CHAPTER VIII
DAYS AT SEA
The time on shipboard passed all too quickly.
Each day was crammed full of various amusements and occupations, andPatty and Elise enjoyed it all thoroughly.
Although the majority of passengers were French, yet they nearly allspoke English, and there were a number of Americans and English people,who proved to be pleasant and companionable.
The young people from Chicago seemed to wear well, and as she grew toknow them better Patty liked them very much. The Van Ness girls, thoughbreezy in their manner, were warm-hearted and good-natured, and theirboy cousins were always ready for anything, and proved themselvescapable of good comradeship.
The English girl, Florrie Nash, Patty could not quite understand.Florrie seemed to be willing to be friends, but there was a coldnessand reserve about her nature that Patty could not seem to penetrate.
As she expressed it to Elise, "Florrie never seems herself quitecertain whether she likes us or we like her."
"Oh, it's only her way," said Elise; "she doesn't know how to chum,that's all."
But Patty was not satisfied with this, and determined to investigatethe matter.
"Come for a walk," she said, tucking her arm through Florrie's onemorning. "Let's walk around the deck fifty times all by ourselves.Don't you want to?"
"Yes, if you like;" and Florrie walked along by Patty's side,apparently willing enough, but without enthusiasm.
"Why do you put it that way?" asked Patty, smiling; "don't you like togo yourself?"
"Yes, of course I do; but I always say that when people ask me to doanything. It's habit, I suppose. All English people say it."
"I suppose it is habit," said Patty; "but it seems to me you'd have awhole lot better time if you felt more interest in things, or rather,if you expressed more interest. Now look at the Van Ness girls; they'rejust bubbling over with enthusiasm."
"The Van Ness girls are savages," remarked Florrie, with an air ofdecision.
"Indeed they're not!" cried Patty, who was always ready to stand up forher friends. "The trouble with you, Florrie, is that you'renarrow-minded; you think that unless people have your ways and yourmanners they are no good at all."
"Not quite that," returned Florrie, laughing. "Of course, we Englishhave our prejudices, and other people call us narrow; but I think weshall always be so."
"I suppose you will," said Patty; "but anyway you would have more funif you enjoyed yourself more."
"It's good of you, Patty, to care whether I enjoy myself or not."
Florrie's tone was so sincere and humble as she said this that Pattybegan to realise there was a good deal of character under Florrie'sindifferent manner.
"Of course I care. I have grown to like you, Florrie, in these fewdays, and I want to be good friends with you, if you'll let me."
"If you like," said Florrie again, and Patty perceived that the phrasewas merely a habit and did not mean the indifference it expressed.
"And I want you to visit me," went on Florrie. "I'm travelling now toParis with my aunt, who took me to the States for a trip. From Paris Ishall soon go back to my country home in England, and I wish you wouldvisit me there--you and Elise both. Oh, Patty, you have no idea howbeautiful England is in the springtime. The may blooms thickly alongthe lanes, till they're masses of pink fragrance; and the sky is themost wonderful blue, and the birds sing, and it is like nothing else inall the world."
The tears came into Florrie's eyes as she spoke, and Patty was amazedthat this cold-blooded girl should be so moved at the mere thought ofthe spring landscape.
"I should dearly love to visit you, Florrie, but I can't promise, ofcourse, for I'm with the Farringtons, and must do as they say."
"Yes, of course; but I do hope you can come. You would love our countryplace, Patty; it is so large, and so old, and so beautiful."
Florrie said this with no effect of boasting, but merely with a sincereappreciation of her beautiful home. Then as she went on to tell of theanimals and pets there, and of the park and woods of the estate, Pattyfound that the girl could indeed be enthusiastic when she chose.
This made Patty like her all the better, for it proved she hadenthusiasm enough when a subject appealed to her.
But when they were joined by the crowd of gay young people begging themto come and play games, Florrie seemed to shut up into herself again,and assumed once more her air of cold indifference.
But if Florrie was lacking in enthusiasm, it was not so with another ofPatty's friends.
