CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
RALLI EXPLAINS HIMSELF; SO DOES LANCE.
On entering the assembly-room, our friends found that it was not only,as they had seen from the outside, well lighted, but that a verysuccessful attempt had been made to decorate it by the draping of flagsall round the walls, and the arrangement of an elaborate and well-designed flag-trophy on the wall at the back of the elevated platform,or stage, as it may be called. The long table, with its accompanimentof chairs, had been pushed back against the wall, and the pianofortestood in the centre of the platform. The room was quite full, and themen appeared, for the most part, disposed to behave quietly anddecorously. There were only some half a dozen young fellows who seemedat all inclined to be noisy or boisterous, and they occupied seats inthe centre of the room. Johnson occupied a chair on one side of theplatform, and Ralli balanced him on the opposite side. Johnson appearedrather surprised to see _four_ of the _Galatea_ party put in anappearance instead of one only; but he made no remark, merely wavingthem to accommodate themselves with chairs from those placed against thewall.
"I am rather better than my word, you see," observed Lance to him as thefour friends stepped upon the platform.
"I promised to do what I could in the way of furnishing your people witha little entertainment to-night, and I have brought three volunteerswith me, which will enable us to infuse into the proceedings a littlemore variety than I could hope to impart to them alone."
"So much the better, colonel," returned Johnson. "It's real kind ofyou, I call it; and if the lads don't appreciate it, they ought to;that's all I can say. I've told 'em what you're going to do for 'em andall that; so, as soon as you're ready, I guess you can fire away."
Lance turned and opened the piano, looking quietly over the audience ashe did so. His eye fell upon the half-dozen who seemed disposed tointerrupt the proceedings, and stepping forward to the edge of theplatform, he waved his hand for silence and said--
"Your captain informs me that he has already explained to you the reasonfor his invitation to you to be present here this evening. To-day hasbeen a somewhat notable day in the annals of the settlement. You havethis morning laid the keel of a new ship, and commenced an undertakingwhich will tax your utmost skill, energy, and resource to carry throughto a successful issue; and Captain Johnson has thought it an event ofsufficient importance to be specially marked. Hence he has made it aholiday for all hands; and, finding that I possessed some little skillas a musician, he invited me to help in the celebration of the day byclosing it with a musical performance. This I willingly consented todo, in the belief that it might afford you a little pleasure andrecreation; and I may as well take advantage of the present opportunityto tell you all that my friends and myself will always be found ready todo everything in our power to promote your comfort and welfare. But Imust remind you that we are here to-night for _your_ pleasure ratherthan our own. We will do our best to amuse you, and I hope that you inyour turn will individually do what you can to maintain quiet and order.We may not perhaps succeed in pleasing you all; if such should be thecase, let those who are dissatisfied rise and quietly leave, and notdisturb others, or interfere with their enjoyment by giving noisyexpression to their dissatisfaction, I notice one or two who seeminclined to be a little unruly, but I hope they have sense enough to seethat such conduct on their part would be in the worst possible taste,and that they will think better of it."
Loud exclamations of approval greeted this speech, mingled with shoutsof "If they don't behave themselves we'll turn 'em out, guv'nor," andsuch like. There was a good deal of noise and confusion for about fiveminutes, during which Lance calmly seated himself and waited patientlyfor silence; and, when this was at length restored, he went to the pianoand sang to his own accompaniment Dibdin's "Tom Bowline." Lancepossessed a full deep rich bass voice of exceptionally fine quality; andas the words of the song pealed through the room, a breathless silencewas maintained by his strange audience,--the silence of surprise anddelight. Many of the men knew the song; had sung it or heard it sunghundreds of times on a ship's forecastle during the dog-watch; but notone of them had probably ever heard it sung before by a man of refinedfeeling, capable of expressing the full sentiment of the words, and itnow came upon them almost like a revelation. Sailors as a class areproverbially fond of music, but very few of them ever have--or, perhapsit would be more true to say, _give_ themselves--the opportunity to hearanything of better quality than the trash sung in music-halls; and most,if not all, of Lance's audience now therefore experienced for the firsttime the refining power of really good music. Their enthusiasticapplause at the conclusion of the song was perfectly deafening. CaptainStaunton then stepped forward and sang in true seamanlike style "The Bayof Biscay," the chorus of which was given with great unction andenjoyment by the whole audience.
