Keziah Coffin
Page 60
What's thematter?"
Keziah took the cloth from his hands and refolded it.
"Nat Hammond," she said, laughing, "you may be a good sailor, but you'rean awful poor housekeeper. Look at the mess you've made of that floor."
Nat looked at the scattered crumbs and shook his head.
"By the everlastin'!" he observed, "I did make dirty weather on thattack, didn't I? Cal'late I ain't much of a housekeeper, same as you say.Maybe that's why I was so dreadful anxious to get a good one to cruisealong with me. Well, I've got her. I'm satisfied."
He walked to the back door of the kitchen, threw it open, and stoodlooking out.
"Keziah," he said, "come here a minute."
She came from the dining room and stood at his side. He put an arm abouther.
"Look off there," he said, pointing with his free hand. "See that?"
The sun was just setting and all the west was gorgeous with crimson andpurple and yellow. The bay was spangled with fire, the high sand bluffsalong the shore looked like broken golden ingots. The fields and swampsand salt meadows, rich in their spring glory of bud and new leaf, weretinged with the ruddy glow. The Trumet roofs were bathed in it, theold packet, asleep at her moorings by the breakwater, was silhouettedagainst the radiance. The church bell had ceased to ring and there wasnot a sound, except the low music of the distant surf.
"Look at it, Keziah," urged Captain Nat.
"I'm lookin', Nat," she answered. "It's beautiful."
"Ain't it? I love it, you know that, and I never thought I should beanxious for the time to come when I must leave it. But I am. I want togo."
They were to be married in another month. It would be a double wedding,for Grace and the minister were to be married at the same time. Then Natand his wife were to go to New York, where a new ship, just out ofthe builders' hands, was to be ready for him. She was a fine one, thissuccessor to the Sea Mist. She had been building for more than a yearand when Captain Hammond returned, safe and sound, and with their moneyin his possession, the owners decided at once that he should command theaddition to their fleet. She was to sail for Liverpool and Keziah was tobe a passenger.
"I can't hardly wait to get to sea," went on Nat. "Think of it! No morelonesome meals in the cabin, thinkin' about you and about home. No, sir!you and home'll be right aboard with me. Think of the fun we'll have inthe foreign ports. London, and you and me goin' sightseein' through it!And Havre and Gibraltar and Marseilles and Genoa and--and--by and by,Calcutta and Hong Kong and Singapore. I've seen 'em all, of course, butyou haven't. I tell you, Keziah, that time when I first saw a real hopeof gettin' you, that time after I'd learned from John that that bigtrouble of yours was out of the way forever, on my way up to Boston inthe cars I made myself a promise--I swore that if you did say yes to meI'd do my best to make the rest of your life as smooth and pleasant asthe past so far had been rough. I ain't rich enough to give you what youdeserve, nowhere near; but I'll work hard and do my best, my girl--yousee."
Keziah was looking out over the bay, her eyes brighter than the sunset.Now she turned to look up into his face.
"Rich!" she repeated, with a little catch in her voice. "Rich! therenever was a woman in this world so rich as I am this minute. Or sohappy, either."