Captain Bounce cannot see the Town. Page 218.Captain Bounce cannot see the Town. Page218.
When the Orion changed her course off the ledges, he caught a glimpse of the dangerous rocks, upon which he had heard the beating surf for a moment before. From that time he did not see anything which looked like a rock or a cliff. Even when the yacht swung around to her anchor, the shore could not be seen from her deck, so dense was the fog.
Captain Bounce had not much confidence in the skill of his pilot. He had not seen the rocks and cliffs which line the coast, and had no idea of the perils which had surrounded him. Whenever Leopold ordered a change in the course, he could just hear the murmuring sea breaking on the shore; but the old sea-dog expected the vessel would be thrown upon the rocks every moment. He was prepared to act upon an emergency of this kind, and had actually arranged in his own mind his plan of procedure, when the order to let go the jib-halyard indicated that the pilot intended to anchor.
Captain Bounce looked about him, but he could see nothing which looked like a town, a port, or a harbor. He was so obstinate in hisincredulity, that he was inclined to believe the young man in charge had given up the attempt to find Rockhaven as a bad job, and intended to anchor under the lee of some island. He obeyed the orders given him by the pilot, however. The chain cable ran out, and when its music had ceased, one of the church clocks in Rockhaven struck ten. Captain Bounce heard it distinctly, and of course the sound from a point high above him in the air overwhelmed him with positive proof that the young pilot knew what he was about.
"Ten o'clock!" shouted Leopold, walking up to the captain of the yacht. "We have been just five minutes short of an hour in coming up."
Leopold looked at his silver watch, which was the gift of Herr Schlager, and rather enjoyed the perplexity of the sailing-master.
"I don't see any town," said Captain Bounce, going to the rail, and gazing into the fog, in the direction from which the sounds of the church clock had come.
"You heard the clock on the Methodist church strike—didn't you?"
"I heard that."
"Well, sir, we are in the river; and it is a crooked river, too. You can't take a boat and pull in a straight line in any direction without running on the rocks," added Leopold.
"I'm glad we are in a safe harbor," continued the old sea-dog, but in a tone which seemed to belie his words, for he was not quite willing to believe that the boy had piloted the vessel four or five miles, without even seeing the shore a single time.
"When did you leave New York, Captain Bounce?" asked Leopold.
"Three days ago. We had a fine run till we went into the fog yesterday morning. The wind was contrary, and in beating my way up I lost my reckoning. I have been dodging the breakers for twenty-four hours. I was afraid of a north-easterly storm; and if I had had no women on board, I should have come about, and run out to sea. As it was, I had to feel my way along."
"You are all right now," added Leopold, as he saw the owner and passengers coming up the companion-way.
"You have brought us in—have you, Leopold?" said Mr. Hamilton.
"Yes, sir. You are in the river, off Rockhaven, though you can't see anything," replied the young pilot.
"You have done well; and you are fully entitled to your pilotage," added the ex-member of Congress.
"I don't pretend to be a pilot for pay," protested Leopold.
"You have brought the yacht into port, and here is your fee," said Mr. Hamilton, putting some bank bills into his hand.
"No, sir!" exclaimed Leopold; "I don't want any money for what I have done. I am not entitled to any pilot's fees."
"Yes you are, just as much entitled to them as though you had a warrant or a branch. Now go to your hotel, and have everything ready for us as quick as you can. We are wet and cold, and we want good fires," continued Mr. Hamilton.
"But this money—"
"Don't stop another moment, my boy," interrupted the rich merchant. "If your father'shotel is as good as you say it is, we may stay there a week."
Under this imperative order, Leopold thrust the bills into his pocket, and leaped into the Rosabel. He had anchored the Orion off the wharf, in the deep water in the middle of the river, so that her boats could conveniently reach the landing-steps near the fish market. Hoisting his mainsail and jib, he stood down the river.
"Come and help us get on shore!" shouted Mr. Hamilton, as the Rosabel was disappearing in the fog. "We can't find the wharf."
"Ay, ay, sir," replied Leopold.
In a few moments he had anchored the sloop at her usual moorings, secured the sails very hastily, and was climbing the steep path to the road. In spite of the pride which had prompted him to refuse it, the pilot's fee was a godsend to him, or, rather, to his father, for he determined to give the money to him immediately. He took the bills from his pocket, and found there were three ten-dollar notes. His heart leaped with emotion when he remembered what his father said—that he had not seen twentydollars at one time for a month. The landlord actually needed the money to make purchases for the comfort of his new guests.
