by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER VI
THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION IN THE CABIN
It was still early in the morning, and the cabin party were not disposed toremain any longer on the promenade deck; for it was almost impossible forsome of them to stand up, even with the aid of the life-lines and therails, and all of them retreated to the boudoir and music-room. None ofthem had been introduced to the strangers; for they had asked to beexcused, as they were not in a presentable condition.
The trio of distinguished individuals who had been conducted to the maincabin by the commander were of course soaked with water, and chilled afterremaining so long in their involuntary bath; and for this reason noquestions were asked of them to bring out an explanation of the cause ofthe disaster of which they had been the victims. There were three vacantstate-rooms, to which they were assigned, and each of them had a bathroomconnected with it. The two cabin stewards had already been ordered toprepare these rooms for the occupancy of the newcomers. Warm baths wereready for them when they took possession of the apartments.
"All this is more luxurious than we have been accustomed to lately," saidLord Tremlyn, when the commander ushered him into No. 11, which wasprovided with everything belonging to a suite of rooms in the best hotelsof the United States.
"I hope you will be able to make yourself comfortable, sir; but yourgreatest need at the present moment appears to be dry clothing, when youhave restored your limbs to their normal condition in the bath, and I willendeavor to supply this want," replied the commander.
"You are very kind, Captain Ringgold, and I shall never cease to begrateful to you for the service you have rendered to me and my companions;for all of us would have perished when the wreck of our steamer went down,without the prompt assistance you rendered to us," said the principalpersonage of the party, who was still shivering under the influence of thechill he had received in the cold waters of the sea.
The captain retired, closing the door of the room. He went to No. 12, towhich Sir Modava Rao had been shown, and then to No. 13, which had beenappropriated to Dr. Ferrolan. He assured both of them that dry clothingwould be provided for them, and both of them stammered forth theirobligations very profusely from between their chattering teeth. The doorswere closed upon them after they had been instructed to call upon thestewards outside for anything they needed.
The commander had taken the measure of the trio, and knew where to applyfor the clothing needed. The surgeon of the party was about the size of Mr.Sage, the chief steward of the ship; and he was asked to supply a fullsuit, including undergarments, shirt, socks, collar, and cravat. Hislordship was about the size of Mr. Woolridge, who was more than happy toprovide for the needs of this gentleman. Professor Giroud was a ratherslender person; and from his wardrobe came the suit and other furnishingsfor the titled Hindu. The clothing of each person was placed on a stool atthe door of his room, and he was notified where to obtain it.
"Mr. Sage, you understand by this time that we have sixteen places to betaken at the table," said Captain Ringgold to the chief steward.
"I think I had better set two tables, for sixteen would be rather crowdedin the space we use now," replied Mr. Sage, who was a Napoleon in hiscalling. "I propose to arrange them as they were at the big dinner you gaveat Aden."
"And while you are about it you may arrange for nineteen places at thetables," replied the captain; but he did not explain who were to occupy thethree he had added to the number.
The commander went to his private cabin, after he had visited thepilot-house, and made a diagram of the two tables, assigning places to eachof the party and the guests, but leaving three of the end places vacant. Heshowed it to Louis and Mrs. Belgrave, and they made no objection to the newarrangement. It was handed to the chief steward, who put a card with thename of the occupant of each seat on the plate in front of it. Therevolving chairs at the tables had to be all changed, and more added to it;and Stevens the carpenter, with his assistants from the crew, were busy foran hour making the change.
When the commander visited the music-room, he was unable to answer any ofthe questions of his passengers as to the details of the wreck of theTravancore, though he gave the names and quality of the three gentlemen whohad been invited to go below. The sleepers in the cabin had been aroused bythe erratic movements of the steamer before daylight, especially by thechange from rolling to pitching. There was a thundering roar of escapingsteam at times, and all of them had "turned out" to ascertain the cause ofthe commotion. Felix and Morris had been the first to go on deck, and theyhad informed the others of the nature of the event which had caused thecommotion on board.
The regular passengers had seen the strangers as they came down to thepromenade deck from the cutters. They were naturally filled with curiosityto ascertain who and what the trio were. One was a lord, another a sir, andthe third a surgeon; and this was all that was known to any one.
"Have we really a live lord on board, Felix?" asked Mrs. Blossom, as theywere waiting for breakfast in the music-room.
"He is not a dead one, sure," replied the Milesian, "though he would soonhave been a very dead one if we had not happened along when we did."
"One of them was a colored man," added the good lady.
"Sir Modava Rao!" exclaimed Felix. "He is not more than a shade darker thanyou are, Aunty; and he is a great man in the country we visit next. But dryup; the captain is going to say something."
The commander gave the names of the three distinguished persons who werethen in the cabin. It was very nearly breakfast-time, and the trio had hadabundant time to dress themselves in the garments provided for them, and herequested all the party to descend to the cabin, leading the way himself.They found the rescued party seated on the divans between the doors of thestate-rooms, and they all rose to their feet as soon as the commanderappeared.
They presented an entirely different appearance from what they did in theirdrabbled garments; for those who had supplied them with clothing hadbrought out their best clothes, and the three gentlemen seemed to be incondition to go to church. Lord Tremlyn hastened to the captain withextended hand as he stepped down upon the floor of the cabin.
"I desire to express my gratitude anew to you, and to the gentlemen whohave made us capable of coming into your presence in proper condition,"said his lordship, as the commander took his offered hand, which was wrungwith the utmost cordiality.
