It was the mate's affair all through. He began by leaving the end of aline dangling over the stern, and the propeller, though quiteunaccustomed to that sort of work, wound it up until only a few fathomsremained. It then stopped, and the mischief was not discovered until theskipper had called the engineer everything that he and the mate andthree men and a boy could think of. The skipper did the interpretingthrough the tube which afforded the sole means of communication betweenthe wheel and the engine-room, and the indignant engineer did thelistening.
The Gem was just off Limehouse at the time, and it was evident she wasgoing to stay there. The skipper ran her ashore and made her fast to aroomy old schooner which was lying alongside a wharf. He was then ableto give a little attention to the real offender, and the unfortunatemate, who had been the most inventive of them all, realised to the fullthe old saying of curses coming home to roost. They brought somestrangers with them, too.
"I'm going ashore," said the skipper at last. "We won't get off tillnext tide now. When it's low water you'll have to get down and cut theline away. A new line too! I'm ashamed o' you, Harry."
"I'm not surprised," said the engineer, who was a vindictive man.
"What do you mean by that?" demanded the mate fiercely.
"We don't want any of your bad temper," interposed the skipper severely."NOR bad language. The men can go ashore, and the engineer too, providedhe keeps steam up. But be ready for a start about five. You'll have tomind the ship."
He looked over the stern again, shook his head sadly, and, after a visitto the cabin, clambered over the schooner's side and got ashore. Themen, after looking at the propeller and shaking their heads, went ashoretoo, and the boy, after looking at the propeller and getting ready toshake his, caught the mate's eye and omitted that part of the ceremony,from a sudden conviction that it was unhealthy.
Left alone, the mate, who was of a sensitive disposition, after a curtnod to Captain Jansell of the schooner Aquila, who had heard of thedisaster, and was disposed to be sympathetically inquisitive, lit hispipe and began moodily to smoke.
When he next looked up the old man had disappeared, and a girl in aprint dress and a large straw hat sat in a wicker chair reading. She wassuch a pretty girl that the mate forgot his troubles at once, and, aftercarefully putting his cap on straight, strolled casually up and down thedeck.
To his mortification, the girl seemed unaware of his presence, and readsteadily, occasionally looking up and chirping with a pair of ravishinglips at a blackbird, which hung in a wicker cage from the mainmast.
"That's a nice bird," said the mate, leaning against the side, andturning a look of great admiration upon it.
"Yes," said the girl, raising a pair of dark blue eyes to the bold brownones, and taking him in at a glance.
"Does it sing?" inquired the mate, with a show of great interest.
"It does sometimes, when we are alone," was the reply.
"I should have thought the sea air would have affected its throat," saidthe mate, reddening. "Are you often in the London river, miss? I don'tremember seeing your craft before."
"Not often," said the girl.
"You've got a fine schooner here," said the mate, eyeing it critically."For my part, I prefer a sailer to a steamer."
"I should think you would," said the girl.
"Why?" inquired the mate tenderly, pleased at this show of interest.
"No propeller," said the girl quietly, and she left her seat anddisappeared below, leaving the mate gasping painfully.
Left to himself, he became melancholy, as he realised that the greatpassion of his life had commenced, and would probably end within a fewhours. The engineer came aboard to look at the fires, and, the steamerbeing now on the soft mud, good-naturedly went down and assisted him tofree the propeller before going ashore again. Then he was alone oncemore, gazing ruefully at the bare deck of the Aquila.
It was past two o'clock in the afternoon before any signs of life otherthan the blackbird appeared there. Then the girl came on deck again,accompanied by a stout woman of middle age, and an appearance so affablethat the mate commenced at once.
"Fine day," he said pleasantly, as he brought up in front of them.
"Lovely weather," said the mother, settling herself in her chair andputting down her work ready for a chat. "I hope the wind lasts; we startto-morrow morning's tide. You'll get off this afternoon, I s'pose."
"About five o'clock," said the mate.
"I should like to try a steamer for a change," said the mother, andwaxed garrulous on sailing craft generally, and her own in particular.
"There's five of us down there, with my husband and the two boys," saidshe, indicating the cabin with her thumb; "naturally it gets ratherstuffy."