Leopold was almost beside himself with joy, and he rushed up the steep, rocky path without regard to the proper expenditure of his breath. Puffing like a grampus, he reached the road, and then ran with all his might, as if the Sea Cliff House was on fire. He rushed into the office, and flew about the house like a madman. His father was nowhere to be seen; but he spent only a moment in looking for him, and then darted out into the wood-shed. Filling a bushel basket with wood, chips, and shavings, he carried it into the big parlor, and lighted a tremendous fire in the Franklin stove. Another was made in the large corner apartment up stairs, with two bed-roomsen suite, which he always called Mr. Hamilton's room. He piled on the wood with no niggardly hand upon these, and four other fires he kindled in as many of the best rooms in the house.
Calling the chambermaid to attend to those up stairs, he returned to the public parlor, where he piled up the wood again.
"What under the sun are you doing, Leopold?" demanded his father, while he was thus occupied.
"Making fires," replied the son, vigorously. "I have kindled five up stairs."
"But what under—"
"Never mind now, father," interposed Leopold. "Fifteen folks from New York will be here pretty soon, and you must be ready for them."
"Fifteen!" exclaimed the landlord, who had been mourning over the fog, which promised to deprive him of the few guests who might otherwise come over to Rockhaven in the steamer.
"Yes, sir, fifteen; and they are Mr. Hamilton's party."
"Good gracious!" exclaimed the astonished and delighted proprietor of the Sea Cliff House.
"But I must go down to the wharf, and help get them ashore," continued Leopold, so excited that he could hardly speak. "They are cold and wet, and want good fires."
"I'll see to the fires Leopold. But where in the world did they come from in this fog?"
"They came in a yacht. I went off abouttwo miles from the ledges after cod and haddock, and picked them up there. They had been knocking about in the fog for twenty-four hours. I brought the yacht into the river, and Mr. Hamilton gave me thirty dollars for pilot's fees. Here's the money, father."
"But, Leopold," added the landlord, as he involuntarily took the bills, "this is your money, and—"
"Never mind, father. We mustn't stop to talk about it now," interposed the son, vehemently. "If you will have the house ready, I will go and bring up the folks. Send the wagon down to the wharf as quick as you can."
Leopold waited for nothing more, but ran down to the wharf as fast as his legs would carry him, and arrived almost out of breath. To his astonishment, he found quite a number of people gathered there, for it had just been discovered that a large yacht had anchored in the river. Squire Moses and Ethan Wormbury were there, the latter to look out for the interests of the Island Hotel. Leopold borrowed a skiff belonging to Mr. Bangs, and pulled off to the Orion. Both of her boats had been loweredfrom the davits, and hauled up at the accommodation steps, in readiness to convey the ladies and gentlemen to the shore.
"We are all ready for you at the Sea Cliff House, Mr. Hamilton," said Leopold, us he stepped upon the deck.
"Shall we find a good fire in the parlor?" asked the ex-Congressman.
"Yes, sir, and in your rooms, too," replied Leopold. "We call it warm weather down here; but I piled on the wood to suit your case."
"I am so glad to come here again!" said Rosabel, stepping up to Leopold. "I am very much obliged to the fog for sending us to Rockhaven."
"I shall consider the fog one of my best friends after this," laughed Leopold; and he conducted the young lady to the gangway.
"Father says you have a new hotel; and I hope we shall stay here all summer."
"The Sea Cliff House, folks say, is about as good as anything on the coast; and I hope the new hotel will suit you well enough to keep you here a long time," said the gallant young man, as he assisted Rosabel down the steps and into the stern-sheets of the boat.
"It would be so delightful to stay here all summer, and have the yacht, so that we could sail about the bay!"
Leopold assisted the other ladies—of whom there were not less than seven—to their places in the two quarter-boats of the Orion. The whole party was disposed in both of them, and the landlord's son led the way to the wharf in the skiff, which was reached in a few moments. Leopold was on the landing-steps in time to assist the ladies when the first boat came alongside the platform, and the whole party were soon on the wharf.
