The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine

The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine Page 6

by Frank Richard Stockton

  PART V

  After a second night spent in the stage-coach on that lonely anddesolate mountain road where we were now snow-bound, I arose early inthe morning, and went into the forest to collect some fuel; and whilethus engaged I made the discovery that the snow was covered with a hardcrust which would bear my weight. After the storm had ceased the daybefore, the sun had shone brightly and the temperature had moderatedvery much, so that the surface of the snow had slightly thawed. Duringthe night it became cold again, and this surface froze into a hardcoating of ice. When I found I could walk where I pleased, my spiritsrose, and I immediately set out to view the situation. The aspect of theroad gave me no encouragement. The snowfall had been a heavy one, buthad it not been for the high wind which accompanied it, it would havethrown but moderate difficulties in the way of our rescue. Reaching apoint which commanded a considerable view along the side of themountain, I could see that in many places the road was completely lostto sight on account of the great snow-drifts piled up on it. I thenwalked to the point where the two roads met, and crossing over, Iclimbed a slight rise in the ground which had cut off my view in thisdirection, and found myself in a position from which I could lookdirectly down the side of the mountain below the road.

  Here, the mountain-side, which I had supposed to be very steep andrugged, descended in a long and gradual slope to the plains below, andfor the greater part of the distance was covered by a smooth, shiningsurface of frozen snow, unbroken by rock or tree. This snowy slopeapparently extended for a mile or more, and then I could see that itgradually blended itself into the greenish-brown turf of the lowercountry. Down in the valley there still were leaves upon the trees, andthere were patches of verdure over the land. The storm which had piledits snows up here had given them rain down there and had freshenedeverything. It was like looking down into another climate and on anotherland. I saw a little smoke coming up behind a patch of trees. It must bethat there was a house there! Could it be possible that we were within amile or two of a human habitation? Yet, what comfort was there in thatthought? The people in that house could not get to us, nor we to them,nor could they have heard of our situation, for the point where our roadreached the lower country was miles farther on.

  As I stood thus and gazed, it seemed to me that I could make a run andslide down the mountain-side into green fields, into safety, into life.I remembered those savage warriors who, looking from the summits of theAlps upon the fertile plains of Italy, seated themselves upon theirshields and slid down to conquest and rich spoils.

  An idea came into my mind, and I gave it glad welcome. There was no timeto be lost. The sun was not yet high, but it was mounting in a clearsky, and should its rays become warm enough to melt the crust on which Istood, our last chance of escape would be gone. To plow our way to anyplace through deep, soft snow would be impossible. I hurried back to ourcoach, and found three very grave women standing around the fire. Theywere looking at a small quantity of food at the bottom of a largebasket.

  "That's every crumb there is left," said Mrs. Aleshine to me, "and whenwe pass in some to them unfortunates on the other side of thedrift,--which, of course, we're bound to do,--we'll have what I call askimpy meal. And that's not the worst of it. Until somebody gets up tous, it will be our last meal."

  I took my poor Ruth by the hand, for she was looking very pale andtroubled, and I said: "My dear friends, nobody can get up to this placefor a long, long time; and before help could possibly reach us we shouldall be dead. But do not be frightened. It is not necessary to wait forany one to come to us. The snow is now covered with a crust which willbear our weight. I have thought of a way in which we can slide down themountain-side, which, from a spot where I have been standing thismorning, is no steeper than some coasting-hills, though very muchlonger. In a few minutes we can pass from this region of snow, wheredeath from cold and starvation must soon overtake us, to a grassy valleywhere there is no snow, and where we shall be within walking distance ofa house in which people are living."

  Ruth grasped my arm. "Will it be safe?" she exclaimed.

  "I think so," I answered. "I see no reason why we should meet with anyaccident. At any rate, it is much safer than remaining here for anotherhour; for if the crust melts, our last chance is gone."

  "Mr. Craig," said Mrs. Lecks, "me and Mrs. Aleshine is no hands atcoastin' downhill, havin' given up that sort of thing since we waslittle girls with short frocks and it didn't make no matter anyway. Butyou know more about these things than we do; and if you say we can getout of this dreadful place by slidin' downhill, we're ready to follow,if you'll just go ahead. We followed you through the ocean, with nothin'between our feet and the bottom but miles o' water and nobody knows whatsorts of dreadful fish; and when you say it's the right way to save ourlives, we're ready to follow you again. And as for you, Mrs. Ruth, don'tyou be frightened. I don't know what we're goin' to slide on, but,whatever it is, even if it's our own selves, me and Mrs. Aleshine willtake you between us, and if anything is run against, we'll get thebumps, and not you."

  I was delighted to see how rapidly my proposition was accepted, and wemade a hasty breakfast, first sending in some of our food to the otherparty. The gentleman reported through the hole of communication thatthey were all fairly well, but a good deal stiffened by cold and want ofexercise. He inquired, in a very anxious voice, if I had discovered anysigns of approaching relief. To this I replied that I had devised a planby which we could get ourselves out of our present dangerous situation,and that in a very short time I would come round to the door of hisshed--for I could now walk on the crusted snow--and tell him about it.He answered that these words cheered his heart, and that he would doeverything possible to cooperate with me.

  I now went to work vigorously. I took the cushions from the coach, fourof them all together, and carried them to the brink of the slope downwhich I purposed to make our descent. I also conveyed thither a longcoil of rawhide rope which I had previously discovered in the boot ofthe coach. I then hurried along the other road, which, as has been saidbefore, lay at a somewhat lower level than the one we were on, and whenI reached the shed I found the door had been opened, and the gentleman,with his tin pan, had scooped away a good deal of the snow about it, soas to admit of a moderately easy passage in and out. He met me outside,and grasped my hand.

  "Sir, if you have a plan to propose," he said, "state it quickly. We arein a position of great danger. Those two ladies inside the shed cannotmuch longer endure this exposure, and I presume that the ladies in yourparty--although their voices, which I occasionally hear, do not seem toindicate it--must be in a like condition."

  I replied that, so far, my companions had borne up very well, andwithout further waste of words proceeded to unfold my plan of escape.

  When he had heard it the gentleman put on a very serious expression. "Itseems hazardous," he said, "but it may be the only way out of ourdanger. Will you show me the point from which you took yourobservations?"

  "Yes," said I; "but we must be in haste. The sun is getting up in thesky, and this crust may soon begin to melt. It is not yet really winter,you know."

  We stepped quickly to the spot where I had carried the cushions. Thegentleman stood and silently gazed first at the blocked-up roadway, thenat the long, smooth slope of the mountain-side directly beneath us, andthen at the verdure of the plain below, which had grown greener underthe increasing brightness of the day. "Sir," said he, turning to me,"there is nothing to be done but to adopt your plan, or to remain hereand die. We will accompany you in the descent, and I place myself underyour orders."

  "The first thing," said I, "is to bring here your carriage cushions, andhelp me to arrange them."

  When he had brought the three cushions from the shed, the gentleman andI proceeded to place them with the others on the snow, so that the wholeformed a sort of wide and nearly square mattress. Then, with the rawhiderope, we bound them together in a rough but secure network of cordage.In this part of the work I found my companion very apt an
d skilful.

  When this rude mattress was completed, I requested the gentleman tobring his ladies to the place, while I went for mine.

  "What are we to pack up to take with us?" said Mrs. Aleshine, when Ireached our coach.

  "We take nothing at all," said I, "but the money in our pockets, and ourrugs and wraps. Everything else must be left in the coach, to be broughtdown to us when the roads shall be cleared out."

  With our rugs and shawls on our arms, we left the coach, and as we werecrossing the other road we saw the gentleman and his companionsapproaching. These ladies were very much wrapped up, but one of themseemed to step along lightly and without difficulty, while the othermoved slowly and was at times assisted by the gentleman.

  A breeze had sprung up which filled the air with fine frozen particlesblown from the uncrusted beds of snow along the edge of the forest, andI counseled Ruth to cover up her mouth and breathe as little of thissnow powder as possible.

  "If I'm to go coastin' at all," said Mrs. Aleshine, "I'd as lief do itwith strangers as friends; and a little liefer, for that matter, ifthere's any bones to be broken. But I must say that I'd like to make theacquaintance of them ladies afore I git on to the sled, which"--at thatmoment catching sight of the mattress--"you don't mean to say thatthat's it?"

  "Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, from underneath her great woolencomforter, "if you want to get your lungs friz, you'd better go ontalkin'. Manners is manners, but they can wait till we get to thebottom of the hill."

  Notwithstanding this admonition, I noticed that as soon as the twoparties met, both Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine advanced and shook handswith the ladies who had been their neighbors under such peculiarcircumstances, and that Mrs. Lecks herself expressed a muffled hope thatthey might all get down safely.

  I now pushed the mattress which was to serve as our sled as close as wasprudent to the edge of the descent, and requested the party to seatthemselves upon it. Without hesitation Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine satdown, taking Ruth between them, as they had promised to do. My youngwife was very nervous, but the cool demeanor of her companions, and myevident belief in the practicability of the plan, gave her courage, andshe quietly took her seat. The younger of the two strange ladies steppedlightly on the cushions, and before seating herself stood up for a goodlook at the far-extending bed of snow over which we were to take ourway. The prospect did not appear to deter her, and she sat down promptlyand with an air that seemed to say that she anticipated a certainenjoyment from the adventure. The elder lady, however, exhibited verydifferent emotions. She shrank back from the cushions toward which thegentleman was conducting her, and turned her face away from thedeclivity. Her companion assured her that it was absolutely necessarythat we should descend from the mountain in this way, for there was noother; and asserting his belief that our slide would be a perfectlysafe one, he gently drew her to the mattress and induced her to sitdown.

  I now noticed, for the first time, that the gentleman carried under onearm, and covered by his long cloak, a large package of some sort, and Iimmediately said to him: "It will be very imprudent for us to attempt tocarry any of our property except what we can put in our pockets or wraparound us. Everything else should be left here, either in your carriageor our coach, and I have no fear that anything will be lost. But even ifour luggage were in danger of being molested, we cannot afford toconsider it under circumstances such as these."

  "My dear sir," said the gentleman, speaking very gravely, "I appreciatethe hazards of our position as keenly as yourself. Our valises, and allthe light luggage which we had with us in our carriage, I have leftthere, and shall not give them another thought. But with the parcel Ihold under this arm I cannot part, and if I go down the mountain-side onthese cushions, it must go with me. If you refuse in such a case toallow me to be one of your party, I must remain behind, and endeavor tofind a board or something else on which I can make the descent of themountain."

  He spoke courteously, but with an air of decision which showed me thatit would be of no use to argue with him. Besides, there was no time forparleying, and if this gentleman chose to take his chances with but onearm at liberty, it was no longer my affair. I therefore desired him tosit down, and I arranged the company so that they sat back to back,their feet drawn up to the edge of the mattress. I then took the placewhich had been reserved for me as steersman, and having tied severalshawls together, end to end, I passed them around the whole of us underour arms, thus binding us all firmly together. I felt that one of ourgreatest dangers would be that one or more of the party might slip fromthe mattress during the descent.

  When all was ready I asked the gentleman, who, with the elder lady, satnear me at the back of the mattress, to assist in giving us a start bypushing outward with his heels while I thrust the handle of my woodenshovel into the crust and thus pushed the mattress forward. The startingwas a little difficult, but in a minute or two we had pushed themattress partly over the brink, and then, after a few more efforts, webegan to slide downward.

  The motion, at first slow, suddenly became quite rapid, and I heardbehind me a cry or exclamation, from whom I knew not, but I felt quitesure it did not come from any of my party. I hoped to be able to makesome use of my shovel in the guidance of our unwieldy raft ormattress-sled, but I soon found this impossible, and down we went overthe smooth, hard-frozen slope, with nothing to direct our course but thevarying undulations of the mountain-side. Every moment we seemed to gofaster and faster, and soon we began to revolve, so that sometimes I wasin front and sometimes behind. Once, when passing over a very smoothsheet of snow, we fairly spun around, so that in every direction feetwere flying out from a common center and heels grating on the frozencrust. But there were no more cries or exclamations. Each one of usgrasped the cordage which held the cushions together, and the rapidityof the motion forced us almost to hold our breath.

  Down the smooth, white slope we sped, as a bird skims through the air.It seemed to me as if we passed over miles and miles of snow. Sometimesmy face was turned down the mountain, where the snow-surface seemed tostretch out illimitably, and then it was turned upward toward theapparently illimitable slopes over which we had passed.

  "WE BEGAN TO SLIDE DOWNWARD."]

  Presently, my position now being in front of the little group thatglanced along its glittering way, I saw at some distance below me a longrise or terrace, which ran along the mountain-side for a considerabledistance, and which cut off our view of everything below us. As weapproached this hillock the descent became much more gradual and ourprogress slower, and at last I began to fear that our acquired velocitywould not be sufficient to carry us up the side of this elevation and soenable us to continue our descent. I therefore called to everybody inthe rear to kick out vigorously, and with my shovel I endeavored toassist our progress. As we approached the summit of the elevation wemoved slower and slower. I became very anxious, for, should we slidebackward, we might find it difficult or impossible to get ourselves andthe mattress up this little hill. But the gentleman and myself workedvaliantly, and as for Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, they kicked theirheels through the frozen crust with such energy that we moved sidewisealmost as much as upward. But in a moment the anxious suspense was over,and we rested on the ridge of the long hillock, with the mountain-sidestretching down to the plain, which lay not very far below us.