The mate sighed. He was thinking that under some conditions there wereworse things than stuffy cabins.
"And Nancy's so discontented," said the mother, looking at the girl whowas reading quietly by her side. "She doesn't like ships or sailors. Shegets her head turned reading those penny novelettes."
"You look after your own head," said Nancy elegantly, without lookingup.
"Girls in those novels don't talk to their mothers like that," said theelder woman severely.
"They have different sorts of mothers," said Nancy, serenely turningover a page. "I hate little pokey ships and sailors smelling of tar. Inever saw a sailor I liked yet."
The mate's face fell. "There's sailors and sailors," he suggestedhumbly.
"It's no good talking to her," said the mother, with a look of fatresignation on her face, "we can only let her go her own way; if youtalked to her twenty-four hours right off it wouldn't do her any good."
"I'd like to try," said the mate, plucking up spirit.
"Would you?" said the girl, for the first time raising her head andlooking him full in the face. "Impudence!"
"Perhaps you haven't seen many ships," said the impressionable mate, hiseyes devouring her face. "Would you like to come and have a look at ourcabin?"
"No, thanks!" said the girl sharply. Then she smiled maliciously. "Idaresay mother would, though; she's fond of poking her nose into otherpeople's business."
The mother regarded her irreverent offspring fixedly for a few moments.The mate interposed.
"I should be very pleased to show you over, ma'am," he said politely.
The mother hesitated; then she rose, and accepting the mate'sassistance, clambered on to the side of the steamer, and, supported byhis arms, sprang to the deck and followed him below.
"Very nice," she said, nodding approvingly, as the mate did the honours."Very nice."
"It's nice and roomy for a little craft like ours," said the mate, as hedrew a stone bottle from a locker and poured out a couple of glasses ofstout. "Try a little beer, ma'am."
"What you must think o' that girl o' mine I can't think," murmured thelady, taking a modest draught.
"The young," said the mate, who had not quite reached his twenty-fifthyear, "are often like that."
"It spoils her," said her mother. "She's a good-looking girl, too, inher way."
"I don't see how she can help being that," said the mate.
"Oh, get away with you," said the lady pleasantly. "She'll get fat likeme as she gets older."
"She couldn't do better," said the mate tenderly.
"Nonsense," said the lady, smiling.
"You're as like as two peas," persisted the mate. "I made sure you weresisters when I saw you first."
"You ain't the first that's thought that," said the other, laughingsoftly; "not by a lot."
"I like to see ladies about," said the mate, who was trying desperatelyfor a return invitation. "I wish you could always sit there. You quitebrighten the cabin up."
"You're a flatterer," said his visitor, as he replenished her glass, andshowed so little signs of making a move that the mate, making a pretextof seeing the engineer, hurried up on deck to singe his wings once more.
"Still reading?" he said softly, as he came abreas
t of the girl. "Allabout love, I s'pose."
"Have you left my mother down there all by herself?" inquired the girlabruptly.
"Just a minute," said the mate, somewhat crestfallen. "I just came up tosee the engineer."
"Well, he isn't here," was the discouraging reply.
The mate waited a minute or two, the girl still reading quietly, andthen walked back to the cabin. The sound of gentle regular breathingreached his ears, and, stepping softly, he saw to his joy that hisvisitor slept.
"She's asleep," said he, going back, "and she looks so comfortable Idon't think I'll wake her."
"I shouldn't advise you to," said the girl; "she always wakes up cross."
"How strange we should run up against each other like this," said themate sentimentally; "it looks like Providence, doesn't it?"
"Looks like carelessness," said the girl.
"I don't care," replied the mate. "I'm glad I did let that line gooverboard. Best day's work I ever did. I shouldn't have seen you if Ihadn't."
"And I don't suppose you'll ever see me again," said the girlcomfortably, "so I don't see what good you've done yourself."
"I shall run down to Limehouse every time we're in port, anyway," saidthe mate; "it'll be odd if I don't see you sometimes. I daresay ourcraft'll pass each other sometimes. Perhaps in the night," he addedgloomily.
