Wl LL! AM H N RY WINS LOW
The Sea Letter
LAURA.
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| 1 he * *
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I Sea Letter |
9 A Mystery of Martha's Vineyard
I !
WILLIAM HENRY WINSLOW J
Author of |
Cruising and Blockading, Etc.
Illustrated
" Libera Terra Dberque Animus "
s $
j< Publishers jc
I i
$ HENRY A. DICKERMAN 6 SON
I BOSTON
Copyright 1901,
by William Henry Winslow
fMimpton iprcsa
H. U. PLIMPTON A CO., PRINTERS & BINDERS,
NORWOOD, MASS., U.S.A.
e
5125816
GEORGE W. ELDRIDGE,
One of. the Cape Cod Folks, who came, $
like Maushope's great eagle, to Martha's
Vineyard, studied its tides, charted its
shallows, gathered its literature, and
encouraged and aided in this product
ot winter evenings, I gratefully dedicate
my book.
f THE AUTHOR. ^
J Vineyard Haven, Mass., J
June i5th, 1901.
! I
" A perfect judge will read each work of wit 6
5 With the same spirit that its author writ." 5
$ I
--
The Sea Letter
CHAPTER I.
An olive-green island lay panting beneath a
fervid summer sun amid swirling currents and vio-
lent tides of dark blue sea. Great parti-colored
clay bluffs and a light-house faced the west, and a
low sandy point and a light-house marked the
eastern extremity. A line of shining surf along
the South shore, broken only where a brown
boulder reared its washed face above, or a vagrant
stream flowed out to sea, showed over the sand
dunes and green meadows like a fringe of silver.
Great hills along the North shore, covered by grass
and boulders, or by forests of pine, oak and locust,
protected the adjacent valleys and the interior
plain from wintry gales. Wild grape-vines, haw-
thorn, and berry-bushes grew in ravines and upon
hillsides. Pastures and cultivated fields lay be-
tween woodlands ; and riotous gardens hugged the
farm-houses that were scattered rather sparingly
over the country.
A gentle southerly breeze, that had borrowed
moisture from the Gulf Stream not far away,
2 THE SEA LETTER
patted the cheek as if with feathers, and barely
lifted the leaves of elm and poplar trees around the
oldest house upon the island, which stood facing a
little harbor between the hills. No one could
doubt its age, who noticed the one story walls ; the
great unbroken roof ; the massive, eight-foot square
chimney ; the high-silled windows of twenty-four
lights, and the old portico at the front door, covered
only by canvas that was spread out or gathered
back against the eaves, as occasion demanded.
The skeptic could examine the yellow clay
and straw mortar of the brick work ; the hard-burnt
English bricks, stamped 1642 ; the long ovens
beside the fire-places; the queer wrought-iron
hinges and latches, and the peculiarly paneled
doors.
Documentary proof was available in the Reg-
ister's office at the County town, where the records
ran back over two hundred and fifty years, when
entries were found defective and a legal chain was
no longer possible.
The Olivers had lived in the house through
three generations. The last survivor declared the
timbers of the frame had been cut and hewed upon
the spot, and pointed to marks of the axe and
some bark upon the beams, projecting in the ceil-
ing and the corners of the lower rooms. Indeed,
the window and door sills were worn hollow, and
one's feet rose and fell in walking the floors as
upon a ship's deck at sea.
THE SEA LETTER 3
Captain George Oliver, a retired officer of
the whaling fleet, and of the Volunteer U. S.
Navy, hale and hearty at sixty years of age, lived
in the old mansion with his wife Alice and
daughter Lucy.
A married daughter in Boston, and a son
who was mate on the Savannah Line, made
occasional visits there during the year.
The old Captain was seated upon the front
porch among the honeysuckles and clematis that
covered its latticed sides, smoking his pipe, and
looking with a long spy-glass at a white steamboat,
which was moving rapidly among the anchored
craft towards the wharf, where all passengers and
baggage were landed and distributed around the
island by carriage and car.
It was evident this particular morning that he
expected something of importance, as he watched
the decks and wharf more intently than he usually
did when he had nothing to do but to smoke and
doze and spy out passing vessels.
The captain was not indolent. Though he
had given up going to sea, he clung to the shore,
sailed his cat-boat to the fishing grounds ; went
clamming, lobstering and hunting ; cut the lawn
grass ; cultivated the garden, and swapped yarns
with nautical hulks like himself, out of commission.
He received a retired lieutenant's pay monthly
from Washington ; had a few bonds in a safe-de-
posit box on the main land, and found an occasional
4 THE SEA LETTER
check in his son's letters. The world revolved
easily now, and the captain had begun to play
before life had lost its attractions and he had be-
come decrepit.
" What are you looking at, papa ? Is there
an excursion upon the boat this morning, that you
gaze at her so long ? " asked Lucy, as she stepped
out upon the platform and smiled at her parent's
grotesque appearance, with one eye screwed shut
and the other glued to the spy-glass.
" Where are your ears and your wits, lassie ? "
said the captain. " Didn't you hear me tell your
mother about Mr. Delano and his tally-ho coming
from New York this week? I've been watching
every boat, and naught have I seen but buggies
and traps and bakers' wagons. The deck-hands
have tumbled out the luggage and are now lead-
ing out some horses. There's a great yellow thing
behind the bulwarks. Do you know the color of a
tally-ho, a kind of old fashioned coach with a new
f angled name ? "
" No ; how could I know ? We never went to
the Horse Show. I suppose they are like other
coaches. If you'd take us to New York, we might
learn something about turnouts and style. "
" Yes, hats and wraps and opera cloaks and
it is a coach and they are now hitching up the
horses ! Run and tell your mother to air the
front room ; Mr. Delano has arrived. No such rig
as that ever landed on this island before, and it
THE SEA LETTER 5
must be his ! " and the captain lowered the glass
and wiped his eyes.
" Let me look first, papa," said Lucy, shaking
her head backwards to clear away the stray locks
of yellow brown hair that had been blown over her
perfect features. " Oh ! I see the four horses,
and men climbing upon the coach. They have
started, and so has the steamboat hear her
whistle."
Lucy laid the glass upon the seat and rushed
away to tell her mother, and the captain went and
polished his shoes, and put on his Sunday suit
which was rather warm for the season.
The captain's house was in the suburbs of the
little village of E , which covered the hills along
the shore of the harbor as far as the light-house
and bluffs. This shore had long borne the name of
Barbary Coast because of its bleak winds and
heavy seas in Winter. Cosy cottages, picturesque
villas, and spacious hotels with lawns, gardens, play-
grounds, parks and a band-stand, gave quite a
metropolitan appearance to the resort, and it had
its full share of summer sojourners.
Across the harbor opposite, one could see the
houses of the Haven nestling in the trees ; Man-
ter's Hill, where three patriotic girls blew up a flag-
pole in '76 to prevent its seizure by the English
for a topmast ; Neptune Heights, with its vestige
of an Indian stockade, and, great bluff sseaward,
6 THE SEA LETTER
surmounted by brown villas and a light-house with
a background of dark forest.
The salt meadows up the harbor were deli-
cate shades of green which soothed tired eyes, but
the glory of the island was the sea. One caught
glimpses of its sparkle and its white-caps all
around, and the pleasure craft in the harbor and
the stately vessels sailing by, presented a delight-
ful panorama.
The principal hotel of E was two squares
away from the ancient home of the doughty captain,
and he hastened to greet his friend Delano, whom
he had not seen since the previous summer. The
hotel faced the harbor and was surrounded by
broad piazzas and trees. There was the usual hum
of voices about the hotel ; a few gentlemen were
sitting around the main entrance smoking, and
reading their morning mail and newspapers ; a
youth in knickerbockers was showing a dip-net to
a lady and telling of the millions of little fishes at
the bridge ; a man in rough clothes and rubber
boots had a basket of fish-lines and a pail of live
minnows, and his companion carried a pair of oars
and a lunch-basket ; several ladies occupied rock-
ing-chairs near the parlor windows, knitting or
making art embroidery ; boys and girls, with rack-
ets in hand, chattered and flirted on the way to
the tennis-court ; servants shuffled up and down
the steps and stairs ; drivers of buck-board, surrey
and phaeton lolled upon the seats and whisked
THE SEA LETTER J
away the flies from the horses ; market wagons
called or drove past, and bicyclists sped by like
the wind, or pushed their wheels to a rest by the
steps. In fact, everything went on in and around
this hotel, just as it does at most caravansaries
upon the sea-coast, and the guests were little diff-
erent from those one meets at such summer places
all the way from Campo Bello to Virginia Beach.
The hotel was hardly awake yet : the poplar
trees along the front had not felt enough breeze to
shake off the dust that had gathered during the
previous evening ; the blooded pet dogs and
village curs were stretched out in the sunny spots ;
the vessels' sails hung idly up and down, and the
bathing-time was still an hour away. Suddenly,
there arose upon the breeze a long, musical blast,
with wind and trill and sweet cadence. The dogs
raised their drooping ears ; the hotel life roused as
from sleep ; people looked and questioned, and
Miss Gabrielle Palmer cried, " Did you hear that,
mother ? They are coming I know the sound of
the horn, " as she arose from her chair and gazed
down the road.
"Who is coming, my dear?" asked the lady
calmly, shifting her chair a little, while others did
likewise and looked inquiringly from the road to
the fair young girl, whose blue eyes sparkled, and
tender cheeks flushed with excitement over antici-
pation of an important arrival.
8
" Tom."
"Mr. Delano?"
" Yes ; he left Newport yesterday, and wrote
me he would try and catch the first boat over and
get his friends here before dinner. "
Sweet and clear rose and fell the winding of
the horn ; the drivers turned around to look, the
loungers and business men twisted their chairs or
stood up, the tennis party stopped the play, and the
clerks and servants gathered at the doors and win-
dows ; all listening eagerly and looking down the
road. Nothing was to be seen except a cloud of
dust, for it had been sunny and dry, and the road
along the border of the harbor was not well ma-
cadamized.
" How is he coming, Gabrielle ? " asked her
mother.
" In the tally-ho, of course."
" And who is with him pray ? "
" A lot of jolly bachelors just what we need
to save the season from being an ignominious
failure."
" Why, Gabrielle ! Don't talk that way!"
" I must, Mamma. You know it is true.
There's not an eligible in the place except the
Marine Surgeon, and he is wedded to his profess-
ion, and needs too much encouragement ."
" Sh ! my child. Who makes up the party ? "
" Some odd sticks Tom has picked up. You
know he's great on improving himself. He says,
THE SEA LETTER 9
'I only got a smattering of knowledge at the Uni-
versity, and, when I go away on vacation, I take
along some bookish men and keep them bright,
asking them questions.' "
" An excellent plan, I am sure. Do you know
the names ? "
"Well, if Tom has not changed his list, it
includes Prof. Thompson, who knows all the ani-
mals from an amoeba to a megatherium ; Prof.
McFarlane, who names all the plants ; Mr. Atkins,
a legal light with a penchant for astronomy ; Mr.
Sanders, a commercial traveller, practical and gen-
erally hungry; Mr. Young, a sort of socialist, in
the iron business ; Mr. Wilson, an electrical char-
acter, and others, who know enough to laugh at
his jokes and wag their heads in unison. "
" Quite a distinguished party, I should say. "
" Yes ; all striving for wealth and honor, I
suppose. A farmer showed me some potato-bugs
in water yesterday. They formed a squirming
ball : those beneath climbed to the top out of
water only to be rolled under again and again,
until only a few remained at last upon the mass of
their drowned companions. Wasn't that a fine
example of men's struggles in knowledge and foot-
ball?"
" What a strange creature you are, Gabrielle."
The ladies sitting around listened wonder-
ingly and nodded.
io THE SEA LETTER
The music of the horn floated upon the
southerly breeze that was cooled by lake and sea,
and the people caught a glimpse of four prancing
horses and a coach covered outside by young men.
The chestnut pole-horses were broad and strong,
and had the proud necks and steady movements of
English thoroughbreds. The Kentucky leaders
were slender, agile, and playful, and tossed their
manes and heads and stepped gingerly, as if afraid
of breaking through the asphalt upon which they
were now trotting. The harnesses were mounted
in jet and gold, and glittered in the sunlight as the
horses changed position. The coach, in old gold
and red colors, seemed to roll along after the horses
instead of being pulled by them. The riders
turned and twisted to look at the landscape and
the people ; the driver held the reins firmly and
swung the whip gracefully ; the colored servant in
livery on a rear corner of the coach pointed his
horn in different directions and blew sweet, sharp
tones to the neighborhood; and, amid flying
bicycles, barking dogs, rushing children, and the
bustle and excitement of servants and guests upon
the ground and piazza., the team drew up at the
entrance of the hotel, stable-boys grasped the
leaders by the bridles, the riders climbed down and
entered the hotel office, and the outfit was taken
to the stables in the rear.
Then the gentlemen resumed their conversa-
tion and newspapers ; the ladies re-arranged their
THE SEA LETTER n
rocking-chairs and fancy work; some of the girls
went in and looked over the register and brought
the names of the new arrivals out to their
elders ; the willows and poplars waved their dusty
leaves lazily as before, and the sleepy dogs
stretched out and took another nap.
An hour later, men and women, girls and
boys, in couples and groups, were seen going to
the shore; some fully dressed, some in negligee,
and some in complete bathing-suits ready for a
dip, as it was but a short walk to the bathing-
beach. There was true democracy, a mixture of
the vulgar and the refined upon the sea level.
People did not care to insist upon social prestige,
where class distinction was obliterated by a
common dress, and one could not recognize any
difference between plebeian and patrician forms.
There was a hilarity, an abandon and a bonhomie
quite characteristic of Americans on pleasure bent.
The sandy, pebbly beach stretched away with
a gentle curve of foam to a point which jutted
seaward. Rows of bath-houses stood along the
bank, backed by sedgy grass and sand-hills;
little landings, with steps for tender feet, led to
deep water ; and lobster and fish-cars and boats
lay beyond half buried in sand or drawn above
high-water mark.
The swell of the sea caused a gentle surf
to rise and curl and fall like a flattened scroll at
the feet of the bathers now gathered along the
12 THE SEA LETTER
beach. The surface of the water was roughened
by waves of pearly hue, which resembled flutter-
ing silver-poplar leaves before a storm. Streaks
of sand reflected yellow lights upwards, between
green and inky hues of water over eel-grass,
seaweed and boulders. The day was sunny and
warm; and the soft southwest breeze brought
the delicious odors of seaweed and salt-marsh
flowers.
The bathers began to dabble along the
beach, to wade in timidly, and to cry: "O, it's
cold!" "Come on, never mind!" "Wet your head
first ! " "I must not wet my hair ! " " Stop spat-
tering me ! " " Don't pull my arm so ! " " Wet all
over at once and you'll find the water delicious."
" Don't go out so far ! " " But you must, if you
wish to learn to swim." " Get your feet off the
bottom and see how the water will hold you up."
"O, I cannot!" Trust the water once I'll hold
your chin up." " O, I'm choking ! I swallowed a
pint." "Your feet are too high kick straight back."
" You want to drown me." " I'll hold you by the
belt." " Let me breathe a minute." " Try sleigh-
riding." "Don't dive under me. Oh! Oh ! get
away ! " " Now Molly, come on ! " " Not so fast."
"Buh! I swallowed a quart. Oh! it is nasty." "It
nearly breaks my back, stretching out so."
"Keep your black stockings down! You don't
need to kick the stars." "I never found anything
so hard except fractions." "Now Susie, strike
out like a frog, you know." " I can float some."
"Um, that's jolly." "Oh! you nearly upset me."
"Excuse me, madam, I was awkward." "Ugh!
I'm I'm stran strang ling!"
" Madam, I'll help you. Move your hands
so flat at first, then turned a little upwards
and outwards ; swing your arms back ; kick with
both feet, drawing the legs up to the body
each time so practice in deep water and you will
soon learn."
"Thank you. The water is fine to-day."
" I have bathed everywhere from Maine to
Virginia, and this is the warmest place of all, and
the surf is not dangerous."
These were some of the exclamations and
phrases of the amateurs in shallow water, and
the exertions, antics and mishaps were numerous
and remarkable.
Out in deeper water, men and women,
young and old, were floating sleigh-riding, swim-
ing on the stomach and back, diving, and
jumping from a spring-board and float anchored
off. They sat in rows along the stage;
reclined upon it in the sun ; sunk it to force every-
one off, and played pranks, shouting and laughing,
unconscious of clinging garments and exposed lines
of beauty or angularity, and heedless of criticism
in the excitement and unwonted pleasure.
Young men were fearless ; young women swam
and dove like mermaids ; athletes of both sexes
i 4 THE SEA LETTER
revealed hardened muscles and glorious curves
of symmetrical development, and elderly persons,
with craned necks and round shoulders,
resembled a gathering of drowning Brownies.
The wharf, the wreck and the bank were
occupied by many ladies, dressed in the light,
bright shades of summer stuffs, and shaded by gay
parasols from the fierce rays of the sun. Gentle-
men shared the grateful shade with their acquaint-
ances, sweethearts, or wives, and little children
helped to make up merry groups. Calls to
acquaintances, shouts of approval or direction,
clapping of hands, and bursts of laughter, greeted
the bathers from time to time, and mingled
with quiet conversation and the music of the
band. The bathers left the water slowly, drip-
ping and straggling; some reclined and played
upon the sand; some ran up and down swinging
their arms ; some rushed to the bath houses and
wrung out their hair and clothes; some wrapped
their heads in towels, or let their hair hang
loosely down their backs, or tipped their hats
jauntily over their noses; and all soon sought their
rooms at the cottages or hotels to dress for dinner
for it was a rule of this place to dine about noon
at one o'clock when vitality was highest and the
sun near its zenith.
Mr. Delano had witnessed the bathing from a
wreck and was walking slowly up the wharf, when
he was startled to see the figure of a woman, with
THE SEA LETTER 15
hands clasped beneath her head, lying stretched
out full length upon the hot sands. " A drowned
woman, perhaps a suicide," flashed through his
mind, and he was about to rush to the body, when
he saw a foot turn and other movements of life. He
stopped astonished and transfixed, and viewed the
lines and curves of this charming creature, who
was warming and resting herself in the sunlight
totally regardless of his critical and admiring gaze.
She was a blonde of the golden hair type, with
deep blue eyes, a slightly aquiline nose, and a head
like Cleopatra. The little silk cap she wore was
half buried in the wealth of her luxuriant tresses.
Delano judged her height to be about five and a
half feet. She turned her face towards him, and
he was startled to recognize an acquaintance, Miss
Gabrielle Palmer.
Ashamed of his surreptitious observation, and
unwilling to dispel her ignorance of his presence,
or to interrupt her repose or reverie, he retreated
across the wharf, hastened to the street and back
to the hotel among the scurrying figures of bathers,
some in clinging suits, some in bath-robes, and some
covered from head to foot in mackintoshes.
An hour later, all were at dinner, and young
and old displayed ravenous appetites. Acquaint-
ances nodded to each other across the table, or
stopped to greet more warmly as they passed, and
Mr. Delano shook hands with half a dozen persons,
including Gabrielle and her mother, before he
1 6 THE SEA LETTER
took his seat with his bachelor friends. After
dinner some of the guests went to their rooms for
a nap; others sought the rocking-chairs and shady
piazza; the elderly gentlemen formed a group to
the left of the entrance and smoked and talked,
and the younger men mingled with the ladies and
the children to the right, where wit, beauty and
fashion preferred to congregate.
CHAPTER II.
The piazza of the hotel presented an ani-
mated scene. There were guests from all parts
of North America. Delano had several acquaint-
ances to whom he introduced his friends, and
these introduced others in turn, and frivolous
speeches, confidential chats and earnest discus-
sions mingled with exclamations and laughter, and
the noise of romping children. Many questions
were asked by the newcomers, concerning the
place, its attractions, its customs, its society and
healthfulness, and they related the gossip of
Newport and their experiences and pleasures upon
the coaching trip. Groups of pretty girls, dressed
in lawns, challies, chiffon and silk, giggled over odd
characters and incongruities of dress ; held low
toned conferences about affairs, and looked side-
ways and curiously towards Delano, as the hero of
the hour.
" We are having fine weather now, but it
was rather wet during June," observed Mrs. Ward
to Mrs. Conant at her right side.
1 8 THE SEA LETTER
" Yes ; I am thankful we arrived before the
hot spell. It has been 95 in the shade from
Boston to St. Louis all the week, while here the
temperature has not been above 85, and there
has been a fine breeze blowing day and night."
" The south westers blow too strong ; hats
and hair are flying everywhere, " remarked Mrs.
LaCrosse.
" Breezes make the yachts jump, " declared
Lieut. Ferguson, a naval officer on leave.
" But you do not need wind, when you use
electricity or steam," said Miss Palmer.
" True ; I was not thinking of tea-kettle
yachtsmen, who are always in a hurry to get
somewhere, and make short stays when they get
there. They take no pleasure in handling sails
and battling with gales, and should travel in public
conveyances."
" Your naval vessels are mostly steam, and
managing their machinery by touching an electric
button has superseded tacking and wearing, "
interrupted Mr. Wilson.
" More's the pity. When we need real
sailors, we are obliged to recruit them from coast-
ers, fishermen and foreigners."
" Congress is to blame," declared Mr. Young.
" When the civil war closed, we had over six
hundred naval vessels, and a considerable fleet of
merchantmen that the privateers had not gobbled.
If we had subsidized our steamships and freed
THE SEA LETTER 19
ship-building materials from excessive taxation,
our sails would now whiten every sea."
" And they have bungled the fishery
question too. New England has been euchred
by the Provinces, " added Atkins.
" O, there were other fish to fry, " said
Sanders, and the allusion to the Maine senator
caused a laugh.
A mist had crept over the island from the
south, the headlands were hidden, and a fog-horn
was groaning hideously.
" The first fog this summer, " remarked Mrs.
Phelps.
" We have less fog than the main shore, "
said Dr. Kenelm, the house physician, standing
near. " This sandy soil does not hold water and
becomes heated rapidly. The heat is radiated
upwards and added to that of the sun's rays, and
the temperature of the air is raised and the vapor
absorbed. Then an almost imperceptible change
in the direction of the wind, or an increase in its
movement, drives the banks away. There is a
legend that Old Squant, an Indian spirit 'up
island' causes the fogs by smoking his pipe."
" What a scientific explanation ! " exclaimed
Miss Helen Purdy, a Wellesley graduate, who wore
glasses, and had been nick-named " Goggles " by
Miss May Henderson.
"How comical!" said May giggling.
20 THE SEA LETTER
"A paradox! A dry seaside resort and a para-
gon to maintain it!" cried Mr. Thompson with
laughter.
The mist was lifting already, but a dense bank
rested upon the sea and the horn was still roaring.
Some vessels crept cautiously into the harbor,
glad to anchor for the night, as the wind was
going into the southeast and the sky thickening.
"The shallows and the Gulf Stream elevate
the temperature of our bathing places and the sea
promotes equability," said Mr. Etheridge. "Cape
Cod and Nantucket divert the arctic current south,
and Vineyard and Long Island sounds are warmer
than the outside waters. The average temperature
of the water is 65, and the air 67, during the
summer. While much cooler in the summer, the
winter climate is about the same as that of
Virginia."
"I should like to have some of that charm-
ing equability now," remarked Miss Victoria
McDonald, the perspiration starting over her face,
as she moved her chair out of the sun.
" Sunshine and ozonized air destroy the detri-
tus of life and starve microbes," added the doctor.
"Children thrive here, and the average of life on
the island is fifty-seven years. Man is best in
the country. Conflicts with nature and simple
sports develop the body, and the nervous system is
strong because not overwhelmed by sensations."
THE SEA LETTER 21
There was considerable noise. Children
were rnnning around the piazzas with tin horses
and wagons, trains of cars, and tricycles; some
little girls were playing games of " Ring around
rosy" and "Copenhagen," and the lads on the lawn
were practicing bicycle tricks.
"One would judge from observation around us,
Doctor, the younger generation was beginning
life correctly," observed Mrs. Ward.
Just then, Mabel, her little daughter, patted
the head of Miss Dodge's terrier and screamed
as he bit her finger, and Tingeling Chase, a chubby
child of four years, rolled down the hotel steps
with his express-wagon.
There was commotion and commiseration
and the doctor repaired the damages.
" How dare you bite anyone, Zip? You bad,
bad dog! I never knew him to do such a thing
before," said Miss Dodge apologetically.
"Why don't you thrash the vicious brute?"
said Mr. Thompson angrily.
" I never did and I don't like to begin,"ans-
wered Miss Dodge, as she gathered her pet in her
lap, kissed him, and told him to go to sleep.
The people about the hotel were interested in
dogs, as well as afflicted by them. Sympathetic
and curious ladies discussed their appearance,
breed and sagacity with considerable interest, and
many became acquainted and friendly through this
22 THE SEA LETTER
lowly animal, which stands next to woman in man's
estimation and above man in woman's.
