seven days by a calm, the crew

suffering severely from the water, which was gone quite bad; and it was only on the evening of the 12th, that

a little wind sprang up, coming puffy out of N.N.E. Late as it was, Captain Trent immediately weighed

anchor and attempted to get out. While the vessel was beating up to the passage, the wind took a sudden lull,

and then veered squally into N. and even N.N.W., driving the brig ashore on the sand at about twenty minutes

before six o'clock. John Wallen, a native of Finland, and Charles Holdorsen, a native of Sweden, were

drowned alongside, in attempting to lower a boat, neither being able to swim, the squall very dark, and the

noise of the breakers drowning everything. At the same time John Brown, another of the crew, had his arm

broken by the falls. Captain Trent further informed the OCCIDENTAL reporter, that the brig struck heavily

at first bows on, he supposes upon coral; that she then drove over the obstacle, and now lies in sand, much

down by the head and with a list to starboard. In the first collision she must have sustained some damage, as

she was making water forward. The rice will probably be all destroyed: but the more valuable part of the

cargo is fortunately in the afterhold. Captain Trent was preparing his longboat for sea, when the providential

arrival of the Tempest, pursuant to Admiralty orders to call at islands in her course for castaways, saved the

gallant captain from all further danger. It is scarcely necessary to add that both the officers and men of the

unfortunate vessel speak in high terms of the kindness they received on board the manofwar. We print a

list of the survivors: Jacob Trent, master, of Hull, England; Elias Goddedaal, mate, native of Christiansand,

Sweden; Ah Wing, cook, native of Sana, China; John Brown, native of Glasgow, Scotland; John Hardy,

native of London, England. The Flying Scud is ten years old, and this morning will be sold as she stands, by

order of Lloyd's agent, at public auction for the benefit of the underwriters. The auction will take place in the

"Farther Particulars.Later in the afternoon the OCCIDENTAL reporter found Lieutenant Sebright, first

officer of H.B.M.S. Tempest, at the Palace Hotel. The gallant officer was somewhat pressed for time, but

confirmed the account given by Captain Trent in all particulars. He added that the Flying Scud is in an

excellent berth, and except in the highly improbable event of a heavy N.W. gale, might last until next winter."

"You will never know anything of literature," said I, when Jim had finished. "That is a good, honest, plain

piece of work, and tells the story clearly. I see only one mistake: the cook is not a Chinaman; he is a Kanaka,

"I saw the whole gang yesterday in a saloon," said I. "I even heard the tale, or might have heard it, from

"Well, that's neither here nor there," cried Pinkerton. "The point is, how about these dollars lying on a reef?"

"Pay like a sugar trust!" exclaimed Pinkerton. "Don't you see what this British officer says about the safety?

Don't you see the cargo's valued at ten thousand? Schooners are begging just now; I can get my pick of them

at two hundred and fifty a month; and how does that foot up? It looks like three hundred per cent. to me."

"That's a point, I know," admitted Jim. "But the rice is the sluggish article, anyway; it's little more account

than ballast; it's the tea and silks that I look to: all we have to find is the proportion, and one look at the

manifest will settle that. I've rung up Lloyd's on purpose; the captain is to meet me there in an hour, and then

I'll be as posted on that brig as if I built her. Besides, you've no idea what pickings there are about a wreck

"You seem to me to forget one trifle," said I. "Before you pick that wreck, you've got to buy her, and how

"I don't guess; I know it," answered the Commercial Force. "My dear boy, I may be a galoot about literature,

but you'll always be an outsider in business. How do you suppose I bought the James L. Moody for two

hundred and fifty, her boats alone worth four times the money? Because my name stood first in the list. Well

it stands there again; I have the naming of the figure, and I name a small one because of the distance: but it

"It sounds mysterious enough," said I. "Is this public auction conducted in a subterranean vault? Could a

"O, everything's open and above board!" he cried indignantly. "Anybody can come, only nobody bids against

us; and if he did, he would get frozen out. It's been tried before now, and once was enough. We hold the

plant; we've got the connection; we can afford to go higher than any outsider; there's two million dollars in

the ring; and we stick at nothing. Or suppose anybody did buy over our headI tell you, Loudon, he would

think this town gone crazy; he could no more get business through on the city front than I can dance;

schooners, divers, menall he wantedthe prices would fly right up and strike him."

"But how did you get in?" I asked. "You were once an outsider like your neighbours, I suppose?"

"I took hold of that thing, Loudon, and just studied it up," he replied. "It took my fancy; it was so romantic,

and then I saw there was boodle in the thing; and I figured on the business till no man alive could give me

points. Nobody knew I had an eye on wrecks till one fine morning I dropped in upon Douglas B. Longhurst

in his den, gave him all the facts and figures, and put it to him straight: "Do you want me in this ring? or shall

I start another?" He took half an hour, and when I came back, "Pink," says he, "I've put your name on." The

first time I came to the top, it was that Moody racket; now it's the Flying Scud."

Whereupon Pinkerton, looking at his watch, uttered an exclamation, made a hasty appointment with myself

for the doors of the Merchants' Exchange, and fled to examine manifests and interview the skipper. I finished

my cigarette with the deliberation of a man at the end of many picnics; reflecting to myself that of all forms

of the dollar hunt, this wrecking had by far the most address to my imagination. Even as I went down town,

in the brisk bustle and chill of the familiar San Francisco thoroughfares, I was haunted by a vision of the

wreck, baking so far away in the strong sun, under a cloud of seabirds; and even then, and for no better

reason, my heart inclined towards the adventure. If not myself, something that was mine, some one at least in

my employment, should voyage to that oceanbounded pinpoint and descend to that deserted cabin.

Pinkerton met me at the appointed moment, pinched of lip and more than usually erect of bearing, like one

"Well," said he, "it might be better, and it might be worse. This Captain Trent is a remarkably honest

fellowone out of a thousand. As soon as he knew I was in the market, he owned up about the rice in so

many words. By his calculation, if there's thirty mats of it saved, it's an outside figure. However, the manifest

was cheerier. There's about five thousand dollars of the whole value in silks and teas and nutoils and that, all

in the lazarette, and as safe as if it was in Kearney Street. The brig was new coppered a year ago. There's

upwards of a hundred and fifty fathom awayup chain. It's not a bonanza, but there's boodle in it; and we'll

It was by that time hard on ten o'clock, and we turned at once into the place of sale. The Flying Scud,

although so important to ourselves, appeared to attract a very humble share of popular attention. The

auctioneer was surrounded by perhaps a score of lookerson, big fellows, for the most part, of the true

Western build, long in the leg, broad in the shoulder, and adorned (to a plain man's taste) with needless

finery. A jaunty, ostentatious comradeship prevailed. Bets were flying, and nicknames. "The boys" (as they

would have called themselves) were very boyish; and it was plain they were here in mirth, and not on

business. Behind, and certainly in strong contrast to these gentlemen, I could detect the figure of my friend

Captain Trent, come (as I could very well imagine that a captain would) to hear the last of his old vessel.

Since yesterday, he had rigged himself anew in readymade black clothes, not very aptly fitted; the upper

lefthand pocket showing a corner of silk handkerchief, the lower, on the other side, bulging with papers.

Pinkerton had just given this man a high character. Certainly he seemed to have been very frank, and I looked

at him again to trace (if possible) that virtue in his face. It was red and broad and flustered and (I thought)

false. The whole man looked sick with some unknown anxiety; and as he stood there, unconscious of my

observation, he tore at his nails, scowled on the floor, or glanced suddenly, sharply, and fearfully at

passersby. I was still gazing at the man in a kind of fascination, when the sale began.

Some preliminaries were rattled through, to the irreverent, uninterrupted gambolling of the boys; and then,

amid a trifle more attention, the auctioneer sounded for some two or three minutes the pipe of the charmer.

Fine brignew copper valuable fittingsthree fine boatsremarkably choice cargo what the

auctioneer would call a perfectly safe investment; nay, gentlemen, he would go further, he would put a figure

on it: he had no hesitation (had that bold auctioneer) in putting it in figures; and in his view, what with this

and that, and one thing and another, the purchaser might expect to clear a sum equal to the entire estimated

value of the cargo; or, gentlemen, in other words, a sum of ten thousand dollars. At this modest computation

the roof immediately above the speaker's head (I suppose, through the intervention of a spectator of

ventriloquial tastes) uttered a clear "Cockadoodledoo!"whereat all laughed, the auctioneer himself

"Now, gentlemen, what shall we say?" resumed that gentleman, plainly ogling Pinkerton,"what shall we

"One hundred dollars from Mr. Pinkerton," went the auctioneer, "one hundred dollars. No other gentleman

The auctioneer was droning on to some such tune as this, and I, on my part, was watching with something

between sympathy and amazement the undisguised emotion of Captain Trent, when we were all startled by

Pinkerton, the auctioneer, and the boys, who were all equally in the open secret of the ring, were now all

"And fifty," reiterated the voice, which I was now able to trace to its origin, on the lips of a small, unseemly

rag of humankind. The speaker's skin was gray and blotched; he spoke in a kind of broken song, with much

variety of key; his gestures seemed (as in the disease called Saint Vitus's dance) to be imperfectly under

control; he was badly dressed; he carried himself with an air of shrinking assumption, as though he were

proud to be where he was and to do what he was doing, and yet half expected to be called in question and

kicked out. I think I never saw a man more of a piece; and the type was new to me; I had never before set

eyes upon his parallel, and I thought instinctively of Balzac and the lower regions of the _Comedie

Pinkerton stared a moment on the intruder with no friendly eye, tore a leaf from his notebook, and scribbled

a line in pencil, turned, beckoned a messenger boy, and whispered, "To Longhurst." Next moment the boy

"Yes; the little beast means cold drawn biz," returned my friend. "Well, he'll have to have a lesson. Wait till I

It was about this moment when my eye fell again on Captain Trent. A deeper shade had mounted to his

crimson face: the new coat was unbuttoned and all flying open; the new silk handkerchief in busy requisition;

and the man's eye, of a clear sailor blue, shone glassy with excitement. He was anxious still, but now (if I

"Jim," I whispered, "look at Trent. Bet you what you please he was expecting this."

"Yes," was the reply, "there's some blame' thing going on here." And he renewed his bid.

The figure had run up into the neighbourhood of a thousand when I was aware of a sensation in the faces

opposite, and looking over my shoulder, saw a very large, bland, handsome man come strolling forth and

"One word, Mr. Borden," said he; and then to Jim, "Well, Pink, where are we up to now?"

Pinkerton gave him the figure. "I ran up to that on my own responsibility, Mr. Longhurst," he added, with a

"And so it was," said Mr. Longhurst, patting him kindly on the shoulder, like a gratified uncle. "Well, you

can drop out now; we take hold ourselves. You can run it up to five thousand; and if he likes to go beyond

"I've sent Billy to find out." And at the very moment Mr. Longhurst received from the hands of one of the

expensive young gentlemen a folded paper. It was passed round from one to another till it came to me, and I

read: "Harry D. Bellairs, AttorneyatLaw; defended Clara Varden; twice nearly disbarred."

"Well, that gets me!" observed Mr. Longhurst. "Who can have put up a shyster [1] like that? Nobody with

money, that's a sure thing. Suppose you tried a big bluff? I think I would, Pink. Well, tata! Your partner, Mr.

Dodd? Happy to have the pleasure of your acquaintance, sir." And the great man withdrew.

"Well, what do you think of Douglas B.?" whispered Pinkerton, looking reverently after him as he departed.

During this interview the auction had stood transparently arrested, the auctioneer, the spectators, and even

Bellairs, all well aware that Mr. Longhurst was the principal, and Jim but a speakingtrumpet. But now that

Bellairs preserved his composure. "And fifty," said he. But there was a stir among the onlookers, and what

And then the bidding returned to its original movement by hundreds and fifties; but I had been able in the

meanwhile to draw two conclusions. In the first place, Bellairs had made his last advance with a smile of

gratified vanity; and I could see the creature was glorying in the kudos of an unusual position and secure of

ultimate success. In the second, Trent had once more changed colour at the thousand leap, and his relief,

when he heard the answering fifty was manifest and unaffected. Here then was a problem: both were

presumably in the same interest, yet the one was not in the confidence of the other. Nor was this all. A few

bids later it chanced that my eye encountered that of Captain Trent, and his, which glittered with excitement,

was instantly, and I thought guiltily, withdrawn. He wished, then, to conceal his interest? As Jim had said,

there was some blamed thing going on. And for certain, here were these two men, so strangely united, so

strangely divided, both sharpset to keep the wreck from us, and that at an exorbitant figure.

Was the wreck worth more than we supposed? A sudden heat was kindled in my brain; the bids were nearing

Longhurst's limit of five thousand; another minute, and all would be too late. Tearing a leaf from my

sketchbook, and inspired (I suppose) by vanity in my own powers of inference and observation, I took the

one mad decision of my life. "If you care to go ahead," I wrote, "I'm in for all I'm worth."

Jim read and looked round at me like one bewildered; then his eyes lightened, and turning again to the

Presently Pinkerton scribbled, "What can it be?" and I answered, still on paper: "I can't imagine; but there's

And he did, and we followed. Long before this, word had gone abroad that there was battle royal: we were

surrounded by a crowd that looked on wondering; and when Pinkerton had offered ten thousand dollars (the

outside value of the cargo, even were it safe in San Francisco Bay) and Bellairs, smirking from ear to ear to

be the centre of so much attention, had jerked out his answering, "And fifty," wonder deepened to excitement.

"Ten thousand one hundred," said Jim; and even as he spoke he made a sudden gesture with his hand, his face

changed, and I could see that he had guessed, or thought that he had guessed, the mystery. As he scrawled

"Chinese ship," ran the legend; and then, in big, tremulous halftext, and with a flourish that overran the

To be sure! thought I: this must be the secret. I knew that scarce a ship came in from any Chinese port, but

she carried somewhere, behind a bulkhead, or in some cunning hollow of the beams, a nest of the valuable

poison. Doubtless there was some such treasure on the Flying Scud. How much was it worth? We knew not,

we were gambling in the dark; but Trent knew, and Bellairs; and we could only watch and judge.

By this time neither Pinkerton nor I were of sound mind. Pinkerton was beside himself, his eyes like lamps. I

shook in every member. To any stranger entering (say) in the course of the fifteenth thousand, we should

probably have cut a poorer figure than Bellairs himself. But we did not pause; and the crowd watched us, now

Seventeen thousand had been reached, when Douglas B. Longhurst, forcing his way into the opposite row of

faces, conspicuously and repeatedly shook his head at Jim. Jim's answer was a note of two words: "My

racket!" which, when the great man had perused, he shook his finger warningly and departed, I thought, with

Although Mr. Longhurst knew nothing of Bellairs, the shady lawyer knew all about the Wrecker Boss. He

had seen him enter the ring with manifest expectation; he saw him depart, and the bids continue, with

manifest surprise and disappointment. "Hullo," he plainly thought, "this is not the ring I'm fighting, then?"

And with one consent they returned to the old pace, only now it was Bellairs who took the hundreds, and Jim

who did the fifty business. But by this time our idea had gone abroad. I could hear the word "opium" pass

from mouth to mouth; and by the looks directed at us, I could see we were supposed to have some private

information. And here an incident occurred highly typical of San Francisco. Close at my back there had stood

for some time a stout, middleaged gentleman, with pleasant eyes, hair pleasantly grizzled, and a ruddy,

pleasing face. All of a sudden he appeared as a third competitor, skied the Flying Scud with four fat bids of a

thousand dollars each, and then as suddenly fled the field, remaining thenceforth (as before) a silent,

Ever since Mr. Longhurst's useless intervention, Bellairs had seemed uneasy; and at this new attack, he began

(in his turn) to scribble a note between the bids. I imagined naturally enough that it would go to Captain

Trent; but when it was done, and the writer turned and looked behind him in the crowd, to my unspeakable

"Messenger boy, messenger boy!" I heard him say. "Somebody call me a messenger boy."

"Thirty thousand," said Pinkerton, making a leap of close upon three thousand dollars.

I could see doubt in Bellairs's eye; then, sudden resolution. "Thirtyfive thousand," said he.

There was a long pause, during which Bellairs's countenance was as a book; and then, not much too soon for

Pinkerton and I exchanged eloquent glances. We were of one mind. Bellairs had tried a bluff; now he

perceived his mistake, and was bidding against time; he was trying to spin out the sale until the messenger

"Fortyfive thousand dollars," said Pinkerton: his voice was like a ghost's and tottered with emotion.

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Pinkerton. Did I hear you make an advance, sir?" asked the auctioneer.

"II have a difficulty in speaking," gasped Jim. "It's fifty thousand, Mr. Borden."

Bellairs was on his feet in a moment. "Auctioneer," he said, "I have to beg the favour of three moments at the

telephone. In this matter, I am acting on behalf of a certain party to whom I have just written"

"I have nothing to do with any of this," said the auctioneer, brutally. "I am here to sell this wreck. Do you

"I have the honour to explain to you, sir," returned Bellairs, with a miserable assumption of dignity. "Fifty

thousand was the figure named by my principal; but if you will give me the small favour of two moments at

"O, nonsense!" said the auctioneer. "If you make no advance, I'll knock it down to Mr. Pinkerton."

"I warn you," cried the attorney, with sudden shrillness. "Have a care what you're about. You are here to sell

for the underwriters, let me tell younot to act for Mr. Douglas Longhurst. This sale has been already

disgracefully interrupted to allow that person to hold a consultation with his minions. It has been much

"There was no complaint at the time," said the auctioneer, manifestly discountenanced. "You should have

"I am not here to conduct this sale," replied Bellairs; "I am not paid for that."

"Well, I am, you see," retorted the auctioneer, his impudence quite restored; and he resumed his singsong.

"Any advance on fifty thousand dollars? No advance on fifty thousand? No advance, gentlemen? Going at

"My God, Jim, can we pay the money?" I cried, as the stroke of the hammer seemed to recall me from a

"It's got to be raised," said he, white as a sheet. "It'll be a hell of a strain, Loudon. The credit's good for it, I

think; but I shall have to get around. Write me a cheque for your stuff. Meet me at the Occidental in an hour."

I wrote my cheque at a desk, and I declare I could never have recognised my signature. Jim was gone in a

moment; Trent had vanished even earlier; only Bellairs remained exchanging insults with the auctioneer; and,

behold! as I pushed my way out of the exchange, who should run full tilt into my arms, but the messenger

At the door of the exchange I found myself alongside of the short, middleaged gentleman who had made

"Congratulate you, Mr. Dodd," he said. "You and your friend stuck to your guns nobly."

"No thanks to you, sir," I replied, "running us up a thousand at a time, and tempting all the speculators in San

"O, that was temporary insanity," said he; "and I thank the higher powers I am still a free man. Walking this

way, Mr. Dodd? I'll walk along with you. It's pleasant for an old fogy like myself to see the young bloods in

the ring; I've done some pretty wild gambles in my time in this very city, when it was a smaller place and I

was a younger man. Yes, I know you, Mr. Dodd. By sight, I may say I know you extremely well, you and

your followers, the fellows in the kilts, eh? Pardon me. But I have the misfortune to own a little box on the

Saucelito shore. I'll be glad to see you there any Sundaywithout the fellows in kilts, you know; and I can

give you a bottle of wine, and show you the best collection of Arctic voyages in the States. Morgan is my

"O, if you're a pioneer," cried I, "come to me and I'll provide you with an axe."

"You'll want your axes for yourself, I fancy," he returned, with one of his quick looks. "Unless you have

private knowledge, there will be a good deal of rather violent wrecking to do before you find thatopium,

"Well, it's either opium, or we are stark, staring mad," I replied. "But I assure you we have no private

"I may tell you," continued the judge, "that to me, the employment of a fellow like that appears inexplicable.

I knew him; he knows me, too; he has often heard from me in court; and I assure you the man is utterly blown

upon; it is not safe to trust him with a dollar; and here we find him dealing up to fifty thousand. I can't think

who can have so trusted him, but I am very sure it was a stranger in San Francisco."

"Surely not!" exclaimed the judge. "Owners in London can have nothing to say to opium smuggled between

Hong Kong and San Francisco. I should rather fancy they would be the last to hear of ituntil the ship was

seized. No; I was thinking of the captain. But where would he get the money? above all, after having laid out

so much to buy the stuff in China? Unless, indeed, he were acting for some one in 'Frisco; and in that

casehere we go round again in the vicious circleBellairs would not have been employed."

"I think I can assure you it was not the captain," said I; "for he and Bellairs are not acquainted."

"Wasn't that the captain with the red face and coloured handkerchief? He seemed to me to follow Bellairs's

"Perfectly true," said I; "Trent is deeply interested; he very likely knew Bellairs, and he certainly knew what

he was there for; but I can put my hand in the fire that Bellairs didn't know Trent."

"Another singularity," observed the judge. "Well, we have had a capital forenoon. But you take an old

lawyer's advice, and get to Midway Island as fast as you can. There's a pot of money on the table, and Bellairs

With this parting counsel Judge Morgan shook hands and made off along Montgomery Street, while I entered

the Occidental Hotel, on the steps of which we had finished our conversation. I was well known to the clerks,

and as soon as it was understood that I was there to wait for Pinkerton and lunch, I was invited to a seat inside

the counter. Here, then, in a retired corner, I was beginning to come a little to myself after these so violent

experiences, when who should come hurrying in, and (after a moment with a clerk) fly to one of the

telephone boxes but Mr. Henry D. Bellairs in person? Call it what you will, but the impulse was irresistible,

and I rose and took a place immediately at the man's back. It may be some excuse that I had often practised

this very innocent form of eavesdropping upon strangers, and for fun. Indeed, I scarce know anything that

gives a lower view of man's intelligence than to overhear (as you thus do) one side of a communication.

"Central," said the attorney, "2241 and 584 B" (or some such numbers)"Who's that?All rightMr.

BellairsOccidental; the wires are fouled in the other placeYes, about three minutesYesYesYour

figure, I am sorry to sayNoI had no authorityNeither more nor lessI have every reason to suppose

soO, Pinkerton, Montana BlockYesYesVery good, sirAs you will, sirDisconnect 584 B."

Bellairs turned to leave; at sight of me behind him, up flew his hands, and he winced and cringed, as though

in fear of bodily attack. "O, it's you!" he cried; and then, somewhat recovered, "Mr. Pinkerton's partner, I

believe? I am pleased to see you, sirto congratulate you on your late success." And with that he was gone,

And now a madcap humour came upon me. It was plain Bellairs had been communicating with his principal;

I knew the number, if not the name; should I ring up at once, it was more than likely he would return in

person to the telephone; why should not I dash (vocally) into the presence of this mysterious person, and have

A phantom central repeated the numbers; there was a pause, and then "Two two four one," came in a tiny

voice into my ear a voice with the English singsongthe voice plainly of a gentleman. "Is that you

again, Mr. Bellairs?" it trilled. "I tell you it's no use. Is that you, Mr. Bellairs? Who is that?"

"I only want to put a single question," said I, civilly. "Why do you want to buy the Flying Scud?"

No answer came. The telephone vibrated and hummed in miniature with all the numerous talk of a great city;

but the voice of 2241 was silent. Once and twice I put my question; but the tiny, singsong English voice, I

heard no more. The man, then, had fled? fled from an impertinent question? It scarce seemed natural to me;

unless on the principle that the wicked fleeth when no man pursueth. I took the telephone list and turned the

number up: "2241, Mrs. Keane, res. 942 Mission Street." And that, short of driving to the house and renewing

Yet, as I resumed my seat in the corner of the office, I was conscious of a new element of the uncertain, the

underhand, perhaps even the dangerous, in our adventure; and there was now a new picture in my mental

gallery, to hang beside that of the wreck under its canopy of seabirds and of Captain Trent mopping his red

browthe picture of a man with a telephone dicebox to his ear, and at the small voice of a single question,

From these considerations I was awakened by the striking of the clock. An hour and nearly twenty minutes

had elapsed since Pinkerton departed for the money: he was twenty minutes behind time; and to me who

knew so well his gluttonous despatch of business and had so frequently admired his iron punctuality, the fact

spoke volumes. The twenty minutes slowly stretched into an hour; the hour had nearly extended to a second;

and I still sat in my corner of the office, or paced the marble pavement of the hall, a prey to the most

wretched anxiety and penitence. The hour for lunch was nearly over before I remembered that I had not

eaten. Heaven knows I had no appetite; but there might still be much to doit was needful I should keep

myself in proper trim, if it were only to digest the now too probable bad news; and leaving word at the office

for Pinkerton, I sat down to table and called for soup, oysters, and a pint of champagne.

I was not long set, before my friend returned. He looked pale and rather old, refused to hear of food, and

"No," he replied; "I've pulled it through, Loudon; just pulled it through. I couldn't have raised another cent in

all 'Frisco. People don't like it; Longhurst even went back on me; said he wasn't a threecardmonte man."

"Loudon, I tell you I've had to pay blood for that money," cried my friend, with almost savage energy and

gloom. "It's all on ninety days, too; I couldn't get another daynot another day. If we go ahead with this

affair, Loudon, you'll have to go yourself and make the fur fly. I'll stay of courseI've got to stay and face

the trouble in this city; though, I tell you, I just long to go. I would show these fat brutes of sailors what work

was; I would be all through that wreck and out at the other end, before they had boosted themselves upon the

deck! But you'll do your level best, Loudon; I depend on you for that. You must be all fire and grit and dash

from the word 'go.' That schooner and the boodle on board of her are bound to be here before three months,

"I'll swear I'll do my best, Jim; I'll work double tides," said I. "It is my fault that you are in this thing, and I'll

get you out again or kill myself. But what is that you say? 'If we go ahead?' Have we any choice, then?"

"I'm coming to that," said Jim. "It isn't that I doubt the investment. Don't blame yourself for that; you showed

a fine, sound business instinct: I always knew it was in you, but then it ripped right out. I guess that little

beast of an attorney knew what he was doing; and he wanted nothing better than to go beyond. No, there's

profit in the deal; it's not that; it's these ninetyday bills, and the strain I've given the credit, for I've been up

and down, borrowing, and begging and bribing to borrow. I don't believe there's another man but me in

'Frisco," he cried, with a sudden fervor of self admiration, "who could have raised that last ten

thousand!Then there's another thing. I had hoped you might have peddled that opium through the islands,

which is safer and more profitable. But with this threemonth limit, you must make tracks for Honolulu

straight, and communicate by steamer. I'll try to put up something for you there; I'll have a man spoken to

who's posted on that line of biz. Keep a bright lookout for him as soon's you make the islands; for it's on the

cards he might pick you up at sea in a whaleboat or a steamlaunch, and bring the dollars right on board."

It shows how much I had suffered morally during my sojourn in San Francisco, that even now when our

fortunes trembled in the balance, I should have consented to become a smuggler and (of all things) a

smuggler of opium. Yet I did, and that in silence; without a protest, not without a twinge.

"And suppose," said I, "suppose the opium is so securely hidden that I can't get hands on it?"

"Then you will stay there till that brig is kindlingwood, and stay and split that kindlingwood with your

penknife," cried Pinkerton. "The stuff is there; we know that; and it must be found. But all this is only the one

string to our bowthough I tell you I've gone into it headfirst, as if it was our bottom dollar. Why, the first

thing I did before I'd raised a cent, and with this other notion in my head alreadythe first thing I did was to

secure the schooner. The Nora Creina, she is, sixtyfour tons, quite big enough for our purpose since the rice

is spoiled, and the fastest thing of her tonnage out of San Francisco. For a bonus of two hundred, and a

monthly charter of three, I have her for my own time; wages and provisions, say four hundred more: a drop in

the bucket. They began firing the cargo out of her (she was part loaded) near two hours ago; and about the

same time John Smith got the order for the stores. That's what I call business."

"Well, here it is," said Jim. "You agree with me that Bellairs was ready to go higher?"

"I saw where he was coming. "Yesand why shouldn't he?" said I. "Is that the line?"

"That's the line, Loudon Dodd," assented Jim. "If Bellairs and his principal have any desire to go me better,

A sudden thought, a sudden fear, shot into my mind. What if I had been right? What if my childish pleasantry

had frightened the principal away, and thus destroyed our chance? Shame closed my mouth; I began

instinctively a long course of reticence; and it was without a word of my meeting with Bellairs, or my

"Doubtless fifty thousand was originally mentioned as a round sum," said I, "or at least, so Bellairs supposed.

But at the same time it may be an outside sum; and to cover the expenses we have already incurred for the

money and the schoonerI am far from blaming you; I see how needful it was to be ready for either

"Bellairs will go to sixty thousand; it's my belief, if he were properly handled, he would take the hundred,"

"That is my own impression as regards Bellairs, I admitted. "The point I am trying to make is that Bellairs

himself may be mistaken; that what he supposed to be a round sum was really an outside figure."

"Well, Loudon, if that is so," said Jim, with extraordinary gravity of face and voice, "if that is so, let him take

"We've put our hand farther out than we can pull it in again, Loudon," he replied. "Why, man, that fifty

thousand dollars, before we get clear again, will cost us nearer seventy. Yes, it figures up overhead to more

than ten per cent a month; and I could do no better, and there isn't the man breathing could have done as well.

It was a miracle, Loudon. I couldn't but admire myself. O, if we had just the four months! And you know,

Loudon, it may still be done. With your energy and charm, if the worst comes to the worst, you can run that

schooner as you ran one of your picnics; and we may have luck. And, O, man! if we do pull it through, what a

dashing operation it will be! What an advertisement! what a thing to talk of, and remember all our lives!

However," he broke off suddenly, "we must try the safe thing first. Here's for the shyster!"

There was another struggle in my mind, whether I should even now admit my knowledge of the Mission

Street address. But I had let the favourable moment slip. I had now, which made it the more awkward, not

merely the original discovery, but my late suppression to confess. I could not help reasoning, besides, that the

more natural course was to approach the principal by the road of his agent's office; and there weighed upon

my spirits a conviction that we were already too late, and that the man was gone two hours ago. Once more,

then, I held my peace; and after an exchange of words at the telephone to assure ourselves he was at home,

The endless streets of any American city pass, from one end to another, through strange degrees and

vicissitudes of splendour and distress, running under the same name between monumental warehouses, the

dens and taverns of thieves, and the sward and shrubbery of villas. In San Francisco, the sharp inequalities of

the ground, and the sea bordering on so many sides, greatly exaggerate these contrasts. The street for which

we were now bound took its rise among blowing sands, somewhere in view of the Lone Mountain Cemetery;

ran for a term across that rather windy Olympus of Nob Hill, or perhaps just skirted its frontier; passed almost

immediately after through a stage of little houses, rather impudently painted, and offering to the eye of the

observer this diagnostic peculiarity, that the huge brass plates upon the small and highly coloured doors bore

only the first names of ladiesNorah or Lily or Florence; traversed China Town, where it was doubtless

undermined with opium cellars, and its blocks pierced, after the similitude of rabbitwarrens, with a hundred

doors and passages and galleries; enjoyed a glimpse of high publicity at the corner of Kearney; and

proceeded, among dives and warehouses, towards the City Front and the region of the waterrats. In this last

stage of its career, where it was both grimy and solitary, and alternately quiet and roaring to the wheels of

drays, we found a certain house of some pretension to neatness, and furnished with a rustic outside stair. On

the pillar of the stair a black plate bore in gilded lettering this device: "Harry D. Bellairs, Attorneyatlaw.

Consultations, 9 to 6." On ascending the stairs, a door was found to stand open on the balcony, with this

The room in which we found ourselves was clean, but extremely bare. A rather oldfashioned secretaire

stood by the wall, with a chair drawn to the desk; in one corner was a shelf with halfadozen law books; and

I can remember literally not another stick of furniture. One inference imposed itself: Mr. Bellairs was in the

habit of sitting down himself and suffering his clients to stand. At the far end, and veiled by a curtain of red

baize, a second door communicated with the interior of the house. Hence, after some coughing and stamping,

we elicited the shyster, who came timorously forth, for all the world like a man in fear of bodily assault, and

then, recognising his guests, suffered from what I can only call a nervous paroxysm of courtesy.

"Not the least," said Jim. "No time. Much rather stand. This is business, Mr. Bellairs. This morning, as you

"And bought her," pursued my friend, "at a figure out of all proportion to the cargo and the circumstances, as

"And now you think better of it, and would like to be off with your bargain? I have been figuring upon this,"

returned the lawyer. "My client, I will not hide from you, was displeased with me for putting her so high. I

think we were both too heated, Mr. Pinkerton: rivalrythe spirit of competition. But I will be quite frankI

know when I am dealing with gentlemen and I am almost certain, if you leave the matter in my hands, my

client would relieve you of the bargain, so as you would lose"he consulted our faces with gimleteyed

"That's a little too thin," said he. "I have the wreck. I know there's boodle in her, and I mean to keep her.

What I want is some points which may save me needless expense, and which I'm prepared to pay for, money

down. The thing for you to consider is just this: am I to deal with you or direct with your principal? If you are

prepared to give me the facts right off, why, name your figure. Only one thing!" added Jim, holding a finger

up, "when I say 'money down,' I mean bills payable when the ship returns, and if the information proves

I had seen the lawyer's face light up for a moment, and then, at the sound of Jim's proviso, miserably fade. "I

guess you know more about this wreck than I do, Mr. Pinkerton," said he. "I only know that I was told to buy

"What I like about you, Mr. Bellairs, is that you waste no time," said Jim. "Now then, your client's name and

"On consideration," replied the lawyer, with indescribable furtivity, "I cannot see that I am entitled to

communicate my client's name. I will sound him for you with pleasure, if you care to instruct me; but I

"Very well," said Jim, and put his hat on. "Rather a strong step, isn't it?" (Between every sentence was a clear

"Mr. Pinkerton, sir!" exclaimed the offended attorney; and, indeed, I myself was almost afraid that Jim had

"No present use for a dollar?" says Jim. "Well, look here, Mr. Bellairs: we're both busy men, and I'll go to my

"You didn't ask for it before," said I, colouring to my temples under his troubled eyes.

It was Bellairs who broke silence, kindly supplying me with all that I had yet to learn. "Since you know Mr.

Dickson's address," said he, plainly burning to be rid of us, "I suppose I need detain you no longer."

I do not know how Pinkerton felt, but I had death in my soul as we came down the outside stair, from the den

of this blotched spider. My whole being was strung, waiting for Jim's first question, and prepared to blurt out,

"We must hack it," said he, tearing off in the direction of the nearest stand. "No time to be lost. You saw how

Again I expected a reference to my suppression; again I was disappointed. It was plain Jim feared the subject,

and I felt I almost hated him for that fear. At last, when we were already in the hack and driving towards

The note of timidity offended me like a buffet; my temper rose as hot as mustard. "I must request you do not

The moment the foolish words were said, that moment I would have given worlds to recall them: how much

more, when Pinkerton, patting my hand, replied: "All right, dear boy; not another word; that's all done. I'm

convinced it's perfectly right." To return upon the subject was beyond my courage; but I vowed inwardly that

I should do my utmost in the future for this mad speculation, and that I would cut myself in pieces before Jim

"Hadn't any," was the reply. "He came last night and left again today with a satchel."

"It was about noon," replied the landlady. "Some one rang up the telephone, and asked for him; and I reckon

he got some news, for he left right away, although his rooms were taken by the week. He seemed

My heart sank; perhaps my idiotic jest had indeed driven him away; and again I asked myself, Why? and

"What was he like, ma'am?" Pinkerton was asking, when I returned to consciousness of my surroundings.

"A clean shaved man," said the woman, and could be led or driven into no more significant description.

"Pull up at the nearest drugstore," said Pinkerton to the driver; and when there, the telephone was put in

operation, and the message sped to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company's office this was in the days

before Spreckels had arisen"When does the next China steamer touch at Honolulu?"

"The City of Pekin; she cast off the dock today, at halfpast one," came the reply.

"It's a clear case of bolt," said Jim. "He's skipped, or my name's not Pinkerton. He's gone to head us off at

Somehow I was not so sure; there were elements in the case, not known to Pinkertonthe fears of the

captain, for example that inclined me otherwise; and the idea that I had terrified Mr. Dickson into flight,

though resting on so slender a foundation, clung obstinately in my mind. "Shouldn't we see the list of

"Dickson is such a blamed common name," returned Jim; "and then, as like as not, he would change it."

At this I had another intuition. A negative of a street scene, taken unconsciously when I was absorbed in other

thought, rose in my memory with not a feature blurred: a view, from Bellairs's door as we were coming

down, of muddy roadway, passing drays, matted telegraph wires, a Chinaboy with a basket on his head, and

(almost opposite) a corner grocery with the name of Dickson in great gilt letters.

"Yes," said I, "you are right; he would change it. And anyway, I don't believe it was his name at all; I believe

"As like as not," said Jim, still standing on the sidewalk with contracted brows.

"The natural thing would be to rush the schooner," he replied. "But I don't know. I telephoned the captain to

go at it head down and heels in air; he answered like a little man; and I guess he's getting around. I believe,

Loudon, we'll give Trent a chance. Trent was in it; he was in it up to the neck; even if he couldn't buy, he

"British consulate, of course," said Jim. "And that's another reason for taking him first. We can hustle that

At the consulate, we learned that Captain Trent had alighted (such is I believe the classic phrase) at the What

Cheer House. To that large and unaristocratic hostelry we drove, and addressed ourselves to a large clerk,

"Don't know," said the clerk, and with the simplicity of a monarch offered us the spectacle of his broad back.

What might have happened next I dread to picture, for Pinkerton's excitement had been growing steadily, and

now burned dangerously high; but we were spared extremities by the intervention of a second clerk.

"Why! Mr. Dodd!" he exclaimed, running forward to the counter. "Glad to see you, sir! Can I do anything in

How virtuous actions blossom! Here was a young man to whose pleased ears I had rehearsed _Just before the

battle, mother,_ at some weekly picnic; and now, in that tense moment of my life, he came (from the

"Captain Trent, of the wreck? O yes, Mr. Dodd; he left about twelve; he and another of the men. The Kanaka

went earlier by the City of Pekin; I know that; I remember expressing his chest. Captain Trent? I'll inquire,

Mr. Dodd. Yes, they were all here. Here are the names on the register; perhaps you would care to look at

I drew the book toward me, and stood looking at the four names all written in the same hand, rather a big and

I turned to the account of the wreck. "Here," said I; "here's the name. 'Elias Goddedaal, mate.' Why do we

"I don't believe it," said I. "They were only four, and there was none that behaved like a mate."

"The captain," it appeared, "came with some kind of an express waggon, and he and the man took off three

chests and a big satchel. Our porter helped to put them on, but they drove the cart themselves. The porter

"Three, sir, and the Kanaka," replied the clerk. "I can't somehow fin out about the third, but he's gone too."

"No. Any particular reason for finding these men, Mr. Dodd?" inquired the clerk.

"This gentleman and I have bought the wreck," I explained; "we wished to get some information, and it is

A certain group had gradually formed about us, for the wreck was still a matter of interest; and at this, one of

"I guess the mate won't be gone," said he. "He's main sick; never left the sickbay aboard the Tempest; so

But even at the consulate nothing was known of Mr. Goddedaal. The doctor of the Tempest had certified him

very sick; he had sent his papers in, but never appeared in person before the authorities.

"Do you mind asking, or letting me ask? We are very anxious to get hold of Mr. Goddedaal."

"All right," said the clerk, and turned to the telephone. "I'm sorry," he said presently, "Mr. Goddedaal has left

"If they want it," said the clerk; "sometimes they don't. But we paid the Kanaka's passage to Honolulu this

morning; and by what Captain Trent was saying, I understand the rest are going home together."

"And you would be a good deal surprised, if I were to tell you they were gone already?" I asked.

"May I use your telephone one moment?" asked Pinkerton; and s soon as permission had been granted, I

heard him ring up the printingoffice where our advertisements were usually handled. More I did not hear;

for suddenly recalling the big, bad hand in the register of the What Cheer House, I asked the consulate clerk

if he had a specimen of Captain Trent's writing. Whereupon I learned that the captain could not write, having

cut his hand open a little before the loss of the brig; that the latter part of the log even had been written up by

Mr. Goddedaal; and that Trent had always signed with his left hand. By the time I had gleaned this

"That's all that we can do. Now for the schooner," said he; "and by tomorrow evening I lay hands on

"You'll see before you get to bed," said Pinkerton. "And now, after all this backwarding and forwarding, and

that hotel clerk, and that bug Bellairs, it'll be a change and a kind of consolation to see the schooner. I guess

But on the wharf, when we reached it, there was no sign of bustle, and, but for the galley smoke, no mark of

life on the Norah Creina. Pinkerton's face grew pale, and his mouth straightened, as he leaped on board.

"Where's the captain of this?" and he left the phrase unfinished, finding no epithet sufficiently energetic

It did not appear whom or what he was addressing; but a head, presumably the cook's, appeared in answer at

"O, there's some of it out. We'll get at the rest of it livelier tomorrow, I guess."

"I guess there'll be something broken first," said Pinkerton, and strode to the cabin.

Here we found a man, fat, dark, and quiet, seated gravely at what seemed a liberal meal. He looked up upon

our entrance; and seeing Pinkerton continue to stand facing him in silence, hat on head, arms folded, and lips

compressed, an expression of mingled wonder and annoyance began to dawn upon his placid face.

"You're not very civil, whoever you are," was the reply. But still a certain effect had been produced, for he

scrambled to his feet, and added hastily, "A man must have a bit of dinner, you know, Mr. Pinkerton."

"Up town!" sneered Pinkerton. "Now, I'll tell you what you are: you're a Fraud; and if I wasn't afraid of

"I'll tell you something, too," retorted the captain, duskily flushing. "I wouldn't sail this ship for the man you

"I can tell you the names of a number of gentlemen you'll never deal with any more, and that's the whole of

Longhurst's gang," said Jim. "I'll put your pipe out in that quarter, my friend. Here, rout out your traps as

quick as look at it, and take your vermin along with you. I'll have a captain in, this very night, that's a sailor,

"I'll go when I please, and that's tomorrow morning," cried the captain after us, as we departed for the shore.

"There's something gone wrong with the world today; it must have come bottom up!" wailed Pinkerton.

"Bellairs, and then the hotel clerk, and now This Fraud! And what am I to do for a captain, Loudon, with

Thither then we rattled; passed through the bar, and found (as I had hoped) Johnson in the enjoyment of club

life. The table had been thrust upon one side; a South Sea merchant was discoursing music from a

mouthorgan in one corner; and in the middle of the floor Johnson and a fellowseaman, their arms clasped

about each other's bodies, somewhat heavily danced. The room was both cold and close; a jet of gas, which

continually menaced the heads of the performers, shed a coarse illumination; the mouthorgan sounded shrill

and dismal; and the faces of all concerned were churchlike in their gravity. It were, of course, indelicate to

interrupt these solemn frolics; so we edged ourselves to chairs, for all the world like belated comers in a

concertroom, and patiently waited for the end. At length the organist, having exhausted his supply of breath,

ceased abruptly in the middle of a bar. With the cessation of the strain, the dancers likewise came to a full

stop, swayed a moment, still embracing, and then separated and looked about the circle for applause.

"Very well danced!" said one; but it appears the compliment was not strong enough for the performers, who

And his late partner, with an almost pathetic conviction, added, "My foot is as light as a feather."

Seeing how the wind set, you may be sure I added a few words of praise before I carried Johnson alone into

the passage: to whom, thus mollified, I told so much as I judged needful of our situation, and begged him, if

"So I am a mate," giggled Johnson, "and you don't catch me shipping noways else. But I'll tell you what, I

believe I can get you Arty Nares: you seen Arty; firstrate navigator and a son of a gun for style." And he

proceeded to explain to me that Mr. Nares, who had the promise of a fine barque in six months, after things

had quieted down, was in the meantime living very private, and would be pleased to have a change of air.

I called out Pinkerton and told him. "Nares!" he cried, as soon as I had come to the name. "I would jump at

the chance of a man that had had Nares's trousers on! Why, Loudon, he's the smartest deepwater mate out of

San Francisco, and draws his dividends regular in service and out." This hearty indorsation clinched the

proposal; Johnson agreed to produce Nares before six the following morning; and Black Tom, being called

into the consultation, promised us four smart hands for the same hour, and even (what appeared to all of us

The streets were fully lighted when we left Black Tom's: street after street sparkling with gas or electricity,

line after line of distant luminaries climbing the steep sides of hills towards the overvaulting darkness; and on

the other hand, where the waters of the bay invisibly trembled, a hundred riding lanterns marked the position

of a hundred ships. The seafog flew high in heaven; and at the level of man's life and business it was clear

and chill. By silent consent, we paid the hack off, and proceeded arm in arm towards the Poodle Dog for

At one of the first hoardings, I was aware of a billsticker at work: it was a late hour for this employment,

and I checked Pinkerton until the sheet should be unfolded. This is what I read:

"Yes. They've lost no time; I'll say that for themnot like the Fraud," said he. "But mind you, Loudon, that's

not half of it. The cream of the idea's here: we know our man's sick; well, a copy of that has been mailed to

Of course, from the nature of our business, Pinkerton could do a thing of the kind at a figure extremely

"What matter a few dollars now?" he replied sadly. "It's in three months that the pull comes, Loudon."

We walked on again in silence, not without a shiver. Even at the Poodle Dog, we took our food with small

appetite and less speech; and it was not until he was warmed with a third glass of champagne that Pinkerton

"Loudon," said he, "there was a subject you didn't wish to be referred to. I only want to do so indirectly. It

wasn't"he faltered"it wasn't because you were dissatisfied with me?" he concluded, with a quaver.

"No, no, not a word just now," he hastened to proceed. "Let me speak first. I appreciate, though I can't

imitate, the delicacy of your nature; and I can well understand you would rather die than speak of it, and yet

might feel disappointed. I did think I could have done better myself. But when I found how tight money was

in this city, and a man like Douglas B. Longhurst a fortyniner, the man that stood at bay in a corn patch

for five hours against the San Diablo squattersweakening on the operation, I tell you, Loudon, I began to

despair; andI may have made mistakes, no doubt there are thousands who could have done betterbut I

"My poor Jim," said I, "as if I ever doubted you! as if I didn't know you had done wonders! All day I've been

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't want to tell you," said I; "for it's a thing I'm ashamed of."

"Ashamed, Loudon? O, don't say that; don't use such an expression even in jest!" protested Pinkerton.

"No," says he, rolling his eyes. "Why? I'm sometimes sorry afterwards, when it pans out different from what I

I sat a while considering with admiration the simplicity of my friend's character. Then I sighed. "Do you

know, Jim, what I'm sorriest for?" said I. "At this rate, I can't be best man at your marriage."

"My marriage!" he repeated, echoing the sigh. "No marriage for me now. I'm going right down tonight to

break it to her. I think that's what's shaken me all day. I feel as if I had had no right (after I was engaged) to

"Well, you know, Jim, it was my doing, and you must lay the blame on me," said I.