"Who are all these people, Leopold?" asked Squire Moses Wormbury, as the young man was ascending the steps.
"Mr. Franklin Hamilton's party from New York," replied the young man hastily.
"Island Hotel, sir?" said Ethan Wormbury, approaching one of the gentlemen, whose wife was leaning upon is arm; "best hotel in the place, sir, and close to the wharf."
"If it is the best hotel in the place, that is where we wish to go," replied the gentlemen, with a slightly foreign accent in his tones.
"This way, if you please, sir," added Ethan, with enthusiasm, as he began to move up the wharf.
"Doctor," called Mr. Hamilton, "where are you going?"
"To the hotel. Thin man says he keeps the best one in this place."
"We are all going to the Sea Cliff House," added the chief of the party.
Ethan gnashed his teeth with rage, and so did the squire, his father. It was really horrible to see the whole party going to the Sea Cliff.
"How do you do, Mr. Hamilton?" said Squire Moses, extending his withered hand to the New York merchant. "Glad to see you come down to the old place once in a while."
"Ah, how do you do, Squire Wormbury?" replied Mr. Hamilton, taking the offered hand. "I mean to come down here every year."
"My son keeps the Island Hotel," insinuated the squire. "He don't make quite so much show as Bennington, but he will take good care of you, and feed you better. Folks that know say he keeps the best house. And Benningtonhas raised his price to three dollars a day; the Island Hotel is only two."
Moses Wormbury considered the last argument as by far the most powerful one he could present. How any man could help wishing to save a dollar a day on his board, was more than the squire was able to comprehend.
"I have already spoken for rooms at the Sea Cliff House, and they have made fires in them for us," replied Mr. Hamilton, unmoved by the old man's powerful appeal.
"Ethan will give you a fire, and not charge you anything extra for it, as they do at Bennington's," added the squire. "He can accommodate the whole party if you will sleep two in a bed. You will save at least fifteen dollars a day by going to the Island Hotel."
"As we have spoken for rooms at the Sea Cliff House, I think we ought to go there," answered the New Yorker, rather coldly, unmoved by the economical considerations of the squire.
"Stage all ready, Mr. Hamilton," interposed Leopold, who had listened with painful anxiety to a portion of the old man's arguments.
The "stage" was a long wagon, like an omnibus, but with no top; and Ethan saw, with an aching and an angry heart, the entire party of fifteen crowd into this vehicle. Squire Moses was not only vexed, he was downright mad. At any time it would have annoyed him, as well as Ethan, to see fifteen "arrivals" go to the "other house," and not a single one to the Island Hotel. To the old man it was doubly grievous at the present time, for every day the party staid at the Sea Cliff House would put at least forty-five dollars into the pocket of its landlord; and he was afraid Mr. Bennington would be able to pay his interest money on the day it was due. He wanted the new hotel for his son, if he could get it cheap enough, that is, for one third or one half of its value. This dawning of prosperity upon the Sea Cliff was, therefore, very unwelcome to the squire and his son.
Leopold leaped upon the box with the driver as soon as the passengers were all seated, and the two horses tugged up the steep hill from the wharf with the heavy load. On the level road above, the excited teamster put the whip upon his horses, and dashed up to the hotel atfull gallop. Fifteen arrivals at once, at this time in the year, was very unusual, and everybody about the hotel was thrown into a fever of excitement. The landlord stood upon the piazza, with no hat on his head, bowed and scraped, and helped the ladies out of the wagon. The party were shown to the parlor, which the roaring fire had heated to a fever temperature, so that the perspiration stood upon the landlord's brow when he entered it. In the mean time Leopold had hastened to his room to change his clothes, and make himself presentable to the party.
"This is delicious—isn't it?" said one of the ladies, when she felt the warm air of the parlor.
"It feels like a new world," added another.
"What a blessing it will be to be warm and dry once more!" put in a third.
"We have made fires in your rooms, ladies," interposed the polite landlord, doubly courteous under the avalanche of good fortune which had fallen upon him. "I will show you your rooms as soon as you wish."
"Let us get warm before we do anything,"said Mr. Hamilton, removing his heavy coat. "You have a very nice house, Mr. Bennington."
"We think it is pretty fair down here," replied the modest landlord. "We have a parlor up one flight, with a bed-room on each side, which Leopold always calls 'Mr. Hamilton's rooms.' I think they will suit you; at any rate, I fitted them on purpose for your use."