"There are so many children romping around
the hotel, one might as well be in a lunatic asylum.
I like hotels where they refuse children," declared
Miss Dodge spitefully.
"Well, thank goodness! they are few, and for
my part, I prefer children to dogs," retorted Mrs.
LaCrosse.
" What kind of a creature is Miss Dodge ? "
asked Delano of Gabrielle.
" She is an artist, or tries to be so considered.
She has her own boat and goes off sketching as far
as Katama. You should see her water-colors of
marshes, bulrushes and boats."
" Um ! the artless and artful often take to
art."
" The kodak is good enough for me," declared
Miss Florence Hastings, a sentimental, impulsive
young lady yet in her teens.
" Do you develop and mount ? " asked Prof.
McFarlane.
" No, I don't like to stain my fingers."
" I hope the gentlemen will not smoke upon
our side of the piazza, " remarked Mrs. Phelps.
" What is the use of being capricious ? " said
Mrs. Palmer. " Smoking in our presence was
once a favor. Now it is assumed as a right.
We are ourselves to blame for it. We sit in
the hall-office among the men knitting and
THE SEA LETTER 23
reading, while they contaminate the whole
establishment."
" Yes, too much foreign influence. Men
smoke everywhere except in church, and get up
' Smokers, ' where they narcotize themselves under
a pretence of literary entertainment. Dr. Kenelm
says, ' Many diseases are caused by tobacco, and it
never benefits anyone.' "
" Then the doctor is a crank and doesn't
smoke, " broke in a gray-beard sitting not far
away.
" It must have been very interesting around
here a thousand years ago, when the Norsemen
cruised along the coast in their open boats, and
frightened the Indians with their coats of mail
and rude arms," remarked Lieut. Ferguson. " I
am told they called Martha's Vineyard, ' Strau-
mey' ; No Man's Land, ' Norseman's Land' ; West
Chop, ' Vest Kop' ; East Chop, ' Ost Kop' , and
Nantucket, ' Nankition ' ; but I think the histori-
cal evidence is rather defective, though the Old
Mill (or fort) at Newport is a monument of
their presence and daring navigating."
" We are certain Capt. Gosnold, an English
explorer, visited this region and seized Nantucket,
Martha's Vineyard and the chain of islands
between Vineyard Sound and Buzzard's Bay, and
established a colony upon Cuttyhunk, in 1602.
Did you ever hear the Indian names of the chain,
which he called the Elizabeth Islands in honor of
24 THE SEA LETTER
the English Queen ? They have been strung into
rhyme by an unknown poet :
" ' Naushon, Nonamesset,
Uncatena and Wepecket,
Nashawena, Pasque(inese),
Cuttyhunk and Penekese ' "
and Gabrielle ceased her recital and blushed as
her friends applauded heartily.
" The chain reminds me of an index finger
with its three phalanges and metacarpal bone
pointing towards Block Island. The isles are four
to seven miles from Martha's Vineyard and thirty
to forty from Nantucket, " added Thompson, who
was forever using anatomical illustrations.
" Then the pious Mahew came, wandered
among the Indian mounds, meditated upon the
shell-heaps and spear and arrow heads mingled
with the remains of mastodons, and brought the
wild men of the woods into the church and the
wild lands of Martha's Vineyard under cultivation,"
asserted Miss Purdy modestly.
" If you enjoy historical reminiscences, I
would ask you to remember : Thomas Mahew
lived at Geen Hollow on Green Harbor, now
called Edgartown, where his house still holds
together. The head of Lake Waquataqua, once
the head of the harbor, where Scotland Springs
supply the city water, was a Pocket of Water.
A man named Holmes was killed there by Indians,
and the whole harbor took the name of Holmes
THE SEA LETTER 25
Hole, which has been changed to Vineyard Haven.
Dover Bluffs received the better designation, Gay
Head. Oak Bluffs bear the less interesting name
of Cottage City, and the Haven, known long ago
as Nobnorket, has become a village of Tisbury.
"This island was the Indian's Nope, also,
Capawock; a Dutch Captain Block claimed it as
Martin Wyngaard's Island, but Captain Gosnold
had long before honored his daughter Martha and
recognized its vines by naming it Martha's Vine-
yard."
Thus declared Victoria with precision and
gravity, while her friends listened attentively and
broke into exclamations of approval as she finished.
" I supposed I was among Yankee girls with a
reasonable amount of education," commented the
Lieut., "but I have run against a section of the
Sorosis, or an entire brigade of Bluestockings."
Everyone laughed and the doctor said,
"What can you expect, Lieut., when many of our
young ladies go through high school and graduate
at college?"
"I ought to be prepared for anything these
times, but I've been so long at sea, I forgot our
ladies were brilliant as well as beautiful,"
The older girls bowed, the younger beamed
upon him, and the mothers smoothed their dresses
and nodded.
This sprig of the favorite service of Uncle
Sam had made a good impression.
26 THE SEA LETTER
"What a beautiful yacht!" cried Flossie, as a
natty schooner came out of the fog with a rush,
made a turn in front of the N. Y. Yacht Club
wharf, dropped her head sails and came to anchor.
" It seems to be the Walrus," said a gentle-
man on the south piazza, looking through his
marine glasses. "Newport cannot hold Lamson
this fine sailing weather."
"He is probably on a cruise to Bar Harbor.
Captain Oliver said, ' Yachts will be coming and
going all the season,' " exclaimed Babson, a New
York broker.
" There will be a grand time here when the
whole fleet arrives; this hotel gives the members
of the club and their guests a hop, I believe."
"Yes, and the fleet responds with an illumina-
tion and fire-works."
"The perch are biting lively just now. Will
you go fishing with me to-morrow, Wilson?" asked
Young.
" I guess so. Where are you going and
what time will you start?"
" Out to Chappaquonsett and at seven
o'clock. Fish bite best in the early morning."
"They'll not bite for me that early. I came
here for rest and recreation. Say eight and I'll
meet you at breakfast."
"Very well, sleepy-head. Let it be eight
then."
THE SEA LETTER 27
One man was nodding over his newspaper,
another rocking his little girl, and another watch-
ing some ladies over the way.
There was a restful appearance about the
hotel, and the gentle zephyrs from the sea barely
lifted the leaves on the trees, or made the callas
nod to the roses.
CHAPTER III.
Delano had sent his baggage to the old
mansion and made a pleasant call upon the Olivers
before dinner, and he left his friends to their
afternoon siestas and went over to unpack and
arrange things in the room, which Mrs. Oliver had
prepared for his use. He preferred the spacious
apartment and homelike privileges here, and did
not consider it a severe affliction to go to the
hotel for meals. This plan gave greater freedom
and enabled him to get rid of bores.
There was a profusion of old-fashioned flowers
around the house. Asters, geraniums, hollyhocks,
sweet William, tiger-lilies and poppies, nodded in
the breeze; varieties of brillant colored nasturtiums
with great green leaves covered the stone walls;
callas, yuccas and sunflowers grew in sheltered
corners; coleus and box-bordered beds and walks,
and a velvety lawn extended under the trees to the
beach where sail-boats danced at anchor. A well-
curb with block and rope, and several small build-
ings, shingled like the house, stood behind and
aside as if embarrassed.
THE SEA LETTER 29
Entering the house by the front door, one
found a narrow hall extending back to the dining
room ; the parlor on the left was Delano's bed-
chamber, with a pantry behind it ; the sitting-room
was on the right, with a bed-room adjoining;
and a dining-room filled the remainder of the lower
floor across the rear, having a kitchen in an L.
The ceilings were covered by the original plaster
and many patches ; the walls showed modern paper
with strange patterns in the old deep layers ; the
simple mantels were marbleized in black ; and
shades, carpets, rag-rugs, and antique and modern
furniture completed the furnishings. A gun hung
over the mantel in the sitting-room ; and several
whale's teeth, a sheet of whalebone, pieces of coral,
and curious shells, occupied shelves and closets.
Pictures of ships, sailing in smooth harbors or
battling with terrific seas, hung in the larger wall
spaces, amid patterns in hair, pen sketches, sea-
mosses and photographs in little frames. Papers,
magazines and books were scattered over the
tables and sofa, and Bowditch's Navigator and
the Holy Bible lay together.
Delano's room had few ornaments, and he
arranged his traps and clothing as he wished,
while the captain talked with him about a yachting
cruise they had made the previous summer in
Long Island Sound. They spoke of wreckers,
smugglers, tories, traitors and Indians, who had
been upon the island in early times. The captain
30 THE SEA LETTER
told of Cousins, who sat upon the shore and fired
at H. M. Ship Nimrod, in 1776, and of a rusty
round-shot which he had found in the garden,
and declared the old mansion would tell thrilling
stories could it speak in language, as it did to the
eye and imagination.
The wind shifted around from the western
side of the compass after dark, with much light-
ning and distant thunder, and stopped and began
to blow from the northeast. There was a leaden
bank behind it ; the long puffs alternating with
short lulls indicated a rising gale ; gray clouds
and scud crept across the moon and zenith ; the
thermometer fell ten degrees, and the barometer
stood at 28. 6 in. The black water of the harbor,
lighted by white-caps and lightning flashes, re-
sembled teeth in a countenance turgid with anger.
The harbor was rapidly filling with vessels, and the
noise of slatting canvas, and rumble of cables,
following plunging anchors, mingled with the claps
of thunder. Old Boreas had come out of his cave
for mischief.
" As he puffed his cheeks and pursed his lips,
And blew and blew and blew."
Something had brewed in the Caribbean
Sea, and a tropical hurricane was circling up the
coast to confound unsuspecting boatmen and ship-
masters.
The swish and whistle of the wind, the shrieks
in the chimney, the creaking and trembling of the
THE SEA LETTER 31
house, the roar of trees and surf, and the vivid
lightning and heavy thunder, were not conducive to
sleep, and Delano sat by the window looking out
upon the turbulent sea, and the ghostly vessels at
anchor or scudding into harbor. Suddenly he
arose, pulled down the shades and locked the door,
though doors were seldom locked and crime was
exceedingly rare upon the island. He was nerv-
ous and apprehensive, thinking of the house and
its history. The storm howled without with a
violence and a fury only experienced upon a
prairie, an island or a vessel at sea, and he was
afraid and appalled by it.
There came a loud knock Upon the door,
and he trembled as he cried out huskily, " Who
is there ?"
" It is I, the captain. Anything wanting,
sir ? I thought I heard you call," came in well
known tones.
" God bless you, Captain ! come in. What
are you doing around this dreadful night ?" said
he, much relieved as he unlocked and opened the
door.
" I feared some of the windows had blown in
and you might be exposed to the driving rain."
" No ; I could not sleep with such a racket
outside, and sat smoking and watching the scenes
when the lightning flashed. Try a cigar, Captain !"
" No ; thanks ! but if you don't mind I'll light
my pipe. I never sleep such weather."
32 THE SEA LETTER
" This must be a dreadful night at sea."
" Dreadful's no name for it. Many a man
will lose the number of his mess to-night, sir.
The seas and shoals show no mercy to a man who
loses his reckoning. It is better to get inside
and wait a day or two, than stay at sea and
tear a good ship in pieces. It was such a gale
as this when the Portland foundered only snow
instead of rain God help 'em !"
" It is incredible, notwithstanding the wreck-
age and bodies which were found along the shore
of Cape Cod, that not a single word or line of
information about the cause of the calamity has
been found. We can only question the gale and
the pitiless sea."
" When a ship founders at sea, it is a sudden
affair where every effort is directed to save life;
or the final scene of a series of calamities, when
it is impossible to find time and materials to
prepare a last message, seal it securely in a
bottle, and consign it to the ocean mail. How
rare it is such a sea letter ever reaches the shore,
or is received by anyone."
" But, there is a possibility of it, and I
think sooner or later a communication, enclosed
in a bottle, will be found, perhaps upon a
foreign shore, which will convey startling
information about the ill-fated Portland, and may
disturb the relations of persons and the rights of
property. Think of the legal complications which
THE SEA LETTER 33
might arise, if the assumption had been acted
upon that the wife had died first because the
weaker, and it be learned the contrary. Or, if
a will, or directions where to find one, should be
enclosed with the last despairing Good-bye."
"Very true," said the captain gravely,
puffing his pipe.
" What can a vessel do in a gale like this ? "
Delano asked anxiously.
" Lay to under reefed sail and drift. I have
done it three days with a tarpaulin in the mizzen
rigging, and nothing to eat but hardtack and salt
pork. There is great danger from collisions.
Many captains are too stingy to burn side-lights.
There is a heavy fine for not showing the red and
green, but who can catch the beggars. You are
running free and a white cloud crosses the bow
and is out of sight in a minute. Or you notice a
lead-colored blur, think your eyes are cloudy for
lack of sleep, rub them a moment and look again
and the vessel has disappeared. How is a man
to know whether he has seen the Mary Jane, the
Flying Dutchman, or the Jolly Rogers? "
" Speaking of the Jolly Rogers, do you suppose
smugglers and pirates ever visited this land?" asked
Delano.
" Suppose ? My grandfather told me Captain
Kidd and his crew used to land upon the island,
row their boats through the lakes, and drag them
across the intervening land from the north to the
34 THE SEA LETTER
south shore. Look at Menemsha and Nashaquitsa
and Sengecontacket and Waquataqua, on the map.
There is a tunnel under the hill near here, now
partly filled by rubbish, which grandfather said
led to a secret cave."
The captain drew his chair near to Delano,
looked around the room suspiciously and said, " Do
you believe in ghosts, sir?"
" I am afraid I must in order to explain all
the curious phenomena which come to my atten-
tion," replied Delano with some trepidation.
" Well, I swan! and I do too. I never was
afraid of anything. I have wrestled with walruses ;
fought polar bears on the ice ; rowed up and lanced
a harpooned whale ; jumped overboard in a gale to
save an apprentice ; been bumped by torpedoes,
and under fire of little and big guns, but I'm
skeery about this time of night in this old house.
There's something or other disturbing things.
Lots of folks lived and died here, and it is kind of
natural some o' them should come back to see how
things are drifting. I ask your opinion because
you have more knowledge of spirits and shore
business."
"What have you seen and heard around
here?"
" I noticed things I was using would get mis-
placed. I would lay down a pencil, knife, paper
or book, and it would get in some out-of-the-way
place, and I would only find it after much search-
TJ
2
5
ca :
THE SEA LETTER 35
ing. Then I heard knocks in the house in various
localities, when all else was quiet and no wind
blowing. I wasn't scared, only uneasy, and kept
the matter to myself.
" One night a terrible gale was raging, and I
sat in the other room looking out upon the turbu-
lent harbor as the lightning flashed, when I saw
a boat full of men approaching the landing.
The sea was breaking over the Beach road ; and
I thought no boat could live in such a gale. I
took a lantern and ran to the shore, but the
boat had disappeared in the foaming torrent. I
returned to the house much puzzled and was
looking out of the window, when I saw by the
lightning flashes the same boat carried by a
high sea across the road, swept over the marsh,
and landed safely at the base of the ridge.
Two sailors went behind the hill and the others
crouched around the boat. They seemed to be
covered by shining steel armor, and I was
greatly surprised at their appearance and miracu-
lous escape from drowning. It was uncanny
and mysterious."
Delano looked scared and arose and locked
the door.
" Then I heard sounds within the house, and I
secured the doors, took down my gun, and
listened and watched. Though my heart was
throbbing in my ears, my forehead covered
with perspiration, and my nerves tingling from
36 THE SEA LETTER
head to heels, I heard voices above the tumult
of the storm, and would swear they were within
the house. Fearing for my loved ones, I went
up to my bed-room in the south gable, fastened
the door, and watched by its only window. The
boat still lay like a blotch against the lake, and
I perceived the men during flashes deposit a
small chest in the boat, shove off and row
quickly away towards Waquataqua. Whether
men, ghosts, or demons, I felt much relieved when
they disappeared in their spectre boat. The
armor and chest looked like business a century
old."
The captain puffed away in silence awhile
and then said, " Now what do you think of
that, sir ?"
" I think it a very extraordinary and terri-
ble experience, Captain," replied Delano.
" Yes, and I cannot find any secret passage
into my house. I am therefore inclined to
believe the nocturnal visitors and miraculous
navigators were genuine ghosts."
A draft from the loose window-sash made
the light flicker, and the wind whistled mourn-
ful notes in the chimney.
" The devil has got into the chimney
again," growled the captain. " Ground-tackle
will not hold this weather. I have noticed
when the chimney talks, the shore is strewed with
THE SEA LETTER 37
wreckage and vessels the next morning. I believe
I will turn in now. Good -night."
" Good-night. I never heard it blow harder."
The sun was shining brightly the next
morning ; the seas were subsiding, and many
vessels were untwisting foul cables and get-
ting underway. Delano walked to the shore.
Vagrant shingles and broken limbs of trees were
in his path. The surf was hissing along the
beach. Pieces of wood, two broken ship's blocks,
an old mattress, a boat grating, a broken oar,
some dead fish, a shattered skiff and a sail-boat
full of water, were scattered along the sands.
Several small craft had sunk at their moorings ;
several battered vessels were stranded at the
head of the harbor; the great ocean tow-boats
had guided drifting ships to the cove at Gifford's
navy yard ; and the Bethel on the margin of the
sea, and the Marine Hospital upon the hillside,
had succored many injured and half -drowned
sailors. There was activity and joy in the
harbor now, because the U. S. Signal Station
had replaced its gloomy storm flags by the
cheerful white fair-weather signal.
The northeaster had blown itself out ; the
wind had hauled around to the southeast in
a rain squall, and then into the southwest and
cleared the clouds away, and the Susie D. was
carrying water and provisions to the fleet.
CHAPTER IV.
Delano breakfasted at 9 o'clock and found
most of his friends at the table. They gathered
upon the piazza afterwards, discussed the storm,
and he related the dire results of the hurricane
in the Haven. Inland storms are generally so
harmless, they could hardly realize that, while
they slept, ships had been sunk, sailors swallowed
up by the sea, and the shore covered with wrecks
and wreckage. Landsmen little know that strong
winds on land are gales at sea, which cause
disaster and death.
" You kept vigil late last night, Mr. Delano, "
said Gabrielle looking at him critically.
" Yes ; I was fascinated by the storm, and
the captain came into my room and told stories.
But how do you know we were up late ? " and he
looked at her in surprise.
" I saw the light in your window and your
shadow after you drew the shade. I, too, watched
the beautiful pictures when the lightning rolled
the black curtain of night away, and listened
to the whistle and roar of the gale about the
hotel," said she frankly.
THE SEA LETTER 39
" The wind blew sixty miles an hour around
my corner and a blind was torn from my window,"
added Thompson.
" You should not be so high and mighty, sir.
The nearer the roof, the nearer the lightning/
father says," cautioned Laura, and her brown eyes
sparkled with merriment.
" I might add, the lighter the purse, the
longer the stairs ; but I could not help it. It was
an eagle's eyrie or the top of a billiard table, and
I mounted," retorted Thompson quickly.
" Are not those vessels ashore ?" asked Atkins
of Delano.
" Certainly. See the wrecks along the Beach
road, ladies. Those vessels were driven up the
harbor by the gale and are resting upon the
bottom, more or less injured and leaking. Small
boats were smashed, sail-boats sunk, and a
great deal of damage done along the shore."
Great excitement arose ; many procured glas-
ses and inspected the wrecks ; others started away
on foot and awheel to view the havoc, and Delano
described all he had seen during the morning
ramble.
" Was anybody drowned ? " asked Mrs.
Conant anxiously.
" I believe not, but the Bethel and Hospital
are full of injured and half drowned sailors,"
answered Delano.
40 THE SEA LETTER
" How pitiful ! We must go over and offer
our services, Mrs. Palmer."
" It is not necessary. All the village is
on duty and the contributions are ample. I was
there this morning."
" Red tape is responsible. The govern-
ment should have built a breakwater here long
ago ! " declared the Lieutenant.
"This isn't anything compared with the
November '98 disaster, nay tragedy," broke in
Etheridge, who had just dropped off his wheel
after a spin along the Beach road. " Then twenty-
seven vessels were battered and blown upon
the shore, and a dozen good sailors were frozen or
drowned."
" It was terrible terrible. How bravely
those five life-savers worked, though only volun-
teers ! I read all about it," said Mrs. Conant,
who was always interested in the island news.
" Yes ; each man received a gold medal from
the State and one from the Government. It was
the storm in which the Portland foundered, and
the most severe that ever occurred," continued
Etheridge.
" What a lot of vessels there are parading up
and down the Sound this morning," exclaimed
Flossie.
" Yes ; thirty or forty thousand pass here
every year, more than any place except the Straits
of Dover. They take advantage of the tide.
THE SEA LETTER 41
Even in strong breezes, vessels gain little bucking
against it, and anchor and wait until it turns to
favor them," explained Mac.
" Why do so many sea captains make their
homes upon this island ? There are more captains
here than colonels in Kentucky," said Victoria, and
she looked inquiringly around the group.
Lieutenant Ferguson declared, "It is be-
cause clams, quahaugs, lobsters and other fish are
abundant, and one can enjoy many of the pleasures
of the sea and live on dry land."
Helen started everybody laughing by saying,
" It is because they wish to, and their wives are
willing."
" Miss Purdy, come out and see the blue-fish
down at the wharf !" called Wilson excitedly from
the steps. "A boat has arrived from a fishing
trip around Cape Poge."
Helen excused herself and hastened away
to view, in a flat skiff, a lot of peerless blue-fish
which had been taken out of a cat-boat, now
anchored off.
" Where were they caught ? " she asked.
" In the rips of the Wasque and Muskeget,"
said the sturdy fisherman.
"What other fish do you catch around the
island ?"
" Flounders, scuppog, rock-bass, smelt,
mackerel, hake, cod, bonita and sword-fish,"
answered he promptly.
42 THE SEA LETTER
" Thank you ; that is variety enough to suit
anyone," she remarked cheerfully.
" Helen is a sensible girl, and I hope she
will get a good husband," observed Mrs. Conant to
Mrs. Ward on the piazza.
" Yes ; Mr. Wilson seems to like her very
well."
" I wish Laura was as sensible and sedate."
" Nonsense ! Laura is all right, only full of
vivacity. I do not worry about Mabel's future."
" Wait until she comes out and you'll have
your troubles."
" If our girls do as well as their mothers, all
will be well. I am sure we got very good men."
" Our girls" Mrs. Conant hesitated " the
girls do not have such opportunities as we had."
" Pshaw ! There are plenty of good men, but
they are not all established in business or wealthy.
We have become cautious and conservative
through experience."
"There is such a host of professional men
struggling against the current, who cannot marry
until late unless they are helped by father or get
a rich wife."
" Fear of poverty keeps too many young people
apart. I think a good diploma and degree are an
offset to any girl's dot. Rich girls should marry
poor men, and rich men, poor girls, and thus
equalize conditions and promote happiness. Riches
have wings, and life is uncertain and mysterious."
THE SEA LETTER 43
" What a socialist ! You'll not have Mabel
long at home."
" Mr. Ward says, ' there isn't so much profit
in hams as when he began business,' but Robbie
prefers business to a profession. He declares,
'the hospitals and fool doctors are treating the
people for nothing ; the lawyers are obliged to
turn to politics for a living ; the ministers preach
f o women and empty pews ; the engineers struggle
five years for positions, and the newspaper men
are worked to death ; ' therefore, he is going to
stick to smoked hams, and have time outside
business hours to play."
" Ha, ha, ha ! Robbie is quite a philosopher."
Mrs. Conant and Mrs. Ward had put their
heads together, but Robert and Laura had met
without interesting each other. Mrs. Conant
admired Delano. She had known his family since
childhood. His father had kept store in the Penn-
sylvania town where she had been to boarding
school.
Tom was a medium sized, well developed
fellow, with regular features, and eyes, mustache
and hair of three shades of brown. He had not
been born "with a silver spoon in his mouth," but
he had taken " the wooden spoon," as the most
popular man of his class in the University. He
had abrogated the usual "bowl fight" by filling it
with punch and having the classes drink around
it in brotherly love, and they voted to give him the
44 THE SEA LETTER
empty bowl to go with the spoon. He left
college with a knowledge of athletics, and a little
all-round education, and had worked up to a junior
partnership in a cotton firm in New York. His
parents had died and left him something, and he
had a reasonable income for a bachelor. He
had joined some friends in a tally-ho and a club
stable, and generally took a month's vacation.