  I should have been glad to remain here a few minutes to regain breath,and give some consideration to the rest of our descent, but as some ofthose behind continued to push, the mattress slid over the edge of theterrace, and down again we went. Our progress now was not so rapid, butit was very much more unpleasant. The snow was thinner; there was littleor no crust upon it, and we very soon reached a wide extent of exposedturf, over which we slid, but not without a good deal of bumping againststones and protuberances. Then there was another sheet of snow, whichquickened our downward impetus; and, after that, the snow was seen onlyin occasional patches, and our progress continued over a long slope ofshort, partly dried
grass, which was very slippery, and over which wepassed with considerable quickness.

  I wished now to bring our uncouth sled to a stop, and to endeavor tomake the rest of the descent on foot. But although I stuck out myheels, and tried to thrust the handle of my shovel into the ground, itwas of no use. On we went, and the inequalities of the surface gave anirregularity of motion which was uncomfortable and alarming. We turnedto this side and that; we bounced and bumped; and the rawhide ropes,which must have been greatly frayed and cut by the snow-crust, now gaveway in several places, and I knew that the mattress would soon separateinto its original cushions, if indeed they still could be calledcushions. Fearing increased danger should we now continue bound togetherin a bunch, I jerked apart the shawl-knot under my arms, and the nextmoment, it seemed to me, there was a general dissolution of ourconnection with each other. Fortunately, we were now near the bottom ofthe slope, for while some of us stuck fast to the cushions, othersrolled over, or slid, independent of any projection, while I, beingthrown forward on my feet, actually ran downhill! I had just succeededin stopping myself when down upon me came the rest of the company, allprostrate in some position or other.

  Now from an unwieldy mass of shawls came a cry:

  "Oh, Albert Dusante! Where are you? Lucille! Lucille!"

  Instantly sprang to one foot good Mrs. Aleshine, her other foot beingentangled in a mass of shawls which dragged behind her. Her bonnet wassplit open and mashed down over her eyes. In her left hand she waved apiece of yellow flannel, which in her last mad descent she had torn fromsome part of the person of Mrs. Lecks, and in the other a bunch of stoutdead weeds, which she had seized and pulled up by the roots as she hadpassed them. Her dress was ripped open down her rotund back, and theearth from the weed roots had bespattered her face. From the midst ofthis dilapidation her round eyes sparkled with excitement. Hopping onone foot, the shawls and a part of a cushion dragging behind her, sheshouted:

  "The Dusantes! They are the Dusantes!"

  Then, pitching forward on her knees before the two strange ladies, whohad now tumbled into each other's arms, she cried:

  "Oh, which is Emily, and which is Lucille?"

  I had rushed toward Ruth, who had clung to a cushion and was now sittingupon it, when Mrs. Lecks, who was close beside her, arose to her feetand stood upright. One foot was thrust through her own bonnet, and herclothes gave evidence of the frenzy and power of Mrs. Aleshine's grasp,but her mien was dignified and her aspect stately.

  "Barb'ry Aleshine!" she exclaimed, "if them Dusantes has dropped downfrom heaven at your very feet, can't you give 'em a minute to feel theirribs and see if their legs and arms is broken?"

  The younger lady now turned her head toward Mrs. Aleshine. "I amLucille," she said.

  In a moment the good woman's arms were around her neck. "I always likedyou the best of the two," she whispered into the ear of the astonishedyoung lady.

  Having found that Ruth was unhurt, I ran to the assistance of theothers. The gentleman had just arisen from a cushion, upon which, lyingflat on his back, he had slid over the grass, still holding under onearm the package from which he had refused to part. I helped him to raisethe elder lady to her feet. She had been a good deal shaken, and muchfrightened, but although a little bruised, she had received no importantinjury.

  "'OH, WHICH IS EMILY, AND WHICH IS LUCILLE?'"]

  I went to fill a leather pocket-cup from a brook nearby, and when Ireturned I found the gentleman standing, confronted by Mrs. Lecks, Mrs.Aleshine, and Ruth, while his own companions were regarding the groupwith eager interest.

  "Yes," he was saying, "my name is Dusante. But why do you ask at thismoment? Why do you show such excited concern on the subject?"

  "Why?" exclaimed Mrs. Lecks. "I will tell you why, sir. My name is Mrs.Lecks, and this is Mrs. Aleshine, and if you are the Mr. Dusante withthe house on the desert island, this is the Mrs. Craig who was marriedin that very house, and the gentleman here with the water is Mr. Craig,who wrote you the letter, which I hope you got. And if that isn't reasonenough for our wanting to know if you are Mr. Dusante, I'd like to betold what more there could be!"

  "It's them! Of course it's them!" cried Mrs. Aleshine. "I had a feelin'while we were scootin' downhill that they was near and dear to us,though exactly why and how, I didn't know. And she's told me she'sLucille, and of course the other must be Emily, though what relations--"

  "Am I to understand," interrupted the gentleman, looking with earnestanimation from one to the other of us, "that these are the good peoplewho inhabited my house on the island?"

  "The very ones!" cried Mrs. Aleshine. "And what relation are you toEmily? and Lucille to her?"

  The gentleman stepped backward and laid down the package which he hadheld under his arm, and advancing toward me with outstretched hands, andwith tears starting to his eyes, he exclaimed:

  "And this man, then, to whom I owe so much, is Mr. Craig!"

  "Owe me!" I said. "It is to you that we owe our very lives, and ourescape from death in mid-ocean."

  "Do not speak of it," he said, shaking his head, with a sorrowfulexpression on his face. "You owe me nothing. I would to Heaven it werenot so! But we will not talk of that now. And this is Mrs. Craig," hecontinued, taking Ruth by the hand, "the fair lady whose nuptials werecelebrated in my house. And Mrs. Lecks, and Mrs. Aleshine." As he spokehe shook hands with each. "How I have longed to meet you! I have thoughtof you every day since I returned to my island and discovered that youhad been--I wish I could say--my guests. And where is the reverendgentleman? and the three mariners? I hope that nothing has befallenthem!"

  "Alas!--for three of them at least," ejaculated Mrs. Aleshine; "theyhave left us, but they are all right. And now, sir, if you could tell uswhat relation you are to Emily, and what Lucille--"

  "Barb'ry!" cried Mrs. Lecks, making a dash toward her friend, "can't yougive the man a minute to breathe? Don't you see he's so dumflusteredthat he hardly knows who he is himself! If them two women was to sinkdown dead with hunger and hard slidin' right afore your very eyes whileyou was askin' what relation they was to each other and to him, it wouldno more'n serve you right! We'd better be seem' if anythin' 's thematter with 'em, and what we can do for 'em."

  At this moment the younger of Mr. Dusante's ladies quickly steppedforward. "Oh, Mrs. Craig, Mrs. Lecks, and Mrs. Aleshine!" she exclaimed,"I'm just dying to know all about you!"

  "And which, contrariwise," cried Mrs. Aleshine, "is the same with us,exactly."

  "And of all places in the world," continued the young lady, "that weshould meet here!"

  No one could have been more desirous than I was to know all about theseDusantes, and to discuss the strange manner of our meeting; but I sawthat Ruth was looking very pale and faint, and that the elder Dusantelady had sat down again upon the ground as though obliged to do so bysheer exhaustion, and I therefore hailed with a double delight theinterruption of further explanations by the appearance of two men onhorseback who came galloping toward us.

  They belonged to the house which I had noticed from the road above, andone of them had seen our swift descent down the mountain-side. At firsthe had thought the black object he saw sliding over the snow-slopes wasa rock or a mass of underbrush, but his keen eye soon told him that itwas a group of human beings, and summoning a companion, he had set outfor the foot of the mountain as soon as horses could be caught andsaddled.

  The men were much surprised when they heard the details of ouradventure, but as it was quite plain that some members of our partyneeded immediate nourishment and attention, the questions andexplanations were made very short. The men dismounted from their horses,and the elder Dusante lady was placed upon one of them, one man leadingthe animal and the other supporting the lady. Ruth mounted the otherhorse, and I walked by her to assist her in keeping her seat; but sheheld fast to the high pommel of the saddle, and got on very well. Mr.Dusante took his younger companion on one arm, and his package under theother, while Mrs. Lecks, having relieved her foot
from the encirclingbonnet, and Mrs. Aleshine, now free from the entangling shawls, followedin the rear. The men offered to come back with the horses for them, ifthey would wait; but the two women declared that they were quite able towalk, and intended to do no waiting, and they trudged vigorously afterus. The sun was now high, and the air down here was quite different fromthat of the mountain-side, being pleasant and almost warm. The men saidthat the snows above would probably soon melt, as it was much too earlyin the season for snow to lie long on these lower sides of themountains.

  Our way lay over an almost level plain for about a mile. A portion of itwas somewhat rough, so that when we reached the low house to which wewere bound, we were all very glad indeed to get there. The housebelonged to the two men, who owned a small ranch here. One of them wasmarried, and his wife immediately set herself to work to attend to ourneeds. Her home was small, its rooms few, and her larder very plain inquality; but everything she had was placed at our disposal. Her own bedwas given to the elder Dusante lady, who took immediate possession ofit; and after a quickly prepared but plentiful meal of fried pork,corn-bread, and coffee, the rest of us stretched ourselves out to restwherever we could find a place. Before lying down, however, I had, atRuth's earnest solicitation, engaged one of the men to ride to therailroad-station to inquire about Mr. Enderton, and to inform him of oursafety. By taking a route which ran parallel with the mountain-chain,but at some distance from it, the station, the man said, could bereached without encountering snow.

  None of us had had proper rest during the past two nights, and we sleptsoundly until dark, when we were aroused to partake of supper. All ofus, except the elder Dusante lady, who preferred to remain in bed,gathered around the table. After supper a large fire, principally ofbrushwood, was built upon the hearth; and with the bright blaze, twocandles, and a lamp, the low room appeared light and cheery. We drew upabout the fire--for the night was cool--on whatever chairs, stools, orboxes we could find, and no sooner had we all seated ourselves than Mrs.Aleshine exclaimed:

  "Now, Mr. Dusante, it ain't in the power of mortal man, nor womanneither,--an' if put the other way it might be stronger,--to wait anylonger before knowin' what relation Lucille is to Emily, an' you tothem, an' all about that house of yours on the island. If I'd blown upinto bits this day through holdin' in my wantin' to know, I shouldn'thave wondered! An' if it hadn't been for hard sleep, I don't believe Icould have held in, nohow!"

  "WE DREW UP ABOUT THE FIRE."]

  "That's my mind exactly," said Mrs. Lecks; "and though I know there's atime for all things, and don't believe in crowdin' questions onplayed-out people, I do think, Mr. Dusante, that if I could have caughtup with you when we was comin' over here, I'd have asked you to speakout on these p'ints. But you're a long-legged walker, which Mrs.Aleshine is not, and it wouldn't have done to leave her behind."

  "Which she wouldn't 'a' been," said Mrs. Aleshine, "long legs or short."

  Ruth and I added our entreaties that Mr. Dusante should tell his story,and the good ranchman and his wife said that if there was anything tobe done in the story-telling line they were in for it, strong; andquitting their work of clearing away supper things, they brought an oldhair trunk from another room, and sat down just behind Mrs. Lecks.

  The younger Dusante lady, who, having been divested of her wraps, herveil, and the woolen shawl that had been tied over her head, had provedto be a very pretty girl with black eyes, here declared that it had beenher intention at the first opportunity to get us to tell our story, butas we had asked first, she supposed we ought to be satisfied first.

  "I do not wish, my good friends," said Mr. Dusante, "to delay for amoment longer than necessary your very pardonable curiosity concerningme and my family; and I must say at the same time that, although yourletter, sir, gave me a very clear account of your visit to my island,there are many things which naturally could not be contained within thelimits of a letter, and about which I am most anxious to make inquiries.But these I will reserve until my own narration is finished.

  "My name is Albert Dusante. It may interest you to know that my fatherwas a Frenchman and my mother an American lady from New England. I wasborn in France, but have lived very little in that country, and for agreat part of my life have been a merchant in Honolulu. For the past fewyears, however, I have been enabled to free myself in a great degreefrom the trammels of business, and to devote myself to the pursuits of aman of leisure. I have never married, and this young lady is mysister."

  "Then what relation," began Mrs. Aleshine, "is she to--?"

  At this moment the hand of Mrs. Lecks, falling heavily into the lap ofthe speaker, stopped this question, and Mr. Dusante proceeded:

  "Our parents died when Lucille was an infant, and we have no near bloodrelations."

  At this the faces of both Mrs. Aleshine and Mrs. Lecks assumedexpressions as if they had each just received a letter superscribed inan unknown hand, and were wondering who it could possibly be from.