"That was very considerate," laughed the merchant.
"The three rooms will just accommodate your family. I have four other parlors, not quite so large, with one bed-room to each," continued the landlord, looking around at the New Yorkers, as if to ascertain their wants. "Of course you needn't have private parlors, if you don't want them. I have plenty of nice single rooms."
"We want the private parlors," replied Mr. Hamilton. "I did not expect to find such accommodations in Rockhaven."
"I think I know what a hotel ought to be," added the landlord. "By and by, if our guests don't want private parlors, we shall put beds in them."
"Squire Moses says you have raised the price," laughed the rich merchant.
"Yes, sir: I couldn't afford to keep such a house as I mean to keep at two dollars a day in these times."
"You have done quite right, and the price is very reasonable."
"I shall have to charge five dollars a day for the parlors, if anybody wants them."
"Certainly; that is also proper; and we want five of them. Now I will go to the office, and enter the names on the register," said Mr. Hamilton.
Their were five gentlemen with their wives, two single gentlemen, two young ladies, and one young gentleman of sixteen. Rooms were assigned to them according to their several needs, and all the party expressed themselves as delighted with their accommodations. The furniture was not costly, but it was neat and comfortable. The beds were clean, and everything was in good order. The baggage, which the boats had brought ashore after landing the passengers, was conveyed by the wagon to the hotel. In less than an hour, the guests were all comfortable and happy.
Mr. Bennington was on the jump all the time, and so was Leopold. The landlady, who was also the cook, was "spreading herself" to the utmost upon the dinner. They all knew that the success of the house depended in a very great measure upon the satisfaction given to these wealthy and influential guests. The landlord, however, knew better than to waste his strength upon mere "style," for he could not expect to equal that to which his present patrons were all accustomed at home. He wanted the best of meats and vegetables, well cooked, and served hot. He knew very well that a teaspoonful of string beans, mashed potato, stewed tomato, or green peas, in a miniature dish, placed before a guest after it had been standing half an hour on the pantry table, was not eatable; and he governed himself accordingly.
At dinner the guests appeared modestly dressed, and it would have been difficult to identify in them the bundles of water-proofs, shawls, and overcoats which had landed at the wharf. Leopold had put on a "biled shirt," as he called it, and dressed himself in his best clothes. Tohim was assigned the duty of waiting upon Mr. Hamilton and his family. In his "store clothes" Leopold was a good-looking fellow, and he was remarkably attentive to the wants of Miss Rosabel.
The dinner proceeded satisfactorily to the new guests, as to the old ones. Dr. Heilenwinder declared that the soup was marvellously good; and when he learned that Mrs. Bennington, who made it was a German by birth, its excellence was explained to him.
The fog and rain continued for three days, and the ladies of the party hardly ventured out of the house. The bowling alleys and billiard tables were in constant use, and every evening, in the large hall connected with the hotel, there was a dance, to which Mr. Hamilton invited many of the town's people. It was fun and frolic from morning till midnight; and no party weather-bound in a hotel ever enjoyed themselves more.
The fourth day was bright and pleasant.
The yacht party which had come to Rockhaven in the Orion, in spite of the fog and the rain, appeared to be very happy. If they were aristocratic in the metropolis, they were not so in their summer resort. Though the party was large enough to enable them to "have a good time" without any assistance from outside of the hotel, they invited many of the people of Rockhaven to join them in their indoor amusements. As Mr. Hamilton was a native of the town, he was quite at home there, though he had been absent from his boyhood. In addition to the dancing, the billiards, and the bowling, one of the gentlemen of the party was an elocutionist, and gave several "readings" in the parlor. A celebrated writing-master, who was a guest at the hotel, gave an exhibition ofhis sleight of hand tricks, in which he was almost as skillful as in the use of his pen. At the end of the third day it was voted that, in spite of the weather, the party had enjoyed themselves to the utmost. Mr. Bennington and Leopold were unremitting in their efforts to make the guests comfortable and happy.