"Not a cent of it!" he cried. "I was as eager as yourself, only not so bright at the beginning. No; I've myself to

While Jim departed on his dolorous mission, I returned alone to the office, lit the gas, and sat down to reflect

on the events of that momentous day: on the strange features of the tale that had been so far unfolded, the

disappearances, the terrors, the great sums of money; and on the dangerous and ungrateful task that awaited

It is difficult, in the retrospect of such affairs, to avoid attributing to ourselves in the past a measure of the

knowledge we possess today. But I may say, and yet be well within the mark, that I was consumed that

night with a fever of suspicion and curiosity; exhausted my fancy in solutions, which I still dismissed as

incommensurable with the facts; and in the mystery by which I saw myself surrounded, found a precious

stimulus for my courage and a convenient soothing draught for conscience. Even had all been plain sailing, I

do not hint that I should have drawn back. Smuggling is one of the meanest of crimes, for by that we rob a

whole country pro rata, and are therefore certain to impoverish the poor: to smuggle opium is an offence

particularly dark, since it stands related not so much to murder, as to massacre. Upon all these points I was

quite clear; my sympathy was all in arms against my interest; and had not Jim been involved, I could have

dwelt almost with satisfaction on the idea of my failure. But Jim, his whole fortune, and his marriage,

depended upon my success; and I preferred the interests of my friend before those of all the islanders in the

South Seas. This is a poor, private morality, if you like; but it is mine, and the best I have; and I am not half

so much ashamed of having embarked at all on this adventure, as I am proud that (while I was in it, and for

the sake of my friend) I was up early and down late, set my own hand to everything, took dangers as they

came, and for once in my life played the man throughout. At the same time, I could have desired another field

of energy; and I was the more grateful for the redeeming element of mystery. Without that, though I might

have gone ahead and done as well, it would scarce have been with ardour; and what inspired me that night

with an impatient greed of the sea, the island, and the wreck, was the hope that I might stumble there upon

the answer to a hundred questions, and learn why Captain Trent fanned his red face in the exchange, and why

I was unhappy when I closed my eyes; and it was to unhappiness that I opened them again next morning, to a

confused sense of some calamity still inarticulate, and to the consciousness of jaded limbs and of a swimming

head. I must have lain for some time inert and stupidly miserable, before I became aware of a reiterated

knocking at the door; with which discovery all my wits flowed back in their accustomed channels, and I

remembered the sale, and the wreck, and Goddedaal, and Nares, and Johnson, and Black Tom, and the

troubles of yesterday, and the manifold engagements of the day that was to come. The thought thrilled me

like a trumpet in the hour of battle. In a moment, I had leaped from bed, crossed the office where Pinkerton

lay in a deep trance of sleep on the convertible sofa, and stood in the doorway, in my night gear, to receive

Johnson was first, by way of usher, smiling. From a little behind, with his Sunday hat tilted forward over his

brow, and a cigar glowing between his lips, Captain Nares acknowledged our previous acquaintance with a

succinct nod. Behind him again, in the top of the stairway, a knot of sailors, the new crew of the Norah

Creina, stood polishing the wall with back and elbow. These I left without to their reflections. But our two

officers I carried at once into the office, where (taking Jim by the shoulder) I shook him slowly into

consciousness. He sat up, all abroad for the moment, and stared on the new captain.

Nares repeated his curt nod, still without speech; and I thought he held us both under a watchful scrutiny.

"O!" says Jim, "this is Captain Nares, is it? Good morning, Captain Nares. Happy to have the pleasure of

Perhaps, under the circumstances of the moment, this was scarce a welcome speech. At least, Nares received

"Well, Captain," Jim continued, "you know about the size of the business? You're to take the Nora Creina to

Midway Island, break up a wreck, call at Honolulu, and back to this port? I suppose that's understood?"

"Well," returned Nares, with the same unamiable reserve, "for a reason, which I guess you know, the cruise

may suit me; but there's a point or two to settle. We shall have to talk, Mr. Pinkerton. But whether I go or not,

somebody will; there's no sense in losing time; and you might give Mr. Johnson a note, let him take the hands

right down, and set to to overhaul the rigging. The beasts look sober," he added, with an air of great disgust,

This being agreed upon, Nares watched his subordinate depart and drew a visible breath.

"And now we're alone and can talk," said he. "What's this thing about? It's been advertised like Barnum's

museum; that poster of yours has set the Front talking; that's an objection in itself, for I'm laying a little dark

just now; and anyway, before I take the ship, I require to know what I'm going after."

Thereupon Pinkerton gave him the whole tale, beginning with a businesslike precision, and working himself

up, as he went on, to the boilingpoint of narrative enthusiasm. Nares sat and smoked, hat still on head, and

acknowledged each fresh feature of the story with a frowning nod. But his pale blue eyes betrayed him, and

"Now you see for yourself," Pinkerton concluded: "there's every last chance that Trent has skipped to

Honolulu, and it won't take much of that fifty thousand dollars to charter a smart schooner down to Midway.

Here's where I want a man!" cried Jim, with contagious energy. "That wreck's mine; I've paid for it, money

down; and if it's got to be fought for, I want to see it fought for lively. If you're not back in ninety days, I tell

you plainly, I'll make one of the biggest busts ever seen upon this coast; it's life or death for Mr. Dodd and

me. As like as not, it'll come to grapples on the island; and when I heard your name last nightand a blame'

sight more this morning when I saw the eye you've got in your headI said, 'Nares is good enough for me!'"

"I guess," observed Nares, studying the ash of his cigar, "the sooner I get that schooner outside the

"You're the man I dreamed of!" cried Jim, bouncing on the bed. "There's not five per cent of fraud in all your

"Just hold on," said Nares. "There's another point. I heard some talk about a supercargo."

"I don't see it," returned the captain drily. "One captain's enough for any ship that ever I was aboard."

"Now don't you start disappointing me," said Pinkerton; "for you're talking without thought. I'm not going to

give you the run of the books of this firm, am I? I guess not. Well, this is not only a cruise; it's a business

operation; and that's in the hands of my partner. You sail that ship, you see to breaking up that wreck and

keeping the men upon the jump, and you'll find your hands about full. Only, no mistake about one thing: it

"And so you will here!" cried Pinkerton. "I understand you. You're prickly to handle, but you're straight all

"The position's got to be understood, though," returned Nares, perhaps a trifle mollified. "My position, I

mean. I'm not going to ship sailingmaster; it's enough out of my way already, to set a foot on this mosquito

"Well, I'll tell you," retorted Jim, with an indescribable twinkle: "you just meet me on the ballast, and we'll

Nares laughed a little; tactless Pinkerton had once more gained a victory in tact. "Then there's another point,"

"O, you leave that to me; I'm one of Longhurst's crowd, you know," said Jim, with sudden bristling vanity.

"O, well, give me a card of yours," said the captain: "you needn't bother to write; I keep M'Intyre and Spittal

Boast for boast; it was always thus with Nares and Pinkerton the two vainest men of my acquaintance.

And having thus reinstated himself in his own opinion, the captain rose, and, with a couple of his stiff nods,

"You've just got to, Loudon," returned Jim. "He's a typical American seamanbrave as a lion, full of

"Say what you like," exclaimed Pinkerton, "it was a good hour we got him in: I'd trust Mamie's life to him

Jim paused with his trousers half on. "She's the gallantest little soul God ever made!" he cried. "Loudon, I'd

meant to knock you up last night, and I hope you won't take it unfriendly that I didn't. I went in and looked at

you asleep; and I saw you were all broken up, and let you be. The news would keep, anyway; and even you,

"It's this way," says Jim. "I told her how we stood, and that I backed down from marrying. 'Are you tired of

me?' says she: God bless her! Well, I explained the whole thing over again, the chance of smash, your

absence unavoidable, the point I made of having you for the best man, and that. 'If you're not tired of me, I

think I see one way to manage,' says she. "Let's get married tomorrow, and Mr. Loudon can be best man

before he goes to sea.' That's how she said it, crisp and bright, like one of Dickens's characters. It was no

good for me to talk about the smash. 'You'll want me all the more,' she said. Loudon, I only pray I can make it

up to her; I prayed for it last night beside your bed, while you lay sleepingfor you, and Mamie and myself;

andI don't know if you quite believe in prayer, I'm a bit Ingersollian myselfbut a kind of sweetness

came over me, and I couldn't help but think it was an answer. Never was a man so lucky! You and me and

Mamie; it's a triple cord, Loudon. If either of you were to die! And she likes you so much, and thinks you so

accomplished and distinguelooking, and was just as set as I was to have you for best man. 'Mr. Loudon,' she

calls you; seems to me so friendly! And she sat up till three in the morning fixing up a costume for the

marriage; it did me good to see her, Loudon, and to see that needle going, going, and to say 'All this hurry,

Jim, is just to marry you!' I couldn't believe it; it was so like some blame' fairy story. To think of those old

tintype times about turned my head; I was so unrefined then, and so illiterate, and so lonesome; and here I

So he poured forth with innocent volubility the fulness of his heart; and I, from these irregular

communications, must pick out, here a little and there a little, the particulars of his new plan. They were to be

married, sure enough, that day; the wedding breakfast was to be at Frank's; the evening to be passed in a visit

of Godspeed aboard the Norah Creina; and then we were to part, Jim and I, he to his married life, I on my

seaenterprise. If ever I cherished an illfeeling for Miss Mamie, I forgave her now; so brave and kind, so

pretty and venturesome, was her decision. The weather frowned overhead with a leaden sky, and San

Francisco had never (in all my experience) looked so bleak and gaunt, and shoddy, and crazy, like a city

prematurely old; but through all my wanderings and errands to and fro, by the dock side or in the jostling

street, among rude sounds and ugly sights, there ran in my mind, like a tiny strain of music, the thought of my

For that was indeed a day of many and incongruous occupations. Breakfast was scarce swallowed before Jim

must run to the City Hall and Frank's about the cares of marriage, and I hurry to John Smith's upon the

account of stores, and thence, on a visit of certification, to the Norah Creina. Methought she looked smaller

than ever, sundry great ships overspiring her from close without. She was already a nightmare of disorder;

and the wharf alongside was piled with a world of casks, and cases, and tins, and tools, and coils of rope, and

miniature barrels of giant powder, such as it seemed no human ingenuity could stuff on board of her. Johnson

was in the waist, in a red shirt and dungaree trousers, his eye kindled with activity. With him I exchanged a

word or two; thence stepped aft along the narrow alleyway between the house and the rail, and down the

companion to the main cabin, where the captain sat with the commissioner at wine.

I gazed with disaffection at the little box which for many a day I was to call home. On the starboard was a

stateroom for the captain; on the port, a pair of frowsy berths, one over the other, and abutting astern upon the

side of an unsavoury cupboard. The walls were yellow and damp, the floor black and greasy; there was a

prodigious litter of straw, old newspapers, and broken packingcases; and by way of ornament, only a

glassrack, a thermometer presented "with compliments" of some advertising whiskeydealer, and a swinging

lamp. It was hard to foresee that, before a week was up, I should regard that cabin as cheerful, lightsome,

I was presented to the commissioner, and to a young friend of his whom he had brought with him for the

purpose (apparently) of smoking cigars; and after we had pledged one another in a glass of California port, a

trifle sweet and sticky for a morning beverage, the functionary spread his papers on the table, and the hands

were summoned. Down they trooped, accordingly, into the cabin; and stood eyeing the ceiling or the floor,

the picture of sheepish embarrassment, and with a common air of wanting to expectorate and not quite daring.

In admirable contrast, stood the Chinese cook, easy, dignified, set apart by spotless raiment, the hidalgo of

I daresay you never had occasion to assist at the farce which followed. Our shipping laws in the United States

(thanks to the inimitable Dana) are conceived in a spirit of paternal stringency, and proceed throughout on the

hypothesis that poor Jack is an imbecile, and the other parties to the contract, rogues and ruffians. A long and

wordy paper of precautions, a fo'c's'le bill of rights, must be read separately to each man. I had now the

benefit of hearing it five times in brisk succession; and you would suppose I was acquainted with its contents.

But the commissioner (worthy man) spends his days in doing little else; and when we bear in mind the

parallel case of the irreverent curate, we need not be surprised that he took the passage tempo prestissimo, in

one roulade of gabble that I, with the trained attention of an educated man, could gather but a fraction of

its importand the sailors nothing. No profanity in giving orders, no sheathknives, Midway Island and any

other port the master may direct, not to exceed six calendar months, and to this port to be paid off: so it

seemed to run, with surprising verbiage; so ended. And with the end, the commissioner, in each case, fetched

a deep breath, resumed his natural voice, and proceeded to business. "Now, my man," he would say, "you

ship A. B. at so many dollars, American gold coin. Sign your name here, if you have one, and can write."

Whereupon, and the name (with infinite hard breathing) being signed, the commissioner would proceed to fill

in the man's appearance, height, etc., on the official form. In this task of literary portraiture he seemed to rely

wholly upon temperament; for I could not perceive him to cast one glance on any of his models. He was

assisted, however, by a running commentary from the captain: "Hair blue and eyes red, nose five foot seven,

and stature broken"jests as old, presumably, as the American marine; and, like the similar pleasantries of

the billiard board, perennially relished. The highest note of humour was reached in the case of the Chinese

cook, who was shipped under the name of "One Lung," to the sound of his own protests and the

"Now, captain," said the latter, when the men were gone, and he had bundled up his papers, "the law requires

But when he was gone, I appealed to Nares on the same subject, for I was well aware we carried none of

"Well," drawled Nares, "there's sixty pounds of niggerhead on the quay, isn't there? and twenty pounds of

As a matter of fact, we were richer. The captain had the usual sailor's provision of quack medicines, with

which, in the usual sailor fashion, he would daily drug himself, displaying an extreme inconstancy, and

flitting from Kennedy's Red Discovery to Kennedy's White, and from Hood's Sarsaparilla to Mother Seigel's

Syrup. And there were, besides, some mildewed and halfempty bottles, the labels obliterated, over which

Nares would sometimes sniff and speculate. "Seems to smell like diarrhoea stuff," he would remark. "I wish't

I knew, and I would try it." But the slopchest was indeed represented by the plugs of niggerhead, and

nothing else. Thus paternal laws are made, thus they are evaded; and the schooner put to sea, like plenty of

This characteristic scene, which has delayed me overlong, was but a moment in that day of exercise and

agitation. To fit out a schooner for sea, and improvise a marriage between dawn and dusk, involves heroic

effort. All day Jim and I ran, and tramped, and laughed, and came near crying, and fell in sudden anxious

consultations, and were sped (with a prepared sarcasm on our lips) to some fallacious milliner, and made

dashes to the schooner and John Smith's, and at every second corner were reminded (by our own huge

posters) of our desperate estate. Between whiles, I had found the time to hover at some halfadozen jewellers'

windows; and my present, thus intemperately chosen, was graciously accepted. I believe, indeed, that was the

last (though not the least) of my concerns, before the old minister, shabby and benign, was routed from his

house and led to the office like a performing poodle; and there, in the growing dusk, under the cold glitter of

Thirteen Star, two hundred strong, and beside the garish glories of the agricultural engine, Mamie and Jim

were made one. The scene was incongruous, but the business pretty, whimsical, and affecting: the typewriters

with such kindly faces and fine posies, Mamie so demure, and Jimhow shall I describe that poor,

transfigured Jim? He began by taking the minister aside to the far end of the office. I knew not what he said,

but I have reason to believe he was protesting his unfitness; for he wept as he said it: and the old minister,

himself genuinely moved, was heard to console and encourage him, and at one time to use this expression: "I

assure you, Mr. Pinkerton, there are not many who can say so much"from which I gathered that my friend

had tempered his selfaccusations with at least one legitimate boast. From this ghostly counselling, Jim

turned to me; and though he never got beyond the explosive utterance of my name and one fierce handgrip,

communicated some of his own emotion, like a charge of electricity, to his best man. We stood up to the

ceremony at last, in a general and kindly discomposure. Jim was all abroad; and the divine himself betrayed

his sympathy in voice and demeanour, and concluded with a fatherly allocution, in which he congratulated

Mamie (calling her "my dear") upon the fortune of an excellent husband, and protested he had rarely married

a more interesting couple. At this stage, like a glory descending, there was handed in, ex machina, the card of

Douglas B. Longhurst, with congratulations and four dozen PerrierJouet. A bottle was opened; and the

minister pledged the bride, and the bridesmaids simpered and tasted, and I made a speech with airy

bacchanalianism, glass in hand. But poor Jim must leave the wine untasted. "Don't touch it," I had found the

opportunity to whisper; "in your state it will make you as drunk as a fiddler." And Jim had wrung my hand

Hard following upon this, the supper passed off at Frank's with somewhat tremulous gaiety. And thence, with

one half of the PerrierJouetI would accept no morewe voyaged in a hack to the Norah Creina.

"What a dear little ship!" cried Mamie, as our miniature craft was pointed out to her. And then, on second

thought, she turned to the best man. "And how brave you must be, Mr. Dodd," she cried, "to go in that tiny

thing so far upon the ocean!" And I perceived I had risen in the lady's estimation.

The dear little ship presented a horrid picture of confusion, and its occupants of weariness and illhumour.

From the cabin the cook was storing tins into the lazarette, and the four hands, sweaty and sullen, were

passing them from one to another from the waist. Johnson was three parts asleep over the table; and in his

"See here," he said, rising; "you'll be sorry you came. We can't stop work if we're to get away tomorrow. A

ship getting ready for sea is no place for people, anyway. You'll only interrupt my men."

I was on the point of answering something tart; but Jim, who was acquainted with the breed, as he was with

"Captain," he said, "I know we're a nuisance here, and that you've had a rough time. But all we want is that

you should drink one glass of wine with us, PerrierJouet, from Longhurst, on the occasion of my marriage,

"Well, it's your lookout," said Nares. "I don't mind half an hour. Spell, O!" he added to the men; "go and kick

your heels for half an hour, and then you can turn to again a trifle livelier. Johnson, see if you can't wipe off a

His tone was no more gracious than his language; but when Mamie had turned upon him the soft fire of her

eyes, and informed him that he was the first seacaptain she had ever met, "except captains of steamers, of

course"she so qualified the statementand had expressed a lively sense of his courage, and perhaps

implied (for I suppose the arts of ladies are the same as those of men) a modest consciousness of his good

looks, our bear began insensibly to soften; and it was already part as an apology, though still with unaffected

"A pretty mess we've had!" said he. "Half the stores were wrong; I'll wring John Smith's neck for him some

of these days. Then two newspaper beasts came down, and tried to raise copy out of me, till I threatened them

with the first thing handy; and then some kind of missionary bug, wanting to work his passage to Raiatea or

somewhere. I told him I would take him off the wharf with the butt end of my boot, and he went away

While the captain spoke, with his strange, humorous, arrogant abruptness, I observed Jim to be sizing him up,

like a thing at once quaint and familiar, and with a scrutiny that was both curious and knowing.

"One word, dear boy," he said, turning suddenly to me. And when he had drawn me on deck, "That man,"

says he, "will carry sail till your hair grows white; but never you let on, never breathe a word. I know his line:

he'll die before he'll take advice; and if you get his back up, he'll run you right under. I don't often jam in my

The little party in the cabin, so disastrously begun, finished, under the mellowing influence of wine and

woman, in excellent feeling and with some hilarity. Mamie, in a plush Gainsborough hat and a gown of

winecoloured silk, sat, an apparent queen, among her rude surroundings and companions. The dusky litter

of the cabin set off her radiant trimness: tarry Johnson was a foil to her fair beauty; she glowed in that poor

place, fair as a star; until even I, who was not usually of her admirers, caught a spark of admiration; and even

the captain, who was in no courtly humour, proposed that the scene should be commemorated by my pencil.

It was the last act of the evening. Hurriedly as I went about my task, the halfhour had lengthened out to

more than three before it was completed: Mamie in full value, the rest of the party figuring in outline only,

and the artist himself introduced in a back view, which was pronounced a likeness. But it was to Mamie that I

"O!" she cried, "am I really like that? No wonder Jim ..." She paused. "Why it's just as lovely as he's good!"

she cried: an epigram which was appreciated, and repeated as we made our salutations, and called out after

Thus it was that our farewells were smuggled through under an ambuscade of laughter, and the parting over

ere I knew it was begun. The figures vanished, the steps died away along the silent city front; on board, the

men had returned to their labours, the captain to his solitary cigar; and after that long and complex day of

business and emotion, I was at last alone and free. It was, perhaps, chiefly fatigue that made my heart so

heavy. I leaned at least upon the house, and stared at the foggy heaven, or over the rail at the wavering

reflection of the lamps, like a man that was quite done with hope and would have welcomed the asylum of the

grave. And all at once, as I thus stood, the City of Pekin flashed into my mind, racing her thirteen knots for

Honolulu, with the hated Trentperhaps with the mysterious Goddedaalon board; and with the thought,

the blood leaped and careered through all my body. It seemed no chase at all; it seemed we had no chance, as

we lay there bound to iron pillars, and fooling away the precious moments over tins of beans. "Let them get

there first!" I thought. "Let them! We can't be long behind." And from that moment, I date myself a man of a

rounded experience: nothing had lacked but this, that I should entertain and welcome the grim thought of

It was long before the toil remitted in the cabin, and it was worth my while to get to bed; long after that,

before sleep favoured me; and scarce a moment later (or so it seemed) when I was recalled to consciousness

The schooner was cast off before I got on deck. In the misty obscurity of the first dawn, I saw the tug heading

us with glowing fires and blowing smoke, and heard her beat the roughened waters of the bay. Beside us, on

her flock of hills, the lighted city towered up and stood swollen in the raw fog. It was strange to see her burn

on thus wastefully, with halfquenched luminaries, when the dawn was already grown strong enough to show

Or was it really the eye, and not rather the heart, that identified that shadow in the dusk, among the shoreside

lamps? I know not. It was Jim, at least; Jim, come for a last look; and we had but time to wave a valedictory

gesture and exchange a wordless cry. This was our second parting, and our capacities were now reversed. It

was mine to play the Argonaut, to speed affairs, to plan and to accomplishif need were, at the price of life;

it was his to sit at home, to study the calendar, and to wait. I knew besides another thing that gave me joy. I

knew that my friend had succeeded in my education; that the romance of business, if our fantastic purchase

merited the name, had at last stirred my dilletante nature; and, as we swept under cloudy Tamalpais and

through the roaring narrows of the bay, the Yankee blood sang in my veins with suspense and exultation.

Outside the heads, as if to meet my desire, we found it blowing fresh from the northeast. No time had been

lost. The sun was not yet up before the tug cast off the hawser, gave us a salute of three whistles, and turned

homeward toward the coast, which now began to gleam along its margin with the earliest rays of day. There

was no other ship in view when the Norah Creina, lying over under all plain sail, began her long and lonely

I love to recall the glad monotony of a Pacific voyage, when the trades are not stinted, and the ship, day after

day, goes free. The mountain scenery of tradewind clouds, watched (and in my case painted) under every

vicissitude of lightblotting stars, withering in the moon's glory, barring the scarlet eve, lying across the

dawn collapsed into the unfeatured morning bank, or at noon raising their snowy summits between the blue

roof of heaven and the blue floor of sea; the small, busy, and deliberate world of the schooner, with its

unfamiliar scenes, the spearing of dolphin from the bowsprit end, the holy war on sharks, the cook making

bread on the main hatch; reefing down before a violent squall, with the men hanging out on the footropes;

the squall itself, the catch at the heart, the opened sluices of the sky; and the relief, the renewed loveliness of

life, when all is over, the sun forth again, and our outfought enemy only a blot upon the leeward sea. I love

to recall, and would that I could reproduce that life, the unforgettable, the unrememberable. The memory,

which shows so wise a backwardness in registering pain, is besides an imperfect recorder of extended

pleasures; and a longcontinued wellbeing escapes (as it were, by its mass) our petty methods of

commemoration. On a part of our life's map there lies a roseate, undecipherable haze, and that is all.

Of one thing, if I am at all to trust my own annals, I was delightedly conscious. Day after day, in the

sungilded cabin, the whiskeydealer's thermometer stood at 84. Day after day, the air had the same

indescribable liveliness and sweetness, soft and nimble, and cool as the cheek of health. Day after day the sun

flamed; night after night the moon beaconed, or the stars paraded their lustrous regiment. I was aware of a

spiritual change, or, perhaps, rather a molecular reconstitution. My bones were sweeter to me. I had come

home to my own climate, and looked back with pity on those damp and wintry zones, miscalled the

"Two years of this, and comfortable quarters to live in, kind of shake the grit out of a man," the captain

remarked; "can't make out to be happy anywhere else. A townie of mine was lost down this way, in a

coalship that took fire at sea. He struck the beach somewhere in the Navigators; and he wrote to me that when

he left the place, it would be feet first. He's well off, too, and his father owns some coasting craft Down East;

A voice told me I was on the same track as Billy. But when was this? Our outward track in the Norah Creina

lay well to the northward; and perhaps it is but the impression of a few pet days which I have unconsciously

spread longer, or perhaps the feeling grew upon me later, in the run to Honolulu. One thing I am sure: it was

before I had ever seen an island worthy of the name that I must date my loyalty to the South Seas. The blank

sea itself grew desirable under such skies; and wherever the tradewind blows, I know no better country than

But for the tugging anxiety as to the journey's end, the journey itself must thus have counted for the best of

holidays. My physical wellbeing was overproof; effects of sea and sky kept me for ever busy with my

pencil; and I had no lack of intellectual exercise of a different order in the study of my inconsistent friend, the

captain. I call him friend, here on the threshold; but that is to look well ahead. At first, I was too much

horrified by what I considered his barbarities, too much puzzled by his shifting humours, and too frequently

annoyed by his small vanities, to regard him otherwise than as the cross of my existence. It was only by

degrees, in his rare hours of pleasantness, when he forgot (and made me forget) the weaknesses to which he

was so prone, that he won me to a kind of unconsenting fondness. Lastly, the faults were all embraced in a

more generous view: I saw them in their place, like discords in a musical progression; and accepted them and

found them picturesque, as we accept and admire, in the habitable face of nature, the smoky head of the

He was come of good people Down East, and had the beginnings of a thorough education. His temper had

been ungovernable from the first; and it is likely the defect was inherited, and the blame of the rupture not

entirely his. He ran away at least to sea; suffered horrible maltreatment, which seemed to have rather

hardened than enlightened him; ran away again to shore in a South American port; proved his capacity and

made money, although still a child; fell among thieves and was robbed; worked back a passage to the States,

and knocked one morning at the door of an old lady whose orchard he had often robbed. The introduction

appears insufficient; but Nares knew what he was doing. The sight of her old neighbourly depredator

shivering at the door in tatters, the very oddity of his appeal, touched a soft spot in the spinster's heart. "I

always had a fancy for the old lady," Nares said, "even when she used to stampede me out of the orchard, and

shake her thimble and her old curls at me out of the window as I was going by; I always thought she was a

kind of pleasant old girl. Well, when she came to the door that morning, I told her so, and that I was

stonebroke; and she took me right in, and fetched out the pie." She clothed him, taught him, and had him to

sea again in better shape, welcomed him to her hearth on his return from every cruise, and when she died

bequeathed him her possessions. "She was a good old girl," he would say. "I tell you, Mr. Dodd, it was a

queer thing to see me and the old lady talking a pasear in the garden, and the old man scowling at us over the

pickets. She lived right next door to the old man, and I guess that's just what took me there. I wanted him to

know that I was badly beat, you see, and would rather go to the devil than to him. What made the dig harder,

he had quarrelled with the old lady about me and the orchard: I guess that made him rage. Yes, I was a beast

when I was young. But I was always pretty good to the old lady." Since then he had prospered, not

uneventfully, in his profession; the old lady's money had fallen in during the voyage of the Gleaner, and he

was now, as soon as the smoke of that engagement cleared away, secure of his ship. I suppose he was about

thirty: a powerful, active man, with a blue eye, a thick head of hair, about the colour of oakum and growing

low over the brow; cleanshaved and lean about the jaw; a good singer; a good performer on that

seainstrument, the accordion; a quick observer, a close reasoner; when he pleased, of a really elegant

His usage of the men, his hazing, his bullying, his perpetual faultfinding for no cause, his perpetual and

brutal sarcasm, might have raised a mutiny in a slave galley. Suppose the steersman's eye to have wandered:

"You , , little, muttonfaced Dutchman," Nares would bawl; "you want a booting to keep you on

your course! I know a little cityfront slush when I see one. Just you glue your eye to that compass, or I'll

show you round the vessel at the buttend of my boot." Or suppose a hand to linger aft, whither he had

perhaps been summoned not a minute before. "Mr. Daniells, will you oblige me by stepping clear of that

mainsheet?" the captain might begin, with truculent courtesy. "Thank you. And perhaps you'll be so kind as

to tell me what the hell you're doing on my quarterdeck? I want no dirt of your sort here. Is there nothing for

you to do? Where's the mate? Don't you set ME to find work for you, or I'll find you some that will keep you

on your back a fortnight." Such allocutions, conceived with a perfect knowledge of his audience, so that

every insult carried home, were delivered with a mien so menacing, and an eye so fiercely cruel, that his

unhappy subordinates shrank and quailed. Too often violence followed; too often I have heard and seen and

boiled at the cowardly aggression; and the victim, his hands bound by law, has risen again from deck and

crawled forward stupefiedI know not what passion of revenge in his wronged heart.

It seems strange I should have grown to like this tyrant. It may even seem strange that I should have stood by

and suffered his excesses to proceed. But I was not quite such a chicken as to interfere in public; for I would

rather have a man or two mishandled than one half of us butchered in a mutiny and the rest suffer on the

"Captain," I once said to him, appealing to his patriotism, which was of a hardy quality, "this is no way to

"Americans?" he said grimly. "Do you call these Dutchmen and Scattermouches [1] Americans? I've been

fourteen years to sea, all but one trip under American colours, and I've never laid eye on an American

foremast hand. There used to be such things in the old days, when thirtyfive dollars were the wages out of

Boston; and then you could see ships handled and run the way they want to be. But that's all past and gone;

and nowadays the only thing that flies in an American ship is a belayingpin. You don't know; you haven't a

guess. How would you like to go on deck for your middle watch, fourteen months on end, with all your duty

to do and every one's life depending on you, and expect to get a knife ripped into you as you come out of

your stateroom, or be sandbagged as you pass the boat, or get tripped into the hold, if the hatches are off in

fine weather? That kind of shakes the starch out of the brotherly love and New Jerusalem business. You go

through the mill, and you'll have a bigger grudge against every old shellback that dirties his plate in the three

oceans, than the Bank of California could settle up. No; it has an ugly look to it, but the only way to run a

[1] In sealingo (Pacific) DUTCHMAN includes all Teutons and folk from the basin of the Baltic;

"Come, Captain," said I, "there are degrees in everything. You know American ships have a bad name; you

know perfectly well if it wasn't for the high wage and the good food, there's not a man would ship in one if he

could help; and even as it is, some prefer a British ship, beastly food and all."

"O, the limejuicers?" said he. "There's plenty booting in limejuicers, I guess; though I don't deny but what

some of them are soft." And with that he smiled like a man recalling something. "Look here, that brings a

yarn in my head," he resumed; "and for the sake of the joke, I'll give myself away. It was in 1874, I shipped

mate in the British ship Maria, from 'Frisco for Melbourne. She was the queerest craft in some ways that ever

I was aboard of. The food was a caution; there was nothing fit to put your lips tobut the limejuice, which

was from the end bin no doubt: it used to make me sick to see the men's dinners, and sorry to see my own.

The old man was good enough, I guess; Green was his name; a mild, fatherly old galoot. But the hands were

the lowest gang I ever handled; and whenever I tried to knock a little spirit into them, the old man took their

part! It was Gilbert and Sullivan on the high seas; but you bet I wouldn't let any man dictate to me. 'You give

me your orders, Captain Green,' I said, 'and you'll find I'll carry them out; that's all you've got to say. You'll

find I do my duty,' I said; 'how I do it is my lookout; and there's no man born that's going to give me lessons.'

Well, there was plenty dirt on board that Maria first and last. Of course, the old man put my back up, and, of

course, he put up the crew's; and I had to regular fight my way through every watch. The men got to hate me,

so's I would hear them grit their teeth when I came up. At last, one day, I saw a big hulking beast of a

Dutchman booting the ship's boy. I made one shoot of it off the house and laid that Dutchman out. Up he

came, and I laid him out again. 'Now,' I said, 'if there's a kick left in you, just mention it, and I'll stamp your

ribs in like a packingcase.' He thought better of it, and never let on; lay there as mild as a deacon at a

funeral; and they took him below to reflect on his native Dutchland. One night we got caught in rather a dirty

thing about 25 south. I guess we were all asleep; for the first thing I knew there was the foreroyal gone. I ran

forward, bawling blue hell; and just as I came by the foremast, something struck me right through the forearm

and stuck there. I put my other hand up, and by George! it was the grain; the beasts had speared me like a

porpoise. 'Cap'n!' I cried.'What's wrong?' says he.'They've grained me,' says I. 'Grained you?' says he.

'Well, I've been looking for that.' 'And by God,' I cried, 'I want to have some of these beasts murdered

for it!''Now, Mr. Nares,' says he, 'you better go below. If I had been one of the men, you'd have got more

than this. And I want no more of your language on deck. You've cost me my foreroyal already,' says he; 'and

if you carry on, you'll have the three sticks out of her.' That was old man Green's idea of supporting officers.

But you wait a bit; the cream's coming. We made Melbourne right enough, and the old man said: 'Mr. Nares,

you and me don't draw together. You're a firstrate seaman, no mistake of that; but you're the most

disagreeable man I ever sailed with; and your language and your conduct to the crew I cannot stomach. I

guess we'll separate.' I didn't care about the berth, you may be sure; but I felt kind of mean; and if he made

one kind of stink, I thought I could make another. So I said I would go ashore and see how things stood;

went, found I was all right, and came aboard again on the top rail.'Are you getting your traps together, Mr.

Nares?' says the old man.'No,' says I, 'I don't know as we'll separate much before 'Frisco; at least,' I said,

'it's a point for your consideration. I'm very willing to say goodby to the Maria, but I don't know whether

you'll care to start me out with three months' wages.' He got his moneybox right away. 'My son,' says he, 'I

It was a singular tale for a man to tell of himself; above all, in the midst of our discussion; but it was quite in

character for Nares. I never made a good hit in our disputes, I never justly resented any act or speech of his,

but what I found it long after carefully posted in his daybook and reckoned (here was the man's oddity) to

my credit. It was the same with his father, whom he had hated; he would give a sketch of the old fellow, frank

and credible, and yet so honestly touched that it was charming. I have never met a man so strangely

constituted: to possess a reason of the most equal justice, to have his nerves at the same time quivering with

A kindred wonder in my eyes was the nature of his courage. There was never a braver man: he went out to

welcome danger; an emergency (came it never so sudden) strung him like a tonic. And yet, upon the other

hand, I have known none so nervous, so oppressed with possibilities, looking upon the world at large, and the

life of a sailor in particular, with so constant and haggard a consideration of the ugly chances. All his courage

was in blood, not merely cold, but icy with reasoned apprehension. He would lay our little craft rail under,

and "hang on" in a squall, until I gave myself up for lost, and the men were rushing to their stations of their

own accord. "There," he would say, "I guess there's not a man on board would have hung on as long as I did

that time; they'll have to give up thinking me no schooner sailor. I guess I can shave just as near capsizing as

any other captain of this vessel, drunk or sober." And then he would fall to repining and wishing himself well

out of the enterprise, and dilate on the peril of the seas, the particular dangers of the schooner rig, which he

abhorred, the various ways in which we might go to the bottom, and the prodigious fleet of ships that have

sailed out in the course of history, dwindled from the eyes of watchers, and returned no more. "Well," he

would wind up, "I guess it don't much matter. I can't see what any one wants to live for, anyway. If I could

get into some one else's appletree, and be about twelve years old, and just stick the way I was, eating stolen

apples, I won't say. But there's no sense in this grownup businesssailorising, politics, the piety mill, and

all the rest of it. Good clean drowning is good enough for me." It is hard to imagine any more depressing talk

for a poor landsman on a dirty night; it is hard to imagine anything less sailorlike (as sailors are supposed to

But I was to see more of the man's gloomy constancy ere the cruise was at an end.

On the morning of the seventeenth day I came on deck, to find the schooner under double reefs, and flying

rather wild before a heavy run of sea. Snoring trades and humming sails had been our portion hitherto. We

were already nearing the island. My restrained excitement had begun again to overmaster me; and for some

time my only book had been the patent log that trailed over the taffrail, and my chief interest the daily

observation and our caterpillar progress across the chart. My first glance, which was at the compass, and my

second, which was at the log, were all that I could wish. We lay our course; we had been doing over eight

since nine the night before; and I drew a heavy breath of satisfaction. And then I know not what odd and

wintry appearance of the sea and sky knocked suddenly at my heart. I observed the schooner to look more

than usually small, the men silent and studious of the weather. Nares, in one of his rusty humours, afforded

me no shadow of a morning salutation. He, too, seemed to observe the behaviour of the ship with an intent

and anxious scrutiny. What I liked still less, Johnson himself was at the wheel, which he span busily, often

with a visible effort; and as the seas ranged up behind us, black and imminent, he kept casting behind him

eyes of animal swiftness, and drawing in his neck between his shoulders, like a man dodging a blow. From

these signs, I gathered that all was not exactly for the best; and I would have given a good handful of dollars

for a plain answer to the questions which I dared not put. Had I dared, with the present danger signal in the

captain's face, I should only have been reminded of my position as supercargoan office never touched

upon in kindnessand advised, in a very indigestible manner, to go below. There was nothing for it,

therefore, but to entertain my vague apprehensions as best I should be able, until it pleased the captain to

enlighten me of his own accord. This he did sooner than I had expected; as soon, indeed, as the Chinaman

"See here, Mr. Dodd," he began, looking at me rather queerly, "here is a business point arisen. This sea's been

running up for the last two days, and now it's too high for comfort. The glass is falling, the wind is breezing

up, and I won't say but what there's dirt in it. If I lay her to, we may have to ride out a gale of wind and drift

God knows whereon these French Frigate Shoals, for instance. If I keep her as she goes, we'll make that

island tomorrow afternoon, and have the lee of it to lie under, if we can't make out to run in. The point you

have to figure on, is whether you'll take the big chances of that Captain Trent making the place before you, or

take the risk of something happening. I'm to run this ship to your satisfaction," he added, with an ugly sneer.

"Captain," I returned, with my heart in my mouth, "risk is better than certain failure."

"Life is all risk, Mr. Dodd," he remarked. "But there's one thing: it's now or never; in half an hour,

"Run goes," said he; and with that he fell to breakfast, and passed half an hour in stowing away pie and

When we came on deck again, he took the wheel from Johnson it appears they could trust none among the

handsand I stood close beside him, feeling safe in this proximity, and tasting a fearful joy from our

surroundings and the consciousness of my decision. The breeze had already risen, and as it tore over our

heads, it uttered at times a long hooting note that sent my heart into my boots. The sea pursued us without

remission, leaping to the assault of the low rail. The quarterdeck was all awash, and we must close the

"And all this, if you please, for Mr. Pinkerton's dollars!" the captain suddenly exclaimed. "There's many a

fine fellow gone under, Mr. Dodd, because of drivers like your friend. What do they care for a ship or two?

Insured, I guess. What do they care for sailors' lives alongside of a few thousand dollars? What they want is

speed between ports, and a damned fool of a captain that'll drive a ship under as I'm doing this one. You can

I sheered off to another part of the vessel as fast as civility permitted. This was not at all the talk that I

desired, nor was the train of reflection which it started anyway welcome. Here I was, running some hazard of

my life, and perilling the lives of seven others; exactly for what end, I was now at liberty to ask myself. For a

very large amount of a very deadly poison, was the obvious answer; and I thought if all tales were true, and I

were soon to be subjected to crossexamination at the bar of Eternal Justice, it was one which would not

increase my popularity with the court. "Well, never mind, Jim," thought I. "I'm doing it for you."

Before eleven, a third reef was taken in the mainsail; and Johnson filled the cabin with a stormsail of No. 1

duck and sat crosslegged on the streaming floor, vigorously putting it to rights with a couple of the hands.

By dinner I had fled the deck, and sat in the bench corner, giddy, dumb, and stupefied with terror. The

frightened leaps of the poor Norah Creina, spanking like a stag for bare existence, bruised me between the

table and the berths. Overhead, the wild huntsman of the storm passed continuously in one blare of mingled

noises; screaming wind, straining timber, lashing rope's end, pounding block and bursting sea contributed;

and I could have thought there was at times another, a more piercing, a more human note, that dominated all,

like the wailing of an angel; I could have thought I knew the angel's name, and that his wings were black. It

seemed incredible that any creature of man's art could long endure the barbarous mishandling of the seas,

kicked as the schooner was from mountain side to mountain side, beaten and blown upon and wrenched in

every joint and sinew, like a child upon the rack. There was not a plank of her that did not cry aloud for

mercy; and as she continued to hold together, I became conscious of a growing sympathy with her

endeavours, a growing admiration for her gallant staunchness, that amused and at times obliterated my terrors

for myself. God bless every man that swung a mallet on that tiny and strong hull! It was not for wages only

All the rest of the day, and all the following night, I sat in the corner or lay wakeful in my bunk; and it was

only with the return of morning that a new phase of my alarms drove me once more on deck. A gloomier

interval I never passed. Johnson and Nares steadily relieved each other at the wheel and came below. The

first glance of each was at the glass, which he repeatedly knuckled and frowned upon; for it was sagging

lower all the time. Then, if Johnson were the visitor, he would pick a snack out of the cupboard, and stand,

braced against the table, eating it, and perhaps obliging me with a word or two of his heehaw conversation:

how it was "a son of a gun of a cold night on deck, Mr. Dodd" (with a grin); how "it wasn't no night for

panjammers, he could tell me": having transacted all which, he would throw himself down in his bunk and

sleep his two hours with compunction. But the captain neither ate nor slept. "You there, Mr. Dodd?" he

would say, after the obligatory visit to the glass. "Well, my son, we're one hundred and four miles" (or

whatever it was) "off the island, and scudding for all we're worth. We'll make it tomorrow about four, or

not, as the case may be. That's the news. And now, Mr. Dodd, I've stretched a point for you; you can see I'm

dead tired; so just you stretch away back to your bunk again." And with this attempt at geniality, his teeth

would settle hard down on his cigar, and he would pass his spell below staring and blinking at the cabin lamp

through a cloud of tobacco smoke. He has told me since that he was happy, which I should never have

divined. "You see," he said, "the wind we had was never anything out of the way; but the sea was really

nasty, the schooner wanted a lot of humouring, and it was clear from the glass that we were close to some

dirt. We might be running out of it, or we might be running right crack into it. Well, there's always something

sublime about a big deal like that; and it kind of raises a man in his own liking. We're a queer kind of beasts,

The morning broke with sinister brightness; the air alarmingly transparent, the sky pure, the rim of the

horizon clear and strong against the heavens. The wind and the wild seas, now vastly swollen, indefatigably

hunted us. I stood on deck, choking with fear; I seemed to lose all power upon my limbs; my knees were as

paper when she plunged into the murderous valleys; my heart collapsed when some black mountain fell in

avalanche beside her counter, and the water, that was more than spray, swept round my ankles like a torrent. I

was conscious of but one strong desire, to bear myself decently in my terrors, and whatever should happen to

my life, preserve my character: as the captain said, we are a queer kind of beasts. Breakfast time came, and I

made shift to swallow some hot tea. Then I must stagger below to take the time, reading the chronometer with

dizzy eyes, and marvelling the while what value there could be in observations taken in a ship launched (as

ours then was) like a missile among flying seas. The forenoon dragged on in a grinding monotony of peril;

every spoke of the wheel a rash, but an obliged experimentrash as a forlorn hope, needful as the leap that

lands a fireman from a burning staircase. Noon was made; the captain dined on his day's work, and I on

watching him; and our place was entered on the chart with a meticulous precision which seemed to me half

pitiful and half absurd, since the next eye to behold that sheet of paper might be the eye of an exploring fish.

One o'clock came, then two; the captain gloomed and chafed, as he held to the coaming of the house, and if

ever I saw dormant murder in man's eye, it was in his. God help the hand that should have disobeyed him.

Johnson nodded, wiped his eyes with the back of his wet hand, watched a chance as the vessel lunged up hill,

and got to the main rigging, where he swarmed aloft. Up and up, I watched him go, hanging on at every ugly

plunge, gaining with every lull of the schooner's movement, until, clambering into the crosstrees and

clinging with one arm around the masts, I could see him take one comprehensive sweep of the southwesterly

horizon. The next moment, he had slid down the backstay and stood on deck, with a grin, a nod, and a gesture

of the finger that said "yes"; the next again, and he was back sweating and squirming at the wheel, his tired

face streaming and smiling, and his hair and the rags and corners of his clothes lashing round him in the

Nares went below, fetched up his binocular, and fell into a silent perusal of the sealine; I also, with my

unaided eyesight. Little by little, in that white waste of water, I began to make out a quarter where the

whiteness appeared more condensed: the sky above was whitish likewise, and misty like a squall; and little by

little there thrilled upon my ears a note deeper and more terrible than the yelling of the galethe long,

thundering roll of breakers. Nares wiped his night glass on his sleeve and passed it to me, motioning, as he

did so, with his hand. An endless wilderness of raging billows came and went and danced in the circle of the

glass; now and then a pale corner of sky, or the strong line of the horizon rugged with the heads of waves;

and then of a suddencome and gone ere I could fix it, with a swallow's swiftnessone glimpse of what we

had come so far and paid so dear to see: the masts and rigging of a brig pencilled on heaven, with an ensign

streaming at the main, and the ragged ribbons of a topsail thrashing from the yard. Again and again, with

toilful searching, I recalled that apparition. There was no sign of any land; the wreck stood between sea and

sky, a thing the most isolated I had ever viewed; but as we drew nearer, I perceived her to be defended by a

line of breakers which drew off on either hand, and marked, indeed, the nearest segment of the reef. Heavy

spray hung over them like a smoke, some hundred feet into the air; and the sound of their consecutive

In half an hour we were close in; for perhaps as long again, we skirted that formidable barrier toward its

farther side; and presently the sea began insensibly to moderate and the ship to go more sweetly. We had

gained the lee of the island as (for form's sake) I may call that ring of foam and haze and thunder; and

All hands were filled with joy. It was betrayed in their alacrity and easy faces: Johnson smiling broadly at the

wheel, Nares studying the sketch chart of the island with an eye at peace, and the hands clustered forward,

eagerly talking and pointing: so manifest was our escape, so wonderful the attraction of a single foot of earth

after so many suns had set and risen on an empty sea. To add to the relief, besides, by one of those malicious

coincidences which suggest for fate the image of an underbred and grinning schoolboy, we had no sooner

For myself, however, I did but exchange anxieties. I was no sooner out of one fear than I fell upon another;

no sooner secure that I should myself make the intended haven, than I began to be convinced that Trent was

there before me. I climbed into the rigging, stood on the board, and eagerly scanned that ring of coral reef and

bursting breaker, and the blue lagoon which they enclosed. The two islets within began to show

plainlyMiddle Brooks and Lower Brooks Island, the Directory named them: two low, bushcovered,

rolling strips of sand, each with glittering beaches, each perhaps a mile or a mile and a half in length, running

east and west, and divided by a narrow channel. Over these, innumerable as maggots, there hovered,

chattered, screamed and clanged, millions of twinkling seabirds: white and black; the black by far the largest.

With singular scintillations, this vortex of winged life swayed to and fro in the strong sunshine, whirled

continually through itself, and would now and again burst asunder and scatter as wide as the lagoon: so that I

was irresistibly reminded of what I had read of nebular convulsions. A thin cloud overspread the area of the

reef and the adjacent seathe dust, as I could not but fancy, of earlier explosions. And a little apart, there

was yet another focus of centrifugal and centripetal flight, where, hard by the deafening line of breakers, her

sails (all but the tattered topsail) snugly furled down, and the red rag that marks Old England on the seas

beating, union down, at the mainthe Flying Scud, the fruit of so many toilers, a recollection in so many

lives of men, whose tall spars had been mirrored in the remotest corners of the sealay stationary at last and

forever, in the first stage of naval dissolution. Towards her, the taut Norah Creina, vulturewise, wriggled to

windward: come from so far to pick her bones. And, look as I pleased, there was no other presence of man or

of man's handiwork; no Honolulu schooner lay there crowded with armed rivals, no smoke rose from the fire

at which I fancied Trent cooking a meal of seabirds. It seemed, after all, we were in time, and I drew a mighty

I had not arrived at this reviving certainty before the breakers were already close aboard, the leadsman at his

station, and the captain posted in the fore crosstrees to con us through the coral lumps of the lagoon. All

circumstances were in our favour, the light behind, the sun low, the wind still fresh and steady, and the tide

about the turn. A moment later we shot at racing speed betwixt two pier heads of broken water; the lead

began to be cast, the captain to bawl down his anxious directions, the schooner to tack and dodge among the

scattered dangers of the lagoon; and at one bell in the first dog watch, we had come to our anchor off the

northeast end of Middle Brooks Island, in five fathoms water. The sails were gasketted and covered, the

boats emptied of the miscellaneous stores and odds and ends of seafurniture, that accumulate in the course

of a voyage, the kedge sent ashore, and the decks tidied down: a good threequarters of an hour's work, during

which I raged about the deck like a man with a strong toothache. The transition from the wild sea to the

comparative immobility of the lagoon had wrought strange distress among my nerves: I could not hold still

whether in hand or foot; the slowness of the men, tired as dogs after our rough experience outside, irritated

me like something personal; and the irrational screaming of the seabirds saddened me like a dirge. It was a

relief when, with Nares, and a couple of hands, I might drop into the boat and move off at last for the Flying

"She looks kind of pitiful, don't she?" observed the captain, nodding towards the wreck, from which we were

separated by some half a mile. "Looks as if she didn't like her berth, and Captain Trent had used her badly.