  "The lady who is now resting in the adjoining room," continued Mr.Dusante, "is a dear friend who has been adopted by me as a mother."

  "Upon my word!" burst from Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, in as muchunison of time and tone as if the words had been a response in a churchservice, while Miss Lucille leaned back against the wall near which shesat, and laughed gleefully. Mr. Dusante, however, continued hisstatements with the same quiet gravity with which he had begun.

  "This lady was a dear friend of my mother, although younger than she. Iadopted her as a mother to my little orphan sister, and, consequently,placed her in the same maternal relation to myself, doing this with muchearnest satisfaction, for I hoped to be able to return, as a son,something of the tender care and affection which she would bestow onLucille as a daughter."

  "And she is Emily?" cried Mrs. Aleshine.

  "She adopted our name," answered the speaker, "and she is Mrs. EmilyDusante."

  "And she is your adopted _mother?_" said Mrs. Aleshine.

  "Adopted mother!" ejaculated Mrs. Lecks.

  "Yes," answered Mr. Dusante.

  "And that is the only relation she is to you two?" said Mrs. Lecks.

  "And you to her?" added Mrs. Aleshine.

  "Most assuredly," answered Mr. Dusante.

  Here Mrs. Lecks leaned back in her chair, folded her hands in her lap,and ejaculated, "Well, well!" and then allowed her face to assume arigid intention of having nothing more to say at the present moment.

  "One thing is certain," remarked Mrs. Aleshine, in a tone whichindicated that she did not care who heard her; "I always liked Lucillethe best!"

  At this Ruth and I exchanged smiles with Miss Lucille, and Mr. Dusanteproceeded:

  "I do not wish to occupy too much of your time with our personalaffairs, and will therefore state that the island on which you foundrefuge, and where I wish most heartily I had been present to act ashost, was bought by me as a retreat from the annoyances of business andthe exactions of society. I built there a good house--"

  "Which it truly was," said Mrs. Aleshine, "with fixtures in it forwater, and letting it off, which I never saw in a house so far out oftown."

  "I furnished it suitably," said Mr. Dusante. "We had books and music,and for several years we passed vacations there which were bothenjoyable and profitable. But of late my sister has found the placelonely, and we have traveled a good deal, making intermittent and oftenshort visits to the island.

  "As I never cared to leave any one on that lonely spot during ourabsences from it, I arranged a gateway of bars across the only openingin the reef, with the intention of preventing marauding visits fromfishing-boats or other small craft which might be passing that way. Asthe island was out of the ordinary track of vessels, I did not imaginethat my bars would ever prove an obstacle to unfortunate castaways whomight seek a refuge there."

  "Which they didn't," remarked Mrs. Aleshine, "for under we bobbed."

  "I never exactly understood," said Mr. Dusante, "and I hope to have itexplained to me in due time,
how you passed my bars without removingthem; and I have had a sore weight upon my conscience since I discoveredthat shipwrecked persons, fleeing to my house from the perils of thesea, should have found those inhospitable bars in their way--"

  "Which is a weight you might as well cast off, and be done with it,"said Mrs. Lecks, her deep-set notions on the rights of property obligingher to speak; "for if a man hasn't a right to lock up his house when hegoes away and leaves it, I don't know what rights anybody has aboutanything. Me, or Mrs. Aleshine, or anybody else here who has a house,might just as well go off travelin', or to town visitin', and leave ourfront door unlocked, and the yard gate swingin' on its hinges, becausewe was afraid that some tramp or other body with no house or home mightcome along and not be able to get in and make himself comfortable. Yourbusiness, sir, when you left that house and all your belongin's on thatisland, was to leave everything tight and safe; and the business ofpeople sailin' in ships was to go on their proper way, and not berunnin' into each other. And if these last mentioned didn't see fit todo that, and so got into trouble, they should have gone to some islandwhere there were people to attend to 'em, just as the tramps should goto the poorhouse. And this is what we would have done--not meanin' thepoorhouse--if we hadn't been so over long-headed as to get into a leakyboat, which, I wish it understood, is sayin' nothin' against Mr. Craig."

  "That's true," said Mrs. Aleshine, "for nobody has got a right tocomplain that a fellow-bein' locks his own door after him. But it doesseem to me, sir, that in such scattered neighborhoods as your island isin, it might be a good thing to leave something to eat an'drink--perhaps in a bottle or in a tin pail--at the outside of your barsfor them as might come along shipwrecked, an' not be able to get insideon account of bein' obliged to come in a boat, an' not as we did; an'so, when they found they'd have to go on, they might have somethin' tokeep up their strength till they got to another house."

  "Now, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "when you start off on ajourney to Japan or any other place, an' leave mince-pies and butteredtoast a-stickin' on the p'ints of your pickets for tramps that mightcome along and need 'em, you can do that kind of talkin'. But as thattime hasn't come, let's hear the rest of Mr. Dusante's story."

  "When I first visited my island this year," continued the narrator, "wemade but a short stay, as we were all desirous of taking a somewhatextended sea-voyage in my steam-yacht. We visited several places ofinterest, and when we returned, just six weeks ago to-day--"

  "Just one week, lackin' a day," exclaimed Mrs. Lecks, "after we leftthat spot!"

  "If I'd 'a' knowed," said Mrs. Aleshine, rising to her feet, "that you'dbe back so soon, I'd 'a' made them sailormen live on fish, I'd 'a' eatgarden-truck myself, and I'd be bound I'd 'a' made the flour hold outfor six days more for the rest of 'em, if I'd 'a' had to work my fingersto the skin and bone to do it!" Then she sat down solemnly.

  "When we returned," continued Mr. Dusante, "I was pleased to find mybars intact; and when these were unlocked, and the boat from our yachtwent through with ourselves and our servants, it was very agreeable tonotice the good order which seemed to prevail everywhere. As we passedfrom the wharf to the house, not even fallen boughs or weeds were seento indicate that we had been away from the place for more than twomonths. When we entered the house, my mother and sister immediatelyascended to their chambers, and when the windows had been opened I heardthem from above calling to each other and remarking upon the freshnessand cleanliness of the rooms. I went to my library, and when I hadthrown open the window I was struck with the somewhat peculiar air oforder which seemed to obtain in the room. The books stood upon theirshelves with a remarkable regularity, and the chairs and otherfurniture were arranged with a precision which impressed me as unusual.In a moment, sir, I saw your letter upon the table addressed to me.Greatly astonished, I opened and read it.

  "When I had finished it my amazement was great indeed; but obeying aninstant impulse, I stepped into the dining-room, which a servant hadopened, and took the ginger-jar from the mantelpiece. When I lifted fromit the little brown-paper parcel, and beneath it saw the money which hadbeen mentioned in the letter, you may imagine the condition of my mind.I did not take out the money, nor count it; but covering it again withthe paper parcel, which I believed contained fish-hooks, and with thejar in my hands, I returned to the library, where I sat down to ponderupon these most astounding revelations. While so doing my mother andsister hastily entered the room. Lucille declared in an excited mannerthat she believed that the brownies or some other fairies had been therewhile we were away and had kept the house in order. The whole place wasactually cleaner, she said, than when we left it. She had taken down athin dress from her closet, and it looked as if it had just come fromthe hand of a laundress, with the ruffles ironed smoother and moreevenly than they had ever been since it was first stitched together.'Albert,' said my mother, her face pale, 'there has been somebody inthis house!' Then she went on to say that the windows, which were leftunwashed because we went away in somewhat of a hurry, were as bright andclean as if the maids had just been rubbing them; the floors andfurniture were cleaner and freer from dust than they had ever beenbefore; and the whole house looked as if we had just left it yesterday.'In fact,' she said, 'it is unnaturally clean!'"

  During this part of Mr. Dusante's story Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine satvery quiet, with an air of sedate humility upon their faces; but I couldsee by the proud light in their eyes that they felt their superiority toordinary women, although they were properly resolved not to show suchfeeling.

  "At that moment," continued Mr. Dusante, "a servant came hurrying intothe room, and informed us that the flour was all gone, and that therewas scarcely anything in the pantries to eat. At this my mother and mysister, who knew that an abundance of provisions had been left in thehouse, looked at each other aghast. But before they could express theirconsternation in words, I addressed them. 'My dear mother,' said I, 'andLucille, there truly has been some one in this house. By this letter Iam informed that for several weeks eight persons have lived here underthis roof; a marriage has been solemnized, and the happy couple havegone forth from our doors. These persons have eaten our food, they havemade use of our property, and this has been their temporary home. Butthey are good people, honest and true-hearted, for they have left thehouse in better order than they found it, and more than the price of allthey have consumed is in that ginger-jar.' And thereupon I read themyour letter, sir.

  "I cannot undertake to describe the wonder and absorbing interest withwhich this letter filled our minds. All needful stores were broughtashore from the yacht, which lay outside the reef, and we began ourusual life on the island; but none of the occupations or recreations inwhich we formerly employed our time now possessed any attractions forus. Our minds were filled with thoughts of the persons who had been sostrangely living in our house; and our conversation was mainly made upof surmises as to what sort of people they were, whether or not weshould ever see them, and similar suppositions."

  "Yes, indeed!" exclaimed Miss Lucille. "I thought of you by day and bynight, and pictured you all in various ways, but never as you reallyare. Sometimes I used to think that the boat in which you went away hadbeen sunk in a storm in which you were all drowned, and that perhapsyour ghosts would come back and live in our house, and sleep in ourbeds, and clean our windows, and wash and iron our clothes, and do allsorts of things in the night."

  "Goodnessful, gracious me!" cried Mrs. Aleshine, "don't talk that way!The idea of bein' a cold ghost, goin' about in the dark, is worse thanslidin' down a snow-mountain, even if you had to do it on the bare ofyour back."

  "Barb'ry!" said Mrs. Lecks, severely.

  "The idea is jus' as chillin'," replied her undaunted friend.

  "Two things connected with this matter," continued Mr. Dusante, "weighedheavily on my mind. One of these I have already mentioned--the cruelinhospitality of the barred entrance."

  I had refrained from adding to the interruptions to Mr. Dusante'snarrative
, but I now felt impelled to assure the gentleman, on behalf ofmyself and wife, that we shared the opinions of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs.Aleshine, and felt that he could in no way be blamed for thus protectinghis private property.

  "You are very good," said Mr. Dusante, "but I will say here that thereare now no bars to that entrance. I have left some people on the island,who will take care of my property and succor any unfortunate castawayswho may arrive there. The other matter to which I alluded was, however,the heavier load which oppressed me. This was the money in theginger-jar. I could not endure to reflect that I had been paid actualmoney for the hospitality I would have been so glad to offer to you poorshipwrecked people. Every sentiment of my being rebelled against such athing. I was grieved. I was ashamed. At last I determined I would bearno longer the ignominy of this brand of inhospitality, and that, withthe ginger-jar in my hand, I would search over the world, if necessary,for the persons who in my absence had paid board to me, and return tothem the jar with its contents uncounted and untouched. Your letterinformed me of the island to which you were bound, and if I did not findyou there I could discover to what port you had taken your departure.There I could make further inquiries, and so follow you. When I proposedthis plan to my family they agreed to it instantly, for their interestin the matter was almost as great as mine; and in a day or two westarted on our quest.

  "I easily traced you to San Francisco, and found the hotel at which youhad stopped. Here I obtained fresh news of you, and learned that youhad started East, and that the destination of the party was believed tobe Philadelphia. I had hoped that I should meet with you before you leftCalifornia; but supposing that by that time you had reached yourdestination, or were, at least, far on your way, I yielded to thesolicitations of my sister and made some excursions in California,intending then to follow you to Philadelphia, and there to advertise forMr. Craig, if he could not otherwise be found. However, by the rarestand most fortunate of chances, we have met thus early, and for this Ican never be too devoutly thankful."

  "Nor we," said I, earnestly; "for our greatly desired acquaintance withyou and your family could not have begun too soon."

  "Now," said Mr. Dusante, "I will perform the duty for which my journeywas undertaken, and I assure you it is a great pleasure to me to be ableso soon to carry out this cherished purpose."

  He then took up from the floor by his side the package which he had sosafely guarded during his swift and perilous descent of themountain-side, and which he had since kept close by him. Placing thisupon his knee, he removed the light shawl in which it had been rolled,and then several pieces of wrapping-paper, revealing to our eyes thefamiliar fat little ginger-jar which had stood on the mantelpiece of thedining-room in the house on the island, and in which we had depositedour board money.

  "It would be simply impossible for me," said Mr. Dusante, "to consent toretain in my possession money paid for the aid which I involuntarilyrendered to shipwrecked people. Had I been present on the island, thataid would have been most heartily and freely given, and the fact of myabsence makes no difference whatever in regard to my feelings on thesubject of your paying for the food and shelter you found at my house.Having understood from Mr. Craig's letter that it was Mrs. Lecks whosuperintended the collection and depositing of the money, I now returnto you, madam, this jar with its contents."

  "And which," said Mrs. Lecks, sitting up very rigidly, with her handsclasped behind her, "I don't take. If it had been a day and a night, oreven two nights and over a Sunday, it wouldn't have mattered; but whenme and Mrs. Aleshine--and the rest of the party can speak forthemselves--stays for weeks and weeks, without leave or license, in aman's house, we pay our board--of course deductin' services. Goodnight."