But in spite of the enjoyment within doors, the New Yorkers were glad to see the sun shine again. For the first time since their arrival they were permitted to gaze upon the rugged and beautiful scenery of the island. They were delighted with the cliffs, and with the views from them. Most of the party spent the day in rambling about the town and in climbing the rocks; but the younger members of it insisted upon something more exciting. When Leopold carried their coffee to Rosabel and her friend Isabel Peterson, at the breakfast table, he found them very much excited. They were talking together with a furious enthusiasm, though there was to be no wedding, or even a grand ball.
"We want to go to High Rock right off after breakfast," said Rosabel; and it appeared thatthe high spirits of the young ladies were produced simply by the anticipation of this excursion.
"In the Rosabel?" asked Leopold.
"Yes, certainly," answered Miss Hamilton.
"I will be ready for you," added the skipper.
"High Rock is such a delightful place!" exclaimed Rosabel, turning to Isabel again. "I went there twice last summer; and I never enjoyed myself so much as I did in climbing the rocks, and looking out upon the ocean. I want you to see the place at once, Belle."
"I shall be delighted to go, especially if we are to sail in the Rosabel," replied Miss Peterson. "Isn't it a nice thing to have a boat named after you!"
"Of course it is a very great honor," laughed Rosabel, as she shook back the affluence of wavy auburn locks which fell upon her shoulders. "Leopold is a real good fellow."
"He is a very good-looking fellow, too," added Isabel, in a lower tone. "His face is handsome, and if he were only dressed in good style, he would be magnificent."
"I think he is nice now," said Rosabel, candidly, and without a blush, for the little beauty was conscious of nothing but a kindly regard for the landlord's son.
"He doesn't talk a bit country, and isn't clumsy and awkward, like many young fellows away from the city."
"His manners are as pleasant as those of any young man I ever met. Do you know, Belle, he speaks German?"
"What, Leopold!"
"He knows how to speak it a great deal better than I do, though he never studied it in school, as I have for two years."
Leopold had left the dining-room for a moment, so that he did not hear any of this conversation, and therefore had no idea how well he stood in the estimation of these young ladies. Of course they did not intend that he should know; and the next remark of Isabel, to the effect that she wished he was not a "waiter," would certainly have hurt his feelings. Leopold had gone into the office, where he found a boy waiting for a chance to set up pins in the bowling alley, whom he sent for Stumpy, withdirections for him to have the Rosabel ready immediately for the excursion to High Rock. Stumpy often went with him, and, as he intended to wear his good clothes on the trip, he wanted his help on this occasion.
As soon as breakfast was finished, Leopold was ready. His passengers were to be Rosabel, Isabel, and Charley Redmond, a young man of seventeen, and the son of one of the New Yorkers in the party. The sloop was all ready when they reached the river. Stumpy had hoisted the mainsail, and hauled her up where the passengers could embark without difficulty.
"Why, she is a real nice boat!" exclaimed Isabel, as she seated herself in the standing-room.
"I told you she was," replied Rosabel.
"Quite nobby," added Charley Redmond, with a patronizing tone, as he adjusted his eye-glasses, for he was either near-sighted, or fancied that the glasses added to his dignity and importance. "I dare say this rustic is quite a boatman."
"He may be a rustic, but he is not so green as you are, Charley Redmond," added Isabel, indignantly; but she spoke for her friend rather than for herself.
The "rustic" did not hear any of these remarks, for after helping the girls to their seats, he had gone to cast off the cable which Stumpy was hauling in. But Leopold did not like Charley Redmond, for the young gentleman was a person of ten times as much importance, in his own estimation, as his father. He was supercilious, and, unlike the rest of the party, looked down upon the boatman, and everybody else in the town.
"Of course you couldn't expect much of a fellow down here," added Charley.
"He knows twice as much as you do," retorted Isabel, as the skipper took his place at the helm, thus putting an end to the conversation.
"Now shove her off, Stumpy," said Leopold.
"Stumpy!" ejaculated Charley, with a laugh. "That's a romantic name."
"His name is Stumpfield Wormbury," Leopold explained. "He is a first-rate fellow."
"No doubt of it," sneered the New Yorker, who was not a good specimen of hisgenus, and could not appreciate such a "good fellow," with his brown face and coarse clothes.
"He don't like his nickname very well, and when he objected to it, years ago, the fellows began to call him 'Wormy.' He couldn't stand that, and is satisfied now to be called 'Stumpy.'"
"Stumpy is better than Wormy," added Charley Redmond.
"Hoist the jib," said Leopold.