Rex Fortescue followed with "The Death of Nelson;" and then Bob gave inexcellent style a laughable recitation, which convulsed his audience,even to the tickling of the sullen Ralli into a grim smile. Then Lancesang again; and so the entertainment proceeded for a couple of hours, tothe unbounded gratification of all hands, when the pirates dispersed ina perfectly quiet and orderly manner, after giving, at Johnson's call,three cheers for their entertainers.
"Thank you, colonel! thank you heartily all of you!" said thatindividual as our friends parted from him outside the capstan-house."You've given us a real treat to-night, and I guess all hands 'll feelever so much more friendly to you for it. Give 'em another dose or twoof the same sort of thing now and again, and I reckon they'll take careyou don't get ill-treated while I'm away."
"What about the arms and ammunition which I asked for to-day?" saidLance.
"You leave that to me, general," replied Johnson. "I guess I'll find away to let you have 'em before I sail; I won't forget it; you trust me.Good-night."
"Good-night," was the reply; and our friends turned away in thedirection of the hut.
"Would you mind walking a little way up the valley, gentlemen, before wego inside?" said Bob. "I want to tell you something I ought perhaps tohave told you long ago; but we have been so busy, I could never find anopportunity without speaking before the ladies, who, I think, ought notto know anything about it."
"Certainly, Robert," said Captain Staunton; "let us hear what it is byall means. It is doubtless something of importance, or you would notspeak so earnestly."
"Well, sir," said Bob, "I wanted chiefly to warn you all not to trustJohnson too much. He _seems_ friendly enough, but I doubt very muchwhether he is sincere. The day that we arrived in port, when the handswent aloft to stow the canvas, I jumped aloft with them, just to keep myhand in, as it were, and stowed the driver. While I was passing thegaskets, that fellow Ralli came on board and entered into conversationwith Johnson, who spoke to him about us, and more particularly about_you_, Mr Evelin. He said that you were going to design a very fastvessel for him, and that we were to assist in the building of her, andin the fortification of the harbour; and that as long as we could be ofuse we were to be treated civilly; but that when we had done everythingrequired of us, he wouldn't care _how_ we were treated, or what becameof us."
"The false, treacherous scoundrel!" exclaimed Captain Stauntonindignantly. "Was that all he said, Robert?"
"All that I heard," said Bob. "After that they both went into thecabin. I wasn't eaves-dropping, you know, sir; but I was just overhead,so that I couldn't help hearing every word they said; and as they weretalking about us, I thought I was justified in keeping my ears open."
"Quite right, Robert, so you were," answered the skipper. "We aresurrounded by and at the mercy of a band of men who have outraged everylaw, both divine and human; it therefore behoves us, for our own sakes,and even more for the sake of the helpless women dependent upon us, totake every possible precaution, and to ascertain by every possiblemeans, what are their actual intentions regarding us. They aredetaining us here against our will; they have imposed upon us taskswhich they have n
ot a shadow of right to lay upon us; and if theymeditate treachery--which, from what you say, seems only too probable--we are justified in resorting to craft, if necessary, to protectourselves. Is not that your opinion, gentlemen?" turning to Lance andRex.
"Unquestionably," answered Lance promptly; "the men are, one and all--excepting, of course, the few who have refused to join the`brotherhood,' as they call it--outlaws; and, as such, they have noclaim whatever to be treated in the straightforward fashion with whichone deals with a _lawful_ enemy, such as one meets with in ordinarywarfare. Your information, Robert, is valuable, not altogether onaccount of its novelty, but rather as being confirmatory of what hashitherto amounted merely to conjecture on our part. I have longsuspected that our friend Johnson is not quite so straightforward as hewould have us believe. Well, `forewarned is forearmed;' we areevidently in a very critical position here, a position demanding all thecoolness, self-possession, and foresight we have at our command toenable us to successfully extricate ourselves; and I think we shouldgive the matter our immediate consideration--now--to-night, I mean--weshall perhaps never have a better opportunity--and endeavour to decideupon some definite plan of future action."
"Very well," said Captain Staunton, "let us continue our walk, and talkmatters over. It is perfectly evident, as you say, Mr Evelin, that weare in a very critical and difficult position, and the question is, Whatsteps ought we to take in order to extricate ourselves? I think it ispretty clear that this man Johnson has no intention of releasing us ofhis own free-will; we can be much too useful to him for him ever to dothat; if, therefore, we are ever to get away from this place, it willhave to be done _in spite of him_. And as we are too weak to escape byforce, we must do so by craft; I can see no other way for it, can you?"