Give her ginger, boys!" he added to the hands, "and you can all have shore liberty tonight to see the birds

We all laughed at the pleasantry, and the boat skimmed the faster over the rippling face of the lagoon. The

Flying Scud would have seemed small enough beside the wharves of San Francisco, but she was some thrice

the size of the Norah Creina, which had been so long our continent; and as we craned up at her wallsides,

she impressed us with a mountain magnitude. She lay head to the reef, where the huge blue wall of the rollers

was for ever ranging up and crumbling down; and to gain her starboard side, we must pass below the stern.

On the other side, about the break of the poop, some half a fathom of rope ladder trailed over the rail, and by

She was a roomy ship inside, with a raised poop standing some three feet higher than the deck, and a small

forward house, for the men's bunks and the galley, just abaft the foremast. There was one boat on the house,

and another and larger one, in beds on deck, on either hand of it. She had been painted white, with tropical

economy, outside and in; and we found, later on, that the stanchions of the rail, hoops of the scuttle but, etc.,

were picked out with green. At that time, however, when we first stepped aboard, all was hidden under the

The birds themselves gyrated and screamed meanwhile among the rigging; and when we looked into the

galley, their outrush drove us back. Savagelooking fowl they were, savagely beaked, and some of the black

ones great as eagles. Halfburied in the slush, we were aware of a litter of kegs in the waist; and these, on

being somewhat cleaned, proved to be water beakers and quarter casks of mess beef with some colonial

brand, doubtless collected there before the Tempest hove in sight, and while Trent and his men had no better

expectation than to strike for Honolulu in the boats. Nothing else was notable on deck, save where the loose

topsail had played some havoc with the rigging, and there hung, and swayed, and sang in the declining wind,

With a shyness that was almost awe, Nares and I descended the companion. The stair turned upon itself and

landed us just forward of a thwartship bulkhead that cut the poop in two. The fore part formed a kind of

miscellaneous storeroom, with a doublebunked division for the cook (as Nares supposed) and second mate.

The after part contained, in the midst, the main cabin, running in a kind of bow into the curvature of the stern;

on the port side, a pantry opening forward and a stateroom for the mate; and on the starboard, the captain's

berth and watercloset. Into these we did but glance: the main cabin holding us. It was dark, for the seabirds

had obscured the skylight with their droppings; it smelt rank and fusty; and it was beset with a loud swarm of

flies that beat continually in our faces. Supposing them close attendants upon man and his broken meat, I

marvelled how they had found their way to Midway reef; it was sure at least some vessel must have brought

them, and that long ago, for they had multiplied exceedingly. Part of the floor was strewn with a confusion of

clothes, books, nautical instruments, odds and ends of finery, and such trash as might be expected from the

turning out of several seamen's chests, upon a sudden emergency and after a long cruise. It was strange in that

dim cabin, quivering with the near thunder of the breakers and pierced with the screaming of the fowls, to

turn over so many things that other men had coveted, and prized, and worn on their warm bodiesfrayed old

underclothing, pyjamas of strange design, duck suits in every stage of rustiness, oil skins, pilot coats, bottles

of scent, embroidered shirts, jackets of Ponjee silkclothes for the night watch at sea or the day ashore in

the hotel verandah; and mingled among these, books, cigars, fancy pipes, quantities of tobacco, many keys, a

rusty pistol, and a sprinkling of cheap curiositiesBenares brass, Chinese jars and pictures, and bottles of

odd shells in cotton, each designed no doubt for somebody at homeperhaps in Hull, of which Trent had

Thence we turned our attention to the table, which stood spread, as if for a meal, with stout ship's crockery

and the remains of fooda pot of marmalade, dregs of coffee in the mugs, unrecognisable remains of foods,

bread, some toast, and a tin of condensed milk. The tablecloth, originally of a red colour, was stained a dark

brown at the captain's end, apparently with coffee; at the other end, it had been folded back, and a pen and

inkpot stood on the bare table. Stools were here and there about the table, irregularly placed, as though the

meal had been finished and the men smoking and chatting; and one of the stools lay on the floor, broken.

"See! they were writing up the log," said Nares, pointing to the inkbottle. "Caught napping, as usual. I

wonder if there ever was a captain yet, that lost a ship with his logbook up to date? He generally has about a

month to fill up on a clean break, like Charles Dickens and his serial novels.What a regular, limejuicer

spread!" he added contemptuously. "Marmaladeand toast for the old man! Nasty, slovenly pigs!"

There was something in this criticism of the absent that jarred upon my feelings. I had no love indeed for

Captain Trent or any of his vanished gang; but the desertion and decay of this once habitable cabin struck me

hard: the death of man's handiwork is melancholy like the death of man himself; and I was impressed with an

The captain nodded. "It IS kind of lonely, isn't it?" he said. "But I can't go up till I get the code signals. I want

to run up 'Got Left' or something, just to brighten up this island home. Captain Trent hasn't been here yet, but

"Isn't there some official expression we could use?" I asked, vastly taken by the fancy. "'Sold for the benefit

of the underwriters: for further particulars, apply to J. Pinkerton, Montana Block, S.F.'"

"Well," returned Nares, "I won't say but what an old navy quartermaster might telegraph all that, if you gave

him a day to do it in and a pound of tobacco for himself. But it's above my register. I must try something

short and sweet: KB, urgent signal, 'Heave all aback'; or LM, urgent, 'The berth you're now in is not safe'; or

"It's premature," I replied; "but it seems calculated to give pain to Trent. PQH for me."

The flags were found in Trent's cabin, neatly stored behind a lettered grating; Nares chose what he required

and (I following) returned on deck, where the sun had already dipped, and the dusk was coming.

"Here! don't touch that, you fool!" shouted the captain to one of the hands, who was drinking from the scuttle

"Let me see," returned Nares, and he took the dipper and held it to his lips. "Yes, it's all right," he said. "Must

have rotted and come sweet again. Queer, isn't it, Mr. Dodd? Though I've known the same on a Cape

There was something in his intonation that made me look him in the face; he stood a little on tiptoe to look

right and left about the ship, like a man filled with curiosity, and his whole expression and bearing testified to

"O, I don't know but what I do!" he replied, laying a hand upon me soothingly. "The thing's very possible.

And with that he called a hand, gave him the code flags, and stepped himself to the main signal halliards,

which vibrated under the weight of the ensign overhead. A minute later, the American colours, which we had

brought in the boat, replaced the English red, and PQH was fluttering at the fore.

"Now, then," said Nares, who had watched the breaking out of his signal with the oldmaidish particularity

of an American sailor, "out with those handspikes, and let's see what water there is in the lagoon."

The bars were shoved home; the barbarous cacophony of the clanking pump rose in the waist; and streams of

illsmelling water gushed on deck and made valleys in the slab guano. Nares leaned on the rail, watching the

"Well, I'll tell you one thing shortly," he replied. "But here's another. Do you see those boats there, one on the

house and two on the beds? Well, where is the boat Trent lowered when he lost the hands?"

"She might have carried another on the main hatch, I won't deny," admitted Nares; "but I can't see what she

wanted with it, unless it was for the old man to go out and play the accordion in, on moonlight nights."

"O, I don't suppose it does," said he, glancing over his shoulder at the spouting of the scuppers.

"And how long are we to keep up this racket?" I asked. "We're simply pumping up the lagoon. Captain Trent

"Did he?" said Nares, with a significant dryness. And almost as he spoke the pumps sucked, and sucked

again, and the men threw down their bars. "There, what do you make of that?" he asked. "Now, I'll tell, Mr.

Dodd," he went on, lowering his voice, but not shifting from his easy attitude against the rail, "this ship is as

sound as the Norah Creina. I had a guess of it before we came aboard, and now I know."

"I don't make anything of Trent; I don't know whether he's a liar or only an old wife; I simply tell you what's

the fact," said Nares. "And I'll tell you something more," he added: "I've taken the ground myself in

deepwater vessels; I know what I'm saying; and I say that, when she first struck and before she bedded

down, seven or eight hours' work would have got this hooker off, and there's no man that ever went two years

Nares raised his finger warningly. "Don't let THEM get hold of it," said he. "Think what you like, but say

I glanced round; the dusk was melting into early night; the twinkle of a lantern marked the schooner's

position in the distance; and our men, free from further labour, stood grouped together in the waist, their faces

"Why didn't Trent get her off?" inquired the captain. "Why did he want to buy her back in 'Frisco for these

"I wish we knew her value now," exclaimed Nares. "However, I don't want to depress you; I'm sorry for you,

Mr. Dodd; I know how bothering it must be to you; and the best I can say's this: I haven't taken much time

getting down, and now I'm here I mean to work this thing in proper style. I just want to put your mind at rest:

There was something trusty and friendly in his voice; and I found myself gripping hands with him, in that

"We'll do, old fellow," said he. "We've shaken down into pretty good friends, you and me; and you won't find

me working the business any the less hard for that. And now let's scoot for supper."

After supper, with the idle curiosity of the seafarer, we pulled ashore in a fine moonlight, and landed on

Middle Brook's Island. A flat beach surrounded it upon all sides; and the midst was occupied by a thicket of

bushes, the highest of them scarcely five feet high, in which the seafowl lived. Through this we tried at first

to strike; but it were easier to cross Trafalgar Square on a day of demonstration than to invade these haunts of

sleeping seabirds. The nests sank, and the eggs burst under footing; wings beat in our faces, beaks menaced

our eyes, our minds were confounded with the screeching, and the coil spread over the island and mounted

"I guess we'll saunter round the beach," said Nares, when we had made good our retreat.

The hands were all busy after seabirds' eggs, so there were none to follow us. Our way lay on the crisp sand

by the margin of the water: on one side, the thicket from which we had been dislodged; on the other, the face

of the lagoon, barred with a broad path of moonlight, and beyond that, the line, alternately dark and shining,

alternately hove high and fallen prone, of the external breakers. The beach was strewn with bits of wreck and

drift: some redwood and spruce logs, no less than two lower masts of junks, and the sternpost of a European

ship; all of which we looked on with a shade of serious concern, speaking of the dangers of the sea and the

hard case of castaways. In this sober vein we made the greater part of the circuit of the island; had a near

view of its neighbour from the southern end; walked the whole length of the westerly side in the shadow of

On our right, at the distance of about half a mile, the schooner lay faintly heaving at her anchors. About half a

mile down the beach, at a spot still hidden from us by the thicket, an upboiling of the birds showed where the

men were still (with sailorlike insatiability) collecting eggs. And right before us, in a small indentation of

"We were damned fools to come ashore unarmed," said he. "But I've got to know where I stand." In the

shadow, his face looked conspicuously white, and his voice betrayed a strong excitement. He took his boat's

whistle from his pocket. "In case I might want to play a tune," said he, grimly, and thrusting it between his

teeth, advanced into the moonlit open; which we crossed with rapid steps, looking guiltily about us as we

went. Not a leaf stirred; and the boat, when we came up to it, offered convincing proof of long desertion. She

was an eighteenfoot whaleboat of the ordinary type, equipped with oars and tholepins. Two or three

quartercasks lay on the bilge amidships, one of which must have been broached, and now stank horribly;

and these, upon examination, proved to bear the same New Zealand brand as the beef on board the wreck.

"Well, here's the boat," said I; "here's one of your difficulties cleared away."

"H'm," said he. There was a little water in the bilge, and here he stooped and tasted it.

"In plain United States, Mr. Dodd," he returned, "a whaleboat, five ash sweeps, and a barrel of stinking pork."

"Well, it's this way," he condescended to explain. "I've no use for a fourth boat at all; but a boat of this model

tops the business. I don't say the type's not common in these waters; it's as common as dirt; the traders carry

them for surfboats. But the Flying Scud? a deepwater tramp, who was limejuicing around between big

ports, Calcutta and Rangoon and 'Frisco and the Canton River? No, I don't see it."

We were leaning over the gunwale of the boat as we spoke. The captain stood nearest the bow, and he was

idly playing with the trailing painter, when a thought arrested him. He hauled the line in hand over hand, and

"Do you know, Mr. Dodd," said he, in a queer voice, "this painter's been cut? A sailor always seizes a rope's

end, but this is sliced short off with the cold steel. This won't do at all for the men," he added. "Just stand by

"Well, it means one thing," said he. "It means Trent was a liar. I guess the story of the Flying Scud was a

Half an hour later, the whaleboat was lying astern of the Norah Creina; and Nares and I sought our bunks,

The sun of the morrow had not cleared the morning bank: the lake of the lagoon, the islets, and the wall of

breakers now beginning to subside, still lay clearly pictured in the flushed obscurity of early day, when we

stepped again upon the deck of the Flying Scud: Nares, myself, the mate, two of the hands, and one dozen

bright, virgin axes, in war against that massive structure. I think we all drew pleasurable breath; so profound

in man is the instinct of destruction, so engaging is the interest of the chase. For we were now about to taste,

in a supreme degree, the double joys of demolishing a toy and playing "Hide the handkerchief": sports from

which we had all perhaps desisted since the days of infancy. And the toy we were to burst in pieces was a

deepsea ship; and the hidden good for which we were to hunt was a prodigious fortune.

The decks were washed down, the main hatch removed, and a guntackle purchase rigged before the boat

arrived with breakfast. I had grown so suspicious of the wreck, that it was a positive relief to me to look down

into the hold, and see it full, or nearly full, of undeniable rice packed in the Chinese fashion in boluses of

matting. Breakfast over, Johnson and the hands turned to upon the cargo; while Nares and I, having smashed

open the skylight and rigged up a windsail on deck, began the work of rummaging the cabins.

I must not be expected to describe our first day's work, or (for that matter) any of the rest, in order and detail

as it occurred. Such particularity might have been possible for several officers and a draft of men from a ship

of war, accompanied by an experienced secretary with a knowledge of shorthand. For two plain human

beings, unaccustomed to the use of the broadaxe and consumed with an impatient greed of the result, the

whole business melts, in the retrospect, into a nightmare of exertion, heat, hurry, and bewilderment; sweat

pouring from the face like rain, the scurry of rats, the choking exhalations of the bilge, and the throbs and

splinterings of the toiling axes. I shall content myself with giving the cream of our discoveries in a logical

rather than a temporal order; though the two indeed practically coincided, and we had finished our

exploration of the cabin, before we could be certain of the nature of the cargo.

Nares and I began operations by tossing up pellmell through the companion, and piling in a squalid heap

about the wheel, all clothes, personal effects, the crockery, the carpet, stale victuals, tins of meat, and in a

word, all movables from the main cabin. Thence, we transferred our attention to the captain's quarters on the

starboard side. Using the blankets for a basket, we sent up the books, instruments, and clothes to swell our

growing midden on the deck; and then Nares, going on hands and knees, began to forage underneath the bed.

Box after box of Manilla cigars rewarded his search. I took occasion to smash some of these boxes open, and

even to guillotine the bundles of cigars; but quite in vainno secret cache of opium encouraged me to

"I guess I've got hold of the dicky now!" exclaimed Nares, and turning round from my perquisitions, I found

he had drawn forth a heavy iron box, secured to the bulkhead by chain and padlock. On this he was now

gazing, not with the triumph that instantly inflamed my own bosom, but with a somewhat foolish appearance

"By George, we have it now!" I cried, and would have shaken hands with my companion; but he did not see,

"Let's see what's in it first," he remarked dryly. And he adjusted the box upon its side, and with some blows

of an axe burst the lock open. I threw myself beside him, as he replaced the box on its bottom and removed

the lid. I cannot tell what I expected; a million's worth of diamonds might perhaps have pleased me; my

cheeks burned, my heart throbbed to bursting; and lo! there was disclosed but a trayful of papers, neatly

taped, and a chequebook of the customary pattern. I made a snatch at the tray to see what was beneath; but

"Now, boss!" he cried, not unkindly, "is this to be run shipshape? or is it a Dutch grabracket?"

And he proceeded to untie and run over the contents of the papers, with a serious face and what seemed an

ostentation of delay. Me and my impatience it would appear he had forgotten; for when he was quite done, he

sat a while thinking, whistled a bar or two, refolded the papers, tied them up again; and then, and not before,

I saw a cigarbox, tied with a piece of fishingline, and four fat canvasbags. Nares whipped out his knife,

The captain ripped them open one by one, and a flood of mixed silver coin burst forth and rattled in the rusty

"The ship's money?" I repeated. "That's the money Trent tramped and traded with? And there's his

"I guess he has," said Nares, austerely, jotting down a note of the gold; and I was abashed into silence till his

It came, I think, to three hundred and seventyeight pounds sterling; some nineteen pounds of it in silver: all

"Mr. Dodd," he replied, "you see something of the rumness of this job, but not the whole. The specie bothers

you, but what gets me is the papers. Are you aware that the master of a ship has charge of all the cash in

hand, pays the men advances, receives freight and passage money, and runs up bills in every port? All this he

does as the owner's confidential agent, and his integrity is proved by his receipted bills. I tell you, the captain

of a ship is more likely to forget his pants than these bills which guarantee his character. I've known men

drown to save them: bad men, too; but this is the shipmaster's honour. And here this Captain Trentnot

hurried, not threatened with anything but a free passage in a British manofwarhas left them all behind! I

don't want to express myself too strongly, because the facts appear against me, but the thing is impossible."

Dinner came to us not long after, and we ate it on deck, in a grim silence, each privately racking his brain for

some solution of the mysteries. I was indeed so swallowed up in these considerations, that the wreck, the

lagoon, the islets, and the strident seafowl, the strong sun then beating on my head, and even the gloomy

countenance of the captain at my elbow, all vanished from the field of consciousness. My mind was a

blackboard, on which I scrawled and blotted out hypotheses; comparing each with the pictorial records in my

memory: cyphering with pictures. In the course of this tense mental exercise I recalled and studied the faces

of one memorial masterpiece, the scene of the saloon; and here I found myself, on a sudden, looking in the

"There's one thing I can put beyond doubt, at all events," I cried, relinquishing my dinner and getting briskly

afoot. "There was that Kanaka I saw in the bar with Captain Trent, the fellow the newspapers and ship's

articles made out to be a Chinaman. I mean to rout his quarters out and settle that."

"All right," said Nares. "I'll lazy off a bit longer, Mr. Dodd; I feel pretty rocky and mean."

We had thoroughly cleared out the three aftercompartments of the ship: all the stuff from the main cabin and

the mate's and captain's quarters lay piled about the wheel; but in the forward stateroom with the two bunks,

where Nares had said the mate and cook most likely berthed, we had as yet done nothing. Thither I went. It

was very bare; a few photographs were tacked on the bulkhead, one of them indecent; a single chest stood

open, and, like all we had yet found, it had been partly rifled. An armful of twoshilling novels proved to me

beyond a doubt it was a European's; no Chinaman would have possessed any, and the most literate Kanaka

conceivable in a ship's galley was not likely to have gone beyond one. It was plain, then, that the cook had

The men had stamped down the nests and driven the birds from the galley, so that I could now enter without

contest. One door had been already blocked with rice; the place was in part darkness, full of a foul stale

smell, and a cloud of nasty flies; it had been left, besides, in some disorder, or else the birds, during their time

of tenancy, had knocked the things about; and the floor, like the deck before we washed it, was spread with

pasty filth. Against the wall, in the far corner, I found a handsome chest of camphorwood bound with brass,

such as Chinamen and sailors love, and indeed all of mankind that plies in the Pacific. From its outside view I

could thus make no deduction; and, strange to say, the interior was concealed. All the other chests, as I have

said already, we had found gaping open, and their contents scattered abroad; the same remark we found to

apply afterwards in the quarters of the seamen; only this camphorwood chest, a singular exception, was both

I took an axe to it, readily forced the paltry Chinese fastening, and, like a CustomHouse officer, plunged my

hands among the contents. For some while I groped among linen and cotton. Then my teeth were set on edge

with silk, of which I drew forth several strips covered with mysterious characters. And these settled the

business, for I recognised them as a kind of bedhanging popular with the commoner class of the Chinese. Nor

were further evidences wanting, such as nightclothes of an extraordinary design, a threestringed Chinese

fiddle, a silk handkerchief full of roots and herbs, and a neat apparatus for smoking opium, with a liberal

provision of the drug. Plainly, then, the cook had been a Chinaman; and, if so, who was Jos. Amalu? Or had

Jos. stolen the chest before he proceeded to ship under a false name and domicile? It was possible, as

anything was possible in such a welter; but, regarded as a solution, it only led and left me deeper in the bog.

For why should this chest have been deserted and neglected, when the others were rummaged or removed?

and where had Jos. come by that second chest, with which (according to the clerk at the What Cheer) he had

"And how have YOU fared?" inquired the captain, whom I found luxuriously reclining in our mound of litter.

And the accent on the pronoun, the heightened colour of the speaker's face, and the contained excitement in

"I have found a Chinaman's chest in the galley," said I, "and John (if there was any John) was not so much as

Nares seemed to take it mighty quietly. "That so?" said he. "Now, cast your eyes on that and own you're

beaten!" And with a formidable clap of his open hand he flattened out before me, on the deck, a pair of

"Look at them, Mr. Dodd," cried the captain sharply. "Can't you look at them?" And he ran a dirty thumb

along the title. "'_Sydney Morning Herald, November 26th,' can't you make that out?" he cried, with rising

energy. "And don't you know, sir, that not thirteen days after this paper appeared in New South Pole, this ship

we're standing in heaved her blessed anchors out of China? How did the _Sydney Morning Herald_ get to

Hong Kong in thirteen days? Trent made no land, he spoke no ship, till he got here. Then he either got it here

or in Hong Kong. I give you your choice, my son!" he cried, and fell back among the clothes like a man

"Guess so," he said. "You needn't fool with it. There's nothing else but a leadpencil and a kind of

"Every man to his trade, captain," said I. "You're a sailor, and you've given me plenty of points; but I am an

artist, and allow me to inform you this is quite as strange as all the rest. The knife is a paletteknife; the

pencil a Winsor and Newton, and a B B B at that. A paletteknife and a B B B on a tramp brig! It's against

"Yes," I continued, "it's been used by an artist, too: see how it's sharpenednot for writingno man could

"O, that's natural enough," sneered Nares. "They cabled him to come up and illustrate this dime novel."

"Captain," I said at last, "there is something deuced underhand about this brig. You tell me you've been to sea

a good part of your life. You must have seen shady things done on ships, and heard of more. Well, what is

"Mr. Dodd," returned Nares, "you're right about me having been to sea the bigger part of my life. And you're

right again when you think I know a good many ways in which a dishonest captain mayn't be on the square,

nor do exactly the right thing by his owners, and altogether be just a little too smart by ninetynine and

threequarters. There's a good many ways, but not so many as you'd think; and not one that has any mortal

thing to do with Trent. Trent and his whole racket has got to do with nothingthat's the bedrock fact;

there's no sense to it, and no use in it, and no story to it: it's a beastly dream. And don't you run away with

that notion that landsmen take about ships. A society actress don't go around more publicly than what a ship

does, nor is more interviewed, nor more humbugged, nor more run after by all sorts of little fussinesses in

brass buttons. And more than an actress, a ship has a deal to lose; she's capital, and the actress only

characterif she's that. The ports of the world are thick with people ready to kick a captain into the

penitentiary if he's not as bright as a dollar and as honest as the morning star; and what with Lloyd keeping

watch and watch in every corner of the three oceans, and the insurance leeches, and the consuls, and the

customs bugs, and the medicos, you can only get the idea by thinking of a landsman watched by a hundred

"You make me tired," retorted the captain. "What's the useat sea? Everything's got to come to bearings at

some port, hasn't it? You can't stop at sea for ever, can you?No; the Flying Scud is rubbish; if it meant

anything, it would have to mean something so almighty intricate that James G. Blaine hasn't got the brains to

engineer it; and I vote for more axeing, pioneering, and opening up the resources of this phenomenal brig,

and less general fuss," he added, arising. "The dimemuseum symptoms will drop in of themselves, I guess,

But it appeared we were at the end of discoveries for the day; and we left the brig about sundown, without

being further puzzled or further enlightened. The best of the cabin spoils books, instruments, papers, silks,

and curiositieswe carried along with us in a blanket, however, to divert the evening hours; and when

supper was over, and the table cleared, and Johnson set down to a dreary game of cribbage between his right

hand and his left, the captain and I turned out our blanket on the floor, and sat side by side to examine and

The books were the first to engage our notice. These were rather numerous (as Nares contemptuously put it)

"for a limejuicer." Scorn of the British mercantile marine glows in the breast of every Yankee merchant

captain; as the scorn is not reciprocated, I can only suppose it justified in fact; and certainly the old country

mariner appears of a less studious disposition. The more credit to the officers of the Flying Scud, who had

quite a library, both literary and professional. There were Findlay's five directories of the worldall

brokenbacked, as is usual with Findlay, and all marked and scribbled over with corrections and

additionsseveral books of navigation, a signal code, and an Admiralty book of a sort of orange hue, called

_Islands of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Vol. III._, which appeared from its imprint to be the latest authority,

and showed marks of frequent consultation in the passages about the French Frigate Shoals, the Harman,

Cure, Pearl, and Hermes reefs, Lisiansky Island, Ocean Island, and the place where we then layBrooks or

Midway. A volume of Macaulay's _Essays_ and a shilling Shakespeare led the van of the belles lettres; the

rest were novels: several Miss Braddonsof course, _Aurora Floyd_, which has penetrated to every isle of

the Pacific, a good many cheap detective books, _Rob Roy_, Auerbach's _Auf der Hohe_ in the German, and

a prize temperance story, pillaged (to judge by the stamp) from an AngloIndian circulating library.

"The Admiralty man gives a fine picture of our island," remarked Nares, who had turned up Midway Island.

"Captain," I cried, "you've struck another point in this mad business. See here," I went on eagerly, drawing

from my pocket a crumpled fragment of the _Daily Occidental_ which I had inherited from Jim: "'misled by

"Let's look into that," said Nares. "I got that book on purpose for this cruise." Therewith he fetched it from

the shelf in his berth, turned to Midway Island, and read the account aloud. It stated with precision that the

Pacific Mail Company were about to form a depot there, in preference to Honolulu, and that they had already

"I wonder who gives these Directory men their information," Nares reflected. "Nobody can blame Trent after

that. I never got in company with squarer lying; it reminds a man of a presidential campaign."

"All very well," said I. "That's your Hoyt, and a fine, tall copy. But what I want to know is, where is Trent's

"Took it with him," chuckled Nares. "He had left everything else, bills and money and all the rest; he was

bound to take something, or it would have aroused attention on the Tempest: 'Happy thought,' says he, 'let's

"And has it not occurred to you," I went on, "that all the Hoyts in creation couldn't have misled Trent, since

he had in his hand that red admiralty book, an official publication, later in date, and particularly full on

"That's a fact!" cried Nares; "and I bet the first Hoyt he ever saw was out of the mercantile library of San

Francisco. Looks as if he had brought her here on purpose, don't it? But then that's inconsistent with the

steamcrusher of the sale. That's the trouble with this brig racket; any one can make half a dozen theories for

sixty or seventy per cent of it; but when they're made, there's always a fathom or two of slack hanging out of

I believe our attention fell next on the papers, of which we had altogether a considerable bulk. I had hoped to

find among these matter for a fulllength character of Captain Trent; but here I was doomed, on the whole, to

disappointment. We could make out he was an orderly man, for all his bills were docketed and preserved.

That he was convivial, and inclined to be frugal even in conviviality, several documents proclaimed. Such

letters as we found were, with one exception, arid notes from tradesmen. The exception, signed Hannah

Trent, was a somewhat fervid appeal for a loan. "You know what misfortunes I have had to bear," wrote

Hannah, "and how much I am disappointed in George. The landlady appeared a true friend when I first came

here, and I thought her a perfect lady. But she has come out since then in her true colours; and if you will not

be softened by this last appeal, I can't think what is to become of your affectionate" and then the

signature. This document was without place or date, and a voice told me that it had gone likewise without

answer. On the whole, there were few letters anywhere in the ship; but we found one before we were

finished, in a seaman's chest, of which I must transcribe some sentences. It was dated from some place on the

Clyde. "My dearist son," it ran, "this is to tell you your dearist father passed away, Jan twelft, in the peace of

the Lord. He had your photo and dear David's lade upon his bed, made me sit by him. Let's be a' thegither, he

said, and gave you all his blessing. O my dear laddie, why were nae you and Davie here? He would have had

a happier passage. He spok of both of ye all night most beautiful, and how ye used to stravaig on the Saturday

afternoons, and of auld Kelvinside. Sooth the tune to me, he said, though it was the Sabbath, and I had to

sooth him Kelvin Grove, and he looked at his fiddle, the dear man. I cannae bear the sight of it, he'll never

play it mair. O my lamb, come home to me, I'm all by my lane now." The rest was in a religious vein and

quite conventional. I have never seen any one more put out than Nares, when I handed him this letter; he had

read but a few words, before he cast it down; it was perhaps a minute ere he picked it up again, and the

For all answer, Nares exploded in a brutal oath; and it was some half an hour later that he vouchsafed an

explanation. "I'll tell you what broke me up about that letter," said he. "My old man played the fiddle, played

it all out of tune: one of the things he played was _Martyrdom,_ I rememberit was all martyrdom to me.

He was a pig of a father, and I was a pig of a son; but it sort of came over me I would like to hear that fiddle

"All sons are, I guess," said I. "I have the same trouble on my conscience: we can shake hands on that."

Amongst the papers we found a considerable sprinkling of photographs; for the most part either of very

debonairlooking young ladies or old women of the lodginghouse persuasion. But one among them was the

"Who?" I asked, mechanically taking the card (it was a quarterplate) in hand, and smothering a yawn; for the

I held it to the light, my curiosity at a low ebb: I had seen Captain Trent once, and had no delight in viewing

him again. It was a photograph of the deck of the brig, taken from forward: all in applepie order; the hands

gathered in the waist, the officers on the poop. At the foot of the card was written "Brig Flying Scud,

Rangoon," and a date; and above or below each individual figure the name had been carefully noted.

As I continued to gaze, a shock went through me; the dimness of sleep and fatigue lifted from my eyes, as fog

lifts in the channel; and I beheld with startled clearness the photographic presentment of a crowd of strangers.

"J. Trent, Master" at the top of the card directed me to a smallish, weazened man, with bushy eyebrows and

full white beard, dressed in a frock coat and white trousers; a flower stuck in his buttonhole, his bearded

chin set forward, his mouth clenched with habitual determination. There was not much of the sailor in his

looks, but plenty of the martinet: a dry, precise man, who might pass for a preacher in some rigid sect; and

whatever he was, not the Captain Trent of San Francisco. The men, too, were all new to me: the cook, an

unmistakable Chinaman, in his characteristic dress, standing apart on the poop steps. But perhaps I turned on

the whole with the greatest curiosity to the figure labelled "E. Goddedaal, 1st off." He whom I had never

seen, he might be the identical; he might be the clue and spring of all this mystery; and I scanned his features

with the eye of a detective. He was of great stature, seemingly blonde as a viking, his hair clustering round

his head in frowsy curls, and two enormous whiskers, like the tusks of some strange animal, jutting from his

cheeks. With these virile appendages and the defiant attitude in which he stood, the expression of his face

only imperfectly harmonised. It was wild, heroic, and womanish looking; and I felt I was prepared to hear he

For some while I digested my discovery in private, reflecting how best, and how with most of drama, I might

share it with the captain. Then my sketchbook came in my head; and I fished it out from where it lay, with

other miscellaneous possessions, at the foot of my bunk and turned to my sketch of Captain Trent and the

"Nares," said I, "I've told you how I first saw Captain Trent in that saloon in 'Frisco? how he came with his

men, one of them a Kanaka with a canarybird in a cage? and how I saw him afterwards at the auction,

frightened to death, and as much surprised at how the figures skipped up as anybody there? Well," said I,

"there's the man I saw"and I laid the sketch before him"there's Trent of 'Frisco and there are his three

Nares compared the two in silence. "Well," he said at last, "I call this rather a relief: seems to clear the

horizon. We might have guessed at something of the kind from the double ration of chests that figured."

"It would explain everything," Nares replied, "but for the steamcrusher. It'll all tally as neat as a patent

puzzle, if you leave out the way these people bid the wreck up. And there we come to a stone wall. But

"Looks like blind hookey!" cried the captain. "No, don't you deceive yourself; neither your head nor mine is

In my early days I was a man, the most wedded to his idols of my generation. I was a dweller under roofs: the

gull of that which we call civilisation; a superstitious votary of the plastic arts; a cit; and a prop of restaurants.

I had a comrade in those days, somewhat of an outsider, though he moved in the company of artists, and a

man famous in our small world for gallantry, knee breeches, and dry and pregnant sayings. He, looking on

the long meals and waxing bellies of the French, whom I confess I somewhat imitated, branded me as "a

cultivator of restaurant fat." And I believe he had his finger on the dangerous spot; I believe, if things had

gone smooth with me, I should be now swollen like a prizeox in body, and fallen in mind to a thing perhaps

as low as many types of bourgeois the implicit or exclusive artist. That was a home word of Pinkerton's,

deserving to be writ in letters of gold on the portico of every school of art: "What I can't see is why you

should want to do nothing else." The dull man is made, not by the nature, but by the degree of his immersion

in a single business. And all the more if that be sedentary, uneventful, and ingloriously safe. More than one

half of him will then remain unexercised and undeveloped; the rest will be distended and deformed by

overnutrition, overcerebration, and the heat of rooms. And I have often marvelled at the impudence of

gentlemen, who describe and pass judgment on the life of man, in almost perfect ignorance of all its

necessary elements and natural careers. Those who dwell in clubs and studios may paint excellent pictures or

write enchanting novels. There is one thing that they should not do: they should pass no judgment on man's

destiny, for it is a thing with which they are unacquainted. Their own life is an excrescence of the moment,

doomed, in the vicissitude of history, to pass and disappear: the eternal life of man, spent under sun and rain

and in rude physical effort, lies upon one side, scarce changed since the beginning.

I would I could have carried along with me to Midway Island all the writers and the prating artists of my

time. Day after day of hope deferred, of heat, of unremitting toil; night after night of aching limbs, bruised

hands, and a mind obscured with the grateful vacancy of physical fatigue: the scene, the nature of my

employment; the rugged speech and faces of my fellowtoilers, the glare of the day on deck, the stinking

twilight in the bilge, the shrill myriads of the oceanfowl: above all, the sense of our immitigable isolation

from the world and from the current epoch;keeping another time, some eras old; the new day heralded by

no daily paper, only by the rising sun; and the State, the churches, the peopled empires, war, and the rumours

of war, and the voices of the arts, all gone silent as in the days ere they were yet invented. Such were the

conditions of my new experience in life, of which (if I had been able) I would have had all my confreres and

contemporaries to partake: forgetting, for that while, the orthodoxies of the moment, and devoted to a single

Of the nature of our task, I must continue to give some summary idea. The forecastle was lumbered with

ship's chandlery, the hold nigh full of rice, the lazarette crowded with the teas and silks. These must all be

dug out; and that made but a fraction of our task. The hold was ceiled throughout; a part, where perhaps some

delicate cargo was once stored, had been lined, in addition, with inch boards; and between every beam there

was a movable panel into the bilge. Any of these, the bulkheads of the cabins, the very timbers of the hull

itself, might be the place of hiding. It was therefore necessary to demolish, as we proceeded, a great part of

the ship's inner skin and fittings, and to auscultate what remained, like a doctor sounding for a lung disease.

Upon the return, from any beam or bulkhead, of a flat or doubtful sound, we must up axe and hew into the

timber: a violent andfrom the amount of dry rot in the wrecka mortifying exercise. Every night saw a

deeper inroad into the bones of the Flying Scudmore beams tapped and hewn in splinters, more planking

peeled away and tossed aside and every night saw us as far as ever from the end and object of our arduous

devastation. In this perpetual disappointment, my courage did not fail me, but my spirits dwindled; and Nares

himself grew silent and morose. At night, when supper was done, we passed an hour in the cabin, mostly

without speech: I, sometimes dozing over a book; Nares, sullenly but busily drilling seashells with the

instrument called a Yankee Fiddle. A stranger might have supposed we were estranged; as a matter of fact, in

I had been struck, at the first beginning of our enterprise upon the wreck, to find the men so ready at the

captain's lightest word. I dare not say they liked, but I can never deny that they admired him thoroughly. A

mild word from his mouth was more valued than flattery and half a dollar from myself; if he relaxed at all

from his habitual attitude of censure, smiling alacrity surrounded him; and I was led to think his theory of

captainship, even if pushed to excess, reposed upon some ground of reason. But even terror and admiration of

the captain failed us before the end. The men wearied of the hopeless, unremunerative quest and the long

strain of labour. They began to shirk and grumble. Retribution fell on them at once, and retribution multiplied

the grumblings. With every day it took harder driving to keep them to the daily drudge; and we, in our narrow

In spite of the best care, the object of our search was perfectly well known to all on board; and there had

leaked out besides some knowledge of those inconsistencies that had so greatly amazed the captain and

myself. I could overhear the men debate the character of Captain Trent, and set forth competing theories of

where the opium was stowed; and as they seemed to have been eavesdropping on ourselves, I thought little

shame to prick up my ears when I had the return chance of spying upon them, in this way. I could diagnose

their temper and judge how far they were informed upon the mystery of the Flying Scud. It was after having

thus overheard some almost mutinous speeches that a fortunate idea crossed my mind. At night, I matured it

"If you think you're getting your month's wages out of them the way it is, I don't," was his reply. "However,

This, from a person of the captain's character, might be regarded as complete adhesion; and the crew were

accordingly called aft. Never had the captain worn a front more menacing. It was supposed by all that some

misdeed had been discovered, and some surprising punishment was to be announced.

"See here, you!" he threw at them over his shoulder as he walked the deck, "Mr. Dodd here is going to offer a

reward to the first man who strikes the opium in that wreck. There's two ways of making a donkey go; both

good, I guess: the one's kicks and the other's carrots. Mr. Dodd's going to try the carrots. Well, my

sons,"and here he faced the men for the first time with his hands behind him"if that opium's not found

He nodded to the present narrator, who took up the tale. "Here is what I propose, men," said I: "I put up one

hundred and fifty dollars. If any man can lay hands on the stuff right away, and off his own club, he shall

have the hundred and fifty down. If any one can put us on the scent of where to look, he shall have a hundred

and twentyfive, and the balance shall be for the lucky one who actually picks it up. We'll call it the

"Call it the Grand Combination Sweep, then," cries he. "For I go you better.Look here, men, I make up this

The offer was not made in vain; the hands had scarce yet realised the magnitude of the reward, they had

scarce begun to buzz aloud in the extremity of hope and wonder, ere the Chinese cook stepped forward with

"Captain," he began, "I servum two year Melican navy; servum six year mailboat steward. Savvy plenty."

"Oho!" cried Nares, "you savvy plenty, do you? (Beggar's seen this trick in the mailboats, I guess.) Well,

"Well, you can't say fairer than that," the captain admitted, "and now the reward's offered, you'll talk? Speak

"I think long time," replied the Chinaman. "See plenty litty mat lice; toomuchy plenty litty mat lice; sixty

ton, litty mat lice. I think alletime: perhaps plenty opium plenty litty mat lice."

"Well, Mr. Dodd, how does that strike you?" asked the captain. "He may be right, he may be wrong. He's

likely to be right: for if he isn't, where can the stuff be? On the other hand, if he's wrong, we destroy a

hundred and fifty tons of good rice for nothing. It's a point to be considered."

"I don't hesitate," said I. "Let's get to the bottom of the thing. The rice is nothing; the rice will neither make

The hold was now almost entirely emptied; the mats (of which there went forty to the short ton) had been

stacked on deck, and now crowded the ship's waist and forecastle. It was our task to disembowel and explore

six thousand individual mats, and incidentally to destroy a hundred and fifty tons of valuable food. Nor were

the circumstances of the day's business less strange than its essential nature. Each man of us, armed with a

great knife, attacked the pile from his own quarter, slashed into the nearest mat, burrowed in it with his hands,

and shed forth the rice upon the deck, where it heaped up, overflowed, and was trodden down, poured at last

into the scuppers, and occasionally spouted from the vents. About the wreck, thus transformed into an

overflowing granary, the seafowl swarmed in myriads and with surprising insolence. The sight of so much

food confounded them; they deafened us with their shrill tongues, swooped in our midst, dashed in our faces,

and snatched the grain from between our fingers. The mentheir hands bleeding from these

assaultsturned savagely on the offensive, drove their knives into the birds, drew them out crimsoned, and

turned again to dig among the rice, unmindful of the gawking creatures that struggled and died among their

feet. We made a singular picture: the hovering and diving birds; the bodies of the dead discolouring the rice

with blood; the scuppers vomiting breadstuff; the men, frenzied by the gold hunt, toiling, slaying, and

shouting aloud: over all, the lofty intricacy of rigging and the radiant heaven of the Pacific. Every man there

toiled in the immediate hope of fifty dollars; and I, of fifty thousand. Small wonder if we waded callously in

It was perhaps about ten in the forenoon when the scene was interrupted. Nares, who had just ripped open a

fresh mat, drew forth, and slung at his feet, among the rice, a papered tin box.

A cry broke from all hands: the next moment, forgetting their own disappointment, in that contagious

sentiment of success, they gave three cheers that scared the seabirds; and the next, they had crowded round

the captain, and were jostling together and groping with emulous hands in the newopened mat. Box after

box rewarded them, six in all; wrapped, as I have said, in a paper envelope, and the paper printed on, in

Nares turned to me and shook my hand. "I began to think we should never see this day," said he. "I

The captain's tones affected me profoundly; and when Johnson and the men pressed round me in turn with

"These are fivetael boxes, more than two pounds," said Nares, weighing one in his hand. "Say two hundred

and fifty dollars to the mat. Lay into it, boys! We'll make Mr. Dodd a millionnaire before dark."

It was strange to see with what a fury we fell to. The men had now nothing to expect; the mere idea of great

sums inspired them with disinterested ardour. Mats were slashed and disembowelled, the rice flowed to our

knees in the ship's waist, the sweat ran in our eyes and blinded us, our arms ached to agony; and yet our fire

abated not. Dinner came; we were too weary to eat, too hoarse for conversation; and yet dinner was scarce

done, before we were afoot again and delving in the rice. Before nightfall not a mat was unexplored, and we

For of all the inexplicable things in the story of the Flying Scud, here was the most inexplicable. Out of the

six thousand mats, only twenty were found to have been sugared; in each we found the same amount, about

twelve pounds of drug; making a grand total of two hundred and forty pounds. By the last San Francisco

quotation, opium was selling for a fraction over twenty dollars a pound; but it had been known not long

Taking, then, this high Honolulu figure, the value of the opium on board the Flying Scud fell considerably

short of ten thousand dollars, while at the San Francisco rate it lacked a trifle of five thousand. And fifty

thousand was the price that Jim and I had paid for it. And Bellairs had been eager to go higher! There is no

It may be argued we were not yet sure; there might be yet another cache; and you may be certain in that hour

of my distress the argument was not forgotten. There was never a ship more ardently perquested; no stone

was left unturned, and no expedient untried; day after day of growing despair, we punched and dug in the

brig's vitals, exciting the men with promises and presents; evening after evening Nares and I sat face to face

in the narrow cabin, racking our minds for some neglected possibility of search. I could stake my salvation on

the certainty of the result: in all that ship there was nothing left of value but the timber and the copper nails.

So that our case was lamentably plain; we had paid fifty thousand dollars, borne the charges of the schooner,

and paid fancy interest on money; and if things went well with us, we might realise fifteen per cent of the first

outlay. We were not merely bankrupt, we were comic bankrupts: a fair butt for jeering in the streets. I hope I

bore the blow with a good countenance; indeed, my mind had long been quite made up, and since the day we

found the opium I had known the result. But the thought of Jim and Mamie ached in me like a physical pain,

I was in this frame of mind when the captain proposed that we should land upon the island. I saw he had

something to say, and only feared it might be consolation; for I could just bear my grief, not bungling

We walked awhile along the beach in silence. The sun overhead reverberated rays of heat; the staring sand,

the glaring lagoon, tortured our eyes; and the birds and the boom of the faraway breakers made a savage

"We've been pretty good friends, you and me, Mr. Dodd," he resumed. "We've been going through the kind

of thing that tries a man. We've had the hardest kind of work, we've been badly backed, and now we're badly

beaten. And we've fetched through without a word of disagreement. I don't say this to praise myself: it's my

trade; it's what I'm paid for, and trained for, and brought up to. But it was another thing for you; it was all

new to you; and it did me good to see you stand right up to it and swing right into it, day in, day out. And

then see how you've taken this disappointment, when everybody knows you must have been tautened up to

shyingpoint! I wish you'd let me tell you, Mr. Dodd, that you've stood out mighty manly and handsomely in

all this business, and made every one like you and admire you. And I wish you'd let me tell you, besides, that

I've taken this wreck business as much to heart as you have; something kind of rises in my throat when I

think we're beaten; and if I thought waiting would do it, I would stick on this reef until we starved."

I tried in vain to thank him for these generous words, but he was beforehand with me in a moment.

"I didn't bring you ashore to sound my praises," he interrupted. "We understand one another now, that's all;

and I guess you can trust me. What I wished to speak about is more important, and it's got to be faced. What

"I really have thought nothing about that," I replied. "But I expect I mean to get at the bottom of it; and if the

bogus Captain Trent is to be found on the earth's surface, I guess I mean to find him."

"All you've got to do is talk," said Nares; "you can make the biggest kind of boom; it isn't often the reporters

have a chance at such a yarn as this; and I can tell you how it will go. It will go by telegraph, Mr. Dodd; it'll

be telegraphed by the column, and headlined, and frothed up, and denied by authority, and it'll hit bogus

Captain Trent in a Mexican barroom, and knock over bogus Goddedaal in a slum somewhere up the Baltic,

and bowl down Hardy and Brown in sailors' music halls round Greenock. O, there's no doubt you can have a

regular domestic Judgment Day. The only point is whether you deliberately want to."

"Well," said I, "I deliberately don't want one thing: I deliberately don't want to make a public exhibition of

myself and Pinkerton: so moralsmuggling opium; such damned foolspaying fifty thousand for a 'dead

"No doubt it might damage you in a business sense," the captain agreed. "And I'm pleased you take that view;

for I've turned kind of soft upon the job. There's been some crookedness about, no doubt of it; but, Law bless

you! if we dropped upon the troupe, all the premier artists would slip right out with the boodle in their

gripsacks, and you'd only collar a lot of old muttonheaded shellbacks that didn't know the back of the

business from the front. I don't take much stock in Mercantile Jack, you know that; but, poor devil, he's got to

go where he's told; and if you make trouble, ten to one it'll make you sick to see the innocents who have to

stand the racket. It would be different if we understood the operation; but we don't, you see: there's a lot of

"What about the men?" I asked. "They know too much by half; and you can't keep them from talking."