The Rosabel went off with a brisk breeze, at a speed which immediately rekindled the enthusiasm of the girls; and, to prolong the sail, Leopold stood off into the bay, going around a small rocky island, a mile from the light-house.
"It's rather rough out here," said Charley Redmond, when the sloop began to dance and leap on the waves thrown up by the fresh north-west wind.
"It's delightful!" exclaimed Isabel; "isn't it, Rose?"
"I think so, Belle; I enjoy it above all things."
"But the boat is rather small," suggested Charley, as a cloud of spray dashed over the bow.
"So much the better," added Rosabel.
When the sloop was a mile from the shore,where the water was not sheltered by the high cliffs, the white caps lighted up the bay, and it was very lively sailing. The Rosabel, close-hauled, pitched smartly, and the spray soon drenched Stumpy, who, presuming not to intrude himself into the presence of the New Yorkers in the standing-room, remained upon the half-deck. Mr. Redmond was not willing to own it, but he was actually frightened, as Leopold could see by the way he started when the boat pitched, and by the energy with which he held on to the washboard.
"I don't know that I like this very well," said he, at last, with a sort of shudder.
"It's perfectly splendid," exclaimed Belle.
"Elegant," added Rosabel.
"I will come about whenever you wish, Miss Hamilton," said Leopold.
"O, no, not yet," protested Isabel.
"I think it is about time," put in Charley. "It is cold and wet."
The skipper enjoyed the starts and squirmings of the young gentleman. He had the boat perfectly in hand, though by this time she had all the wind she could stagger under. He knew verywell that the most exciting part of the sail was yet to come, for he would have the wind free as soon as he came about. If the girls had not been on board, he would have let the boat over far enough to take in a few buckets of water, for the especial benefit of Mr. Redmond. He knew just how much she would bear, and he could do it with entire safety; but he did not care to alarm his fair passengers. Having weathered the island, he let off the sheets a little. The Rosabel heeled over, and promptly increased her speed. The wind came in gusts, and now every flaw carried her down to the washboard. Mr. Redmond was more uneasy than ever, but the girls only shouted in the exuberance of their delight.
"I don't believe in this thing," said Charley, at last, when his nervousness overcame him.
"Are you afraid, Charley?" laughed Belle.
"Of course I'm not afraid—ugh!" he muttered, as the sloop heeled over till the waves threatened to invade the standing-room.
"Youareafraid Charley."
"I'm not afraid; but I don't think it is safe. I've been in boats enough to know that thisisn't the way to do the thing. Why don't you lower one of the sails, Leopold?"
"What for?" asked the skipper quietly.
"You will upset the boat!" gasped Charley.
"No danger of that."
"But I know there is: I have been in boats before," protested Charley.
"If the ladies wish me to reef the mainsail, I will do so," said Leopold.
"O, no; don't, don't, Leopold!" cried Belle. "I think this is just lovely."
"Fun alive—isn't it?" chimed in Rosabel. "It would spoil it all to reef."
"If we only had a man with us, it would be another thing," groaned Mr. Redmond, with a shudder, as the boat went down to her washboard again.
"I think I am strong enough to handle her," suggested Leopold.
"But you don't understand it," exclaimed the New Yorker, desperately.
"If you think you understand it any better than I do, I am willing to let you take my place," said the skipper, with a smile.
"O, no! don't let him! I should certainly be afraid then," cried Belle.
"I don't pretend to know anything about a boat; and I don't think you do," blubbered Charley, angrily.
"I think I can get along with her," added Leopold, pleasantly. "This is a quiet time compared with what I have seen out here in this boat."
Mr. Raymond continued to growl, and the girls continued to scream and "squeal" with delight when the sloop heeled over, and when the spray drenched their water-proofs. The Rosabel was at least five miles from the land, still making things very lively on board, when a large schooner was seen dead ahead.
"I've had enough of this thing," said Charley, clinging to the washboard behind him. "If you don't turn round, or lower one of the sails, I shall call for help from that vessel."
"What a simpleton you are!" exclaimed Belle; and her remarks were often much stronger than Rosabel could approve.