"Well," said Lance slowly, blowing a long thin cloud of cigar-smokemeditatively up into the warm still night air, "I fancy we shall have totry a combination of both. I cannot conceive any practicable coursewhich will allow of our escaping without coming to blows with thepirates; I wish I could. Of course I do not care on my own account,although--notwithstanding my former profession--I am not particularlyfond of fighting if it can be done without. But there are the ladiesand poor little May; it is of them I always think when the idea ofstrife and bloodshed suggests itself. Then there is their _comfort_ aswell as their safety to be thought of; were it not for them I believethere would not be very much difficulty in seizing a stock of provisionsand water, together with a boat, and slipping quietly out to sea somedark night, trusting to good fortune--or Providence rather--to beeventually picked up by a passing ship. But I should certainly be slowto recommend so desperate a course under present circumstances, save inthe very last extremity. The hardships those poor creatures passedthrough in their last boat-voyage I have not yet forgotten."
It is not necessary to repeat every word of the discussion whichfollowed; suffice it to say that it was of so protracted a characterthat the three individuals engaged in it did not enter their hut untilthe first faint flush of dawn was brightening the eastern sky. Bob hadbeen dismissed within an hour of the termination of the concert with amessage to the effect that Captain Staunton and his two companions feltmore disposed for a walk than for sleep, and that the rest of the partyhad therefore better retire when they felt so inclined, as the hour atwhich the three gentlemen would return was quite uncertain. The timethus spent had not, however, been thrown away; for, after a very earnestdiscussion of the situation, the conclusion arrived at was that theycould not do better than adhere to their original plan of endeavouringto make off with the new schooner, and that her construction shouldtherefore be pushed forward with all possible expedition; but that, asthere was only too much reason to dread a change from the presentpacific and friendly disposition manifested toward them by the pirates,an attempt should also be made to win over as many as possible of theprisoners, not only with the object of effecting these poor creatures'deliverance from a cruel bondage, but also in order that the fightingstrength of the _Galatea_ party (as they came to term themselves) mightbe so far increased as to give them a slightly better chance of successthan they now had in the by no means improbable event of a brush withthe enemy.
Now that the keel of the new schooner was actually laid, operations wereresumed with even more than their former alacrity on board the_Albatross_, and on the evening of the fourth day after the eventsrelated in the last chapter she was reported as once more ready for sea.
During these four days Captain Staunton and the rest of his party--excepting Dale, who positively refused to do any work whatever--had, inaccordance with their resolution, been extremely busy at the newshipyard, getting out and fixing in position the stem and stern posts;and it was only by the merest accident that they heard, on the eveningin question, that the brig was to sail on the following day.
As Lance had heard no more about the promised arms and ammunition, he atonce determined to see Johnson once more respecting them. Heaccordingly set out in search of the pirate captain, but, to hischagrin, was quite unable to find him or to learn his whereabouts. Hesearched for him in vain the whole evening, venturing even on board thebrig; and it was not until after eleven o'clock that night that he gaveup the search in disgust with a strong impression that Johnson had beenpurposely avoiding him.
On the following morning, however, he was more successful, having risenbefore daylight in order that he might catch his bird on his firstappearance in the open air. At six o'clock the bell rang as usual forthe hands to turn to, and a few minutes afterwards the whole place wasastir. Lance walked down to the landing-place with Captain Staunton andthe others, and saw them embark in the boats detailed to convey theworking party to the new shipyard. He then whispered a word or two ofexplanation to his friends and allowed the boats to go away without him.They had been gone about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour when Lancesaw the man he sought emerge from the capstan-house and walk hurriedlydown toward the beach, where a boat, fully manned, appeared to beawaiting him. A few steps, and Lance was by his side.
"Good morning, Captain Johnson," he said with inward amusement as henoted the confusion of the pirate at the unexpected and evidentlyunwished-for meeting.
"Good mornin', general," was Johnson's response, given with a heartinesswhich was visibly assumed. "This is a real fine morning, _I_ call it.Nice little breeze, too, off the land; I guess we shall make short milesof it to-day. I am downright glad you missed the boats this morning;overslept yourself, I s'pose; I wanted to say `good-bye' to you and yourchums, and I declare to goodness I was only just thinkin' when you comeup to me that I'd be obliged to heave the brig to off the rock and runashore in a boat just to shake nippers with you. Well, I guess I mustbe off; there's the foretop-sail just let fall, and I'm bound they'vepassed the messenger already. I'm real sorry I can't take you all withme and shove you ashore somewhere on the quiet; but you see how 'tis;that feller Ralli--but I ain't got time to talk any more, I swow. Good-bye. By the time I get back I reckon you'll have the schooner prettynigh ready for launching, eh?"
