CHAPTER VII.
The pier of the North German Lloyd Steamship Company, at Hoboken,fairly sizzled with bustle and excitement. The Kaiser Wilhelm hadarrived at Sandy Hook the previous evening and was now lying out inmidstream. She would tie up at her dock within half an hour. Employesof the line, baggage masters, newspaper reporters, Custom Houseofficers, policemen, detectives, truck drivers, expressmen,longshoremen, telegraph messengers and anxious friends of incomingpassengers surged back and forth in seemingly hopeless confusion. Theshouting of orders, the rattling of cab wheels, the shrieking ofwhistles was deafening. From out in the river came the deep tonedblasts of the steamer's siren, in grotesque contrast with the stridenttooting of a dozen diminutive tugs which, puffing and snorting, wereslowly but surely coaxing the leviathan into her berth alongside thedock. The great vessel, spick and span after a coat of fresh painthurriedly put on during the last day of the voyage, bore no traces ofgale, fog and stormy seas through which she had passed on her 3,000mile run across the ocean. Conspicuous on the bridge, directing thedocking operations, stood Capt. Hegermann, self satisfied and smiling,relieved that the responsibilities of another trip were over, and athis side, sharing the honours, was the grizzled pilot who had broughtthe ship safely through the dangers of Gedney's Channel, his shabby peajacket, old slouch hat, top boots and unkempt beard standing out insharp contrast with the immaculate white duck trousers, the white andgold caps and smart full dress uniforms of the ship's officers. Therails on the upper decks were seen to be lined with passengers, alldressed in their shore going clothes, some waving handkerchiefs atfriends they already recognized, all impatiently awaiting the shippingof the gangplank.
Stott had come early. They had received word at Massapequa the daybefore that the steamer had been sighted off Fire Island and that shewould be at her pier the next morning at 10 o'clock. Stott arrived at9.30 and so found no difficulty in securing a front position among thesmall army of people, who, like himself, had come down to meet friends.
As the huge vessel swung round and drew closer, Stott easily picked outShirley. She was scanning eagerly through a binocular the rows ofupturned faces on the dock, and he noted that a look of disappointmentcrossed her face at not finding the object of her search. She turnedand said something to a lady in black and to a man who stood at herside. Who they might be Stott had no idea. Fellow passengers, no doubt.One becomes so intimate on shipboard; it seems a friendship that mustsurely last a lifetime, whereas the custom officers have not finishedrummaging through your trunks when these easily-made steamer friendsare already forgotten. Presently Shirley took another look and herglass soon lighted on him. Instantly she recognized her father's oldfriend. She waved a handkerchief and Stott raised his hat. Then sheturned quickly and spoke again to her friends, whereupon they all movedin the direction of the gangplank, which was already being lowered.
Shirley was one of the first to come ashore. Stott was waiting for herat the foot of the gangplank and she threw her arms round his neck andkissed him. He had known her ever since she was a little tot in arms,and bystanders who noticed them meet had no doubt that they were fatherand daughter. Shirley was deeply moved; a great lump in her throatseemed to choke her utterance. So far she had been able to bear up, butnow that home was so near her heart failed her. She had hoped to findher father on the dock. Why had he not come? Were things so bad then?She questioned Judge Stott anxiously, fearfully.
He reassured her. Both her mother and father were well. It was too longa trip for them to make, so he had volunteered.
"Too long a trip," echoed Shirley puzzled. "This is not far from ourhouse. Madison Avenue is no distance. That could not have kept fatheraway."
"You don't live on Madison Avenue any longer. The house and itscontents have been sold," replied Stott gravely, and in a few words heoutlined the situation as it was.