"So far as I am concerned, my Lord, I have done nothing but my duty; for Iam a sailor, and the true son of the ocean is always ready to sacrificeeven his life to save a shipwrecked brother of the sea," replied thecaptain.
"Then you are a true son of the ocean, Captain Ringgold, and I shallremember you as long as I live in my prayers!"
"So shall we all!" exclaimed Sir Modava, taking the hand of the commander.
"I indorse the sentiment," added Dr. Ferrolan.
"In regard to the clothing," said the commander, as he threw back his head,elevated his shoulders, and spread out his arms, so as to exhibit to itsfull extent the height and breadth of his stalwart form, "I was,unfortunately, unable to contribute to the supply of garments for yourparty; for mine on any one of you would have been like a shirt on ahandspike."
"But a London tailor could hardly have fitted us any better," replied thespokesman of the trio.
"I am happy to see you in such excellent condition so soon after thedisaster. With your permission, gentlemen, I desire to introduce you toeach of my passengers, promising to indicate those whose garments youwear," continued the commander.
"With the greatest pleasure," replied Lord Tremlyn; and the other two bowedtheir acquiescence.
"This, gentlemen, is Mr. Belgrave, the owner of the Guardian-Mother, thesteam-yacht in which he is making a voyage round the world."
"I am extremely pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Belgrave," addedLord Tremlyn, as he took the hand of the young millionaire. "We owe ourlives to the fortunate presence of your magnificent steam-ya
cht in thispart of the Arabian Sea. Permit me to present to you Prince Modava, who hasbeen knighted for his distinguished services to the British Crown, and whoprefers to be known by his English title."
"That's your colored man!" whispered Felix to Mrs. Blossom.
"Good gracious!" exclaimed the motherly lady. "A live prince!"
"It affords me very great pleasure to become acquainted with you, Mr.Belgrave," with a smile so sweet and expressive that it ravished the heartsof the ladies. "I am under a burden of obligation to you which I shallnever be able to repay; and I hope I shall be able to render you someslight service in assisting you to see India, for I learn that you arebound to Bombay."
"I thank you, Sir Modava; and we shall gratefully accept any favors you mayextend to us."
"Let me add, my Lord, that Mr. Belgrave pulled the stroke oar in the boatwhich picked you up after you had sent our first cutter to the relief ofSir Modava," interposed the commander.
"Then I shall have an additional reason to remember with gratitude theyoung gentleman," added Lord Tremlyn.
"Mrs. Belgrave, gentlemen, the mother of our owner," the captain proceeded,as he took the lady by the arm.
"I congratulate you, madam, on being the mother of such a noble son; fornot many young men with the fortune he has at his command would pull an oarin such a gale, such a storm, even to save his fellow-beings from perishingin the angry waves," said his lordship, as he took the hand of the lady."Blessed be the mother of such a boy!"
The members of the Woolridge family were next presented to the trio; andthe distinguished strangers had something pleasant to say to each of them.The "live lord" was only twenty-eight years old, and Sir Modava but thirty,while Dr. Ferrolan was forty-six; and all of them seemed to be greatlyimpressed, and even startled, when Miss Blanche dawned upon them; for shewas as beautiful to them as she was to everybody else, and they seemed tobe unwilling to allow her to make room for the others to be introduced.
Every person in the cabin seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion;and the wearers of the borrowed clothing, as the owners of the garmentswere indicated, brought forth many humorous remarks from both sides, whichit would be pleasant to report if space permitted. The ceremony wasfinished in due time, though it was rather a long time.
"We are not accustomed to the companionship of titled personages," said thecommander at its conclusion. "But we are eminently a social party, and wedesire our guests to make themselves as much at home on board of theGuardian-Mother as if they owned her, and were running her for their ownpleasure."
"Thank you, Captain Ringgold. Titles are not men, and we know that you areall republicans. If we do not make ourselves worthy of the generous welcomeyou have extended to us, we shall not ask any consideration on accountof the titles that have fallen upon us through the nature of ourconstitutional government. I believe that we all stand on the same levelbefore our Maker; and whatever social distinctions prevail in our country,they do not exempt any Briton from being a gentleman and an honest man,"replied Lord Tremlyn. And his remarks were warmly applauded by both Englishand Americans; and the gentleman bowed his thanks for this appreciation ofhis sentiments.
At a nod from the captain the bell was rung for breakfast. Taking the "livelord" by the arm, he conducted him to the seat next him on his right. Louisconducted Sir Modava to the place on the commander's left, and placed hismother next to him. It was found impracticable to heed the names that hadbeen placed on the plates, for it would have taken too much time. Louistook Miss Blanche to the place next to his mother, and seated himself ather right.
Dr. Hawkes took possession of Dr. Ferrolan, and placed himself and UncleMoses on each side of him. The professor took charge of Mrs. Blossom. Thecaptain invited those who remained standing to take such seats as theychose; and when all were placed at the table, he reverently said a briefgrace. Everybody was unusually social; but as the commander had announcedthat the particulars of the wreck of the Travancore would be detailed indue time by Dr. Ferrolan, the subject was ignored, and the voyage of theGuardian-Mother was the general subject of conversation. The chief stewardhad "spread himself" on the breakfast, and the meal was far more elaboratethan usual; and the wrecked trio proved that they had excellent appetites.