"Can't I?" returned Nares. "I bet a boardingmaster can! They can be all halfseasover, when they get

ashore, blind drunk by dark, and cruising out of the Golden Gate in different deepsea ships by the next

morning. Can't keep them from talking, can't I? Well, I can make 'em talk separate, leastways. If a whole

crew came talking, parties would listen; but if it's only one lone old shellback, it's the usual yarn. And at

least, they needn't talk before six months, orif we have luck, and there's a whaler handythree years. And

"That's what they call Shanghaiing, isn't it?" I asked. "I thought it belonged to the dime novel."

"O, dime novels are right enough," returned the captain. "Nothing wrong with the dime novel, only that

things happen thicker than they do in life, and the practical seamanship is offcolour."

"There's one other person that might blab," said the captain. "Though I don't believe she has anything left to

"The old girl there," he answered, pointing to the wreck. "I know there's nothing in her; but somehow I'm

afraid of some one elseit's the last thing you'd expect, so it's just the first that'll happensome one

dropping into this Godforgotten island where nobody drops in, waltzing into that wreck that we've grown

old with searching, stooping straight down, and picking right up the very thing that tells the story. What's that

to me? you may ask, and why am I gone Soft Tommy on this Museum of Crooks? They've smashed up you

and Mr. Pinkerton; they've turned my hair grey with conundrums; they've been up to larks, no doubt; and

that's all I know of them you say. Well, and that's just where it is. I don't know enough; I don't know what's

uppermost; it's just such a lot of miscellaneous eventualities as I don't care to go stirring up; and I ask you to

"Certainlywhat you please," said I, scarce with attention, for a new thought now occupied my brain.

"Captain," I broke out, "you are wrong: we cannot hush this up. There is one thing you have forgotten."

"A bogus Captain Trent, a bogus Goddedaal, a whole bogus crew, have all started home," said I. "If we are

right, not one of them will reach his journey's end. And do you mean to say that such a circumstance as that

"Sailors," said the captain, "only sailors! If they were all bound for one place, in a body, I don't say so; but

they're all going separateto Hull, to Sweden, to the Clyde, to the Thames. Well, at each place, what is it?

Nothing new. Only one sailor man missing: got drunk, or got drowned, or got left: the proper sailor's end."

Something bitter in the thought and in the speaker's tones struck me hard. "Here is one that has got left!" I

cried, getting sharply to my feet; for we had been some time seated. "I wish it were the other. I don'tdon't

"See here," said Nares, with ready tact, "I must be getting aboard. Johnson's in the brig annexing chandlery

and canvas, and there's some things in the Norah that want fixing against we go to sea. Would you like to be

I embraced the proposal with delight. Solitude, in my frame of mind, was not too dearly purchased at the risk

of sunstroke or sandblindness; and soon I was alone on the illomened islet. I should find it hard to tell of

what I thoughtof Jim, of Mamie, of our lost fortune, of my lost hopes, of the doom before me: to turn to at

some mechanical occupation in some subaltern rank, and to toil there, unremarked and unamused, until the

hour of the last deliverance. I was, at least, so sunk in sadness that I scarce remarked where I was going; and

chance (or some finer sense that lives in us, and only guides us when the mind is in abeyance) conducted my

steps into a quarter of the island where the birds were few. By some devious route, which I was unable to

retrace for my return, I was thus able to mount, without interruption, to the highest point of land. And here I

The spot on which I stood was level, and commanded a wide view of the lagoon, the bounding reef, the round

horizon. Nearer hand I saw the sister islet, the wreck, the Norah Creina, and the Norah's boat already moving

shoreward. For the sun was now low, flaming on the sea's verge; and the galley chimney smoked on board

It thus befell that though my discovery was both affecting and suggestive, I had no leisure to examine further.

What I saw was the blackened embers of fire of wreck. By all the signs, it must have blazed to a good height

and burned for days; from the scantling of a spar that lay upon the margin only half consumed, it must have

been the work of more than one; and I received at once the image of a forlorn troop of castaways, houseless

in that lost corner of the earth, and feeding there their fire of signal. The next moment a hail reached me from

the boat; and bursting through the bushes and the rising seafowl, I said farewell (I trust for ever) to that

The last night at Midway, I had little sleep; the next morning, after the sun was risen, and the clatter of

departure had begun to reign on deck, I lay a long while dozing; and when at last I stepped from the

companion, the schooner was already leaping through the pass into the open sea. Close on her board, the huge

scroll of a breaker unfurled itself along the reef with a prodigious clamour; and behind I saw the wreck

vomiting into the morning air a coil of smoke. The wreaths already blew out far to leeward, flames already

glittered in the cabin skylight; and the seafowl were scattered in surprise as wide as the lagoon. As we drew

farther off, the conflagration of the Flying Scud flamed higher; and long after we had dropped all signs of

Midway Island, the smoke still hung in the horizon like that of a distant steamer. With the fading out of that

last vestige, the Norah Creina, passed again into the empty world of cloud and water by which she had

approached; and the next features that appeared, eleven days later, to break the line of sky, were the arid

It has often since been a comfortable thought to me that we had thus destroyed the telltale remnants of the

Flying Scud; and often a strange one that my last sight and reminiscence of that fatal ship should be a pillar

of smoke on the horizon. To so many others besides myself the same appearance had played a part in the

various stages of that business: luring some to what they little imagined, filling some with unimaginable

terrors. But ours was the last smoke raised in the story; and with its dying away the secret of the Flying Scud

It was by the first light of dawn that we saw, close on board, the metropolitan island of Hawaii. We held

along the coast, as near as we could venture, with a fresh breeze and under an unclouded heaven; beholding,

as we went, the arid mountain sides and scrubby cocoapalms of that somewhat melancholy archipelago.

About four of the afternoon we turned Waimanolo Point, the westerly headland of the great bight of

Honolulu; showed ourselves for twenty minutes in full view; and then fell again to leeward, and put in the

A little after dark we beat once more about the point, and crept cautiously toward the mouth of the Pearl

Lochs, where Jim and I had arranged I was to meet the smugglers. The night was happily obscure, the water

smooth. We showed, according to instructions, no light on deck: only a red lantern dropped from either

cathead to within a couple of feet of the water. A lookout was stationed on the bowsprit end, another in the

crosstrees; and the whole ship's company crowded forward, scouting for enemies or friends. It was now the

crucial moment of our enterprise; we were now risking liberty and credit; and that for a sum so small to a

man in my bankrupt situation, that I could have laughed aloud in bitterness. But the piece had been arranged,

For some while, we saw nothing but the dark mountain outline of the island, the torches of native fishermen

glittering here and there along the foreshore, and right in the midst that cluster of brave lights with which the

town of Honolulu advertises itself to the seaward. Presently a ruddy star appeared inshore of us, and seemed

to draw near unsteadily. This was the anticipated signal; and we made haste to show the countersign,

lowering a white light from the quarter, extinguishing the two others, and laying the schooner incontinently

to. The star approached slowly; the sounds of oars and of men's speech came to us across the water; and then

"No, sir," replied the voice. "But there's one of his crowd here; name of Speedy."

A whaleboat accordingly ranged alongside, and three men boarded us: my old San Francisco friend, the

stockgambler Speedy, a little wizened person of the name of Sharpe, and a big, flourishing,

dissipatedlooking man called Fowler. The two last (I learned afterward) were frequent partners; Sharpe

supplied the capital, and Fowler, who was quite a character in the islands and occupied a considerable station,

brought activity, daring, and a private influence, highly necessary in the case. Both seemed to approach the

business with a keen sense of romance; and I believe this was the chief attraction, at least with Fowlerfor

whom I early conceived a sentiment of liking. But in that first moment I had something else to think of than

to judge my new acquaintances; and before Speedy had fished out the letters, the full extent of our misfortune

"Well, it was thought rather a wonder Pinkerton held on as long as he did," was the reply. "The wreck deal

was too big for your credit; you were doing a big business, no doubt, but you were doing it on precious little

capital; and when the strain came, you were bound to go. Pinkerton's through all right: seven cents dividend;

some remarks made, but nothing to hurt; the press let you down easyI guess Jim had relations there. The

only trouble is, that all this Flying Scud affair got in the papers with the rest; everybody's wide awake in

Honolulu, and the sooner we get the stuff in and the dollars out, the better for all concerned."

"Gentlemen," said I, "you must excuse me. My friend, the captain here, will drink a glass of champagne with

you to give you patience; but as for myself, I am unfit even for ordinary conversation till I have read these

They demurred a little: and indeed the danger of delay seemed obvious; but the sight of my distress, which I

was unable entirely to control, appealed strongly to their goodnature; and I was suffered at last to get by

myself on deck, where, by the light of a lantern smuggled under shelter of the low rail, I read the following

"My dear Loudon," ran the first, "this will be handed you by your friend Speedy of the Catamount. His

sterling character and loyal devotion to yourself pointed him out as the best man for our purposes in

Honoluluthe parties on the spot being difficult to manipulate. A man called Billy Fowler (you must have

heard of Billy) is the boss; he is in politics some, and squares the officers. I have hard times before me in the

city, but I feel as bright as a dollar and as strong as John L. Sullivan. What with Mamie here, and my partner

speeding over the seas, and the bonanza in the wreck, I feel like I could juggle with the Pyramids of Egypt,

same as conjurers do with aluminium balls. My earnest prayers follow you, Loudon, that you may feel the

way I dojust inspired! My feet don't touch the ground; I kind of swim. Mamie is like Moses and Aaron that

held up the other individual's arms. She carries me along like a horse and buggy. I am beating the record.

"My dearest Loudon, how am I to prepare you for this dire intelligence? O dear me, it will strike you to the

earth. The Fiat has gone forth; our firm went bust at a quarter before twelve. It was a bill of Bradley's (for

$200) that brought these vast operations to a close, and evolved liabilities of upwards of two hundred and

fifty thousand. O, the shame and pity of it! and you but three weeks gone! Loudon, don't blame your partner:

if human hands and brains could have sufficed, I would have held the thing together. But it just slowly

crumbled; Bradley was the last kick, but the blamed business just MELTED. I give the liabilities; it's

supposed they're all in; for the cowards were waiting, and the claims were filed like taking tickets to hear

Patti. I don't quite have the hang of the assets yet, our interests were so extended; but I am at it day and night,

and I guess will make a creditable dividend. If the wreck pans out only half the way it ought, we'll turn the

laugh still. I am as full of grit and work as ever, and just tower above our troubles. Mamie is a host in herself.

Somehow I feel like it was only me that had gone bust, and you and she soared clear of it. Hurry up. That's all

"My poor Loudon," it began, "I labour far into the night getting our affairs in order; you could not believe

their vastness and complexity. Douglas B. Longhurst said humorously that the receiver's work would be cut

out for him. I cannot deny that some of them have a speculative look. God forbid a sensitive, refined spirit

like yours should ever come face to face with a Commissioner in Bankruptcy; these men get all the sweetness

knocked right out of them. But I could bear up better if it weren't for press comments. Often and often,

Loudon, I recall to mind your most legitimate critiques of the press system. They published an interview with

me, not the least like what I said, and with JEERING comments; it would make your blood boil, it was

literally INHUMANE; I wouldn't have written it about a yellow dog that was in trouble like what I am.

Mamie just winced, the first time she has turned a hair right through the whole catastrophe. How wonderfully

true was what you said long ago in Paris, about touching on people's personal appearance! The fellow

said" And then these words had been scored through; and my distressed friend turned to another subject. "I

cannot bear to dwell upon our assets. They simply don't show up. Even Thirteen Star, as sound a line as can

be produced upon this coast, goes begging. The wreck has thrown a blight on all we ever touched. And

where's the use? God never made a wreck big enough to fill our deficit. I am haunted by the thought that you

may blame me; I know how I despised your remonstrances. O, Loudon, don't be hard on your miserable

partner. The funnydog business is what kills. I fear your stern rectitude of mind like the eye of God. I cannot

think but what some of my books seem mixed up; otherwise, I don't seem to see my way as plain as I could

wish to. Or else my brain is gone soft. Loudon, if there should be any unpleasantness, you can trust me to do

the right thing and keep you clear. I've been telling them already, how you had no business grip and never

saw the books. O, I trust I have done right in this! I knew it was a liberty; I know you may justly complain;

but it was some things that were said. And mind you, all legitimate business! Not even your shrinking

sensitiveness could find fault with the first look of one of them, if they had panned out right. And you know,

the Flying Scud was the biggest gamble of the crowd, and that was your own idea. Mamie says she never

could bear to look you in the face, if that idea had been mine, she is SO conscientious!

"This is the end of me commercially. I give up; my nerve is gone. I suppose I ought to be glad; for we're

through the court. I don't know as ever I knew how, and I'm sure I don't remember. If it pans outthe wreck,

I meanwe'll go to Europe, and live on the interest of our money. No more work for me. I shake when

people speak to me. I have gone on, hoping and hoping, and working and working, and the lead has pinched

right out. I want to lie on my back in a garden and read Shakespeare and E. P. Roe. Don't suppose it's

cowardice, Loudon. I'm a sick man. Rest is what I must have. I've worked hard all my life; I never spared

myself; every dollar I ever made, I've coined my brains for it. I've never done a mean thing; I've lived

respectable, and given to the poor. Who has a better right to a holiday than I have? And I mean to have a year

of it straight out; and if I don't, I shall lie right down here in my tracks, and die of worry and brain trouble.

Don't mistake. That's so. If there are any pickings at all, TRUST SPEEDY; don't let the creditors get wind of

what there is. I helped you when you were down; help me now. Don't deceive yourself; you've got to help me

right now, or never. I am clerking, and NOT FIT TO CYPHER. Mamie's typewriting at the Phoenix Guano

Exchange, down town. The light is right out of my life. I know you'll not like to do what I propose. Think

"P.S. Our figure was seven per cent. O, what a fall was there! Well, well, it's past mending; I don't want to

whine. But, Loudon, I do want to live. No more ambition; all I ask is life. I have so much to make it sweet to

me! I am clerking, and USELESS AT THAT. I know I would have fired such a clerk inside of forty minutes,

There was yet one more postscript, yet one more outburst of selfpity and pathetic adjuration; and a doctor's

opinion, unpromising enough, was besides enclosed. I pass them both in silence. I think shame to have

shown, at so great length, the halfbaked virtues of my friend dissolving in the crucible of sickness and

distress; and the effect upon my spirits can be judged already. I got to my feet when I had done, drew a deep

breath, and stared hard at Honolulu. One moment the world seemed at an end; the next, I was conscious of a

rush of independent energy. On Jim I could rely no longer; I must now take hold myself. I must decide and

The word was easy to say; the thing, at the first blush, was undiscoverable. I was overwhelmed with

miserable, womanish pity for my broken friend; his outcries grieved my spirit; I saw him then and

nowthen, so invincible; now, brought so low and knew neither how to refuse, nor how to consent to his

proposal. The remembrance of my father, who had fallen in the same field unstained, the image of his

monument incongruously rising, a fear of the law, a chill air that seemed to blow upon my fancy from the

doors of prisons, and the imaginary clank of fetters, recalled me to a different resolve. And then again, the

wails of my sick partner intervened. So I stood hesitating, and yet with a strong sense of capacity behind:

"Gentlemen," said I, "only a few moments more: but these, I regret to say, I must make more tedious still by

removing your companion. It is indispensable that I should have a word or two with Captain Nares."

Both the smugglers were afoot at once, protesting. The business, they declared, must be despatched at once;

they had run risk enough, with a conscience; and they must either finish now, or go.

"The choice is yours, gentlemen," said I, "and, I believe, the eagerness. I am not yet sure that I have anything

in your way; even if I have, there are a hundred things to be considered; and I assure you it is not at all my

"That is all very proper, Mr. Dodd; there is no wish to coerce you, believe me," said Fowler; "only, please

consider our position. It is really dangerous; we were not the only people to see your schooner off

"Mr. Fowler," I replied, "I was not born yesterday. Will you allow me to express an opinion, in which I may

be quite wrong, but to which I am entirely wedded? If the customhouse officers had been coming, they

would have been here now. In other words, somebody is working the oracle, and (for a good guess) his name

Both men laughed loud and long; and being supplied with another bottle of Longhurst's champagne, suffered

"It's large enough text," replied the captain. "It means you're to stake your pile on Speedy, hand him over all

you can, and hold your tongue. I almost wish you hadn't shown it me," he added wearily. "What with the

"There's San Quentin, to start in with," said the captain; "and suppose you clear the penitentiary, there's the

nasty taste in the mouth. The figure's big enough to make bad trouble, but it's not big enough to be

picturesque; and I should guess a man always feels kind of small who has sold himself under six cyphers.

That would be my way, at least; there's an excitement about a million that might carry me on; but the other

way, I should feel kind of lonely when I woke in bed. Then there's Speedy. Do you know him well?"

"Well, of course he can vamoose with the entire speculation, if he chooses," pursued the captain, "and if he

don't I can't see but what you've got to support and bed and board with him to the end of time. I guess it

would weary me. Then there's Mr. Pinkerton, of course. He's been a good friend to you, hasn't he? Stood by

"Well, and that's a consideration," said the captain. "As a matter of principle, I wouldn't look at this business

at the money. 'Not good enough,' would be my word. But even principle goes under when it comes to

friendsthe right sort, I mean. This Pinkerton is frightened, and he seems sick; the medico don't seem to

care a cent about his state of health; and you've got to figure how you would like it if he came to die.

Remember, the risk of this little swindle is all yours; it's no sort of risk to Mr. Pinkerton. Well, you've got to

put it that way plainly, and see how you like the sound of it: my friend Pinkerton is in danger of the New

"That's an ugly way to put it," I objected, "and perhaps hardly fair. There's right and wrong to be considered."

"Don't know the parties," replied Nares; "and I'm coming to them, anyway. For it strikes me, when it came to

"All the same," continued Nares, "you went into the opiumsmuggling with your head down; and a good deal

of fussing I've listened to, that you hadn't more of it to smuggle. Now, maybe your partner's not quite fixed

the same as you are; maybe he sees precious little difference between the one thing and the other."

"You could not say truer: he sees none, I do believe," cried I; "and though I see one, I could never tell you

"We never can," said the oracular Nares; "taste is all a matter of opinion. But the point is, how will your

friend take it? You refuse a favour, and you take the high horse at the same time; you disappoint him, and you

rap him over the knuckles. It won't do, Mr. Dodd; no friendship can stand that. You must be as good as your

"Well, you WILL see," said Nares. "And now, here's another point. This bit of money looks mighty big to

Mr. Pinkerton; it may spell life or health to him; but among all your creditors, I don't see that it amounts to a

hill of beansI don't believe it'll pay their carfares all round. And don't you think you'll ever get thanked.

You were known to pay a long price for the chance of rummaging that wreck; you do the rummaging, you

come home, and you hand over ten thousandor twenty, if you likea part of which you'll have to own up

you made by smuggling; and, mind! you'll never get Billy Fowler to stick his name to a receipt. Now just

glance at the transaction from the outside, and see what a clear case it makes. Your ten thousand is a sop; and

people will only wonder you were so damned impudent as to offer such a small one! Whichever way you take

it, Mr. Dodd, the bottom's out of your character; so there's one thing less to be considered."

"I daresay you'll scarce believe me," said I, "but I feel that a positive relief."

"You must be made some way different from me, then," returned Nares. "And, talking about me, I might just

mention how I stand. You'll have no trouble from meyou've trouble enough of your own; and I'm friend

enough, when a friend's in need, to shut my eyes and go right where he tells me. All the same, I'm rather

queerly fixed. My owners'll have to rank with the rest on their charterparty. Here am I, their representative!

and I have to look over the ship's side while the bankrupt walks his assets ashore in Mr. Speedy's hatbox. It's

a thing I wouldn't do for James G. Blaine; but I'll do it for you, Mr. Dodd, and only sorry I can't do more."

"Thank you, captain; my mind is made up," said I. "I'll go straight, RUAT COELUM! I never understood that

"I'll never deny it was an element," said I. "I hope, I hope I'm not cowardly; I hope I could steal for Jim

myself; but when it comes to dragging in you and Speedy, and this one and the other, why, Jim has got to die,

and there's an end. I'll try and work for him when I get to 'Frisco, I suppose; and I suppose I'll fail, and look

on at his death, and kick myself: it can't be helpedI'll fight it on this line."

"I don't say as you're wrong," replied Nares, "and I'll be hanged if I know if you're right. It suits me anyway.

And look here hadn't you better just show our friends over the side?" he added; "no good of being at the

"I don't think of the creditors," said I. "But I've kept this pair so long, I haven't got the brass to fire them

Indeed, I believe that was my only reason for entering upon a transaction which was now outside my interest,

but which (as it chanced) repaid me fiftyfold in entertainment. Fowler and Sharpe were both preternaturally

sharp; they did me the honour in the beginning to attribute to myself their proper vices; and before we were

done had grown to regard me with an esteem akin to worship. This proud position I attained by no more

recondite arts, than telling the mere truth and unaffectedly displaying my indifference to the result. I have

doubtless stated the essentials of all good diplomacy, which may be rather regarded, therefore, as a grace of

state, than the effect of management. For to tell the truth is not in itself diplomatic, and to have no care for the

result a thing involuntary. When I mentioned, for instance, that I had but two hundred and forty pounds of

drug, my smugglers exchanged meaning glances, as who should say, "Here is a foeman worthy of our steel!"

But when I carelessly proposed thirtyfive dollars a pound, as an amendment to their offered twenty, and

wound up with the remark: "The whole thing is a matter of moonshine to me, gentlemen. Take it or want it,

and fill your glasses"I had the indescribable gratification to see Sharpe nudge Fowler warningly, and

Fowler choke down the jovial acceptance that stood ready on his lips, and lamely substitute a "Nono more

wine, please, Mr. Dodd!" Nor was this all: for when the affair was settled at fifty dollars a pounda shrewd

stroke of business for my creditorsand our friends had got on board their whaleboat and shoved off, it

appeared they were imperfectly acquainted with the conveyance of sound upon still water, and I had the joy

Thus we were left once more alone upon the Norah Creina; and the news of the night, and the lamentations of

Pinkerton, and the thought of my own harsh decision, returned and besieged me in the dark. According to all

the rubbish I had read, I should have been sustained by the warm consciousness of virtue. Alas, I had but the

one feeling: that I had sacrificed my sick friend to the fear of prisoncells and stupid starers. And no moralist

has yet advanced so far as to number cowardice amongst the things that are their own reward.

In the early sunlight of the next day, we tossed close off the buoy and saw the city sparkle in its groves about

the foot of the Punchbowl, and the masts clustering thick in the small harbour. A good breeze, which had

risen with the sea, carried us triumphantly through the intricacies of the passage; and we had soon brought up

not far from the landingstairs. I remember to have remarked an ugly horned reptile of a modern warship in

the usual moorings across the port, but my mind was so profoundly plunged in melancholy that I paid no

Indeed, I had little time at my disposal. Messieurs Sharpe and Fowler had left the night before in the

persuasion that I was a liar of the first magnitude; the genial belief brought them aboard again with the

earliest opportunity, proffering help to one who had proved how little he required it, and hospitality to so

respectable a character. I had business to mind, I had some need both of assistance and diversion; I liked

FowlerI don't know why; and in short, I let them do with me as they desired. No creditor intervening, I

spent the first half of the day inquiring into the conditions of the tea and silk market under the auspices of

Sharpe; lunched with him in a private apartment at the Hawaiian Hotelfor Sharpe was a teetotaler in

public; and about four in the afternoon was delivered into the hands of Fowler. This gentleman owned a

bungalow on the Waikiki beach; and there in company with certain young bloods of Honolulu, I was

entertained to a seabathe, indiscriminate cocktails, a dinner, a hulahula, and (to round off the night), poker

and assorted liquors. To lose money in the small hours to pale, intoxicated youth, has always appeared to me

a pleasure overrated. In my then frame of mind, I confess I found it even delightful; put up my money (or

rather my creditors'), and put down Fowler's champagne with equal avidity and success; and awoke the next

morning to a mild headache and the rather agreeable lees of the last night's excitement. The young bloods,

many of whom were still far from sober, had taken the kitchen into their own hands, vice the Chinaman

deposed; and since each was engaged upon a dish of his own, and none had the least scruple in demolishing

his neighbour's handiwork, I became early convinced that many eggs would be broken and few omelets

made. The discovery of a jug of milk and a crust of bread enabled me to stay my appetite; and since it was

Sunday, when no business could be done, and the festivities were to be renewed that night in the abode of

Fowler, it occurred to me to slip silently away and enjoy some air and solitude.

I turned seaward under the dead crater known as Diamond Head. My way was for some time under the shade

of certain thickets of green, thorny trees, dotted with houses. Here I enjoyed some pictures of the native life:

wideeyed, naked children, mingled with pigs; a youth asleep under a tree; an old gentleman spelling through

glasses his Hawaiian Bible; the somewhat embarrassing spectacle of a lady at her bath in a spring; and the

glimpse of gaudycoloured gowns in the deep shade of the houses. Thence I found a road along the beach

itself, wading in sand, opposed and buffeted by the whole weight of the Trade: on one hand, the glittering and

sounding surf, and the bay lively with many sails; on the other, precipitous, arid gullies and sheer cliffs,

mounting towards the crater and the blue sky. For all the companionship of skimming vessels, the place

struck me with a sense of solitude. There came in my head what I had been told the day before at dinner, of a

cavern above in the bowels of the volcano, a place only to be visited with the light of torches, a

treasurehouse of the bones of priests and warriors, and clamorous with the voice of an unseen river pouring

seaward through the crannies of the mountain. At the thought, it was revealed to me suddenly, how the

bungalows, and the Fowlers, and the bright busy town and crowding ships, were all children of yesterday;

and for centuries before, the obscure life of the natives, with its glories and ambitions, its joys and crimes and

agonies, had rolled unseen, like the mountain river, in that seagirt place. Not Chaldea appeared more

ancient, nor the Pyramids of Egypt more abstruse; and I heard time measured by "the drums and tramplings"

of immemorial conquests, and saw myself the creature of an hour. Over the bankruptcy of Pinkerton and

Dodd, of Montana Block, S. F., and the conscientious troubles of the junior partner, the spirit of eternity was

To this mood of philosophic sadness, my excesses of the night before no doubt contributed; for more things

than virtue are at times their own reward: but I was greatly healed at least of my distresses. And while I was

yet enjoying my abstracted humour, a turn of the beach brought me in view of the signalstation, with its

watchhouse and flagstaff, perched on the immediate margin of a cliff. The house was new and clean and

bald, and stood naked to the Trades. The wind beat about it in loud squalls; the seaward windows rattled

without mercy; the breach of the surf below contributed its increment of noise; and the fall of my foot in the

There were two on whom I thus entered unexpectedly: the lookout man, with grizzled beard, keen seaman's

eyes, and that brand on his countenance that comes of solitary living; and a visitor, an oldish, oratorical

fellow, in the smart tropical array of the British mano'war's man, perched on a table, and smoking a cigar. I

was made pleasantly welcome, and was soon listening with amusement to the sealawyer.

"No, if I hadn't have been born an Englishman," was one of his sentiments, "damn me! I'd rather 'a been born

a Frenchy! I'd like to see another nation fit to black their boots." Presently after, he developed his views on

home politics with similar trenchancy. "I'd rather be a brute beast than what I'd be a liberal," he said.

"Carrying banners and that! a pig's got more sense. Why, look at our chief engineerthey do say he carried a

banner with his own 'ands: "Hooroar for Gladstone!" I suppose, or "Down with the Aristocracy!" What 'arm

does the aristocracy do? Show me a country any good without one! Not the States; why, it's the 'ome of

corruption! I knew a manhe was a good man, 'ome bornwho was signal quartermaster in the Wyandotte.

He told me he could never have got there if he hadn't have 'run with the boys'told it me as I'm telling you.

He seemed the least bit taken aback, but recovered himself; and with the ready tact of his betters, paid me the

usual British compliment on the riposte. "You don't say so!" he exclaimed. "Well, I give you my word of

honour, I'd never have guessed it. Nobody could tell it on you," said he, as though it were some form of

I thanked him, as I always do, at this particular stage, with his compatriots: not so much perhaps for the

compliment to myself and my poor country, as for the revelation (which is ever fresh to me) of Britannic

selfsufficiency and taste. And he was so far softened by my gratitude as to add a word of praise on the

American method of lacing sails. "You're ahead of us in lacing sails," he said. "You can say that with a clear

At this rate, we got along swimmingly; and when I rose to retrace my steps to the Fowlery, he at once started

to his feet and offered me the welcome solace of his company for the return. I believe I discovered much

alacrity at the idea, for the creature (who seemed to be unique, or to represent a type like that of the dodo)

entertained me hugely. But when he had produced his hat, I found I was in the way of more than

"I say," I began, when our adieus were paid, and we were scrambling down the path from the lookout, "it

"You may say so," said he. "And a blessed good job for the FlyingScuds. It's a Godforsaken spot, that

My friend saluted, as though we were now, for the first time, formally introduced.

"Of course," I continued, "I am rather taken up with the whole story; and I wish you would tell me what you

"It was like this," said he. "We had orders to call at Midway after castaways, and had our distance pretty nigh

run down the day before. We steamed halfspeed all night, looking to make it about noon; for old

Tootlesbeg your pardon, sirthe captain was precious scared of the place at night. Well, there's nasty,

filthy currents round that Midway; YOU know, as has been there; and one on 'em must have set us down.

Leastways, about six bells, when we had ought to been miles away, some one sees a sail, and lo and be'old,

there was the spars of a fullrigged brig! We raised her pretty fast, and the island after her; and made out she

was hard aground, canted on her bilge, and had her ens'n flying, union down. It was breaking 'igh on the reef,

and we laid well out, and sent a couple of boats. I didn't go in neither; only stood and looked on; but it seems

they was all badly scared and muddled, and didn't know which end was uppermost. One on 'em kep'

snivelling and wringing of his 'ands; he come on board all of a sop like a monthly nurse. That Trent, he come

first, with his 'and in a bloody rag. I was near 'em as I am to you; and I could make out he was all to bits

'eard his breath rattle in his blooming lungs as he come down the ladder. Yes, they was a scared lot, small

"And a good name for him too," chuckled the mano'war's man, who probably confounded the word with a

familiar oath. "A good name too; only it weren't his. He was a gen'lem'n born, sir, as had gone

maskewerading. One of our officers knowed him at 'ome, reckonises him, steps up, 'olds out his 'and right off,

and says he: ''Ullo, Norrie, old chappie!' he says. The other was coming up, as bold as look at it; didn't seem

put outthat's where blood tells, sir! Well, no sooner does he 'ear his born name given him, than he turns as

white as the Day of Judgment, stares at Mr. Sebright like he was looking at a ghost, and then (I give you my

word of honour) turned to, and doubled up in a dead faint. 'Take him down to my berth,' says Mr. Sebright.

"The wardroom steward told me he was come of the best blood in England," was my friend's reply: "Eton

"The same as you or me," was the uncompromising answer: "not much to look at. I didn't know he was a

"How was that?" I cried. "O yes, I remember: he was sick all the way to 'Frisco, was he not?"

"Sick, or sorry, or something," returned my informant. "My belief, he didn't hanker after showing up. He kep'

close; the wardroom steward, what took his meals in, told me he ate nex' to nothing; and he was fetched

ashore at 'Frisco on the quiet. Here was how it was. It seems his brother had took and died, him as had the

estate. This one had gone in for his beer, by what I could make out; the old folks at 'ome had turned rusty; no

one knew where he had gone to. Here he was, slaving in a merchant brig, shipwrecked on Midway, and

packing up his duds for a long voyage in a open boat. He comes on board our ship, and by God, here he is a

landed proprietor, and may be in Parliament tomorrow! It's no less than natural he should keep dark: so

"To be sure," says he: "no 'arm in them from what I see. There was one 'Ardy there: colonial born he was, and

had been through a power of money. There was no nonsense about 'Ardy; he had been up, and he had come

down, and took it so. His 'eart was in the right place; and he was wellinformed, and knew French; and Latin,

"There wasn't much to say, I reckon," replied the mano'war's man. "It was all in the papers. 'Ardy used to

yarn most about the coins he had gone through; he had lived with bookmakers, and jockeys, and pugs, and

actors, and all that: a precious low lot!" added this judicious person. "But it's about here my 'orse is moored,

"No, sir, he's ashore today," said the sailor. "I took up a bag for him to the 'otel."

With that we parted. Presently after my friend overtook and passed me on a hired steed which seemed to

scorn its cavalier; and I was left in the dust of his passage, a prey to whirling thoughts. For I now stood, or

seemed to stand, on the immediate threshold of these mysteries. I knew the name of the man Dicksonhis

name was Carthew; I knew where the money came from that opposed us at the saleit was part of Carthew's

inheritance; and in my gallery of illustrations to the history of the wreck, one more picture hung; perhaps the

most dramatic of the series. It showed me the deck of a warship in that distant part of the great ocean, the

officers and seamen looking curiously on; and a man of birth and education, who had been sailing under an

alias on a trading brig, and was now rescued from desperate peril, felled like an ox by the bare sound of his

own name. I could not fail to be reminded of my own experience at the Occidental telephone. The hero of

three styles, Dickson, Goddedaal, or Carthew, must be the owner of a livelyor a loadedconscience, and

the reflection recalled to me the photograph found on board the Flying Scud; just such a man, I reasoned,

would be capable of just such starts and crises, and I inclined to think that Goddedaal (or Carthew) was the

One thing was plain: as long as the Tempest was in reach, I must make the acquaintance of both Sebright and

the doctor. To this end, I excused myself with Mr. Fowler, returned to Honolulu, and passed the remainder of

the day hanging vainly round the cool verandahs of the hotel. It was near nine o'clock at night before I was

I beheld a man in tweeds, of an incomparable languor of demeanour, and carrying a cane with genteel effort.

From the name, I had looked to find a sort of Viking and young ruler of the battle and the tempest; and I was

the more disappointed, and not a little alarmed, to come face to face with this impracticable type.

"I believe I have the pleasure of addressing Lieutenant Sebright," said I, stepping forward.

"Aw, yes," replied the hero; "but, aw! I dawn't knaw you, do I?" (He spoke for all the world like Lord

Foppington in the old playa proof of the perennial nature of man's affectations. But his limping dialect, I

"It was with the intention of making myself known, that I have taken this step," said I, entirely unabashed (for

impudence begets in me its likeperhaps my only martial attribute). "We have a common subject of interest,

to me very lively; and I believe I may be in a position to be of some service to a friend of yoursto give

The last clause was a sop to my conscience: I could not pretend, even to myself, either the power or the will

to serve Mr. Carthew; but I felt sure he would like to hear the Flying Scud was burned.

"I don't knowII don't understand you," stammered my victim. "I don't have any friends in Honolulu,

"The friend to whom I refer is English," I replied. "It is Mr. Carthew, whom you picked up at Midway. My

firm has bought the wreck; I am just returned from breaking her up; and to make my business quite clear to

youI have a communication it is necessary I should make; and have to trouble you for Mr. Carthew's

It will be seen how rapidly I had dropped all hope of interesting the frigid British bear. He, on his side, was

plainly on thorns at my insistence; I judged he was suffering torments of alarm lest I should prove an

undesirable acquaintance; diagnosed him for a shy, dull, vain, unamiable animal, without adequate defence

a sort of dishoused snail; and concluded, rightly enough, that he would consent to anything to bring our

interview to a conclusion. A moment later, he had fled, leaving me with a sheet of paper, thus inscribed:

I might have cried victory, the field of battle and some of the enemy's baggage remaining in my occupation.

As a matter of fact, my moral sufferings during the engagement had rivalled those of Mr. Sebright; I was left

incapable of fresh hostilities; I owned that the navy of old England was (for me) invincible as of yore; and

giving up all thought of the doctor, inclined to salute her veteran flag, in the future, from a prudent distance.

Such was my inclination, when I retired to rest; and my first experience the next morning strengthened it to

certainty. For I had the pleasure of encountering my fair antagonist on his way on board; and he honoured me

with a recognition so disgustingly dry, that my impatience overflowed, and (recalling the tactics of Nelson) I

Judge of my astonishment, some halfhour later, to receive a note of invitation from the Tempest.

"Dear Sir," it began, "we are all naturally very much interested in the wreck of the Flying Scud, and as soon

as I mentioned that I had the pleasure of making your acquaintance, a very general wish was expressed that

you would come and dine on board. It will give us all the greatest pleasure to see you tonight, or in case you

should be otherwise engaged, to luncheon either tomorrow or today." A note of the hours followed, and

the document wound up with the name of "J. Lascelles Sebright," under an undeniable statement that he was

"No, Mr. Lascelles Sebright," I reflected, "you are not, but I begin to suspect that (like the lady in the song)

you are another's. You have mentioned your adventure, my friend; you have been blown up; you have got

your orders; this note has been dictated; and I am asked on board (in spite of your melancholy protests) not to

meet the men, and not to talk about the Flying Scud, but to undergo the scrutiny of some one interested in

Carthew: the doctor, for a wager. And for a second wager, all this springs from your facility in giving the

address." I lost no time in answering the billet, electing for the earliest occasion; and at the appointed hour, a

somewhat blackguardlooking boat's crew from the Norah Creina conveyed me under the guns of the

The wardroom appeared pleased to see me; Sebright's brother officers, in contrast to himself, took a boyish

interest in my cruise; and much was talked of the Flying Scud; of how she had been lost, of how I had found

her, and of the weather, the anchorage, and the currents about Midway Island. Carthew was referred to more

than once without embarrassment; the parallel case of a late Earl of Aberdeen, who died mate on board a

Yankee schooner, was adduced. If they told me little of the man, it was because they had not much to tell, and

only felt an interest in his recognition and pity for his prolonged illhealth. I could never think the subject was

avoided; and it was clear that the officers, far from practising concealment, had nothing to conceal.

So far, then, all seemed natural, and yet the doctor troubled me. This was a tall, rugged, plain man, on the

wrong side of fifty, already gray, and with a restless mouth and bushy eyebrows: he spoke seldom, but then

with gaiety; and his great, quaking, silent laughter was infectious. I could make out that he was at once the

quiz of the wardroom and perfectly respected; and I made sure that he observed me covertly. It is certain I

returned the compliment. If Carthew had feigned sicknessand all seemed to point in that directionhere

was the man who knew allor certainly knew much. His strong, sterling face progressively and silently

persuaded of his full knowledge. That was not the mouth, these were not the eyes, of one who would act in

ignorance, or could be led at random. Nor again was it the face of a man squeamish in the case of

malefactors; there was even a touch of Brutus there, and something of the hanging judge. In short, he seemed

the last character for the part assigned him in my theories; and wonder and curiosity contended in my mind.

Luncheon was over, and an adjournment to the smokingroom proposed, when (upon a sudden impulse) I

"There is nothing the matter with my body, Dr. Urquart," said I, as soon as we were alone.

He hummed, his mouth worked, he regarded me steadily with his gray eyes, but resolutely held his peace.

"I want to talk to you about the Flying Scud and Mr. Carthew," I resumed. "Come: you must have expected

this. I am sure you know all; you are shrewd, and must have a guess that I know much. How are we to stand

"I do not fully understand you," he replied, after a pause; and then, after another: "It is the spirit I refer to, Mr.

"I think we are at crosspurposes," said I. "The spirit is precisely what I came in quest of. I bought the Flying

Scud at a ruinous figure, run up by Mr. Carthew through an agent; and I am, in consequence, a bankrupt. But

if I have found no fortune in the wreck, I have found unmistakable evidences of foul play. Conceive my

position: I am ruined through this man, whom I never saw; I might very well desire revenge or compensation;

"Can you not understand, then," I resumed, "the spirit in which I come to one who is surely in the secret, and

"You do not help me much," I retorted. "But see if you can understand: my conscience is not very finespun;

still, I have one. Now, there are degrees of foul play, to some of which I have no particular objection. I am

sure with Mr. Carthew, I am not at all the person to forgo an advantage; and I have much curiosity. But on the

other hand, I have no taste for persecution; and I ask you to believe that I am not the man to make bad worse,

"Yes; I think I understand," said he. "Suppose I pass you my word that, whatever may have occurred, there

"I may go further," he pursued. "Suppose I had been there, or you had been there: after a certain event had

taken place, it's a grave question what we might have doneit's even a question what we could have

doneourselves. Or take me. I will be plain with you, and own that I am in possession of the facts. You have

a shrewd guess how I have acted in that knowledge. May I ask you to judge from the character of my action,

something of the nature of that knowledge, which I have no call, nor yet no title, to share with you?"

I cannot convey a sense of the rugged conviction and judicial emphasis of Dr. Urquart's speech. To those who

did not hear him, it may appear as if he fed me on enigmas; to myself, who heard, I seemed to have received

"I thank you," I said. "I feel you have said as much as possible, and more than I had any right to ask. I take

that as a mark of confidence, which I will try to deserve. I hope, sir, you will let me regard you as a friend."

He evaded my proffered friendship with a blunt proposal to rejoin the mess; and yet a moment later,

contrived to alleviate the snub. For, as we entered the smokingroom, he laid his hand on my shoulder with a

I have never again met Dr. Urquart: but he wrote himself so clear upon my memory that I think I see him

still. And indeed I had cause to remember the man for the sake of his communication. It was hard enough to

make a theory fit the circumstances of the Flying Scud; but one in which the chief actor should stand the least

excused, and might retain the esteem or at least the pity of a man like Dr. Urquart, failed me utterly. Here at

least was the end of my discoveries; I learned no more, till I learned all; and my reader has the evidence

I have said hard words of San Francisco; they must scarce be literally understood (one cannot suppose the

Israelites did justice to the land of Pharaoh); and the city took a fine revenge of me on my return. She had

never worn a more becoming guise; the sun shone, the air was lively, the people had flowers in their

buttonholes and smiles upon their faces; and as I made my way towards Jim's place of employment, with

some very black anxieties at heart, I seemed to myself a blot on the surrounding gaiety.

My destination was in a bystreet in a mean, rickety building; "The Franklin H. Dodge Steam Printing

Company" appeared upon its front, and in characters of greater freshness, so as to suggest recent conversion,

the watchcry, "White Labour Only." In the office, in a dusty pen, Jim sat alone before a table. A wretched

change had overtaken him in clothes, body, and bearing; he looked sick and shabby; he who had once

rejoiced in his day's employment, like a horse among pastures, now sat staring on a column of accounts, idly

chewing a pen, at times heavily sighing, the picture of inefficiency and inattention. He was sunk deep in a

painful reverie; he neither saw nor heard me; and I stood and watched him unobserved. I had a sudden vain

relenting. Repentance bludgeoned me. As I had predicted to Nares, I stood and kicked myself. Here was I

come home again, my honour saved; there was my friend in want of rest, nursing, and a generous diet; and I

asked myself with Falstaff, "What is in that word honour? what is that honour?" and, like Falstaff, I told

"Thank God, you're home at last!" he gulped, and kept patting my shoulder with his hand.

"You've comethat's the good news that I want," he replied. "O, how I've longed for you, Loudon!"

"I couldn't do what you wrote me," I said, lowering my voice. "The creditors have it all. I couldn't do it."

"Ssh!" returned Jim. "I was crazy when wrote. I could never have looked Mamie in the face if we had done it.

O, Loudon, what a gift that woman is! You think you know something of life: you just don't know anything.

"And so the Flying Scud was a fraud," he resumed. "I didn't quite understand your letter, but I made out that."

"Fraud is a mild term for it," said I. "The creditors will never believe what fools we were. And that reminds

"You were lucky to be out of that," answered Jim, shaking his head; "you were lucky not to see the papers.

The _Occidental_ called me a fifthrate Kerbstone broker with water on the brain; another said I was a

treefrog that had got into the same meadow with Longhurst, and had blown myself out till I went pop. It was

rough on a man in his honeymoon; so was what they said about my looks, and what I had on, and the way I

perspired. But I braced myself up with the Flying Scud. How did it exactly figure out anyway? I don't seem to

"The devil you don't!" thinks I to myself; and then aloud: "You see we had neither one of us good luck. I

didn't do much more than cover current expenses; and you got floored immediately. How did we come to go

"Well, we'll have to have a talk over all this," said Jim with a sudden start. "I should be getting to my books;

and I guess you had better go up right away to Mamie. She's at Speedy's. She expects you with impatience.

Any scheme was welcome which allowed me to postpone the hour of explanation, and avoid (were it only for

a breathing space) the topic of the Flying Scud. I hastened accordingly to Bush Street. Mrs. Speedy, already

rejoicing in the return of a spouse, hailed me with acclamation. "And it's beautiful you're looking, Mr. Dodd,

my dear," she was kind enough to say. "And a miracle they naygur waheenies let ye lave the oilands. I have

my suspicions of Shpeedy," she added, roguishly. "Did ye see him after the naygresses now?"

"The one of ye will niver bethray the other," said the playful dame, and ushered me into a bare room, where

I was touched by the cordiality of her greeting. With the prettiest gesture in the world she gave me both her

hands; wheeled forth a chair; and produced, from a cupboard, a tin of my favourite tobacco, and a book of my

"There!" she cried; "you see, Mr. Loudon, we were all prepared for you; the things were bought the very day

I imagined she had always intended me a pleasant welcome; but the certain fervour of sincerity, which I

could not help remarking, flowed from an unexpected source. Captain Nares, with a kindness for which I can

never be sufficiently grateful, had stolen a moment from his occupations, driven to call on Mamie, and drawn

her a generous picture of my prowess at the wreck. She was careful not to breathe a word of this interview,

"Ah! Captain Nares was better," she cried, when I had done. "From your account, I have only learned one

"It is of no use," said Mamie. "I know a hero. And when I heard of you working all day like a common

labourer, with your hands bleeding and your nails brokenand how you told the captain to 'crack on' (I think

he said) in the storm, when he was terrified himselfand the danger of that horrid mutiny" (Nares had

been obligingly dipping his brush in earthquake and eclipse)"and how it was all done, in part at least, for

"Mamie," I cried, "don't talk of thanks; it is not a word to be used between friends. Jim and I have been

prosperous together; now we shall be poor together. We've done our best, and that's all that need be said. The

next thing is for me to find a situation, and send you and Jim up country for a long holiday in the

Presently after, Jim himself arrived, and before he had yet done mopping his brow, he was at me with the

accursed subject. "Now, Loudon," said he, "here we are all together, the day's work done and the evening

"One word on business first," said I, speaking from the lips outward, and meanwhile (in the private

apartments of my brain) trying for the thousandth time to find some plausible arrangement of my story. "I

"O, that's ancient history," cried Jim. "We paid seven cents, and a wonder we did as well. The receiver"

(methought a spasm seized him at the name of this official, and he broke off). "But it's all past and done with

anyway; and what I want to get at is the facts about the wreck. I don't seem to understand it; appears to me

"How the mischief is it I can never keep you to that bankruptcy? It looks as if you avoided it," said Ifor a

It was my own doing; there was no retreat. "My dear fellow, if you make a point of it, here goes!" said I, and

launched with spurious gaiety into the current of my tale. I told it with point and spirit; described the island

and the wreck, mimicked Anderson and the Chinese, maintained the suspense.... My pen has stumbled on the

fatal word. I maintained the suspense so well that it was never relieved; and when I stoppedI dare not say

concluded, where there was no conclusionI found Jim and Mamie regarding me with surprise.

"But, great Caesar's ghost! the money was offered!" cried Jim. "It won't do, Loudon; it's nonsense, on the face

of it! I don't say but what you and Nares did your best; I'm sure, of course, you did; but I do say, you got

"You'll see," said Jim. "Next time I go myself. I'll take Mamie for the trip; Longhurst won't refuse me the

"Burned!" cried Mamie, starting a little from the attitude of quiescent capacity in which she had hitherto sat

"I beg your pardon, Loudon," began Jim at last, "but why in snakes did you burn her?"

"I must say, Loudon, it does seem kind of unexpected," added Jim. "It seems kind of crazy even. What did

"I don't know; it didn't seem to matter; we had got all there was to get," said I.

"How can I tell you?" I cried. "We had been all through her. We WERE sure; that's all that I can say."

Jim hurriedly intervened. "What I don't quite make out, Loudon, is that you don't seem to appreciate the

peculiarities of the thing," said he. "It doesn't seem to have struck you same as it does me."