John Thompson was a different type of man,
but his devoted friend. He was tall and slender,
with a large forehead, blue eyes and yellow
mustache and hair. He was not athletic,
because he had been very studious in college,
and taken the chair of Biology in his alma mater
after graduation. His long nose, precise diction
and suave manners increased his natural dignity
and impressive personality. His father had been
professor of Greek in the college it is remarkable
how successive generations of a family cling to
college chairs like lichens to weather beaten
stones had died at sixty-eight, and his much
younger mother had married again and moved
out West. John liked study and scientific
discussion, and tried to keep up in all the
sciences, but he was fond of society and a good
dinner, and took a long vacation every summer
to compensate for his abstemious and ascetic
life during the winter semi-semesters. His income
was handled with discretion and was ample for
a gentleman of his habits.
THE SEA LETTER 45
" Laura and I have been planning a bicycle
trip out the road to Lake Chappaquonsett and
Tashmoo Springs after dinner, Mr. Thompson,
and we should like to have you join the party,"
said Gabrielle with animation
" Thank you, I accept your invitation with
pleasure."
" You can get wheels at the Cycle D^pot,"
said Laura.
" Thanks, again. Delano and McFarlane are
going, I suppose ? " inquired he.
" Yes ; you'll see them at the meet in front of
the hotel at 3 o'clock."
" May I ride with you, Miss Laura ? " He
did not dare ask Gabrielle.
" Yes, if you are a good rider."
" You shall see."
They separated laughing, and the gentlemen
of the party went together to the store and
selected their wheels.
The cyclers rode two abreast along the Beach
road and inspected the wrecked vessels. Then
they pedaled slowly up the hill into a delightful
country of fields and forest, where they
looked down upon charming pictures of land and
sea. They rode with the careless abandon, toes
just touching the pedals and hands off the
handle-bars, which results from much practice.
They stopped occasionally to rest by the way-
side, to tie a shoe, or adjust a saddle or skirt.
46 THE SEA LETTER
Delano and Gabrielle led ; Thompson and Laura
came next to them, and behind these were the
other couples. All rode rapidly, talking and
laughing ; now calling attention to some object of
interest ; now quiet and confidential ; flying over
the smooth road, as the meadow larks dart over
the marshes.
Gabrielle wore a blue Tarn O' Shanter, with
raven's wing; a silk waist with stripes of blue
and gold ; a blue covert-cloth, divided skirt ;
leather belt with silver buckle and chatelaine
ornaments ; bronze kid boots, and dogskin gloves.
Her golden tresses, twisted in a Psyche knot, held
shell side-combs and a silver hat-pin. Her face
was reddened and roughened from exposure to sun
and wind, and she held her head down in propelling
her wheel, which gave a coquettish expression
when she glanced sideways at Delano.
Did she know of her beauty and grace that
afternoon ? Of course she did, and she noticed
her companion did also, by his lingering glances
and devoted attention. Their conversation was
about impersonal matters, such as two congenial
friends would have when free from the embarrass-
ment of love-making.
Laura was different from Gabrielle. She
was the same height, but not so fully developed.
Her girlish slenderness and agile movements
indicated the period preceding perfected woman-
hood. Her head was fine though small ; the hair
THE SEA LETTER 47
and eyes were brown-black ; and a dimpled chin,
and a Grecian nose a little better than a pug
with a saucy upturn at the end, were the only
deviations from regular features. Her long
braid finished in a crimson ribbon ; her slender
neck rested in a frill of silver lace, and her dark
eyes with a brown shade beneath appeared ready
to sparkle with merriment or weep at suffering.
Her languishing glances disturbed the self-
possession of young men and warmed the hearts
of elderly ones.
Men declared she was charming and
unconventional ; women confessed she was pretty
and frivolous. She made friends rapidly and
hypnotized all the animals. She looked very
chic in her blue Norfolk jacket ; gray-mixed,
cloth skirt ; brown leather-belt and gaiters ; brown
chip hat with crimson feathers, and her dark
braid reaching to her waist.
The riders were now upon the fine macada-
mized road that extends from Katama to Tisbury,
which, with the miles of asphalt streets in the
settlements, and the good shell-road to West
Chop, offer forty miles for cycling and driving.
Many other roads run over the island, cut through
the turf ; sandy, gravelly channels, where a horse
churns and stumbles, and the wheels throw up
clouds of dust and sand.
As they left the blue water and sea breeze
behind them, and rode through the forest, they
48 THE SEA LETTER
caught the delicious odors of pine needles,
musky leaves and forest flowers, and Gabrielle
exclaimed, " What a delightful change ! What
crooked trees ! What made them take such fan-
tastic shapes ? "
" They are seats for fairies, who sit along
the road and watch the lovers who come out from
town," answered Flossie, the most romantic one of
the party.
" Stuff ! " called Sanders, " Fine seats for
such delicate creatures ! They would prefer a
branch among the blossoms of a honey-locust."
" ' Just as the twig is bent, the tree inclines,' "
quoted Mac, the botanist. "These trees were
bent and broken in their youth to form a
plumb of three feet, a level of three feet and a
square turn upwards in the original direction.
See how crooked a living thing may grow and
yet survive. They have served as a boundary
to the land and road, and as a rude fence,
aided often by rails or wires."
" Your explanation is comprehensive and
scientific," said Atkins.
" Rail fences are the rule here and gates an
abomination. A Harvard professor has to open
seven gates to get home, and has named his place
' Seven Gates,' " continued Mac ; " and when the
Harvard Geological Corps camps near by every
summer, they spend half their vacation opening
gates and growling."
THE SEA LETTER
49
Everybody laughed, and then Delano led up
to a gate and called, " Here is one of them now !"
The gate was opened ; they descended a road
to a grove of oaks and left the wheels, and walked
to the Pumping Station upon the bank of Lake
Chappaquonsett. They stood entranced by its
beauties. The sun painted its mimic waves in
silver and gave shadow pictures of banks and trees ;
sunbeams penetrated the forest upon the points ;
gulls swam lazily around, and boats dotted the
North end near the little fishing-huts at Herring
Creek. Beyond was the broad Sound and its
many sails. They saw the pellucid Tashmoo
Springs, drank of the cool fountain, examined the
machinery of the Station, read the analysis of the
extra pure water, heard the explanations of the
courteous engineer -in -charge, and listened to the
" Legend of Tashmoo " recited by Gabrielle.
" Pohoganot was the mighty sachem of the
tribe Squipnocket. The wigwams were clustered
around the lakes of the western end of the island ;
the old chief dwelt upon the shore of Squipnocket
Lake, and his followers cultivated the fertile land
that lies between it and Gay Head, which in later
years was set apart by the State as an Indian
Reservation. Yet, his dominion extended far to
the east, and his tribesmen fished, hunted, gath-
ered wild fruits and roots, and grew corn, rye and
vegetables over half the island. The Indian
trails have widened into roads and lead with
50 THE SEA LETTER
unerring accuracy to favorite places upon the
shore, to shell-mounds and high hills, to fishing
points around the lakes, and to hamlets here and
there. Dusky descendants of the Squipnockets
live now upon some of the farms near Gay Head and
follow the same pursuits as their ancestors.
" Pohoganot had instructed his son, Tash-
moo, a young buck of great power and skill,
in tribal government ; and ordered him away to
the east to find a suitable region for settlement,
in order to locate and establish his own kingdom.
" His mother, Queen Campeeche, a woman
gifted with spiritual prophetic vision, told him he
would come to a large lake full of fish, with a
narrow river connecting it with the great ocean ;
surrounded by a beautiful country of valleys and
hills, covered by a dense forest containing
game and singing-birds, and find springs of pure
water to mark his journey's end. She gave
him a snow-white shell, bade him drink of the
delicious water, give his name to the gushing
fountain, build there his wigwams and establish
his tribe, and peace and plenty should crown his
reign.
" Away and across the tedious plains, Tash-
moo and his followers went by well worn trails;
plunged into the dense forests ; crept stealthily
up ravines and sped along by the Red Hill route,
over the Stepping Stones and by the lodge of
Acbtequay, where the beauties of Chappaquon-
THE SEA LETTER 51
sett burst upon them, and the murmur* and
mystery of the virgin forest filled them with
exultation.
Onward they scouted along the shores, across
the points, over the ridges, into morasses, upon
fallen trees and through dense thickets, until
Tashmoo, ever in the lead, stumbled and fell upon
the meadow and, plunging his hand into a bub-
bling pool, tasted the water and found it cool
and unsalted. Then he knelt upon the green-
sward, took the mother's white shell from his
girdle, filled it with the sweet water and drank
deeply, and, appealing to his Indian gods to bless
him and his followers, named the gushing waters
Tashmoo Springs.
" Then, facing the lake, he swept his arm
around the horizon and said, ' Here we will build our
wigwams and establish our tribe, and the daughter
of Acbtequay, whose tiny moccasins have left her
foot-prints with those of the nimble deer upon the
shores shall be the bride of Tashmoo and your
Queen.
" ' Upon the Point of Pines jutting into the
silvery lake, we will build our lodge opposite to
Acbtequay, who dwells towards the sunset upon
the Point of Shadows, and, though the lake will
separate parents and child, our canoes will glide
swiftly over when love holds the paddle.'
" Here Tashmoo and Juanita lived and loved,
52 THE SEA LETTER
and established a kingdom ; and relics of them
may still be found upon the hillside."
They applauded Gabrielle for the interesting
story ; went up the hill and out the gate that
Tashmoo never saw, and rode past the green
fields of the water-shed used by the West Chop
Golf Club, via Lambert's Cove to Mackonnoky Inn.
" Where there are woods, green fields, blue
water and shining sails a seaside resort ought
to be attractive. Why has the namesake of
Necumkney Cape been abandoned to wood-
peckers and spiders ?"asked Victoria.
" It is too distant from beefsteak and news-
papers," answered Sanders. " When on vacation,
we must have the best of the market, and our
brains must be kept from ' innocuous desuetude.' "
" Here you should be less indulgent, less
studious. Unbend the bow and welcome the
stupor of country life," advised Thompson.
" Yes ; diet on fish, sleep half the time,
and re-create. Recreation has lost its hyphen
and its true meaning," added Mac.
" I thought you Scotchmen believed in oat-
meal ? " said Atkins.
"They changed to beef after the battle of
Culloden," said Delano sarcastically.
It was sad to contemplate a dozen cottages
and a handsome hotel left tenantless and deso-
late, lacking pleasant faces in the windows and
THE SEA LETTER 53
children upon the lawns, and the conditions
recalled Tennyson's Deserted House :
"All within is dark as night ;
In the windows is no light,
And no murmur at the door,
So frequent on its hinge before.
Come away : no more of mirth
Is here, or merry making sound."
The way back led among copses of pine
and oak, by a school-house and cranberry bogs,
through open woodlands and farms to the State
road, and the friends wheeled up to the hotel in
time for a late supper.
CHAPTER V.
The coach-and-four was brought around to
the hotel entrance one evening and Delano inspec-
ted the outfit while he smoked his cigar. The
horses pranced around lively, for they had not
been out much and were really suffering for want
of exercise. A party had been invited to go upon
a moonlight ride to the South Beach.
" Have you looked at their shoes, Jack ?"
asked Delano of his man.
" Yes, sir ; all solid."
" I see the cut on Juno's off fetlock has
healed up."
" Yes sir ; nuthin but the crust left."
" Ease up those checks on the pole-horses
they are a little too tight for country travelling."
" Yes sir, as you please."
" Rub that spot off the hames so that's
better ; take the twist out of the off leader's inside
rein, you rascal."
" Yes, massa ; dat horse must 'ev turned his
head."
THE SEA LETTER 55
" Have you looked at all the bolts and
springs ?"
" I reckon I has, sir ; Jolly's right smart
peart dis ebenin."
" Did you stow those things in the hamper
and clean inside thoroughly ?"
" Yes sir ; I don't need to be told that."
" Very well, Jack, now mind ; stand by the
leaders until I get all aboard and have the reins
well in hand, then get up to your place and blow
the horn as usual."
" All right, sir."
The friends were in a group upon the piazza
to keep out of the crowd, which surrounded
the coach looking at the horses and outfit.
Delano went to them and said, " I have numbered
the seats odd and even up to twelve there are
eight outside seats and four inside Gentlemen
draw the odd numbers and ladies the even
ones : I take number one, as I am to drive. Now
draw," and he held out each hand with numbered
cards. They all drew numbers. "Come down to
the coach, as everything is ready " said Delano,
and he called out the numbers : " 1 1 and 1 2,
inside front seat ; 9 and 10, inside backseat; 7
and 8, outside back seat ; 5 and 6, outside middle
seat ; 3 and 4, outside front seat, and 2 on the
box to my left hand."
The gentlemen helped the ladies and all
took their places as designated. The arrange-
56 THE SEA LETTER
ment was very much to the satisfaction of
most of the party. Delano had Laura to his
left ; Thompson and Gabrielle were just behind ;
then came Atkins and Victoria, and McFarlane
and Florence. Inside front, sat Sanders and
May, and back, Dr. Kenelm and Miss Margaret
Dale.
The presence of the last couple was a
satisfaction to the mothers of the young ladies,
who could not go along as chaperons ; and it was
very agreeable to the friends, because the doctor
and Margaret were very sensible and pleasant
companions. Fortunately for them, the other
members of Delano's party had gone " up island "
to the lakes after perch and pickerel, which
were plentiful in the numerous fresh water ponds
to the westward, and thus vacancies were made.
Delano gathered up the reins carefully
and held the whip, and Jack climbed up behind
and seized his horn. " All ready ? " asked
Delano.
" Yes, all ready," answered several. He
swung the leaders, said, " Now Juno, now Jolly,
now Peter, now Paul, show your paces," cracked
the whip, and away they went rolling along the
avenue, as Jack blew the horn, and the people
waved hands, handkerchiefs and hats.
The streets were bright with the light of
the full moon that hung well up in the cloud-
less sky, though here and there were shadows
THE SEA LETTER 57
of trees and houses. The piazzas of the
dwellings were loaded with happy people, dressed
in the light, bright-colored fabrics of summer.
They were swinging in hammocks ; reclining upon
steps or in easy chairs, or sitting and rocking
lazily. The great double doors in the middle of
the fronts of many of the typical camp-ground
cottages, which opened into the parlor, without
any vestibule, stood wide open, and the rooms,
filled with soft light from lamps covered with
colored shades, revealed their entire furnishings,
and the families and friends to the passer-by.
Here were bright girls at their embroidery,
their books or the piano ; mothers with romping
children ; fathers with evening letters and
papers, and groups around tables, playing cards,
chess and other games.
To a stranger this free display of sacred inner
life and love, seen for the first time, seemed like a
vision from fairy land ; and to one accustomed
to the illuminated, open cottages, successors of
the canvas A tents with open fly, it made the
evening stroll a panorama of delightful pictures.
Here was heard the hum of conversation above
the clatter of horses' hoofs and the grind of
carriage wheels ; there, sweet ballads of the
times and hymns of praise, the quick tones of the
piano, and the dragging rhythm of the organ ;
again, the call of a parent, the correction of a
servant, the babble and cries of children, the
58 THE SEA LETTER
screams of a parrot, cat snarls, whistling, laughter,
barking of dogs, and tinkling of bicycle bells.
These sights and sounds astonished many of the
party, who had never visited the place before, and
awakened comments and lively conversation.
The beautiful horses, gold-mounted har-
nesses, old gold and red coach, skilful driver, liveried
Jack with his musical horn, and the stylish, happy
party, attracted much attention, and caused rushes
to doors, perceptible commotions upon piazzas^
scampering of children, and scuttling of dogs out
of the way, as Delano drove rapidly over the
Highlands, past the twin-lakes, through the
camp-ground and old Oak Bluffs and along the
borders of the sea, southward.
The inside passengers were partly outside
through the windows half the time, exchanging
jokes and keeping up a running conversation with
those above them. Ripples of laughter were
frequent as the near-by babble of the surf upon
the sand, and it was certain all enjoyed the unique
experience immensely.
The red lights of West Chop and East Chop
and the flicker of Nobska across the Sound had
been seen and commented upon, as they rode over
the Highlands. The white lights of Cape Poge
and Edgartown were visible across the water to the
eastward, and upon the glassy sea, were vessels
with white sails shining in the moonlight and
hanging motionless except for the slight move-
THE SEA LETTER 59
ments caused by the ground swell. The Cottage
City Golf Club house and extensive grounds lay
on the right hand.
" The Goddess of Love shines upon us in the
West there is Venus," remarked Atkins.
" Well, we all love each other, don't we girls ? "
asserted rather than asked Thompson, laughing.
No answer except suppressed giggles, and
the girls looked at each other until at last Vic.
broke the awful silence by saying, "We may
possibly like each other, but as for love, that is
entirely a different matter."
The coach rolled onwards, with the surf
and sand dunes on the left hand, and Lake Senge-
kontacket, where moonbeams were quivering, on
the right, and rumbled across the bridge over the
inlet towards the south.
" Those little houses by the water's edge
are gunning camps. There are some goose and
duck shooting on the lakes and South shore, and
many good fellows belong to the clubs," remarked
Mac.
" Yes, and quail and rabbit shooting inland,"
added Atkins.
" Well, I should like to see game somewhere.
I've carried a gun all over the South and never
could fill a game-bag. One must go back miles
from the railroad even in Montana, to find any-
thing to shoot better than a train-robber,"
60 THE SEA LETTER
They were now approaching Edgartown and
Atkins pointed to some great white buildings and
said, " Those houses were built with whale oil.
The inhabitants used to fit out many whaling ves-
sels, and they brought back wealth from the five
oceans. The men were much of the time at sea ;
some returned, some did not. ' There she blows,'
and 'Give me your flipper,' were familiar expres-
sions, and captains and widows were numerous.
They have all gone aloft now, and the moonlight
streams over their marble stones in the ceme-
tery yonder."
Everyone gazed upon the graves and May sang
"The Watch Below:"
" Hark ! to the steady tread
Of the watch along the deck.
Good sailor men are overhead
To guard from gale and wreck.
"Turn in to sleep and rest
And let the wild winds blow ;
No care shall vex the breast
Of the tired watch below.
"The voyage '11 soon be over,
And the boatswain's whistle still
They'll sleep 'neath grass and clover
With shipmates on the hill."
THE SEA LETTER 61
A feeble applause broke the solemn silence of
the night. Laura sighed, and Flossie wiped away
a tear.
They went on past Katama, the roar of the
breakers increased, the horn was blown frequently,
the coach stopped upon the bank above the shore,
the riders dismounted and the horses were left in
Jack's care.
The party stood upon the broad boulevard of
hardened sand and watched the great waves break
and foam at their feet. A band of silvery light
extended over billows of inky hue far towards the
horizon. The moonlight drenched the whole shore
with radiance, and cast long shadows of their forms
behind them, as they separated in couples and wan-
dered along the sands.
Delano and Laura sauntered up the beach;
picked up pieces of seaweed, little shells and pecu-
liar stones, and admired the stars, the breakers and
each other. Thompson and Gabrielle hesitated a
moment, and then followed along slowly behind
them. Gabrielle looked very charming in the
moonlight, as one might imagine Diana herself
would have appeared had an artist ever caught
that mythical personage. She was observant, quiet
and self-possessed, and conversed with her com-
panion as she would have done in a drawing-room.
She listened to Thompson's remarks upon Con-
chology, as they picked up various specimens, and
62 THE SEA LETTER
led him on by questions about their anatomy which
surprised him.
Delano was amused, as they wandered nearer,
at their conversation and the earnest discussion
about univalves and bivalves, clam, scallop and
whelk shells, which he and Laura were glancing
at curiously and pitching into the surf.
The surf roared along the shore like angry
lions and was heard all over the island.
A great wreck upon the beach loomed in the
west, with shining sides above black shadows. The
Surf House was resplendent with light, and strains
of music were wafted on the air from the band
upon the piazza. It was a time for sentiment and
romance, and Delano took Laura's hand in his and
walked far up the shore. Gabrielle looked after
them thoughtfully, but did not follow. She was
neither Laura's guardian, nor his fiancee, and she
had no apprehension nor apparent curiosity.
" Words cannot do justice to this beautiful
scene," said Delano, as he swept his hand around.
" It is, indeed, very lovely," said Laura.
" How lucky, to have such a fine evening."
"Yes, fortune favors the brave."
"We are not so very brave, are we ?"
"Yes, anyone is brave who drives four horses."
"Ha! ha! I never thought of such a thing."
" Girls do they often think more than men
give them credit for."
THE SEA LETTER 63
"Do they? What were you thinking of just
now?"
"How quickly you turned the horses out for
that crippled blind man, who sells corn-bars."
" Why shouldn't I?"
" Of course you should ; but a girl would have
driven over him. She would not have seen, thought
and acted quick enough."
" You malign your sex. I was riding a bike
in circles behind the monument one evening just
at dusk, and a girl scorcher was coming down the
hill from the wharf at lightning speed. She saw
me come out from behind the monument not ten
feet away and right across her track. I was para-
lized and hadn't time to do anything, expecting an
awful disaster. Quick as a flash, she gave a little
scream, a twist of the handlebars, and flew by me
without touching wheels. I was perfectly aston-
ished at her self-possession, quick apprehension
and action. If she had been a man scorcher, we
should both have been destroyed."
" Oh ! that was you, was it, Mr. Delano ? I did
not know you in the dark."
" And you were the scorcher ? Gracious ! but
you had nerve you saved our wheels, to say
nothing of our lives."
" Well, perhaps, we are smart ; though Madam
Salchi thought I was not, when at her school; the
girls all got better marks than I did."
" In what studies ? "
64 THE SEA LETTER
" O, mathematics and German."
" How did you get along in music and
French?"
" Just lovely I liked them so much."
" It's easily explained : it is a matter of tem-
perament. Your temperament is better suited to
these studies, than to the abstractions of mathe-
matics and the rude tones of German."
" Thanks : Gabrielle was brilliant in both
those hard studies."
" What of that ? She is a different tempera-
ment ; she is patient and persistent, and never
rests until she conquers. You are impatient and
easily discouraged over difficulties ; the musical
notes and the sweet French words please you, and
you learn them easily."
" What a funny notion ! you seem to know all
about girls,"
They were still picking up pebbles and shells.
Suddenly Delano stopped and said, "What's
that ? " and picked up a bottle "A bottle !
Gracious ! some news from a sinking ship, possibly
and a letter inside!"
" Oh ! let me see ! " cried Laura.
Delano cut away a cork covered with rope-
yarns and tar, and pulled out a piece of soiled paper.
They tried to read the writing on it, but could not,
because it was almost defaced by moisture and
dirt.
THE SEA LETTER 65
" We shall have to wait until we get back to
the coach-lamp," said he, and he put the paper back
into the bottle, replaced the damaged cork, and
carried it under his arm.
" How queer we should find this," said Laura.
"Providence must have directed us this way,"
said he soberly.
" I hope so." They walked along in silence,
then Laura said, " I wish you'd talk some."
" Why ? that's a queer request."
" O, you explain things so that I can under-
stand."
"You are a good listener and it is easy to
talk to you," and Delano looked in her dark eyes
which sought his trustfully.
" That is because I am only a girl," and she
returned his gaze shyly.
" Only a girl ? You will have to consider your-
self a woman soon ; " and his eyes ran caressingly
over her beautiful figure and the long shadow upon
the sand. " See what a tall shadow you make."
She looked and replied, "I am always going
to remain a young lady. I am going to stay with
papa and mama."
" But they may die and leave you alone in the
world."
"Then I might "-
" Might what ? " and he took her arm gently
and looked in her face.
66 THE SEA LETTER
" Then I might " He suddenly bent for-
ward and kissed her " might love someone ! "
He could not resist her naivet6 and beauty.
She looked at him startled and exclaimed, " Why
Mr. Delano ! You are saucy ! You took my breath
away. What would mother say ? "
" She may not know it."
" But the others ? "
" No one noticed it ; we are so far away."
"Are you sure ?"
" Sure ! look back."
" Then let us return. How dare you kiss me
without permission ? What is the use of chaperons
anyhow ? "
" For thoughtless persons. I could not resist
the witchery of your beauty and the splendor of
this moonlight."
" I am angry at you. No man ever kissed
me except papa."
" I ask your pardon. I am proud to be the
second. Do not be angry, please. I will ask per-
mission next time."
" You had better."
They were walking back now, but their forms
and shadows were so blended that their friends
could not distinguish their movements.
They talked in monosyllables of insignificant
things. Delano manifested a tender solicitude for
her footsteps and her comfort. Laura rested her
THE SEA LETTER 67
arm softly within his, avoided his glances, and
seemed in haste to return.
It was trying to meet the gaze of the other
members of the party, who had remained more to-
gether, and they did not escape suspicious glances
and curious questions; but Delano's self-possession
and good nature protected them from too close
catechising, and they were both wise enough to
keep the moon behind them and their faces in
shadow, that their features could not be scanned
closely.
The doctor and Miss Dale, who had so scan-
dalously neglected their duty, as self-appointed
chaperons usually do, had been seated upon the
sand discussing the proper situation of a school-
house, with reference to the points of the com-
pass, and the interior arrangement of seats and
blackboards. The doctor asked Laura, with a
twinkle in his gray eyes, if she had had a pleasant
ramble.
