CHAPTER XXIII.
BACK TO ENGLAND.
Before the Sedgwicks left Indianapolis, Grace found her opportunity andsaid: "Mrs. Hazleton, soon after we reach England my husband will go awayfor four or five months. I shall be awfully lonesome. You have never beenacross the sea. Take pity upon me and be my guest for a few months untilyou weary of me."
The lady was startled by the proposition, waited a moment, and then said:
"I do not know how to thank you, but I came here to teach music. I haveseveral pupils, and have a contract to sing in the choir of one of thechurches. I need the little revenue that I receive, but if I could getreleased from my obligations I would most gladly go, for I do covet achange exceedingly."
"Then," said Grace, "if I can get that release, and will pay you as muchas you receive here, and all your expenses out and back, will you go?"
"Indeed, I will," she answered, "and will be grateful to you all mylife."
The arrangement was easily made, and the further arrangement thatSedgwick and his bride should go to Ohio, visit Sedgwick's family forthree or four days; then should join the Forbeses and Mrs. Hazleton at acertain hotel in New York, and all would embark on the steamer that wouldsail on the next week Saturday--ten days from that day.
Then Sedgwick and Grace started for the Miami Valley.
What a welcome was there! The old house had been repaired, modernized,refurnished and repainted. A new house had been built on the other farm.It was in the first days of February. That year there was good sleighing,and the whole town seemed to turn out to celebrate the occasion of JimSedgwick's bringing home his bride. Four days passed in a whirl ofpleasure. The first morning after their arrival, Sedgwick asked hisbrother for his trotting team, his new cutter, and the bells, to giveGrace her first sleigh-ride. The steppers were of the 2:30 class, theroads good, and the fair English girl-wife was in ecstacies. They drovepast the Jasper farm on the hill, and Sedgwick told Grace that it was hisdream for years to accumulate $30,000 to release the mortgage from hisfather's farm and to buy the Jasper farm.
"Then what would I have done?" asked Grace.
"Married some English banker, or may be some 'My Lord Fitzdoodle,'probably," said Sedgwick.
"But, then, suppose a year later I had seen you, what would become ofme?" she said.
"We should have been very formal and polite, and then have gone ourseveral ways," said Sedgwick.
"Yes, because you are a man of principle, and I hope my pride ofwomanhood would have sustained me, but my heart would have broken, forwith me it was a mad passion which absorbed my life before I had been inyour presence half an hour," said Grace; and then added: "I do not anymore wonder at the crimes which come of mismated marriages."
Then Sedgwick told her how, when he left her side the first time, he tookthat ride and asked cabbie how much they would charge at Newgate to hanghim.
And they both laughed, but there were tears in the eyes of Grace evenwhile she smiled. But she rallied in a moment and said:
"Why not buy the place still? Except to leave my mother, I would be onthat farm with you as happy a wife as ever lived. I would rather liveupon that hill than in our great modern Babel, London."
Just then the cutter went in and out of a "Thank-ee-mom"--a hollowbetween two snowdrifts--and Sedgwick bent and kissed his wife.
"Thanks," said Grace.
"That was a kiss on principle. That was a pure duty," said Sedgwick.Then he explained how venerable was the custom, and elaborated upon therespect due it because of its age and its usefulness to bashful lovers,because a youth must kiss the girl who goes sleighing with him wheneverhe comes to a "Thank-ee-mom" among the drifts.
"What a poor old country England is," said Grace.
"Why so?" asked Sedgwick.
"Why, had we but had snowdrifts and 'Thank-ee-moms,' I would have madeyou kiss me three weeks sooner than you did," said Grace.
"Did you want me to kiss you sooner than I did?" asked Sedgwick.
"O, you blind darling!" said Grace. "When I read of your exploit beforethe church in Devonshire, I told Jack and Rose that I would like to kissthat man. Then he told me who the man was, and after all I had to wait solong I began to fear he would never give me a chance to carry out mydesire."
"Is that true, Gracie?" asked Sedgwick.
"Indeed it is," she replied, and then she quickly continued, "Does itdrift badly along here?"
"Pretty badly," answered Sedgwick.
"Then, love," answered Grace, "buy the farm by all means and at allhazards."
"I believe I will," said Sedgwick. "I believe we need it in our business.If when we get back to England it shall be known that we have bought ahome in America, and are having a house built, it will take allsuspicions about a possible African enterprise away."
And that day he bought the farm, and the next one to it, and told hisbrother he would send from England plans for a house to be built in thespring.
Next day came the parting from the old home. Sedgwick promised to returnbefore many months and stay longer, and he and his wife started for NewYork.
They rested over one train at Niagara, and took in its splendor as seenin winter-time, and arrived in New York on Wednesday. Forbes hadpurchased the tickets, and secured the rooms on the ship for the wholeparty. Thursday and Friday were devoted to taking in as much as possibleof the great city. On Saturday they sailed.