"I hope so," said Lance. "By the bye, have you made any arrangementsfor letting us have the arms you promised? That fellow Ralli, as youhave remarked--"
"The arms? Well, now, only to think of that!" exclaimed Johnson withwell-feigned annoyance. "What a dog-goned forgetful cuss I am; blamedif I ain't forgot all about 'em. I've been that busy, if you'll believeme, general, I ain't had time to swaller a mouthful of grub this fourdays; half-starved to death I am; just look at my waistcoat--fits melike a sack. But about them arms--I declare I am real sorry I forgot'em, general; but never mind, I guess you won't want 'em. If you do"--he button-holed Lance and whispered him confidentially--"just you take'em--help yourself to 'em; I give you my permission, I swow. And now Ireally _must_ say `good-bye.' Take care of yourself, general, and goahead with that schooner as fast as ever you can. Get her finished bythe time I come back, and the battery too, and I promise you shall leavethe island as soon as you like ar
terwards."
They were by this time at the water's edge; and as Johnson uttered thelast words of his farewell he sprang into the boat which was waiting forhim, and flinging himself into the stern-sheets, gave the order to"shove off."
Ten minutes later the same boat was swinging at the brig's quarter-davits, and the brig herself, with her anchor-stock just showing abovewater, was moving slowly away towards the harbour-entrance undertopsails and jib.
At a little distance from Lance stood Ralli, watching the departure ofthe brig.
"Ah!" he muttered, "there you go, you vile American dog, you cowardlymean-spirited cur; take my parting curses with you; may you meet withnothing but ill-luck and perplexity; may misfortune follow you; may thevery wind and the sea war against you; may the treachery which I haveplanned prevail over you; and may you die at last with the jeers of yourenemies ringing in your ears. Good-bye! good-bye!" he shouted, bringingthe tips of his fingers together at his lips and wafting with them anironical salute after Johnson, who at that moment glanced shoreward andwaved his cap. "Good-bye, and the devil himself go with you. Aha! myYankee friend, you little know that you are taking your last look atthis scene; you little dream that the brig carries a dagger whose bladeis thirsty for your heart's blood, and whose point _I_ have directed atyour breast. Adieu, miserable coward, for ever. I hope Antonio willnot forget to tell you, as he drives home his blade, that it was _I_ whoordered the blow; my revenge will else be robbed of half its sweetness.You thought, doubtless, that because it suited me to receive yourinsults in silence that I should soon forget them. Bah! you should haveknown better; my very quietness--the repression of my resentment--shouldhave warned you; but you are a poor blind fool without any discernment,or you would have known that a Greek _never_ forgives a wrong. Good-byeonce more, and for the last time--good-bye; I wish you all speed on yourroad to perdition."
And he waved his hat smilingly at the fast receding brig as he sawJohnson raise a telescope to his eye and level it in his direction.
When the _Albatross_ had at length finally disappeared beyond theharbour's mouth Ralli turned for the first time and caught sight ofLance. Stalking up to him he said scoffingly--
"So, Mister Soldier, you have lost your friend at last."
"Yes," said Lance very quietly, "if, as I imagine, you refer to yourcaptain. But I must protest against your styling him my friend; he isnothing of the kind."
"Ah, yes," sneered Ralli. "Now that he is gone, and can no longerprotect you, you disown him. But that will not do. You and he werefriends, whatever you may say. He is my enemy, and his friends aretherefore my enemies also; _and they will be treated as such_; do youunderstand me?"
"Not in the least," said Lance, "I have not the faintest notion of yourmeaning."
"Then listen to me and I will explain," said Ralli, his eyes gleamingvindictively. "Do you know that your friend yonder is fated never toreturn?"
"What is the meaning of this?" thought Lance. "Some treachery or otheron the part of this rascally Greek, I'll wager. But it will never do toallow him to suppose that he is master of the situation so--"
"I believe," he said carelessly, "there _is_ some sort of arrangement tothat effect, is there not?"
The Greek gazed at him in unaffected alarm.
"Aha!" he ejaculated, "how came you to know that?"