She answered quite gaily, " Of course we did :
we went nearly by Mattakeset Bay to where the
inlet opens into Katama."
" So I judged, by your diminutive size and
lost shadows. What did you find interesting,
Delano ? "
He was not inclined to make a full confession,
and answered : " Some winrows of sand made by
the surf ; some broken timbers of wrecks ; a few
shells and pebbles, and this bottle, securely corked,
68 THE SEA LETTER
containing a piece of paper with writing upon it,
which we were not able to decipher."
" What ! A message from the sea ? The last
words of drowning men ? Let me see it ! " said the
doctor, springing to his feet.
They all gathered about Delano and began to
question him, which was a great relief to Laura,
because she saw Gabrielle was regarding her rather
critically, and she felt embarrassed. She could
not blame herself. She had been taken unawares.
Kisses upon her cheek and brow from boys and
girls, and warmer kisses from kindred and parents,
had been received, as she took a bon-bon or a hand-
shake ; but this manly kiss had drawn from her own
lips a delicate but responsive movement, in spite of
herself, against her own wish and will ; surging to
meet his, as the tide rises to the moon. She did
not blame Delano very much. But she was only a
girl from a country town, where all the proprieties
were rigidly observed, and she was more surprised
than vexed. Thinking thus, and listening to the
talk around her, this innocent bud appeared silent
and odd to Gabrielle, who wondered if Delano had
been talking love to her. Women are so quick
usually to surmise the truth. What would she
have thought had she known what had really hap-
pened ?
Mac and Flossie had been very busy catching
sea-moss, or marine algae, more beautiful than
words can describe or artist paint. Atkins and
THE SEA LETTER 69
Victoria had made a celestial map upon the sand
and were studying it intently. Thompson and
Gabrielle had just returned from their wanderings,
loaded with shells, shark-eggs, a king-crab and a
bloated starfish; and Sanders and May were com-
fortably seated upon the grassy bank, where they
had been all the time, discussing the folly of un-
necessary exertion, wet feet and scientific hobbies,
when the doctor startled everybody by his excite-
ment and actions.
" Let us go to the coach-lamp," said Delano.
" Good ! we have had enough of the South
Beach for to-night," responded Sanders.
They all gathered around Delano and the
doctor, who endeavored by the light of the coach-
lamp to read the soiled scrawl found in the bottle.
Everyone concluded it was impossible, though it was
the opinion of several that the language was foreign,
and the writing would show plainer after the paper
had been dried.
" Put it back in the bottle, Delano, and we
will examine it under my microscope when we get
home," said the doctor.
Delano did as advised, stowed the bottle in
the boot, and said, " There are some bottles in the
coach that are more interesting just now, Jack,
get out the hamper and open the ball."
" All right, sir ! " said Jack, pocketing his
pipe and unlocking the door.
70 THE SEA LETTER
The contents of the basket was soon arranged
upon the ground ; the gentlemen spread lap-robes
and wraps ; the ladies laid a table-cloth and seated
themselves, and the good things were distributed
by Delano, Jack and others. Pop went the corks.
" Mercy ! Mr. Delano, that just whizzed by my
face," said May.
" Beg pardon ! what will you have, Tashmoo
water, ginger ale or beer ?"
"Tashmoo, of you please," said one. "Gin-
ger ale and a little Tashmoo," said another. " Gin-
ger ale straight." " Beer," etc., until all were served.
" Ladies, your good health ! " said the doctor,
courteously tossing his glass.
" Your good health, Doctor."
" Here's to the moon, sweet Silene ! "
" Who'll have some cheese ? " " Is it green ? "
"Yes, Roquefort." "Try a sardine." "Bah! I
cannot bear oil." " Take a cracker." " No, a
sandwich." " Excellent, aren't they ? " " Fine I
like the tongue best." " Girls have tongue enough."
"For a talker, find a romantic bachelor."
"Oh ! oh ! just hear her."
" Women can talk, but they don't meander on
sentimentally as men do." observed Gabrielle.
" I think women have little sentiment," said
Delano.
"What is that bright star overhead ?" asked
Flossie.
"Aldebaran," quickly answered Vic.
THE SEA LETTER 71
" Good ! you'll learn," said Atkins.
" Flossie, eat your sandwich this is no time
for star-gazing."
" I never saw the stars show clearer," said
Atkins the moon had plunged into a dense cloud
that was rising towards the zenith.
"Flossie is sentimental."
" Such a night and such a picnic ought to
make us all so," observed Thompson.
" Better stick to your dry-bone studies."
" Look out May, don't get that sardine on my
skirt."
" The slippery thing seems alive I can't
keep it on the bread."
" Oh ! look ! that big wave ! It must have a
mermaid under it."
" How dark it looks towards the southeast."
"Of course, towards Africa, the 'Dark conti-
nent.'"
" Did you come from Africa, Jack ? "
" No, Missus ; I come frum ole Virginny."
Delano had found Jack, whose full name was
Jackson Lee, at Norfolk, and induced him to come
into his service before he had been ruined by nor-
thern associates.
The feast and flow of wit went on together.
Nothing equals the air of Capawock in exciting an
appetite. Sojourn ers there are always hungry,
though in a land of plenty. The hotel men growled
over the small profits at the end of the season ; the
72 THE SEA LETTER
members of the meat syndicate became wealthy
and built fine houses, and the grocers, art-dealers
and confectioners enlarged their stores, joined
hunting-clubs, and went yachting with State street
and Wall street brokers.
" Try a tart, Miss Dale ; the jelly is made
from beach-plums."
" Thanks ; what a pretty purple bloom they
have when ripe."
" Did you see the fish your friends caught,
Delano ? Wilson had a string of perch that reached
from his chin to the ground ; " said Young.
"Is it possible ? Anything beside perch ?"
"A few pickerel, and some eels, which when
split measured ten inches broad."
"A fish story!"
" No, honest Injun ! I saw them in the yard
being cleaned."
" Wish I had seen them."
" The fellows were fishing along the bank
and out in a boat all day. Came back tired out,
but very happy. They were on Chappaquonset
most of the time, but got the eels near Herring
Creek ; I had just a few moments talk with them,
as they skipped to their rooms to clean up for sup-
per." '
" Well, that was luck ! we must go some day,
if they don't clean out the lake before we get ready.
Sorry they missed this, though."
" So am I."
THE SEA LETTER 73
" May n't we go fishing, Mr. Delano ? " asked
Laura.
" Perhaps so, if you will bait your own hooks."
" There will not be much fishing then," ob-
served Sanders.
" Why not ? " asked several.
" I have noticed when girls go a fishing with
fellows, the latter have to put on all the bait and
unhook all the fish ; and these duties and other
gallant attentions take so much time, that they
don't have a chance to catch anything themselves.
If I go, I shall leave my fish-lines at home."
" Just as well, you mean thing ! " said Flossie
indignantly. You ought to esteem it a great favor
to bait a lady's hook and unhook her fish."
" Of course, if one goes for fun simply, or is
in love with the fisher-girl but it is not fishing.
When I go fishing, I want to fish and catch some-
thing myself."
" Well, go off by yourself and be miserable ;
I'm sure we shall not care, if May does'nt. What
do you say, May ? "
" I think Mr. Sanders is right. I expect we
are often greater nuisances than we think, and the
gentlemen are too polite to tell us."
" Of course, you would side with him," and
Flossie pouted.
"Bravo! quiet girl," said the doctor. "The
gentlemen make themselves so officious and atten-
tive that the ladies can hardly turn around without
74 THE SEA LETTER
an explanation. They cannot have anything their
way, because, forsooth, Mr. Gallant has planned it
otherwise ; so they must smother their resentment,
submit to being cotbettied, and lose much of their
enjoyment."
" Then they ought to protest," said Vic. "Who
told you that Doctor?"
" I have eyes to see and ears to hear."
"We believe ourselves capable of managing
almost everything that does not require profound
knowledge or brute strength, and we do not fancy
being treated like children ; " declared Gabrielle
with spirit.
"That depends upon temperament, I am
sure many girls shrink from responsibility and pre-
fer to be managed ; while a few like yourself are
jealous of any control."
They were all listening to this controversy,
and Delano thought how aptly this last phrase ap-
plied to two of the party, Laura and Gabrielle.
' Such espionage would be expected and accep-
ted graciously by the ladies of Europe, but in the
United States, women are so enthroned in the affec-
tions, they become queenly in their exactions."
"Did you ever hear the 'Legend of Katama*
and its beautiful bay?" asked Vic.
" No, is there an Indian legend for that place ? "
asked several.
"A very natural one."
THE SEA LETTER 75
"Katama was the name of a beautiful Indian
girl, who lived on the shore of the pretty bay three
miles below Edgartown, in the village of Wintucket,
where her father, Nashamois, was chief of his tribe.
She was much sought after by young braves, but
her father had promised her to his friend, Ahquom-
pacha, chief of an allied tribe, whom she hated
intensely.
" She had not fallen in love with anyone; but
she busied herself making ornaments, baskets and
mats for the wigwam, where she expected to live
an unhappy bride. One day she went down to
Quanomiqua in her little canoe to gather grasses,
which were there more luxuriant and beautiful than
elsewhere in Capawock. While busy assorting her
collection, a tall shadow fell upon her, and, glan-
cing backwards, she saw a handsome young Indian,
who told her he was Mattakese, chief of a neigh-
boring tribe. He was so respectful and gracious
in his demeanor, that she finally fell in love with
him and reluctantly promised to be his queen.
" She paddled back to her wigwam much trou-
bled in spirit, because she knew her tribe was at
enmity with her lover's, and her father and Ahquom-
pacha would make war upon him, should they learn
of the betrothal.
"Mattakese and his people planted maize
upon the Great Plain south and west, which is the
largest piece of level land in New England, and
excited the cupidity and envy of the neighboring
76 THE SEA LETTER
villagers. The tribes of Pohoganot, Ahquompacha
and Nashamois conspired to make a raid and rob
the fields of their golden harvest. A moonless
night was appointed and the tribes were detailed
for the attack. Some crept along the South Beach,
some came by way of Shockamokset, and some by
Weshacket, in order to surround the plain and ren-
der escape impossible.
"Katama had heard all the plans, and she
slipped away early in her canoe to warn her lover
of the conspiracy and attack. Mattakese posted
his warriors for defence, sending the squaws and
papooses over to Chappaquiddick just after dark,
and awaited his foes. The battle was furious and
fierce, but, overwhelmed by the great number of
warriors, his braves were soon all killed or cap-
tured, and he and Katama stood at last alone upon
the shore. They cast despairing glances around,
then stepped quietly into her little canoe and pad-
dled rapidly away. In the middle of the bay,
where the swift current sweeps around the eastern
point, the canoe was upset by a swirl in the tide,
and the lovers found themselves in the water swim-
ming for life. They could have gained the western
shore, but they knew torture and death awaited
them by the hands of Nashamois and Ahquompa-
cha. Katama's strength failed and Mattakese
took her in his arms and kissed her, and then they
drowned and went to the Happy Hunting Ground,
united for evermore,
THE SEA LETTER 7;
"Hence came the name of Katama Bay and
Mattakese below it, and it is said, the place where
they perished has ceased its turbulence and remains
a quiet pool in the midst of the current."
The listeners applauded and praised Vic hear-
tily. Gabrielle said, " That is a sad legend,
but admirably related."
"How did you learn all that?" asked May.
"Wasn't it too bad they drowned?" sighed
Flossie.
"Served her right for wanting to marry a
foreigner," observed Sanders.
"Oh! come off, Sanders! You'd spoil a fune-
ral," said Thompson.
"A pretty story, prettily told," added Delano,
looking at Vic. approvingly, who answered all ques-
tions and received congratulations with a mien of
becoming humility.
The girls were busy with their bon-bons and
the gentlemen with their cigars. The roar of the
surf and the music from the Surf House band
mingled in sweet cadence, and, though it was nearly
ten, there was no chill in the night air, nor discom-
fort in sitting upon the sandy soil, which the sun
had dried to a great depth.
" It is getting late, mamma will be worried,"
said Laura, placing her hand on Delano's arm.
" I think we ought to start," added Gabrielle.
"If you are all satisfied, we will return," said
Delano.
78 THE SEA LETTER
"We have had a perfectly lovely time," sang
the girls in chorus.
"Jack, hitch up!"
"Everything is right, I reckon, sir!"
Delano walked around the horses, Jack held
the leaders, the inside passengers exchanged seats
with the outside ones, the ladies were helped to
their places, and the gentlemen climbed nimbly
aboard. Delano gathered up the reins and took
his seat, Jack made a spring into place and blew
his horn, and the jovial party rolled towards the
north, leaving the sea to beat itself weary and level
upon the white shore.
How happy they were ! How sweet life seemed !
How little they thought of labor and economy ! O,
golden days of youth and hope, how soon you pass
into memory ! What struggles, victories, defeats,
happiness, misery, hope and despair the riper years
unfold.
The girls sang several ballads appropriate to
the occasion, and the gentlemen responded with
college and boating songs. The horses pranced
along the road ; the horn sounded sweetly across
the moors ; repartees and joyous laughter alterna-
ted, and everyone seemed contented and happy.
Certainly, it was a very congenial party, and a
unique experience to several persons.
The cottages along the streets were still bril-
liantly lighted, exhibiting the usual charming in-
terior pictures ; the piazzas contained many quiet
THE SEA LETTER 79
groups and sly couples in the shadows ; bicyclists
flitted here and there like fireflies, tinkling warning
bells; acquaintances and lovers wandered arm in
arm here and there, and the general quiet told
that the children had been put away to sleep.
The immense dome of the great Methodist
Tabernacle cast a black shadow upon the hundreds
of seats below, where preaching, lectures and music
usually attracted thousands, and Trinity Park
around it was full of sweet odors from its many
flowers.
The coach rolled on, attracting less attention
now ; went around the Highlands, giving the riders
a glimpse of the Baptist Tabernacle in the oak
grove ; met the rising night air out of the south-
west ; passed slowly beneath the trees through the
shadows of the avenue, and drew up before the
main entrance of the hotel, where a little bustle
among the loungers manifested a sleepy interest
in the excursionists. The riders dismounted with
jests and laughter, thanked Delano cordially for
his generosity, and mingled with their friends in
and around the hotel, and the team was taken to
the stables.
CHAPTER VI.
Delano went to his room and, finding the
captain upon the porch smoking, invited him in,
gave him an easy-chair, and told him about the
moon light ride.
" Been on a tally-ho ride to the South Beach,
have you ? Well, that's mighty fine. I wish I was
young myself," said the captain earnestly.
" You aren't old, Captain," said Delano. " Do
you remember the other night we had a discussion
about the loss of the Portland, and the probability
of receiving news from some of her people by a
sea message in a bottle ?"
"Aye, aye ! that I do ; and I've thought con-
siderably of your ideas about altered relations and
property complications. You haven't heard any-
thing about her, have you ?"
"No; but I have found a bottle upon the
shore, which contains a piece of paper with writing
upon it."
" You don't say so ? You aint joking ? Let us
overhaul it, and see if it isn't some funny business."
THE SEA LETTER 81
Delano took the round porter bottle out of his
overcoat pocket and handed it to the captain.
"By Jupiter! that looks genuine," he ex-
claimed, eyeing the bottle all over, and holding it
up to the light.
Delano drew the piece of paper from the bot-
tle and spread it out upon the table.
The captain put on his glasses, looked it over
carefully, held it up to the lamp and ejaculated,
"Spanish, By Thunder!" and proceeded to read
and translate it slowly :
" Schooner Cisneros,
Gulf Stream, Lat. 44 N.
Nov. 27, 1 8 .
"Vessel is dismasted full of water driving
before a hurricane seas breaking over we are
lost crew is Floyd, Lookup, Solana, Galvez, Ca-
brera, de Castro, Santillo and myself, Captain
Ayllon mostly Minorcans from Mayport, Fla.
Whoever finds report. Go to sound on coast of
Maine west side great hole in ledge see
arrows in ledge pointing towards it a cross on
face of cliff to the north find cave in north wall
closed by stone and cement valuable informa-
tion. An island lies in mouth of sound two
islands outside with narrow passage between
Mercy Lord must hurry sinking!"
Captain Oliver had been to sea from boyhood
and had learned several foreign languages. " Ano-
82 THE SEA LETTER
ther vessel lost," said he, "and all hands gone to
Davy Jones' Locker. It isn't the Portland either."
" Yes, poor fellows ! " said Delano sadly.
"Probably in a storm like we had last week. Their
sweethearts and wives will watch in vain for their
coming."
"They have gotten through their mourning
long ago, to judge by the looks of this paper. It
must be many years old."
" Minorcans ? Where do they come from ? "
" I think from the island of Minorca in the
Mediterranean Sea. The inhabitants are mostly
Spanish, and they speak that language. There
was a small colony of them at Mayport, or a place
called Fort San Mateo, on the right bank at the
mouth of the St. Johns River, Florida.
" This river was named St. John the Baptist, in
1525, by Gordillo and Quexos, who landed near St.
Augustine and led an exploring expedition along
the coast. The latter seized the country for Spain,
but no permanent settlement was made. In 1 562,
Ribaut entered the river with a colony of French
Huguenots, renamed it ' La Riviere de Mai '
(River of May), whence Mayport took its name,
and claimed the territory. Fort Caroline was built
in 1 564, by the French, at St. John's Bluff, some
miles up river from the coast. In 1565, St.
Augustine was founded by Menendes, and he made
an unsuccessful attack upon Fort Caroline. The
fleet met with many disasters ; the Spanish and
THE SEA LETTER 83
French soldiers, both aided by native Indians,
fought up and down the coast for two hundred
miles, but finally, Menendes captured Fort Caroline
and murdered all who surrendered. This left the
coast under Spanish rule, but, in 1568, Gourges
landed with a French force, captured the fort, hung
all the garrison in revenge for Menendes' perfidy
in killing prisoners of war, and destroyed the for-
tification. Other Spaniards came later and settled
along the shore, and a long struggle ensued between
Spain and England for possession.
"During English predominance and peace, in
1767, an English Dr. Turnbull established an In-
digo Plantation near Mosquito Inlet, on the main-
land and shore of Mosquito Lagoon, at a place called
New Smyrna, and colonized it by bringing over
1500 Minorcans. The enterprise was a failure,
and the foreigners soon scattered up along the
coast and increased the population. In 1 865, there
were many descendants of these people along the
river and at Mayport.
" Captain Ayllon says, ' Schooner Cisneros,'
possibly a smuggler between Florida and Cuba.
There was plenty of smuggling down there. The
coast of Florida is a network of channels between
islands and keys, and it is most difficult to navigate
them, or to catch a vessel once she gets inside.
During the Civil War, I often chased vessels into
an inlet and lost them, when I felt sure they were
my prizes. They would down sail and row and
84 THE SEA LETTER
pole into a gap in the bank, where they were
securely hidden by the trees. The fishermen there
loaded with mullet, red-snapper, grouper and pom-
pano, and took them to Havana, where they brought
good prices."
" Did they return in ballast ?"
" No sirree ! not when aguadiente, tobacco
and sugar paid such good profits. Two to one,
that craft was a smuggler."
The old skipper puffed away at his pipe, as
he looked over the last letter from the sea care-
fully.
Delano lighted another cigar and said, " You
seem very well posted on the history of Florida,
Captain."
" I was always fond of history, and don't read
much of anything else these times. I was on the
St. Johns River, on a U. S. Gunboat during the
Civil War, and often ashore at Mayport. It was
a great country for oysters, fish and game I
wonder if this schooner is the one we chased so
often on the blockade ? "
" I suppose, in the morning, we had better
inform the reporters about the message in the
bottle."
" Not by a jug full ! We should he harried
to death by them, and give away a valuable secret.
There is something extraordinary in the hole in
the ledge, and we must find out what it is our-
selves before we give it away."
THE SEA LETTER 85
" Do you suppose we could find the locality
from the slight description ? "
" Of course, we could ; we can go into every
sound on the Maine coast if necessary, but a good
chart will shorten the trip."
" What shall we tell our friends ? They'll all
be after me the first thing in the morning."
" Tell them the first part of the message only
they'll not miss the other half."
"All right. Let me write it down now."
The captain translated the letter again ; Delano
wrote the whole of it on one piece of paper, and
the first part on another slip, and put them care-
fully away in his pocket-book, hiding the original
writing in a secret compartment.
"It is two-bells in the midwatch," (i a. m.)
said the Captain, " and I think I'll turn in."
Delano was astonished to find it was so late.
He arose and said, " Come in after breakfast,
captain."
"Aye! aye! and I'll bring along my charts
of the coast Good-night ! "
" All right ! Good morning you mean."
"No sir! not till sunrise."
" Well, Good-night ! then," and they parted
laughing, and the captain dragged his slippers and
himself out of the room. Delano undressed
leisurely, put his vest with the precious pocket-
book under his pillow, and got into bed. He
rolled and tossed and thought for a long time,
86 THE SEA LETTER
and, finally, sank into a troubled sleep, and
dreamed of a demon in a bottle, and Gabrielle and
Laura fencing with golf sticks until they broke
it, and the demon came and sat upon his breast.
He gasped for breath, clutched at his aching
chest to throw off the incubus, and awoke pant-
ing and terrified a victim of nicotine poison.
" What a fool to smoke so much last night,"
he muttered, and the wind in the chimney seemed
to repeat, " foo-oo-ool foo-oo-ool."
The next morning all the friends had gather-
ed upon the piazza and Delano was chaffed about
his late rising.
" Have you seen the doctor this morning,
Miss Dale ? " he asked carelessly.
" No," she replied, slightly disturbed.
" Tell him we shall not need his microscope."
" Oh ! then you have succeeded in reading
the letter in the bottle ? " asked several eagerly.
" Yes."
" O, tell us ! Tell us what it says ! " deman-
ded several of the girls in chorus. The doctor
joined them just then and asked the news. Delano
read the prepared half of the letter, commented
with the curious and sympathetic upon the mes-
sage, and refused to exhibit the original paper at
that time. It was so damaged, he desired to dry
and preserve it. Only the doctor asked was that
all, and seemed disappointed at not having an
opportunity to examine the original.
THE SEA LETTER 87
" Spanish, was it ? I know a little of that
language," said Miss Dale.
Delano was glad the captain had advised
secrecy, and he had kept the paper from general
examination. It was necessary for success in
rinding the cave and controlling its secrets, that
he and the captain should be cautious and confide
in no one.
"Well, I may let some of you Latinists try
your skill in translating it some time," said Delano
politely, never intending to do so, however, until it
had served his purpose.
The guests around the hotel considered the
matter from various standpoints, and found amuse-
ment all the forenoon. It was not long before
the ubiquitous reporter called upon Delano and
then telephoned a scoop to his journal, and the
afternoon papers came down on the evening train
and boat with half a column of interesting matter.
Mrs. Conant did not like the notoriety it gave
Laura, and Delano disavowed giving the reporter
anything about her. He declared he had gather-
ed up all the gossip about the piazzas and arranged
it to suit his sensational object.
" Laura is still a child, and we have a sacred
duty to perform in completing her education and
insuring her future position in life," said Mrs.
Conant quietly.
88 THE SEA LETTER
Delano noticed in his embarrassment a pecu-
liar earnestness in her speech which awakened his
curiosity.
" I suppose it must be a solemn task to guide
a child from infancy to adult life," said he.
" You may well believe it ; especially, when
a child is as lively and mischievous as a coon-
kitten."
" The quiet manners and sedate lives of you
and your husband do not evidence any riotous
passions."
"But Laura" then Mrs. Conant bit her lip
and turned her head away "You know," she
continued, "children are not always like their
parents."
Mrs. Conant was one of those quiet, sensible,
methodical, affectionate women, who are such
treasures at home and such agreeable companions
in society. She had medium height, roundish
head and face, regular features, soft black eyes,
and black hair twisted into a heavy coil. Mr.
Conant resembled his wife in features and char-
acter, as married persons often do, when they
have lived together in harmony for many years.
Their lives had been a true and agreeable comrade-
ship, which is after all the real touchstone of per-
fect marriage. They had lived long in the
quiet town of Essex, where he had conducted a
large dry-goods store, and she had kept their
THE SEA LETTER 89
pretty home and brought up Laura as the light of
the household.
Just then Laura rushed into the group upon
the piazza, and said eagerly, " Mother, come down
to the bathing-beach and see the fun. Professor
Thornton is going to teach some of the girls to
swim and others to perform swimming tricks."
"Are you going in this morning, Miss
Laura ? " asked Delano. " Cert., and so is Gab-
rielle and the rest of our set. Would you take
ma in charge ? I must fly."
" Thank you ; I am sorry, but I have an
important engagement."
" So am I Are you going out with the
tally-ho again ? "
" Not to-day."