"Pshaw! why go on with this?" cried Mamie, suddenly rising. "Mr. Dodd is not telling us either what he

"You need not be concerned for his feelings, James; he is not concerned for yours," returned the lady. "He

dare not deny it, besides. And this is not the first time he has practised reticence. Have you forgotten that he

Jim turned to me pleadinglywe were all on our feet. "Loudon," he said, "you see Mamie has some fancy;

and I must say there's just a sort of a shadow of an excuse; for it IS bewilderingeven to me, Loudon, with

"This serves me right," said I. "I should not have tried to keep you in the dark; I should have told you at first

that I was pledged to secrecy; I should have asked you to trust me in the beginning. It is all I can do now.

There is more of the story, but it concerns none of us, and my tongue is tied. I have given my word of honour.

"I daresay I am very stupid, Mr. Dodd," began Mamie, with an alarming sweetness, "but I thought you went

upon this trip as my husband's representative and with my husband's money? You tell us now that you are

pledged, but I should have thought you were pledged first of all to James. You say it does not concern us; we

are poor people, and my husband is sick, and it concerns us a great deal to understand how we come to have

lost our money, and why our representative comes back to us with nothing. You ask that we should trust you;

you do not seem to understand; the question we are asking ourselves is whether we have not trusted you too

"You think you can do what you please with James; you trust to his affection, do you not? And me, I suppose,

you do not consider," said Mamie. "But it was perhaps an unfortunate day for you when we were married, for

I at least am not blind. The crew run away, the ship is sold for a great deal of money, you know that man's

address and you conceal it, you do not find what you were sent to look for, and yet you burn the ship; and

now, when we ask explanations, you are pledged to secrecy! But I am pledged to no such thing; I will not

stand by in silence and see my sick and ruined husband betrayed by his condescending friend. I will give you

"Mamie," cried Jim, "no more of this! It's me you're striking; it's only me you hurt. You don't know, you

cannot understand these things. Why, today, if it hadn't been for Loudon, I couldn't have looked you in the

"I have heard plenty of this talk before," she replied. "You are a sweethearted fool, and I love you for it. But

I am a clearheaded woman; my eyes are open, and I understand this man's hypocrisy. Did he not come here

today and pretend he would take a situationpretend he would share his hardearned wages with us until

you were well? Pretend! It makes me furious! His wages! a share of his wages! That would have been your

pittance, that would have been your share of the Flying Scudyou who worked and toiled for him when he

was a beggar in the streets of Paris. But we do not want your charity; thank God, I can work for my own

husband! See what it is to have obliged a gentleman. He would let you pick him up when he was begging; he

would stand and look on, and let you black his shoes, and sneer at you. For you were always sneering at my

James; you always looked down upon him in your heart, you know it!" She turned back to Jim. "And now

when he is rich," she began, and then swooped again on me. "For you are rich, I dare you to deny it; I defy

you to look me in the face and try to deny that you are richrich with our moneymy husband's

Heaven knows to what a height she might have risen, being, by this time, bodily whirled away in her own

hurricane of words. Heartsickness, a black depression, a treacherous sympathy with my assailant, pity

unutterable for poor Jim, already filled, divided, and abashed my spirit. Flight seemed the only remedy; and

making a private sign to Jim, as if to ask permission, I slunk from the unequal field.

I was but a little way down the street, when I was arrested by the sound of some one running, and Jim's voice

calling me by name. He had followed me with a letter which had been long awaiting my return.

"Don't think hard of Mamie," he pleaded. "It's the way she's made; it's her hightoned loyalty. And of course

I know it's all right. I know your sterling character; but you didn't, somehow, make out to give us the thing

"Never mind what you mean, my poor Jim," said I. "She's a gallant little woman and a loyal wife: and I

thought her splendid. My story was as fishy as the devil. I'll never think the less of either her or you."

"It never can," I returned, sighing: "and don't you try to make it! Don't name me, unless it's with an oath. And

get home to her right away. Good by, my best of friends. Good by, and God bless you. We shall never meet

I had no views on life, beyond an occasional impulse to commit suicide, or to get drunk, and drifted down the

street, semiconscious, walking apparently on air, in the lightheadedness of grief. I had money in my pocket,

whether mine or my creditors' I had no means of guessing; and, the Poodle Dog lying in my path, I went

mechanically in and took a table. A waiter attended me, and I suppose I gave my orders; for presently I found

myself, with a sudden return of consciousness, beginning dinner. On the white cloth at my elbow lay the

letter, addressed in a clerk's hand, and bearing an English stamp and the Edinburgh postmark. A bowl of

bouillon and a glass of wine awakened in one corner of my brain (where all the rest was in mourning, the

blinds down as for a funeral) a faint stir of curiosity; and while I waited the next course, wondering the while

"DEAR SIR: I am charged with the melancholy duty of announcing to you the death of your excellent

grandfather, Mr. Alexander Loudon, on the 17th ult. On Sunday the 13th, he went to church as usual in the

forenoon, and stopped on his way home, at the corner of Princes Street, in one of our seasonable east winds,

to talk with an old friend. The same evening acute bronchitis declared itself; from the first, Dr. M'Combie

anticipated a fatal result, and the old gentleman appeared to have no illusion as to his own state. He

repeatedly assured me it was 'by' with him now; 'and high time, too,' he once added with characteristic

asperity. He was not in the least changed on the approach of death: only (what I am sure must be very

grateful to your feelings) he seemed to think and speak even more kindly than usual of yourself: referring to

you as 'Jeannie's yin,' with strong expressions of regard. 'He was the only one I ever liket of the hale

jingbang,' was one of his expressions; and you will be glad to know that he dwelt particularly on the dutiful

respect you had always displayed in your relations. The small codicil, by which he bequeaths you his

Molesworth and other professional works, was added (you will observe) on the day before his death; so that

you were in his thoughts until the end. I should say that, though rather a trying patient, he was most tenderly

nursed by your uncle, and your cousin, Miss Euphemia. I enclose a copy of the testament, by which you will

see that you share equally with Mr. Adam, and that I hold at your disposal a sum nearly approaching

seventeen thousand pounds. I beg to congratulate you on this considerable acquisition, and expect your

orders, to which I shall hasten to give my best attention. Thinking that you might desire to return at once to

this country, and not knowing how you may be placed, I enclose a credit for six hundred pounds. Please sign

"God bless the old gentleman!" I thought; "and for that matter God bless Uncle Adam! and my cousin

Euphemia! and Mr. Gregg!" I had a vision of that grey old life now brought to an end"and high time

too"a vision of those Sabbath streets alternately vacant and filled with silent people; of the babel of the

bells, the longdrawn psalmody, the shrewd sting of the east wind, the hollow, echoing, dreary house to

which "Ecky" had returned with the hand of death already on his shoulder; a vision, too, of the long, rough

country lad, perhaps a serious courtier of the lasses in the hawthorn den, perhaps a rustic dancer on the green,

who had first earned and answered to that harsh diminutive. And I asked myself if, on the whole, poor Ecky

had succeeded in life; if the last state of that man were not on the whole worse than the first; and the house in

Randolph Crescent a less admirable dwelling than the hamlet where he saw the day and grew to manhood.

Yes, I declare the word came in my mind; and all the while, in another partition of the brain, I was glowing

and singing for my newfound opulence. The pile of goldfour thousand two hundred and fifty double

eagles, seventeen thousand ugly sovereigns, twentyone thousand two hundred and fifty

Napoleonsdanced, and rang and ran molten, and lit up life with their effulgence, in the eye of fancy. Here

were all things made plain to me: ParadiseParis, I meanRegained, Carthew protected, Jim restored, the

"The creditors!" I repeated, and sank back benumbed. It was all theirs to the last farthing: my grandfather had

I must have somewhere a rare vein of decision. In that revolutionary moment, I found myself prepared for all

extremes except the one: ready to do anything, or to go anywhere, so long as I might save my money. At the

worst, there was flight, flight to some of those blest countries where the serpent, extradition, has not yet

the old lawless words haunted me; and I saw myself hugging my gold in the company of such men as had

once made and sung them, in the rude and bloody wharfside drinkingshops of Chili and Peru. The run of my

illluck, the breach of my old friendship, this bubble fortune flaunted for a moment in my eyes and snatched

again, had made me desperate and (in the expressive vulgarism) ugly. To drink vile spirits among vile

companions by the flare of a pinetorch; to go burthened with my furtive treasure in a belt; to fight for it

knife in hand, rolling on a clay floor; to flee perpetually in fresh ships and to be chased through the sea from

That was for the worst; but it began to dawn slowly on my mind that there was yet a possible better. Once

escaped, once safe in Callao, I might approach my creditors with a good grace; and properly handled by a

cunning agent, it was just possible they might accept some easy composition. The hope recalled me to the

bankruptcy. It was strange, I reflected: often as I had questioned Jim, he had never obliged me with an

answer. In his haste for news about the wreck, my own no less legitimate curiosity had gone disappointed.

Hateful as the thought was to me, I must return at once and find out where I stood.

I left my dinner still unfinished, paying for the whole, of course, and tossing the waiter a gold piece. I was

reckless; I knew not what was mine and cared not: I must take what I could get and give as I was able; to rob

and to squander seemed the complementary parts of my new destiny. I walked up Bush Street, whistling,

brazening myself to confront Mamie in the first place, and the world at large and a certain visionary judge

upon a bench in the second. Just outside, I stopped and lighted a cigar to give me greater countenance; and

puffing this and wearing what (I am sure) was a wretched assumption of braggadocio, I reappeared on the

My friend and his wife were finishing a poor mealrags of old mutton, the remainder cakes from breakfast

"I beg your pardon, Mrs. Pinkerton," said I. "Sorry to inflict my presence where it cannot be desired; but there

"Pray do not consider me," said Mamie, rising, and she sailed into the adjoining bedroom.

"Even so, Jim. My questions," I repeated. "I put questions as well as yourself; and however little I may have

satisfied Mamie with my answers, I beg to remind you that you gave me none at all."

He writhed in his chair. "The straight truth is, I was ashamed," he said. "I was trying to dodge you. I've been

playing fast and loose with you, Loudon; I've deceived you from the first, I blush to own it. And here you

came home and put the very question I was fearing. Why did we bust so soon? Your keen business eye had

not deceived you. That's the point, that's my shame; that's what killed me this afternoon when Mamie was

treating you so, and my conscience was telling me all the time, Thou art the man."

"What I had been at all the time, Loudon," he wailed; "and I don't know how I'm to look you in the face and

"And you were afraid to tell me that!" I cried. "You poor, old, cheerless dreamer! what would it matter what

you did or didn't? Can't you see we're doomed? And anyway, that's not my point. It's how I stand that I want

to know. There is a particular reason. Am I clear? Have I a certificate, or what have I to do to get one? And

"That's the worst of all," said Jim, like a man in a dream, "I can't see how to tell him!"

"I know it'll shock your delicate selfrespect," he said; "but what was I to do? Things looked so bad. The

receiver" (as usual, the name stuck in his throat, and he began afresh). "There was a lot of talk; the

reporters were after me already; there was the trouble and all about the Mexican business; and I got scared

right out, and I guess I lost my head. You weren't there, you see, and that was my temptation."

I did not know how long he might thus beat about the bush with dreadful hintings, and I was already beside

myself with terror. What had he done? I saw he had been tempted; I knew from his letters that he was in no

"Well," he said"I know it was a libertyI made it out you were no business man, only a stonebroke

painter; that half the time you didn't know anything anyway, particularly money and accounts. I said you

never could be got to understand whose was whose. I had to say that because of some entries in the

"For God's sake," I cried, "put me out of this agony! What did you accuse me of?"

"Accuse you of?" repeated Jim. "Of what I'm telling you. And there being no deed of partnership, I made out

you were only a kind of clerk that I called a partner just to give you taffy; and so I got you ranked a creditor

I believe I reeled. "A creditor!" I roared; "a creditor! I'm not in the bankruptcy at all?"

"O, damn your liberty! read that," I cried, dashing the letter before him on the table, "and call in your wife,

and be done with eating this truck "as I spoke, I slung the cold mutton in the empty grate"and let's all go

and have a champagne supper. I've dinedI'm sure I don't remember what I had; I'd dine again ten scores of

times upon a night like this. Read it, you blaying ass! I'm not insane. Here, Mamie," I continued, opening the

bedroom door, "come out and make it up with me, and go and kiss your husband; and I'll tell you what, after

the supper, let's go to some place where there's a band, and I'll waltz with you till sunrise."

"It means we have a champagne supper tonight, and all go to Napa Valley or to Monterey tomorrow," said

I. "Mamie, go and get your things on; and you, Jim, sit down right where you are, take a sheet of paper, and

tell Franklin Dodge to go to Texas. Mamie, you were right, my dear; I was rich all the time, and didn't know

The absorbing and disastrous adventure of the Flying Scud was now quite ended; we had dashed into these

deep waters and we had escaped again to starve, we had been ruined and were saved, had quarrelled and

made up; there remained nothing but to sing Te Deum, draw a line, and begin on a fresh page of my

unwritten diary. I do not pretend that I recovered all I had lost with Mamie; it would have been more than I

had merited; and I had certainly been more uncommunicative than became either the partner or the friend.

But she accepted the position handsomely; and during the week that I now passed with them, both she and

Jim had the grace to spare me questions. It was to Calistoga that we went; there was some rumour of a Napa

landboom at the moment, the possibility of stir attracted Jim, and he informed me he would find a certain

joy in looking on, much as Napoleon on St. Helena took a pleasure to read military works. The field of his

ambition was quite closed; he was done with action; and looked forward to a ranch in a mountain dingle, a

patch of corn, a pair of kine, a leisurely and contemplative age in the green shade of forests. "Just let me get

down on my back in a hayfield," said he, "and you'll find there's no more snap to me than that much putty."

And for two days the perfervid being actually rested. The third, he was observed in consultation with the

local editor, and owned he was in two minds about purchasing the press and paper. "It's a kind of a hold for

an idle man," he said, pleadingly; "and if the section was to open up the way it ought to, there might be

dollars in the thing." On the fourth day he was gone till dinnertime alone; on the fifth we made a long picnic

drive to the fresh field of enterprise; and the sixth was passed entirely in the preparation of prospectuses. The

pioneer of McBride City was already upright and selfreliant as of yore; the fire rekindled in his eye, the ring

restored to his voice; a charger sniffing battle and saying haha, among the spears. On the seventh morning

we signed a deed of partnership, for Jim would not accept a dollar of my money otherwise; and having once

more engaged myselfor that mortal part of me, my purseamong the wheels of his machinery, I returned

The same night I had Nares to dinner. His sunburnt face, his queer and personal strain of talk, recalled days

that were scarce over and that seemed already distant. Through the music of the band outside, and the chink

and clatter of the diningroom, it seemed to me as if I heard the foaming of the surf and the voices of the

seabirds about Midway Island. The bruises on our hands were not yet healed; and there we sat, waited on by

"Think of our dinners on the Norah, captain, and then oblige me by looking round the room for contrast."

He took the scene in slowly. "Yes, it is like a dream," he said: "like as if the darkies were really about as big

as dimes; and a great big scuttle might open up there, and Johnson stick in a great big head and shoulders, and

"Well, it's the other thing that has done that," I replied. "It's all bygone now, all dead and buried. Amen! say

"I don't know that, Mr. Dodd; and to tell you the fact, I don't believe it," said Nares. "There's more Flying

Scud in the oven; and the baker's name, I take it, is Bellairs. He tackled me the day we came in: sort of a

razee of poor old humanityjury clothesfull new suit of pimples: knew him at once from your

description. I let him pump me till I saw his game. He knows a good deal that we don't know, a good deal that

I was surprised I had not thought of this before. Bellairs had been behind the scenes; he had known Dickson;

he knew the flight of the crew; it was hardly possible but what he should suspect; it was certain if he

suspected, that he would seek to trade on the suspicion. And sure enough, I was not yet dressed the next

morning ere the lawyer was knocking at my door. I let him in, for I was curious; and he, after some

"If you will allow me to clothe my idea in a somewhat vulgar form," said he, "I might ask you, did you go to

"Similarly, Mr. Dodd, you may be sure I would never have taken the present step without influential

grounds," pursued the lawyer. "Intrusion is foreign to my character. But you and I, sir, are engaged on the

same ends. If we can continue to work the thing in company, I place at your disposal my knowledge of the

law and a considerable practice in delicate negotiations similar to this. Should you refuse to consent, you

might find in me a formidable and"he hesitated"and to my own regret, perhaps a dangerous competitor."

"I advise YOU to!" he said, with a sudden sparkle of temper and menace, instantly gone, instantly succeeded

by fresh cringing. "I assure you, sir, I arrive in the character of a friend; and I believe you underestimate my

information. If I may instance an example, I am acquainted to the last dime with what you made (or rather

"I know where that draft came from," he cried, wincing back like one who has greatly dared, and instantly

"You forget I was Mr. Dickson's confidential agent," he explained. "You had his address, Mr. Dodd. We were

the only two that he communicated with in San Francisco. You see my deductions are quite obvious: you see

how open and frank I deal with you, as I should wish to do with any gentleman with whom I was conjoined

in business. You see how much I know; and it can scarcely escape your strong commonsense, how much

better it would be if I knew all. You cannot hope to get rid of me at this time of day, I have my place in the

affair, I cannot be shaken off; I am, if you will excuse a rather technical pleasantry, an encumbrance on the

estate. The actual harm I can do, I leave you to valuate for yourself. But without going so far, Mr. Dodd, and

without in any way inconveniencing myself, I could make things very uncomfortable. For instance, Mr.

Pinkerton's liquidation. You and I know, sirand you better than Ion what a large fund you draw. Is Mr.

Pinkerton in the thing at all? It was you only who knew the address, and you were concealing it. Suppose I

"Look here!" I interrupted, "communicate with him (if you will permit me to clothe my idea in a vulgar

shape) till you are blue in the face. There is only one person with whom I refuse to allow you to communicate

He could not conceal his rage, disappointment, and surprise; and in the passage (I have no doubt) was shaken

I was disgusted by this interview; it struck me hard to be suspected on all hands, and to hear again from this

trafficker what I had heard already from Jim's wife; and yet my strongest impression was different and might

rather be described as an impersonal fear. There was something against nature in the man's craven

impudence; it was as though a lamb had butted me; such daring at the hands of such a dastard, implied

unchangeable resolve, a great pressure of necessity, and powerful means. I thought of the unknown Carthew,

Upon inquiry I found the lawyer was but just disbarred for some malpractice; and the discovery added

excessively to my disquiet. Here was a rascal without money or the means of making it, thrust out of the

doors of his own trade, publicly shamed, and doubtless in a deuce of a bad temper with the universe. Here, on

the other hand, was a man with a secret; rich, terrified, practically in hiding; who had been willing to pay ten

thousand pounds for the bones of the Flying Scud. I slipped insensibly into a mental alliance with the victim;

the business weighed on me; all day long, I was wondering how much the lawyer knew, how much he

Some of these problems are unsolved to this day; others were soon made clear. Where he got Carthew's name

is still a mystery; perhaps some sailor on the Tempest, perhaps my own sealawyer served him for a tool; but

I was actually at his elbow when he learned the address. It fell so. One evening, when I had an engagement

and was killing time until the hour, I chanced to walk in the court of the hotel while the band played. The

place was bright as day with the electric light; and I recognised, at some distance among the loiterers, the

person of Bellairs in talk with a gentleman whose face appeared familiar. It was certainly some one I had

seen, and seen recently; but who or where, I knew not. A porter standing hard by, gave me the necessary hint.

The stranger was an English navy man, invalided home from Honolulu, where he had left his ship; indeed, it

was only from the change of clothes and the effects of sickness, that I had not immediately recognised my

The conjunction of these planets seeming ominous, I drew near; but it seemed Bellairs had done his business;

"He is a disreputable lawyer, recently disbarred," said I. "I wish I had seen you in time. I trust you told him

He flushed to his ears. "I'm awfully sorry," he said. "He seemed civil, and I wanted to get rid of him. It was

"God forgive you!" was my only comment, and I turned my back upon the blunderer.

The fat was in the fire now: Bellairs had the address, and I was the more deceived or Carthew would have

news of him. So strong was this impression, and so painful, that the next morning I had the curiosity to pay

the lawyer's den a visit. An old woman was scrubbing the stair, and the board was down.

"Lawyer Bellairs?" said the old woman. "Gone East this morning. There's Lawyer Dean next block up."

I did not trouble Lawyer Dean, but walked slowly back to my hotel, ruminating as I went. The image of the

old woman washing that desecrated stair had struck my fancy; it seemed that all the watersupply of the city

and all the soap in the State would scarce suffice to cleanse it, it had been so long a clearing house of dingy

secrets and a factory of sordid fraud. And now the corner was untenanted; some judge, like a careful

housewife, had knocked down the web, and the bloated spider was scuttling elsewhere after new victims. I

had of late (as I have said) insensibly taken sides with Carthew; now when his enemy was at his heels, my

interest grew more warm; and I began to wonder if I could not help. The drama of the Flying Scud was

entering on a new phase. It had been singular from the first: it promised an extraordinary conclusion; and I,

who had paid so much to learn the beginning, might pay a little more and see the end. I lingered in San

Francisco, indemnifying myself after the hardships of the cruise, spending money, regretting it, continually

promising departure for the morrow. Why not go indeed, and keep a watch upon Bellairs? If I missed him,

there was no harm done, I was the nearer Paris. If I found and kept his trail, it was hard if I could not put

some stick in his machinery, and at the worst I could promise myself interesting scenes and revelations.

In such a mixed humour, I made up what it pleases me to call my mind, and once more involved myself in the

story of Carthew and the Flying Scud. The same night I wrote a letter of farewell to Jim, and one of anxious

warning to Dr. Urquart begging him to set Carthew on his guard; the morrow saw me in the ferryboat; and

ten days later, I was walking the hurricane deck on the City of Denver. By that time my mind was pretty

much made down again, its natural condition: I told myself that I was bound for Paris or Fontainebleau to

resume the study of the arts; and I thought no more of Carthew or Bellairs, or only to smile at my own

fondness. The one I could not serve, even if I wanted; the other I had no means of finding, even if I could

And for all that, I was close on the heels of an absurd adventure. My neighbour at table that evening was a

'Frisco man whom I knew slightly. I found he had crossed the plains two days in front of me, and this was the

first steamer that had left New York for Europe since his arrival. Two days before me meant a day before

"Bellairs?" he repeated. "Not in the saloon, I am sure. He may be in the second class. The lists are not made

And the next morning I saw him on the forward deck, sitting in a chair, a book in his hand, a shabby puma

skin rug about his knees: the picture of respectable decay. Off and on, I kept him in my eye. He read a good

deal, he stood and looked upon the sea, he talked occasionally with his neighbours, and once when a child fell

he picked it up and soothed it. I damned him in my heart; the book, which I was sure he did not readthe

sea, to which I was ready to take oath he was indifferentthe child, whom I was certain he would as lieve

have tossed overboard all seemed to me elements in a theatrical performance; and I made no doubt he was

already nosing after the secrets of his fellowpassengers. I took no pains to conceal myself, my scorn for the

creature being as strong as my disgust. But he never looked my way, and it was night before I learned he had

I was smoking by the engineroom door, for the air was a little sharp, when a voice rose close beside me in

"A single word, sir. Your presence on this ship has no connection with our interview?" he asked. "You have

"None," said I; and then, seeing he still lingered, I was polite enough to add "Good evening;" at which he

The next day, he was there again with the chair and the puma skin; read his book and looked at the sea with

the same constancy; and though there was no child to be picked up, I observed him to attend repeatedly on a

sick woman. Nothing fosters suspicion like the act of watching; a man spied upon can hardly blow his nose

but we accuse him of designs; and I took an early opportunity to go forward and see the woman for myself.

She was poor, elderly, and painfully plain; I stood abashed at the sight, felt I owed Bellairs amends for the

injustice of my thoughts, and seeing him standing by the rail in his usual attitude of contemplation, walked up

"I may really call it a passion, Mr. Dodd," he replied. "And the tall cataract haunted me like a passion," he

quoted. "I never weary of the sea, sir. This is my first ocean voyage. I find it a glorious experience." And

once more my disbarred lawyer dropped into poetry: "Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll!"

Though I had learned the piece in my readingbook at school, I came into the world a little too late on the

one handand I daresay a little too early on the otherto think much of Byron; and the sonorous verse,

"I am a great reader," he replied. "At one time I had begun to amass quite a small but well selected library;

and when that was scattered, I still managed to preserve a few volumes chiefly of pieces designed for

"No, sir," he replied, showing me a translation of the _Sorrows of Werther_, "that is a novel I picked up some

"O, immoral!" cried I, indignant as usual at any complication of art and ethics.

"Surely you cannot deny that, sirif you know the book," he said. "The passion is illicit, although certainly

drawn with a good deal of pathos. It is not a work one could possibly put into the hands of a lady; which is to

be regretted on all accounts, for I do not know how it may strike you; but it seems to meas a depiction, if I

make myself clearto rise high above its compeerseven famous compeers. Even in Scott, Dickens,

Thackeray, or Hawthorne, the sentiment of love appears to me to be frequently done less justice to."

"Is that so, indeed, sir?" he exclaimed, with unmistakable excitement. "Is the book well known? and who was

GOEATH? I am interested in that, because upon the titlepage the usual initials are omitted, and it runs

simply 'by GOEATH.' Was he an author of distinction? Has he written other works?"

Such was our first interview, the first of many; and in all he showed the same attractive qualities and defects.

His taste for literature was native and unaffected; his sentimentality, although extreme and a thought

ridiculous, was plainly genuine. I wondered at my own innocent wonder. I knew that Homer nodded, that

Caesar had compiled a jestbook, that Turner lived by preference the life of Puggy Booth, that Shelley made

paper boats, and Wordsworth wore green spectacles! and with all this mass of evidence before me, I had

expected Bellairs to be entirely of one piece, subdued to what he worked in, a spy all through. As I

abominated the man's trade, so I had expected to detest the man himself; and behold, I liked him. Poor devil!

he was essentially a man on wires, all sensibility and tremor, brimful of a cheap poetry, not without parts,

quite without courage. His boldness was despair; the gulf behind him thrust him on; he was one of those who

might commit a murder rather than confess the theft of a postagestamp. I was sure that his coming interview

with Carthew rode his imagination like a nightmare; when the thought crossed his mind, I used to think I

knew of it, and that the qualm appeared in his face visibly. Yet he would never flinch: necessity stalking at

his back, famine (his old pursuer) talking in his ear; and I used to wonder whether I most admired, or most

despised, this quivering heroism for evil. The image that occurred to me after his visit was just; I had been

butted by a lamb; and the phase of life that I was now studying might be called the Revolt of a Sheep.

It could be said of him that he had learned in sorrow what he taught in songor wrong; and his life was that

of one of his victims. He was born in the back parts of the State of New York; his father a farmer, who

became subsequently bankrupt and went West. The lawyer and moneylender who had ruined this poor

family seems to have conceived in the end a feeling of remorse; he turned the father out indeed, but he

offered, in compensation, to charge himself with one of the sons: and Harry, the fifth child and already sickly,

was chosen to be left behind. He made himself useful in the office; picked up the scattered rudiments of an

education; read right and left; attended and debated at the Young Men's Christian Association; and in all his

early years, was the model for a good storybook. His landlady's daughter was his bane. He showed me her

photograph; she was a big, handsome, dashing, dressy, vulgar hussy, without character, without tenderness,

without mind, and (as the result proved) without virtue. The sickly and timid boy was in the house; he was

handy; when she was otherwise unoccupied, she used and played with him: Romeo and Cressida; till in that

dreary life of a poor boy in a country town, she grew to be the light of his days and the subject of his dreams.

He worked hard, like Jacob, for a wife; he surpassed his patron in sharp practice; he was made head clerk;

and the same night, encouraged by a hundred freedoms, depressed by the sense of his youth and his

infirmities, he offered marriage and was received with laughter. Not a year had passed, before his master,

conscious of growing infirmities, took him for a partner; he proposed again; he was accepted; led two years

of troubled married life; and awoke one morning to find his wife had run away with a dashing drummer, and

had left him heavily in debt. The debt, and not the drummer, was supposed to be the cause of the hegira; she

had concealed her liabilities, they were on the point of bursting forth, she was weary of Bellairs; and she took

the drummer as she might have taken a cab. The blow disabled her husband, his partner was dead; he was

now alone in the business, for which he was no longer fit; the debts hampered him; bankruptcy followed; and

he fled from city to city, falling daily into lower practice. It is to be considered that he had been taught, and

had learned as a delightful duty, a kind of business whose highest merit is to escape the commentaries of the

bench: that of the usurious lawyer in a county town. With this training, he was now shot, a penniless stranger,

into the deeper gulfs of cities; and the result is scarce a thing to be surprised at.

He displayed a pitiful agitation. "I am afraid you will think ill of me," he said.

"No, sir. I trust I have too much selfrespect," he answered, "and, at least, I was never tempted. She won't

come, she dislikes, she seems to have conceived a positive distaste for me, and yet I was considered an

"I place myself in your hands, Mr. Dodd," he replied. "The world is very hard; I have found it bitter hard

myselfbitter hard to live. How much worse for a woman, and one who has placed herself (by her own

"I cannot deny it. I practically do," he admitted. "It has been a millstone round my neck. But I think she is

He handed me a letter in a sprawling, ignorant hand, but written with violet ink on fine, pink paper with a

monogram. It was very foolishly expressed, and I thought (except for a few obvious cajoleries) very heartless

and greedy in meaning. The writer said she had been sick, which I disbelieved; declared the last remittance

was all gone in doctor's bills, for which I took the liberty of substituting dress, drink, and monograms; and

"I think she is really grateful?" he asked, with some eagerness, as I returned it.

"O no, sir. I divorced her," he replied. "I have a very strong sense of selfrespect in such matters, and I

"I will not deceive you, Mr. Dodd. I do not know, I make a point of not knowing; it appears more dignified. I

It will be seen that I had fallen into an ignominious intimacy with the man I had gone out to thwart. My pity

for the creature, his admiration for myself, his pleasure in my society, which was clearly unassumed, were the

bonds with which I was fettered; perhaps I should add, in honesty, my own illregulated interest in the phases

of life and human character. The fact is (at least) that we spent hours together daily, and that I was nearly as

much on the forward deck as in the saloon. Yet all the while I could never forget he was a shabby trickster,

embarked that very moment in a dirty enterprise. I used to tell myself at first that our acquaintance was a

stroke of art, and that I was somehow fortifying Carthew. I told myself, I say; but I was no such fool as to

believe it, even then. In these circumstances I displayed the two chief qualities of my character on the largest

scalemy helplessness and my instinctive love of procrastinationand fell upon a course of action so

We reached Liverpool one forenoon, the rain falling thickly and insidiously on the filthy town. I had no plans,

beyond a sensible unwillingness to let my rascal escape; and I ended by going to the same inn with him,

dining with him, walking with him in the wet streets, and hearing with him in a penny gaff that venerable

piece, _The TicketofLeave Man_. It was one of his first visits to a theatre, against which places of

entertainment he had a strong prejudice; and his innocent, pompous talk, innocent old quotations, and

innocent reverence for the character of Hawkshaw delighted me beyond relief. In charity to myself, I dwell

upon and perhaps exaggerate my pleasures. I have need of all conceivable excuses, when I confess that I went

to bed without one word upon the matter of Carthew, but not without having covenanted with my rascal for a

visit to Chester the next day. At Chester we did the Cathedral, walked on the walls, discussed Shakespeare

and the musical glassesand made a fresh engagement for the morrow. I do not know, and I am glad to have

forgotten, how long these travels were continued. We visited at least, by singular zigzags, Stratford,

Warwick, Coventry, Gloucester, Bristol, Bath, and Wells. At each stage we spoke dutifully of the scene and

its associations; I sketched, the Shyster spouted poetry and copied epitaphs. Who could doubt we were the

usual Americans, travelling with a design of selfimprovement? Who was to guess that one was a

blackmailer, trembling to approach the scene of actionthe other a helpless, amateur detective, waiting on

It is unnecessary to remark that none occurred, or none the least suitable with my design of protecting

Carthew. Two trifles, indeed, completed though they scarcely changed my conception of the Shyster. The

first was observed in Gloucester, where we spent Sunday, and I proposed we should hear service in the

cathedral. To my surprise, the creature had an ISM of his own, to which he was loyal; and he left me to go

alone to the cathedralor perhaps not to go at alland stole off down a deserted alley to some Bethel or

Ebenezer of the proper shade. When we met again at lunch, I rallied him, and he grew restive.

"You need employ no circumlocutions with me, Mr. Dodd," he said suddenly. "You regard my behaviour

from an unfavourable point of view: you regard me, I much fear, as hypocritical."

I was somewhat confused by the attack. "You know what I think of your trade," I replied, lamely and

"Excuse me, if I seem to press the subject," he continued, "but if you think my life erroneous, would you have

me neglect the means of grace? Because you consider me in the wrong on one point, would you have me

He had a bad attack of St. Vitus, his face was changed, and his eyes flashed. "I will tell you what I did!" he

cried. "I prayed for an unfortunate man and a wretched woman whom he tries to support."

The second incident was at Bristol, where I lost sight of my gentleman some hours. From this eclipse, he

returned to me with thick speech, wandering footsteps, and a back all whitened with plaster. I had half

expected, yet I could have wept to see it. All disabilities were piled on that weak back domestic

misfortune, nervous disease, a displeasing exterior, empty pockets, and the slavery of vice.

I will never deny that our prolonged conjunction was the result of double cowardice. Each was afraid to leave

the other, each was afraid to speak, or knew not what to say. Save for my illjudged allusion at Gloucester, the

StallbridgeMinsterwhich we had long since (and severally) identified to be the nearest stationeven the

name of Dorsetshire was studiously avoided. And yet we were making progress all the time, tacking across

broad England like an unweatherly vessel on a wind; approaching our destination, not openly, but by a sort of

flying sap. And at length, I can scarce tell how, we were set down by a dilatory buttend of local train on the

The town was ancient and compact: a domino of tiled houses and walled gardens, dwarfed by the

disproportionate bigness of the church. From the midst of the thoroughfare which divided it in half, fields and

trees were visible at either end; and through the sallyport of every street, there flowed in from the country a

silent invasion of green grass. Bees and birds appeared to make the majority of the inhabitants; every garden

had its row of hives, the eaves of every house were plastered with the nests of swallows, and the pinnacles of

the church were flickered about all day long by a multitude of wings. The town was of Roman foundation;

and as I looked out that afternoon from the low windows of the inn, I should scarce have been surprised to

see a centurion coming up the street with a fatigue draft of legionaries. In short, StallbridgeMinster was one

of those towns which appear to be maintained by England for the instruction and delight of the American

rambler; to which he seems guided by an instinct not less surprising than the setter's; and which he visits and

I was not at all in the humour of the tourist. I had wasted weeks of time and accomplished nothing; we were

on the eve of the engagement, and I had neither plans nor allies. I had thrust myself into the trade of private

providence and amateur detective; I was spending money and I was reaping disgrace. All the time, I kept

telling myself that I must at least speak; that this ignominious silence should have been broken long ago, and

must be broken now. I should have broken it when he first proposed to come to StallbridgeMinster; I should

have broken it in the train; I should break it there and then, on the inn doorstep, as the omnibus rolled off. I

turned toward him at the thought; he seemed to wince, the words died on my lips, and I proposed instead that

While we were engaged upon this duty, it came on to rain in a manner worthy of the tropics. The vault

reverberated; every gargoyle instantly poured its full discharge; we waded back to the inn, ankledeep in

impromptu brooks; and the rest of the afternoon sat weatherbound, hearkening to the sonorous deluge. For

two hours I talked of indifferent matters, laboriously feeding the conversation; for two hours my mind was

quite made up to do my duty instantlyand at each particular instant I postponed it till the next. To screw up

my faltering courage, I called at dinner for some sparkling wine. It proved when it came to be detestable; I

could not put it to my lips; and Bellairs, who had as much palate as a weevil, was left to finish it himself.

Doubtless the wine flushed him; doubtless he may have observed my embarrassment of the afternoon;

doubtless he was conscious that we were approaching a crisis, and that that evening, if I did not join with

him, I must declare myself an open enemy. At least he fled. Dinner was done; this was the time when I had

bound myself to break my silence; no more delays were to be allowed, no more excuses received. I went

upstairs after some tobacco; which I felt to be a mere necessity in the circumstances; and when I returned, the

The rain still plumped, like a vast showerbath, over the deserted town. The night was dark and windless: the

street lit glimmeringly from end to end, lamps, house windows, and the reflections in the rainpools all

contributing. From a publichouse on the other side of the way, I heard a harp twang and a doleful voice

upraised in the "Larboard Watch," "The Anchor's Weighed," and other naval ditties. Where had my Shyster

wandered? In all likelihood to that lyrical tavern; there was no choice of diversion; in comparison with

Again I passed in review the points of my interview, on which I was always constantly resolved so long as

my adversary was absent from the scene: and again they struck me as inadequate. From this dispiriting

exercise I turned to the native amusements of the inn coffeeroom, and studied for some time the mezzotints

that frowned upon the wall. The railway guide, after showing me how soon I could leave Stallbridge and how

quickly I could reach Paris, failed to hold my attention. An illustrated advertisement book of hotels brought

me very low indeed; and when it came to the local paper, I could have wept. At this point, I found a passing

solace in a copy of Whittaker's Almanac, and obtained in fifty minutes more information than I have yet been

Then a fresh apprehension assailed me. Suppose Bellairs had given me the slip? suppose he was now rolling

on the road to StallbridgeleCarthew? or perhaps there already and laying before a very whitefaced auditor

his threats and propositions? A hasty person might have instantly pursued. Whatever I am, I am not hasty,

and I was aware of three grave objections. In the first place, I could not be certain that Bellairs was gone. In

the second, I had no taste whatever for a long drive at that hour of the night and in so merciless a rain. In the

third, I had no idea how I was to get admitted if I went, and no idea what I should say if I got admitted. "In

short," I concluded, "the whole situation is the merest farce. You have thrust yourself in where you had no

business and have no power. You would be quite as useful in San Francisco; far happier in Paris; and being

(by the wrath of God) at StallbridgeMinster, the wisest thing is to go quietly to bed." On the way to my

room, I saw (in a flash) that which I ought to have done long ago, and which it was now too late to think

ofwritten to Carthew, I mean, detailing the facts and describing Bellairs, letting him defend himself if he

were able, and giving him time to flee if he were not. It was the last blow to my selfrespect; and I flung

I have no guess what hour it was, when I was wakened by the entrance of Bellairs carrying a candle. He had

been drunk, for he was bedaubed with mire from head to foot; but he was now sober and under the empire of

some violent emotion which he controlled with difficulty. He trembled visibly; and more than once, during

the interview which followed, tears suddenly and silently overflowed his cheeks.

"I have to ask your pardon, sir, for this untimely visit," he said. "I make no defence, I have no excuse, I have

disgraced myself, I am properly punished; I appear before you to appeal to you in mercy for the most trifling

"I have been robbed," he said. "I have no defence to offer; it was of my own fault, I am properly punished."

"But, gracious goodness me!" I cried, "who is there to rob you in a place like this?"

"I can form no opinion," he replied. "I have no idea. I was lying in a ditch inanimate. This is a degrading

confession, sir; I can only say in selfdefence that perhaps (in your good nature) you have made yourself

"It was in English sovereigns. I changed it in New York; I got very good exchange," he said, and then, with a

"That doesn't sound encouraging," said I. "It may be worth while to apply to the police, but it doesn't sound a

"And I have no hope in that direction," said Bellairs. "My hopes, Mr. Dodd, are all fixed upon yourself. I

could easily convince you that a small, a very small advance, would be in the nature of an excellent

investment; but I prefer to rely on your humanity. Our acquaintance began on an unusual footing; but you

have now known me for some time, we have been some timeI was going to say we had been almost

intimate. Under the impulse of instinctive sympathy, I have bared my heart to you, Mr. Dodd, as I have done

to few; and I believeI trustI may say that I feel sureyou heard me with a kindly sentiment. This is

what brings me to your side at this most inexcusable hour. But put yourself in my placehow could I

sleephow could I dream of sleeping, in this blackness of remorse and despair? There was a friend at

handso I ventured to think of you; it was instinctive; I fled to your side, as the drowning man clutches at a

straw. These expressions are not exaggerated, they scarcely serve to express the agitation of my mind. And

think, sir, how easily you can restore me to hope and, I may say, to reason. A small loan, which shall be

faithfully repaid. Five hundred dollars would be ample." He watched me with burning eyes. "Four hundred

"And then you will repay me out of Carthew's pocket?" I said. "I am much obliged. But I will tell you what I

will do: I will see you on board a steamer, pay your fare through to San Francisco, and place fifty dollars in

He drank in my words; his face represented an ecstasy of cunning thought. I could read there, plain as print,

"And what am I to do in 'Frisco?" he asked. "I am disbarred, I have no trade, I cannot dig, to beg" he

paused in the citation. "And you know that I am not alone," he added, "others depend upon me."

"I will write to Pinkerton," I returned. "I feel sure he can help you to some employment, and in the meantime,

and for three months after your arrival, he shall pay to yourself personally, on the first and the fifteenth,

"Mr. Dodd, I scarce believe you can be serious in this offer," he replied. "Have you forgotten the

circumstances of the case? Do you know these people are the magnates of the section? They were spoken of

tonight in the saloon; their wealth must amount to many millions of dollars in real estate alone; their house

is one of the sights of the locality, and you offer me a bribe of a few hundred!"

"I offer you no bribe, Mr. Bellairs, I give you alms," I returned. "I will do nothing to forward you in your

"Take care," he cried. "You are playing a fool's game; you are making an enemy for nothing; you will gain

nothing by this, I warn you of it!" And then with one of his changes, "Seventy dollarsonly seventyin

mercy, Mr. Dodd, in common charity. Don't dash the bowl from my lips! You have a kindly heart. Think of

"You should have thought of her before," said I. "I have made my offer, and I wish to sleep."

"Is that your last word, sir? Pray consider; pray weigh both sides: my misery, your own danger. I warn

youI beseech you; measure it well before you answer," so he half pleaded, half threatened me, with

The change upon the man was shocking. In the storm of anger that now shook him, the lees of his

intoxication rose again to the surface; his face was deformed, his words insane with fury; his pantomime

"You will perhaps allow me to inform you of my cold opinion," he began, apparently selfpossessed, truly

bursting with rage: "when I am a glorified saint, I shall see you howling for a drop of water and exult to see

you. That your last word! Take it in your face, you spy, you false friend, you fat hypocrite! I defy, I defy and

despise and spit upon you! I'm on the trail, his trail or yours, I smell blood, I'll follow it on my hands and

knees, I'll starve to follow it! I'll hunt you down, hunt you, hunt you down! If I were strong, I'd tear your

vitals out, here in this roomtear them outI'd tear them out! Damn, damn, damn! You think me weak! I

He was thus incoherently raging, when the scene was interrupted by the arrival of the landlord and inn

servants in various degrees of deshabille, and to them I gave my temporary lunatic in charge.

These were my words; but I knew better. After all my study of Mr. Bellairs, one discovery had been reserved

Long before I was awake, the shyster had disappeared, leaving his bill unpaid. I did not need to inquire where

he was gone, I knew too well, I knew there was nothing left me but to follow; and about ten in the morning,

The road, for the first quarter of the way, deserts the valley of the river, and crosses the summit of a

chalkdown, grazed over by flocks of sheep and haunted by innumerable larks. It was a pleasant but a vacant

scene, arousing but not holding the attention; and my mind returned to the violent passage of the night before.

My thought of the man I was pursuing had been greatly changed. I conceived of him, somewhere in front of

me, upon his dangerous errand, not to be turned aside, not to be stopped, by either fear or reason. I had called

him a ferret; I conceived him now as a mad dog. Methought he would run, not walk; methought, as he ran,

that he would bark and froth at the lips; methought, if the great wall of China were to rise across his path, he

Presently the road left the down, returned by a precipitous descent into the valley of the Stall, and ran

thenceforward among enclosed fields and under the continuous shade of trees. I was told we had now entered

on the Carthew property. By and by, a battlemented wall appeared on the left hand, and a little after I had my

first glimpse of the mansion. It stood in a hollow of a bosky park, crowded to a degree that surprised and even

displeased me, with huge timber and dense shrubberies of laurel and rhododendron. Even from this low

station and the thronging neighbourhood of the trees, the pile rose conspicuous like a cathedral. Behind, as

we continued to skirt the park wall, I began to make out a straggling town of offices which became conjoined

to the rear with those of the home farm. On the left was an ornamental water sailed in by many swans. On the

right extended a flower garden, laid in the old manner, and at this season of the year, as brilliant as stained

glass. The front of the house presented a facade of more than sixty windows, surmounted by a formal

pediment and raised upon a terrace. A wide avenue, part in gravel, part in turf, and bordered by triple alleys,

ran to the great double gateways. It was impossible to look without surprise on a place that had been prepared

through so many generations, had cost so many tons of minted gold, and was maintained in order by so great

a company of emulous servants. And yet of these there was no sign but the perfection of their work. The

whole domain was drawn to the line and weeded like the front plot of some suburban amateur; and I looked

in vain for any belated gardener, and listened in vain for any sounds of labour. Some lowing of cattle and

much calling of birds alone disturbed the stillness, and even the little hamlet, which clustered at the gates,

appeared to hold its breath in awe of its great neighbour, like a troop of children who should have strayed into

The Carthew Arms, the small but very comfortable inn, was a mere appendage and outpost of the family

whose name it bore. Engraved portraits of bygone Carthews adorned the walls; Fielding Carthew, Recorder

of the city of London; MajorGeneral John Carthew in uniform, commanding some military operations; the

Right Honourable Bailley Carthew, Member of Parliament for Stallbridge, standing by a table and

brandishing a document; Singleton Carthew, Esquire, represented in the foreground of a herd of

cattledoubtless at the desire of his tenantry, who had made him a compliment of this work of art; and the

Venerable Archdeacon Carthew, D.D., LL.D., A.M., laying his hand on the head of a little child in a manner

highly frigid and ridiculous. So far as my memory serves me, there were no other pictures in this exclusive

hostelry; and I was not surprised to learn that the landlord was an exbutler, the landlady an exlady'smaid,

from the great house; and that the barparlour was a sort of perquisite of former servants.

To an American, the sense of the domination of this family over so considerable a tract of earth was even

oppressive; and as I considered their simple annals, gathered from the legends of the engravings, surprise

began to mingle with my disgust. "Mr. Recorder" doubtless occupies an honourable post; but I thought that,

in the course of so many generations, one Carthew might have clambered higher. The soldier had stuck at

archidiaconate; and though the Right Honourable Bailley seemed to have sneaked into the privy council, I

have still to learn what he did when he had got there. Such vast means, so long a start, and such a modest

standard of achievement, struck in me a strong sense of the dulness of that race.

I found that to come to the hamlet and not visit the Hall, would be regarded as a slight. To feed the swans, to

see the peacocks and the Raphaelsfor these commonplace people actually possessed two Raphaelsto

risk life and limb among a famous breed of cattle called the Carthew Chillinghams, and to do homage to the

sire (still living) of Donibristle, a renowned winner of the oaks: these, it seemed, were the inevitable stations

of the pilgrimage. I was not so foolish as to resist, for I might have need before I was done of general

goodwill; and two pieces of news fell in which changed my resignation to alacrity. It appeared in the first

place, that Mr. Norris was from home "travelling "; in the second, that a visitor had been before me and

already made the tour of the Carthew curiosities. I thought I knew who this must be; I was anxious to learn

what he had done and seen; and fortune so far favoured me that the undergardener singled out to be my

"Yes, sir," he said, "an American gentleman right enough. At least, I don't think he was quite a gentleman,

The person, it seems, had been civil enough to be delighted with the Carthew Chillinghams, to perform the

whole pilgrimage with rising admiration, and to have almost prostrated himself before the shrine of

"He told me, sir," continued the gratified undergardener, "that he had often read of the 'stately 'omes of

England,' but ours was the first he had the chance to see. When he came to the 'ead of the long alley, he

fetched his breath. 'This is indeed a lordly domain!' he cries. And it was natural he should be interested in the

place, for it seems Mr. Carthew had been kind to him in the States. In fact, he seemed a grateful kind of

I heard this story with amazement. The phrases quoted told their own tale; they were plainly from the

shyster's mint. A few hours back I had seen him a mere bedlamite and fit for a straitwaistcoat; he was

penniless in a strange country; it was highly probable he had gone without breakfast; the absence of Norris

must have been a crushing blow; the man (by all reason) should have been despairing. And now I heard of

him, clothed and in his right mind, deliberate, insinuating, admiring vistas, smelling flowers, and talking like

"This is curious," I said to the undergardener. "I have had the pleasure of some acquaintance with Mr.