  "REVEALING THE FAMILIAR FAT LITTLE GINGER-JAR."]

  With that she arose, and walked, very erect, into the adjoining room.

  "It was all very well, Mr. Dusante," said Mrs. Aleshine, "for you to tryto carry out what you thought was right; but we have our ideas as towhat our duty is, an' you have your ideas as to what your duty is, an'consciences is even."

  Having said this, she followed her friend.

  Mr. Dusante looked surprised and troubled, and he turned toward me. "Mydear sir," said I, "those two good women are very sensitive in regard toright and justice, and I think it will be well not to press this subjectupon them. As for my wife and me, neither of us would consent to touchmoney which was placed in that jar by Mrs. Lecks with the expectationthat no one but you or one of your family would take it out."

  "Very well, sir," said Mr. Dusante, replacing the wrapping-paper aroundthe jar; "I will drop the subject for the present. But you will allow meto say, sir, that I also am very sensitive in regard to right andjustice."

  Early the next morning the man who had been sent to the railroad-stationcame back, bringing news that a four-horse wagon would shortly be sentfor us, and also bearing a letter from Mr. Enderton to Ruth. In thisthat gentleman informed his daughter that he was quite well, but that hehad suffered anxiety on account of her probable hardships in theabandoned stage-coach. He had hoped, however, that the snow which hadprecluded his return with assistance had fallen lightly in the elevatedposition in which she had been left; and he had trusted also that Mr.Craig had bethought himself to build a fire somewhere near the coach,where his daughter might be warmed; and that the provisions, of which heknew an ample quantity had been packed for the trip, had been properlyheated for her and given to her at suitable intervals. This anxiety, hesaid, had added very much to his own mental disquietude occasioned bythe violent vituperations and unjust demands of the driver of thestage-coach, who had seen fit to attack him with all manner of abuse,and might even have resorted to personal violence had it not been forthe interference of by-standers and the locking of his room door. He wasnow, however, much relieved by the departure of this driver, and by thenews that his daughter had reached a place of safety, which, of course,he had supposed she would do, her detention having occurred on anordinary route of travel.

  While waiting for the arrival of the wagon, the adventures of Mrs.Lecks, Mrs. Aleshine, and myself, as well as those of Ruth and herfather, from the time the one party left America and the other China,were related at length to the Dusantes, who showed a deep interest inevery detail, and asked many questions.

  Mrs. Dusante, whose nervous equilibrium had been fully restored by hernight's rest, and who, although feeling a little stiff and bruised, nowdeclared herself quite well, proved to be a very pleasant lady offifty-five or thereabouts. She was of a quiet disposition, but herspeech and manner showed that in former years, at least, she had been awoman of society, and I soon found out that she was much interested inthe study of character. This interest was principally shown in thedirection of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, whom she evidently lookedupon as most remarkable women. If any of her sentiments were those ofadmiration, however, they were not returned in kind; Mrs. Lecks andMrs. Aleshine had but a small opinion of her.

  "There's mother-in-laws, and stepmothers, and real mothers, andgrandmothers, and sometimes great-grandmothers livin'," said Mrs. Lecksto me, apart; "but though Mr. Dusante may be a well-meanin' man,--and Idon't doubt he is,--and wishin', I haven't the least reason todisbelieve, to do his whole duty by his fellow-men, still I must say,bein' brought up as I was, he hasn't any right to make a new kind ofmother. To be sure, a man can adopt children, but that isn't goin'backward, like this is, which is ag'in' nat'ral law and gospel."

  "I expect," said Mrs. Aleshine, who was with us, "that them French hasgot fashions that we don't know about, and thankful we ought to be thatwe don't! I never had no patience with French heels an' Frencharsenic-green beans; an' now, if there's to be adoptin' of mothers inthis country, the next thing will be gullotynes."

  "I don't see," said I, "why you look upon the Dusantes as French people.They are just as much American as French."

  "Well," said Mrs. Lecks, "it's not for me and Mrs. Aleshine to setourselves up to judge other people. In our part of the countr
y we don'tadopt mothers; but if they do it in France, or the Sandwich Islands, ordown East, I don't know that we ought to have anything to say."

  "He might as well have adopted a father at the same time," said Mrs.Aleshine, "although, to be sure, he would 'a' had to been particular totake one that was acquainted with Mrs. Dusante, and not had 'emstrangers to each other, though parents to him."

  "If I was you, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "I'd adopt some sortof rag to the top of my head to serve for a bonnet; for here comes thewagon, and I suppose now we'll be off."

  We took leave of the kind-hearted ranch people, who looked upon us as agodsend into their lonely life, and disposed ourselves as comfortably aswe could in the large wagon. Our journey of seven or eight miles to therailroad-station was slow, and over ways that were rough. Mrs. Dusantewas a delicate woman and not used to hardship, whereas Mrs. Lecks andMrs. Aleshine were exceedingly vigorous and tough. The consequence ofthis difference was that the kindly hearts of the latter prompted themto do everything they could to prevent Mrs. Dusante feeling the bumpsand jolts, and to give her such advantages of wraps and position aswould help her to bear better the fatigues of the journey.

  In doing this these good women gradually forgot the adopted mother, andcame to think only of the very pleasant lady who needed theirattentions, and who took such a lively and agreeable interest in theirfamily histories, their homes, their manner of living, and everythingthat pertained to them; and before we reached the end of our trip thesethree were talking together like old friends. Ruth and Miss Lucille hadalso struck up a warm acquaintance, while I found Mr. Dusante a veryentertaining man--of sedate and careful speech, ingenious ideas, and ofa very courteous disposition.

  When we arrived at the railroad-station we were met by Mr. Enderton, whoshowed a moderate degree of pleasure at seeing us, and an immoderateamount of annoyance, exhibited principally to me, in being obliged togive up to the women of our party the large room he had occupied in theonly lodging-house in the little settlement.

  "RUTH AND MISS LUCILLE STRUCK UP A WARM ACQUAINTANCE."]

  When I informed him that the strangers with us were the Dusantes, onwhose island we had been staying, he at first listened vaguely. He hadalways looked upon the Dusante family as a sort of fable used by Mrs.Lecks to countenance her exactions of money from the unfortunatesojourners on the island. But when I told him what Mr. Dusante had done,and related how he had brought the board money with him, and had offeredto pay it back to us, an eager interest was aroused in him.

  "I do not wonder," he exclaimed, "that the conscience-stricken manwishes to give the money back, but that any one should refuse whatactually belongs to him or her is beyond my comprehension! One thing iscertain--I shall receive my portion. Fifteen dollars a week for mydaughter and myself that woman charged me, and I will have it back."

  "My dear sir," I said, "your board was reduced to the same sum as thatpaid by the rest of us--four dollars a week each."

  "I call to mind no reduction," said Mr. Enderton. "I remember distinctlythe exorbitant sum charged me for board on a desert island. It made adeep impression upon me."

  "I do not care to talk any further on this subject," I said. "You mustsettle it with Mrs. Lecks."

  Mr. Enderton gave a great sniff, and walked away with dignity. I couldnot but laugh as I imagined his condition two minutes after he hadstated his opinions on this subject to Mrs. Lecks.

  When Mr. Dusante had started from San Francisco on his search for us, hehad sent his heavy baggage ahead of him to Ogden City, where he purposedto make his first stop. He supposed that we might possibly here divergefrom our homeward-bound route in order to visit the Mormon metropolis;and, if we had done so, he did not wish to pass us. It was therefore nowagreed that we should all go to Ogden City, and there await the arrivalof our effects left in the snowed-up vehicles on the mountain-side. Wemade arrangements with the station-master that these should be forwardedto us as soon as the stage-coach and the carriage could be brought down.All the baggage of my party was on the coach, and it consisted only of afew valises bought in San Francisco, and a package containing twolife-preservers, which Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine said they wouldtake home with them, if they took nothing else.

  On the morning after our arrival at Ogden City, Mr. Dusante took measide. "Sir," he said, "I wish to confide to you my intentions regardingthe jar containing the money left by your party in my house, and I trustyou will do nothing to thwart them. When your baggage arrives, you, withyour party, will doubtless continue your eastern way, and we shallreturn to San Francisco. But the jar, with its contents, shall be leftbehind to be delivered to Mrs. Lecks. If you will take charge of thejar, and hand it to her, sir, I shall be obliged greatly."

  I promised Mr. Dusante that I would not interfere with his intentions,but asserted that I could, on no account, take charge of the jar. Thepossession of that piece of pottery, with its contents, was now a matterof dispute between him and Mrs. Lecks, and must be settled by them.

  "Very well, then, sir," he said. "I shall arrange to depart before youand your company, and I shall leave the jar, suitably packed, in thecare of the clerk of this hotel, with directions to hand it to Mrs.Lecks after I am gone. Thus there will be nothing for her to do but toreceive it."

  Some one now came into the smoking-room, where we were sitting, and nomore was said on this subject. Mr. Dusante's statement of his intentionvery much amused me, for Mrs. Lecks had previously taken me into herconfidence in regard to her intentions in this matter. "Mr. Dusante,"she had said, "hasn't dropped a word more about the money in thatginger-jar, but I know just as well as he does what he's goin' to doabout it. When the time comes to go, he's goin' to slip off quietly,leavin' that jar behind him, thinkin' then I'll be obliged to take it,there bein' nobody to give it back to. But he'll find me just as sharpas he is. I've got the street and number of his business place inHonolulu from his sister,--askin' about it in an offhand way, as if itdidn't mean anything,--an' if that jar is left for me, I'll pack it in abox, money and all, and I'll express it to Mr. Dusante; and when he getsto Honolulu he'll find it there, and then he'll know that two can playat that sort of game."

  Knowing Mr. Dusante, and knowing Mrs. Lecks, I pictured to myself a boxcontaining a ginger-jar, and covered with numerous half-obliteratedaddresses, traveling backward and forward between the Sandwich Islandsand Pennsylvania during the lifetime of the contestants, and, probably,if testamentary desires should be regarded, during a great part of thelifetime of their heirs. That the wear and tear of the box might make itnecessary to inclose it in a keg, and that, eventually, the keg mighthave to be placed in a barrel, and that, after a time, in a hogshead,seemed to me as likely as any other contingencies which might befallthis peregrinating ginger-jar.

  We spent three days in Ogden City, and then, the weather havingmoderated very much, and the snow on the mountains having meltedsufficiently to allow the vehicles to be brought down, our effects wereforwarded to us, and my party and that of Mr. Dusante prepared toproceed on our different ways. An eastward-bound train left thatevening an hour after we received our baggage, but we did not care todepart upon such short notice, and so determined to remain until thenext day.

  In the evening Mr. Dusante came to me to say that he was very glad tofind that the westward train would leave Ogden City early in themorning, so that he and his family would start on their journey somehours before we should leave. "This suits my plans exactly," he said. "Ihave left the ginger-jar, securely wrapped, and addressed to Mrs. Lecks,with the clerk of the hotel, who will deliver it to-morrow immediatelyafter my departure. All our preparations are made, and we purpose thisevening to bid farewell to you and our other kind friends, from whom, Iassure you, we are most deeply grieved to part."

  I had just replied that we also regretted extremely the necessity forthis separation, when a boy brought me a letter. I opened it, and foundit was from Mr. Enderton. It read as follows:

  DEAR SIR: I have determined not to wait he
re until to-morrow, but to proceed eastward by this evening's train. I desire to spend a day in Chicago, and as you and the others will probably not wish to stop there, I shall, by this means, attain my object without detaining you. My sudden resolution will not give me time to see you all before I start, but I have taken a hurried leave of my daughter, and this letter will explain my departure to the rest.

  I will also mention that I have thought it proper, as the natural head of our party both by age and position, to settle the amicable dispute in regard to the reception and disposition of the money paid, under an excusable misapprehension, for our board and lodging upon a desert island. I discovered that the receptacle of this money had been left in the custody of the clerk, addressed to Mrs. Lecks, who has not only already refused to receive it, and would probably do so again, but who is, in my opinion, in no wise entitled to hold, possess, or dispose of it. I therefore, without making any disturbance whatever, have taken charge of the package, and shall convey it with me to Chicago. When you arrive there, I will apportion the contents among us according to our several claims. This I regard as a very sensible and prudent solution of the little difficulty which has confronted us in regard to the disposition of this money. Yours hurriedly,

  DAVID J. ENDERTON.

  P.S. I shall stop at Brandiger's Hotel, where I shall await you.

  PART VI

  Mr. Enderton's letter astonished and angered me, but in spite of myindignation, I could not help smiling at the unexpected way in which hehad put a stop to the probable perpetual peregrinations of theginger-jar. I handed the letter to Mr. Dusante, and when he had read ithis face flushed, and I could see that he was very angry, although hekept his temper under excellent control.