Leopold quietly put the helm up, and let off the sheets, so that the boat did not go within half a mile of the schooner. Half an hour later he put her about, and, with the wind on thequarter, stood in towards High Rock. Being almost before the wind, the Rosabel jumped, leaped, and "yawed" about more than ever; but she took in no more spray over her bow. She seemed to fly on her course, and Charley Redmond expected every moment to feel her go over. He held on with desperation, unnoticed now by the girls. In another half hour the sloop passed into the calmer waters, sheltered by the high cliffs. Charley began to be brave again.
"You feel better—do you, Mr. Redmond?" said the laughing Belle.
"I feel well enough."
"You were afraid."
"Afraid—I? Not a bit of it; at least not for myself," replied the young gentleman. "The boatman don't understand his business. That's the whole of this thing."
"My father says he knows all about a boat; and he would trust him farther than he would most men," added Rosabel. "Didn't he take the Orion into the river in the fog?"
"He didn't manage the yacht: Captain Bounce was on board. I have been in boats before, andI think I can tell when a boatman knows his biz," replied Charley, confidently. "I wasn't at all concerned about myself; but I was afraid he would drown you girls. You were placed in my care—"
"Were we? Indeed! Didn't we invite you to come?" demanded Belle.
"If you did, of course it was my duty, as a gentleman, to look out for you. No; I wasn't a bit concerned about myself; but I was afraid for you."
"It was very kind of you to be afraid for us," sneered his fair tormentor. "It was very unselfish in you. I think I see you now, reckless of yourself, but trembling for our safety! I hope you will tell Leopold how to manage a boat!"
"I shall be glad to learn," laughed the skipper.
Leopold ran the sloop alongside a rock, which at this time of tide served as a wharf, and landed his party. Rosabel led the way to the Hole in the Wall, and they soon disappeared in the deep ravine. The skipper would have been very glad to go with them, but he was not invitedto do so; and without this formality he was unwilling to do that which might possibly be deemed an intrusion. Rosabel wondered that he did not come with them, and would have been glad of his company; but as she did not feel herself above the boatman, it did not occur to her to ask him.
"That fellow was scared—wasn't he, Le?" said Stumpy, when they were alone.
"Of course he was. He is a regular spooney," replied the skipper. "If the girls hadn't been with us, I would have put him through a course of sprouts."
"He thinks he is a bigger man than the president of the United States. You won't catch him in the Rosabel again."
"I don't want to catch him there."
"How long are they going to stay up there, Le?" asked Stumpy.
"They won't come down for a couple of hours yet."
"Then I can dig a bucket of clams while we are waiting," added Stumpy, as he took the shovel and a pail from the cuddy.
Leopold fastened the painter to the rocks,and followed his friend. The bucket was soon filled with clams, the largest and finest to be found on the coast, for they were seldom dug on this beach. In returning to the boat, they passed quite near Coffin Rock, and of course Leopold could not help thinking of the hidden treasure in the sand. Stumpy, with the bucket of clams in his hand, led the way to the spot, not exactly with the approbation of his companion, who was afraid that the waters had not yet smoothed over the beach so as to conceal his recent operations.
"Come, Stumpy, ain't you going down to the boat?" asked Leopold, as he began to move in a different direction from that of his friend.
"No hurry—is there?Iwant to go to the spring, and clean up a little," replied the clam-digger.
"Can't you do it down by the boat?" suggested the money-digger, who did not feel inclined to answer the questions which the disturbed state of the beach under Coffin Rock would put into the mouth of Stumpy.
"I never wash in salt water when I can get fresh. Besides I want a drink."
Without intending to be obstinate, Stumpy silently insisted upon having his own way, by directing his steps towards the springs, which flowed from the rocks not twenty feet from the hidden treasure. The pure water dropped from an overhanging cliff, in a kind of alcove in the precipice. It was clear and cold, and on a warm day it was emphatically a luxury. If the weather was not warm on the present occasion, Stumpy was, for he had been digging deep into the sand and mud of the beach. The water dropping from the spring had formed a deep pool under the cliff, which overflowed, and was discharged by a stream flowing down the sands into the ocean. In this stream Stumpy washed his face and hands, and then his feet, covered with the black mud which he had thrown up from under the sand at low tide.
Leopold sat down on a bowlder, some distance from the cliff, to wait for his companion. Stumpy seemed to be determined to do just what his friend did not want him to do, for, as soon as he had washed his feet, he walked directly out of the alcove to the spot under Coffin Rock, taking the clams and shovel with him.