Ma'amselle Labesse, who had recovered from her indisposition, had takena violent fancy to Patty and would have liked to monopolise hercompletely.
Patty was kind to the old lady and did much to entertain her, but shewas not willing to give up all her time to her. The old ma'amsellegreatly delighted to carry Patty off to her stateroom, there to talk toher or listen to her read aloud. Except for her maid, ma'amselle wasalone, and Patty felt sorry for her and was glad to cheer her up. Notthat she needed cheering exactly, for she was of a merry and volatiledisposition, except when she gave way to exhibitions of temper, whichwere not infrequent.
One morning she called Patty to her room, and surprised the girl bygiving her a present of a handsome and valuable old necklace. It was ofcuriously wrought gold, and though Patty admired it extremely, shehesitated about accepting such a gift from a comparative stranger.
"But yes," said ma'amselle, "it is for you. I wish to give it to you. Ihave taken such a fancy to you, you could scarce believe. And I adoreto decorate you thus." She clasped the necklace about Patty's throat,with an air that plainly said she would be much offended if the giftwere refused. So Patty decided to keep it, at least until she could getan opportunity to ask Mrs. Farrington's advice on the subject.
When she did ask her, Mrs. Farrington told her to keep it by all means.She said she had no doubt the old ma'amselle enjoyed making the giftfar more than Patty was pleased to receive it, so Patty kept thetrinket, which was really a very fine specimen of the goldsmith's art.
"And, my dear," the old lady went on, the day that she gave Patty thenecklace, "you must and shall come to visit me in my chateau. My homeis the most beautifull--an old chateau at St. Germain, not far fromParis, and you can come, but often, and stay with me for the long time."
Patty thanked her, but would not promise, as she had made up her mindto accept no invitations that could not include the Farringtons.
But Ma'amselle Labesse did include the Farringtons, and invited thewhole party to visit her in the winter.
Mrs. Farrington gave no definite answer, but said she would see aboutit, and perhaps they would run out for the week-end.
For the first five or six days of their journey the weather was perfectand the ocean calm and level. But one morning they awoke to find itraining, and later the rain developed into a real storm. The wind blewfuriously and the boat pitched about in a manner really alarming. Theold ma'amselle took to her stateroom, and Mrs. Farrington also wasunable to leave hers. But the girls were pleased rather than otherwise.Patty and Elise proved themselves thoroughly good sailors, and wereamong the few who appeared at the table at luncheon.
After the meal, Bob and Guy Van Ness came up to the girls and askedthem if they cared to brave the storm sufficiently to go out on deck.Elise, though not timid, declared that she could see all she wishedthrough the windows; but Patty, always ready for a new experience,expressed her desire to go.
She put on her own little rain-coat and tied a veil over her small cap,but when she presented herself as ready the boys laughed at herpreparations.
"That fancy little mackintosh is no good," said Bob; "but you wait aminute, Patty; we'll fix you."
Bob disappeared, and soon returned, bringing from somewhere an oilskincoat and cap of a brilliant yellow color. These enveloped Pattycompletely, and as the boys were arrayed in similar fashion, theylooked like three members of a life-saving corps, or, as Patty said,like the man in the advertisement of cod-liver
oil.
Although the yellow oilskins were by no means beautiful, yet Patty'srosy face peeping out from under the queer-shaped, ear-flapped cap wasa pretty picture.
Laughing with glee, they stepped out on the deck into the storm. Thestepping out was no easy matter, for the wind was blowing a hurricaneand the spray was dashing across the decks, while the rain seemed tocome from all directions at once.
With the two big boys on either side of her, Patty felt no fear, and asthey walked forward toward the bow of the ship she felt well repaid forcoming out by the grandeur of the sight. It was impossible todistinguish sea from sky, as both were of the same leaden grey, and thetorrents of rain added to the obscurity. The ocean was in a turmoil,frothing and fuming, and the waves rolled over and broke against theship with angry vehemence. Patty, though not frightened, was awed atthe majesty of the elements, and did not in the least mind the rain andspray in her face as she gazed at the scene.