  "Sir," he said presently, "this shall not be allowed. That jar, with itscontents, is my property until Mrs. Lecks has consented to receive it.It is of my own option that I return it at all, and I have decided toreturn it to Mrs. Lecks. Any one interfering with my intentions stepsentirely beyond the line of just and warrantable procedure. Sir, I shallnot go westward to-morrow morning, but, with my family, will accompanyyou to Chicago, where I shall require Mr. Enderton to return to me myproperty, which I shall then dispose of as I see fit. You must excuseme, sir, if anything I have said regarding this gentleman with whom youare connected has wounded your sensibilities."

  "Oh, don't think of that," I exclaimed. "Pitch into Enderton as much asyou please, and you may be sure that I shall not object. When I took thedaughter to wife, I did not marry the father. But, of course, for mywife's sake I hope this matter will not be made the subject of publiccomment."

  "You need have no fear of that," said Mr. Dusante; "and you will allowme to remark that Mr. Enderton's wife must have been a most charminglady."

  "Why do you think so?" I asked.

  "I judge so," he answered, with a bow, "from my acquaintance with Mrs.Craig."

  I now went immediately to Ruth, who, I found, knew nothing of what hadoccurred, except that her father had gone on to Chicago in advance ofour party, and had had time only to bid her a hasty good-by. I made noremarks on this haste, which would not allow Mr. Enderton to take leaveof us, but which gave him time to write a letter of some length; and asRuth knew nothing of this letter, I determined not to mention it to her.Her father's sudden departure surprised her but little, for she told methat he always liked to get to places before the rest of the party withwhom he might be journeying.

  "Even when we go to church," she said, "he always walks ahead of therest of us. I don't understand why he likes to do so, but this is one ofhis habits."

  When I informed Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine of what had happened, theyfairly blazed.

  "I don't know what Mr. Dusante calls it," exclaimed Mrs. Lecks, "but Iknow what I call it."

  "Yes, indeed!" cried Mrs. Aleshine, her round eyes sparkling withexcitement; "if that isn't ex-honesty, then he ain't no ex-missionary! Ipity the heathen he converted!"

  "I'll convert him," said Mrs. Lecks, "if ever I lay eyes on him! Walkin'away with a package with my name on it! He might as well take my goldspectacles or my tortoise-shell comb! I suppose there's no such thingas ketchin' up with him, but I'll telegraph after him; an' I'll let himknow that if he dares to open a package of mine, I'll put the law onhim!"

  "That's so," said Mrs. Aleshine. "You kin send telegraphs all along theline to one station an' another for conductors to give to him in thecars, an' directed to Mr. Enderton, a tall man with gray-mixed hair an'a stolen bundle. That's the way they did in our place when Abram Marly'swife fell into the cistern, an' he'd jus' took the cars to the city, an'they telegraphed to him at five different stations to know where he'dleft the ladder."

  "Which ain't a bad idea," said Mrs. Lecks, "though his name will beenough on it without no description; an' I'll do that this minute, an'find out about the stations from the clerk."

  "You must be very careful," I said, "about anything of that kind, forthe telegrams will be read at the stations, and Mr. Enderton might bebrought into trouble in a way which we all should regret; but adespatch may be worded so that he, and no one else, would understandit."

  "Very well," said Mrs. Lecks, "an' let's get at it; but I must say thathe don't deserve bein' saved no trouble, for I'm as sure as that I'm alivin' woman that he never saved nobody else no trouble sence the firstminute he was born."

  The following despatch was concocted and sent on to Bridger, to bedelivered to Mr. Enderton on the train:

  The package you know of has been stolen. You will recognize the thief. If he leaves it at Chicago hotel, let him go. If he opens it, clap him in jail.

  MRS. LECKS.

  "I think that will make him keep his fingers off it," said Mrs. Lecks;"an' if Mr. Dusante chooses to send somethin' of the same kind to someother station, it won't do no harm. An' if that Enderton gets so skeeredthat he keeps out of sight and hearin' of all of us, it'll be the bestthing that's happened yet. An' I want you to understan', Mr. Craig, thatnothin' 's goin' to be said or done to make your wife feel bad; an'there's no need of her hearin' about what's been done or what's goin' tobe done. But I'll say for her that though, of course, Mr. Enderton isher father, and she looks up to him as such, she's a mighty deallivelier and gayer-hearted when he's away than when he's with her. An'as for the rest of us, there's no use sayin' anything about ourresignedness to the loss of his company."

  "I should say so," said Mrs. Aleshine; "for if there ever was a man whothought of himself ninety-nine times before he thought of anybody elseonce, an' then as like as not to forgit that once, he's the man. An'it's not, by no means, that I'm down on missionaries, for it's many abox I've made up for 'em, an' never begrudged neither money nor trouble,an' will do it ag'in many times, I hope. But he oughtn't to be calledone, havin' given it up,--unless they gave him up, which there's noknowin' which it was,--for if there's anything which shows the good in aman, it's his bein' willin' to give up the comforts of a Christian landan' go an' convert heathens; though bein' willin' to give up theheathens an' go for the comforts shows him quite different, besides, aslike as not, chargin' double, an' only half convertin'."

  Mr. Dusante was fully determined to go on with us until he had recoveredpossession of the ginger-jar. His courteous feelings toward Mrs. Craigand myself prevented his saying much about Mr. Enderton, but I had goodreason to believe that his opinions in regard to my father-in-law werenot very different from those of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine. Eversince Mr. Enderton had shown his petulant selfishness, when obliged togive up his room at the railroad-station for the use of the women of hisparty, Mr. Dusante had looked upon him coldly, and the two had had butlittle to say to each other.

  We were all very glad that our pleasant party was not to be broken up;and although there was no resignation at the absence of the ginger-jar,we
started on our journey the next day in a pleasanter mood for theabsence of Mr. Enderton. Before we left, Mr. Dusante sent a telegram toKearney Junction, to be delivered to Mr. Enderton when he arrivedthere. What this message was I do not know, but I imagine its tone wasdecided.

  Our journey to Chicago was a pleasant one. We had now all become verywell acquainted with each other, and there was no discordant element inthe combined party. Some of us were a little apprehensive of trouble, orannoyance at least, awaiting us in Chicago, but we did not speak of it;and while Ruth knew nothing of her father's misbehavior, it might havebeen supposed that the rest had forgotten it.

  At Chicago we went at once to Brandiger's Hotel, and there we found,instead of Mr. Enderton, a letter from him to Ruth. It read as follows:

  MY DEAR DAUGHTER: I have determined not to wait here, as originally intended, but to go on by myself. I am sorry not to meet you here, but it will not be long before we are together again, and you know I do not like to travel with a party. Its various members always incommode me in one way or another. I had proposed to go to Philadelphia and wait for you there, but have since concluded to stop at Meadowville, a village in the interior of Pennsylvania, where, as they have informed me, the two women, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, reside. I wish to see the party all together before I take final leave of them, and I suppose the two women will not consent to go any farther than the country town in which they live. Inclosed is a note to your husband relating to business matters. I hope that he will take the best of care of you during the rest of the journey, and thus very much oblige

  YOUR AFFECTIONATE FATHER.

  This was my note:

  MR. CRAIG. SIR: I should have supposed that you would have been able to prevent the insolent messages which have been telegraphed to me from some members of your party, but it is my lot to be disappointed in those in whom I trust. I shall make no answer to these messages, but will say to you that I am not to be browbeaten in my intention to divide among its rightful claimants the money now in my possession. It is not that I care for the comparatively paltry sum that will fall to myself and my daughter, but it is the principle of the matter for which I am contending. It was due to me that the amount should have been returned to me, and to no other, that I might make the proper division. I therefore rest upon my principles and my rights; and, desiring to avoid needless altercations, shall proceed to Meadowville, where, when the rest of my party arrive, I shall justly apportion the money. I suppose the man Dusante will not be foolish enough to protract his useless journey farther than Chicago. It is your duty to make him see the impropriety of so doing. Yours, etc.,

  D. J. ENDERTON.

  Ruth's letter was shown to all the party, and mine in private to Mr.Dusante, Mrs. Lecks, and Mrs. Aleshine. When the first moments ofastonishment were over, Mrs. Lecks exclaimed:

  "Well, after all, I don't know that I'm so very sorry that the old sneakhas done this, for now we're rid of him for the rest of the trip; andI'm pretty certain, from the way he writes, that he hasn't dipped intothat jar yet. We've skeered him from doin' that."

  "But the impidence of him!" said Mrs. Aleshine. "Think of his goin' tothe very town where we live an' gittin' there fust! He'll be settin' onthat tavern porch, with every loafer in the place about him, an' tellin''em the whole story of what happened to us from beginnin' to end, tillby the time we git there it'll be all over the place an' as stale aslast week's bread."

  "'The man Dusante,'" quietly remarked that individual, "will notabandon the purpose of his journey. He left his island to place in thehands of Mrs. Lecks, on behalf of her party, the ginger-jar with themoney inclosed. He will therefore go on with you to Meadowville, andwill there make formal demand, and, if necessary, legal requisition, forthe possession of that jar and that money; after which he will proceedto carry out his original intentions."

  "'THE IMPIDENCE OF HIM!'"]

  We all expressed our pleasure at having him, with his ladies, ascompanions for the remainder of our journey, and Mrs. Lecks immediatelyoffered them the hospitalities of her house for as long a time as theymight wish to stay with her.

  "The weather there," she said, "is often splendid till past Thanksgivin'day, an' nobody could be welcomer than you."

  "I'd have asked you myself," said Mrs. Aleshine, "if Mrs. Lecks hadn'tdone it,--which of course she would, bein' alive,--but I'm goin' to haveMr. Craig an' his wife, an' as our houses is near, we'll see each otherall the time. An' if Mr. Enderton chooses to stay awhile at the tavern,he can come over to see his daughter whenever he likes. I'll go as furas that, though no further can I go. I'm not the one to turn anybodyfrom my door, be he heathen, or jus' as bad, or wuss. But tea once, orperhaps twice, is all that I can find it in my heart to offer that manafter what he's done."

  As the Dusantes and Ruth expressed a desire to see something of Chicago,where they had never been before, we remained in this city for two days,feeling that, as Mr. Enderton would await our coming, there was nonecessity for haste.

  Early in the afternoon of the second day I went into the parlor of thehotel, where I expected to find our party prepared for a sight-seeingexcursion; but I found the room tenanted only by Mrs. Aleshine, who wassitting with her bonnet and wraps on, ready to start forth. I had saidbut a few words to her when Mrs. Lecks entered, without bonnet or shawl,and with her knitting in her hand. She took a seat in a largeeasy-chair, put on her spectacles, and proceeded to knit.

  "Mrs. Lecks!" exclaimed her friend, in surprise, "don't you intend goin'out this afternoon?"

  "No," said Mrs. Lecks. "I've seen all I want to see, an' I'm goin' tostay in the house an' keep quiet."

  "Isn't Mr. Dusante goin' out this afternoon?" asked Mrs. Aleshine.

  Mrs. Lecks laid her knitting in her lap; then she took off herspectacles, folded them, and placed them beside the ball of yarn, and,turning her chair around, she faced her friend. "Barb'ry Aleshine," saidshe, speaking very deliberately, "has any such a thing got into yourmind as that I'm settin' my cap at Mr. Dusante?"

  "I don't say you have, an' I don't say you haven't," answered Mrs.Aleshine, her fat hands folded on her knees, and her round face shiningfrom under her new bonnet with an expression of hearty good will; "butthis I will say,--an' I don't care who hears it,--that if you was to setyour cap at Mr. Dusante, there needn't nobody say anythin' ag'in' it, solong as you are content. He isn't what I'd choose for you, if I had thechoosin', for I'd git one with an American name an' no islands. Butthat's neither here nor there, for you're a grown woman an' can do yourown choosin'. An' whether there's any choosin' to be done is your ownbusiness, too, for it's full eleven years sence you've been done withwidder fixin's; an' if Mr. Lecks was to rise up out of his grave thisminute, he couldn't put his hand on his heart an' say that you hadn'tdone your full duty by him, both before an' after he was laid away. An'so, if you did want to do choosin', an' made up your mind to set yourcap at Mr. Dusante, there's no word to be said. Both of you is ripe-agedan' qualified to know your own minds, an' both of you is well offenough, to all intents an' purposes, to settle down together, if soinclined. An' as to his sister, I don't expect she will be on his handsfor long. An' if you can put up with an adopted mother-in-law, that'syour business, not mine; though I allus did say, Mrs. Lecks, that ifyou'd been 'Piscopalian, you'd been Low-church."

  "Is that all?" said Mrs. Lecks.

  "Yes," replied the other; "it's all I have to say jus' now, though moremight come to me if I gave my mind to it."

