CHAPTER XXIINEW HOPE
“Miss Sibby!” exclaimed the assembled party, in one breath, as they all arose to welcome her.
“Oh, yes!” said the good woman, after she had shaken hands all around, and had sunk breathless into the nearesteasy chair. “It is all mighty fine to cry out ‘Miss Sibby,’ as if you were overjoled at the sight of me; but deeds speak louder than words, sez I. And them as runs away to the city and leave me behind, sez I, and then pretends to be glad to see me, sez I, is nothing but ‘sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal,’ sez I. Yes, it’s you I mean, Sam Grandiere!”
“But, Miss Sibby, I didn’t run away and leave you, ma’am,” pleaded the young fellow.
“And plenty of room in the carryall, too, as might have incommodated me very well. The old saying sez as ‘Where there is a will there is a way,’ and I sez, correspondimentally, sez I, ‘where there is a way, sez I, there out to be a will,’ sez I. Yes! I’m talking to you, Sam Grandiere. You had the way to take me, but you hadn’t got the will.”
“Indeed, Miss Sibby, I didn’t know you wanted to come. I should have been glad enough to take you.”
“Why didn’t you ask me, then? You might a knowed, soon as the news reached our neighborhood as all the folks had come back from furrin parts, and Gideon Grandiere among ’em, as I would want to come up and hear news of my lad. But you run away and left me behind. And when I found it out I just said to myself, sez I, I’ll just harness up my old mule, sez I, and I won’t be long behind ’em, sez I. And so here I am.”
“How did you find us out?” inquired Capt. Grandiere.
“In the funniest way as ever you see. As I was a-driving slowly up the Pennsylwany Avenue who should I see but that dog, Joshua, a-walking as majestical down the street as if the whole city belonged to him. I knowed him at once, and naterally looked to see who was along of him. And then who should I see but that nigger a-walking down the street behind the dog as if the whole country belonged to him, if you please. So Istopped the mule and hollered to him. And the wust of hollering after anybody on Pennsylwany Avenue is that everybody in hearing thinks as you’re hollering after them. So everybody had to turn and look at me and my mule. And the nigger stood and stared. And I had to holler after him again to ax him where his master was a-putting up. And he come to the side of the cart and told me, and axed me to let him get in and drive me to the hotel, ’cause, he said, every one was a-staring at me.”
“And so Dickson drove you here, did he, ma’am?” inquired the old skipper.
“He did. But as for the people staring at me, sez I to that nigger, if I am a show, I’m a free show, sez I, and it will cost ’em nothing, sez I, and it ain’t often as the poor white trash in the city gets a good chance to stare at the descendant of the great duke, sez I, and you may lay your life on that, sez I. So that nigger got in and drove the mule, and Joshua marched behind as solemn as a funeral procession. And so we got here. And now how is my boy? My adopted neffy? And where is he?”
“Roland is in good health. He is at present—ahem!—living on Capitol Hill,” answered the old salt, who was unwilling at this juncture to enter into explanations with Miss Sibby as to Roland’s real state.
“And why isn’t the boy staying here with you all?” inquired the old lady.
“Oh, he—there is no room here. We are fearfully crowded. The four young ladies have to sleep two in a bed, in a double-bedded room.”
“That’s ruinous to health. Why don’t you all go to some other hotel?”
“Because they are all more crowded than this.”
“Then what am I to do?”
“Oh, Sam and I are going out to hunt for lodgingsnow. We have to find lodgings for my two nieces and nephew. We will hunt up a place for you also. Of course, you will stay here to-day.”
“It is perfectly dreadful! If I had a knowed all this I’d a-never have left home. I had room enough to turn round in there, anyways. When people’s well off, sez I, they ought to be content, sez I. But how is Abel Force and his wife and Odalite? I don’t see any of ’em round.”
“Mrs. Force is not well, and Mr. Force is with her, I believe. Odalite went to show my two nieces to a room to take off their things,” discreetly answered the old sailor.
“What’s the matter along of Elfrida Force?”
“Well—she——I really don’t know. Not much, I hope.”
“I know. It’s trotting around so much. There’s where it is. When people gets to be past their prime, sez I, they ought to take care of what’s left of them, sez I. ‘Dancing bears,’ sez I, ‘must pay for their airs,’ sez I.”
“What sort of a time have you had since the war began, Miss Sibby?” inquired the old salt, with a view to take the visitor off dangerous ground.
But he “fell from the frying pan into the fire.”
The old lady’s face flushed, and her eyes snapped.
“Don’t ask me what sort of a time I’ve had! Old Scratch’s own time! What with being raided by first one party and then another, I have hardly a sheep or a pig or a duck or a hen left on the place. And what with being called a rebel by the Unioners and a traitor by the Confederers, I have hardly a morsel of self-respect or Christian charity left in my heart. And I haven’t a bit of respect for either party—not I! Clapper-clawing each other like a pack o’ wild cats for nothing in this world, as I can see, ’less it is because they haven’t gotno furriners to clapper-claw. If free people can’t live peaceable in a free, healthy, plentiful country, sez I, the sooner they get the Turkey of Constantinople to rule over them the better, sez I.”