"I shall sit up all night watching for you," declared Miss Janselluntruthfully.
In this cheerful fashion the conversation proceeded, the girl, who wasby no means insensible to his bright eager face and well-knit figure,dividing her time in the ratio of three parts to her book and one tohim. Time passed all too soon for the mate, when they were interruptedby a series of hoarse unintelligible roars proceeding from theschooner's cabin.
"That's father," said Miss Jansell, rising with a celerity which spokewell for the discipline maintained on the Aquila; "he wants me to mendhis waistcoat for him."
She put down her book and left, the mate watching her until shedisappeared down the companion-way. Then he sat down and waited.
One by one the crew returned to the steamer, but the schooner's deckshowed no signs of life. Then the skipper came, and, having peeredcritically over his vessel's side, gave orders to get under way.
"If she'd only come up," said the miserable mate to himself, "I'd riskit, and ask whether I might write to her."
This chance of imperilling a promising career did not occur, however;the steamer slowly edged away from the schooner, and, picking her waybetween a tier of lighters, steamed slowly into clearer water.
"Full speed ahead!" roared the skipper down the tube. The engineerresponded, and the mate gazed in a melancholy fashion at the water as itrapidly widened between the two vessels. Then his face brightened upsuddenly as the girl ran up on deck and waved her hand. Hardly able tobelieve his eyes, he waved his back. The girl gesticulated violently,now pointing to the steamer, and then to the schooner.
"By Jove, that girl's taken a fancy to you," said the skipper. "Shewants you to go back."
The mate sighed. "Seems like it," he said modestly.
To his astonishment the girl was now joined by her men folk, who alsowaved hearty farewells, and, throwing their arms about, shoutedincoherently.
"Blamed if they haven't all took a fancy to you," said the puzzledskipper; "the old man's got the speaking-trumpet now. What does he say?"
"Something about life, I think," said the mate.
"They're more like jumping-jacks than anything else," said the skipper."Just look at 'em."
The mate looked, and, as the distance increased, sprang on to the side,and, his eyes dim with emotion, waved tender farewells. If it had notbeen for the presence of the skipper--a tremendous stickler fordecorum--he would have kissed his hand.
It was not until Gravesend was passed, and the side-lights of theshipping were trying to show in the gathering dusk, that he awoke fromhis tender apathy. It is probable that it would have lasted longer thanthat but for a sudden wail of anguish and terror which proceeded fromthe cabin and rang out on the still warm air.
"Sakes alive!" said the skipper, starting; "what's that?"
Before the mate could reply, the companion was pushed back, and amiddle-aged woman, labouring under strong excitement, appeared on deck.
"You villain!" she screamed excitably, rushing up to the mate. "Take meback; take me back!"
"What's all this, Harry?" demanded the skipper sternly.
"He--he--he--asked me to go into the cab--cabin," sobbed Mrs. Jansell,"and sent me to sleep, and too--too--took me away. My husband'll killme; I know he will. Take me back."
"What do you want to be took back to be killed for?" interposed one ofthe men judicially.
"I might ha' known what he meant when he said I brightened the cabinup," said Mrs. Jansell; "and when he said he thought me and my daughterwere sisters. He said he'd like me to sit there always, the wretch!"
"Did you say that?" inquired the skipper fiercely.
"Well, I did," said the miserable mate; "but I didn't mean her to takeit that way. She went to sleep, and I forgot all about her."
"What did you say such silly lies for, then?" demanded the skipper.
The mate hung his head.
"Old enough to be your mother too," said the skipper severely. "Here's anice thing to happen aboard my ship, and afore the boy too!"
"Blast the boy!" said the goaded mate.
"Take me back," wailed Mrs. Jansell; "you don't know how jealous myhusband is."
"He won't hurt you," said the skipper kindly "he won't be jealous of awoman your time o' life; that is, not if he's got any sense. You'll haveto go as far as Boston with us now. I've lost too much time already togo back."
"You must take me back," said Mrs. Jansell passionately.
"I'm not going back for anybody," said the skipper. "But you can makeyour mind quite easy: you're as safe aboard my ship as what you would bealone on a raft in the middle of the Atlantic; and as for the mate, hewas only chaffing you. Wasn't you, Harry?"