  "Well, then," said Mrs. Lecks, "I've somethin' to say on this p'int, andI'm very glad Mr. Craig is here to hear it. If I had a feelin' in thedirection of Mr. Dusante that he was a man, though not exactly what Imight wish, havin' somethin' of foreign manners, with ties in theSandwich Islands, which I shouldn't have had so if I'd had the orderin'of it, w
ho was still a Christian gentleman,--as showed by his acts, nothis words,--a lovin' brother, an' a kind an' attentive son by his ownadoption, and who would make me a good husband for the rest of our twolives, then I'd go and I'd set my cap at him--not bold nor flauntin' norunbecomin' to a woman of my age, but just so much settin' of it at himthat if he had any feelin's in my direction, and thought, although itwas rather late in life for him to make a change, that if he was goin'to do it he'd rather make that change with a woman who had age enough,and experience enough, in downs as well as ups, and in married life aswell as single, to make him feel that as he got her so he'd always findher, then I say all he'd have to do would be to come to me an' say whathe thought, an' I'd say what I thought, an' the thing would be settled,an' nobody in this world need have one word to say, except to wish usjoy, an' then go along and attend to their own business.

  "But now I say to you, Barb'ry Aleshine, an' just the same to you, Mr.Craig, that I haven't got no such feelin's in the direction of Mr.Dusante, an' I don't intend to set my cap at him; an' if he wore such athing, and set it at me, I'd say to him, kind, though firm, that hecould put it straight again as far as I was concerned, an' that if hechose to set it at any other woman, if the nearest an' dearest friend Ihave on earth, I'd do what I could to make their married lives as happyas they could be under the circumstances, and no matter what happened, Iwouldn't say one word, though I might think what I pleased. An' now youhave it, all straight and plain: if I wanted to set caps, I'd set 'em;and if I didn't want to set 'em, I wouldn't. I don't want to, and Idon't."

  And, putting on her spectacles, she resumed her knitting.

  Mrs. Aleshine turned upon her friend a beaming face.

  "Mrs. Lecks," she said, "your words has lifted a load from off my mind.It wouldn't ha' broke me down, an' you wouldn't never have knowed Icarried it; but it's gone, an' I'm mighty glad of it. An' as for me an'my cap,--an' when you spoke of nearest and dearest friends you couldn'tmean nobody but me,--you needn't be afraid. No matter what I was, norwhat he was, nor what I thought of him, nor what he thought of me, Icouldn't never say to my son, when he comes to his mother's arms all theway from Japan: 'George, here's a Frenchman who I give to you for afather!'"

  Here I burst out laughing; but Mrs. Lecks gravely remarked: "Now I hopethis business of cap-settin' is settled an' done with."

  "Which it is," said Mrs. Aleshine, as she rose to meet the rest of ourparty as they entered the room.

  For several days I could not look upon the dignified and almost courtlyMr. Dusante without laughing internally, and wondering what he wouldthink if he knew how, without the slightest provocation on his side, amatrimonial connection with him had been discussed by these good women,and how the matter had been finally settled. I think he would haveconsidered this the most surprising incident in the whole series of hisadventures.

  On our journey from Chicago to the little country town in the interiorof Pennsylvania we made a few stops at points of interest for the sakeof Ruth and the Dusante ladies, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine generouslyconsenting to these delays, although I knew they felt impatient to reachtheir homes. They were now on most social terms with Mrs. Dusante, andthe three chatted together like old friends.

  "I asked her if we might call her Emily," said Mrs. Aleshine inconfidence to me, "an' she said yes, an' we're goin' to do it. I've allalong wanted to, because it seemed to come nat'ral, considerin' weknowed 'em as Emily and Lucille before we set eyes on 'em. But as longas I had that load on my mind about Mrs. Lecks and Mr. Dusante Icouldn't 'Emily' his adopted mother. My feelin's wouldn't ha' stood it.But now it's all right; an' though Emily isn't the woman I expected herto be, Lucille is the very picter of what I thought she was. And as forEmily, I never knowed a nicer-mannered lady, an' more willin' to learnfrom people that's had experience, than she is."

  We arrived at Meadowville early in the afternoon, and when our partyalighted from the train we were surprised not to see Mr. Enderton on theplatform of the little station. Instead of him, there stood threepersons whose appearance amazed and delighted us. They were thered-bearded coxswain and the two sailormen, all in neat new clothes, andwith their hands raised in maritime salute.

  There was a cry of joy. Mrs. Aleshine dropped her bag and umbrella, andrushed toward them with outstretched hands. In a moment Mrs. Lecks,Ruth, and myself joined the group, and greeted warmly our nauticalcompanions of the island.

  The Dusante party, when they were made acquainted with the mariners,were almost as much delighted as we were, and Mr. Dusante expressed incordial words his pleasure in meeting the other members of the party towhom his island had given refuge.

  "I am so glad to see you," said Mrs. Aleshine, "that I don't know mybonnet from my shoes! But how, in the name of all that's wonderful, didyou get here?"

  "'T ain't much of a story," said the coxswain, "an' this is just thewhole of it. When you left us at 'Frisco we felt pretty downsome, an'the more that way because we couldn't find no vessel that we cared toship on; an' then there come to town the agent of the house that ownedour brig, and we was paid off for our last v'yage. Then, when we hadfitted ourselves out with new togs, we began to think different aboutthis shippin' on board a merchant-vessel, an' gettin' cussed at, an'livin' on hard-tack an' salt prog, an' jus' as like as not the shipspringin' a leak an' all hands pumpin' night an' day, an' goin' to DavyJones, after all. An' after talkin' this all over, we was struck hard onthe weather-bow with a feelin' that it was a blamed sightbetter--beggin' your pardon, ma'am--to dig garden-beds in nice softdirt, an' plant peas, an' ketch fish, an' all that kind of shore work,an' eatin' them good things you used to cook for us, Mrs. Aleshine, anddancin' hornpipes for ye, and tamin' birds when our watch was off.Wasn't that so, Jim an' Bill?"

  "Aye, aye, sir!" said the black-bearded sailormen.

  "Then says I, 'Now look here, mates; don't let's go and lark away allthis money, but take it an' make a land trip to where Mrs. Aleshinelives'--which port I had the name of on a piece of paper which you gaveme, ma'am."

  And here Mrs. Aleshine nodded vigorously, not being willing to interruptthis entrancing story.

  "'An' if she's got another garden, an' wants it dug in, an' thingsplanted, an' fish caught, an' any other kind of shore work done, why,we're the men for her; an' we'll sign the papers for as long a v'yage asshe likes, and stick by her in fair weather or foul, bein' good for daywork an' night work, an' allus ready to fall in when she passes theword.' Ain't that so, Jim an' Bill?"

  "Aye, aye, sir!" returned the sailormen, with sonorous earnestness.

  "Upon my word!" cried Mrs. Aleshine, tears of joy running down hercheeks, "them papers shall be signed, if I have to work night an' day tofind somethin' for you to do. I've got a man takin' keer of my placenow; but many a time have I said to myself that if I had anybody I couldtrust to do the work right, I'd buy them two fields of Squire Ramsey's,an' go into the onion business. An' now you sailormen has come likethree sea angels, an' if it suits you we'll go into the onion businesson sheers."

  "That suits us tiptop, ma'am," said the coxswain; "an' we'll plantinyans for ye on the shears, on the stocks, or in the dry-dock. It don'tmake no dif'rence to us where you have 'em; just pass the word."

  "Well, well," said Mrs. Lecks, "I don't know how that's goin' to work,but we won't talk about it now. An' so you came straight on to thisplace?"

  "That did we, ma'am," said the coxswain. "An' when we got here we foundthe parson, but none of you folks. That took us aback a little at fust,but he said he didn't live here, an' you was comin' pretty soon. An' sowe took lodgin's at the tavern, an' for three days we've been down hereto meet every train, expectin' you might be on it."

  Our baggage had been put on the platform, the train had moved on, and wehad stood engrossed in the coxswain's narrative; but now I thought itnecessary to make a move. There was but one small vehicle to hire at thestation. This would hold but two persons, and in it I placed Mrs.Dusante and Ruth, the first being not accustomed to walking, and thelat
ter very anxious to meet her father. I ordered the man to drive themto the inn, where we would stay until Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine'should get their houses properly aired and ready for our reception.

  "Mrs. Craig will be glad to get to the tavern and see her father," saidMrs. Aleshine. "I expect he forgot all about its bein' time for thetrain to come."

  "Bless you, ma'am!" exclaimed the coxswain, "is she gone to the tavern?The parson's not there!"

  "Where is he, then?" asked Mrs. Aleshine.

  "He's at your house, ma'am," replied the coxswain.

  "An' what, in the name of common sense, is he doin' at my house?"exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, her eyes sparkling with amazement andindignation.

  "Well, ma'am, for one thing," said the coxswain, "he's had the frontdoor painted."

  "What!" cried Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, in one breath.

  "Yes," continued the coxswain; "the parson said he hated to see menhangin' around doin' nothin'. An' then he looked about, an' said thepaint was all wore off the front door, an' we might as well go to workan' paint that; an' he sent Jim to a shop to git the paint an'brushes--"

  "An' have 'em charged to me?" cried Mrs. Aleshine.

  "Yes, ma'am," continued the coxswain. "An' Jim an' Bill holystoned allthe old paint off the door, an' I painted it, havin' done lots of thatsort of thing on shipboard; an' I think it's a pretty good job,ma'am--red at top and bottom, an' white in the middle, like a steamer'ssmoke-stack."

  Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine looked at each other. "An' he told you todo that?" said Mrs. Lecks.

  "Yes, ma'am," answered the coxswain. "The parson said he never liked tobe nowhere without doin' what good he could. An' there was some otherpaintin' he talked of havin' done, but we ain't got at it yet. I s'posedhe was actin' under your orders, an' I hope I haven't done no wrong,ma'am."

  "You're not a bit to blame," said Mrs. Aleshine; "but I'll look intothis thing. No fear about that! An' how did he come to go to my house?An' how did he get in, I'd like to know?"

  "All I know about that," said the coxswain, "is what the gal that'slivin' there told me, which she did along of askin' us if we was comin'to live there too, an' if she should rig up beds for us somewhere in thetop-loft; but we told her no, not havin' no orders, an' payin' our ownway at the tavern. She said, said she, that the parson come there, an''lowed he was a friend of Mrs. Aleshine's an' travelin' with her, an'that if she was at home she wouldn't let him stay at no tavern; an'that, knowin' her wishes, he'd come right there, an' 'spected to be tookcare of till she come. She said she felt uncertain about it, but shetuck him in till she could think it over, an' then we come an' certifiedthat he was the parson who'd been along with Mrs. Aleshine an' the restof us. Arter that she thought it was all right, an', beggin' your pardonif we was wrong, so did Jim an' Bill an' me, ma'am."

  "Now," exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, "if that isn't exactly like ElizabethGrootenheimer! To think of Elizabeth Grootenheimer thinkin'! TheGrootenheimers always was the dumbest family in the township, an'Elizabeth Grootenheimer is the dumbest of 'em all! I did say to myself,when I went away: 'Now, Elizabeth Grootenheimer is so stone dumb thatshe'll jus' stay here an' do the little I tell her to do, an' hasn'tsense enough to get into no mischief.' An' now, look at her!"

  She waved her hand in the direction of the invisible ElizabethGrootenheimer.

  Mrs. Lecks had said very little during this startling communication, buther face had assumed a stern and determined expression. Now she spoke:

  "I guess we've heard about enough, an' we'd better be steppin' along an'see what else Mr. Enderton an' Elizabeth Grootenheimer is doin'."

  The homes of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine were not far from each other,and were situated about midway between the station and the village inn,and in the direction of these our party now started. Mrs. Aleshine,contrary to her custom, took the lead, and walked away with strides ofunusual length. Mrs. Lecks was close behind her, followed by the twoDusantes and myself, while the three mariners, who insisted uponcarrying all the hand-baggage, brought up the rear. We stepped quickly,for we were all much interested in what might happen next; and very soonwe reached Mrs. Aleshine's house. It was a good-sized andpleasant-looking dwelling, painted white, with green shutters, and witha long covered piazza at the front. Between the road and the house was aneat yard with grass and flower-beds, and from the gate of thepicket-fence in front of the yard a brick-paved path led up to thehouse.

  Our approach had been perceived, for on the piazza, in front of thegaily painted door, stood Mr. Enderton, erect, and with a bland andbenignant smile upon his face. One hand was stretched out as if inwelcome, and with the other he gracefully held the ginger-jar, nowdivested of its wrappings.

  At this sight Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine made a simultaneous dash atthe gate; but it was locked. The two women stamped their feet in fury.

  "Put down that jar!" shouted Mrs. Lecks.

  "Elizabeth Grootenheimer! Elizabeth Grootenheimer!" screamed Mrs.Aleshine. "Come here and open this gate."

  "Break it down!" said Mrs. Lecks, turning to the sailors.

  "Don't you do it!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, throwing herself in front ofit. "Don't you break my gate! Elizabeth Grootenheimer!"

