CHAPTER XIXMR. NARR ARRIVES
Mr. Narr, not knowing anything of the feelings he was causing in the fluttering hearts of Janet and Ted, began to plan for getting the Curlytops home to the main shore and to Sunset Beach.
“Now don’t forget my message to Mr. Keller about my keys, will you?” asked the rich man.
“We’ll remember,” said Ted, glancing at his sister. That was the trouble—they only wished they could forget. But they could not.
“Now I think the best way to get you two shipwrecked sailors home is to send you in my motor boat,” went on Mr. Narr. The eyes of Ted and Janet sparkled with joy at this, and they almost forgot the trouble coming to poor Mr. Keller. They loved to ride in a motor boat. “Yes,” went on Mr. Narr, “the motor boat will be best. Then it can tow your rowboat.”
“I’ll be glad of that, thank you,” remarked Ted, “’cause we’ve got to put that boat back where we got it or Jimmie’ll be mad at us. We lost his oars, though,” and Teddy sighed with regret.
“Don’t let that worry you,” advised Mr. Narr. “There are a lot of odd and extra oars in my boathouse. I’ll have Peter pick you out a pair and you can give them to Jimmie—whoever he is.”
“Jimmie’s a boy I play with,” Teddy informed the rich man.
“Oh, I see. Well, you can give him back his oars as well as the boat. Come now, Peter, have theSpraybrought around to the dock to take these shipwrecked ones home.”
“Yes, sah!” answered the colored man, with a kind smile at the Curlytops.
“Don’t you want the crabs we caught?” asked Janet. “We’d be glad to have you take them.”
“Yes!” exclaimed her brother. “We can catch more for my father.”
“Thank you, no, I don’t want the crabs,” answered the rich man. “Look out for the basket of crabs, Peter,” he added. “Don’t let any of them get away.”
“Oh, no, sah; I’ll be mighty keerful ob dem!” declared the colored man. “I was bit by a crab wunst, an’ I don’t wants to be bit agin! I’ll see to dem crabs all right.”
“I guess they’re asleep now,” said Janet. “So they won’t bother you very much.”
“No, li’l gal, I hopes dey don’t,” murmured Peter, as he shuffled off to get the motor boatSpray.
Repeating again his message for the Curlytops to deliver to Mr. Keller about the lost keys, Mr. Narr walked with the children down to the dock. Soon there arrived at the little pier the puffingSpraytowing the rowboat, in which a pair of oars had been put.
“I’m glad of that,” said Teddy to his sister, when he saw the wooden blades. “Now Jimmie won’t be mad.”
“Yes, it’s good we got another pair,” Janet agreed.
Mr. Narr helped the children into the boat which, it appeared, Peter was to guide over to the mainland and down to Sunset Beach, which could be dimly seen down the bay.
“Thank you for taking care of us,” said Janet to the rich man, as the boat was about to start.
“We’re much obliged,” added Teddy.
“Oh, you’re welcome, I’m sure,” laughed Mr. Narr, in a good-natured voice. “I was glad to have you call. Don’t lose any of those crabs overboard, Peter!” he called to the colored man, who was doing something to the motor of the boat.
“No, sah! I won’t, sah!”
“They’re asleep all right,” Janet said, standing up in the motor boat so she could look into the rowboat which was being towed astern. There was no movement of the crabs beneath their covering of green seaweed in the peach basket.
“And don’t forget to tell Mr. Keller I am coming for my keys!” called Mr. Narr, as theSprayswung out from the dock.
“We won’t forget!” chorused Teddy and Janet.
And then, when the boat was out from shore and when Ted saw that Peter was up in the bow, handling the steering wheel, the little Curlytop boy said to his sister in a low voice:
“Do you think we’d better tell him?”
“Tell who?” Janet wanted to know.
“Tell Mr. Keller about Mr. Narr coming for his keys.”
“Course we’ll have to tell him,” insisted Janet. “Didn’t we promise we would?”
“That’s so,” admitted Teddy. “Yes, we got to tell! But what will Mr. Keller do?” he went on, still whispering. Though there seemed little need of this, for Peter was up in front while the children sat on a cushioned seat in the stern of theSpray, and the colored man did not appear to be listening.
“I don’t know what he can do,” sighed Janet. “He hasn’t got the keys to give Mr. Narr.”
“I guess Mr. Narr’ll be terrible mad,” remarked Teddy.