“You seem to be excited, Miss Sibby.”
“So would you be excited if you had suffered all that I have. First comes the Unioners and carries off all my pigs, and calls me a rebel because I object. And then comes the Confederers and carries off all my fowls, and calls me a traitor because I don’t see the right of it. Unioners and Confederers! I calls ’em Blue Bottle Flies and Gray Back Bugs, I do!”
“Oh, Miss Sibby!”
“Well, then, I do! I hain’t no patience with neither party! A cutting and a slashing at each other like Injuns! Only last week a lot of Blue Bottles come riding up and searched the house after a spy—as if I would harbor a spy!—and after eating up and drinking up everything in the house, and putting me in fear of my life, they mounted and rode away, telling me ‘to take care of myself’! ‘Take care of myself,’ indeed; after scaring me almost to death.”
“Oh, Miss Sibby! I am afraid you are no——”
Whatever he was going to say was cut short by the sudden opening of the door, and the reëntrance of Odalite Force, escorting Mrs. Hedge and Miss Grandiere.
“You here, Miss Sibby?” exclaimed the three ladies, in a breath.
“What the Blue Bottles and the Gray Backs has left of me is here, as you see,” replied Miss Bayard, rising to receive the welcome of the new arrivals.
“And now, Sam, my boy, we will go out hunting lodgings; and if we can’t find them in the city we will even go a little way into the country,” said the old skipper, as he arose and bowed himself out of the room, followed by his nephew.
When they had gone, Lord Enderby, who had been left out of the talk, now fancied himself out of place. So he likewise arose and bowed himself out.
When the half dozen women were left in the parlor, they drew their chairs together and fell into a confidential talk.
Miss Sibby inquired more particularly into the nature of Mrs. Force’s illness; and Wynnette, with her brusque frankness, told the truth—that the shock of hearing of Roland Bayard’s arrest and imprisonment, under the charge of piracy, had made the lady ill.
Miss Sibby just stared with incredulous amazement.
“Roland Bayard! My Roland—charged with piracy? Why, it is all a funny mistake, you know, that must soon be set right! And that old gay deceiver, Gideon Grandiere, to go and tell me that he was boarding on Capitol Hill, when he was in prison there! What did he do it for? Was he afeared of scaring me about my own Roland? Why, Lor’, sez I, when I know my boy is innocent, sez I, I know his innocence is gwine to shine forth like the sun at midday, sez I, and make his accusers ashamed, sez I.”
Here it was felt to be right Miss Sibby should be told of the real state of the case. And so she had to hear all about the taking of theKittyby theArgente; when the skipper and his mate were made prisoners by the pirate, who set the former at liberty on the coast of Cornwall, and kept the latter a captive on board theArgente; and then of the capture of theArgenteby theEagle, and the bringing of the prize into port with the pirate captain and his first officer on board; and, finally, the identification of the two prisoners as Angus Anglesea, alias Capt. Silver, and Roland Bayard, alias Craven Cloud; and the alleged paternal claim of the former upon the latter, which now closed the lips of the claimed son from saving himself by testifying against the self-styled father.
Miss Sibby’s eyes opened, her brows raised, and her chin dropped in sheer horrified amazement.
“Why, them’s all lies!” she indignantly exclaimed. “Abel Force knows they’re lies! Why don’t he go and tell the boy better? As to that Anglesea a-turning out to be no Anglesea at all, no English gentleman at all, and no military officer at all, but just a pirate, after being a thief and a forger, I’m not a bit surprised at that. No more would I be surprised if he was found out to be Old Scratch himself, allowed to come on earth in the human form in these very bad times. But as for anything going amiss with my boy on account of his being stuffed with lies about that pirate being of his own father, it shan’t be done! Me and Abel Force will put a stop to that! Abel Force knows who that boy’s father is; and I have my suspicions. There shan’t be a hair of his head hurt! Mind that!” said the old lady, shaking her head.
“Oh, Miss Sibby!” pleaded little Rosemary, clasping her hands prayerfully, and raising her large blue eyes to the speaker’s face. “Can you—will you—save Roland?”
“Abel Force can, and he will, or I’ll know the reason why!” replied Miss Bayard.
For hours longer the conversation ran on Roland Bayard and the net of circumstances that had caught him in this perilous false position.
They were still talking when the two gentlemen returned, and reported that they had found comfortable lodgings for the travelers, who might take possession of their new quarters that evening.
“Where is Abel Force?” inquired the captain, as they all went down to luncheon.
“Papa sent word down that he did not need luncheon, but would join us at dinner in the evening,” replied Odalite.
And they began the meal.
And meanwhile where was Abel Force?