  "My friends," said Mr. Enderton, in clear, distinct tones, "be calm. Ihave the key of that gate in my pocket. I locked it because I fearedthat on your first arrival you would hurry up to the house in apromiscuous way, and give heed to irrelevant matters. I wished toaddress you in a body, and in a position where your attention would notbe diverted from me. I hold here, my friends, the receptacle containingthe money which, under a misapprehension, was paid for our board whileon a desert island. This money I have taken care of, and have carefullyguarded for the benefit of us all. Unfortunately, objections have arisento this guardianship, which were forwarded to me by telegraph; but Ihave not heeded them. If you cannot see for yourselves the propriety ofmy assumption of this trust, I will not now undertake to enlighten you.But I hope there is no necessity for this, for, having had time to givethe matter your fullest attention, I doubt not that you entirely agreewith me. I will merely add, for I see you are impatient, that the sumwhich will fall to the share of each of us is comparativelyinsignificant and in itself not worth striving for; but what I have donehas been for the sake of principle. For the sake of principle I haveinsisted that this money should be received by its rightful owners; forthe sake of principle I assumed the custody of it; and for the sake ofprinciple I shall now empty the contents of this jar--which by me hasnot been examined or touched--upon the floor of this piazza, and I shallthen proceed to divide said contents into five suitable portions--thethree mariners, as I understand, having paid no board. The gate can thenbe opened, and each one can come forward and take the portion whichbelongs to him or to her. The portion of my daughter, whom I saw passhere in a carriage, going, doubtless, to the inn, will be taken chargeof by myself."

  "You man!" shrieked Mrs. Lecks, shaking her fist over the fence, "if youas much as lift that paper of fish-hooks from out the top of thatginger-jar, I'll--"

  Here she was interrupted by the loud, clear voice of Mr. Dusante, whocalled out: "Sir, I require you to put down that jar, which is myproperty."

  "I'll let you know," said Mrs. Lecks, "that other people haveprinciples!"

  But what more she said was drowned by the voice of Mrs. Aleshine, whoscreamed for Elizabeth Grootenheimer, and who was now so much excitedthat she was actually trying to break open her own gate.

  I called out to Mr. Enderton not to make trouble by disturbing thecontents of the jar; and even Miss Lucille, who was intensely amused atthe scene, could be heard joining her voice to the general clamor.

  But the threats and demands of our united party had no effect upon Mr.Enderton. He stood up, serene and bland, fully appreciating theadvantage of having the key of the gate's padlock in his pocket and theginger-jar in his hand.

  "'YOU MAN!' SHRIEKED MRS. LECKS."]

  "I will now proceed," said he. But at that m
oment his attention wasattracted by the three mariners, who had clambered over the pointedpales of the fence, and who now appeared on the piazza, Bill to theright hand of Mr. Enderton, Jim to the left, and the red-beardedcoxswain at his back. They all seemed to speak at once, though what theysaid we could not hear, nothing but a few hoarse mutterings coming downto us.

  But in consequence of what Bill said, Mr. Enderton handed him the key ofthe gate; and in consequence of what Jim said, Mr. Enderton delivered tohim the ginger-jar; and in consequence of what the coxswain said, he andMr. Enderton walked off the piazza; and the two proceeded to a distantcorner of the yard, where they stood out of the way, as it were, whilethe gate was opened. Bill bungled a little, but the padlock was soonremoved, and we all hurried through the gate and up to the piazza, whereJim still stood, the ginger-jar held reverently in his hands.

  The coxswain now left Mr. Enderton, and that gentleman proceeded to theopen gate, through which he passed into the road, and then turned, andin a loud and severe tone addressed Mrs. Aleshine:

  "I leave your inhospitable house, and go to join my daughter at the inn,where I request you to send my valise and umbrella as soon as possible."

  Mrs. Aleshine's indignation at this invasion of her home and thistrampling on her right to open her own gate had entirely driven away heraccustomed geniality, and in angry tones she cried:

  "Jus' you stop at that paint-shop, when you git to the village, an' payfor the paint you had charged to me; an' when you've done that you cansend for your things."

  "Come, now, Barb'ry," said Mrs. Lecks, "don't let your feelin's run awaywith you. You ought to be thankful that he's let you off so easy, an'that he's gone."

  "I'm all that," said Mrs. Aleshine; "an', on second thoughts, everywhip-stitch of his bag and baggage shall be trundled after him as soonas I kin git it away."

  We all now stood upon the piazza, and Mrs. Aleshine, in calmer tones,but with her face still flushed from her recent excitement, turned to usand said: "Now, isn't this a pretty comin' home? My front gate fastenedin my very face; my front door painted red and white; the inside of thehouse, as like as not, turned upside down by that man jus' as much asthe outside; an' where in the world, I'd like to know, is ElizabethGrootenheimer?"

  "Now don't you be too hard on her," said Mrs. Lecks, "after havin' beenaway from her so long. I haven't a doubt she's feedin' the pigs; and youknow very well she never would leave them as long as she felt theyneeded her. You needn't mind if your house is upset, for none of us iscomin' in, havin' only intended to see you to your door, which I mustsay is a pretty blazin' one."

  "And now, Mrs. Lecks," said Mr. Dusante, taking, as he spoke, theginger-jar from the hand of Jim, "I think this is a suitable opportunityfor me to accomplish the object for which my present journey wasundertaken, and to return to you the contents of this jar."

  "Which," said Mrs. Lecks, in a very decided tone, "I don't take now nomore'n I did before."

  Mr. Dusante looked surprised and troubled. After all the dangers andadventures through which that ginger-jar had gone, I believe that heexpected Mrs. Lecks would at last relent and consent to accept it fromhim.

  "Now, look here," said Mrs. Aleshine, "don't let us have any more fussabout the ginger-jar, or anything else. Let's put off talkin' about thattill we're all settled and fixed. It won't do for you to take the jar tothe tavern with you, Mr. Dusante, for like as not Mr. Enderton will githold of it ag'in, an' I know Mrs. Lecks won't let it come into herhouse; so, if you like, you may jus' leave it here for the present, andyou may make up your minds nobody'll touch it while I'm about. An' aboutI intend to be."

  This arrangement was gladly agreed upon, and the jar being delivered toMrs. Aleshine, we took our leave of her.

  Mrs. Lecks found no difficulty in entering her gate, where she was dulywelcomed by a man and his wife she had left in charge, while theDusantes and myself walked on to the inn, or "Hotel," as its signimported, about which the greater part of the little town clustered. Thethree mariners remained behind to await further orders from Mrs.Aleshine.

  By the afternoon of the next day the abodes of those two most energeticand capable housewives, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, were fullyprepared for the reception of their visitors, and the Dusante familywere ensconced beneath the roof of the one, while my wife and I weremost warmly welcomed at the gaily adorned door of the other.

  Mr. Enderton remained at the inn, where he found very comfortablequarters, an arrangement satisfactory to all parties.

  In Mrs. Aleshine's dwelling, where, from the very first, Lucille tookher position as a most constant visitor, being equally welcomed by Ruthand the mistress of the house, all was satisfaction and high good humor.The ceaseless activity and cheerful spirits of our hostess seemed toanimate us all. At Mrs. Lecks's home the case was different. There, Icould plainly see, there was a certain uneasiness amounting almost tostiffness between Mrs. Lecks and Mr. Dusante. The latter had notaccomplished the purpose for which he had made this long journey; andthough, if things had turned out as he wished, he would have been veryglad to be the guest of Mrs. Lecks, still, under the presentcircumstances, the situation did not suit him. Mrs. Lecks, too,possessed an unsettled mind. She did not know when Mr. Dusante wouldagain endeavor to force back upon her the board money in the ginger-jar,and in this state of uneasy expectancy she was not at her best.

  "He's not satisfied," said she to me, on the morning after the Dusanteshad come to her; "he wants to do somethin', or else to go away. I wishthat ginger-jar had dropped into the bottom of the sea while he wasbringin' it, or else had smashed itself into a thousand bits while hewas slidin' down the mountain, and the money had melted itself into thesnow. S'posin' at the end of the week he was to come to me and offer topay me board for himself and his family, sayin' that was no more thanI'd done to him! Of course the two cases are not a bit alike; for wewent to his house strangers, without leave or license, while he comes tomine as a friend, bein' fully invited and pressed. But I don't suppose Icould make him see it in that light, and it worries me."

  I was convinced that something ought to be done to end this unpleasantstate of affairs, and I took my wife and Miss Lucille into council onthe subject. After we had deliberated a little while an idea came toRuth.

  "In my opinion," said she, "the best thing we can do with that boardmoney is to give it to those three sailors. They are poor and will beglad to get it; Mr. Dusante and Mrs. Lecks ought to be fully satisfied,for the one doesn't keep it and the other doesn't take it back; and I'msure that this plan will please all the rest of us."

  This proposition was agreed to by the council, and I was appointed to goimmediately and lay it before the parties interested.

  Mr. Dusante gave his ready consent to this proposal. "It is not what Iintended to do," said he, "but it amounts to almost the same thing. Themoney is in fact restored to its owners, and they agree to make acertain disposition of it. I am satisfied."

  Mrs. Lecks hesitated a little. "All right," said she. "He takes themoney and gives it to who he chooses. I've nothin' to say against it."

  Of course no opposition to the plan was to be expected from anybodyelse, except Mr. Enderton. But when I mentioned it to him, I found, tomy surprise, that he was not unwilling to agree to it. Half closing thebook he had been reading, he said: "What I have done was on behalf ofprinciple. I did not believe, and do not believe, that upon an entirelydeserted island money should be paid for board. I paid it under protest,and I do not withdraw that protest. According to all the laws of justiceand hospitality, the man who owned that island should not retain thatmoney, and Mrs. Lecks had no right to insist upon such retention. But ifit is proposed to give the sum total to three mariners who paid noboard, and to whom the gift is an absolute charity, I am content. To besure, they interfered with me at a moment when I was about to make asuitable settlement of the matter, but I have no doubt they were told todo so; and I must admit that while they carried out their orders with acertain firmness, characteristic of persons ac
customed to unreasoningobedience, they treated me with entire respect. If equal respect hadbeen shown to me at the beginning of these disputes, it would have beenmuch better for all concerned."

  And opening his book, he recommenced his reading.

  That afternoon all of us, except Mr. Enderton, assembled on Mrs.Aleshine's piazza to witness the presentation of the board money. Thethree sailors, who had been informed of the nature of the proceedings,stood in line on the second step of the piazza, clad in their besttoggery, and with their new tarpaulin hats in their hands. Mrs. Aleshinewent into the house, and soon reappeared carrying the ginger-jar, whichshe presented to Mr. Dusante. That gentleman took it, and stood holdingit for a moment as if he were about to speak; but even if he hadintended to say anything, he had no further opportunity, for Mrs. Lecksnow stepped forward and addressed him.

  "Mr. Dusante," said she, "from what I have seen of you myself and heardtell of you from others, I believe you are a man who tries to do hisduty, as he sees it, with a single heart and no turnin' from one side tothe other. You made up your mind that you'd travel over the whole world,if it had to be done, with that ginger-jar and the board money inside ofit, till you'd found the people who'd been livin' in your house; andthen that you'd give back that jar, jus' as you'd found it, to theperson who took upon herself the overseein' of the reg'lar payin' of themoney and the puttin' of it therein. With that purpose in your mind youcarried that jar over the ocean; you wandered with it up and downCalifornia; and holdin' it tight fast in your arms, you slid down theslipperiest mountain that was ever made yet, I believe, and if it hadbeen your only infant child, you couldn't have held it firmer, norregarded it more careful. Through ups and downs, and thicks and smooths,you carried that jar or followed it, and for the sake of doin' whatyou'd set your mind on you came all the way to this place; to which, ifit hadn't been for that one idea, it isn't likely you'd ever dreamed ofcomin'. Now, Mr. Dusante, we've all agreed on what we think is the rightthing to do, and you agreed with us, but I can see by your face thatyou're disapp'inted. The thing you set out to do you haven't done; andI'm not goin' to have it to say to myself that you was the only one ofall of us that wasn't satisfied, and that I was the stumblin'-blockthat stood in your way. So I'll back down from sayin' that I'd nevertouch that jar again, and you can put it into my hands, as you set outto do."

  Mr. Dusante made no answer, but stepped forward, and taking Mrs. Lecks'slarge brown and work-worn hand, he respectfully touched it with hislips. It is not probable that Mrs. Lecks's hand had ever before beenkissed. It is not probable that she had ever seen any one kiss the handof another. But the hard sense and keen insight of that independentcountrywoman made her instantly aware of what was meant by thatold-fashioned act of courteous homage. Her tall form grew more erect;she slightly bowed her head, and received the salute with a quietdignity which would have become a duchess.

  This little scene touched us all, and Mrs. Aleshine afterward informedme that for a moment she hadn't a dry eye in her head.

  Mr. Dusante now handed the ginger-jar to Mrs. Lecks, who immediatelystepped toward Ruth and Lucille.

  "You two young ones," she said, "can jus' take this jar, an' your handscan be the first to lift off that paper of fish-hooks and take out themoney, which you will then divide among our good friends, thesesailormen."

  Ruth and Lucille immediately sat down on the floor of the piazza, andthe one emptied the board money into the lap of the other, where it wasspeedily divided into three equal portions, one of which was placed inthe hands of each mariner.

  The men stood motionless, each holding his money in his open righthand, and then the red-bearded coxswain spoke.

  "It ain't for me, nor for Bill, nor for Jim nuther, to say a word ag'in'what you all think is right and square. We've stood by ye an' obeyedorders since we first shipped on that island, an' we intend to do sostraight along. Don't we, Jim an' Bill?"