" Didn't we have a jolly time ? "
"Very jolly," said he smiling. Then she
caught a glance from his merry eyes and blushed
a little, and he knew she had suddenly remember-
ed the walk and its consequences. Her mother
looked and listened and said nothing. Laura had
not told her, and had resolved not to it was such
a trifling gallantry after all.
" Well, I will accompany you to-day, my dear,
but you had better give me your jewelry ; I would
not have you lose your bracelet for the world,"
said Mrs. Conant.
" That is a unique and valuable bracelet,
Mrs. Conant," said Delano, as Laura slipped it
90 THE SEA LETTER
off her wrist and tossed it into her mother's lap,
with her breast-pin, watch and chain. He took
it in his hand and admired the peculiar colored
enamel of the serpent's scales, changing from
white to yellow, orange, brown and black ; exam-
ined the lifelike coils, the fierce ruby eyes and
the twist of the tail around the neck to complete
the circle, and handed it to Mrs. Conant saying,
" I think I have never seen a more exquisite piece
of workmanship. Was it purchased in this
country ? "
" I do not know ; it is an heirloom, and there
is another like it, but it is not in our possession."
Laura had withdrawn a little to chatter to some
girls. " When we received it, there was a note
written in Spanish enclosed in its velvet case."
" How very singular ! then you are of Spanish
descent ! "
" Come Mamma, come ! we are waiting ! "
called Laura, running up to her.
" I suppose I shall have to go, if you will
excuse me," said Mrs. Conant smiling.
" Certainly. You are very excusable," re-
plied Delano.
" I wish you could go," said Laura appeal-
ingly.
" Sorry, but it is impossible Good morn-
ing!"
" Bye, bye," and they separated.
THE SEA LETTER 91
Delano hastened towards the old mansion,
and the ladies,* to the beach. On the way, he saw
Gabrielle dressed in white challie with pink
flowers, tan shoes, and chip hat covered with roses,
set jauntily over her lovely auburn hair twisted in
figure eight. She nodded to him under her blue
parasol, ancl he could not resist going over to
greet her and walk a little way. She was frank
and sprightly as ever.
" Everyone travels the same way to-day.
Do you bathe this morning ? " said he.
" Yes ; I cannot bear to lose one day it is
so delicious and healthful. If I do, I will reproach
myself when I return home, and not be able to
stand the winter's dissipation."
"That is right. Get all the salty sea and
ozone you can ; they are real vitalizers of the
system. You seem to have little time for a rock-
ing-chair and fancy work."
" Yes ; and I lament the summer so nearly
gone and so little done."
" You will get through with your athletic
craze after a while, and enjoy some comfort in
reminiscences, as I do now."
" But you indulge often ? "
" Yes, but seldom as a task. My natural
inclination leads me to enjoy out-of-doors, and I
use athletic sports only when they agree with
me."
92 THE SEA LETTER
" That is a new idea. Have I wearied and
worried myself following them ? " .
" It seems so. You should not engage posi-
tively to do anything, nor force yourself, if you
feel any physical or mental disinclination."
" That seems like a good rule of action. I got
awfully used up at Bar Harbor last summer. You
know the dear little Canoe Club on Bar Island ?
We girls used to take a bark' apiece and paddle
from it around Great Porcupine Island every day.
I used to come back so tired, I could not write
decently. I was afraid to go there again, and came
here for rest and a greater variety of exercise,
but I guess I have been over-training again."
" One would think so, to see your tan and
muscle. I must leave you here Good morning."
" I am sorry Au revoir"
"What an intelligent and splendid creature
she is," thought Delano, as he gazed after her and
noted her graceful walk and proud demeanor.
" How sweetly deferential she is to my opinions.
A man ought to be very happy with such a woman
for his wife," and he sighed. Gabrielle looked
back, saw him observing her, and waved her hand.
He answered by lifting his hat.
These young people were drifting together,
or was Gabrielle merely playing him to kill, as the
fisherman plays the hooked salmon in the rapids ?
He seemed awake to a realizing sense of her attrac-
tions and would have followed her to the beach,
THE SEA LETTER 93
had he given way to his first impulse ; but he had
told Laura he had an engagement, and, if he should
go, it would require embarrassing explanations.
Besides, what would the captain think of his longer
tarrying ? No, he would meet the captain, though
he felt a strong disposition to do otherwise, and
somehow felt that Laura was to blame. He was
what an Islander would call, "poke hooked," a
fisherman's expression for a fish that has swallowed
the hook sure to be caught.
But was he though ? He still thought much of
Laura. Such little things turn the course of a life.
If Delano had directed his steps to the beach and
seen Gabrielle again in her beauty and bath, no
doubt he would have surrendered his heart to her
imperious control. But he did not. He delayed
his submission to her in order to be loyal to Laura.
CHAPTER VII.
Captain Oliver sat upon the porch smoking
his pipe and holding a long roll of charts. " Hullo !
here you be at last ! " said he, as Delano appeared
around the corner.
" Yes, here I am and quite sorry I kept you
waiting, Captain. The ladies detained me."
" Of course, they did ; they always do ; they
used to keep me ashore till seven-bells (i 1-30 p.m.),
when I had the mid-watch. Many a night I pushed
aside the ice-cakes with a boat hook in the Dela-
ware, at Philadelphia, while a shore boatman pulled
me off, and I got aboard ship to relieve the deck
just as the binnacle-bell and the quarter-master
made it eight-bells (12 p.m.). A close squeak
sometimes, I can tell you."
" I should say it was."
" Well, I guess we'd better get inside and to
business we might be run afoul of here."
" You are right, as usual, Captain."
They went into Delano's room, locked the
door, spread a chart upon the table and began their
investigation.
THE SEA LETTER 95
" Have you found the sound, Captain ? " asked
Delano eagerly.
" I have hit on a number of promising places,
but from looks of the chart, it isn't going to
be such an easy job. There isn't any place looks
likely this side of Portland, and see how the remain-
der of the coast is cut up by those long, narrow
islands and peninsulars that run northeast and
southwest."
" Yes, very peculiar. Suppose we should de-
cide to take a cruise down-east, what kind of a
vessel would you prefer to go in, a sailing craft or
a steamer ? "
" I should favor a beamy cutter. A steamer
would attract too much attention, and not be as
roomy and comfortable for a cruise. You would
not get away till September, and the winds are
wild and the seas rough on the coast that late."
" I have cruised as far as Eastport in a 30-
footer and found her comfortable and safe. There's
a good harbor every twenty-five miles on the Maine
coast, and a small craft ought to get in every night."
" You could run up to Boston and make a
selection from the yachts, which will be hauling
out in the yards the last of the month."
" Yes ; I suppose you could go along with me
as Sailing Master ? "
" You don't mean it ? Nothing would please
me better, Mr. Delano ; but I'll have to have a
talk with Alice."
96 THE SEA LETTER
The captain looked pleased at the idea of hav-
ing a wrestle with Neptune again. He had only
been fishing in his cat-boat around Cape Poge and
No Man's Land since he had retired from the Navy
and deep-water cruising after whales ; and every-
body knows, a sailor on land is always longing for
the deep sea and a heaving deck beneath his feet
until his dying day. There would be nothing in
the contemplated cruise comparable to the priva-
tions and perils of a whaling voyage to the arctic
regions, but just enough adventure, mystery and
roughing it to suit an old sea-dog past his prime.
The captain was of medium size and very
compact build. Though sixty years old, he did not
look fifty. " No man should ever confess to being
old," said he, " who has the strength and buoyant
feelings of twenty-five." The band of iron-gray
hair and his gray side-whiskers and mustache
were kept neatly trimmed ; and the bald crown
and smoothly shaven chin added to the symmetry
of his well shaped head. His eyes were black and
penetrating, and his Roman nose denoted strength
and self-reliance. He was such a man, as always
graces the quarter-deck of a ship, and has the con-
fidence and respect of subordinates, like the captain
of an ocean-liner or an officer of the Navy.
Delano was .still a member of the Marblehead
Corinthian Yacht Club ; he had owned an able
cutter and cruised along the coast from Cape Cod
THE SEA LETTER 97
to Grand Manan, and he said, " We'll go to Boston
before long, Captain."
" Aye ! aye ! Mr. Delano ; I'll obey your
orders any time, sir."
" What time can we be ready ? "
" If we have luck, the first of September."
" Where had we better fit out ? "
" In Boston, of course."
" All right ; now let us study the charts
awhile Remember, not a word of our mission to
anyone."
" What shall we say ? "
" Say, we are going to take a yachting cruise
in September."
" Aye, aye ! sir ; that's the ticket."
They spread the chart of Casco Bay on the
table and began its examination.
" ' Go to sound on coast of Maine an island
lies in mouth of sound two islands outside with
narrow passage between,' so say the instructions,"
said Delano, reading from his copy.
" Those are good sailing directions," commen-
ted the captain. " Strange how very few places
resemble that description. The writer may have
been deceived in some things ; the sound may have
been a river, a channel or a bay. Look at Broad
Cove at the head of New Meadows River. An
island lies in the mouth, and there are two islands
outside with a narrow passage between them The
inner island and one of the outer ones, however,
98 THE SEA LETTER
bear but one name, William's Island, signifying
they are connected at low water, as the chart shows,
and the other one is Merrit's Island. This cannot
be the place, and we may dismiss it and all that
vast area of water with the three hundred and sixty-
five islands included in Casco Bay. There isn't an
arrangement in it to suit the description, and there
is no use wasting time upon it."
Delano looked over the chart carefully and
acquiesced in the captain's decision with reluctance
and astonishment and said, " I should have sailed
into most of those reaches, had you left it to my
judgment, but the chart forbids."
" It would have taken you all winter to do it,
sir ; such a cruise would be fine in the summer."
" Yes, if one could take all his friends along."
" Here is the chart from White Head to Cape
Small Point at the entrance of Casco. All clear
to the Kennebec River, and those cruisers never
went into that boisterous, tidal, treacherous hole.
Look at Sheepscot, a long, narrow, salt-water sound
all the way to Wiscasset It nearly cuts the state
in two pieces, and the Damiriscotta is almost as
long."
" Wonderful waterways ; I never noticed them
critically before this time."
" Old Pemaquid Point, Muscongus Bay, St.
George's River nothing to White Head."
" You are navigating more than ten knots an
hour, Captain."
u
b
U
as
u
Q
THE SEA LETTER 99
"We have to it is almost time for grub.
Here's Penobscot Bay, east and west, and not an
opening to fit along the mainland, or among the
islands. Can you see anything promising a sound
and a cave ? "
" Not a cave ! It is rather discouraging. We
have nearly finished the Maine coast."
" Perhaps the cave is a humbug."
" No, I don't believe that ; a drowning man
would not perpetrate such a fake."
" Well ; perhaps there were not any drown-
ing men and sinking ship, and some person along
the shore fixed up the message."
" Curses on him, if he did ! Such work is
too villianous to suppose. Here is the eastern
chart, Passamaquoddy Bay to Schoodic Head, in-
cluding the bays and Moos-a-bec Reach."
" Pretty long stretch of wild, rocky, beautiful
coast, Captain. I made a cruise east and west the
whole length one September, and never had such
a racket before in my life. Between the head
winds, head tides and dense fogs every day, we
lost a month, and came near total wreck several
times. They say down-east, ' the fog is dry and
not unhealthy.' Pshaw ! you could wash your
face in it. We washed down decks with the
drippings. I swore I would never go east of
Schoodic again unless to attack Halifax."
They studied the chart for some time in
silence. At last, Delano blurted out, " It's no
zoo THE SEA LETTER
use ! I cannot find the combination. This busi-
ness reminds me of working out an enigma : We
find a sound with an island in the mouth of it, but
there are not any islands outside with a narrow
passage between. We find two islands outside
with a narrow passage between, and there isn't
any island in the mouth of the sound ; then, the
islands are all right, and the sound turns out to be
a bay or long river Let's give it up, Captain."
" Not until we have finished. There doesn't
seem to be any place on this chart to agree with
the description. We have the last chart, the Mt.
Desert section, from Schoodic Head to Naskeag
Point, including Union Hill and Frenchman's Bays.
You have some knowledge of those waters ? "
" I reckon I have, Captain; I have sailed en-
tirely around Mt. Desert, and up and down those
bays many times. I have anchored in every har-
bor, cove and channel, and fished and sailed every
where there."
"And you don't happen to know or see any
place like the description ?"
"I'm blessed if I do!"
"Well, neither do I, By Thunder ! "
" Too bad ! too bad ! I was anticipating such a
fine cruise. "
" So was I. You must have had good times
there?"
" I did, that's a fact ! The winds are fierce, the
waters rough, the rocks plenty, and summer re-
THE SEA LETTER 101
sorts closed the first of September, but there is a
crispness in the air, a brightness in the sunlight, a
blueness in the sea, and an excitement in avoiding
dangers and battling with the gales positively de-
lightful."
"You talk like an old-salt."
" I wish often I was one ; I take so much de-
light in adventure and danger."
"Kind of mountainous on Mt. Desert ?"
"Yes, they call hills, mountains they are all
less than two thousand feet high. Splendid views
from the top of Green Mountain You can see
blue water in every direction. The inlets and is-
lands are like a map at your feet ; Eagle Lake,
Somes Sound and Southwest Harbor shine far be-
low, and the vessels resemble toy boats sailing
past."
"Say, Delano, let me see that copy: 'Great
hole in ledge See arrows in ledge pointing to-
wards it A cross on face of cliff to the north'
That looks like ledges along shore and pretty high
land around."
"The shores are more than half ledges, and
quite elevated upon the southern and eastern sides."
"Are the harbors safe in all gales?"
"Bar Harbor is liable to be rough, but South-
west Harbor is comfortable and safe. I used to
anchor there and go over to Bar Harbor on a buck-
board. It is a fine drive by way of Somesville
through the mountains. "
102 THE SEA LETTER
" It looks that way on the chart. Isn't South-
west rough in easterlies ? "
" Rarely vessels have dragged ashore there,
but it is often the skipper's fault. He can make a
lee if he wishes get behind an island, run up
Somes Sound, or over to the Cranberry Islands.
The last is easiest, and well sheltered with two
islands having a narrow passage between them. "
" Hm ! yes ; five feet in the shallowest part at
low tide. A vessel might get through at high tide
all right."
" Surely ! Fishermen go in and out through it.
A schooner was caught inside of Baker's Island,
with Little Cranberry under her lee, in a heavy
southeast gale, and, when the crew had given up in
despair, the big seas lifted and carried her over the
bar and up the harbor."
"Up the harbor?"
" Yes ; I suppose past Greening's Island on
the east side into Somes Sound. A nor' west course
would take her straight in. Don't you see it?"
said Delano, as he laid a ruler upon the chart in the
direction of the compass point.
"But that island lies in the mouth of the
sound. By Jupiter ! Delano, look at it ! " yelled the
captain, as he sprang to his feet. " 'An island lies
in mouth of sound two islands outside with
narrow passage between' the very description ! "
Delano straightened up, looked at the captain,
and gave a sharp whistle. The captain bent over
THE SEA LETTER 103
the chart, moved the parallel rulers again and veri-
fied the course. His hands trembled, he was as
eager as a school-boy, and could hardly believe his
senses. Delano leaned upon the table and watched
the operation. They looked at each other, at the
chart, then at each other again in blank astonish-
ment. At last, Delano slapped his hand into the
captain's and they shook hands heartily.
"Well, if we haven't been blind and dull!"
ejaculated the captain scornfully.
"I should say so!" replied Delano. "Right
under our noses, and we couldn't see any more than
a Mammoth Cave bat in the sun. "
They were silent for a few moments, then the
captain said, "It strikes me that the sound is a
likely place to hunt for the cave. How are its
shores?"
"Ledgy and high; the mountains rise from
the shores, with here and there a ravine and a foot-
hill. The sound is a narrow passage of deep blue
water between the mountains, where sudden gusts
and changes of wind make sailing dangerous.
When I sailed up to Somesville, we were obliged to
dodge the mainboom and watch the sheets all the
time. The grand scenery and good dinners at the
hotel amply repaid us for the perilous navigation."
"Where there are mountains, there must be
cliffs," observed the captain dryly, his mind evi-
dently intent upon the secret cave.
"O, there are plenty of them."
104 THE SEA LETTER
"One cliff to the north must have a cross up-
on it?"
"Certainly."
"What do you think now, Delano?"
"Think now? I'm going to find that cave be-
fore snow flies, and you are going to help me."
"Much obliged but you mean the sound?"
"I mean both cave and sound. The cave
must be there or nowhere."
"Aye! aye! that's my idea too."
" Great Caesar! it's two o'clock."
"Whew! what will Alice say?"
The captain rolled up the charts in a jiffy,
took them across the hall to his sitting-room, and
Delano went to the hotel to dinner. Both men
were highly elated over the result of their morn-
ing's work.
CHAPTER VIII
A large steamboat came to the wharf at the
foot of the hill one morning, crowded with people
from adjacent resorts, and bound upon an excursion
to Gay Head. The friends could not resist the
bright flags and the music of the band, and joined
the throng upon the upper deck. Jack staggered
after them loaded with bundles and parasols, and
said, " If I'm to be pack-mule, I'll have to have a
cinch." The harbor lay in a fleecy mist and the
sea sparkled and foamed in the steamer's wake. A
cloud of vessels was going over Nantucket Shoals,
and a cluster of tide-bound sails filled Tarpaulin
Cove. The chops were yellow and green, and a
lot of "old hookers" lay at anchor between the
boat and the distant bridge. Falmouth Heights
loomed up across the sound and a train with a trail
of smoke was running from Woods Hole to Nobska;
the morning boat was entering Buzzards Bay, near
Naushon; and the broad sound was dotted with
sail. Mackonnoky, Lambert's Cove, Paint Mill,
Roaring Brook, and Menem sha Bight, with it's jet-
106 THE SEA LETTER
ties and boat-harbor, were passed rapidly, and the
bold cliffs of Gay Head were viewed from the west,
care being taken to avoid Devil's Bridge, the reef
where the Columbus foundered. The western face
of the Head had been eroded by the sea and brick-
makers, and strata of different colored clay were
seen running diagonally across it to the shore.
There were bands of white, buff, drab, blue, terra-
cotta and brick-red ; dull in tone, but sufficiently
distinct and contrasted to give a gay appearance to
the bluffs a mile distant. Many persons believe
there is gross exaggeration in reports about these
colors, but they are there to astonish and convince
the visitor. Fossils have been uncovered during
excavations. The high bluffs and light-house
stand at the entrance to the sound, which is a thor-
oughfare for vessels going east and west.
The excursionists landed at the wharf and
many persons rode up the hill in ox-teams driven
by Indians.
" Are these real aborigines ? " asked Gab-
rielle quietly.
" They are descendants of the Algonquins,"
answered Mac. "<Lo! the poor Indian' has
gone, and coffee-colored faces look out of huts,
where bric-a-brac and refreshments are sold, and
the crowd is rushing before looking at the
scenery. There to the east by Lake Squipnocket
lived Pohoganot and Campeechee. There were
in Gay Head, in 1642, about three thousand pure-
THE SEA LETTER 107
blooded Indians, and small tribes were scattered
over the island. Gay Head village had decreased
to about three hundred persons, in 1764, and now
only a few individuals remain, and their language
and traditions are lost to them. These relics of a
proud race have inherited some of the land of the
reservation, which was relinquished by the State
in 1856, and fishing, hunting and farming are
continued as in the olden times."
" I do not wonder at their decadence," re-
marked Thompson. " The place is treeless, rocky
and infertile ; swept by fierce gales ; washed by
violent seas ; destitute of harbors ; remote from
settlements, and difficult of access by land and
sea. But it is wild, picturesque and grand in its
scenery and isolation, and I am very glad we came
hither to-day."
" And so am I," declared Vic ; " and stand-
ing here 1 74 feet above the sea, the world appears
very large."
" What is the reason the Indians are nearly
all gone ? " asked Laura timidly of a very old man
near by, who had marked Indian characteristics.
"Wall," he replied in Yankee vernacular,"
" you see the young men went whaling as soon as
they could pull an oar, and few came back. They
cut their teeth on sea-shells and were weaned on
hardtack, and it was natural for them to go to sea,
as for ducks to take to the water. This is a sea-
faring country, as you'll learn by looking at the
io8 THE SEA LETTER
fish, whale and vessel weather-vanes on the barns
about the island, Miss. "
" One Indian came back though ; Epanaw
was his name ; he was carried to England against
his will. He told the Englishmen there was a
gold mine on the island, and they bought him in a
ship to find it. He swam ashore the first dark
night, and they carried back sassafras root instead
of the precious metal."
The old man chuckled, and his hearers
laughed.
" Conversion didn't agree with our tribe
neither. Mayhew converted Hiacoomes, who told
him, 'White man raise more corn, catch more
fish, and live in better houses than Indian, who
has many gods. Me want to know the true God.'
Others became Christians from fear of small-pox,
and through observation of the humane acts of
believers," continued the octogenarian, who had
known Hetty Ames, the last island Queen, but
could not recall any of the language or traditions
of his people.
This was a great disappointment to Gabrielle,
who had hoped to gather material for a romance,
but Delano reminded her that Porte Crayon had
had the same experience in 1 860.
" There is No Man's Land," said Mac, point-
ing to a flat blur upon the water southward.
" How far away is it ? " asked Vic.
THE SEA LETTER 109
" Six miles from here ; it has only one family
living upon it."
" It is too lonesome a place for me," said
May.
11 The other excursionists had scattered over
the hillsides, looked at the scenery, and found
nooks and shade where they could picnic. The
friends sat in the shadow of the light-house and ate
their luncheon. Helen, who had said little during
the trip, related the 'Legend of Maushope, the
Giant of Gay Head.'
" In ages far remote, many children on Cape
Cod were seized by a monstrous bird and carried
away to the southwest never to return. A mighty
Indian giant, named Maushope, familiarly called
Old Squant, who could wade up and down Vine-
yard Sound without wetting his knees, followed
the bird one day after he had seized a promising
papoose, and saw him alight upon the island of
Capawock near Gay Head. He arrived too late to
rescue the infant, but found his bones added to a
great pile upon the cliff. He remained the guar-
dian genius, the ruler over good and evil spirits
around Gay Head. He lived in the cave called
Devil's Den and washed his milk pails in the
stream, which has remained white until the pres-
ent time. He taught the Indians how to trap the
wily beaver, to snare wild birds, to gather shell-
fish and to catch scale fish in the sea.
fio THE SEA LETTER
" He was often seen in the dusk of the even-
ing, wearing a cloudy night-cap, sitting upon the
highest cliff of Gay Head fishing for whales, which
he cooked in great fires made of pine and oak trees
that he pulled up by the roots. So great was his
size and enormous his appetite, that it is said, he
cooked and ate a whole whale for breakfast.
"He sat down upon a boulder in the Sound to
rest, filled his pipe with Hellebore and smoked so
furiously that great clouds enveloped the islands
and made heavy fogs, which spread along the
coast and shrouded the fishermen and the land in
dangerous gloom. When fog-banks form and be-
gin to creep over the landscape, you will hear the
Islanders say, 'There comes some of Old Squant's
smoke ; he seems to delight in befogging poor sail-
ors.'
" When he emptied his pipe, the ashes were
carried by the ocean currents and formed the island
of Nantucket, which accounts for its poverty of soil
and sleepy appearance.
" Becoming tired of his contracted kingdom,
he undertook to build a bridge across the Sound to
Cuttyhunk. He gathered boulders from the oppo-
site shores ; brought them with great labor through
currents and seas, and placed them in proper posi-
tion, expecting to fill in with island soil. He re-
moved his shoe, filled it with earth and walked bare-
foot out in the water. He had deposited his first
load, which was taken from near the Head and
THE SEA LETTER in
caused a great depression, five hundred feet across
and one hundred feet deep, and was returning to the
shore, when an inquisitive crab bit him upon his toe.
" This insult put him in a terrible rage. He
abandoned his project ; tore off a fragment of a
cliff and threw it to the southward, forming No
Man's Land ; cast his five children into the sea and
changed them into fish, and, when his wife object-
ed, flung her across to Sekonnet Point, where she
preyed upon passing sailors and may still be recog-
nized as a shattered boulder. He disappeared one
day during a hurricane of lightning, thunder and
hail, and left the island in possession of the mis-
sionaries.
"The deposit of lignite where he built his fires,
the great valley between the bluffs, and the Devil's
Bridge, attest the truth of this Indian legend."
Helen was complimented for the recitation,
and Sanders declared it was a proper spot for such
a story though the Indians were somewhat miscel-
laneous.
" How one misses trees in the landscape," re-
marked Wilson, " These hills are only sheep pas-
tures, and the region has been pauperized by ignor-
ance and avarice."