"You're good wood!" exclaimed Guy; "not many girls could stand upagainst a storm like this."
Patty shook the wet curls out of her eyes as she smiled up at him. "Ilove it!" she exclaimed, but she could hardly make her voice heard forthe roar of the sea and the storm.
Up and down the decks they walked, or rather tried to walk, nowbattling against the wind, and now being swept along in front of it,until almost exhausted, Patty dropped down on a coil of rope in acomparatively sheltered corner. The boys sat down beside her, and theywatched the angry ocean. At times the great waves seemed as if theywould engulf the pitching ship, but after each wave the steamer rightedherself proudly and prepared to careen again on the next.
After a time Patty declared she'd had enough of it, and also expressedher opinion that oilskins were not such a positive protection againstthe wet as they were reputed to be.
So indoors they went, warm and glowing from their vigorous exercise,and their appetites sharpened by their rough battle with the weather.
Every day there seemed to be something new to do.
"I've been told," said Patty, "that life on an ocean steamer ismonotonous, but I can't find any monotony. We've done somethingdifferent every day, haven't we, Elise?"
"Yes; and next will be the concert, and that will be best of all. Whatare you going to sing, Patty?"
"I don't know. I don't want to sing at all, but your mother said I'dbetter sing once, because they all insist on it so, and I do like to beaccommodating."
"I should think you did, Patty; you're never anything butaccommodating."
"Oh, pooh! It's no trouble to me to sing. I'd just as lief do it asnot; only it seems foolish for me to sing when there are so many olderpeople with better voices to do it."
"Well, sing some simple little ballad, and I don't believe but what thepeople will like it just as much as the arias and things sung by themore pretentious singers."
So Patty followed Elise's advice, and when the night of the concertcame her name was on the programme for one song.
And, as Elise had thought, it pleased the audience quite as well assome of the more elaborate efforts.
Patty wore one of her pretty new dresses, a simple little frock ofwhite chiffon cloth, with touches here and there of light blue velvet.Her only ornament was the necklace that Ma'amselle Labesse had givenher, and in her curly golden hair was a single white rose.
Very sweet she looked as she stood on the platform to sing her littlesong. She had chosen "My Ain Countree" as being likely to please apopular audience, and also not difficult to sing.
Mr. Pauvret accompanied her on his violin, and so effective was hisaccompaniment and so sweet pretty Patty's singing of the old song, thattheir performance proved to be the most attractive number on theprogramme. So prolonged was the applause and so persistent the cry of"Encore!" that Patty felt she really must respond with another song.
So she sang Stevenson's little verses, "In Winter I Get Up at Night,"which have been set to such delightful music. Again Mr. Pauvret'saccompaniment added to the charm of the song, and Patty returned to herplace in the audience, quite embarrassed at the praises heaped upon her.
Elise sang, too, in a quartette of four girls. They had practisedtogether considerably, and sang really well. There were many othermusical numbers, interspersed with monologues and recitations, and theprogramme wound up with a series of tableaux.
Patty was in her element in these, and had helped to arrange them. Shetook part in some of them herself, and in others she arranged thegroups to form effective pictures. An immense gilt picture frame,stretched across with gauze, was at the front of the stage. This washeld up on either side by two able-bodied seamen of the ship, in theirsailor costume. All of the tableaux were shown as pictures in thisframe, and they called forth enthusiastic and appreciative applause.
Old Ma'amselle Labesse had been induced to appear in one of thetableaux, and as she possessed strikingly handsome costumes, she woreone of the prettiest, and made an easily recognisable representation ofa painting by Nattier. Altogether the concert was a great success andeverybody had a good time. It was expected that they would see land thenext day, and so the concert partook of the nature of a farewellfunction. Everybody was shaking hands and saying good-bye to everybodyelse, and after many good wishes and good-nights our two tired andsleepy girls went to their stateroom.
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