The voyage was generally uneventful, except that one day they weretreated to a beautiful spectacle of rescuing a crew from a water-loggedcraft. The wind was fresh, and there was an uneasy sea on, when a signalof distress was noted off across the water. The steamer was headed forit, and in half an hour came up to it. It was a little old lumberschooner. The sea was washing its deck with every wave. In the meantime,the second officer, with six seamen, had taken their places in a boat.The boat had been swung out over the water. The sailors were standing by,holding the tackle by which a boat is lowered; the commander was on thebridge, and when in hailing distance of the craft he dropped his hand andthe engines stopped. He shouted through his trumpet, asking what waswanted. "To come aboard," a voice came back. The commander dropped hishand again, and down ran the boat and pulled away for the wreck. It wouldmount a wave, and then sink out of sight of those on the ship's highdeck; then climb again. It returned in twenty minutes, and it was thecommander of the great ship that took the hand of the schooner's roughskipper as the boat was hoisted, and for the remainder of the voyage theshipwrecked skipper had a state-room by himself, and his seat at thetable was at the commander's right hand.
They reached Liverpool on the tenth day--Monday--and went up to Londonthe same afternoon.
Reaching the city, Sedgwick sent a message to Mrs. Hamlin to meet them atthe house of Jack and Rose, for he would not go to the Hamlin house.
Sedgwick, with his wife and Mrs. Hazleton, went at once to the home ofthe Brownings.
Rose was wild with delight at their coming. She hugged Grace, kissed herand cried over her; kissed Sedgwick, and welcomed Mrs. Hazleton socordially that the lady was sure it was sincere.
Then Mrs. Hamlin came, and the whole business had to be done over again,the elder lady reproaching Grace and her husband for not coming to her,and scolding even as she embraced them.
Then matters quieted down enough to talk. Rose explained that she was adeserted wife; that Jack six weeks before had come home one night andtold her that he was going to sail for South America next day; that shecould not go along, but must be good and not be lonesome for six or eightweeks.
Then she continued: "That is the kind of monsters these men are. They begand tease and protest until we women take pity on them and marry them,and then when the woman's chances for getting a good man are all spoiled,they rush off on the slightest provocation to America, or India, orAustralia, or China, or some other barbarous place, and all a woman cando is to mope and threaten that next time she will know better."
And then she laughed, and then as suddenly cried and said: "Po
or dear oldJack! May the seas be merciful, and may the good ship bring him safelyback and be quick about it!"
And sure enough, a week later a step was heard outside, someone with anight key opened the door, and Rose flew into Jack's arms and cried sohysterically that it took Jack a long time to calm her.
Browning explained to Sedgwick that he had been earning a commission bygoing out and reporting on a mine in Venezuela, just over the border fromBritish Guiana. He brought to Rose a world of tropical and marinecuriosities. He was in superb health and seemed to be in good spirits.
It was understood that Sedgwick would have to go away again in a month,and it was his wish and that of Grace to find a house and have anestablishment of their own.
Jack and Rose insisted that during Sedgwick's absence Grace and Mrs.Hazleton should be their guests, but Sedgwick said with a laugh: "O Mrs.Browning, you and Jack are good, but you both know that no house is bigenough for two families." And quietly Jack and Rose and Mrs. Hamlin wereenjoined never in Mrs. Hazleton's presence to mention Jordan's name.
However, the difficulty was finally settled. The house Jack lived in wasa double house. The other half was occupied by a gentleman, his wife andone child. The lady was delicate, and the doctors, baffled by her case,ordered her--as usual--to try a change of climate. So Sedgwick hired thehouse as Browning had his; the servants remained, and permission wasobtained to cut a doorway in the partition walls that divided the twohalls, so that Rose could visit Grace in the morning and Grace couldvisit Rose in the evening.
Sedgwick and Browning were almost inseparable during the day-time.Sedgwick assured Browning that things were working well, begging him notto disturb either old man Hamlin, or Jenvie, or Stetson, but to "rig somepurchase" after he should be gone, to get the remaining shares in 'TheWedge of Gold' from them, and also to be sure to keep the former owner ofthat mine in the country, even if he had to raise his salary.
He told him also that he expected next time to be absent four or fivemonths.
One morning about thirty-five days after his arrival in London hereceived a cable from McGregor announcing the arrival of the "Pallas" atMelbourne and saying he would sail again in four days. Then Sedgwick madehis final preparations for departure. He sent full plans for a house tohis brother, with directions where to build. He obtained a promise fromMrs. Hazleton that she would not desert Grace during his absence, andfrom Jack that he would not try any prosecutions to obtain his moneyfrom the old men until his return, explaining that he had made hisarrangements in America, and was then going to see that African mine andwork it if it would do.
His wife knew where he was going; the others except Jack, believed hemeant to return to the United States. He told them he had a littlebusiness in Paris and would this time take a French steamer.
Grace worried more over the second parting than she had over the first.She cried a good deal and was much distressed. But it was over at last,and Sedgwick was gone. He did stop over a few hours in Paris, made anarrangement which he desired to with the Bank of France, then speeded onto Marseilles, caught the Imperial steamer, sailed over the same route asbefore to Port Said, and there embarked on exactly the same steamer thathe and Jordan sailed for Port Natal in seven months before.
He was twenty days from London to Port Natal. Jordan was at D'Umberwaiting his coming, and the joy of the meeting was immeasurable. Whenthey became calm, Jordan said: "It war a good while, old friend, but Iknowed as how y'd cum."
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