" You are right," said Mac. " Trees that have
been growing centuries should not be sacrificed
for a dollar or two. How delightful the forest roads
around Chappaquonset and Solitude ! How sweet
the evening shadows of the shell-road ! "
112 THE SEA LETTER
"How are the roads from here to the Haven?"
asked Laura.
"Good enough by the middle road to Squip-
nocket, then turn left through the beautiful valley
of Chilmark, or go by way of West Tisbury.
You pass Peaked Hill, 311 feet high, the highest
point of the island ; Prospect Hill, and Indian Hill,
and go through Middleto wn, "Mac replied promptly.
He had explored every part of the island the
previous summer.
" We will be too tired to hear the band con-
cert to-night," uttered Flossie dolefully.
" You don't generally hear much of it," said
Atkins sarcastically.
"Why not, sir?"
1 ' I don't like to tell you. "
"Yes, do ! Why do you make such a remark ? "
"Well, when the band begins to play, you all
begin to talk, and the louder and faster it plays,
the louder and faster you talk ; then the children
romp noisily round the stand, sail boats, drag wa-
gons and quarrel ; and their mothers yell at them
and they yell back, and the men discuss every-
thing from a woman's style to regulation of the
trusts."
" Mercy ! stop ! what a horrid man you are !
As if we did not come here to enjoy ourselves. "
" You enjoy other things better than the real-
ly superior music."
"O, we get too much of it. "
THE SEA LETTER 113
" Then ramble somewhere else and give others
a chance."
"Suppose we do we aren't the multitude. "
"That's it, Miss Hastings," interrupted Mac;
"Atkins expects to^ regulate the park mob by inter-
fering with the rights of a few young ladies.
Nothing except a discharge of grape and cannister
would ever still that noisy assembly. "
Florence showed her gratitude, and everyone
except Atkins laughed.
A shrill whistle echoed around the bluffs.
The hillsides became quickly alive with people,
hastening to the steamboat to get good seats, and
the friends were in the thickest of the fray. It was
a cool and pleasant sail homeward, though children
daubed their clothes and the boat with the plastic
colored clay, and men drank beer.
As they rested at the top of the hill, they
were delighted by the beautiful scene before them.
A wet finger held up barely indicated a faint
breath of air from the southwest ; the sails hung
limp and wrinkled, and the vessels, wharves and
shores were reflected in purple etchings by the
glassy water. The setting sun looked like crim-
son velvet; the clouds were in banks and bands of
rose, salmon-pink and baby-blue, shaded into marine,
purple and orange ; gray feathers blended with
sheets of pearl, green, buff and violet ; rays of fire
and gold flared between leaden masses; colorless
rays drew water ; and the sky half way to the ze-
H4 THE SEA LETTER
nith was full of colors mixed and blended in such a
extravagant way, as would bankrupt a palette and
destroy any artist's reputation who copied it.
" Mamma is always talking about Italian sun-
sets; how could they surpass this?" gushed Laura,
and her eyes shone with the brightness of youth
and health.
"Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory !"
said Delano reverently, as he gaztd from the sky
to sea and then into Laura's eyes.
"What is up now?" shouted Sanders from
the rear.
" Looking at the sunset, " replied Mac.
"Well, sunsets are rather common what about
supper
" There is time enough for both, you unroman-
tic fellow, " said Atkins.
" Everything is harmonious, peaceful and love-
ly," observed Thompson, looking around the Hav-
en and then at Gabrielle.
" What a pretty etching the old wharf with its
buoys and anchors would make !" exclaimed Helen.
" Miss Dodge might get some new colors out
of the sky," remarked Vic.
"There comes the evening boat with the Bos-
ton crowd and the- newspapers," cried Laura,
pointing across the Sound.
Delano looked at the boat and her delicate
hand and noticed the peculiar bracelet upon her
wrist, the golden serpent with ruby eyes and min-
o
THE SEA LETTER 115
ute scales, enamelled in gray, yellow, brown and
black.
" I should think you would shudder at the red
eyes and glittering scales of your bracelet, " said he,
with a shrug of his shoulders.
" O, no ; I wouldn't if it were a real snake. I
like snakes and all the animals," she replied.
" I see lots of smoke from the hotel chimneys
and supper must be ready," shouted Sanders,
interrupting a quiet conversation between Gab-
rielle and Thompson.
" Ise right smart hungry myself, Mr.
Sanders," mumbled Jack just behind him.
The party went to the hotel and its members
disappeared to use lotions and cosmetics for
sunburn.
CHAPTER IX.
One morning Sanders rushed into the group
of summer girls upon the piazza, and shouted,
" They are coming ! the morning papers are full
of it ! The New York Yacht Club started yester-
day for New London, and will be here the last of
the week. Listen to this," and he read the pro-
gram of events.
A ripple of excitement ran along the piazza,
and the girls began to chatter about what they
should wear and the other details of a marine
excursion. The wind and the tide were unfavora-
ble Thursday, and it was 5 p. m. before the
racers began to arrive, though small steamers
and slow sailers had been straggling in all day.
All the fleet had arrived before dark, and the
scenes were indescribable, as the vessels moved
in between the green banks of the harbor and
threaded their way to the anchorage. The shores
were covered with people ; the Haven held over
two hundred yachts ; and pleasure boats of every
size and character filled the intervals between the
larger craft, so that movements had to be care-
THE SEA LETTER 117
fully made to avoid collision. Our summer girls
and their escorts were comfortably seated in the
capacious cat-boat Windermere, and her captain
sailed her through the fleet systematically from
without inwards, permitting everyone on board to
see the yachts as thoroughly as possible with-
out boarding them. The floating palaces of mil-
lionaires, the medium-sized racers, the plump
family craft with no pretentions to speed, the
lanky schooners, the overgrown cutters and the
stake-boats, were inspected, criticised and admired,
as the handy cat ran rapidly in and out, beside
and around them under the skipper's skilful man-
agement.
The large steamers moved with all the
steadiness and irresistible force of an iceberg ;
the small ones darted into the harbor like an
arrow from a bow ; and the racing schooners and
cutters rushed past like an avalanch, clouded to
the sky with balloon sails, their men lying flat up-
on deck with heads next the weather rail, and
the helmsman erect, alert and active. It was
astonishing to see those prostrate men spring to
their stations and haul down and smother acres of
canvas, when the vessels crossed the line and
made ready for anchoring. Everywhere in the
harbor was change and maneuvering of beautiful
craft. The Judges' Boat and others not in the
races were enlivened by groups of ladies, in
yachting caps and blue-braided white suits, who
ii8 THE SEA LETTER
talked of yachts and racing, as knowingly, as the
haut ton discuss horses at the Horse Show.
Evening approached ; lanterns were hung up
in the rigging ; launches plied rapidly between
ship and shore ; the New York Yacht Club Sta-
tion was illuminated and filled by club-men and
their guests ; the landing stage was surrounded
by boats, manned by blue-uniformed sailors ; the
harbor boats cleared the spaces between the
vessels, landed their loads of delighted humanity
and moored in safe places, and the boatswains
piped to supper.
A strong sou'wester raged next day, and the
time was devoted to exchanging calls between
the yachtsmen and friends on shore and on board.
Delano and Doctor Kenelm dined with the cap-
tain of the Doreen, and dinner-parties on board
other yachts and at the hotels were quite numerous.
Many shore people crowded the wharves and banks
and spent the day watching and studying the
beautiful vessels with glasses. The white, swan-
like bodies upon the blue water; the gay bunting
displayed all over the crafts from deck to truck and
bowsprit end to boom end ; the delicate tracery of
ropes and spars, and the groups of blue-jackets
and uniformed officers and ladies, composed a
picture of rare elements and extraordinary attrac-
tion.
Our summer girls and their friends assembled
upon the piazza after supper to see the illumina-
THE SEA LETTER li$
tion of the fleet. Electric lights of many colors
were hung from bowsprit to truck, from mast to
mast, from truck to taffrail, along the yards, down
the masts and around the rails. The vessels were
thus outlined by yellow, blue, green and red lights,
which flashed and changed in hue every few min-
utes. But Yankees stop only at the impossible.
As if this were not enough, white, green and red
fires were burned at bow, waist and stern ; Roman
candles and bombs were constantly blazing and
shooting, and rockets of many colors sought the
stars in the empyrean blue. The houses, streets,
wharves and shores were solid banks of people,
now in darkness, now illuminated and looking like
beds of flowers. The bands gave concerts upon
either shore, and the music trickled through the
social talk, the laughter and applause of the multi-
tude. Many yachtsmen, accompanied by their
guests and ladies, came ashore during the evening,
and nautical talk was heard everywhere. Man may
seek from Venice to Cairo and up and down the
world, and never find so beautiful, so glorious a
scene, as the New York Yacht ^Club and its
splendid annual illumination.
The Hop given to the Yacht Club was the
great event of the season. The musicians began
to play at 8 o'clock, and the ballroom floor was
filled by nine. Gabrielle was an active manager,
a gleam of loveliness, everywhere. She wore a
flowered organdie over moonlight satin, and moved
120 THE SEA LETTER
gracefully among the guests unconscious of their
ardent glances and exclamations of admiration.
"I am delighted you singing birds have flitted
over the water," she said to a party from the mu-
sical colony and Villa Carita, in a valley opposite.
"We are happy to aid you in entertaining our
mutual New York friends, and to repay you for
your enthusiasm over our musicals and village con-
certs," replied Miss Berton.
"Is the professor here to-night?"
" Of course. He dances as well as he sings,
and you'll not find a more gracious cavalier. "
Gabrielle turned to greet Miss Marie Borrow.
"And has the smell of whale oil, or the constant
ocean roar, driven you away from Green Harbor
and the hill this evening?" she asked, as she greet-
ed her Edgartown friend.
" Do people flee from Elysium to a barbarous
shore for aught save soul sympathy ? Thou art so
near and yet so far, I hunger much ere I brave the
windy road by the shore for a time with thee," re-
plied Miss Borrow.
"Where is the man, whom fate tried to ex-
tinguish by a common name?" asked Delano.
" He is talking with Lieutenant Ferguson about
the new play, the 'Captain's Prize,' and smiling at
us through the lace curtains. "
Laura was an able assistant. She wore a pink
silk topped off with creamy chiffon, and had white
roses upon her corsage. Her cheeks were red, her
THE SEA LETTER 121
eyes sparkled, and her movements were full of
girlish grace. When Thompson sought her for a
quadrille, she said, "No, thanks! you take that
wall-flower by the piano; she hasn't been up for
two numbers."
A bevy of beauties was there from the Haven
and West Tisbury, and Flossie and May greeted and
guided them. A group of West Chop ladies chat-
ted with Cottage City belles and sunbrowned cap-
tains near the door. Officers of the Government
service in brilliant uniforms, yachtsmen in white
duck and gold lace, and civilians in the conven-
tional swallow-tails, were floating among clouds of
silk, satin and mousseline de soie.
Who can fitly describe the splendor of a fash-
ionable hop ? where,
" Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again,
And all went merry as a marriage bell."
No sound of distant strife broke on the start-
led ear. The gentle breeze waved the lace cur-
tains at the windows, and cooled the cheeks of
beauty. The rubbing of chiffon and gauze, the
rustle of organdie and challie, the swish and crackle
of silk, the soft purring of satin, the calls of the
director, the patter of feet, the murmuring speech,
the light laughter, the delicious tones of the music ;
all, mingled harmoniously and intoxicated the
senses.
122 THE SEA LETTER
The gentle swaying of lovely forms, the mag-
netic touch of hands, the hide and seek of slippers,
the flowers, perfumes, powder, jewels, glowing
cheeks and brilliant eyes, delighted and bewildered
the throng, and made many a heart palpitate with
joy and love.
Some of the dancers promenaded the hall and
piazzas in the intermission, and indulged in com-
pliments, questions and bandinage. Others seat-
ed themselves in remote corners and exchanged
those sweet nothings, which make up much of lov-
ers' heavenly intercourse. When the moon had
waned, the pleasure flagged, the dancers tired, and
the distant visitors begun to withdraw; the small
parlor was thrown open and seen to be full of little
tables, decked with flowers, and having chairs for
two or four. Then the guests gathered there, con-
tinued their small talk and confidences, exchanged
home and seaside news, cultivated new acquaint-
ances, and, between the tid-bits, made engage-
ments for future enjoyment, while they were served
by the house-waiters under the chef with an excel-
lent supper. Not an olive was soft, not a lettuce
leaf was unwashed, not an oyster held a worm;
the chicken of the salad was youthful, the olive-oil
was fresh and sweet, the sandwiches had a reason-
able quantity of butter, and not a dress was spot-
ted or smeared.
The piazzas were crowded with visitors from
cottages and hotels. Some ladies who thought
THE SEA LETTER 123
dancing a sin filled up one end where they could
not hear much of the wicked dance music. Some
elderly men looked at the dancers awhile and wish-
ed themselves young again ; and the function was
a grand success.
Business was lax in the office, the clerks were
among the guests, the boy of the newsstand was
near the band, the bell-boys were drowsy, and the
airy, fairy typewriter had shut up shop.
The dancers went through the gentle, stately
movements of the minuet; great applause arose
from the crowd; the band-men packed up their
music and instruments, and the hop ended as the
stars were fading. When late sleepers came to
breakfast, the greater part of the fleet of yachts
had sailed for Newport.
There were few bathers next morning and
the people did not gather upon the piazza until after
dinner, when compliments and congratulations
were exchanged quite freely. Sanders said the
civilians at the hop resembled a lot of bluebottle
flies. Lieutenant Ferguson declared he had never
attended a more enjoyable hop, not even in Wash-
ington.
"That is because Miss Palmer managed it,"
said Thompson.
"And Miss Conant assisted," added Delano.
"There were no permanent wall-flowers.
Hosts of partners were introduced by them and all
made happy, " remarked Atkins.
124 THE SEA LETTER
"I saw some coquetting," said Mac, looking
at Flossie reproachfully. "Some young ladies
were dazzled by shoulder straps and almost monop-
olized."
"It was a golden opportunity of a not very
lively season," replied Flossie.
"It was ever thus," sighed Wilson. "Plain
broadcloth retires before the blue and gold of
Uncle Sam. "
" I like white and gold better, and found
many friends among the yachtsmen, " remarked
Vic with spirit.
" Laura looked very sweet in chiffon and silk,
Mrs. Conant, and I am sure she made several con-
quests, " observed Helen.
" Why Helen ! and the child has hardly come
out yet. "
" How blind you are ! She is a lovely woman
now, and her card was full very early. I had
several vacant places, but I expect it always be-
cause I'm such a bluestocking. "
" Nonsense ! You never looked better. Your
gray silk and pink roses were in excellent taste. "
"Didn't I see Mr. Conant in a window?"
asked Delano.
" Yes, but he ran away by early boat, " was
the reply.
" Too bad ! I wished to speak with him. "
" He will be down again over Sunday. "
THE SEA LETTER 125
"The Innisfail delegation didn't remain long,"
said Thompson, looking inquiringly at Gabrielle.
" No ; they prefer to float around the bluffs of
Oklahoma, paddle their canoes upon the moonlight
surface of Lake Waquataqua, and sing boating
and love songs, rather than to dance with the elite,"
she explained.
"Another musical colony?" asked the Lieu-
tenant.
" Yes, a little kingdom of artists under the
beneficent rule of Karl VI, whose subjects cast
their lyric honors at his feet and strive for perfec-
tion. The Vineyard air is thought by professional
singers to clear the tones and strengthen the
voice."
" O, let us go canoeing and hear the love
songs ! " cried Flossie excitedly.
"We will consider your proposition later,"
said Mac coolly.
" The captain of the Ortega says, ' The arctic
current runs past Nantucket and towards Long
Island and New Jersey, and causes eddies along
the South Beach, which probably brought the
bottle and sea letter from the edge of the Gulf
Stream to Capawock,' " said Delano.
" What did he think about its being a gen-
uine sea message ? " asked Atkins.
" He said, ' The foreign language and the
material used in stopping the bottle are strong
126 THE SEA LETTER
proofs of its not being a fake,' thus agreeing with
the old captain."
" I do not see any profit in speculating about
it. Further evidence is in the bottom of the sea,"
declared Atkins.
" One never knows what may happen,"
answered Delano.
" I suppose our yesterday's guests are now
romping over the deep sea towards Bar Harbor
and Newport. How I should like to own a
yacht ! " remarked Laura fervently.
" Then marry a yachtsman, my dear, and
make a condition you shall have one for a wed-
ding present," advised Gabrielle.
" Our guests are probably ' taking an obser-
vation ' through the bottom of a glass about this
time, though they know ' where they are at,' "
observed Sanders.
There was another hop given by the children
Saturday afternoon, and it was a unique scene
when the little men and women sang " Mother
Goose Melodies" and danced to their music. Each
song was greeted with great applause, and the
little folks were petted and praised. A good sup-
per was served the dancers in the ordinary at six
o'clock ; they played along the piazzas until eight,
and then disappeared to dreamless sleep or dreams
of happy days.
Laura had been busy fixing hair, tying rib-
THE SEA LETTER 127
bons, and straightening out tangles in the figures,
and retired early to her room.
It was evident to Laura's friends that she was
not as recklessly gay and thoughtless as she had
been at the beginning of the season. There were
times now, when she was caught with sober face
and thoughtful mien.
She looked in the glass as she was undress-
ing and said, " Laura Conant, you are getting old ;
I see some wrinkles about your eyes. You are
not bad looking, but haven't much sense. Here
you are nearly twenty and not engaged yet. You
don't intend to remain with your mother always,
do you ? What are you going to do about it ? "
Then she put some cocoa butter on her face
and proceeded to rub it in well with her fingers
and a piece of linen.
" You are old enough to have a genuine
attachment, and some man to pay you particular
attention. Some fellow ought to propose to you
this summer. It would be awful to go home with-
out a single conquest. There's Flossie, and Vic,
and May, all um spoken for in love I sup-
pose."
She pinched and rubbed and pulled the little
lines in the delicate skin around the eyes and brow,
caused by squinting against the sun and the glare
of the water, and turned her eyes into the corners
like a Japanese, looking at herself in the glass all
128 THE SEA LETTER
the time ; then, rubbed glycerine and rose water
over her brown face, neck and arms.
" Now whom do you like best ? "
She stood on her toes and heels and worked
her ankles, bent sideways, backward and forward
and twisted around ; turned her head and neck in
various positions ; bent the knees ; rotated and
swung the legs from the hips ; flexed, extended,
and twisted the arms ; then, took a light pair of
Indian clubs and handled them so rapidly that she
soon became tired.
" I wish my arms were as big and pretty as
Gabrielle's, " she murmured.
She sat upon the side of the bed in her night-
robe and rested and mused : " I like many don't
love any. Perhaps, it would be just as well to ask,
who likes me?"
She jumped up before the glass and said,
"Now pose, Miss Conant," and went through many
Delsarte movements, watching herself all the time
and smiling at her pretty figure in its various posi-
tions. She practiced her breathing exercises and
watched the rise and fall of her maiden bosom under
the lace-trimmed robe. She smeared her lips and
eyelids with white vaseline, kneeled down and
said her prayers, turned the light down low, and
slipped into bed with a shiver.
" I guess I'll have to wait till someone wants
me,"she murmured. "My prince will come someday.
I suppose it would be awful to have a husband,
THE SEA LETTER 129
and honor and obey him whether or no, and be
like an upper servant to look after the housework
and marketing and everything just as mother does.
It's too much to expect of a girl like me. But I
can have a devoted lover and, perhaps, be en-
gaged with a solitaire ring and have him do as I
say. That would be jolly. Then I could send him
away flying, when I became tired of him but I
shouldn't like to return the ring and be called a
flirt. I haven't caught him yet. Time enough to
decide his fate when I do.
" I wonder who Gabrielle will have. Delano
and Thompson both seem to be infatuated, and she
appears to like them both. I suppose the one who
pops first. There'll be one left, surely. Flossie
will be engaged to Mac before the end of the sea-
son. There never was such mutual admiration
before. A poor professor's wife ! But he is nice
and Flossie has a good father. Atkins and Vic
are talking eternally about the stars. They are a
good excuse to sit up late and be spoony. Sanders
and May go riding together nearly every day, and
he says, she is his ' summer girl.' They are both
so dreadfully practical. If she can give him enough
to eat, I suppose he will be able to get theatre
tickets often, then they will be happy. Wilson is
what mother calls ' a good boy,' but he is so dread-
fully bashful. We may be only summer girls; it
looks wintry for some of us. Oh ! ho ! where do
I come in ? Guess I'll be the old maid of the
130 THE SEA LETTER
party. What made Mr. Delano kiss me ? Said he
couldn't help it . "
A delicate arm laid outside the coverlid ; the
serpent's eyes showed red in the dim light, and the
enamelled scales of the bracelet glittered upon the
satin skin. Laura was fast asleep.
ec
i
h
o
CHAPTER X.
Delano sat out upon the porch smoking one
morning, when Tim Scammons, a brawny fisher-
man-farmer, called at the house to sell codfish,
" Rale Neman's Land Codfish, lightly salted ; bet-
ter'n yer kin find anywheres hereabouts," he said.
" Don't yer want some, Mister? Only five cents
a pound. "
" No, thanks ; I board at the hotel, " replied
Delano pleasantly.
"Ther's no one 'bout the kitchin. "
" No ; Mrs. Oliver has gone to the store. Do
you live on No Man's Land? "
" No, I live down nigh the Head. "
" Do you farm it ? "
"Yes, and fish."
"Have you good land?"
" Not so very kinder sandy vegetables
grow well most on us raises a little oats and rye
ter make straw fur campmeetin' ticks and shake-
downs. "
" Did you come here by boat ?"
132 THE SEA LETTER
" No, drove up 'long State road through West
Tisbury."
"Raise many fowls ?"
"What yer say?"
"Do you raise chickens?"
"Some chickins and ducks down our way. No
such duck farm as you've got over yonder. "
"Why don't you raise ducks?"
"What's the use? When we want ducks, we
shoot wild ones on the lakes. "
"Are they plenty?"
" Wall, you should see 'em 'long in the fall
water's just covered with 'em."
" Do you know a woman who has a hen ceme-
tery?"
" Yer, she lived over by South Shore and give
her whole time to hens never would have any roos-
ters she had names for every one of 'em. Some of
'em was as old as Methuselah. Them hens' legs
was all warts and knots like the bark of an old oak,
an' she wouldn't kill one fur love nor money. Honest
Injun ! I b'lieve they was mor'n twenty years in
her hen hospital. She was the doctor ; had a med-
icine for every disease, and had the queerest names
a man ever heered on. Some died and she made
'em shrouds and coffins, and buried 'em, and set
up rale marble tombstones fur 'em."
"Is it possible?"
"Sure's shootin'! Seen 'em myself. The
dear departed were, Ada Queetie, Beauty Linna,
THE SEA LETTER 133
Poor Tweedle Dedel, Bebes Pinkey that's all I
remember now but there was a list of the other
hens pinned on a board in the house."
"Caesar! what an extraordinary story! How
did her husband like it ? "
"He? She hadn't any she wouldn't have a
man round. She was a good lookin' woman and
fine rider when young, and we all thought she hed
bin crossed in love. She's dead now and the hens
is gone, but the tombstones are still thar. I seen
'em awhile ago. She was a sort of a hen doctor,
and wrote a book about 'em all poetry and sich
rubbish. Ever bin down to Scrubby Neck near
South Shore?"
"No; what is there?"
" Scenery; bully grove on a point whar we go
on picnics Our Church Sunday School's goin' to
have one next Thursday. Hope you'll come out,
Mister. "
"Thank you. Perhaps I may. Anyhow, I
must drive down there some day. Are you an
Islander ? "
" Yes, with a little sprinklin* of Injun. "
"Indian?"
" Sartin : plenty down our way has Injun
blood we are the airly settlers was here afore
the English come. "
" Good-morning ! Mr. Delano. Hullo ! you
here, Tim ? " said Mrs. Oliver, who came around
134 THE SEA LETTER
the corner of the house with a basket of groceries
on her arm.
" Yes, Ma'm ; me'n this gentleman has bin
talkin' 'bout chickins and things. Want any fish
to-day, Mrs. Oliver ? Rale Neman's Land cod-
fish 'bout half salted. "
" Let me see 'em, " and they walked to the
cart.
" Um kinder measly looking, Tim What's
the price ? "
" Five cents a pound. "
" I'll give you fifteen for that one. "
" That's more'n four pounds. "
" O, such scales as you carry ! See how bony
and wet it is, too. "
" Wall, take it ! you do drive a hard bargain,
Mrs. Oliver 'twon't pay fur the bait."
" Nonsense ! Tim ; I only buy 'cause it's
you. "
" Thank yer, Ma'm. "
" What's the news 'up island ' ?"
"Nuthin Martin J. has got rheumatis,
Lyman K. has dropsy, and Luther John's took a
stroke ; 'sides that, all's pretty smart 'round
Squibnocket. "
This is away Islanders have of designating in-
dividuals of the same given or surname, the initial
or middle name being more distinctive, where every-
body knows everybody, and families are so mixed
by intermarriage.