The mate made some reply, but neither Mrs. Jansell, the skipper, nor themen, who were all listening eagerly, caught it, and his unfortunatevictim, accepting the inevitable, walked to the side of the ship andgazed disconsolately astern.
It was not until the following morning that the mate, who had receivedorders to mess for'ard, saw her, and ignoring the fact that everybodysuspended work to listen, walked up and bade her good morning.
"Harry," said the skipper warningly.
"All right," said the mate shortly. "I want to speak to you veryparticularly," he said nervously, and led his listener aft, followed bythree of the crew who came to clean the brasswork, and who listenedmutinously when they were ordered to defer unwonted industry to a morefitting time. The deck clear, the mate began, and in a long ramblingstatement, which Mrs. Jansell at first thought the ravings of lunacy,acquainted her with the real state of his feelings.
"I never did!" said she, when he had finished. "Never! Why, you hadn'tseen her before yesterday."
"Of course I shall take you back by train," said the mate, "and tellyour husband how sorry I am."
"I might have suspected something when you said all those nice things tome," said the mollified lady. "Well, you must take your chance, like allthe rest of them. She can only say 'No,' again. It'll explain thisaffair better, that's one thing; but I expect they'll laugh at you."
"I don't care," said the mate stoutly. "You're on my side, ain't you?"
Mrs. Jansell laughed, and the mate, having succeeded beyond his hopes inthe establishment of amicable relations, went about his duties with alight heart.
By the time they reached Boston the morning was far advanced, and afterthe Gem was comfortably berthed he obtained permission of the skipper toaccompany the fair passenger to London, beguiling the long railwayjourney by every means in his power. Despite his efforts, however, thejourney began to pall upon his companion, and it was not until eveningwas well advanced that they found themsel
ves in the narrow streets ofLimehouse.
"We'll see how the land lies first," said he, as they approached thewharf and made their way cautiously on to the quay.
The Aquila was still alongside, and the mate's heart thumped violentlyas he saw the cause of all the trouble sitting alone on the deck. Sherose with a little start as her mother stepped carefully aboard, and,running to her, kissed her affectionately, and sat her down on thehatches.
"Poor mother," she said caressingly. "What did you bring that lunaticback with you for?"
"He would come," said Mrs. Jansell. "Hush! here comes your father."
The master of the Aquila came on deck as she spoke, and walking slowlyup to the group, stood sternly regarding them. Under his gaze the matebreathlessly reeled off his tale, noticing with somewhat mixed feelingsthe widening grin of his listener as he proceeded.
"Well, you're a lively sort o' man," said the skipper as he finished."In one day you tie up your own ship, run off with my wife, and lose usa tide. Are you always like that?"
"I want somebody to look after me, I s'pose," said the mate, with a sideglance at Nancy.
"Well, we'd put you up for the night," said the skipper, with his armround his wife's shoulders; "but you're such a chap. I'm afraid you'dburn the ship down, or something. What do you think, old girl?"
"I think we'll try him this once," said his wife. "And now I'll go downand see about supper; I want it."
The old couple went below, and the young one remained on deck. Nancywent and leaned against the side; and as she appeared to have quiteforgotten his presence, the mate, after some hesitation, joined her.
"Hadn't you better go down and get some supper?" she asked.
"I'd sooner stay here, if yon don't mind," said the mate. "I likewatching the lights going up and down; I could stay here for hours."
"I'll leave you, then," said the girl; "I'm hungry."
She tripped lightly off with a smothered laugh, leaving thefairly-trapped man gazing indignantly at the lights which had lured himto destruction.
From below he heard the cheerful clatter of crockery, accompanied by asavoury incense, and talk and laughter. He imagined the girl making funof his sentimental reasons for staying on deck; but, too proud to meether ironical glances, stayed doggedly where he was, resolving to be offby the first train in the morning. He was roused from his gloom by aslight touch on his arm, and, turning sharply, saw the girl by his side.
"Supper's quite ready," said she soberly. "And if you want to admire thelights very much, come up and see them when I do--after supper."
AN ELABORATE ELOPEMENT