"I say, Le, can't we get up a clam-bake for the girls?" said he, calling to the skipper in the distance.
"It won't pay," replied Leopold, walking to the place where Stumpy stood, exactly over the buried treasure.
"Why not? You said Miss Rosabel liked clams."
"It will take too long. We must get back to the hotel by dinner time."
"Just as you say; but if the girls like clams, it would be a treat to them; and this is just the place to do this thing."
"We haven't time to-day."
"All right," replied Stumpy, who seemed to be just then engaged in a survey of the locality. "What in the world were you doing here, Le?" he added. "This sand looks as though it had been all dug over."
No high tide had washed the beach since Leopold dug for the treasure, and even his shovel marks were plainly to be seen under the overhanging rock.
"I might as well tell him all about it," thought Leopold. "I can trust him till theend of the world; and I should like to have some one to help me bear the burden of the secret."
"What were you digging for, Le?" repeated Stumpy, his curiosity considerably excited.
"Can you keep a secret, Stumpy?"
"Of course I can till the rocks crumble, and the earth sinks," replied he, warmly.
Leopold told him the whole story, from the first glimpse he had of Harvey Barth's diary, down to the finding of the bag of gold.
"I swow!" exclaimed Stumpy, drawing a long breath, when the narrative was finished. "Twelve hundred in gold!"
"I haven't counted it; but that's what the diary says," replied Leopold.
"You will be as rich as mud, Le. Gold! Then it's worth double that in paper."
"It don't belong to me," answered Leopold, decidedly.
"It belongs to you as much as it does to any one."
"But I intend to find the owner, or the heirs of the man who buried the gold."
"I wouldn't leave it here a day longer, if Iwere you, Le," said Stumpy. "Somebody else will find it."
This suggestion was considered for some time, and Leopold finally concluded to dig up the treasure, and conceal it in some safer place. In a few moments more the shot bag was unearthed, and Stumpy held it in his hand.
"I swow! Solid gold!" exclaimed he.
"Halveses!" shouted Charley Redmond, suddenly stepping between the money-diggers.
Leopold immediately began to realize that he had no talent for concealment; that he was a sad bungler in the management of any business which was not open and above-board. This impertinent, disagreeable little coxcomb of a New Yorker, without a warning sound to announce his coming, had suddenly stepped between him and Stumpy, who held the hidden treasure in his hand. If there was any person in or about Rockhaven from whom he would have particularly desired to keep his secret, it was Mr. Charles Redmond, or any other person like him.
Both Leopold and Stumpy supposed the little New Yorker with the eye-glass was making himself as agreeable as he could to the young ladies on the cliffs above. It is true there was anangle in the cliffs which concealed his approach from the eye, and the soft sand deadened the sound of footsteps to the ear; but both the money-digger and the clam-digger would have deemed it impossible for any one to come into their presence without being heard. But then both of them were absorbed in the unearthing of the treasure, and Leopold made so much noise with his shovel that the sound of Charley Redmond's approach, if there were any, could not be heard.
Leopold looked at Stumpy, and Stumpy looked at Leopold. The money-digger and the clam-digger realized that they were in a bad scrape. This little dandy in eye-glasses had certainly upset all Leopold's plans for the disposition of the gold.
"Halveses!" shouted Charley a second time, as he adjusted his eye-glasses, and fixed his gaze upon the wet shot-bag which contained the hidden treasure.
"I think not," added Leopold.
"No? When a fellow finds any money, the rule is to divy with all present," added Charley.
"And for that reason you modestly ask for one half?"
"Well that's a conventional phrase, you see. Of course I meantshareses. I shall be quite satisfied with one-third; and that's the way to do the thing."
"Where did you come from? I thought you were on the cliff with the young ladies," asked Leopold.
"I was there; but it seems that I came down just in the nick of time," replied the little fop. "The fact is, I drank too much wine last night, and it makes me thirsty to-day. I was almost choked, and the ladies had seated themselves on a rock, to enjoy a view of the boundless ocean, you see; and it looked to me just as though they intended to stay there all day, you see. In the mean time I was suffering with thirst; but it wasn't polite, you see, for me to leave them. It isn't the way to do the thing, you see. I knew they wouldn't want me to leave them."
Leopold looked at Stumpy, and smiled significantly.