“I guess he will,” agreed Janet. “But when we get back we can help Mr. Keller look again for the keys and for Mrs. Keller’s ring.”
“Yes,” whispered Teddy. “But I guess it won’t do any good. We’ve looked all over in the sand and we can’t find anything. And Mr. and Mrs. Keller’ve looked all over in the sand and they can’t find anything.”
“Yes,” agreed his sister. “But maybe if we looked just a little bit more we might find the keys, anyhow. Course I’d like to find Mrs. Keller’s ring, but Mr. Narr doesn’t want that. All he wants is to get Mr. Keller’s keys for a little while.”
“And if Mr. Keller has to tell that he lost ’em——”
Teddy did not finish the sentence, but his sister knew what he meant.
“It’s too bad,” sighed Janet.
Peter, having gotten the motor of the boat to running the way he wanted it to run, and seeing that the steering gear was all right, now turned back to look at the children.
“Does yo’ all know where yo’ wants to be landed?” he asked, waving his hand toward the distant shore which was now nearer.
“You could leave us in the little hole where Jimmie hides his boat,” suggested Ted.
“But then we’ll have to carry the basket of crabs all the way home,” objected Janet. “And they’ll be heavy.”
“That’s so,” Ted admitted.
“Is dey a dock sommers neah yo’ house?” asked Peter.
“Why, yes!” exclaimed Janet. “There’s a dock right back of our house—you know the dock where Mr. Harris keeps his boat,” she added to her brother. “He’d let us land there, and we could easy carry the basket of crabs up the path to our house.”
“That’s so!” chimed in Ted. “And afterward I could row Jimmie’s boat back to the hiding hole and leave it.”
“Aw right, den!” chuckled Peter. “I’ll make fo’ de Harris dock. I knows where dat is aw right!”
He swung theSprayaround, and soon she was headed in the right direction. A little later a landing was made at the Harris dock. The rowboat was cast off from theSprayand made fast to the dock for Ted to row around to the hiding place a little later. Then Ted and Janet got out, Peter set the basket of crabs on the dock and started back for the island.
“Good-bye, chilluns!” he called. “An’ don’t forgit Mr. Narr’s message. He’s a monstrous ’ticklar man, Mr. Narr is! He wants everyt’ing jesso, he suah do! Everyt’ing jesso!”
“What does he mean byjesso?” asked Janet of her brother, as the motor boat swung out into the bay.
“I think he means just so. You know—extra particular,” explained the little Curlytop boy.
“Oh, I see,” murmured Janet.
They found a stick which they thrust through the slits in the peach basket and thus carried the crabs up to their cottage.
“Why, Curlytops! where have you been?” exclaimed their mother, when she saw the two rather forlorn and bedraggled youngsters coming up the path.
“We been crabbing,” answered Teddy.
“And we got a lot of ’em—big ones, with blue claws, and they’re asleep now, for they’re real quiet,” added Janet.
“Yes, I know you’ve been crabbing,” went on their mother. “But what kept you so long? I was getting worried about you.”
“We were—now—sorter shipwrecked,” explained Ted.
“And we landed on Mr. Narr’s island and he’s coming to get Mr. Keller’s keys and he hasn’t got them and what’s he going to do?” gasped Janet, almost in one breath.
“My goodness! what’s all this about?” cried Mrs. Martin, with a laugh. “Not quite so fast, if you please, Janet.”
Thereupon, taking turns, the Curlytops explained all that had happened from the time they started after crabs until they reached home. Mrs. Martin listened, and at the end of the little story she exclaimed:
“Dear me! This is too bad!”
“It will make trouble for Mr. Keller, won’t it?” Janet wanted to know.
“I’m afraid it will—yes. He may lose his place with Mr. Narr, who is very quick-tempered and stern, I am told. Dear me! I don’t know what to do.”
“Couldn’t we go hunt again for the lost keys?” asked Teddy.
“It’s very kind of you to want to do that, my dear,” his mother said. “But it’s going to be dusk soon, and it would do little good to search now.”
“Then we’ll look to-morrow,” said Janet.
“Yes, you may do that,” agreed her mother. “Meanwhile I’ll get Daddy to see Mr. Keller.”
“And we must tell him what Mr. Narr said—about coming over after the keys,” said Janet. “We promised we’d tell him.”