THE SEA LETTER 135
" Any berries this year, Tim ? "
" Blue and huckleberry are most gone. Black-
berries '11 be heavy comin' right out of the sand
at Long Beach 'sides, woods is full o' grapes.
I 'spect to make a hogshead of wine. Give 'way
consid'rable. Folks is always ready to take a bot-
tle o'wine. "
"How's Mrs. Kootenay gettin' on?"
" Slowly ; Doctor says there'll be a squall in
'bout two months."
"Ha! ha! 'spose she'll have Dr. Fussle
again. "
"Yer, says she don't want no strange doctor
foolin' round."
"Well, doctors are pretty much the same,
only we have our likings ; but, while she's sending
all the way to Katamy over those sandy roads, the
neighbors will take the job out of his hands."
"Your head's allus level, Mrs. Oliver that's
what we all think at the corners, but wimin is ob-
stinite and no mistake. Cap'n's all right, I
s'pose?"
"Yer; sound's a dollar."
"Wall, I must be startin' Mornin', Mrs.
Oliver Mornin', Mister I'll be 'long agin next
week. "
"Good-morning, Tim", and he mounted his
cart and went down the street blowing his horn.
"Queer customer, Mrs. Oliver," remarked
Delano. .
"Yes; lots just like him down at the Head."
136 THE SEA LETTER
"Is it pleasant to live here during the winter,
Mrs. Oliver?" asked Delano.
"Not so very. Lots of folks go away during
the cold months like the robins and blackbirds,
and ther's a kind of shet-up look to the neighbor-
hoods. We have societies, whose members reside
all over the island and meet in the different towns
quite often ; and churches to keep the women busy,
when they ain't doing their housework and helping
the men with their affairs.
" The men are kinder busy too with their as-
sociations and clubs, and there's lots of chances to
show a winter bonnet at a cake-sale, bean-supper,
charity fair, concert or banquet. "
" Have you good stores, or do you buy in
Boston?"
"We do most of our trading here and benefit
by the sharp competition. There are about 5000
inhabitants scattered around the island, and many
vessels come into the harbor for supplies. The
2 5000 people, who visit Capawock every season,
fill up the cottages, boarding-houses and hotels
and help all kinds of business. If it were not for
them, I guess there'd be an emigration of Island-
ers."
The old captain consulted with his wife about
going on a cruise in September, 'and she consented
reluctantly and consoled herself by saying,
"Better then than later, 'cause ther'll be a right
smart lot of folks still lingerin' here, and we shan't
THE SEA LETTER 137
be lonely as we'd be later on ; then 'taint like he
was goin' to the Arctic for whales, as he used to do.
What with scarcity of whales, bad luck in gettin'
fastened and killin' 'em, freezin' in the floes, and
bein' crushed in the packs, a body couldn't tell
whether one was a wife or a widder. But a little
sailin' party up to Maine is different, and I s'pose
he might as well go, if he's paid for it. We'll
manage to git along some how, but who's to make
the fires, dig clams, catch fish and look after the
boat, the Lord only knows. S'pose we'll have to
git one of them Portuguese, what' soverrunnin' the
island, and takin' all the work and bread out of
poor folks ' mouths. "
The good wife went into the house, gathered
up the quilted cushions laid over the window-sills
to absorb the rain, which had driven in beneath
the well worn sash for an early shower had fal-
len wiped all the moisture away with a towel,
wrung out the cushions in the kitchen sink, and
hung them by the stove to dry.
Mrs. Oliver was about sixty years old and had
been a sailor's wife for forty of them. She was a
round faced, buxom woman, who found time in ad-
dition to doing her housework to cultivate all the
beautiful flowers about her home.
Delano was so tired that he spent the after-
noon in his room fast asleep, and it was dark before
he awoke and went to supper. His friends had all
departed for the band concert, and he was glad to
138 THE SEA LETTER
be rid of the necessity of conversation, and of main-
taining the alertness of mind and courteous
manners expected of a young gentleman in society.
He lighted a cigar and seated himself to the left of
the hotel entrance upon the piazza, where the
bachelors and old fellows congregated, and took solid
comfort, letting his mind wander from person to
person, event to event and place to place, as he
looked dreamily at the sky and sea and rested.
When the people returned from the concert,
his gentlemen friends left the ladies and swooped
upon him in a crowd.
" I'll be confounded ! if here isn't Delano
mooning away, as if he were in love. Where the
deuce have you kept yourself all this time, old
man?" demanded Sanders.
"Hullo! fellows; been to the concert?" was
his greeting.
"Yes, of course; had to look after the ladies, "
replied Thompson.
" I suppose they got along well enough before
you arrived here ? "
"Not exactly. They say it was frightfully
dull, and our arrival saved the season," answered
Mac.
" Of course ; no one to play tennis and golf
and ride a bike with them," added Young.
" Or to talk botany, biology and astronomy, "
continued Atkins.
THE SEA LETTER 139
" You are a generous set. You are not seek-
ing your own pleasure, of course?" sneered Delano.
"That's what we are here for Give me a
match, please," said Atkins, "I'm dying for a
smoke. "
They lighted cigarettes, cigars and pipes and
soothed themselves as they talked.
"Really, Delano; where have you kept your-
self all day? Are you under the weather?" asked
Thompson.
" No, only beastly tired. I've been on the go
ever since we arrived, and I took a loaf and a nap
to even up. "
"That is right. Some people never work so
hard as when they are playing. There's mighty
little re-creation in such conduct."
"That is about what I told Miss Palmer this
morning. She has been rushing athletics until
her spirit is fagged."
" I thought she never looked better. "
" O, she looks well enough, but will have a
sick spell, if she doesn't hold her horse."
"I should be very sorry." This was said
feelingly, and Thompson looked out upon the har-
bor and remained silent.
Delano looked at him keenly a moment and
blew rings of smoke carefully. He wondered if
Thompson was in love with Gabrielle ? What did
it concern him if he were ? He had assumed a
guardianship and talked in a brotherly way, but he
140 THE SEA LETTER
had never acted like a lover. She was free to accept
the attentions of anyone. She had too much spirit
to pine after him, if he remained silent. These
thoughts passed through his mind rapidly, and he
felt a pang of self-reproach and of jealousy. Jeal-
ousy is often an incentive to action and an awak-
ener of passion.
"What a motherly soul Mrs. Conant is,"
remarked Thompson, breaking the silence.
"What makes you think so?"
' ' She came over to the park to-night with an
extra wrap for Laura because the air became a
trifle misty and cool. "
"One always values a solitaire more than a
cluster."
"Laura is not a rough diamond by any means,
and her mother would not be a disagreeable mother-
in-law. "
"Are you meditating matrimony?"
" No ; only philosophizing. I'll let you know
in time. "
"Such considerations are dangerous. "
" Mrs. Palmer seems to be a very amiable and
sensible woman."
"What the dickens is Thompson thinking
about?" muttered Delano; then, "She is an ed-
cated, re fined, handsome lady I thought you had
met her in New York society. "
"No, only here. I am slightly acquainted
with the doctor,"
THE SEA LETTER 141
" He's a jolly fellow and likes a good dinner as
well as an amputation. "
" Laura says her father is coming down Sat-
urday."
"You were with her then this evening? "
"Yes, awhile. Mac took her and Flossie out
in your trap I preferred to walk with Miss
Palmer. "
"A fair exchange."
The other fellows were chatting away and
didn't hear connectedly what these two men had
been saying, though they interrupted them often
by questions and appeals to their judgment.
"I hear you were out driving this evening,
Mac, " said Delano.
"Yes; I took Laura and Flossie in the trap to
the concert and then to West Chop. The girls en-
joyed it very much."
" I suppose Laura felt neglected with Flossie
and you."
"Stop your chaffing, Delano; I am 'heart
whole and fancy free. ' '
"There never was such a man!"
Delano felt for some reason neglected and out
of harmony with his friends. A great responsi-
bility seemed to oppress him. Was the strange
secret a burden to his spirit? Or did he realize
now for the first time that he was interested in two
young ladies and might be forced to make a decis-
ion between them? He was annoyed that he
142 THE SEA LETTER
could not be gay and gallant like the other fellows,
and piqued that they had enjoyed themselves so
much without him. It hurts one's vanity, as
much to realize he is little missed from a social
gathering, as it does to know he is de trop.
Was he really in love ? Whom did he prefer ?
Which was his affinity ? He did not care to ana-
lyze the characters of the ladies. He could not
weigh talents, compare temperaments, or think of
the enduring qualities necessary for happiness in
the conjugal state. Experienced and elderly peo-
ple advise such foresight, but Cupid twangs his
own bow-string. If prudence induces criticism,
reasoning ceases when the susceptible one catches
a flash from bright eyes, a classic pose of a
head, a wave of a shapely hand, or the gentle
curves of the form divine. Instincts are ever in-
terfering with intellectual processes; passion and
reason are frequently at war,
"And beauty leads us by a single hair."
Beauty led Delano captive. He admired
Gabrielle's independence, he liked Laura's timid
confidence ; but reflection had not enabled him to
choose between them. He recognized Thompson
now, as a rival. He could not blame him for fol-
lowing his natural inclinations, but he felt a little
resentment that he should be the one to disturb his
own serene inertia. He knew Thompson wasade-
THE SEA LETTER 143
sirable life companion for any lady. Though he
continued to banter and flirt with Laura, Delano
thought he detected a tender regard for Gabrielle.
Thompson should choose Laura, as their temper-
aments were contrary, like those of himself and
Gabrielle. A union of opposites has long been re-
garded by a majority of the people, as most likely
to insure the greatest happiness.
Many persons believe, on the contrary, that
the doctrine of similars is true in love, as it often
is in curing disease, and that the greatest happi-
ness comes from a union of similar temperaments.
Was Thompson in the same dilemma as Delano,
allured by golden tresses and a perfect savoirfaire,
and, also, enthralled by fluffy curls, artlessness
and esprit? Evidently he was, and the bondage
was so delightful, he did not hasten to free him-
self. The summer was waning fast ; Delano was
dangerous, and he must soon make his choice. He
asked himself, if true love could be so undecided.
Where was that over-powering affinity of Delano's,
that would surely point the way?
Both Thompson and Delano began to believe
they were in love, and all they had to do was to
make a choice. Man's vanity and imperious na-
ture are apt to warp his judgment in affairs con-
cerning women, who appear quiet as mice and
gentle as doves, though they do considerable think-
ing about human problems.
CHAPTER XI.
It was threatening rain; the wind was cool
from the northeast, and our summer girls had de-
cided to forego bathing and be industrious the whole
forenoon. They were gathered upon the piazza,
winding split zephyr, braiding skeins of silk, crochet-
ing point, embroidering doilies, mending gloves
and chattering with each other and surrounding
friends. Delano went over to the hotel and joined
them in time to hear about a ride to Indian Hill,
which Vic. had taken the previous day.
"We went out the State highway to a bend,"
said Vic, "continued by a dirt road, passed a few
houses of Davistown, and climbed the hill to the left.
This is a continuation of an abrupt ridge 261 feet
high, covered by grass, bushes and boulders, and
the views from the top are magnificent."
"We must have a picnic there some day,
girls," said Gabrielle. "Many people around the
hotel have advised an excursion there, as the great
plains of the central and southern portion of the
island, and the range of hills along the northern
shore present many beautiful pictures."
THE SEA LETTER 145
" That is true, " added Mac, " and it is the
best place to find Indian arrow-heads hereabouts."
" You remind me of a story, " remarked May.
" It is an Indian legend entitled ' Love and
Treason.'
" The Indians of Capawock and Nantucket
were enemies and often made attacks upon each
other. Wintuck, a young brave of the former is-
land, was fishing in Muskeget's rapid currents
and a storm drove his canoe to Nantucket, where
he was hospitably received and permitted to de-
part in safety, though he had violated faith by
becoming affianced to the Chief's daughter.
"His tribe planned an expedition against the
Nantuckets, the war-canoes were drawn up in
line, and the warriors were about to land, when
they were astonished to find the wily foe in ambush
along the shore, prepared to annihilate them with
arrows and spears. They retreated and paddled
home again before sunrise, chagrined and astound-
ed at the preparations of their enemies, and for
a long time wondered how they had been fore-
warned.
" Peace was finally declared between the
island tribes, and they were drawn closer together
by the marriage of Wintuck, of Chappaquiddick,
and Miaca, the daughter of the Nantucket chief.
Then the dusky bride revealed the secret. She
told of the betrothal, when Wintuck had been
cast upon the island by the gale, and declared
146 THE SEA LETTER .
that her lover to warn her of danger had racep
over the shoals of Tuckernuck and Nantucket, dur-
ing low tide, and, run splashing and dashing back
through the rising flood and dangerous rips to
Chappaquiddick without his absence having been
discovered by his tribesmen.
"Thus love and treason were rewarded."
" Capital ! " declared Mac, as the hearers all
applauded.
"The Indian runner must have had as long
legs as Maushopeto promenade over the shoals."
" You should not be too critical concerning
legends," said Atkins.
"A woman gave away the secret as usual,"
growled Sanders.
" Yes, after there was no longer necessity of
keeping it, mister, " retorted Flossie.
The friends went sailing in Ike's cat-boat in
the afternoon over to Woods Hole, along Naushon
to Tarpaulin Cove, and back around West Chop.
As the boat moved slowly through the Cove,
Thompson related an event of the war of 1812.
" Tarpaulin Cove is a deep indentation of the
southeast coast of Naushon Island ; there is a light-
house upon its southern point, and many vessels
anchor inside to escape adverse tides and winds.
The inhabitants of Capawock and the Elizabeth
Islands were hostile to the English in the war of
1812, and a British man-of-war schooner lay at an-
chor in the cove.
o
I
U
I
h
THE SEA LETTER 147
" An old sea captain of Vineyard Haven had
a sloop, which he ran as a packet to carry supplies
to and from New York. He had reached Woods
Hole on a return voyage, when the enemy learned
of his presence, and sent a boat load of armed men
and captured him. The cargo was confiscated, and,
being a non-combatant, he was allowed to depart
with his empty vessel. Instead of returning to the
Haven, he sailed to Falmouth, and found Capt.
Jenkins and sixty American militiamen spoiling
for a fight with the Englishmen. They put two
brass cannon upon an old sloop; piled her deck
with wood, concealed the men below, and sailed
against the enemy at night. The schooner was
discovered at anchor, and the armed sloop crossed
her stern and anchored near her. An officer hail-
ed, ' Sloop ahoy ! What vessel is that ? '
" Jenkins answered, * The Betsy, of Nantuck-
et'! He knew the English and Nantucket people
were friendly, and hoped to throw Captain Potter
off his guard. The latter ordered a lieutenant to
board and examine her, but he suggested caution
for fear of the craft having powder on board, and
Potter, somewhat nettled at the hesitation, which he
thought due to cowardice, went himself. He
asked Jenkins some questions about Nantucket,
which exposed his ignorance of events there,
and warned him he was being deceived by a
Yankee trick. He was trapped, but courageous;
he aimed his pistol at Jenkins and pulled the
148 THE SEA LETTER
trigger, but fortunately it missed fire. Jenkins
drew his cutlass, called upon the captain to
surrender, stamped his foot, and brought up
his men in a rush. Potter was put in irons and
hustled below, as he shouted to his lieutenant
to set fire to his vessel and blow up the mag-
azine. The Americans put the sloop along-
side the schooner and captured her before the
English could repel boarders. The lieutenant ex-
cused himself for not obeying orders by saying,
' I had too much regard for the number of my
mess.'
" The schooner was brought to Woods Hole
and the crew imprisoned at Falmouth. Captain
Isaac Winslow, of the captured sloop, Old Kite,
called to see Potter in prison and said, ' Captain
Potter, things are mighty uncertain in this world
yesterday I was your prisoner, and to-day you
are ours ; and I guess you'll not bother any more
boatmen this year.' He recovered two-thirds of
his cargo, loaded his sloop and sailed home, sing-
ing,
< O Potter ! poor Potter !
Potter's run his glass.
O Potter ! poor Potter !
For Jenkins's got him fast.' "
The company laughed and applauded enthusi-
astically.
THE SEA LETTER 149
" Rather a one-sided story, I should say, "
commented Atkins. English sailors never give up
a ship in that fashion, as we know from the history
of the bloody naval battles of that war."
" The story illustrates the fearlessness of dan-
ger and eagerness for reckless adventure charac-
teristic of Yankees," remarked Helen.
" The same Old Kite was wrecked during a
gale in the Haven only a few years ago, and the
captain's descendants live in his old house in the
valley," added Isaac respectfully.
" That is another historical point for my note
book, " said Vic.
The breezes freshened off the Chop and a
great wind gust forced the boat around broadside
and caused her to heel dangerously. She came by
the wind quickly and the panic that had arisen
amongst the ladies subsided. Then Ike called the
passengers farther aft in the standing-room, drop-
ped the peak of the main-sail, kept away, and ran
smoothly and safely around the point into the har-
bor. Ike handled the boat skilfully, and said a cat-
boat was easily forced around by pressure of wind
in the peak of the sail, especially if she be ballast-
ed too much by the head. " Most persons think
they can sail a boat, " said he, " but the drowning
accidents in the papers every day contradict them.
It requires a quick eye, a strong arm, a knowledge
of seamanship and good judgment. Then 'tain't
so dead easy."
ISO THE SEA LETTER
"You are right," affirmed Delano. "Thereis
quite as much risk as romance in sailing, and one
cannot manage a girl and a sailboat at the same
time."
" We are all learning how to sail, Mr. Delano,"
said Vic. " Look at our faces and hands, tanned
like Russia leather."
" Tan isn't evidence, but we'll concede you go
boating," answered Atkins, as the party landed
and went to supper.
Delano proceeded to his room afterwards and
the captain soon came in smiling and happy.
"Any news, Captain ?" Delano asked.
" Yes, good news ; Alice says I can go, and Mr.
Lowley writes about several good craft he thinks
we could charter. They are just beginning to haul
out and strip for the winter, but here's his letter."
" Good enough, old man. " Delano took the
letter and read : "'Thereis a thirty-footer, forty
feet over all, nine feet beam, seven feet draft ;
5,000 Ibs. iron on keel, looolbs. lead inside; flush
deck, skylight, cockpit, cabin with four berths,
transoms and table; forecastle, with two hammocks,
naptha stove, lockers and dishes; hatch and sail-
room in run ; cutter rig ; two anchors and chains,
one ten foot boat, and an excellent outfit. Can be
chartered for fifty dollars a month. Is in first
class condition, just returned from a cruise to East-
port. '
THE SEA LETTER 151
" That reads pretty well, doesn't it, Captain ?"
"Yes, a plaything for some rich man, I sup-
pose."
" * One forty-footer ; ' Um ! Too large.
" ' One, thirty-six feet water line, fourteen feet
beam, four feet draft, sloop rig;' Will not do;
too much of a skimming-dish for deep water.
"'One twenty-five footer ;' Too small, Um!
Guess we'll run up to Boston to-morrow and look
them over; hey, Captain?"
" Aye, aye ! probably that would be the best.
It isn't safe to go to sea unless you're sure you've
got sound timbers in the kelson."
They went away by the first boat the next
morning and, after a very enjoyable time looking
over the fleet of beautiful yachts at South Boston,
finally, selected the first vessel mentioned in the
letter, and carefully inspected the outfit. They had
the pick of several yachtsmen, whose captains had
hauled their craft out already, and shipped two
sturdy seamen for the cruise.
Frank Merangue was a tall strong man, a na-
tive of Maine, who had filled every position on a
coaster from cook to captain, and was thoroughly
acquainted with the islands, headlands and harbors
along the coast from Boston to Halifax. He was
engaged to do a sailor's duty, assist in piloting, and
take charge of the yacht when his superiors were
away.
1 $2 THE SEA LETTER
Robert Frizzle was an amateur yachtsman,
with a penchant for cooking. He was short, stout
and capable. He had learned seamanship snapping
on balloon-jibs and smothering spinnakers, racing
crack yachts about Massachusetts Bay, and ship-
ped to wrestle with the gasoline stove and have an
opportunity of seeing new cruising grounds. Bob
could mix a rum-punch, make a lobster-salad, or
climb aloft and sit upon the truck, with equal sang
froid. He anticipated wants, and, was always busy
until everything was ship-shape, when he would
sing odd songs and smoke his pipe alternately.
Delano and the captain held a consultation
with these two men ; made out lists of articles and
supplies for the voyage, and ordered Merangue to
receive and receipt for them, and see them stowed
in the lockers and transoms, where they would be
handy. The yacht Orinda lay well off the shore
in the deep water of the channel, and Delano sign-
ed a receipt for her, requested the men to get on
board before dark, and have everything ready for
sea as soon as possible. Then he and the captain
went up town, ordered the stores delivered next
day, purchased some things for personal use, and
caught the last train for Woods Hole and Capa-
wock. It had been a busy day for them, but they
had acted with the usual energy of Americans,
who knew what they wanted and how to get it.
THE SEA LETTER 153
There was a grand celebration of music, fire-
works and social festivities, the 3ist. of August,
to wind up the season. Lake Anthony was a blaze
of red fire, stars, serpents, fountains, bombs,
rockets and fiery figures : small yachts, covered by
flags and Chinese lanterns, filled the snug harbor
from the jetties to the causeway : the band played
upon a grand stand in Washington Park : the paths,
streets, groves and cottages were filled by a joy-
ous throng of well-dressed people; and long
lines of buggies, phaetons, surreys and traps were
occupied by the elite of the summer colonies. It
was interesting to see twenty thousand or more
people on pleasure bent, covering the hillsides and
the cottage piazzas, uttering " ahs ! " and "ohs !" at
the showers of colored stars, and swaying with great
waves of applause and enthusiasm at the close of
favorite numbers by the band. "It is little that
makes the glad laugh," and these merry people
laughed easily and often, and appeared to be very
happy. Long after the ending of the display and
the concert, the cottages, villas and hotels were re-
splendent with light ; the hills of E echoed back
merry greetings and ripples of laughter, and the
man in the moon exchanged winks with sweet
creatures in challie and tulle.
Delano and the captain had made several
trips to Boston, gotten the stores on board and all
preparations were made for sailing; and the yacht
was anchored off South Boston in charge of Me-
1 54 THE SEA LETTER
rangue. Their reticence and frequent absence had
caused considerable talk and curiosity among their
friends, but they were all soon to part and busy
packing and planning for home or other resorts,
and Delano was not pestered by many questions,
nor annoyed by drafts upon his confidence. It
was noticed that his manner had become hurried
and brusque ; his mind was filled with anticipa-
tions of the cruise, and he often read over the mys-
terious directions of the sea letter in the hope of
extracting more meaning than was apparent in its
phraseology.
This last evening he devoted to his friends,
and was as gay and gallant as any of his party.
They promenaded through the parks and along the
sea-wall ; watched the glint of moonlight upon the
water ; commented upon the costumes and the
conduct of passers-by ; took refreshments at the
cafe, and separated at midnight in joyous moods.
Delano talked sense with Gabrielle and nonsense
with Laura ; advised with Thompson concerning
his return coaching trip to New York, and in-
structed Jack about his dogs and horses. He
watched Gabrielle and Laura, as they walked arm-
in-arm along the hotel piazza, and through the hall ;
lifted his hat as they waved their hands at him in
adieu, and walked slowly and thoughtfully over to
his lodgings, where he and the captain talked and
smoked for an hour.
CHAPTER XII.
When the hotel guests were coming down to
breakfast next morning, Delano and the captain
were across the Sound upon the "Dude Train,"
speeding through the morning mists to Boston.
They proceeded immediately to the Point, sig-
nalled Orinda for a boat, and were taken on board
from the Boston Yacht Club landing-stage, where
Delano had right by courtesy through his member-
ship in the Marblehead Corinthian. They looked
over the pretty yacht, and were pleased with the
comfort of their quarters and the trim appearance
of the little ship. They put their baggage in one
of the after bunks; the charts, coast-pilot, log-book
and oil-suits in the other; Delano selected the
forward starboard berth and the captain took the
port one, and they arranged their toilet articles
and clothes in the drawers beneath. The sailors
had already stowed the stores and got their kits
into place in the forecastle, and Merangue report-
ed the cutter alow and aloft all ready for sea.
156 THE SEA LETTER
Bob rushed a luncheon and all enjoyed their
first meal afloat. Clearing off ; looking over the
chart ; noting the wind, sky, tide and weather
report, and some calculations of time and distance,
kept them occupied awhile : then they hoisted
the mainsail, ran up the ensign to the peak and
the South Boston Yacht Club signal to the truck,
weighed anchor, set the stay-sail and jib, and,
turning lazily around, began the eventful voyage,
which deeply concerned several persons of the
summer colony.