Carthew myself; and I believe none of our western friends ever were in England. Who can this person be? He

couldn'tno, that's impossible, he could never have had the impudence. His name was not Bellairs?"

"I didn't 'ear the name, sir. Do you know anything against him?" cried my guide.

"Well," said I, "he is certainly not the person Carthew would like to have here in his absence."

"Good gracious me!" exclaimed the gardener. "He was so pleasant spoken, too; I thought he was some form

of a schoolmaster. Perhaps, sir, you wouldn't mind going right up to Mr. Denman? I recommended him to

Mr. Denman, when he had done the grounds. Mr. Denman is our butler, sir," he added.

The proposal was welcome, particularly as affording me a graceful retreat from the neighbourhood of the

Carthew Chillinghams; and, giving up our projected circuit, we took a short cut through the shrubbery and

The bowling green was surrounded by a great hedge of yew, and entered by an archway in the quick. As we

"The Honourable Lady Ann Carthew," he said, in an august whisper. And looking over his shoulder, I was

aware of an old lady with a stick, hobbling somewhat briskly along the garden path. She must have been

extremely handsome in her youth; and even the limp with which she walked could not deprive her of an

unusual and almost menacing dignity of bearing. Melancholy was impressed besides on every feature, and

"She enjoy rather poor spirits, sir," responded the undergardener. "Mr. Carthewthe old gentleman, I

meandied less than a year ago; Lord Tillibody, her ladyship's brother, two months after; and then there was

the sad business about the young gentleman. Killed in the 'untingfield, sir; and her ladyship's favourite. The

"So I have understood," said I, persistently, and (I think) gracefully pursuing my inquiries and fortifying my

position as a family friend. "Dear, dear, how sad! And has this changepoor Carthew's return, and allhas

"When Mr. Norris arrived, she DID seem glad to see him," he pursued; "and we were all pleased, I'm sure;

for no one knows the young gentleman but what likes him. Ah, sir, it didn't last long! That very night they

had a talk, and fell out or something; her ladyship took on most painful; it was like old days, but worse. And

the next morning Mr. Norris was off again upon his travels. "Denman," he said to Mr. Denman, "Denman, I'll

never come back," he said, and shook him by the 'and. I wouldn't be saying all this to a stranger, sir," added

He had indeed told me much, and much that was unsuspected by himself. On that stormy night of his return,

Carthew had told his story; the old lady had more upon her mind than mere bereavements; and among the

mental pictures on which she looked, as she walked staring down the path, was one of Midway Island and the

Mr. Denman heard my inquiries with discomposure, but informed me the shyster was already gone.

"Gone?" cried I. "Then what can he have come for? One thing I can tell you, it was not to see the house."

"You may depend upon it it was," said I. "And whatever it was, he has got it. By the way, where is Mr.

"Ah, bravo!" cried I. "I laid a trap for you there, Mr. Denman. Now I need not ask you; I am sure you did not

I went through the form of "shaking him by the 'and"like Mr. Norrisnot, however, with genuine

enthusiasm. For I had failed ingloriously to get the address for myself; and I felt a sure conviction that

Bellairs had done better, or he had still been here and still cultivating Mr. Denman.

I had escaped the grounds and the cattle; I could not escape the house. A lady with silver hair, a slender silver

voice, and a stream of insignificant information not to be diverted, led me through the picture gallery, the

musicroom, the great diningroom, the long drawingroom, the Indian room, the theatre, and every corner

(as I thought) of that interminable mansion. There was but one place reserved; the gardenroom, whither

Lady Ann had now retired. I paused a moment on the outside of the door, and smiled to myself. The situation

was indeed strange, and these thin boards divided the secret of the Flying Scud.

All the while, as I went to and fro, I was considering the visit and departure of Bellairs. That he had got the

address, I was quite certain: that he had not got it by direct questioning, I was convinced; some ingenuity,

some lucky accident, had served him. A similar chance, an equal ingenuity, was required; or I was left

helpless, the ferret must run down his prey, the great oaks fall, the Raphaels be scattered, the house let to

some stockbroker suddenly made rich, and the name which now filled the mouths of five or six parishes

dwindle to a memory. Strange that such great matters, so old a mansion, a family so ancient and so dull,

should come to depend for perpetuity upon the intelligence, the discretion, and the cunning of a LatinQuarter

student! What Bellairs had done, I must do likewise. Chance or ingenuity, ingenuity or chanceso I

continued to ring the changes as I walked down the avenue, casting back occasional glances at the red brick

facade and the twinkling windows of the house. How was I to command chance? where was I to find the

These reflections brought me to the door of the inn. And here, pursuant to my policy of keeping well with all

men, I immediately smoothed my brow, and accepted (being the only guest in the house) an invitation to dine

with the family in the barparlour. I sat down accordingly with Mr. Higgs the exbutler, Mrs. Higgs the

exlady'smaid, and Miss Agnes Higgs their frowsyheaded little girl, the least promising and (as the event

showed) the most useful of the lot. The talk ran endlessly on the great house and the great family; the roast

beef, the Yorkshire pudding, the jamroll, and the cheddar cheese came and went, and still the stream flowed

on; near four generations of Carthews were touched upon without eliciting one point of interest; and we had

killed Mr. Henry in "the 'untingfield," with a vast elaboration of painful circumstance, and buried him in the

midst of a whole sorrowing county, before I could so much as manage to bring upon the stage my intimate

friend, Mr. Norris. At the name, the exbutler grew diplomatic, and the exlady'smaid tender. He was the

only person of the whole featureless series who seemed to have accomplished anything worth mention; and

his achievements, poor dog, seemed to have been confined to going to the devil and leaving some regrets. He

had been the image of the Right Honourable Bailley, one of the lights of that dim house, and a career of

distinction had been predicted of him in consequence almost from the cradle. But before he was out of long

clothes, the cloven foot began to show; he proved to be no Carthew, developed a taste for low pleasures and

bad company, went birdnesting with a stableboy before he was eleven, and when he was near twenty, and

might have been expected to display at least some rudiments of the family gravity, rambled the country over

with a knapsack, making sketches and keeping company in wayside inns. He had no pride about him, I was

told; he would sit down with any man; and it was somewhat woundingly implied that I was indebted to this

peculiarity for my own acquaintance with the hero. Unhappily, Mr. Norris was not only eccentric, he was

fast. His debts were still remembered at the University; still more, it appeared, the highly humorous

circumstances attending his expulsion. "He was always fond of his jest," commented Mrs. Higgs.

But it was after he went into the diplomatic service that the real trouble began.

"It seems, sir, that he went the pace extraordinary," said the exbutler, with a solemn gusto.

"His debts were somethink awful," said the lady'smaid. "And as nice a young gentleman all the time as you

"When word came to Mr. Carthew's ears, the turn up was 'orrible," continued Mr. Higgs. "I remember it as if

it was yesterday. The bell was rung after her la'ship was gone, which I answered it myself, supposing it were

the coffee. There was Mr. Carthew on his feet. ''Iggs,' he says, pointing with his stick, for he had a turn of the

gout, 'order the dogcart instantly for this son of mine which has disgraced hisself.' Mr. Norris say nothink:

he sit there with his 'ead down, making belief to be looking at a walnut. You might have bowled me over with

"Not he, Mr. Dodsley!" cried the ladyit was so she had conceived my name. "He never did anythink to all

really wrong in his poor life. The 'ole affair was a disgrace. It was all rank favouritising."

"Well, what do I care?" retorted the lady, shaking her ringlets. "You know it was yourself, Mr. 'Iggs, and so

While I was getting these facts and opinions, I by no means neglected the child. She was not attractive; but

fortunately she had reached the corrupt age of seven, when half a crown appears about as large as a saucer

and is fully as rare as the dodo. For a shilling down, sixpence in her moneybox, and an American gold

dollar which I happened to find in my pocket, I bought the creature soul and body. She declared her intention

to accompany me to the ends of the earth; and had to be chidden by her sire for drawing comparisons

Dinner was scarce done, the cloth was not yet removed, when Miss Agnes must needs climb into my lap with

her stamp album, a relic of the generosity of Uncle William. There are few things I despise more than old

stamps, unless perhaps it be crests; for cattle (from the Carthew Chillinghams down to the old gatekeeper's

milkcow in the lane) contempt is far from being my first sentiment. But it seemed I was doomed to pass that

day in viewing curiosities, and smothering a yawn, I devoted myself once more to tread the wellknown

round. I fancy Uncle William must have begun the collection himself and tired of it, for the book (to my

surprise) was quite respectably filled. There were the varying shades of the English penny, Russians with the

coloured heart, old undecipherable ThurnundTaxis, obsolete triangular Cape of Good Hopes, Swan Rivers

with the Swan, and Guianas with the sailing ship. Upon all these I looked with the eyes of a fish and the spirit

of a sheep; I think indeed I was at times asleep; and it was probably in one of these moments that I capsized

the album, and there fell from the end of it, upon the floor, a considerable number of what I believe to be

Here, against all probability, my chance had come to me; for as I gallantly picked them up, I was struck with

the disproportionate amount of fivesous French stamps. Some one, I reasoned, must write very regularly

from France to the neighbourhood of StallbridgeleCarthew. Could it be Norris? On one stamp I made out

an initial C; upon a second I got as far as CH; beyond which point, the postmark used was in every instance

undecipherable. CH, when you consider that about a quarter of the towns in France begin with "chateau," was

an insufficient clue; and I promptly annexed the plainest of the collection in order to consult the postoffice.

The wretched infant took me in the fact. "Naughty man, to 'teal my 'tamp!" she cried; and when I would have

My position was now highly false; and I believe it was in mere pity that Mrs. Higgs came to my rescue with a

welcome proposition. If the gentleman was really interested in stamps, she said, probably supposing me a

monomaniac on the point, he should see Mr. Denman's album. Mr. Denman had been collecting forty years,

and his collection was said to be worth a mint of money. "Agnes," she went on, "if you were a kind little girl,

you would run over to the 'All, tell Mr. Denman there's a connaisseer in the 'ouse, and ask him if one of the

"I should like to see his exchanges too," I cried, rising to the occasion. "I may have some of mine in my

Half an hour later Mr. Denman arrived himself with a most unconscionable volume under his arm. "Ah, sir,"

he cried, "when I 'eard you was a collector, I dropped all. It's a saying of mine, Mr. Dodsley, that collecting

Upon the truth of this, I cannot say; but there is no doubt that the attempt to pass yourself off for a collector

"Ah, here's the second issue!" I would say, after consulting the legend at the side. "The pinkno, I mean the

mauveyes, that's the beauty of this lot. Though of course, as you say," I would hasten to add, "this yellow

Indeed I must certainly have been detected, had I not plied Mr. Denman in selfdefence with his favourite

liquora port so excellent that it could never have ripened in the cellar of the Carthew Arms, but must have

been transported, under cloud of night, from the neighbouring vaults of the great house. At each threat of

exposure, and in particular whenever I was directly challenged for an opinion, I made haste to fill the butler's

glass, and by the time we had got to the exchanges, he was in a condition in which no stamp collector need be

seriously feared. God forbid I should hint that he was drunk; he seemed incapable of the necessary liveliness;

but the man's eyes were set, and so long as he was suffered to talk without interruption, he seemed careless of

In Mr. Denman's exchanges, as in those of little Agnes, the same peculiarity was to be remarked, an undue

preponderance of that despicably common stamp, the French twentyfive centimes. And here joining them in

stealthy review, I found the C and the CH; then something of an A just following; and then a terminal Y.

Here was also the whole name spelt out to me; it seemed familiar, too; and yet for some time I could not

bridge the imperfection. Then I came upon another stamp, in which an L was legible before the Y, and in a

moment the word leaped up complete. Chailly, that was the name; Chaillyen Biere, the post town of

Barbizonah, there was the very place for any man to hide himselfthere was the very place for Mr.

Norris, who had rambled over England making sketches the very place for Goddedaal, who had left a

paletteknife on board the Flying Scud. Singular, indeed, that while I was drifting over England with the

Whether Mr. Denman had shown his album to Bellairs, whether, indeed, Bellairs could have caught (as I did)

this hint from an obliterated postmark, I shall never know, and it mattered not. We were equal now; my task

at StallbridgeleCarthew was accomplished; my interest in postagestamps died shamelessly away; the

astonished Denman was bowed out; and ordering the horse to be put in, I plunged into the study of the

I fell from the skies on Barbizon about two o'clock of a September afternoon. It is the dead hour of the day;

all the workers have gone painting, all the idlers strolling, in the forest or the plain; the winding causewayed

street is solitary, and the inn deserted. I was the more pleased to find one of my old companions in the

diningroom; his town clothes marked him for a man in the act of departure; and indeed his portmanteau lay

"You won't find me here long," he replied. "King Pandion he is dead; all his friends are lapped in lead. For

"I have had playmates, I have had companions," I quoted in return. We were both moved, I think, to meet

again in this scene of our old pleasure parties so unexpectedly, after so long an interval, and both already so

"That is the sentiment," he replied. "All, all are gone, the old familiar faces. I have been here a week, and the

only living creature who seemed to recollect me was the Pharaon. Bar the Sirons, of course, and the perennial

"Of our geological epoch? not one," he replied. "This is the city of Petra in Edom."

"Youth, Dodd, youth; blooming, conscious youth," he returned. "Such a gang, such reptiles! to think we were

"Don't let me depress you," said he. "We were both AngloSaxons, anyway, and the only redeeming feature

The thought of my quest, a moment driven out by this rencounter, revived in my mind. "Who is he?" I cried.

"What, the Redeeming Feature?" said he. "Well, he's a very pleasing creature, rather dim, and dull, and

genteel, but really pleasing. He is very British, though, the artless Briton! Perhaps you'll find him too much so

for the transatlantic nerves. Come to think of it, on the other hand, you ought to get on famously. He is an

admirer of your great republic in one of its (excuse me) shoddiest features; he takes in and sedulously reads a

"San Francisco papers," said he. "He gets a bale of them about twice a week, and studies them like the Bible.

That's one of his weaknesses; another is to be incalculably rich. He has taken Masson's old studioyou

remember?at the corner of the road; he has furnished it regardless of expense, and lives there surrounded

with vins fins and works of art. When the youth of today goes up to the Caverne des Brigands to make

punch they do all that we did, like some nauseous form of ape (I never appreciated before what a creature

of tradition mankind is) this Madden follows with a basket of champagne. I told him he was wrong, and

the punch tasted better; but he thought the boys liked the style of the thing, and I suppose they do. He is a

very goodnatured soul, and a very melancholy, and rather a helpless. O, and he has a third weakness which I

came near forgetting. He paints. He has never been taught, and he's past thirty, and he paints."

"Rather well, I think," was the reply. "That's the annoying part of it. See for yourself. That panel is his."

I stepped toward the window. It was the old familiar room, with the tables set like a Greek P, and the

sideboard, and the aphasiac piano, and the panels on the wall. There were Romeo and Juliet, Antwerp from

the river, Enfield's ships among the ice, and the huge huntsman winding a huge horn; mingled with them a

few new ones, the thin crop of a succeeding generation, not better and not worse. It was to one of these I was

directed; a thing coarsely and wittily handled, mostly with the paletteknife, the colour in some parts excellent,

the canvas in others loaded with mere clay. But it was the scene, and not the art or want of it, that riveted my

notice. The foreground was of sand and scrub and wreckwood; in the middle distance the manyhued and

smooth expanse of a lagoon, enclosed by a wall of breakers; beyond, a blue strip of ocean. The sky was

cloudless, and I could hear the surf break. For the place was Midway Island; the point of view the very spot at

which I had landed with the captain for the first time, and from which I had reembarked the day before we

sailed. I had already been gazing for some seconds, before my attention was arrested by a blur on the

"A fancy piece," he returned. "That's what pleased me. So few of the fellows in our time had the imagination

"I haven't an idea. He is one of the least autobiographical of men. He sits, and smokes, and giggles, and

sometimes he makes small jests; but his contributions to the art of pleasing are generally confined to looking

like a gentleman and being one. No," added Stennis, "he'll never suit you, Dodd; you like more head on your

"Has he big blonde sidewhiskers like tusks?" I asked, mindful of the photograph of Goddedaal.

"God knows," said Stennis. "What is wrong with you? I never saw you taken this way before."

"The fact is, I think I know the man," said I. "I think I'm looking for him. I rather think he is my longlost

And about the same time, a carriage driving up to the inn, he took his departure.

I walked till dinnertime in the plain, keeping to the fields; for I instinctively shunned observation, and was

racked by many incongruous and impatient feelings. Here was a man whose voice I had once heard, whose

doings had filled so many days of my life with interest and distress, whom I had lain awake to dream of like a

lover; and now his hand was on the door; now we were to meet; now I was to learn at last the mystery of the

substituted crew. The sun went down over the plain of the Angelus, and as the hour approached, my courage

lessened. I let the laggard peasants pass me on the homeward way. The lamps were lit, the soup was served,

the company were all at table, and the room sounded already with multitudinous talk before I entered. I took

my place and found I was opposite to Madden. Over six feet high and well set up, the hair dark and streaked

with silver, the eyes dark and kindly, the mouth very goodnatured, the teeth admirable; linen and hands

exquisite; English clothes, an English voice, an English bearing: the man stood out conspicuous from the

company. Yet he had made himself at home, and seemed to enjoy a certain quiet popularity among the noisy

boys of the table d'hote. He had an odd, silver giggle of a laugh, that sounded nervous even when he was

really amused, and accorded ill with his big stature and manly, melancholy face. This laugh fell in continually

all through dinner like the note of the triangle in a piece of modern French music; and he had at times a kind

of pleasantry, rather of manner than of words, with which he started or maintained the merriment. He took his

share in these diversions, not so much like a man in high spirits, but like one of an approved good nature,

habitually selfforgetful, accustomed to please and to follow others. I have remarked in old soldiers much the

I feared to look at him, lest my glances should betray my deep excitement, and chance served me so well that

the soup was scarce removed before we were naturally introduced. My first sip of Chateau Siron, a vintage

"Dreadful stuff, isn't it?" said Madden, in the same language. "Do let me ask you to share my bottle. They call

it Chambertin, which it isn't; but it's fairly palatable, and there's nothing in this house that a man can drink at

"Your name is Madden, I think," said I. "My old friend Stennis told me about you when I came."

"Yes, I am sorry he went; I feel such a Grandfather William, alone among all these lads," he replied.

Neither of us looked at each other; but I could see his hand deliberately making bread pills.

"That's a nice thing of yours," I pursued, "that panel. The foreground is a little clayey, perhaps, but the lagoon

"Well, there is no hurry about Bellairs," said I. "It's rather a long story and rather a silly one. But I think we

have a good deal to tell each other, and perhaps we had better wait till we are more alone."

"I think so," said he. "Not that any of these fellows know English, but we'll be more comfortable over at my

Thus had this singular introduction passed unperceived in the midst of more than thirty persons, art students,

ladies in dressinggowns and covered with rice powder, six foot of Siron whisking dishes over our head, and

"Your voice?" he repeated. "How should I? I had never heard itwe have never met."

"And yet, we have been in conversation before now," said I, "and I asked you a question which you never

answered, and which I have since had many thousand better reasons for putting to myself."

He turned suddenly white. "Good God!" he cried, "are you the man in the telephone?"

"Well, well!" said he. "It would take a good deal of magnanimity to forgive you that. What nights I have

passed! That little whisper has whistled in my ear ever since, like the wind in a keyhole. Who could it be?

What could it mean? I suppose I have had more real, solid misery out of that ..." He paused, and looked

troubled. "Though I had more to bother me, or ought to have," he added, and slowly emptied his glass.

"It seems we were born to drive each other crazy with conundrums," said I. "I have often thought my head

Carthew burst into his foolish laugh. "And yet neither you nor I had the worst of the puzzle," he cried. "There

"Why, to be sure!" cried I, "I never thought of that. What could they make of it?"

"Nothing," replied Carthew. "It couldn't be explained. They were a crowd of small dealers at Lloyd's who

took it up in syndicate; one of them has a carriage now; and people say he is a deuce of a deep fellow, and has

the makings of a great financier. Another furnished a small villa on the profits. But they're all hopelessly

muddled; and when they meet each other, they don't know where to look, like the Augurs."

Dinner was no sooner at an end than he carried me across the road to Masson's old studio. It was strangely

changed. On the walls were tapestry, a few good etchings, and some amazing picturesa Rousseau, a Corot,

a really superb old Crome, a Whistler, and a piece which my host claimed (and I believe) to be a Titian. The

room was furnished with comfortable English smokingroom chairs, some American rockers, and an

elaborate business table; spirits and sodawater (with the mark of Schweppe, no less) stood ready on a

butler's tray, and in one corner, behind a halfdrawn curtain, I spied a campbed and a capacious tub. Such a

room in Barbizon astonished the beholder, like the glories of the cave of Monte Cristo.

"Now," said he, "we are quiet. Sit down, if you don't mind, and tell me your story all through."

I did as he asked, beginning with the day when Jim showed me the passage in the _Daily Occidental_, and

winding up with the stamp album and the Chailly postmark. It was a long business; and Carthew made it

longer, for he was insatiable of details; and it had struck midnight on the old eightday clock in the corner,

"And now," said he, "turn about: I must tell you my side, much as I hate it. Mine is a beastly story. You'll

"As you suppose," he answered; "and to say the truth, I had sworn never to tell it again. Only, you seem

somehow entitled to the thing; you have paid dear enough, God knows; and God knows I hope you may like

With that he began his yarn. A new day had dawned, the cocks crew in the village and the early woodmen

Singleton Carthew, the father of Norris, was heavily built and feebly vitalised, sensitive as a musician, dull as

a sheep, and conscientious as a dog. He took his position with seriousness, even with pomp; the long rooms,

the silent servants, seemed in his eyes like the observances of some religion of which he was the mortal god.

He had the stupid man's intolerance of stupidity in others; the vain man's exquisite alarm lest it should be

detected in himself. And on both sides Norris irritated and offended him. He thought his son a fool, and he

suspected that his son returned the compliment with interest. The history of their relation was simple; they

met seldom, they quarrelled often. To his mother, a fiery, pungent, practical woman, already disappointed in

Yet the lad's faults were no great matter; he was diffident, placable, passive, unambitious, unenterprising; life

did not much attract him; he watched it like a curious and dull exhibition, not much amused, and not tempted

in the least to take a part. He beheld his father ponderously grinding sand, his mother fierily breaking

butterflies, his brother labouring at the pleasures of the Hawbuck with the ardour of a soldier in a doubtful

battle; and the vital sceptic looked on wondering. They were careful and troubled about many things; for him

there seemed not even one thing needful. He was born disenchanted, the world's promises awoke no echo in

his bosom, the world's activities and the world's distinctions seemed to him equally without a base in fact. He

liked the open air; he liked comradeship, it mattered not with whom, his comrades were only a remedy for

solitude. And he had a taste for painted art. An array of fine pictures looked upon his childhood, and from

these roods of jewelled canvas he received an indelible impression. The gallery at Stallbridge betokened

generations of picture lovers; Norris was perhaps the first of his race to hold the pencil. The taste was

genuine, it grew and strengthened with his growth; and yet he suffered it to be suppressed with scarce a

struggle. Time came for him to go to Oxford, and he resisted faintly. He was stupid, he said; it was no good

to put him through the mill; he wished to be a painter. The words fell on his father like a thunderbolt, and

Norris made haste to give way. "It didn't really matter, don't you know?" said he. "And it seemed an awful

To Oxford he went obediently, hopelessly; and at Oxford became the hero of a certain circle. He was active

and adroit; when he was in the humour, he excelled in many sports; and his singular melancholy detachment

gave him a place apart. He set a fashion in his clique. Envious undergraduates sought to parody his

unaffected lack of zeal and fear; it was a kind of new Byronism more composed and dignified. "Nothing

really mattered"; among other things, this formula embraced the dons; and though he always meant to be

civil, the effect on the college authorities was one of startling rudeness. His indifference cut like insolence;

and in some outbreak of his constitutional levity (the complement of his melancholy) he was "sent down" in

The event was new in the annals of the Carthews, and Singleton was prepared to make the most of it. It had

been long his practice to prophesy for his second son a career of ruin and disgrace. There is an advantage in

this artless parental habit. Doubtless the father is interested in his son; but doubtless also the prophet grows to

be interested in his prophecies. If the one goes wrong, the others come true. Old Carthew drew from this

source esoteric consolations; he dwelt at length on his own foresight; he produced variations hitherto unheard

from the old theme "I told you so," coupled his son's name with the gallows and the hulks, and spoke of his

small handful of college debts as though he must raise money on a mortgage to discharge them.

"I don't think that is fair, sir," said Norris. "I lived at college exactly as you told me. I am sorry I was sent

down, and you have a perfect right to blame me for that; but you have no right to pitch into me about these

The effect upon a stupid man not unjustly incensed need scarcely be described. For a while Singleton raved.

"I'll tell you what, father," said Norris at last, "I don't think this is going to do. I think you had better let me

take to painting. It's the only thing I take a spark of interest in. I shall never be steady as long as I'm at

"When you stand here, sir, to the neck in disgrace," said the father, "I should have hoped you would have had

The hint was taken; the levity was never more obtruded on the father's notice, and Norris was inexorably

launched upon a backward voyage. He went abroad to study foreign languages, which he learned, at a very

expensive rate; and a fresh crop of debts fell soon to be paid, with similar lamentations, which were in this

case perfectly justified, and to which Norris paid no regard. He had been unfairly treated over the Oxford

affair; and with a spice of malice very surprising in one so placable, and an obstinacy remarkable in one so

weak, refused from that day forward to exercise the least captaincy on his expenses. He wasted what he

would; he allowed his servants to despoil him at their pleasure; he sowed insolvency; and when the crop was

ripe, notified his father with exasperating calm. His own capital was put in his hands, he was planted in the

He did so till he was twentyfive; by which time he had spent his money, laid in a handsome choice of debts,

and acquired (like so many other melancholic and uninterested persons) a habit of gambling. An Austrian

colonelthe same who afterwards hanged himself at Monte Carlogave him a lesson which lasted

twoandtwenty hours, and left him wrecked and helpless. Old Singleton once more repurchased the honour

of his name, this time at a fancy figure; and Norris was set afloat again on stern conditions. An allowance of

three hundred pounds in the year was to be paid to him quarterly by a lawyer in Sydney, New South Wales.

He was not to write. Should he fail on any quarterday to be in Sydney, he was to be held for dead, and the

allowance tacitly withdrawn. Should he return to Europe, an advertisement publicly disowning him was to

It was one of his most annoying features as a son, that he was always polite, always just, and in whatever

whirlwind of domestic anger, always calm. He expected trouble; when trouble came, he was unmoved: he

might have said with Singleton, "I told you so"; he was content with thinking, "just as I expected." On the fall

of these last thunderbolts, he bore himself like a person only distantly interested in the event; pocketed the

money and the reproaches, obeyed orders punctually; took ship and came to Sydney. Some men are still lads

at twentyfive; and so it was with Norris. Eighteen days after he landed, his quarter's allowance was all gone,

and with the lighthearted hopefulness of strangers in what is called a new country, he began to besiege

offices and apply for all manner of incongruous situations. Everywhere, and last of all from his lodgings, he

was bowed out; and found himself reduced, in a very elegant suit of summer tweeds, to herd and camp with

"Try to remember that my time is valuable, Mr. Carthew," said the lawyer. "It is quite unnecessary you

should enlarge on the peculiar position in which you stand. Remittance men, as we call them here, are not so

rare in my experience; and in such cases I act upon a system. I make you a present of a sovereign; here it is.

Every day you choose to call, my clerk will advance you a shilling; on Saturday, since my office is closed on

Sunday, he will advance you half a crown. My conditions are these: that you do not come to me, but to my

clerk; that you do not come here the worse of liquor; and you go away the moment you are paid and have

"I have to thank you, I suppose," said Carthew. "My position is so wretched that I cannot even refuse this

"Starvation!" said the lawyer, smiling. "No man will starve here on a shilling a day. I had on my hands

another young gentleman, who remained continuously intoxicated for six years on the same allowance." And

In the time that followed, the image of the smiling lawyer haunted Carthew's memory. "That three minutes'

talk was all the education I ever had worth talking of," says he. "It was all life in a nutshell. Confound it! I

Every morning for the next two or three weeks, the stroke of ten found Norris, unkempt and haggard, at the

lawyer's door. The long day and longer night he spent in the Domain, now on a bench, now on the grass

under a Norfolk Island pine, the companion of perhaps the lowest class on earth, the Larrikins of Sydney.

Morning after morning, the dawn behind the lighthouse recalled him from slumber; and he would stand and

gaze upon the changing east, the fading lenses, the smokeless city, and the manyarmed and manymasted

harbour growing slowly clear under his eyes. His bedfellows (so to call them) were less active; they lay

sprawled upon the grass and benches, the dingy men, the frowsy women, prolonging their late repose; and

Carthew wandered among the sleeping bodies alone, and cursed the incurable stupidity of his behaviour. Day

brought a new society of nurserymaids and children, and freshdressed and (I am sorry to say) tightlaced

maidens, and gay people in rich traps; upon the skirts of which Carthew and "the other blackguards"his

own bitter phraseskulked, and chewed grass, and looked on. Day passed, the light died, the green and leafy

precinct sparkled with lamps or lay in shadow, and the round of the night began again, the loitering women,

the lurking men, the sudden outburst of screams, the sound of flying feet. "You mayn't believe it," says

Carthew, "but I got to that pitch that I didn't care a hang. I have been wakened out of my sleep to hear a

woman screaming, and I have only turned upon my other side. Yes, it's a queer place, where the dowagers

and the kids walk all day, and at night you can hear people bawling for help as if it was the Forest of Bondy,

with the lights of a great town all round, and parties spinning through in cabs from Government House and

It was Norris's diversion, having none other, to scrape acquaintance, where, how, and with whom he could.

Many a long dull talk he held upon the benches or the grass; many a strange waif he came to know; many

strange things he heard, and saw some that were abominable. It was to one of these last that he owed his

deliverance from the Domain. For some time the rain had been merciless; one night after another he had been

obliged to squander fourpence on a bed and reduce his board to the remaining eightpence: and he sat one

morning near the Macquarrie Street entrance, hungry, for he had gone without breakfast, and wet, as he had

already been for several days, when the cries of an animal in distress attracted his attention. Some fifty yards

away, in the extreme angle of the grass, a party of the chronically unemployed had got hold of a dog, whom

they were torturing in a manner not to be described. The heart of Norris, which had grown indifferent to the

cries of human anger or distress, woke at the appeal of the dumb creature. He ran amongst the Larrikins,

scattered them, rescued the dog, and stood at bay. They were six in number, shambling gallowsbirds; but for

once the proverb was right, cruelty was coupled with cowardice, and the wretches cursed him and made off.

It chanced that this act of prowess had not passed unwitnessed. On a bench near by there was seated a

shopkeeper's assistant out of employ, a diminutive, cheerful, redheaded creature by the name of Hemstead.

He was the last man to have interfered himself, for his discretion more than equalled his valour; but he made

haste to congratulate Carthew, and to warn him he might not always be so fortunate.

"They're a dyngerous lot of people about this park. My word! it doesn't do to ply with them!" he observed, in

that RYCY AUSTRYLIAN English, which (as it has received the imprimatur of Mr. Froude) we should all

"For all that, I am simply one of the unemployed," said Carthew, seating himself beside his new

acquaintance, as he had sat (since this experience began) beside so many dozen others.

"You beat me all the way and back," says Carthew. "My trouble is that I have never been in one."

"I know how to spend money," replied Carthew, "and I really do know something of horses and something of

the sea. But the unions head me off; if it weren't for them, I might have had a dozen berths."

"My word!" cried the sympathetic listener. "Ever try the mounted police?" he inquired.

"O, _I_ don't think of them; I don't go in for manual labour," said the little man proudly. "But if a man don't

The heavy rains continued, the country was already overrun with floods; the railway system daily required

more hands, daily the superintendent advertised; but "the unemployed" preferred the resources of charity and

rapine, and a navvy, even an amateur navvy, commanded money in the market. The same night, after a

tedious journey, and a change of trains to pass a landslip, Norris found himself in a muddy cutting behind

For weeks the rain scarce relented. The whole front of the mountain slipped seaward from above, avalanches

of clay, rock, and uprooted forest spewed over the cliffs and fell upon the beach or in the breakers. Houses

were carried bodily away and smashed like nuts; others were menaced and deserted, the door locked, the

chimney cold, the dwellers fled elsewhere for safety. Night and day the fire blazed in the encampment; night

and day hot coffee was served to the overdriven toilers in the shift; night and day the engineer of the section

made his rounds with words of encouragement, hearty and rough and well suited to his men. Night and day,

too, the telegraph clicked with disastrous news and anxious inquiry. Along the terraced line of rail, rare trains

came creeping and signalling; and paused at the threatened corner, like living things conscious of peril. The

commandant of the post would hastily review his labours, make (with a dry throat) the signal to advance; and

the whole squad line the way and look on in a choking silence, or burst into a brief cheer as the train cleared

the point of danger and shot on, perhaps through the thin sunshine between squalls, perhaps with blinking

One such scene Carthew will remember till he dies. It blew great guns from the seaward; a huge surf

bombarded, five hundred feet below him, the steep mountain's foot; close in was a vessel in distress, firing

shots from a fowlingpiece, if any help might come. So he saw and heard her the moment before the train

appeared and paused, throwing up a Babylonian tower of smoke into the rain, and oppressing men's hearts

with the scream of her whistle. The engineer was there himself; he paled as he made the signal: the engine

came at a foot's pace; but the whole bulk of mountain shook and seemed to nod seaward, and the watching

navvies instinctively clutched at shrubs and trees: vain precautions, vain as the shots from the poor sailors.

Once again fear was disappointed; the train passed unscathed; and Norris, drawing a long breath, remembered

So the days and the nights passed: Homeric labour in Homeric circumstance. Carthew was sick with

sleeplessness and coffee; his hands, softened by the wet, were cut to ribbons; yet he enjoyed a peace of mind

and health of body hitherto unknown. Plenty of open air, plenty of physical exertion, a continual instancy of

toil; here was what had been hitherto lacking in that misdirected life, and the true cure of vital scepticism. To

get the train through: there was the recurrent problem; no time remained to ask if it were necessary. Carthew,

the idler, the spendthrift, the drifting dilettant, was soon remarked, praised, and advanced. The engineer

swore by him and pointed him out for an example. "I've a new chum, up here," Norris overheard him saying,

"a young swell. He's worth any two in the squad." The words fell on the ears of the discarded son like music;

and from that moment, he not only found an interest, he took a pride, in his plebeian tasks.

The press of work was still at its highest when quarterday approached. Norris was now raised to a position

of some trust; at his discretion, trains were stopped or forwarded at the dangerous cornice near North Clifton;

and he found in this responsibility both terror and delight. The thought of the seventyfive pounds that would

soon await him at the lawyer's, and of his own obligation to be present every quarterday in Sydney, filled

him for a little with divided councils. Then he made up his mind, walked in a slack moment to the inn at

Clifton, ordered a sheet of paper and a bottle of beer, and wrote, explaining that he held a good appointment

which he would lose if he came to Sydney, and asking the lawyer to accept this letter as an evidence of his

presence in the colony, and retain the money till next quarterday. The answer came in course of post, and

was not merely favourable but cordial. "Although what you propose is contrary to the terms of my

instructions," it ran, "I willingly accept the responsibility of granting your request. I should say I am

agreeably disappointed in your behaviour. My experience has not led me to found much expectations on

The rains abated, and the temporary labour was discharged; not Norris, to whom the engineer clung as to

found money; not Norris, who found himself a ganger on the line in the regular staff of navvies. His camp

was pitched in a grey wilderness of rock and forest, far from any house; as he sat with his mates about the

evening fire, the trains passing on the track were their next and indeed their only neighbours, except the wild

things of the wood. Lovely weather, light and monotonous employment, long hours of somnolent campfire

talk, long sleepless nights, when he reviewed his foolish and fruitless career as he rose and walked in the

moonlit forest, an occasional paper of which he would read all, the advertisements with as much relish as the

text: such was the tenor of an existence which soon began to weary and harass him. He lacked and regretted

the fatigue, the furious hurry, the suspense, the fires, the midnight coffee, the rude and mudbespattered

poetry of the first toilful weeks. In the quietness of his new surroundings, a voice summoned him from this

exorbital part of life, and about the middle of October he threw up his situation and bade farewell to the camp

Clad in his rough clothes, with a bundle on his shoulder and his accumulated wages in his pocket, he entered

Sydney for the second time, and walked with pleasure and some bewilderment in the cheerful streets, like a

man landed from a voyage. The sight of the people led him on. He forgot his necessary errands, he forgot to

eat. He wandered in moving multitudes like a stick upon a river. Last he came to the Domain and strolled

there, and remembered his shame and sufferings, and looked with poignant curiosity at his successors.

Hemstead, not much shabbier and no less cheerful than before, he recognised and addressed like an old

"That was a good turn you did me," said he. "That railway was the making of me. I hope you've had luck

"My word, no!" replied the little man. "I just sit here and read the _Dead Bird_. It's the depression in tryde,

you see. There's no positions goin' that a man like me would care to look at." And he showed Norris his

certificates and written characters, one from a grocer in Wooloomooloo, one from an ironmonger, and a third

from a billiard saloon. "Yes," he said, "I tried bein' a billiard marker. It's no account; these lyte hours are no

On the principle that he who is too proud to be a slave is usually not too modest to become a pensioner,

Carthew gave him half a sovereign, and departed, being suddenly struck with hunger, in the direction of the

Paris House. When he came to that quarter of the city, the barristers were trotting in the streets in wig and

gown, and he stood to observe them with his bundle on his shoulder, and his mind full of curious

And turning about he found himself face to face with a handsome sunburnt youth, somewhat fatted, arrayed

in the finest of fine raiment, and sporting about a sovereign's worth of flowers in his buttonhole. Norris had

met him during his first days in Sydney at a farewell supper; had even escorted him on board a schooner full

of cockroaches and blackboy sailors, in which he was bound for six months among the islands; and had kept

him ever since in entertained remembrance. Tom Hadden (known to the bulk of Sydney folk as Tommy) was

heir to a considerable property, which a prophetic father had placed in the hands of rigorous trustees. The

income supported Mr. Hadden in splendour for about three months out of twelve; the rest of the year he

passed in retreat among the islands. He was now about a week returned from his eclipse, pervading Sydney in

hansom cabs and airing the first bloom of six new suits of clothes; and yet the unaffected creature hailed

Carthew in his working jeans and with the damning bundle on his shoulder, as he might have claimed

"I'm just going to have lunch at the Paris House," returned Carthew. "It's a long time since I have had a

"Splendid scheme!" said Hadden. "I've only had breakfast half an hour ago; but we'll have a private room,

and I'll manage to pick something. It'll brace me up. I was on an awful tear last night, and I've met no end of

fellows this morning." To meet a fellow, and to stand and share a drink, were with Tom synonymous terms.

They were soon at table in the corner room upstairs, and paying due attention to the best fare in Sydney. The

odd similarity of their positions drew them together, and they began soon to exchange confidences. Carthew

related his privations in the Domain and his toils as a navvy; Hadden gave his experience as an amateur copra

merchant in the South Seas, and drew a humorous picture of life in a coral island. Of the two plans of

retirement, Carthew gathered that his own had been vastly the more lucrative; but Hadden's trading outfit had

"I had champagne too," said Hadden, "but I kept that in case of sickness, until I didn't seem to be going to be

sick, and then I opened a pint every Sunday. Used to sleep all morning, then breakfast with my pint of fizz,

and lie in a hammock and read Hallam's _Middle Ages_. Have you read that? I always take something solid

to the islands. There's no doubt I did the thing in rather a fine style; but if it was gone about a little cheaper, or

there were two of us to bear the expense, it ought to pay hand over fist. I've got the influence, you see. I'm a

chief now, and sit in the speakhouse under my own strip of roof. I'd like to see them taboo ME! They daren't

try it; I've a strong party, I can tell you. Why, I've had upwards of thirty cowtops sitting in my front verandah

"That's what Hallam would call feudal retainers," explained Hadden, not without vainglory. "They're My

Followers. They belong to My Family. I tell you, they come expensive, though; you can't fill up all these

retainers on tinned salmon for nothing; but whenever I could get it, I would give 'em squid. Squid's good for

natives, but I don't care for it, do you?or shark either. It's like the working classes at home. With copra at

the price it is, they ought to be willing to bear their share of the loss; and so I've told them again and again. I

think it's a man's duty to open their minds, and I try to, but you can't get political economy into them; it

There was an expression still sticking in Carthew's memory, and he returned upon it with a smile. "Talking of

political economy," said he, "you said if there were two of us to bear the expense, the profits would increase.

"I'll show you! I'll figure it out for you!" cried Hadden, and with a pencil on the back of the bill of fare

proceeded to perform miracles. He was a man, or let us rather say a lad, of unusual projective power. Give

him the faintest hint of any speculation, and the figures flowed from him by the page. A lively imagination

and a ready though inaccurate memory supplied his data; he delivered himself with an inimitable heat that

made him seem the picture of pugnacity; lavished contradiction; had a form of words, with or without

significance, for every form of criticism; and the lookeron alternately smiled at his simplicity and fervour,

or was amazed by his unexpected shrewdness. He was a kind of Pinkerton in play. I have called Jim's the

"You told me yourself this moment you knew nothing about it!" cried Tommy. "How can I make a

But he consented to raise his estimate to twenty; and a little after, the calculation coming out with a deficit,

cut it down again to five pounds ten, with the remark, "I told you it was nonsense. This sort of thing has to be

Some of these processes struck Carthew as unsound; and he was at times altogether thrown out by the

capricious startings of the prophet's mind. These plunges seemed to be gone into for exercise and by the way,

like the curvets of a willing horse. Gradually the thing took shape; the glittering if baseless edifice arose; and

the hare still ran on the mountains, but the soup was already served in silver plate. Carthew in a few days

could command a hundred and fifty pounds; Hadden was ready with five hundred; why should they not

recruit a fellow or two more, charter an old ship, and go cruising on their own account? Carthew was an

experienced yachtsman; Hadden professed himself able to "work an approximate sight." Money was

undoubtedly to be made, or why should so many vessels cruise about the islands? they, who worked their

"And whatever else comes of it, you see," cried Hadden, "we get our keep for nothing. Come, buy some togs,

that's the first thing you have to do of course; and then we'll take a hansom and go to the Currency Lass."

"Are you?" cried Hadden. "Well, I must say I admire you. You're a regular sage. It's what you call

"Well, I call it economy," returned Carthew. "If we are going to try this thing on, I shall want every

"You'll see if we're going to try it!" cried Tommy, rising radiant from table. "Only, mark you, Carthew, it

must be all in your name. I have capital, you see; but you're all right. You can play vacuus viator, if the thing

"There's nothing safe in business, my boy," replied the sage; "not even bookmaking."

The public house and tea garden called the Currency Lass represented a moderate fortune gained by its

proprietor, Captain Bostock, during a long, active, and occasionally historic career among the islands.

Anywhere from Tonga to the Admiralty Isles, he knew the ropes and could lie in the native dialect. He had

seen the end of sandal wood, the end of oil, and the beginning of copra; and he was himself a commercial

pioneer, the first that ever carried human teeth into the Gilberts. He was tried for his life in Fiji in Sir Arthur

Gordon's time; and if ever he prayed at all, the name of Sir Arthur was certainly not forgotten. He was

speared in seven places in New Irelandthe same time his mate was killedthe famous "outrage on the brig

Jolly Roger"; but the treacherous savages made little by their wickedness, and Bostock, in spite of their teeth,

got seventyfive head of volunteer labour on board, of whom not more than a dozen died of injuries. He had a

hand, besides, in the amiable pleasantry which cost the life of Patteson; and when the sham bishop landed,

prayed, and gave his benediction to the natives, Bostock, arrayed in a female chemise out of the traderoom,

had stood at his right hand and boomed amens. This, when he was sure he was among good fellows, was his

favourite yarn. "Two hundred head of labour for a hatful of amens," he used to name the tale; and its sequel,

the death of the real bishop, struck him as a circumstance of extraordinary humour.

Many of these details were communicated in the hansom, to the surprise of Carthew.

On descending from the hansom at the Currency Lass, Hadden was struck with the appearance of the cabman,

a gross, saltlooking man, redfaced, blueeyed, shorthanded and shortwinded, perhaps nearing forty.

"Many's the time, Mr. Hadden," returned the driver. "The last time you was back from the islands, it was me

"All right: jump down and have a drink then," said Tom, and he turned and led the way into the garden.

Captain Bostock met the party: he was a slow, sour old man, with fishy eyes; greeted Tommy offhand, and

"A bottle of beer for the cabman there at that table," said Tom. "Whatever you please from shandygaff to

champagne at this one here; and you sit down with us. Let me make you acquainted with my friend, Mr.

Carthew. I've come on business, Billy; I want to consult you as a friend; I'm going into the island trade upon

Doubtless the captain was a mine of counsel, but opportunity was denied him. He could not venture on a

statement, he was scarce allowed to finish a phrase, before Hadden swept him from the field with a volley of

protest and correction. That projector, his face blazing with inspiration, first laid before him at inordinate

length a question, and as soon as he attempted to reply, leaped at his throat, called his facts in question,

derided his policy, and at times thundered on him from the heights of moral indignation.

"I beg your pardon," he said once. "I am a gentleman, Mr. Carthew here is a gentleman, and we don't mean to

do that class of business. Can't you see who you are talking to? Can't you talk sense? Can't you give us 'a

"No, I don't suppose I can," returned old Bostock; "not when I can't hear my own voice for two seconds

"Take your gin and guns to Putney!" cried Hadden. "It was the thing in your times, that's right enough; but

you're old now, and the game's up. I'll tell you what's wanted nowadays, Bill Bostock," said he; and did,

Carthew could not refrain from smiling. He began to think less seriously of the scheme, Hadden appearing

too irresponsible a guide; but on the other hand, he enjoyed himself amazingly. It was far from being the

"You know a sight, don't you?" remarked that gentleman, bitterly, when Tommy paused.

"I know a sight more than you, if that's what you mean," retorted Tom. "It stands to reason I do. You're not a

man of any education; you've been all your life at sea or in the islands; you don't suppose you can give points

"Here's your health, Tommy," returned Bostock. "You'll make an Aone bake in the New Hebrides."

"That's what I call talking," cried Tom, not perhaps grasping the spirit of this doubtful compliment. "Now you

give me your attention. We have the money and the enterprise, and I have the experience: what we want is a

cheap, smart boat, a good captain, and an introduction to some house that will give us credit for the trade."

"Well, I'll tell you," said Captain Bostock. "I have seen men like you baked and eaten, and complained of

"I mean I don't care," cried Bostock. "It ain't any of my interests. I haven't underwrote your life. Only I'm

blest if I'm not sorry for the cannibal as tries to eat your head. And what I recommend is a cheap, smart coffin

and a good undertaker. See if you can find a house to give you credit for a coffin! Look at your friend there;

The exact degree of illfeeling in Mr. Bostock's mind was difficult to gauge; perhaps there was not much,

perhaps he regarded his remarks as a form of courtly badinage. But there is little doubt that Hadden resented

them. He had even risen from his place, and the conference was on the point of breaking up, when a new

The cabman sat with his back turned upon the party, smoking a meerschaum pipe. Not a word of Tommy's

eloquence had missed him, and he now faced suddenly about with these amazing words:

"Excuse me, gentlemen; if you'll buy me the ship I want, I'll get you the trade on credit."