Lance smiled at him compassionately. "Did you really flatter yourself,"he said, "that your plans were so astutely devised--so cunninglyconcealed that none but you and your partisans could possibly knowanything about them! Really, Mr Ralli, I fear you are greatlyoverrating your own sagacity. But we appear to be wandering away fromthe point. You were about to explain the meaning of an obscure remarkyou made a minute or two ago?"
Lance had never removed his glance for a single instant from Ralli'sface since the commencement of the conversation; and he wasphysiognomist enough to detect the signs of a fear almost approaching topanic in the countenance of the Greek; he knew therefore that his boldguess had not been very far from the truth; and he continued to puff hiscigar with all his wonted _insouciance_ as he waited calmly for thereply to his interrogation.
"Yes," said Ralli, recovering his self-possession with evident effort."I was about to explain two things--First, I wish you to understand thatJohnson is _not_ my captain, nor is he the captain of _anyone_ now onthis island. We have thrown off our--what do you term it? our--"
"Allegiance?" blandly suggested Lance.
"Our allegiance--yes, that word will do; it explains my meaning, thoughit is not the word I intended to use," answered Ralli. "We have thrownoff our allegiance. We are tired of him--this man Johnson--and we willhave no more of him; he will never return here; and now _I_ am capitan.You understand!"
Lance nodded.
"Good. The next thing I was about to explain is, that his friends areour enemies; you and your people especially. Is that plain?"
"Perfectly," answered Lance, still outwardly calm and unconcerned asever, though inwardly much perturbed. "And I presume you intend us toaccept these remarks of yours in the light of a threat of some kind?"
Ralli looked hard at his interrogator before replying. He could not inthe least understand this man who received with such perfect _sang-froid_ the intelligence that he and his friends were to be regarded andtreated as the enemies of a company of ruthless outlaws such as he mustknow Ralli and his associates to be.
"Yes," he said at last, slowly and almost doubtingly, "you may take whatI say as a threat. I mean to pay to you and your friends all the greatdebt of vengeance which that other friend of yours, Johnson, has allowedto accumulate against him. I will be doubly avenged; I will be avengedupon him, and upon you as well."
Lance laughed gaily as he lightly knocked off with his little finger theash from his cigar-end. This was a serious, a direful business; but hehad no intention to let the Greek see that his words had any alarming ordisturbing effect upon him, so he said with a smile--
"Excuse me for laughing at you, but, under the circumstances I reallycould not help it. Your ignorance of the true state of affairs strikesme as so positively ludicrous. You forget, my good sir, that I ambehind the scenes--in your secret, you know," he added, seeing a look ofbewilderment at the other expression. "Why, man, you and all yourpeople are absolutely at our mercy. You look surprised, but I assureyou such is the fact. I really do not know whether I ought to explainmyself to you; I scarcely think you deserve it after your recentthreats--no; I will keep my own counsel; you shall remain in yourignorance."
And he turned to walk away.
"Stop," gasped Ralli, "what is it you mean? I _must_ know."
Lance paused for a full minute as though irresolute; at last he said--
"Well, perhaps it would be better for all parties that there should beafter all a clear understanding. You and your people outnumber ourparty many times, and it is indisputable that you have it in your powerin consequence to make us very uncomfortable; but, for all that, you areabsolutely at our mercy; and therefore it will be greatly to youradvantage to treat us well. You will perhaps understand this better ifI inform you that your plot against Johnson has been betrayed" (he didnot think it necessary to explain that, as far as he knew, the onlybetrayal of it had been in the incautious words uttered by the Greekhimself at the opening of their present conversation); "and that if hedoes not return _neither will the brig_; and then how will you besituated! You could possibly contrive to exist for a year upon theprovisions left on the island; you might even, aided by the productionsof the island itself, find sustenance for many years. But would thespending of the rest of your lives on this island be in accordance withyour plans and wishes? And do you not think it possible that Johnson,in revenge for your plot against him, may find means to direct somecruiser to your hiding-place? Your imagination, I take it, is vividenough to picture the consequences of any such step on his part."
"We shall have the battery and the schooner," muttered Ralli.
"Y
es," said Lance, "_if we build them for you_; not otherwise. There isnot a man on this island, outside our own party, who could complete theschooner, much less build the battery. Now, do you begin to understandthat I was only speaking the truth when I spoke of your being at ourmercy."