“Yes, I’ll see that he is told,” promised her mother. “Poor Mr. Keller!” she murmured. “If he loses his place as Mr. Narr’s secretary, it will be hard at his time of life. I wish we could do something. Well, we must have Norah boil the crabs, at any rate,” she went on. “Daddy is so fond of crab salad.”
The crabs, if they had been “sleeping,” as Janet said, soon awakened when the green seaweed was taken off them, and they lashed about with their big, blue claws, seeking something to pinch. Failing to get hold of any fingers or toes of the Curlytops, the crabs pinched each other. But this did no harm, as each crab was encased in a hard shell.
However, Norah soon made the crabs into a salad, and the Curlytops looked at the empty shells, the hot water having turned them a beautiful red, like coral.
That evening Mr. Keller called at the Martin cottage, he and his wife coming over in answer to a telephone message from Mr. Martin. As the Curlytops had a part in the events of the day, they were allowed to remain up to deliver Mr. Narr’s message in person. Trouble also wanted to stay up, but as he was just getting over a little spell of illness his mother packed him off to bed, hushing his cries by promising him another bear story.
Mr. and Mrs. Keller listened to the tale told by Teddy and Janet. The children delivered the message that had been given them by Mr. Narr about his keys.
“Did he seem angry?” asked the old secretary.
“No, he was laughing,” answered Janet.
“And did he say he’d come to get my keys (which of course are his keys) to-morrow?” Mr. Keller wanted to know.
“He said,” remarked Teddy, trying to think of the exact words used by Mr. Narr, “he said to tell you he’d be over in a day or so.”
“Then he may come to-morrow!” exclaimed Mrs. Keller. “Oh, Harry, what are we going to do? I don’t mind so much about my wedding ring! But what about Mr. Narr’s keys?”
“We shall have to look again for them to-morrow,” said the old gentleman, in a sad and weary voice. “We shall have to look again. But I have no hopes of finding them in the sand. Then I shall have to tell Mr. Keller all about the loss, and he will, very likely, discharge me.”
“He’ll be mean if he does!” burst out Teddy.
“No, little man, it will be only what he thinks is right,” said Mr. Keller. “He will tell me, which is the truth, that I should not have been so careless as to lose the keys. I should have been more careful. But that is my fault. Now the only thing I can do is to look again in the sand.”
“We’ll help you!” burst out Janet.
“Bless your dear little hearts!” murmured Mrs. Keller.
“And now, my dears,” said Mrs. Martin, “you Curlytops had better go up to bed.”
“And can we help look for the lost keys in the morning?” asked Teddy.
“Yes, my dears.”
“And the lost ring, too?” asked Janet, with a look at Mrs. Keller.
“Yes. Now, go to bed.”
“All right,” said Janet. “Good-night, Mrs. Keller. Good-night, Mr. Keller,” and the little girl shook hands with the two visitors. Then she kissed Mother and Daddy and left the room.
Ted then said good-night all around, and followed his sister.
Mr. and Mrs. Keller remained some little time at the Martin cottage, talking with the parents of the Curlytops. Ted and Janet were asleep when the visitors left.
Bright and early the next morning, the Curlytops were awake and up. They hurried through their breakfast—that is, they hurried as much as their mother would let them—and then they hastened down to the beach, eager to take up the search again for the lost keys and the ring.
As they ran down to the beach, Ted and Janet holding hands, Ted held back for a moment.
“What’s the matter?” asked his sister.
“Look,” he replied in a low voice. “There comes Mr. Narr now, and I guess he’s going up to our house.”
He pointed to the figure of the rich old gentleman, walking along and swinging his gold-headed cane.
“Why’s he going to our house, do you s’pose?” asked Janet.
“’Cause, I guess, maybe Peter, the colored man, brought him over in the motor boat and landed him at the Harris dock,” explained Ted. “And Mr. Narr is going up to our house—we showed Peter where it was—don’t you ’member?”
“Yes, we showed him,” said Janet, nodding her head with such vigor that her curls fell over her forehead and she had to push them out of her eyes.
“And Mr. Narr’s going up to our house to ask where Mr. Keller lives.”
“Yes,” assented Janet. “And when he finds out he’ll go and ask Mr. Keller for the keys. And Mr. Keller won’t have ’em and—and——”
She paused a moment. Then Ted started off on the run, dragging Janet along with him.
“Don’t run so fast!” she protested. “Where you goin’?”
“We’ve got to find those keys for Mr. Keller before Mr. Narr knows they’re lost!” exclaimed Ted. “Come on!”