"Gentlemen," said Bostock, rising solemnly, "let me make you acquainted with Captain Wicks of the Grace

"Yes, gentlemen, that is what I am," said the cabman. "You know I've been in trouble; and I don't deny but

what I struck the blow, and where was I to get evidence of my provocation? So I turned to and took a cab,

"I beg your pardon," said Carthew, joining almost for the first time; "I'm a new chum. What was the charge?"

"Murder," said Captain Wicks, "and I don't deny but what I struck the blow. And there's no sense in my

trying to deny I was afraid to go to trial, or why would I be here? But it's a fact it was flat mutiny. Ask Billy

Carthew breathed long; he had a strange, halfpleasurable sense of wading deeper in the tide of life. "Well,"

"I was going on to say this," said the captain sturdily. "I've overheard what Mr. Hadden has been saying, and

I think he talks good sense. I like some of his ideas first chop. He's sound on traderooms; he's all there on the

traderoom, and I see that he and I would pull together. Then you're both gentlemen, and I like that," observed

Captain Wicks. "And then I'll tell you I'm tired of this cabbing cruise, and I want to get to work again. Now,

here's my offer. I've a little money I can stake up, all of a hundred anyway. Then my old firm will give me

trade, and jump at the chance; they never lost by me; they know what I'm worth as supercargo. And, last of

all, you want a good captain to sail your ship for you. Well, here I am. I've sailed schooners for ten years. Ask

"And as for my character as a shipmate," concluded Wicks, "go and ask my old firm."

"But look here!" cried Hadden, "how do you mean to manage? You can whisk round in a hansom, and no

questions asked. But if you try to come on a quarterdeck, my boy, you'll get nabbed."

"I don't know yet," returned the captain, with a grin. "I'll see what the name is on my new certificate, and

that'll be good enough for me. If I can't get one to buy, though I never heard of such a thing, there's old

"So I have, too," said Captain Wicks, "and a beauty. Schooner yacht Dream; got lines you never saw the beat

of; and a witch to go. She passed me once off Thursday Island, doing two knots to my one and laying a point

and a half better; and the Grace Darling was a ship that I was proud of. I took and tore my hair. The Dream's

been MY dream ever since. That was in her old days, when she carried a blue ens'n. Grant Sanderson was the

party as owned her; he was rich and mad, and got a fever at last somewhere about the Fly River, and took and

died. The captain brought the body back to Sydney, and paid off. Well, it turned out Grant Sanderson had left

any quantity of wills and any quantity of widows, and no fellow could make out which was the genuine

article. All the widows brought lawsuits against all the rest, and every will had a firm of lawyers on the

quarterdeck as long as your arm. They tell me it was one of the biggest turnsto that ever was seen, bar

Tichborne; the Lord Chamberlain himself was floored, and so was the Lord Chancellor; and all that time the

Dream lay rotting up by Glebe Point. Well, it's done now; they've picked out a widow and a will; tossed up

for it, as like as not; and the Dream's for sale. She'll go cheap; she's had a long turnto at rotting."

"Well, big enough. We don't want her bigger. A hundred and ninety, going two hundred," replied the captain.

"She's fully big for us three; it would be all the better if we had another hand, though it's a pity too, when you

can pick up natives for half nothing. Then we must have a cook. I can fix raw sailormen, but there's no going

to sea with a newchum cook. I can lay hands on the man we want for that: a Highway boy, an old shipmate

of mine, of the name of Amalu. Cooks first rate, and it's always better to have a native; he aint fly, you can

turn him to as you please, and he don't know enough to stand out for his rights."

From the moment that Captain Wicks joined in the conversation, Carthew recovered interest and confidence;

the man (whatever he might have done) was plainly goodnatured, and plainly capable; if he thought well of

the enterprise, offered to contribute money, brought experience, and could thus solve at a word the problem

of the trade, Carthew was content to go ahead. As for Hadden, his cup was full; he and Bostock forgave each

other in champagne; toast followed toast; it was proposed and carried amid acclamation to change the name

of the schooner (when she should be bought) to the Currency Lass; and the Currency Lass Island Trading

Three days later, Carthew stood before the lawyer, still in his jean suit, received his hundred and fifty pounds,

"I have a chance to get on in the world," he said. "By tomorrow evening I expect to be part owner of a ship."

"Not if the partners work her themselves and stand to go down along with her," was the reply.

"I conceive it possible you might make something of it in that way," returned the other. "But are you a

"I am an old yachtsman," said Norris. "And I must do the best I can. A fellow can't live in New South Wales

upon diplomacy. But the point I wish to prepare you for is this. It will be impossible I should present myself

here next quarterday; we expect to make a six months' cruise of it among the islands."

"The conditions are exactly opposite," said the lawyer. "Last time I had reason to know you were in the

colony; and even then I stretched a point. This time, by your own confession, you are contemplating a breach

of the agreement; and I give you warning if you carry it out and I receive proof of it (for I will agree to regard

this conversation as confidential) I shall have no choice but to do my duty. Be here on quarterday, or your

"And you so read these instructions, that I am to be prohibited from making an honest livelihood?" asked

"Let us be frank," said the lawyer. "I find nothing in these instructions about an honest livelihood. I have no

reason to suppose my clients care anything about that. I have reason to suppose only one thing,that they

mean you shall stay in this colony, and to guess another, Mr. Carthew. And to guess another."

"I mean that I imagine, on very strong grounds, that your family desire to see no more of you," said the

lawyer. "O, they may be very wrong; but that is the impression conveyed, that is what I suppose I am paid to

"I would scorn to deceive you," said Norris, with a strong flush, "you have guessed rightly. My family refuse

to see me; but I am not going to England, I am going to the islands. How does that affect the islands?"

"Ah, but I don't know that you are going to the islands," said the lawyer, looking down, and spearing the

"I am afraid, Mr. Carthew, that I cannot regard that communication as official," was the slow reply.

"Hush! I allow no one to raise his voice in my office," said the lawyer. "And for that matteryou seem to be

a young gentleman of senseconsider what I know of you. You are a discarded son; your family pays

money to be shut of you. What have you done? I don't know. But do you not see how foolish I should be, if I

exposed my business reputation on the safeguard of the honour of a gentleman of whom I know just so much

and no more? This interview is very disagreeable. Why prolong it? Write home, get my instructions changed,

"I am very fond of three hundred a year," said Norris, "but I cannot pay the price required. I shall not have the

"You must please yourself," said the lawyer. "Fail to be here next quarterday, and the thing stops. But I

warn you, and I mean the warning in a friendly spirit. Three months later you will be here begging, and I

So it befell that Norris during what remained to him of arduous days in Sydney, saw not again the face of his

legal adviser; and he was already at sea, and land was out of sight, when Hadden brought him a Sydney

paper, over which he had been dozing in the shadow of the galley, and showed him an advertisement.

"Mr. Norris Carthew is earnestly entreated to call without delay at the office of Mr. , where important

"It must manage to wait for me six months," said Norris, lightly enough, but yet conscious of a pang of

Before noon on the 26th November, there cleared from the port of Sydney the schooner, Currency Lass. The

owner, Norris Carthew, was on board in the somewhat unusual position of mate; the master's name purported

to be William Kirkup; the cook was a Hawaiian boy, Joseph Amalu; and there were two hands before the

mast, Thomas Hadden and Richard Hemstead, the latter chosen partly because of his humble character, partly

because he had an oddjobman's handiness with tools. The Currency Lass was bound for the South Sea

Islands, and first of all for Butaritari in the Gilberts, on a register; but it was understood about the harbour

that her cruise was more than half a pleasure trip. A friend of the late Grant Sanderson (of Auchentroon and

Kilclarty) might have recognised in that tallmasted ship, the transformed and rechristened Dream; and the

Lloyd's surveyor, had the services of such a one been called in requisition, must have found abundant subject

For time, during her three years' inaction, had eaten deep into the Dream and her fittings; she had sold in

consequence a shade above her value as old junk; and the three adventurers had scarce been able to afford

even the most vital repairs. The rigging, indeed, had been partly renewed, and the rest set up; all Grant

Sanderson's old canvas had been patched together into one decently serviceable suit of sails; Grant

Sanderson's masts still stood, and might have wondered at themselves. "I haven't the heart to tap them,"

Captain Wicks used to observe, as he squinted up their height or patted their rotundity; and "as rotten as our

foremast" was an accepted metaphor in the ship's company. The sequel rather suggests it may have been

sounder than was thought; but no one knew for certain, just as no one except the captain appreciated the

dangers of the cruise. The captain, indeed, saw with clear eyes and spoke his mind aloud; and though a man

of an astonishing hotblooded courage, following life and taking its dangers in the spirit of a hound upon the

slot, he had made a point of a big whaleboat. "Take your choice," he had said; "either new masts and rigging

or that boat. I simply ain't going to sea without the one or the other. Chicken coops are good enough, no

doubt, and so is a dinghy; but they ain't for Joe." And his partners had been forced to consent, and saw six

All four had toiled the best part of six weeks getting ready; and though Captain Wicks was of course not seen

or heard of, a fifth was there to help them, a fellow in a bushy red beard, which he would sometimes lay aside

when he was below, and who strikingly resembled Captain Wicks in voice and character. As for Captain

Kirkup, he did not appear till the last moment, when he proved to be a burly mariner, bearded like Abou Ben

Adhem. All the way down the harbour and through the Heads, his milkwhite whiskers blew in the wind and

were conspicuous from shore; but the Currency Lass had no sooner turned her back upon the lighthouse, than

he went below for the inside of five seconds and reappeared clean shaven. So many doublings and devices

were required to get to sea with an unseaworthy ship and a captain that was "wanted." Nor might even these

have sufficed, but for the fact that Hadden was a public character, and the whole cruise regarded with an eye

of indulgence as one of Tom's engaging eccentricities. The ship, besides, had been a yacht before; and it

came the more natural to allow her still some of the dangerous liberties of her old employment.

A strange ship they had made of it, her lofty spars disfigured with patched canvas, her panelled cabin fitted

for a traderoom with rude shelves. And the life they led in that anomalous schooner was no less curious than

herself. Amalu alone berthed forward; the rest occupied staterooms, camped upon the satin divans, and sat

down in Grant Sanderson's parquetry smokingroom to meals of junk and potatoes, bad of their kind and

often scant in quantity. Hemstead grumbled; Tommy had occasional moments of revolt and increased the

ordinary by a few haphazard tins or a bottle of his own brown sherry. But Hemstead grumbled from habit,

Tommy revolted only for the moment, and there was underneath a real and general acquiescence in these

hardships. For besides onions and potatoes, the Currency Lass may be said to have gone to sea without stores.

She carried two thousand pounds' worth of assorted trade, advanced on credit, their whole hope and fortune.

It was upon this that they subsistedmice in their own granary. They dined upon their future profits; and

Republican as were their manners, there was no practical, at least no dangerous, lack of discipline. Wicks was

the only sailor on board, there was none to criticise; and besides, he was so easygoing, and so

merryminded, that none could bear to disappoint him. Carthew did his best, partly for the love of doing it,

partly for love of the captain; Amalu was a willing drudge, and even Hemstead and Hadden turned to upon

occasion with a will. Tommy's department was the trade and traderoom; he would work down in the hold or

over the shelves of the cabin, till the Sydney dandy was unrecognizable; come up at last, draw a bucket of

seawater, bathe, change, and lie down on deck over a big sheaf of Sydney _Heralds_ and _Dead Birds_, or

perhaps with a volume of Buckle's _History of Civilisation_, the standard work selected for that cruise. In the

latter case, a smile went round the ship, for Buckle almost invariably laid his student out, and when Tom

awoke again he was almost always in the humour for brown sherry. The connection was so well established

that "a glass of Buckle" or "a bottle of civilisation" became current pleasantries on board the Currency Lass.

Hemstead's province was that of the repairs, and he had his hands full. Nothing on board but was decayed in a

proportion; the lamps leaked; so did the decks; doorknobs came off in the hand, mouldings parted company

with the panels, the pump declined to suck, and the defective bathroom came near to swamp the ship. Wicks

insisted that all the nails were long ago consumed, and that she was only glued together by the rust. "You

shouldn't make me laugh so much, Tommy," he would say. "I'm afraid I'll shake the sternpost out of her."

And, as Hemstead went to and fro with his tool basket on an endless round of tinkering, Wicks lost no

opportunity of chaffing him upon his duties. "If you'd turn to at sailoring or washing paint or something

useful, now," he would say, "I could see the fun of it. But to be mending things that haven't no insides to

them appears to me the height of foolishness." And doubtless these continual pleasantries helped to reassure

the landsmen, who went to and fro unmoved, under circumstances that might have daunted Nelson.

The weather was from the outset splendid, and the wind fair and steady. The ship sailed like a witch. "This

Currency Lass is a powerful old girl, and has more complaints than I would care to put a name on," the

captain would say, as he pricked the chart; "but she could show her blooming heels to anything of her size in

the Western Pacific." To wash decks, relieve the wheel, do the day's work after dinner on the smokingroom

table, and take in kites at night,such was the easy routine of their life. In the eveningabove all, if

Tommy had produced some of his civilisationyarns and music were the rule. Amalu had a sweet Hawaiian

voice; and Hemstead, a great hand upon the banjo, accompanied his own quavering tenor with effect. There

was a sense in which the little man could sing. It was great to hear him deliver _My Boy Tammie_ in

Austrylian; and the words (some of the worst of the ruffian Macneil's) were hailed in his version with

It was the accepted jest for all hands to greet the conclusion of this song with the simultaneous cry: "My

word!" thus winging the arrow of ridicule with a feather from the singer's wing. But he had his revenge with

_Home, Sweet Home,_ and _Where is my Wandering Boy Tonight?_ditties into which he threw the most

intolerable pathos. It appeared he had no home, nor had ever had one, nor yet any vestige of a family, except

a truculent uncle, a baker in Newcastle, N.S.W. His domestic sentiment was therefore wholly in the air, and

expressed an unrealised ideal. Or perhaps, of all his experiences, this of the Currency Lass, with its kindly,

It is perhaps because I know the sequel, but I can never think upon this voyage without a profound sense of

pity and mystery; of the ship (once the whim of a rich blackguard) faring with her battered fineries and upon

her homely errand, across the plains of ocean, and past the gorgeous scenery of dawn and sunset; and the

ship's company, so strangely assembled, so Britishly chuckleheaded, filling their days with chaff in place of

conversation; no human book on board with them except Hadden's Buckle, and not a creature fit either to

read or to understand it; and the one mark of any civilised interest, being when Carthew filled in his spare

hours with the pencil and the brush: the whole unconscious crew of them posting in the meanwhile towards

Twentyeight days out of Sydney, on Christmas eve, they fetched up to the entrance of the lagoon, and plied

all that night outside, keeping their position by the lights of fishers on the reef and the outlines of the palms

against the cloudy sky. With the break of day, the schooner was hove to, and the signal for a pilot shown. But

it was plain her lights must have been observed in the darkness by the native fishermen, and word carried to

the settlement, for a boat was already under weigh. She came towards them across the lagoon under a great

press of sail, lying dangerously down, so that at times, in the heavier puffs, they thought she would turn

turtle; covered the distance in fine style, luffed up smartly alongside, and emitted a haggard looking white

"Goodmornin', Cap'n," said he, when he had made good his entrance. "I was taking you for a Fiji

manofwar, what with your flush decks and them spars. Well, gen'lemen all, here's wishing you a Merry

"Why, you're never the pilot?" exclaimed Wicks, studying him with a profound disfavour. "You've never

"Well, I should guess I have," returned the pilot. "I'm Captain Dobbs, I am; and when I take charge, the

"Drunk!" repeated Dobbs. "You can't have seen much life if you call me drunk. I'm only just beginning.

Come night, I won't say; I guess I'll be properly full by then. But now I'm the soberest man in all Big

"It won't do," retorted Wicks. "Not for Joseph, sir. I can't have you piling up my schooner."

"All right," said Dobbs, "lay and rot where you are, or take and go in and pile her up for yourself like the

captain of the Leslie. That's business, I guess; grudged me twenty dollars' pilotage, and lost twenty thousand

in trade and a brand new schooner; ripped the keel right off of her, and she went down in the inside of four

"Consigned to Cohen and Co., from 'Frisco," returned the pilot, "and badly wanted. There's a barque inside

filling up for Hamburgyou see her spars over there; and there's two more ships due, all the way from

Germany, one in two months, they say, and one in three; Cohen and Co.'s agent (that's Mr. Topelius) has

taken and lain down with the jaundice on the strength of it. I guess most people would, in his shoes; no trade,

no copra, and twenty hundred ton of shipping due. If you've any copra on board, cap'n, here's your chance.

Topelius will buy, gold down, and give three cents. It's all found money to him, the way it is, whatever he

"Excuse me one moment, Captain Dobbs. I wish to speak with my mate," said the captain, whose face had

"Please yourself," replied the pilot. "You couldn't think of offering a man a nip, could you? just to brace him

up. This kind of thing looks damned inhospitable, and gives a schooner a bad name."

"I'll talk about that after the anchor's down," returned Wicks, and he drew Carthew forward. "I say," he

"I can't put a figure on it yetI daren't!" said the captain. "We might cruise twenty years and not find the

match of it. And suppose another ship came in tonight? Everything's possible! And the difficulty is this

Dobbs. He's as drunk as a marine. How can we trust him? We ain't insuredworse luck!"

"Suppose you took him aloft and got him to point out the channel?" suggested Carthew. "If he tallied at all

"Well, all's risk here," returned the captain. "Take the wheel yourself, and stand by. Mind, if there's two

orders, follow mine, not his. Set the cook for'ard with the heads'ls, and the two others at the main sheet, and

see they don't sit on it." With that he called the pilot; they swarmed aloft in the fore rigging, and presently

The first cruise of the Currency Lass had thus ended in a stroke of fortune almost beyond hope. She had

brought two thousand pounds' worth of trade, straight as a homing pigeon, to the place where it was most

required. And Captain Wicks (or, rather, Captain Kirkup) showed himself the man to make the best of his

advantage. For hard upon two days he walked a verandah with Topelius, for hard upon two days his partners

watched from the neighbouring public house the field of battle; and the lamps were not yet lighted on the

evening of the second before the enemy surrendered. Wicks came across to the Sans Souci, as the saloon was

called, his face nigh black, his eyes almost closed and all bloodshot, and yet bright as lighted matches.

"Come out here, boys," he said; and when they were some way off among the palms, "I hold twentyfour,"

he added in a voice scarcely recognizable, and doubtless referring to the venerable game of cribbage.

"I've sold the trade," answered Wicks; "or, rather, I've sold only some of it, for I've kept back all the mess

beef and half the flour and biscuit; and, by God, we're still provisioned for four months! By God, it's as good

"But what have you sold it for?" gasped Carthew, the captain's almost insane excitement shaking his nerve.

"Let me tell it my own way," cried Wicks, loosening his neck. "Let me get at it gradual, or I'll explode. I've

not only sold it, boys, I've wrung out a charter on my own terms to 'Frisco and back; on my own terms. I

made a point of it. I fooled him first by making believe I wanted copra, which of course I knew he wouldn't

hear ofcouldn't, in fact; and whenever he showed fight, I trotted out the copra, and that man dived! I would

take nothing but copra, you see; and so I've got the blooming lot in specieall but two short bills on 'Frisco.

And the sum? Well, this whole adventure, including two thousand pounds of credit, cost us two thousand

seven hundred and some odd. That's all paid back; in thirty days' cruise we've paid for the schooner and the

trade. Heard ever any man the match of that? And it's not all! For besides that," said the captain, hammering

his words, "we've got Thirteen Blooming Hundred Pounds of profit to divide. I bled him in four Thou.!" he

For a moment the partners looked upon their chief with stupefaction, incredulous surprise their only feeling.

"Here," he said, in a hard, business tone. "Come back to that saloon. I've got to get drunk."

"You must please excuse me, boys," said the captain, earnestly. "I daren't taste nothing. If I was to drink one

glass of beer, it's my belief I'd have the apoplexy. The last scrimmage, and the blooming triumph, pretty nigh

But Wicks held up a shaking hand. "Not that either, boys," he pleaded. "Think of the other buffer, and let him

down easy. If I'm like this, just fancy what Topelius is! If he heard us singing out, he'd have the staggers."

As a matter of fact, Topelius accepted his defeat with a good grace; but the crew of the wrecked Leslie, who

were in the same employment and loyal to their firm, took the thing more bitterly. Rough words and ugly

looks were common. Once even they hooted Captain Wicks from the saloon verandah; the Currency Lasses

drew out on the other side; for some minutes there had like to have been a battle in Butaritari; and though the

occasion passed off without blows, it left on either side an increase of illfeeling.

No such small matter could affect the happiness of the successful traders. Five days more the ship lay in the

lagoon, with little employment for any one but Tommy and the captain, for Topelius's natives discharged

cargo and brought ballast; the time passed like a pleasant dream; the adventurers sat up half the night

debating and praising their good fortune, or strayed by day in the narrow isle, gaping like Cockney tourists;

and on the first of the new year, the Currency Lass weighed anchor for the second time and set sail for

'Frisco, attended by the same fine weather and good luck. She crossed the doldrums with but small delay; on

a wind and in ballast of broken coral, she outdid expectations; and, what added to the happiness of the ship's

company, the small amount of work that fell on them to do, was now lessened by the presence of another

hand. This was the boatswain of the Leslie; he had been on bad terms with his own captain, had already spent

his wages in the saloons of Butaritari, had wearied of the place, and while all his shipmates coldly refused to

set foot on board the Currency Lass, he had offered to work his passage to the coast. He was a north of

Ireland man, between Scotch and Irish, rough, loud, humorous, and emotional, not without sterling qualities,

and an expert and careful sailor. His frame of mind was different indeed from that of his new shipmates;

instead of making an unexpected fortune, he had lost a berth; and he was besides disgusted with the rations,

and really appalled at the condition of the schooner. A stateroom door had stuck, the first day at sea, and Mac

"Don't you get looking at these sticks," the captain said, "or you'll have a fit and fall overboard."

Mac turned towards the speaker with rather a wild eye. "Why, I see what looks like a patch of dry rot up

"Looks as if a fellow could stick his head into it, don't it?" returned Wicks. "But there's no good prying into

"Well, I never said she was seaworthy," replied the captain: "I only said she could show her blooming heels

to anything afloat. And besides, I don't know that it's dry rot; I kind of sometimes hope it isn't. Here; turn to

And from that day on, he made but the one reference to the ship's condition; and that was whenever Tommy

drew upon his cellar. "Here's to the junk trade!" he would say, as he held out his can of sherry.

"I had an uncle in the business," replied Mac, and launched at once into a yarn, in which an incredible

number of the characters were "laid out as nice as you would want to see," and the oaths made up about

Only once he gave them a taste of his violence; he talked of it, indeed, often; "I'm rather a voilent man," he

would say, not without pride; but this was the only specimen. Of a sudden, he turned on Hemstead in the

ship's waist, knocked him against the foresail boom, then knocked him under it, and had set him up and

"Here! Belay that!" roared Wicks, leaping to his feet. "I won't have none of this."

Mac turned to the captain with ready civility. "I only want to learn him manners," said he. "He took and

"Did he?" said Wicks. "O, that's a different story! What made you do it, you tomfool? You ain't big enough to

"I didn't call him it," spluttered Hemstead, through his blood and tears. "I only mentionedlike he was."

"But you ARE Irish, ain't you?" Carthew asked of his new shipmate shortly after.

"I may be," replied Mac, "but I'll allow no Sydney duck to call me so. No," he added, with a sudden heated

countenance, "nor any Britisher that walks! Why, look here," he went on, "you're a young swell, aren't you?

Suppose I called you that!" 'I'll show you,' you would say, and turn to and take it out of me straight."

On the 28th of January, when in lat. 27 degrees 20' N., long. 177 degrees W., the wind chopped suddenly into

the west, not very strong, but puffy and with flaws of rain. The captain, eager for easting, made a fair wind of

it and guyed the booms out wing and wing. It was Tommy's trick at the wheel, and as it was within half an

hour of the relief (seven thirty in the morning), the captain judged it not worth while to change him.

The puffs were heavy but short; there was nothing to be called a squall, no danger to the ship, and scarce

more than usual to the doubtful spars. All hands were on deck in their oilskins, expecting breakfast; the galley

smoked, the ship smelt of coffee, all were in good humour to be speeding eastward a full nine; when the

rotten foresail tore suddenly between two cloths and then split to either hand. It was for all the world as

though some archangel with a huge sword had slashed it with the figure of a cross; all hands ran to secure the

slatting canvas; and in the sudden uproar and alert, Tommy Hadden lost his head. Many of his days have been

passed since then in explaining how the thing happened; of these explanations it will be sufficient to say that

they were all different and none satisfactory; and the gross fact remains that the main boom gybed, carried

away the tackle, broke the mainmast some three feet above the deck and whipped it overboard. For near a

minute the suspected foremast gallantly resisted; then followed its companion; and by the time the wreck was

cleared, of the whole beautiful fabric that enabled them to skim the seas, two ragged stumps remained.

In these vast and solitary waters, to be dismasted is perhaps the worst calamity. Let the ship turn turtle and go

down, and at least the pang is over. But men chained on a hulk may pass months scanning the empty sea line

and counting the steps of death's invisible approach. There is no help but in the boats, and what a help is that!

There heaved the Currency Lass, for instance, a wingless lump, and the nearest human coast (that of Kauai in

the Sandwiches) lay about a thousand miles to south and east of her. Over the way there, to men

contemplating that passage in an open boat, all kinds of misery, and the fear of death and of madness,

A serious company sat down to breakfast; but the captain helped his neighbours with a smile.

"Now, boys," he said, after a pull at the hot coffee, "we're done with this Currency Lass, and no mistake. One

good job: we made her pay while she lasted, and she paid first rate; and if we were to try our hand again, we

can try in style. Another good job: we have a fine, stiff, roomy boat, and you know who you have to thank for

that. We've got six lives to save, and a pot of money; and the point is, where are we to take 'em?"

"It's all two thousand miles to the nearest of the Sandwiches, I fancy," observed Mac.

"No, not so bad as that," returned the captain. "But it's bad enough: rather better'n a thousand."

"I know a man who once did twelve hundred in a boat," said Mac, "and he had all he wanted. He fetched

ashore in the Marquesas, and never set a foot on anything floating from that day to this. He said he would

"Ay, ay!" said Wicks. "Well I remember a boat's crew that made this very island of Kauai, and from just

about where we lie, or a bit further. When they got up with the land, they were clean crazy. There was an

ironbound coast and an Old Bob Ridley of a surf on. The natives hailed 'em from fishingboats, and sung

out it couldn't be done at the money. Much they cared! there was the land, that was all they knew; and they

turned to and drove the boat slap ashore in the thick of it, and was all drowned but one. No; boat trips are my

The tone was surprising in a man of his indomitable temper. "Come, Captain," said Carthew, "you have

"It's a fact," admitted Wicks. "You see there's a raft of little bally reefs about here, kind of chickenpox on

the chart. Well, I looked 'em all up, and there's oneMidway or Brooks they call it, not forty mile from our

assigned positionthat I got news of. It turns out it's a coaling station of the Pacific Mail," he said, simply.

"Well, and I know it ain't no such a thing," said Mac. "I been quartermaster in that line myself."

"All right," returned Wicks. "There's the book. Read what Hoyt saysread it aloud and let the others hear."

Hoyt's falsehood (as readers know) was explicit; incredulity was impossible, and the news itself delightful

beyond hope. Each saw in his mind's eye the boat draw in to a trim island with a wharf, coalsheds, gardens,

the Stars and Stripes and the white cottage of the keeper; saw themselves idle a few weeks in tolerable

quarters, and then step on board the China mail, romantic waifs, and yet with pocketsful of money, calling for

champagne, and waited on by troops of stewards. Breakfast, that had begun so dully, ended amid sober

Now that all spars were gone, it was no easy job to get her launched. Some of the necessary cargo was first

stowed on board; the specie, in particular, being packed in a strong chest and secured with lashings to the

afterthwart in case of a capsize. Then a piece of the bulwark was razed to the level of the deck, and the boat

swung thwartship, made fast with a slack line to either stump, and successfully run out. For a voyage of

forty miles to hospitable quarters, not much food or water was required; but they took both in superfluity.

Amalu and Mac, both ingrained sailormen, had chests which were the headquarters of their lives; two more

chests with handbags, oilskins, and blankets supplied the others; Hadden, amid general applause, added the

last case of the brown sherry; the captain brought the log, instruments, and chronometer; nor did Hemstead

It was about three P.M. when they pushed off, and (the wind being still westerly) fell to the oars. "Well,

we've got the guts out of YOU!" was the captain's nodded farewell to the hulk of the Currency Lass, which

presently shrank and faded in the sea. A little after a calm succeeded, with much rain; and the first meal was

eaten, and the watch below lay down to their uneasy slumber on the bilge under a roaring showerbath. The

twentyninth dawned overhead from out of ragged clouds; there is no moment when a boat at sea appears so

trenchantly black and so conspicuously little; and the crew looked about them at the sky and water with a

thrill of loneliness and fear. With sunrise the trade set in, lusty and true to the point; sail was made; the boat

flew; and by about four in the afternoon, they were well up with the closed part of the reef, and the captain

standing on the thwart, and holding by the mast, was studying the island through the binoculars.

"No, nor never will!" retorted Mac, with a clang of despair and triumph in his tones.

The truth was soon plain to all. No buoys, no beacons, no lights, no coal, no station; the castaways pulled

through a lagoon and landed on an isle, where was no mark of man but wreckwood, and no sound but of the

sea. For the seafowl that harboured and lived there at the epoch of my visit were then scattered into the

uttermost parts of the ocean, and had left no traces of their sojourn besides dropped feathers and addled eggs.

It was to this they had been sent, for this they had stooped all night over the dripping oars, hourly moving

further from relief. The boat, for as small as it was, was yet eloquent of the hands of men, a thing alone

indeed upon the sea but yet in itself all human; and the isle, for which they had exchanged it, was ingloriously

savage, a place of distress, solitude, and hunger unrelieved. There was a strong glare and shadow of the

evening over all; in which they sat or lay, not speaking, careless even to eat, men swindled out of life and

riches by a lying book. In the great good nature of the whole party, no word of reproach had been addressed

to Hadden, the author of these disasters. But the new blow was less magnanimously borne, and many angry

Yet it was himself who roused them from their lethargy. Grudgingly they obeyed, drew the boat beyond

tidemark, and followed him to the top of the miserable islet, whence a view was commanded of the whole

wheel of the horizon, then part darkened under the coming night, part dyed with the hues of the sunset and

populous with the sunset clouds. Here the camp was pitched and a tent run up with the oars, sails, and mast.

And here Amalu, at no man's bidding, from the mere instinct of habitual service, built a fire and cooked a

meal. Night was come, and the stars and the silver sickle of new moon beamed overhead, before the meal was

ready. The cold sea shone about them, and the fire glowed in their faces, as they ate. Tommy had opened his

case, and the brown sherry went the round; but it was long before they came to conversation.

"Well, I can tell ye one thing," said Mac, "if ye care to hear it. When I was in the China mail, we once made

"Deuce it is!" cried Carthew. "That settles it, then. Let's stay. We must keep good fires going; and there's

"Lashings of wreck!" said the Irishman. "There's nothing here but wreck and coffin boards."

"But we'll have to make a proper blyze," objected Hemstead. "You can't see a fire like this, not any wye

They did, and saw the hollow of the night, the bare, bright face of the sea, and the stars regarding them; and

the voices died in their bosoms at the spectacle. In that huge isolation, it seemed they must be visible from

"What kills me is that specie!" the captain broke out. "Think of all that riches,four thousand in gold, bad

silver, and short billsall found money, too!and no more use than that much dung!"

"I'll tell you one thing," said Tommy. "I don't like it being in the boatI don't care to have it so far away."

But this was not at all the feeling of the partners, who rose, clambered down the isle, brought back the

inestimable treasurechest slung upon two oars, and set it conspicuous in the shining of the fire.

"There's my beauty!" cried Wicks, viewing it with a cocked head. "That's better than a bonfire. What! we

have a chest here, and bills for close upon two thousand pounds; there's no show to that,it would go in

your vestpocket,but the rest! upwards of forty pounds avoirdupois of coined gold, and close on two

hundredweight of Chile silver! What! ain't that good enough to fetch a fleet? Do you mean to say that won't

affect a ship's compass? Do you mean to tell me that the lookout won't turn to and SMELL it?" he cried.

Mac, who had no part nor lot in the bills, the forty pounds of gold, or the two hundredweight of silver, heard

this with impatience, and fell into a bitter, choking laughter. "You'll see!" he said harshly. "You'll be glad to

feed them bills into the fire before you're through with ut!" And he turned, passed by himself out of the ring

His speech and his departure extinguished instantly those sparks of better humour kindled by the dinner and

the chest. The group fell again to an illfavoured silence, and Hemstead began to touch the banjo, as was his

habit of an evening. His repertory was small: the chords of _Home, Sweet Home_ fell under his fingers; and

when he had played the symphony, he instinctively raised up his voice. "Be it never so 'umble, there's no

plyce like 'ome," he sang. The last word was still upon his lips, when the instrument was snatched from him

and dashed into the fire; and he turned with a cry to look into the furious countenance of Mac.

"I told ye I was a voilent man," said Mac, with a movement of deprecation very surprising in one of his

character. "Why don't he give me a chance then? Haven't we enough to bear the way we are?" And to the

wonder and dismay of all, the man choked upon a sob. "It's ashamed of meself I am," he said presently, his

Irish accent twentyfold increased. "I ask all your pardons for me voilence; and especially the little man's,

who is a harmless crayture, and here's me hand to'm, if he'll condescind to take me by 't."

So this scene of barbarity and sentimentalism passed off, leaving behind strange and incongruous

impressions. True, every one was perhaps glad when silence succeeded that all too appropriate music; true,

Mac's apology and subsequent behaviour rather raised him in the opinion of his fellowcastaways. But the

discordant note had been struck, and its harmonics tingled in the brain. In that savage, houseless isle, the

passions of man had sounded, if only for the moment, and all men trembled at the possibilities of horror.

It was determined to stand watch and watch in case of passing vessels; and Tommy, on fire with an idea,

volunteered to stand the first. The rest crawled under the tent, and were soon enjoying that comfortable gift of

sleep, which comes everywhere and to all men, quenching anxieties and speeding time. And no sooner were

all settled, no sooner had the drone of many snorers begun to mingle with and overcome the surf, than

Tommy stole from his post with the case of sherry, and dropped it in a quiet cove in a fathom of water. But

the stormy inconstancy of Mac's behaviour had no connection with a gill or two of wine; his passions, angry

and otherwise, were on a different sail plan from his neighbours'; and there were possibilities of good and evil

About two in the morning, the starry skyor so it seemed, for the drowsy watchman had not observed the

approach of any cloudbrimmed over in a deluge; and for three days it rained without remission. The islet

was a sponge, the castaways sops; the view all gone, even the reef concealed behind the curtain of the falling

water. The fire was soon drowned out; after a couple of boxes of matches had been scratched in vain, it was

decided to wait for better weather; and the party lived in wretchedness on raw tins and a ration of hard bread.

By the 2nd February, in the dark hours of the morning watch, the clouds were all blown by; the sun rose

glorious; and once more the castaways sat by a quick fire, and drank hot coffee with the greed of brutes and

sufferers. Thenceforward their affairs moved in a routine. A fire was constantly maintained; and this occupied

one hand continuously, and the others for an hour or so in the day. Twice a day, all hands bathed in the

lagoon, their chief, almost their only pleasure. Often they fished in the lagoon with good success. And the rest

was passed in lolling, strolling, yarns, and disputation. The time of the China steamers was calculated to a

nicety; which done, the thought was rejected and ignored. It was one that would not bear consideration. The

boat voyage having been tacitly set aside, the desperate part chosen to wait there for the coming of help or of

starvation, no man had courage left to look his bargain in the face, far less to discuss it with his neighbours.

But the unuttered terror haunted them; in every hour of idleness, at every moment of silence, it returned, and

breathed a chill about the circle, and carried men's eyes to the horizon. Then, in a panic of selfdefence, they

would rally to some other subject. And, in that lone spot, what else was to be found to speak of but the

That was indeed the chief singularity, the one thing conspicuous in their island life; the presence of that chest

of bills and specie dominated the mind like a cathedral; and there were besides connected with it, certain

irking problems well fitted to occupy the idle. Two thousand pounds were due to the Sydney firm: two

thousand pounds were clear profit, and fell to be divided in varying proportions among six. It had been

agreed how the partners were to range; every pound of capital subscribed, every pound that fell due in wages,

was to count for one "lay." Of these, Tommy could claim five hundred and ten, Carthew one hundred and

seventy, Wicks one hundred and forty, and Hemstead and Amalu ten apiece: eight hundred and forty "lays" in

all. What was the value of a lay? This was at first debated in the air and chiefly by the strength of Tommy's

lungs. Then followed a series of incorrect calculations; from which they issued, arithmetically foiled, but

agreed from weariness upon an approximate value of 2 pounds, 7 shillings 7 1/4 pence. The figures were

admittedly incorrect; the sum of the shares came not to 2000 pounds, but to 1996 pounds, 6 shillings: 3

pounds, 14 shillings being thus left unclaimed. But it was the nearest they had yet found, and the highest as

well, so that the partners were made the less critical by the contemplation of their splendid dividends. Wicks

put in 100 pounds and stood to draw captain's wages for two months; his taking was 333 pounds 3 shillings 6

1/2 pence. Carthew had put in 150 pounds: he was to take out 401 pounds, 18 shillings 6 1/2 pence. Tommy's

500 pounds had grown to be 1213 pounds 12 shillings 9 3/4 pence; and Amalu and Hemstead, ranking for

From talking and brooding on these figures, it was but a step to opening the chest; and once the chest open,

the glamour of the cash was irresistible. Each felt that he must see his treasure separate with the eye of flesh,

handle it in the hard coin, mark it for his own, and stand forth to himself the approved owner. And here an

insurmountable difficulty barred the way. There were some seventeen shillings in English silver: the rest was

Chile; and the Chile dollar, which had been taken at the rate of six to the pound sterling, was practically their

smallest coin. It was decided, therefore, to divide the pounds only, and to throw the shillings, pence, and

fractions in a common fund. This, with the three pound fourteen already in the heel, made a total of seven

"I'll tell you," said Wicks. "Let Carthew and Tommy and me take one pound apiece, and Hemstead and

"O, rot!" said Carthew. "Tommy and I are bursting already. We can take half a sov' each, and let the other

"I'll tell you nowit's not worth splitting," broke in Mac. "I've cards in my chest. Why don't you play for the

In that idle place, the proposal was accepted with delight. Mac, as the owner of the cards, was given a stake;

the sum was played for in five games of cribbage; and when Amalu, the last survivor in the tournament, was

beaten by Mac, it was found the dinner hour was past. After a hasty meal, they fell again immediately to

cards, this time (on Carthew's proposal) to Van John. It was then probably two P.M. of the 9th February; and

they played with varying chances for twelve hours, slept heavily, and rose late on the morrow to resume the

game. All day of the 10th, with grudging intervals for food, and with one long absence on the part of Tommy

from which he returned dripping with the case of sherry, they continued to deal and stake. Night fell: they

drew the closer to the fire. It was maybe two in the morning, and Tommy was selling his deal by auction, as

usual with that timid player; when Carthew, who didn't intend to bid, had a moment of leisure and looked

round him. He beheld the moonlight on the sea, the money piled and scattered in that incongruous place, the

perturbed faces of the players; he felt in his own breast the familiar tumult; and it seemed as if there rose in

his ears a sound of music, and the moon seemed still to shine upon a sea, but the sea was changed, and the

Casino towered from among lamplit gardens, and the money clinked on the green board. "Good God!" he

thought, "am I gambling again?" He looked the more curiously about the sandy table. He and Mac had played

and won like gamblers; the mingled gold and silver lay by their places in the heap. Amalu and Hemstead had

each more than held their own, but Tommy was cruel far to leeward, and the captain was reduced to perhaps

"Give that man a glass of Buckle," said some one, and a fresh bottle was opened, and the game went

Carthew was himself too heavy a winner to withdraw or to say more; and all the rest of the night he must

look on at the progress of this folly, and make gallant attempts to lose with the not uncommon consequence

of winning more. The first dawn of the 11th February found him wellnigh desperate. It chanced he was then

dealer, and still winning. He had just dealt a round of many tens; every one had staked heavily; the captain

had put up all that remained to him, twelve pounds in gold and a few dollars; and Carthew, looking privately

"See here, you fellows," he broke out, "this is a sickening business, and I'm done with it for one." So saying,

The company stared and murmured in mere amazement; but Mac stepped gallantly to his support.

"We've had enough of it, I do believe," said he. "But of course it was all fun, and here's my counters back. All

counters in, boys!" and he began to pour his winnings into the chest, which stood fortunately near him.

Carthew stepped across and wrung him by the hand. "I'll never forget this," he said.

"And what are ye going to do with the Highway boy and the plumber?" inquired Mac, in a low tone of voice.

"That's true!" said Carthew aloud. "Amalu and Hemstead, count your winnings; Tommy and I pay that."

It was carried without speech: the pair glad enough to receive their winnings, it mattered not from whence;

and Tommy, who had lost about five hundred pounds, delighted with the compromise.

"I beg your pardon, plumber. I'm sure ye mean well," returned the Irishman, "but you'd better shut your face,

for I'm not that kind of a man. If I t'ought I had wan that money fair, there's never a soul here could get it

from me. But I t'ought it was in fun; that was my mistake, ye see; and there's no man big enough upon this

island to give a present to my mother's son. So there's my opinion to ye, plumber, and you can put it in your

"Well, I will say, Mac, you're a gentleman," said Carthew, as he helped him to shovel back his winnings into

The captain had sat somewhile with his face in his hands: now he rose mechanically, shaking and stumbling

like a drunkard after a debauch. But as he rose, his face was altered, and his voice rang out over the isle,

All turned at the cry, and there, in the wild light of the morning, heading straight for Midway Reef, was the

The ship which thus appeared before the castaways had long "tramped" the ocean, wandering from one port

to another as freights offered. She was two years out from London, by the Cape of Good Hope, India, and the

Archipelago; and was now bound for San Francisco in the hope of working homeward round the Horn. Her

captain was one Jacob Trent. He had retired some five years before to a suburban cottage, a patch of

cabbages, a gig, and the conduct of what he called a Bank. The name appears to have been misleading.

Borrowers were accustomed to choose works of art and utility in the front shop; loaves of sugar and bolts of

broadcloth were deposited in pledge; and it was a part of the manager's duty to dash in his gig on Saturday

evenings from one small retailer's to another, and to annex in each the bulk of the week's takings. His was

thus an active life, and to a man of the type of a rat, filled with recondite joys. An unexpected loss, a law suit,

and the unintelligent commentary of the judge upon the bench, combined to disgust him of the business. I

was so extraordinarily fortunate as to find, in an old newspaper, a report of the proceedings in Lyall v. The

Cardiff Mutual Accommodation Banking Co. "I confess I fail entirely to understand the nature of the

business," the judge had remarked, while Trent was being examined in chief; a little after, on fuller

information"They call it a bank," he had opined, "but it seems to me to be an unlicensed pawnshop"; and

he wound up with this appalling allocution: "Mr. Trent, I must put you on your guard; you must be very

careful, or we shall see you here again." In the inside of a week the captain disposed of the bank, the cottage,

and the gig and horse; and to sea again in the Flying Scud, where he did well and gave high satisfaction to his

owners. But the glory clung to him; he was a plain sailor man, he said, but he could never long allow you to

His mate, Elias Goddedaal, was a huge viking of a man, six feet three and of proportionate mass, strong,

sober, industrious, musical, and sentimental. He ran continually over into Swedish melodies, chiefly in the

minor. He had paid nine dollars to hear Patti; to hear Nilsson, he had deserted a ship and two months' wages;

and he was ready at any time to walk ten miles for a good concert, or seven to a reasonable play. On board he

had three treasures: a canary bird, a concertina, and a blinding copy of the works of Shakespeare. He had a

gift, peculiarly Scandinavian, of making friends at sight: an elemental innocence commended him; he was

Of one more of the crew, some image lives. This was a foremast hand out of the Clyde, of the name of

Brown. A small, dark, thickset creature, with dog's eyes, of a disposition incomparably mild and harmless, he

knocked about seas and cities, the uncomplaining whiptop of one vice. "The drink is my trouble, ye see," he

said to Carthew shyly; "and it's the more shame to me because I'm come of very good people at Bowling,

down the wa'er." The letter that so much affected Nares, in case the reader should remember it, was addressed

Such was the ship that now carried joy into the bosoms of the castaways. After the fatigue and the bestial

emotions of their night of play, the approach of salvation shook them from all selfcontrol. Their hands

trembled, their eyes shone, they laughed and shouted like children as they cleared their camp: and some one

beginning to whistle _Marching Through Georgia,_ the remainder of the packing was conducted, amidst a

thousand interruptions, to these martial strains. But the strong head of Wicks was only partly turned.

"Boys," he said, "easy all! We're going aboard of a ship of which we don't know nothing; we've got a chest of

specie, and seeing the weight, we can't turn to and deny it. Now, suppose she was fishy; suppose it was some

kind of a Bully Hayes business! It's my opinion we'd better be on hand with the pistols."

Every man of the party but Hemstead had some kind of a revolver; these were accordingly loaded and

disposed about the persons of the castaways, and the packing was resumed and finished in the same rapturous

spirit as it was begun. The sun was not yet ten degrees above the eastern sea, but the brig was already close in

and hove to, before they had launched the boat and sped, shouting at the oars, towards the passage.

It was blowing fresh outside, with a strong send of sea. The spray flew in the oarsmen's faces. They saw the

Union Jack blow abroad from the Flying Scud, the men clustered at the rail, the cook in the galley door, the

captain on the quarterdeck with a pith helmet and binoculars. And the whole familiar business, the comfort,

company, and safety of a ship, heaving nearer at each stroke, maddened them with joy.

Wicks was the first to catch the line, and swarm on board, helping hands grabbing him as he came and

"Captain, sir, I suppose?" he said, turning to the hard old man in the pith helmet.

"Well, I'm Captain Kirkup, and this is the crew of the Sydney schooner Currency Lass, dismasted at sea

"Ay, ay," said Trent. "Well, you're all right now. Lucky for you I saw your signal. I didn't know I was so near

this beastly island, there must be a drift to the south'ard here; and when I came on deck this morning at eight

It had been agreed that, while Wicks was to board the ship and do the civil, the rest were to remain in the

whaleboat and see the treasure safe. A tackle was passed down to them; to this they made fast the invaluable

chest, and gave the word to heave. But the unexpected weight brought the hand at the tackle to a stand; two

"'Vast heaving!" he cried sharply; and then to Wicks: "What's that? I don't ever remember to have seen a

Trent looked at him sharply. "Here, let go that chest again, Mr. Goddedaal," he commanded, "shove the boat

"Nothing, I daresay," returned Trent. "But you'll allow it's a queer thing when a boat turns up in midocean

with half a ton of specie,and everybody armed," he added, pointing to Wicks's pocket. "Your boat will lay

"O, if that's all!" said Wicks. "My log and papers are as right as the mail; nothing fishy about us." And he

hailed his friends in the boat, bidding them have patience, and turned to follow Captain Trent.