Ralli was silent. He stood with knitted brows intently cogitating forsome minutes; then suddenly looking up into Lance's face with a smile hesaid--
"Ah, bah! what obtuse people you English are; how impossible for you tounderstand a little joke! Well, I will joke no more since you cannotunderstand it. We will be good friends all round; the best of friends;you shall have no cause to complain of bad treatment; and you will work_hard_ to finish the schooner and the battery _early_, please. I likenot what you said just now about Johnson and the frigate. But that toowas all a joke I know."
"You are mistaken," said Lance. "I confess I was dense enough not tounderstand that you were joking, so I spoke in earnest. But I think weclearly understand each other now; so I hope we shall hear no more aboutthreats, revenge, and nonsense of that kind."
And flinging his cigar-end into the water, Lance turned on his heel andwalked away.
Knowing, or at least shrewdly guessing that Ralli was watching him, hesauntered away in his usual careless and easy fashion toward the hut,which they had laughingly dubbed "Staunton Cottage," and entered it.
The ladies were busying themselves about various domestic tasks, andlittle May was amusing herself with an uncouth wooden doll which Bob hadconstructed for her. Lance was a prime favourite with May, so themoment that he entered the doll was flung into a corner, and the childcame bounding up to him joyously exclaiming--
"Oh, you funny Mr Evelin, how is it that you have not gone with mypapa? Did you stay at home on purpose to play with me?"
"Well, not exactly, little one," answered Lance, catching her in hisarms and tossing her high in the air, to her infinite delight. "Notexactly; although a man might be worse employed than in amusing you, youmischievous little fairy. No; I am going to papa presently--and wouldyou like to come with me, May, in a nice little boat?"
"I don't know," answered the child doubtfully. "How far is it? I don'tthink I like boats."
"No, you poor little mite, I expect not; it would be wonderful if youdid after what you have suffered in them," remarked Lance, holding thechild now in his arms, while she played with his long beard. "But weshall not have very far to go, pet; only over to that big rock,"pointing out of the window, "and I will take great care of you."
"And shall I see my papa?" inquired May.
"Oh, yes," was the reply; "you will be with him all day. And Robert isover there too, you know; and I daresay he will play with you if you askhim prettily."
"Then I'll go," she decided promptly; and forthwith went away to hermother with the request that her hat and jacket might be put on, "'causeI's going with Mr Evelin to see papa," as she explained.
"I daresay you are somewhat surprised to see me here," remarked Lance,as he replaced his tiny playfellow on the floor. "The fact is that Ihave been watching the departure of the brig; and the idea has occurredto me that now she is gone, and so many of the remaining men are away atthe shipyard all day, you ladies may with, I believe, perfect safetyindulge in the unwonted luxury of a daylight walk. You all standgreatly in need of fresh air and exercise; and I really think there isnow no cause to fear any molestation, otherwise I should not of coursesuggest such a thing. It will never do, you know, for you to remaincooped up here day after day--you will get low-spirited and out ofhealth; and I am inclined to believe it will be rather a good idea thanotherwise to accustom these fellows to the sight of you moving freelyand fearlessly about."
The ladies were quite unanimous in their cordial welcome to thissuggestion, Blanche only venturing to add in a whisper, and with apleading look--
"Can you not come with us, Lance? We should feel _quite_ safe then."
"I really could not, darling," he answered gently. "It would not befair to the others, you know. Beside which, I am urgently wanted at theyard to-day, and we must not let pleasure, however tempting, interferewith the progress of the schooner. I should like it immensely, ofcourse, and if I thought there was the least particle of danger in yourexpedition I _would_ go; but I believe there is none. At the same time,you will of course keep your eyes open, dear, and be on the watch forany suspicious circumstance; and if you really _must_ have an escort,there is Dale; shall I ask him?"
"Oh, Dale!" ejaculated Blanche with such a contemptuous toss of herpretty little head that Lance said no more; it was sufficiently evidentthat the ladies would be badly in want of an escort indeed before theywould accept Dale.
The three ladies were soon ready; and as they took their way up thevalley Lance stood at the door with May on his shoulder, watching them;and when at last they passed out of sight he made his way down to thelanding-place, seated the child carefully in the stern of a small dingywhich he found moored there, cast off the painter, stepped in himself,and, shipping the short paddles, drove the tiny boat with long easyleisurely strokes down toward the rock, chatting gaily with his tinycompanion the while, and causing her childish laughter to peal musicallyand incessantly across the placid surface of the land-locked water.