Shirley listened quietly to the end and only the increasing pallor ofher face and an occasional nervous twitching at the corner of her mouthbetrayed the shock that this recital of her father's misfortunes was toher. Ah, this she had little dreamed of! Yet why not? It was but logic.When wrecked in reputation, one might as well be wrecked in fortune,too. What would their future be, how could that proud, sensitive manher father bear this humiliation, this disgrace? To be condemned to alife of obscurity, social ostracism, and genteel poverty! Oh, thethought was unendurable! She herself could earn money, of course. Ifher literary work did not bring in enough, she could teach and what sheearned would help out. Certainly her parents should never want foranything so long as she could supply it. She thought bitterly howfutile now were plans of marriage, even if she had ever entertainedsuch an idea seriously. Henceforward, she did not belong to herself.Her life must be devoted to clearing her father's name. Thesereflections were suddenly interrupted by the voice of Mrs. Blakecalling out:
"Shirley, where have you been? We lost sight of you as we left theship, and we have been hunting for you ever since."
Her aunt, escorted by Jefferson Ryder, had gone direct to the Customsdesk and in the crush they had lost trace of her. Shirley introducedStott.
"Aunt Milly, this is Judge Stott, a very old friend of father's. Mrs.Blake, my mother's sister. Mother will be surprised to see her. Theyhaven't met for ten years."
"This visit is going to be only a brief one," said Mrs. Blake. "Ireally came over to chaperone Shirley more than anything else."
"As if I needed chaperoning with Mr. Ryder for an escort!" retortedShirley. Then presenting Jefferson to Stott, she said:
"This is Mr. Jefferson Ryder--Judge Stott. Mr. Ryder has been very kindto me abroad."
The two men bowed and shook hands.
"Any relation to J.B.?" asked Stott good humouredly.
"His son--that's all," answered Jefferson laconically.
Stott now looked at the young man with more interest. Yes, there was aresemblance, the same blue eyes, the fighting jaw. But how on earth didJudge Rossmore's daughter come to be travelling in the company of JohnBurkett Ryder's son? The more he thought of it the more it puzzled him,and while he cogitated, Shirley and her companions wrestled with theUnited States Customs, and were undergoing all the tortures invented byUncle Sam to punish Americans for going abroad.
Shirley and Mrs. Blake were fortunate in securing an inspector who wasfairly reasonable. Of course, he did not for a moment believe theirsolemn statement, already made on the ship, that they had nothingdutiable, and he rummaged among the most intimate garments of theirwardrobe in a wholly indecent and unjustifiable manner, but he waspolite and they fared no worse than all the other women victims ofthis, the most brutal custom house inspection system in the world.
Jefferson had the misfortune to be allotted an inspector who was halfseas over with liquor and the man was so insolent and threatening inmanner that it was only by great self-restraint that Jeffersoncontrolled himself. He had no wish to create a scandal on the dock, norto furnish good "copy" for the keen-eyed, long-eared newspaperreporters who would be only too glad of such an opportunity for a"scare head". But when the fellow compelled him to open every trunk andvalise and then put his grimy hands to the bottom and by a quick upwardmovement jerked the entire contents out on the dock, he interfered:
"You are exceeding your authority," he exclaimed hotly. "How dare youtreat my things in this manner?"
The drunken uniformed brute raised his bloodshot, bleary eyes and tookJefferson in from tip to toe. He clenched his fist as if about toresort to violence, but he was not so intoxicated as to be quite blindto the fact that this passenger had massive square shoulders, adetermined jaw and probably a heavy arm. So contenting himself with asneer, he said:
"This ain't no country for blooming English docks. You're not inEngland now you know. This is a free country. See?"
"I see this," replied Jefferson, furious, "that you are a drunkenruffian and a disgrace to the uniform you wear. I shall report yourconduct immediately," with which he proceeded to the Customs desk tolodge a complaint.
"Come and see us, Jeff," whispered Shirley as their cab drove throughthe gates.
"Where," he asked, "Madison Avenue?"
She hesitated for a moment and then replied quickly:
"No, we are stopping down on Long Island for the Summer--at a cutelittle place called Massapequa. Run down and see us."
He raised his hat and the cab drove on.
The Lion and the Mouse; a Story of an American Life Page 7