"This way, Captain Kirkup," said the latter. "And don't blame a man for too much caution; no offence

intended; and these China rivers shake a fellow's nerve. All I want is just to see you're what you say you are;

it's only my duty, sir, and what you would do yourself in the circumstances. I've not always been a

shipcaptain: I was a banker once, and I tell you that's the trade to learn caution in. You have to keep your

weathereye lifting Saturday nights." And with a dry, businesslike cordiality, he produced a bottle of gin.

The captains pledged each other; the papers were overhauled; the tale of Topelius and the trade was told in

appreciative ears and cemented their acquaintance. Trent's suspicions, thus finally disposed of, were

succeeded by a fit of profound thought, during which he sat lethargic and stern, looking at and drumming on

"What sort of a place is it inside?" inquired Trent, sudden as though Wicks had touched a spring.

"It's a good enough lagoona few horses' heads, but nothing to mention," answered Wicks.

"I've a good mind to go in," said Trent. "I was new rigged in China; it's given very bad, and I'm getting

frightened for my sticks. We could set it up as good as new in a day. For I daresay your lot would turn to and

They returned on deck; Wicks cried the news to the Currency Lasses; the foretopsail was filled again, and the

brig ran into the lagoon lively, the whaleboat dancing in her wake, and came to single anchor off Middle

Brooks Island before eight. She was boarded by the castaways, breakfast was served, the baggage slung on

board and piled in the waist, and all hands turned to upon the rigging. All day the work continued, the two

crews rivalling each other in expense of strength. Dinner was served on deck, the officers messing aft under

the slack of the spanker, the men fraternising forward. Trent appeared in excellent spirits, served out grog to

all hands, opened a bottle of Cape wine for the aftertable, and obliged his guests with many details of the

life of a financier in Cardiff. He had been forty years at sea, had five times suffered shipwreck, was once nine

months the prisoner of a pepper rajah, and had seen service under fire in Chinese rivers; but the only thing he

cared to talk of, the only thing of which he was vain, or with which he thought it possible to interest a

The afternoon spell told cruelly on the Currency Lasses. Already exhausted as they were with sleeplessness

and excitement, they did the last hours of this violent employment on bare nerves; and when Trent was at last

satisfied with the condition of his rigging, expected eagerly the word to put to sea. But the captain seemed in

no hurry. He went and walked by himself softly, like a man in thought. Presently he hailed Wicks.

"Well, then, you won't mind if I ask the lot of you down to tea in the cabin?" asked Trent.

Wicks was amazed, but he naturally ventured no remark; and a little after, the six Currency Lasses sat down

with Trent and Goddedaal to a spread of marmalade, butter, toast, sardines, tinned tongue, and steaming tea.

The food was not very good, and I have no doubt Nares would have reviled it, but it was manna to the

castaways. Goddedaal waited on them with a kindness far before courtesy, a kindness like that of some old,

honest countrywoman in her farm. It was remembered afterwards that Trent took little share in these

attentions, but sat much absorbed in thought, and seemed to remember and forget the presence of his guests

"Clear out!" said he, and watched him till he had disappeared in the stair. "Now, gentlemen," he went on, "I

understand you're a jointstock sort of crew, and that's why I've had you all down; for there's a point I want

made clear. You see what sort of a ship this isa good ship, though I say it, and you see what the rations

There was a hurried murmur of approval, but curiosity for what was coming next prevented an articulate

"Well," continued Trent, making bread pills and looking hard at the middle of the table, "I'm glad of course to

be able to give you a passage to 'Frisco; one sailorman should help another, that's my motto. But when you

want a thing in this world, you generally always have to pay for it." He laughed a brief, joyless laugh. "I have

At the words, Goddedaal, who sat next to him, touched him with his elbow, and the two mates exchanged a

significant look. The character of Captain Trent was given and taken in that silent second.

"In reason?" repeated the captain of the brig. "I was waiting for that. Reason's between two people, and

there's only one here. I'm the judge; I'm reason. If you want an advance you have to pay for it"he hastily

corrected himself"If you want a passage in my ship, you have to pay my price," he substituted. "That's

The captain made bread pills. "If I were like you," he said, "when you got hold of that merchant in the

Gilberts, I might surprise you. You had your chance then; seems to me it's mine now. Turn about's fair play.

What kind of mercy did you have on that Gilbert merchant?" he cried, with a sudden stridency. "Not that I

blame you. All's fair in love and business," and he laughed again, a little frosty giggle.

"I say it's mine, sir!" reiterated Trent, like a man trying to be angry. "And I tell you all, if I was a driver like

what you are, I would take the lot. But there's two thousand pounds there that don't belong to you, and I'm an

honest man. Give me the two thousand that's yours, and I'll give you a passage to the coast, and land every

manjack of you in 'Frisco with fifteen pounds in his pocket, and the captain here with twentyfive."

"Am I?" said Trent. "Please yourselves. You're under no compulsion. This ship's mine, but there's that Brooks

Captain Trent laughed the third time. "Starve? I defy you to," said he. "I'll sell you all the provisions you

"I beg your pardon, sir," said Mac, "but my case is by itself I'm working me passage; I got no share in that

two thousand pounds nor nothing in my pockut; and I'll be glad to know what you have to say to me?"

"I ain't a hard man," said Trent. "That shall make no difference. I'll take you with the rest, only of course you

The impudence was so extreme and startling, that all breathed deep, and Goddedaal raised up his face and

But Mac was more articulate. "And you're what ye call a British sayman, I suppose? the sorrow in your guts!"

"One more such word, and I clap you in irons!" said Trent, rising gleefully at the face of opposition.

"And where would I be the while you were doin' ut?" asked Mac. "After you and your rigging, too! Ye ould

His voice did not even rise as he uttered the threat; no man present, Trent least of all, expected that which

followed. The Irishman's hand rose suddenly from below the table, an open claspknife balanced on the

palm; there was a movement swift as conjuring; Trent started half to his feet, turning a little as he rose so as

to escape the table, and the movement was his bane. The missile struck him in the jugular; he fell forward,

The suddenness of the attack and the catastrophe, the instant change from peace to war and from life to death,

held all men spellbound. Yet a moment they sat about the table staring openmouthed upon the prostrate

captain and the flowing blood. The next, Goddedaal had leaped to his feet, caught up the stool on which he

had been sitting, and swung it high in air, a man transfigured, roaring (as he stood) so that men's ears were

stunned with it. There was no thought of battle in the Currency Lasses; none drew his weapon; all huddled

helplessly from before the face of the baresark Scandinavian. His first blow sent Mac to ground with a broken

arm. His second bashed out the brains of Hemstead. He turned from one to another, menacing and trumpeting

like a wounded elephant, exulting in his rage. But there was no counsel, no light of reason, in that ecstasy of

battle; and he shied from the pursuit of victory to hail fresh blows upon the supine Hemstead, so that the stool

was shattered and the cabin rang with their violence. The sight of that postmortem cruelty recalled Carthew

to the life of instinct, and his revolver was in hand and he had aimed and fired before he knew. The

earbursting sound of the report was accompanied by a yell of pain; the colossus paused, swayed, tottered,

In the instant silence that succeeded, the sound of feet pounding on the deck and in the companion leaped into

hearing; and a face, that of the sailor Holdorsen, appeared below the bulkheads in the cabin doorway.

"Pistols!" he cried, and charged at the companion, Wicks at his heels, Tommy and Amalu following. They

trod the body of Holdorsen underfoot, and flew upstairs and forth into the dusky blaze of a sunset red as

blood. The numbers were still equal, but the Flying Scuds dreamed not of defence, and fled with one accord

for the forecastle scuttle. Brown was first in flight; he disappeared below unscathed; the Chinaman followed

A fierce composure settled upon Wicks and Carthew, their fighting second wind. They posted Tommy at the

fore and Amalu at the main to guard the masts and shrouds, and going themselves into the waist, poured out a

box of cartridges on deck and filled the chambers. The poor devils aloft bleated aloud for mercy. But the hour

of any mercy was gone by; the cup was brewed and must be drunken to the dregs; since so many had fallen

all must fall. The light was bad, the cheap revolvers fouled and carried wild, the screaming wretches were

swift to flatten themselves against the masts and yards or find a momentary refuge in the hanging sails. The

fell business took long, but it was done at last. Hardy the Londoner was shot on the foreroyal yard, and hung

horribly suspended in the brails. Wallen, the other, had his jaw broken on the maintopgallant crosstrees, and

This had been bad enough, but worse remained behind. There was still Brown in the forepeak. Tommy, with

a sudden clamour of weeping, begged for his life. "One man can't hurt us," he sobbed. "We can't go on with

this. I spoke to him at dinner. He's an awful decent little cad. It can't be done. Nobody can go into that place

"One left, and we all hang," said Wicks. "Brown must go the same road." The big man was deadly white and

trembled like an aspen; and he had no sooner finished speaking, than he went to the ship's side and vomited.

"We can never do it if we wait," said Carthew. "Now or never," and he marched towards the scuttle.

But Carthew flung him off, and stepped down the ladder, his heart rising with disgust and shame. The

He groped in the bunks: they were all empty. Then he moved towards the forepeak, which was hampered

"Here, sir," answered a shaking voice; and the poor invisible caitiff called on him by name, and poured forth

out of the darkness an endless, garrulous appeal for mercy. A sense of danger, of daring, had alone nerved

Carthew to enter the forecastle; and here was the enemy crying and pleading like a frightened child. His

obsequious "Here, sir," his horrid fluency of obtestation, made the murder tenfold more revolting. Twice

Carthew raised the pistol, once he pressed the trigger (or thought he did) with all his might, but no explosion

followed; and with that the lees of his courage ran quite out, and he turned and fled from before his victim.

Wicks sat on the fore hatch, raised the face of a man of seventy, and looked a wordless question. Carthew

shook his head. With such composure as a man displays marching towards the gallows, Wicks arose, walked

to the scuttle, and went down. Brown thought it was Carthew returning, and discovered himself, half crawling

from his shelter, with another incoherent burst of pleading. Wicks emptied his revolver at the voice, which

broke into mouselike whimperings and groans. Silence succeeded, and the murderer ran on deck like one

The other three were now all gathered on the fore hatch, and Wicks took his place beside them without

question asked or answered. They sat close, like children in the dark, and shook each other with their shaking.

The dusk continued to fall; and there was no sound but the beating of the surf and the occasional hiccup of a

Wicks started and looked aloft with the trick of all seamen, and shuddered as he saw the hanging figure on

It was Amalu who volunteered, climbed to the very truck, swept the fading horizon, and announced nothing

"Sleep!" echoed Carthew; and it seemed as if the whole of Shakespeare's _Macbeth_ thundered at the gallop

"Well, then, we can't sit and chitter here," said Wicks, "till we've cleaned ship; and I can't turn to till I've had

Amalu passed him a box, and he went aft and down the companion and into the cabin, stumbling upon

"Well?" asked Mac, for it was he who still survived in that shambles of a cabin.

The gin was found in the dead captain's cabin; it was brought on deck, and all hands had a dram, and attacked

their farther task. The night was come, the moon would not be up for hours; a lamp was set on the main hatch

to light Amalu as he washed down decks; and the galley lantern was taken to guide the others in their

graveyard business. Holdorsen, Hemstead, Trent, and Goddedaal were first disposed of, the last still breathing

as he went over the side; Wallen followed; and then Wicks, steadied by the gin, went aloft with a boathook

and succeeded in dislodging Hardy. The Chinaman was their last task; he seemed to be lightheaded, talked

aloud in his unknown language as they brought him up, and it was only with the splash of his sinking body

that the gibberish ceased. Brown, by common consent, was left alone. Flesh and blood could go no further.

All this time they had been drinking undiluted gin like water; three bottles stood broached in different

quarters; and none passed without a gulp. Tommy collapsed against the mainmast; Wicks fell on his face on

the poop ladder and moved no more; Amalu had vanished unobserved. Carthew was the last afoot: he stood

swaying at the break of the poop, and the lantern, which he still carried, swung with his movement. His head

hummed; it swarmed with broken thoughts; memory of that day's abominations flared up and died down

within him like the light of a lamp in a strong draught. And then he had a drunkard's inspiration.

The absence of Holdorsen's body brought him to a stand. He stood and stared at the empty floor, and then

remembered and smiled. From the captain's room he took the open case with one dozen and three bottles of

gin, put the lantern inside, and walked precariously forth. Mac was once more conscious, his eyes haggard,

his face drawn with pain and flushed with fever; and Carthew remembered he had never been seen to, had

lain there helpless, and was so to lie all night, injured, perhaps dying. But it was now too late; reason had now

fled from that silent ship. If Carthew could get on deck again, it was as much as he could hope; and casting

on the unfortunate a glance of pity, the tragic drunkard shouldered his way up the companion, dropped the

With the first colour in the east, Carthew awoke and sat up. A while he gazed at the scroll of the morning

bank and the spars and hanging canvas of the brig, like a man who wakes in a strange bed, with a child's

simplicity of wonder. He wondered above all what ailed him, what he had lost, what disfavour had been done

him, which he knew he should resent, yet had forgotten. And then, like a river bursting through a dam, the

truth rolled on him its instantaneous volume: his memory teemed with speech and pictures that he should

never again forget; and he sprang to his feet, stood a moment hand to brow, and began to walk violently to

and fro by the companion. As he walked, he wrung his hands. "GodGodGod," he kept saying, with no

The time may have been long or short, it was perhaps minutes, perhaps only seconds, ere he awoke to find

himself observed, and saw the captain sitting up and watching him over the break of the poop, a strange

blindness as of fever in his eyes, a haggard knot of corrugations on his brow. Cain saw himself in a mirror.

For a flash they looked upon each other, and then glanced guiltily aside; and Carthew fled from the eye of his

An hour went by, while the day came brighter, and the sun rose and drank up the clouds: an hour of silence in

the ship, an hour of agony beyond narration for the sufferers. Brown's gabbling prayers, the cries of the

sailors in the rigging, strains of the dead Hemstead's minstrelsy, ran together in Carthew's mind, with

sickening iteration. He neither acquitted nor condemned himself: he did not think, he suffered. In the bright

water into which he stared, the pictures changed and were repeated: the baresark rage of Goddedaal; the

bloodred light of the sunset into which they had run forth; the face of the babbling Chinaman as they cast

him over; the face of the captain, seen a moment since, as he awoke from drunkenness into remorse. And

Then were fulfilled many sayings, and the weakest of these condemned brought relief and healing to the

others. Amalu the drudge awoke (like the rest) to sickness of body and distress of mind; but the habit of

obedience ruled in that simple spirit, and appalled to be so late, he went direct into the galley, kindled the fire,

and began to get breakfast. At the rattle of dishes, the snapping of the fire, and the thin smoke that went up

straight into the air, the spell was lifted. The condemned felt once more the good dry land of habit under foot;

they touched again the familiar guideropes of sanity; they were restored to a sense of the blessed revolution

and return of all things earthly. The captain drew a bucket of water and began to bathe. Tommy sat up,

watched him awhile, and slowly followed his example; and Carthew, remembering his last thoughts of the

Mac was awake; perhaps had not slept. Over his head Goddedaal's canary twittered shrilly from its cage.

"Me arrum's broke," returned Mac; "but I can stand that. It's this place I can't abide. I was coming on deck

"Stay where you are, though," said Carthew. "It's deadly hot above, and there's no wind. I'll wash out

this" and he paused, seeking a word and not finding one for the grisly foulness of the cabin.

"Faith, I'll be obliged to ye, then," replied the Irishman. He spoke mild and meek, like a sick child with its

mother. There was now no violence in the violent man; and as Carthew fetched a bucket and swab and the

steward's sponge, and began to cleanse the field of battle, he alternately watched him or shut his eyes and

sighed like a man near fainting. "I have to ask all your pardons," he began again presently, "and the more

shame to me as I got ye into trouble and couldn't do nothing when it came. Ye saved me life, sir; ye're a clane

"For God's sake, don't talk of it!" cried Carthew. "It can't be talked of; you don't know what it was. It was

nothing down here; they fought. On deckO, my God!" And Carthew, with the bloody sponge pressed to his

"Kape cool, Mr. Cart'ew. It's done now," said Mac; "and ye may bless God ye're not in pain and helpless in

There was no more said by one or other, and the cabin was pretty well cleansed when a stroke on the ship's

bell summoned Carthew to breakfast. Tommy had been busy in the meanwhile; he had hauled the whaleboat

close aboard, and already lowered into it a small keg of beef that he found ready broached beside the galley

"We have a shipful of stores to draw upon," he said. "Well, what are we staying for? Let's get off at once for

"A broken arm?" repeated the captain. "That all? I'll set it after breakfast. I thought he was dead like the rest.

That madman hit out like" and there, at the evocation of the battle, his voice ceased and the talk died

"I beg your pardon, captain," replied Mac; "but the firrst thing ye got to do is to get this ship to sea. We'll talk

"Don't be deceivin' yourself," said Mac. "If ye want a ship, divil a one'll look near ye in six year; but if ye

"That's what I say," cried Tommy; "that's what I call sense! Let's stock that whaleboat and be off."

"I don't think of it at all," said Wicks. "We've a smartlooking brig under foot; that's all the whaleboat I

"Excuse me!" cried Tommy. "That's childish talk. You've got a brig, to be sure, and what use is she? You

"For the port of Davy Jones's Locker, my son," replied the captain. "This brig's going to be lost at sea. I'll tell

you where, too, and that's about forty miles to windward of Kauai. We're going to stay by her till she's down;

and once the masts are under, she's the Flying Scud no more, and we never heard of such a brig; and it's the

crew of the schooner Currency Lass that comes ashore in the boat, and takes the first chance to Sydney."

"Captain dear, that's the first Christian word I've heard of ut!" cried Mac. "And now, just let me arrum be,

"I'm as anxious as yourself, Mac," returned Wicks; "but there's not wind enough to swear by. So let's see your

The arm was set and splinted; the body of Brown fetched from the forepeak, where it lay still and cold, and

committed to the waters of the lagoon; and the washing of the cabin rudely finished. All these were done ere

midday; and it was past three when the first cat'spaw ruffled the lagoon, and the wind came in a dry squall,

The interval was passed by all in feverish impatience, and by one of the party in secret and extreme concern

of mind. Captain Wicks was a foreandaft sailor; he could take a schooner through a Scotch reel, felt her

mouth and divined her temper like a rider with a horse; she, on her side, recognising her master and following

his wishes like a dog. But by a not very unusual train of circumstance, the man's dexterity was partial and

circumscribed. On a schooner's deck he was Rembrandt or (at the least) Mr. Whistler; on board a brig he was

Pierre Grassou. Again and again in the course of the morning, he had reasoned out his policy and rehearsed

his orders; and ever with the same depression and weariness. It was guesswork; it was chance; the ship

might behave as he expected, and might not; suppose she failed him, he stood there helpless, beggared of all

the proved resources of experience. Had not all hands been so weary, had he not feared to communicate his

own misgivings, he could have towed her out. But these reasons sufficed, and the most he could do was to

take all possible precautions. Accordingly he had Carthew aft, explained what was to be done with anxious

"It's the rottenest kind of rig," the captain admitted: "all blooming pocket handkerchiefs! And not one

sailorman on deck! Ah, if she'd only been a brigantine, now! But it's lucky the passage is so plain; there's no

manoeuvring to mention. We get under way before the wind, and run right so till we begin to get foul of the

island; then we haul our wind and lie as near southeast as may be till we're on that line; 'bout ship there and

"Yes, I see the idea," replied Carthew, rather dismally, and the two incompetents studied for a long time in

But the time came when these rehearsals must be put in practice. The sails were lowered, and all hands

heaved the anchor short. The whaleboat was then cut adrift, the upper topsails and the spanker set, the yards

It was done, and the brig still hung enchanted. Wicks, his head full of a schooner's mainsail, turned his mind

to the spanker. First he hauled in the sheet, and then he hauled it out, with no result.

"Brail the damned thing up!" he bawled at last, with a red face. "There ain't no sense in it."

It was the last stroke of bewilderment for the poor captain, that he had no sooner brailed up the spanker than

the vessel came before the wind. The laws of nature seemed to him to be suspended; he was like a man in a

world of pantomime tricks; the cause of any result, and the probable result of any action, equally concealed

from him. He was the more careful not to shake the nerve of his amateur assistants. He stood there with a face

like a torch; but he gave his orders with aplomb; and indeed, now the ship was under weigh, supposed his

The lower topsails and courses were then set, and the brig began to walk the water like a thing of life, her

forefoot discoursing music, the birds flying and crying over her spars. Bit by bit the passage began to open

and the blue sea to show between the flanking breakers on the reef; bit by bit, on the starboard bow, the low

land of the islet began to heave closer aboard. The yards were braced up, the spanker sheet hauled aft again;

the brig was close hauled, lay down to her work like a thing in earnest, and had soon drawn near to the point

Wicks took the wheel himself, swelling with success. He kept the brig full to give her heels, and began to

bark his orders: "Ready about. Helm's alee. Tacks and sheets. Mainsail haul." And then the fatal words:

To stay a squarerigged ship is an affair of knowledge and swift sight; and a man used to the succinct

evolutions of a schooner will always tend to be too hasty with a brig. It was so now. The order came too

soon; the topsails set flat aback; the ship was in irons. Even yet, had the helm been reversed, they might have

saved her. But to think of a sternboard at all, far more to think of profiting by one, were foreign to the

schoonersailor's mind. Wicks made haste instead to wear ship, a manoeuvre for which room was wanting,

and the Flying Scud took ground on a bank of sand and coral about twenty minutes before five.

Wicks was no hand with a squarerigger, and he had shown it. But he was a sailor and a born captain of men

for all homely purposes, where intellect is not required and an eye in a man's head and a heart under his

jacket will suffice. Before the others had time to understand the misfortune, he was bawling fresh orders, and

"She lies lovely," he remarked, and ordered out a boat with the starboard anchor.

"I won't set a hand to such tomfoolery for one," replied Tommy. "I'm dead beat." He went and sat down

"The tide's flowing!" cried the captain. "You wouldn't have me miss a rising tide?"

"And I'll tell you what," added Carthew, "the breeze is failing fast, and the sun will soon be down. We may

"I don't deny it," answered Wicks, and stood awhile as if in thought. "But what I can't make out," he began

again, with agitation, "what I can't make out is what you're made of! To stay in this place is beyond me.

The others looked upon him with horrified surprise. This fall of their chief pillarthis irrational passion in

the practical man, suddenly barred out of his true sphere, the sphere of action shocked and daunted them.

But it gave to another and unseen hearer the chance for which he had been waiting. Mac, on the striking of

"Captain Wicks," said he, "it's me that brought this trouble on the lot of ye. I'm sorry for ut, I ask all your

pardons, and if there's any one can say 'I forgive ye,' it'll make my soul the lighter."

Wicks stared upon the man in amaze; then his selfcontrol returned to him. "We're all in glass houses here,"

he said; "we ain't going to turn to and throw stones. I forgive you, sure enough; and much good may it do

"I thank ye for ut, and 'tis done like gentlemen," said Mac. "But there's another thing I have upon my mind. I

It appeared they were; it seemed a small thing for the Protestant religion to rejoice in!

"Well, that's as it should be," continued Mac. "And why shouldn't we say the Lord's Prayer? There can't be no

He had the same quiet, pleading, childlike way with him as in the morning; and the others accepted his

So the prayer was said to the accompaniment of the surf and seabirds, and all rose refreshed and felt lightened

of a load. Up to then, they had cherished their guilty memories in private, or only referred to them in the heat

of a moment and fallen immediately silent. Now they had faced their remorse in company, and the worst

seemed over. Nor was it only that. But the petition "Forgive us our trespasses," falling in so apposite after

they had themselves forgiven the immediate author of their miseries, sounded like an absolution.

Tea was taken on deck in the time of the sunset, and not long after the five castawayscastaways once

Day dawned windless and hot. Their slumbers had been too profound to be refreshing, and they woke listless,

and sat up, and stared about them with dull eyes. Only Wicks, smelling a hard day's work ahead, was more

alert. He went first to the well, sounded it once and then a second time, and stood awhile with a grim look, so

that all could see he was dissatisfied. Then he shook himself, stripped to the buff, clambered on the rail, drew

himself up and raised his arms to plunge. The dive was never taken. He stood instead transfixed, his eyes on

In a trice they were all swarming aloft, the nude captain leading with the glass.

On the northern horizon was a finger of grey smoke, straight in the windless air like a point of admiration.

"She's truck down," he replied; "no telling yet. By the way the smoke builds, she must be heading right here."

"She might be a China mail," returned Wicks, "and she might be a blooming manofwar, come to look for

He was the first on deck, as he had been the first aloft, handed down the ensign, bent it again to the signal

"Now hear me," he said, jumping into his trousers, "and everything I say you grip on to. If that's a

manofwar, she'll be in a tearing hurry; all these ships are what don't do nothing and have their expenses

paid. That's our chance; for we'll go with them, and they won't take the time to look twice or to ask a

question. I'm Captain Trent; Carthew, you're Goddedaal; Tommy, you're Hardy; Mac's Brown; Amalu

Hold hard! we can't make a Chinaman of him! Ah Wing must have deserted; Amalu stowed away; and I

turned him to as cook, and was never at the bother to sign him. Catch the idea? Say your names."

"What were the names of the other two?" he asked. "Him Carthew shot in the companion, and the one I

"Well, they're drowned," continued Wicks; "drowned alongside trying to lower a boat. We had a bit of a

squall last night: that's how we got ashore." He ran and squinted at the compass. "Squall out of

nor'nor'westhalfwest; blew hard; every one in a mess, falls jammed, and Holdorsen and Wallen spilt

overboard. See? Clear your blooming heads!" He was in his jacket now, and spoke with a feverish impatience

"Safe?" bellowed the captain. "We're standing on the drop, you mooncalf! If that ship's bound for China

(which she don't look to be), we're lost as soon as we arrive; if she's bound the other way, she comes from

China, don't she? Well, if there's a man on board of her that ever clapped eyes on Trent or any blooming hand

out of this brig, we'll all be in irons in two hours. Safe! no, it ain't safe; it's a beggarly last chance to shave the

"Hadn't we a hundred times better stay by the brig?" cried Carthew. "They would give us a hand to float her

"You'll make me waste this holy day in chattering!" cried Wicks. "Look here, when I sounded the well this

morning, there was two foot of water there against eight inches last night. What's wrong? I don't know; might

be nothing; might be the worst kind of smash. And then, there we are in for a thousand miles in an open boat,

"But it may be nothing, and anyway their carpenters are bound to help us repair her," argued Carthew.

"Moses Murphy!" cried the captain. "How did she strike? Bows on, I believe. And she's down by the head

now. If any carpenter comes tinkering here, where'll he go first? Down in the forepeak, I suppose! And then,

how about all that blood among the chandlery? You would think you were a lot of members of Parliament

discussing Plimsoll; and you're just a pack of murderers with the halter round your neck. Any other ass got

any time to waste? No? Thank God for that! Now, all hands! I'm going below, and I leave you here on deck.

You get the boat cover off that boat; then you turn to and open the specie chest. There are five of us; get five

chests, and divide the specie equal among the fiveput it at the bottomand go at it like tigers. Get

blankets, or canvas, or clothes, so it won't rattle. It'll make five pretty heavy chests, but we can't help that.

And he cast another glance at the smoke, and hurried below with Carthew at his heels.

The logs were found in the main cabin behind the canary's cage; two of them, one kept by Trent, one by

"There's luck for youno more can I!" cried the captain. "Hullo! here's worse yet, here's this Goddedaal up

to date; he must have filled it in before supper. See for yourself: 'Smoke observed.Captain Kirkup and five

hands of the schooner Currency Lass.' Ah! this is better," he added, turning to the other log. "The old man

ain't written anything for a clear fortnight. We'll dispose of your log altogether, Mr. Goddedaal, and stick to

the old man'sto mine, I mean; only I ain't going to write it up, for reasons of my own. You are. You're

"You never kept one," replied the captain. "Gross neglect of duty. You'll catch it."

"And the change of writing?" resumed Carthew. "You began; why do you stop and why do I come in? And

"An accident?" repeated Carthew. "It don't sound natural. What kind of an accident?"

"That kind of an accident," said he. "There's a way to draw to windward of most difficulties, if you've a head

on your shoulders." He began to bind up his hand with a handkerchief, glancing the while over Goddedaal's

log. "Hullo!" he said, "this'll never do for usthis is an impossible kind of a yarn. Here, to begin with, is this

Captain Trent trying some fancy course, leastways he's a thousand miles to south'ard of the great circle. And

here, it seems, he was close up with this island on the sixth, sails all these days, and is close up with it again

"So it is; and what the better are we for that, if it don't look so?" cried the captain, sounding unwonted depths

of art criticism. "Here! try and see if you can't tie this bandage; I'm bleeding like a pig."

As Carthew sought to adjust the handkerchief, his patient seemed sunk in a deep muse, his eye veiled, his

"I have it," he broke out, and ran on deck. "Here, boys!" he cried, "we didn't come here on the eleventh; we

came in here on the evening of the sixth, and lay here ever since becalmed. As soon as you've done with these

chests," he added, "you can turn to and roll out beef and water breakers; it'll look more shipshapelike as if

And he was back again in a moment, cooking the new log. Goddedaal's was then carefully destroyed, and a

hunt began for the ship's papers. Of all the agonies of that breathless morning, this was perhaps the most

poignant. Here and there the two men searched, cursing, cannoning together, streaming with heat, freezing

with terror. News was bawled down to them that the ship was indeed a manofwar, that she was close up,

that she was lowering a boat; and still they sought in vain. By what accident they missed the iron box with the

money and accounts, is hard to fancy; but they did. And the vital documents were found at last in the pocket

Wicks smiled for the first time that morning. "None too soon," said he. "And now for it! Take these others for

"They're the Kirkup and Currency Lass papers," he replied. "Pray God we need 'em again!"

"Boat's inside the lagoon, sir," hailed down Mac, who sat by the skylight doing sentry while the others

"My God!" cried Carthew, with a gulp, "we can't leave that wretched bird to starve. It was poor Goddedaal's."

An ugly brute of a modern manofwar lay just without the reef, now quite inert, now giving a flap or two

with her propeller. Nearer hand, and just within, a big white boat came skimming to the stroke of many oars,

"One word more," said Wicks, after he had taken in the scene. "Mac, you've been in China ports? All right;

then you can speak for yourself. The rest of you I kept on board all the time we were in Hongkong, hoping

you would desert; but you fooled me and stuck to the brig. That'll make your lying come easier."

The boat was now close at hand; a boy in the stern sheets was the only officer, and a poor one plainly, for the

"Thank God, they've only sent a kind of a middy!" ejaculated Wicks. "Here you, Hardy, stand for'ard! I'll

have no deck hands on my quarterdeck," he cried, and the reproof braced the whole crew like a cold douche.

The boat came alongside with perfect neatness, and the boy officer stepped on board, where he was

"Yes, sir," said Wicks. "Trent is my name, and this is the Flying Scud of Hull."

"If you'll step aft with me here, I'll tell you all there is of it," said Wicks.

"So would you, perhaps, if you had been in the same berth," returned Wicks; and he told the whole story of

the rotten water, the long calm, the squall, the seamen drowned; glibly and hotly; talking, with his head in the

lion's mouth, like one pleading in the dock. I heard the same tale from the same narrator in the saloon in San

Francisco; and even then his bearing filled me with suspicion. But the officer was no observer.

"Well, the captain is in no end of a hurry," said he; "but I was instructed to give you all the assistance in my

power, and signal back for another boat if more hands were necessary. What can I do for you?"

"O, we won't keep you no time," replied Wicks cheerily. "We're all ready, bless youmen's chests,

"Do you mean to leave her?" cried the officer. "She seems to me to lie nicely; can't we get your ship off?"

"So we could, and no mistake; but how we're to keep her afloat's another question. Her bows is stove in,"

The officer coloured to the eyes. He was incompetent and knew he was; thought he was already detected, and

feared to expose himself again. There was nothing further from his mind than that the captain should deceive

him; if the captain was pleased, why, so was he. "All right," he said. "Tell your men to get their chests

The four Currency Lasses had waited the while on tenterhooks. This welcome news broke upon them like the

sun at midnight; and Hadden burst into a storm of tears, sobbing aloud as he heaved upon the tackle. But the

work went none the less briskly forward; chests, men, and bundles were got over the side with alacrity; the

boat was shoved off; it moved out of the long shadow of the Flying Scud, and its bows were pointed at the

So much, then, was accomplished. The sham wreck had passed muster; they were clear of her, they were safe

away; and the water widened between them and her damning evidences. On the other hand, they were

drawing nearer to the ship of war, which might very well prove to be their prison and a hangman's cart to bear

them to the gallowsof which they had not yet learned either whence she came or whither she was bound;

It was Wicks who did the talking. The sound was small in Carthew's ears, like the voices of men miles away,

but the meaning of each word struck home to him like a bullet. "What did you say your ship was?" inquired

Don't you know? What could that mean? Perhaps nothing: perhaps that the ships had met already. Wicks took

"O, we're just looking in at all these miserable islands here," said the officer. "Then we bear up for San

Hong Kong. Then the game was up; as soon as they set foot on board, they would be seized; the wreck would

be examined, the blood found, the lagoon perhaps dredged, and the bodies of the dead would reappear to

testify. An impulse almost incontrollable bade Carthew rise from the thwart, shriek out aloud, and leap

overboard; it seemed so vain a thing to dissemble longer, to dally with the inevitable, to spin out some

hundred seconds more of agonised suspense, with shame and death thus visibly approaching. But the

indomitable Wicks persevered. His face was like a skull, his voice scarce recognisable; the dullest of men and

officers (it seemed) must have remarked that telltale countenance and broken utterance. And still he

"I'm sure I don't know," said the officer. "Only a day and a half there; called for orders and came straight on

here. Never heard of such a beastly cruise." And he went on describing and lamenting the untoward fortunes

But Wicks and Carthew heeded him no longer. They lay back on the gunnel, breathing deep, sunk in a stupor

of the body: the mind within still nimbly and agreeably at work, measuring the past danger, exulting in the

present relief, numbering with ecstasy their ultimate chances of escape. For the voyage in the manofwar

they were now safe; yet a few more days of peril, activity, and presence of mind in San Francisco, and the

whole horrid tale was blotted out; and Wicks again became Kirkup, and Goddedaal became Carthewmen

beyond all shot of possible suspicion, men who had never heard of the Flying Scud, who had never been in

So they came alongside, under many craning heads of seamen and projecting mouths of guns; so they

climbed on board somnambulous, and looked blindly about them at the tall spars, the white decks, and the

crowding ship's company, and heard men as from far away, and answered them at random.

"Why, Norrie, old chappie, where have you dropped from? All the world's been looking for you. Don't you

He turned, beheld the face of his old schoolmate Sebright, and fell unconscious at his feet.

The doctor was attending him, a while later, in Lieutenant Sebright's cabin, when he came to himself. He

opened his eyes, looked hard in the strange face, and spoke with a kind of solemn vigour.

"Brown must go the same road," he said; "now or never." And then paused, and his reason coming to him

"I am the doctor of the Tempest," was the reply. "You are in Lieutenant Sebright's berth, and you may

"Why do you call me that?" he asked. "Ah, I remember Sebright knew me! O!" and he groaned and shook.

"Send down Wicks to me; I must see Wicks at once!" he cried, and seized the doctor's wrist with unconscious

"All right," said the doctor. "Let's make a bargain. You swallow down this draught, and I'll go and fetch

And he gave the wretched man an opiate that laid him out within ten minutes and in all likelihood preserved

It was the doctor's next business to attend to Mac; and he found occasion, while engaged upon his arm, to

make the man repeat the names of the rescued crew. It was now the turn of the captain, and there is no doubt

he was no longer the man that we have seen; sudden relief, the sense of perfect safety, a square meal and a

good glass of grog, had all combined to relax his vigilance and depress his energy.

"Hey?" cried the doctor, and he raised his hand and looked the captain in the eyes.

And at this remarkable falsehood, the suspicions of the doctor were at once quadrupled.

"Wicks," repeated the doctor; "which of you is he? that's surely a plain question."

"What are you talking of? what do you mean by this?" cried Wicks, snatching his halfbandaged hand away,

He did not trouble to remove it. Looking straight at his victim, he pursued his questions. "Why must Brown

"No," replied the doctor, "he has not. But he and you between you have set me thinking, and I think there's

"Give me some grog," said Wicks. "I'd rather tell than have you find out. I'm damned if it's half as bad as

And with the help of a couple of strong grogs, the tragedy of the Flying Scud was told for the first time.

It was a fortunate series of accidents that brought the story to the doctor. He understood and pitied the

position of these wretched men, and came wholeheartedly to their assistance. He and Wicks and Carthew

(so soon as he was recovered) held a hundred councils and prepared a policy for San Francisco. It was he who

certified "Goddedaal" unfit to be moved and smuggled Carthew ashore under cloud of night; it was he who

kept Wicks's wound open that he might sign with his left hand; he who took all their Chile silver and (in the

course of the first day) got it converted for them into portable gold. He used his influence in the wardroom to

keep the tongues of the young officers in order, so that Carthew's identification was kept out of the papers.

And he rendered another service yet more important. He had a friend in San Francisco, a millionaire; to this

man he privately presented Carthew as a young gentleman come newly into a huge estate, but troubled with

Jew debts which he was trying to settle on the quiet. The millionaire came readily to help; and it was with his

money that the wrecker gang was to be fought. What was his name, out of a thousand guesses? It was

As long as the Currency Lasses could all disappear under fresh names, it did not greatly matter if the brig

were bought, or any small discrepancies should be discovered in the wrecking. The identification of one of

their number had changed all that. The smallest scandal must now direct attention to the movements of

Norris. It would be asked how he who had sailed in a schooner from Sydney, had turned up so shortly after in

a brig out of Hong Kong; and from one question to another all his original shipmates were pretty sure to be

involved. Hence arose naturally the idea of preventing danger, profiting by Carthew's newfound wealth, and

buying the brig under an alias; and it was put in hand with equal energy and caution. Carthew took lodgings

alone under a false name, picked up Bellairs at random, and commissioned him to buy the wreck.

In the meanwhile, the captain had to walk the streets, appear in the consulate, be crossexamined by Lloyd's

agent, be badgered about his lost accounts, sign papers with his left hand, and repeat his lies to every skipper

in San Francisco: not knowing at what moment he might run into the arms of some old friend who should hail

him by the name of Wicks, or some new enemy who should be in a position to deny him that of Trent. And

the latter incident did actually befall him, but was transformed by his stout countenance into an element of

strength. It was in the consulate (of all untoward places) that he suddenly heard a big voice inquiring for

"YOU ain't Captain Trent!" said the stranger, falling back. "Why, what's all this? They tell me you're passing

"O, you're thinking of my uncle as had the bank in Cardiff," replied Wicks, with desperate aplomb.

This alert was the only one until the morning of the sale, when he was once more alarmed by his interview

with Jim; and it was with some anxiety that he attended the sale, knowing only that Carthew was to be

represented, but neither who was to represent him nor what were the instructions given. I suppose Captain

Wicks is a good life. In spite of his personal appearance and his own known uneasiness, I suppose he is

secure from apoplexy, or it must have struck him there and then, as he looked on at the stages of that insane

sale and saw the old brig and her not very valuable cargo knocked down at last to a total stranger for ten

It had been agreed that he was to avoid Carthew, and above all Carthew's lodging, so that no connexion might

be traced between the crew and the pseudonymous purchaser. But the hour for caution was gone by, and he

"Come away, come away from here," said Carthew; and when they were clear of the house, "All's up!" he

"The sale!" cried Carthew. "I declare I had forgotten it." And he told of the voice in the telephone, and the

This circumstance, coming on the back of the monstrous improbabilities of the sale, was enough to have

shaken the reason of Immanuel Kant. The earth seemed banded together to defeat them; the stones and the

boys on the street appeared to be in possession of their guilty secret. Flight was their one thought. The

treasure of the Currency Lass they packed in waistbelts, expressed their chests to an imaginary address in

British Columbia, and left San Francisco the same afternoon, booked for Los Angeles.

The next day they pursued their retreat by the Southern Pacific route, which Carthew followed on his way to

DEAR LOW: The other day (at Manihiki of all places) I had the pleasure to meet Dodd. We sat some two

hours in the neat, little, toylike church, set with pews after the manner of Europe, and inlaid with

motherofpearl in the style (I suppose) of the New Jerusalem. The natives, who are decidedly the most

attractive inhabitants of this planet, crowded round us in the pew, and fawned upon and patted us; and here it

I first carried him back to the night in Barbizon when Carthew told his story, and asked him what was done

about Bellairs. It seemed he had put the matter to his friend at once, and that Carthew took it with an

inimitable lightness. "He's poor, and I'm rich," he had said. "I can afford to smile at him. I go somewhere else,

that's allsomewhere that's far away and dear to get to. Persia would be found to answer, I fancy. No end of

a place, Persia. Why not come with me?" And they had left the next afternoon for Constantinople, on their

way to Teheran. Of the shyster, it is only known (by a newspaper paragraph) that he returned somehow to

"Now there's another point," said I. "There you are off to Persia with a millionaire, and rich yourself. How

He said, with a smile, that I had not yet heard of Jim's last bankruptcy. "I was about cleaned out once more,"

he said; "and then it was that Carthew had this schooner built, and put me in as supercargo. It's his yacht and

it's my trader; and as nearly all the expenses go to the yacht, I do pretty well. As for Jim, he's right again: one

of the best businesses, they say, in the West, fruit, cereals, and real estate; and he has a Tartar of a partner

nowNares, no less. Nares will keep him straight, Nares has a big head. They have their countryplaces

next door at Saucelito, and I stayed with them time about, the last time I was on the coast. Jim had a paper of

his ownI think he has a notion of being senator one of these daysand he wanted me to throw up the

schooner and come and write his editorials. He holds strong views on the State Constitution, and so does

"And what became of the other three Currency Lasses after they left Carthew?" I inquired.

"Well, it seems they had a huge spree in the city of Mexico," said Dodd; "and then Hadden and the Irishman

took a turn at the gold fields in Venezuela, and Wicks went on alone to Valparaiso. There's a Kirkup in the

Chilean navy to this day, I saw the name in the papers about the Balmaceda war. Hadden soon wearied of the

mines, and I met him the other day in Sydney. The last news he had from Venezuela, Mac had been knocked

over in an attack on the gold train. So there's only the three of them left, for Amalu scarcely counts. He lives

on his own land in Maui, at the side of Haleakala, where he keeps Goddedaal's canary; and they say he

sticks to his dollars, which is a wonder in a Kanaka. He had a considerable pile to start with, for not only

Hemstead's share but Carthew's was divided equally among the other fourMac being counted."

"What did that make for him altogether?" I could not help asking, for I had been diverted by the number of

"One hundred and twentyeight pounds nineteen shillings and eleven pence halfpenny," he replied with

composure. "That's leaving out what little he won at Van John. It's something for a Kanaka, you know."

And about that time we were at last obliged to yield to the solicitations of our native admirers, and go to the

pastor's house to drink green cocoanuts. The ship I was in was sailing the same night, for Dodd had been

beforehand and got all the shell in the island; and though he pressed me to desert and return with him to

Auckland (whither he was now bound to pick up Carthew) I was firm in my refusal.

The truth is, since I have been mixed up with Havens and Dodd in the design to publish the latter's narrative,

I seem to feel no want for Carthew's society. Of course I am wholly modern in sentiment, and think nothing

more noble than to publish people's private affairs at so much a line. They like it, and if they don't, they ought

to. But a still small voice keeps telling me they will not like it always, and perhaps not always stand it.

Memory besides supplies me with the face of a pressman (in the sacred phrase) who proved altogether too

be that man's successor. Carthew has a record as "a clane shot," and for some years Samoa will be good

We agreed to separate, accordingly; but he took me on board in his own boat with the hardwood fittings,

and entertained me on the way with an account of his late visit to Butaritari, whither he had gone on an errand

for Carthew, to see how Topelius was getting along, and, if necessary, to give him a helping hand. But

"Carthew will be pleased," said Dodd; "for there's no doubt they oppressed the man abominably when they

This, I think, was the most of the news I got from my friend Loudon; and I hope I was well inspired, and have

But there is one more that I daresay you are burning to put to myself; and that is, what your own name is

doing in this place, cropping up (as it were uncalledfor) on the stern of our poor ship? If you were not born

in Arcadia, you linger in fancy on its margin; your thoughts are busied with the flutes of antiquity, with

daffodils, and the classic poplar, and the footsteps of the nymphs, and the elegant and moving aridity of

ancient art. Why dedicate to you a tale of a caste so modern;full of details of our barbaric manners and

unstable morals;full of the need and the lust of money, so that there is scarce a page in which the dollars do

not jingle;full of the unrest and movement of our century, so that the reader is hurried from place to place

and sea to sea, and the book is less a romance than a panoramain the end, as bloodbespattered as an epic?

Well, you are a man interested in all problems of art, even the most vulgar; and it may amuse you to hear the

genesis and growth of _The Wrecker_. On board the schooner Equator, almost within sight of the Johnstone

Islands (if anybody knows where these are) and on a moonlit night when it was a joy to be alive, the authors

were amused with several stories of the sale of wrecks. The subject tempted them; and they sat apart in the

alleyway to discuss its possibilities. "What a tangle it would make," suggested one, "if the wrong crew were

aboard. But how to get the wrong crew there?""I have it!" cried the other; "the soandso affair!" For not

so many months before, and not so many hundred miles from where we were then sailing, a proposition

almost tantamount to that of Captain Trent had been made by a British skipper to some British castaways.

Before we turned in, the scaffolding of the tale had been put together. But the question of treatment was as

usual more obscure. We had long been at once attracted and repelled by that very modern form of the police

novel or mystery story, which consists in beginning your yarn anywhere but at the beginning, and finishing it

anywhere but at the end; attracted by its peculiar interest when done, and the peculiar difficulties that attend

its execution; repelled by that appearance of insincerity and shallowness of tone, which seems its inevitable

drawback. For the mind of the reader, always bent to pick up clews, receives no impression of reality or life,

rather of an airless, elaborate mechanism; and the book remains enthralling, but insignificant, like a game of

chess, not a work of human art. It seemed the cause might lie partly in the abrupt attack; and that if the tale

were gradually approached, some of the characters introduced (as it were) beforehand, and the book started in

the tone of a novel of manners and experience briefly treated, this defect might be lessened and our mystery

seem to inhere in life. The tone of the age, its movement, the mingling of races and classes in the dollar hunt,

the fiery and not quite unromantic struggle for existence with its changing trades and scenery, and two types

in particular, that of the American handyman of business and that of the Yankee merchant sailor we

agreed to dwell upon at some length, and make the woof to our not very precious warp. Hence Dodd's father,

and Pinkerton, and Nares, and the Dromedary picnics, and the railway work in New South Walesthe last

an unsolicited testimonial from the powers that be, for the tale was half written before I saw Carthew's squad

toil in the rainy cutting at South Clifton, or heard from the engineer of his "young swell." After we had

invented at some expense of time this method of approaching and fortifying our police novel, it occurred to

us it had been invented previously by some one else, and was in facthowever painfully different the results

I see you staring. Here, you will say, is a prodigious quantity of theory to our halfpenny worth of police

Well, some of us like theory. After so long a piece of practice, these may be indulged for a few pages. And

the answer is at hand. It was plainly desirable, from every point of view of convenience and contrast, that our

hero and narrator should partly stand aside from those with whom he mingles, and be but a pressedman in

the dollar hunt. Thus it was that Loudon Dodd became a student of the plastic arts, and that our globetrotting

story came to visit Paris and look in at Barbizon. And thus it is, dear Low, that your name appears in the

For sure, if any person can here appreciate and read between the lines, it must be youand one other, our

friend. All the dominos will be transparent to your better knowledge; the statuary contract will be to you a

piece of ancient history; and you will not have now heard for the first time of the dangers of Roussillon. Dead

leaves from the Bas Breau, echoes from Lavenue's and the Rue Racine, memories of a common past, let these

be your bookmarkers as you read. And if you care for naught else in the story, be a little pleased to breathe