  "HE RESPECTFULLY TOUCHED IT WITH HIS LIPS."]

  "Aye, aye, sir!" said Jim and Bill, in hearty hoarse response.

  "There's some of ye, specially Mrs. Aleshine, though meanin' nodisrespec' to anybody else, that we'd follow to the crosstrees of thetopgallantmast of the tallest ship that ever floated in the middle ofthe ragin'est typhoon that ever blowed. Wouldn't we, Jim an' Bill?"

  "Aye, aye, sir!" sang out Jim and Bill.

  "But though we stand ready to obey orders," said the coxswain, "we madeup our minds, when we heard what was goin' to be done, that we'd listenkeerful fer one thing, an' we have listened keerful, an' we haven'theard that one thing, an' that thing was what we should do with thismoney. An' not havin' heard it, an' so bein' under no orders as to thespendin' of it, we take the money, an' thank you kindly, one an' all.Don't we, Jim an' Bill?"

  "Aye, aye, sir!" said Jim and Bill.

  And into the pocket of each mariner clinked the money.

  Mr. Dusante now took up the ginger-jar, and approached Mrs. Lecks. "Ihope, madam," he said, "that as the subject of our little differenceshas now been removed from this jar, you will consent to accept it fromme as a memento of the somewhat remarkable experiences through which ithas accompanied us."

  "Take it, sir?" said she. "To be sure I will. An' very glad am I to getit. As long as I live it shall stand on the mantelpiece in my parlor;an' when I die it shall be left to my heirs, to be taken care of as longas it holds together."

  Every reason for dissatisfaction having now been banished from ourlittle company, we all settled down for a season of enjoyment. Even Mr.Enderton, who had found on the top shelf of a closet in his room at theinn a lot of old books, appeared to be in a state of perfect content. Tothe Dusantes a residence in this absolutely rural portion of our MiddleStates in the autumnal season was an entirely novel experience. Thecrisp and invigorating air, the mists and the glowing hues of theIndian-summer time, the softness of the sunshine, and even those massesof limbs and twigs which had already dropped their leaves and spreadthemselves in a delicate network against the clear blue sky, were allfull of a novel beauty for these people who had lived so long intropical lands and among perennial foliage, and had never known thedelights of an American country life out of season. Having enjoyed Mrs.Lecks's hospitality for a suitable period, they proposed to thatsensible woman that she should receive them as boarders until the wintershould set in; and to this practical proposition she gave a readyassent, hoping that the really cold weather would long defer its coming.

  Ruth and I established ourselves on the same terms with Mrs. Aleshine. Aprolonged holiday from the labors of my business had been the object ofmy attempted journey to Japan, and I could think of no place where itwould better please my young wife and myself to rest for a time thanhere among these good friends.

  A continual source of amusement to us were the acts and doings of Mrs.Aleshine and her three sailormen. These bold mariners had enlisted, souland body, into the service of the thrifty housewife; and as it wasimpossible to do anything in connection with the growing of the onionsuntil the desired fields should be acquired and the spring should open,many and diverse were the labors at which the coxswain and those twoable-bodied seamen Bill and Jim set themselves, or were set by Mrs.Aleshine.

  The brilliantly painted front door, which at first had excited the goodwoman's ire, gradually came to command her admiration; and when hersailormen had done everything else that they could in the barns, thefields, or at the woodpile, she gave them the privilege to paint variousportions of her property, leaving designs and colors to their own tasteand fancy. Whether they milked the cows, cut the wood, or painted thesides of the house, they always worked like good fellows, and innautical costume. They holystoned the front deck, as they called thefloor of the piazza, until it seemed sacrilegious to set foot upon it;and when the house and the pale-fence had been suitably painted, theyallowed their fancies lofty flights in the decoration of the smalleroutbuildings and various objects in the grounds. One of the men had apocket-chart of the colors adopted by the different steamship companiesall ove
r the world, and now smoke-houses, corn-cribs, chicken-houses,and so on, down to pumps and hitching-posts, were painted in great bandsof blue and red and white and black, arranged in alternating orders,until an observer might have supposed that a commercial navy had beensunk beneath Mrs. Aleshine's house grounds, leaving nothing but itssmoke-stacks visible.

  The greatest work of decoration, however, was reserved by thered-bearded coxswain for himself, designed by his own brain, andexecuted by his own hands. This was the tattooing of the barn. Aroundthis building, the sides of which were already of a color sufficientlyresembling a well-tanned human skin, the coxswain painted, in blue spotsresembling tattooing, an immense cable passing several times about thestructure, a sea-serpent almost as long as the cable, eight anchors, twoships under full sail, with a variety of cannons and flags which filledup all the remaining spaces. This great work was a long time inexecution, and before it was half finished its fame had spread over thesurrounding country.

  "THE GREATEST WORK OF DECORATION WAS RESERVED BY THERED-BEARDED COXSWAIN FOR HIMSELF."]

  The decoration of her premises was greatly enjoyed by Mrs. Aleshine. "Itgives 'em somethin' to do," said she, "till the onion season comes on;it makes 'em happy; an' the leaves an' flowers bein' pretty nigh gone, Ilike to see the place blossomin' out as if it was a cold-weathergarden."

  In the evenings, in the large kitchen, the sailormen danced theirhornpipes, and around the great fireplace they spun long yarns of hapsand mishaps on distant seas. Mrs. Aleshine always, and the rest of usoften, sat by the fire and enjoyed these nautical recreations.

  "Havin' myself done housekeepin' in the torrid zone," she once said, "alot of the things they tell come home to me quite nat'ral. An' I'd doanything in the world to make 'em content to live on dry land likecommon Christians, instead of cavortin' about on the pitchin' ocean,runnin' into each other, an' springin' leaks, with no likelihood offindin' a furnished island at every p'int where their ship happened togo down."

  On one subject only did any trouble now come into the mind of Mrs.Aleshine, and she once had a little talk with me in regard to it.

  "I've been afeard from the very beginnin'," she said, "an' after a whileI more'n half believed it, that Elizabeth Grootenheimer was settin' hercap at the coxswain; so I just went to him an' I spoke to him plain.'This sort o' thing won't do at all,' says I; 'an' although I haven't adoubt you see it for yourself, I thought it my dooty to speak my mindabout it. There's plenty of young women in this township that would makeyou sailormen fust-rate wives, an' glad enough I'd be to see you allmarried an' settled an' gone to farmin' right here amongst us; butElizabeth Grootenheimer won't do. Settin' aside everythin' else, ifthere was to be any children, they might be little coxswains, but they'dbe Grootenheimers too, stone-dumb Grootenheimers; an' I tell you plainthat this county can't stand no more Grootenheimers!' To which he says,says he, 'I want you to understan', ma'am, that if ever me or Jim orBill makes up our mind to set sail for any sort of a weddin' port, wewon't weigh anchor till we've got our clearance papers from you.' Bywhich he meant that he'd ask my advice about courtin'. An' now my mindis easy, an' I can look ahead with comfort to onion-time."

  I found it necessary to go to Philadelphia for a day or two to attend tosome business matters; and, the evening before I started, the coxswaincame to me and asked a favor for himself and his mates.

  "It mayn't have passed out of your mind, sir," said he, "that when mean' Jim an' Bill took that money that you all give us, which wasn't'zackly like prize-money, because the rest of the crew, to put it thatway, didn't get any, we listened keerful to see if anything was said asto what we was to do with the money; an' nothin' bein' said, we took it,and we wasn't long makin' up our minds as to what we was goin' to dowith it. What we wanted to do was to put up some sort of signal whatcouldn't get blowed away, or, more like, a kind of reg'lar moniment aswould make them that looked at it remember the rough squalls and thejolly larks we've gone through with together; an' it was when we wastalkin' about Mrs. Lecks bein' give' the ginger-jar to put on hermantelpiece an' keep forever that me an' Jim an' Bill we said, says we,that Mrs. Aleshine should have a ginger-jar too, havin' as much right toone as her mate, an' that that would be the signal-flag or the monimentthat we'd put up. Now, sir, as you're goin' to town, we ask you to takethis money, which is the whole lot that was give' us, an' have aginger-jar built, jus' the size an' shape an' gen'ral trim of that otherone, but of no pottery-stuff, for you kin buy 'em jus' like that, an'that ain't what we want. We want her built of good oak, stout an'strong, with live-oak knees inside to keep her stiff an' save her frombein' stove in, in case of a collision. We want her bottom coppered upabove the water-line with real silver, an' we want a turtle-back deckwith a round hatchway, with a tight-fittin' hatch, jus' like commonjars. We want her sides calked with oakum, an' well scraped an' painted,so that with water inside of her or outside of her she won't leak. An'on the bottom of her, so they kin be seen if she keels over, we wantsthe names of me an' Jim an' Bill, which we've wrote on this piece ofpaper. An' on her sides, below the water-line, on the silver copperin',we want the names of all the rest of you, an' the latitood an'longitood of that island, an' anything out of the logs that might 'a'been kep' by any of you, as might help to be remembered the thing whathappened. An' then, if there's any room left on the copperin', an' anymoney lef' to pay for 'em, you might have cut on as many anchors, an'hearts, an' bits of cable, an' such like suitable things as would fillup. An' that jar we're goin' to give to Mrs. Aleshine to put on hermantelpiece, to stay there as long as she lives, or anybody that belongsto her. An', by George, sir!" he added behind his hand, although therewas nobody to hear, "if ever them two jars run into each other, it won'tbe Mrs. Aleshine's that'll go down!"

  I undertook this commission, and in due course of time there came to thevillage the most astonishing ginger-jar that was ever built, and whichsatisfied the three mariners in every particular. When it was presentedto Mrs. Aleshine, her admiration of this work of art, her delight in itsownership, and her gratitude to the donors were alike boundless.

  "However could I have had the idee," said she privately to me, "that anyone of them noble sailormen could have brought himself down to marryElizabeth Grootenheimer!"

  It was not long after this happy event that another great joy came toMrs. Aleshine. Her son returned from Japan. He had heard of the loss ofthe steamer in which his mother and Mrs. Lecks had set sail, and was ingreat trouble of mind until he received a letter from his mother whichbrought him speedily home. He had no intention of settling inMeadowville, but it had been a long time since he had seen his mother.

  He was a fine young man, handsome and well educated, and we were alldelighted with him; and in a very short time he and Lucille Dusante,being the only young bachelor and maiden of the company, became sointimate and super-friendly that it was easy to see that to Mrs.Aleshine might come the unexpected rapture of eventually being themother of Lucille.

  We stayed much later at Meadowville than we had expected. Even after thelittle hills and vales had been well covered with snow, sleighing andcoasting parties, led by the lively new-comer, offered attractions,especially to Lucille, which bound us to the cheery homes of Mrs. Lecksand Mrs. Aleshine. But, after a time, the Dusantes considered it prudentto go to Florida for the rest of the winter; Mr. Enderton had long sinceread all the books on his closet shelf and departed for New York; andRuth and I determined that we, too, must move eastward.

  But, before our little company separated, Mrs. Aleshine's son andLucille Dusante had settled it between them that when the springtimecame they would set sail for a wedding port. This match was a highlysatisfactory one to all concerned, for Mr. Dusante could scarcely havefound a young brother-in-law who would make his sister so happy, and whowas, at the same time, so well fitted by disposition and previousoccupation to assist in his increasing business cares.

  In the spring the Dusante family came North again, and Lucille and herlover were married; and then all of us, e
xcept Mr. Enderton, who hadobtained a most congenial position as assistant librarian in a publicinstitution seldom visited, gathered at Meadowville to spend a week ortwo together, after which Ruth and I would repair to the New Englandtown which was to be our home, and the Dusante family, the young husbandincluded, would set out on a tour, partly of business and partly ofpleasure, through Canada and the far Northwest.

  It was arranged that, whenever it should be possible, Lucille and Mrs.Dusante should spend their summers at Meadowville; and as this wouldalso give her much of the society of her son, the heart of Mrs. Aleshinecould ask no more.

  This visit to Meadowville was in the onion season; and one morning Ruthand I sat upon a fence and watched the three sailormen busily at work.The soil looked so fine and smooth that one might almost have supposedthat it had been holystoned; and the three nautical farmers, in theirtight-waisted, loose-bottomed trousers, their tarpaulin hats, and theirwide-collared shirts, were seated on the ground at different points,engrossed in the absorbing task of setting out young onions as onionshad never been set out before. All the careful attention to patientminutiae which nautical handiwork had taught them was now displayed intheir new vocation. In a portion of the field which had been firstplanted the onions had sprouted, and we could see evidences ofastonishing designs. Here were anchors in onions; hearts in onions;brigs, barks, and schooners in onions; and more things pertaining toships, the heart's affections, and the raging main outlined in onionsthan Ruth and I could give names to.

  "It seems to me," said I, "that there must have been some sort ofenchantment in that little island in the Pacific, for in one way oranother it has made us all very happy."

  "That is true," answered Ruth, "and, do you know, I believe the cause ofa great part of that happiness was the board money in the ginger-jar!"

 

‹ Prev Next ›