The gentle westerly wind stretched the
snowy canvas and tugged at the sheets, as the
yacht slid past Fort Independence, the bold bluffs
of Long Island, and Deer Island's treacherous,
tide-swept point, and when the sheets were
trimmed in, Bug Light and the Beacon passed,
and the gaff and jibtopsail set, she fairly leaped
over the tide-rips and billows of Broad Sound to-
ward the northeast. All watched the yacht's move-
ments with pleasure and interest, as they talked
of the shoals and reefs that threaten vessels bound
to Boston, and of wrecks upon "The Graves" and
"Brewsters." The bell and whistling buoys sound-
ed ominous, but the course was clear and Nahant
was soon abeam, a picture of gray and green on a
blue back-ground of sky and sea. Two hours from
the start Orinda was off the Beacon and Marble-
head Light, where she met a cloud of yachts com-
ing around the point, and they saw that races were
THE SEA LETTER 15;
in progress. There were forty or fifty white-winged
beauties flying over the courses, some upon the
starboard tack, some upon the port, and some
reaching and running for marks and stakeboats,
and Delano tacked and sped along with the lead-
ers towards Egg Rock.
It was a lovely racing day, the sea was moder-
ate, the sun shining golden, the wind westerly and
too strong for all sail; but some yachts dragged
their lee rails under water, and others flew along un-
der single reefs. The exhibition of many beauti-
ful yachts, striving for victory and exemplifying
every point of sailing ; the sparkling spray ; the
dainty dash of waves from Orinda's bow, and the
exquisite scenery along shore from Marblehead to
Nahant, gave a picture of genuine yachting, and
excited the liveliest interest and enthusiasm.
The race went along rapidly, and the yachts
were soon headed towards the point and around
into the harbor past the Judges' Boat, where the
Judges stood, watch in hand, taking the time of
crossing the line abreast of the Corinthian Club
House.
Orinda was anchored in midchannel beyond,
and her crew watched the finish and gun-fire for
the "Firsts" with keen delight. The harbor was
crowded with pleasure boats and yachts of all di-
mensions and description ; -a great multitude of
well-dressed people occupied the two club-houses,
the lawns, landings and hillsides of the Neck ; the
I5S THE SEA LETTER
Corinthian band was playing in the stand out upon
the rocky point, and the sky was flecked by rain-
bows of colored flags and signals of bunting upon
the vessels and buildings.
The racers anchored inside the line ; the great
fleet of marine birds folded its wings; decks were
swept ; ropes coiled and faked down ; supper was
served upon deck or below, and quiet reigned
awhile. The moon rose full and silvered the rip-
pling water ; yachts full of merrymakers were every-
where, and many sweet singers and musicians
were abroad. The windows and houses reflected
the numerous lights around; the club-house was
brilliant with colored Chinese lanterns and bursting
with music, and the sound of the surf was like the
humming of bees. The happy yachtsmen and
their friends listened and contributed to the music,
stories, shouts and general jollification, while the
fireworks upon the yachts and along the shore
paled the moonlight, and added brilliant hued stars
to the heavenly constellations.
The fun, noise and splendor continued until
midnight, when pandemonium burst open, as the
silvery sound of eight -bells was repeated by the
yachts around. Horns, whistles, bells, banjos, gui-
tars, flutes, bugles and drums, broke out in a din
that drowned all else and made early sleepers
weary. Then catcalls, baseball slang and golf talk,
mingled in the turmoil. But it became quieter, as
the knowledge that it was the Sabbath came to one
THE SEA LETTER 159
and another, or persons ceased from exhaustion
and sleepiness, though occasional shouts, horn-blasts
and laughter punctured the silence and pierced the
ears of the lighter sleepers.
Delano and the captain spent part of the
evening at the club; partook of the excellent re-
past set out for members and their guests, and
scrambled over the Neck looking at the illumina-
tions of the cottages. Then struggling through
the clouds of lawn, muslin, challie and silk on the
piazzas at the Corinthian, they found a quiet cor-
ner where they could see the people, the fireworks
and the moonlit harbor, and have a quiet smoke.
The captain was dazzled and delighted, and said
it reminded him of naval receptions in foreign
countries; but Delano, though pleased by the ex-
hibition, could not suppress a feeling of loneliness
and thoughts of the dear ones at Capawock.
They looked much and talked little until
eight-bells, midnight, sounded, when they went
down to the landing-stage, Delano gave a call up-
on his silver whistle, Orinda's boat came and took
them on board, and they turned in immediately,
after arranging for Bob and Merangue to stand
anchor-watch alternately every two hours until
morning. Such was the finish of the gala day,
and one of the successful races of the Marblehead
Corinthian.
The next morning the yacht was got under
way in a stiff easterly breeze, and threw the
160 THE SEA LETTER
sparkling spray over them in a dead beat to wind-
ward. The fine scenery of the North shore rend-
ered them oblivious to a little wetting and tumbling
about, and they anchored before sunset among the
fishermen and fish odors in the harbor of Glouces-
ter. The yacht was away at daylight, passed
inside Thatcher's Island and around Cape Ann,
with its seaside homes from Rockport to Halibut
Point, dashed through the Isles of Shoals, sailed up
the Piscataqua River, and anchored in Pepperell's
Cove before the village of Kittery.
It began soon to blow heavily from the north-
east, rain fell in torrents, and the four voyagers,
confident of their own comfort and safety, smoked
and spun yarns all the evening.
"It is lucky we came here instead of remain-
ing in Gosport Harbor at the Shoals," remarked
Delano.
"There is no luck in it. You mean we show-
ed good judgment coming here. A small craft
should be in a safe, land-locked harbor every night,"
growled the captain.
The gale blew itself out by daylight; many
vessels had crept in, guided by the foghorn and
lights, and the sea was heavy, but the captain
made sail and ran up to Cape Porpoise, where he
confessed before two days that luck had saved
them from destruction.
The northeast wind had commenced to blow
again; the inshore current was running strong;
THE SEA LETTEP 161
the sea was rising fast, and the sky and barometer
foretold bad weather. The narrow, obscure en-
trance to Cape Porpoise harbor appeared a wall of
woolly foam; the flag in the rigging for a pilot
attracted no attention at the light-house; Eldridge's
Coast Pilot warned of the many dangers, and night
was coming fast. They turned away from the en-
trance with dispair and foreboding.
"We must try Stage Harbor, though I do not
like its looks, for darkness is upon us," said the
captain decidedly.
"All right, Captain," replied Delano, and
they tacked ship.
"What is that?" cried Delano, pointing sea-
ward. "A dory ! Glory ! a belated fisherman
bound home. He can pilot us in."
The captain whistled and shifted the helm a
little.
"Can you take us into Cape Porpoise?"
shouted Delano, to the lone fisherman curled up in
oil-skins.
"Aye! aye ! foller right along arter me I'm
going in," was the cheering and cheerful reply.
Sail was shortened, the dory was followed,
and, in ten minutes, Orinda was swinging to a
mooring safe inside the narrow harbor. The fish-
erman pulled alongside.
" Bless you, Captain ! you have saved us from
disaster. What shall I pay you ?" said Delano.
162 THE SEA LETTER
"Nothin'; I don't charge nothin' fur helpin'
a fellar bein' in distress," replied the kind old
sea-dog.
" We are greatly obliged. Here take this,"
and Delano handed him a silver dollar.
"Thank yer, Captain. I'll bring yer a good
cod to-morror. I thought you mighty curragus to
beat up shore in a nor'easter and night comin' on.
Thought you wus goin' inter Stage Harbor. Knew
what yer wanted the minute yer kept off. Wall,
must be goin' hum to clean my fish," and the
grizzly-bearded, weather-beaten, old salt sailed far-
ther up the channel.
A thick mist and pitch darkness soon spread
over the landscape; it began to rain heavily, and
the wind blew a strong gale from the northeast,
which lasted thirty-six hours.
" Do you think Orinda would have weathered
the gale?" asked Delano of the captain at the end
of the second day.
The captain shook his head slowly and re-
plied, " I've got nothing to say against luck any-
more, sir. It was a narrow squeak."
The third day, after awalktoKennebunkport,
a pleasant run was made to Portland ; the fourth
day, the yacht picked the way among the lovely
isles of Casco Bay out to sea by Mark Island mon-
ument, and, passing inside Seguin Island and by
the turbulent currents off the Kennebec River,
X
h
THE SEA LETTER 163
entered Booth Bay and anchored above Squirrel
Island in the snug harbor of Townsend.
Away Orinda crept next morning to the east
in the glow of sunrise, with all sail set and colors
flying. Storm signals were up from Hatteras to
Eastport, and a fisherman had seen a sun-dog the
day previous. But the yachtsmen disregarded the
warnings, breakfasted off Pemaquid Point, shot
seal in Davis Straits and saluted the light-keeper at
White Head, as they entered Penobscot, one of the
most beautiful bays in the world. They ran gaily
past Owl's Head, as its lights flashed out upon the
water, and anchored in front of Rockland.
The sun-dog was a day too early. It rained
and blew a little next day, but they sailed up the
Western bay, getting water-colored views of Cam-
den mountains and Northport camp-ground on the
left, and a chain of fine islands on the right, and
dropped anchor at B , where Passagassawakeag
River mingles its trout waters with the sea.
B is an ancient place which was settled by
Irishmen, who assembled around its frog-pond and
fought for acreage. It was formerly renowned for
its fishing-fleet, ship-building, fertile farms, sup-
plies of produce, and strong belief in spiritualism.
Believers in occult science held at one period the
balance of power in politics, and elected city officers
by nominating spiritualists of the minority party.
Social circles were devoted to spirit-rapping, table-
tipping, receiving messages, trances, dark stances,
1 64 THE SEA LETTER
hand-grasping circles, emotional singing, weird
manifestations, and heavenly communications.
Men and women of hysterical temperament had
their individuality temporarily effaced and
their minds subordinated to those of Indian chiefs
and princesses, who had left their wigwams in the
" Happy Hunting Ground," and returned to earth
with secrets from beyond the veil. These came
from the lips of the white mediums in so called
Indian language, which was readily translated in-
to English by those possessed. The presence of
Indian spirits at a seance was a trump card for the
hostess who received, and was, compared to hav-
ing pale-faced spirits, like wearing diamonds where
the gems were scarce.
Educated and uneducated persons there con-
sulted mediums before starting upon a journey,
hunting for lost things, making an investment, or
consenting to matrimony; and mediums took an
active part (for fees) in the medical treatment of
disease; in fact, took charge of patients and dic-
tated the remedies to be administered, to the great
disgust and indignation of the regular profession.
Indicating places to strike veins of water, mines of
valuable ore, and buried treasures of famous
pirates, furnished lucrative employment for many
mediums, and set their patrons to digging, blast-
ing and speculating under secret oaths on moonless
nights. The craze spread all over New England. The
surface of that pretty country was defaced ; groves
THE SEA LETTER 165
were cut down, points disappeared, great excava-
tions were made, solid ledges were shattered, and
over all an uncanny, supernatural mystery rested
in a halo of exaggeration, curiosity and fear. Chil-
dren were afraid of darkness of seeing things at
night; wanderers abroad after sunset saw sheeted
ghosts in wash-clothes and sheep pastures, and
families were terrorized by unaccountable noises
about their dwellings. So excited and nervously
overwrought were many persons, that ill-balanced
intellects gave way, the Insane Asylums received
unusual accessions, and the number of suicides was
largely augmented.
Limitation of spiritual development, disap-
pointment, deception, and exposure of frauds,
brought a more reasonable state of mind in the
followers and fanatics after awhile, and many re-
turned to scientific analysis of phenomena and to
the bosom of the church. But there are ardent
believers in Spiritualism still, and one is liable to
meet them, and to learn of their divinations and
digging in out of the way places, just as the voy-
agers did, which will be exposed farther along.
Orinda left the little city of B , one morning
at eight o'clock, passed Turtle Head into the East-
ern bay in an hour, caught a glimpse of Castine,
rounded Cape Rosier and sailed through pictur-
esque Eggemoggin Reach before dinner. A dash
across Union Hall Bay and a rush through York
Narrows, brought the voyagers in sight of the
1 66 THE SEA LETTER
rounded cones of Mount Desert, which can never
be mistaken for any other land upon the coast. It
contrasts the sandy beach and dangerous precipice,
sunny valleys and dark forests, and purple heights
and satin clouds. It is royal in its apparel and
regal in its stateliness. Here, the mountains do
homage to Amphitrite, and her mermaids sing in
the caves of the overhanging cliffs.
The captain, piloted by Merangue, steered
along the shingle beach, around the bell buoy off
the Nubble, across the bar between Great Cran-
berry Island and the Stone Wall, and anchored near
the wharf in Southwest Harbor. Here they
were at last, ready to prosecute the search direct-
ed by the sea letter. They could see the narrow
passage between the Cranberry Isles, and Green-
ings Island in the entrance to Somes Sound.
CHAPTER XIII.
Delano let the crew go ashore during the
evening, and had a long conversation with the
captain about future proceedings. They decided
to remain at anchor a few days and ramble over
the island like any tourists, in order to allay sus-
spicion ; and it was wise, because the fishy eyes of
the natives watched their movements, and they
were discussed every night at the grocery near the
wharf.
Therefore, next day, they drove around the
shore of the harbor to the Stone Wall, examined
the hotels on King's Point, showed great interest
in the cottages and saleable house lots, and com-
missioned the driver to find out prices. The next
time, they drove over the hills, examined the shore
line, and selected a little cove beyond a small
mountain, as a suitable place for their rendezvous.
They drove to Somesville one day, made a careful
study of the hills and valleys along the Sound, and
had dinner. Somesville dinners were famous
among tourists.
1 68 THE SEA LETTER
Another excursion took them across the island
to Bar Harbor, and along the lovely shore of Otter
Cliffs and Schooner Head ; and they climbed
Green Mountain and dined at the Summit House.
They looked down upon a map of land and
water. Forests of pine and spruce fringed the
shore and buried the ravines, and Eagle Lake lay
like a sapphire set in emerald. The mountains
fell away north into the green meadows of Eden ;
the eyes ran sixty miles over woodlands, islands
and arms of the sea to the purple Camden Moun-
tains, and beyond, definite but misty, towered
Mount Katahdin, 1 10 miles distant.
Union Hill Bay lay to the west; Frenchman's
Bay, east, with Sorrento like a jewel at its throat;
Southwest Harbor and Somesville were like toy
Swiss villages, and the Sound resembled a thread of
silver in green plush. Vessels appeared like in-
sects with wings outstretched, and Cranberry
Islands reached out arms like an octopus seeking
food. Otter Cliffs, Schooner Head and Mount De-
sert shores, with beautiful villas upon every vant-
age point, were sharply outlined by the velvet sea ;
and below, almost at their feet, lay the gem of the
coast, Bar harbor.
A week had passed in exploration and obser-
vation, when the yacht was sailed into the Sound
and anchored in the cove behind the small moun-
tain. The pretty valley upon the north shore of
the promontory had a great hill on the east and
THE SEA LETTER 169
high beetling crags on the west, which shut off
observation from the harbor and main road
behind. The explorers pitched a tent in the valley
near a spring, built a stone fireplace, landed some
of their outfit, and remained ashore much of the
time, which was a great relief from their cramped
quarters upon the yacht.
Delano and the captain took the boat daily
and went along the western shore of the Sound
and examined carefully all its approaches and pre-
cipitous crags. The geological formation coin-
cided with the description in the sea letter, but the
shore was so overgrown with weeds, bushes and
trees that progress was slow and laborious. They
returned to camp with blue berries, blackberries,
clams and fish, which served to allay any curiosity
their long absences might have otherwise excited.
They landed upon the shore one morning,
where the bushes was very thick and the black-
berries large and luscious, and, as they pushed
their way inland, they were startled by the ap-
pearance of a young girl, standing upon a ledge
above them, who gave a frightened glance and
rushed back into the woods. The glimpse they
had of her black, tangled hair; restless, black
eyes ; thin, freckled face, and lithe form, clothed
in rough garments, gave them an impression of a
witch of the woods. They climbed the bank and
were suddenly confronted by a man, who carried
1 70 THE SEA LETTER
menacingly a large stick, and gruffly demanded
what they were doing there.
"Merely gathering blackberries," answered
Delano pleasantly.
" But you have no right to land here ; this is
God's-acre, and is in my care," said the stranger,
as he towered above them and handled the club
uneasily.
He was a strange character to meet in such
an out-of-the-way place, and they looked him
over critically. He stood erect about six feet;
his body was well proportioned, and his head was
covered by a panama, which he removed to wipe
his forehead for he had evidently hurried to bar
their progress. His head was rather wide at the
base, full behind and over the eyes, sloped back-
ward from the frontal prominences, and rose in a
high dome above. Silvery-gray hair clustered
around his partly bald crown and hung in long
locks to his shoulders. The whiskers were the
same color, worn full, and reached the middle of
his breast, and his long mustache was nearly black.
His black eyes were shaded by thick eyelashes
and shaggy eyebrows, and seemed to look inde-
pendently each side of his aquiline nose, which
gave an impression of impertinent penetration, or
haughty defiance. The lips were full and cut
sharply as in a statue ; the ears were well-shaped,
and the rounded chin and strong neck were partly
hidden by hair.
THE SEA LETTER 171
Indeed, he was a hairy hermit; but the fine
quality of his tattered garments, seen between the
folds of a cashmere dressing-gown, which envel-
oped him from chin to toes ; the shape and fineness
of his dilapidated boots ; his fluent speech, and im-
perious self-possession, were proofs that he had
been formerly a man of ample possessions and
political importance elsewhere than in the wilder-
ness where they had found him.
"You will not go ?" asked he fiercely.
"Yes, we will go," said Delano, looking at the
captain, and moving towards the boat.
" Nay, you shall not go!" shouted the hermit,
running around in front of them and flourishing
the stick.
"Then we will stay," replied Delano quietly,
though he felt his muscles hardening.
" You seem to be good men, and shall remain
and see my cabin and my daughter," said he, as
he threw aside the club and sprang up the decliv-
ity, beckoning them to follow, which they did
cautiously. Delano shifted his revolver into the
outside pocket of his coat. They followed him
back through bushes and trees, across a ledge, and
came in sight of a small log cabin in the edge of
the forest.
"This is my mansion," said he in a tone of
grandiloquence, with a flourish of his hand. "Here
I follow the mandates of my mission. You see
nothing your eyes are clouded in the flesh they
172 THE SEA LETTER
are not sharpened by spiritual intercourse you
cannot penetrate beyond the veil. Look at your
feet ! Do you not see those arrows in the ledge all
pointing in one direction? Mark the crumbling
stone where the cement joins near the north
side. Do you not agree those arrows were chiselled
in the solid rock for a purpose?"
The old man grasped their arms forcibly and
traced with his long index finger the fissures upon
the surface of the great mass of trap-rock, which
had formed the flattened ridge in cooling, and had
been eroded by centuries of running water and
chemical decomposition. He was enthusiastic, ex-
cited and fierce in his language and manner ; and
they were startled and anxious, as they caught
the wild gleam of his eyes and noted his swift pan-
ther-like movements.
" These are natural fissures in the ledge, and
they follow the trend of the formation," remarked
Delano mildly.
The captain looked on in silence.
" Nonsense ! young man ; they were cut by
human hands years ago. They point towards
the spot where a great treasure lies buried in the
ledge, covered by a cement so like the rock it is
difficult to determine any difference." He turned
upon them quickly and drew a dagger from inside
his wrapper, which caused them to step back quick-
ly, and Delano to grasp his revolver. " Have no
fear," said he smiling, "I only wish to bind you to
THE SEA LETTER 173
secrecy," and he held the weapon by the blade and
presented the jewelled handle, which was in the
form of a cross, to Delano. " Take hold of the
cross and say after me, I hereby and hereon sol-
emnly swear, that I will not betray the secrets of
this place to any person, as long as the explor-
ations are in progress, so help me God ! " Delano
repeated the oath. "Now kiss the cross." He did
as requested. Then the captain passed through
the same ordeal and winked at Delano. They be-
gan to believe they were associated with a lunatic,
but they were tumbling into luck. They thought
the hermit was working out their problem, and
were anxious to know how much he knew, and
what success he had had.
"Where did you get this dagger?" asked
Captain Oliver, as they examined its rusty blade,
and handle set with jewels.
"I found it lying in a crevice of the ledge,
covered by a flat stone, and pointed towards the
cliff yonder. Do you see anything remarkable
there?"
They looked at the perpendicular wall of rock
towering above them, discolored by lichens and
mosses, and shook their heads.
" Do you not see high up in that smoother
part the figure of a cross ? There, where the mass
of green bulges out of a crevice, and the vines
droop from the brink of the precipice ? "
i;4 THE SEA LETTER
Delano grasped the captain's arm nervously
and pointed to the cross. It was plain enough
after once made clear, and they were surprised
they had not seen it before, but smothered their ex-
citement at the discovery of another of the im-
portant guides mentioned in the sea letter.
" O, yes ; we see the cross now distinctly,"
said the captain "and the dagger was pointed
toward it ? "
" Yes," said the hermit. " I did not pick it
up immediately. It had stones placed each side
of the handle and the blade to keep it in place,
and I consulted the spirits and studied its position
some days before disturbing it. I noticed some
of the arrows pointed in. the same direction, and
then I knew the cross must be a guide to the
treasure."
"Treasure? Guide? What do you mean?"
asked the captain in a tone of feigned surprise.
" Remember your oaths ! There is untold
wealth buried here gold, jewels and valuable doc-
uments my guiding spirit says so I am going
to find it by spiritual aid I am working under
spiritual direction."
"Does anyone else know of this?" asked
Delano.
"Not a soul except myself, my daughter and
the spirits."
"How long have you been here?"
" About six months."
THE SEA LETTER 17$
The captain and Delano exchanged signifi-
cant glances. The hermit looked at the cross with
an expression both trustful and ecstatic, and they
all remained silent awhile. The west wind rustled
the trees upon the mountain side; gray clouds
swept in fanciful forms across the sky; the waves
murmured along the shore, and they stood upon
the barren ledge in the shade of the trees, contem-
plating mysteries, and awed by the supernatural.
"Cuckoo! cuckoo!" came from the forest
behind and startled them from their reverie.
"It is my daughter calling," said the hermit in
answer to their inquiring looks. " She is a regular
wood nymph and wild as a deer. Her mother is
often with us, though not in the flesh she died
years ago and Belita keeps our house. Come in
and see the cabin." He opened a narrow door on
the south side and they entered the log-house,
which had a roof of poles covered by spruce boughs ;
a board floor, and one small window in the west
side closed by white muslin. The logs had been
partly hewed and fitted closely together, so that
chinking was not necessary. The bunks were
built across one end. A plain board table, a
bench, a stool, a chair, an oil-stove, some tin-ware
and a few porcelain dishes, completed the furnish-
ings. A gold watch and some clothing hung
against the wall ; a double-barreled gun stood in
one corner, some fragments of coarse food lay up-
176 THE SEA LETTER
on a shelf, and a lot of old papers and books were
scattered around the only room in the building.
They sat down, and the hermit got out what he
called his " Spiritual chart," which represented
the coarse topography of the region and a sketch
of the surface marks upon the ledge. The arrows
pointed about north towards a round depression in
the ledge not far from the foot of the precipice
bearing the figure of the cross. They all went out
and walked over the surface of rock until they
came to a pile of broken stones around a cave,
which extended into the ridge and downward about
ten feet. Its upper walls appeared to have been
formed by nature and were brown and mossy, but
the lower part showed marks of the drill and re-
cent fractures. The fragments of stone around
the entrance had evidently been removed from be-
low by breaking and blasting. Indeed, a box
nearby held sledges, picks, shovels, drills, a quan-
tity of oakum, a funnel, a powder flask, pieces of
fuse, and some sticks of dynamite. The walls were
discolored by smoke and dirt, and the rock was so
dense, it had required great labor to penetrate its
mass. Nothing, except a hope of great reward,
and a firm belief in success, could sustain a man
in the tedious process of tunneling into it.
"Here," said the hermit, swinging his right
arm, "is my field of labor; in the bowels of the
earth, lie treasures beyond estimation. The spirits
say so, and they know all the secrets. By special
THE SEA LETTER 177
dispensation, I have been chosen worthy to recover
this wealth, and I shall again enjoy the luxuries
and social grandeur belonging to me by right of
inheritance."
The yachtsmen listened and looked around
them with curiosity and awe. The hermit's earnest
confidence in his mission, his refined and gentle-
manly manner, his foreign accent, the evidence of
great labor performed, and the union of material-
ism and spiritualism in the undertaking, impressed
them deeply, disarmed their criticism, and awaken-
ed respect for, and partial belief in, the hermit's
claims.
They.had come hundreds of miles through faith
in the sea letter ; followed its directions closely ;
found the ledge, the cliff, the cross and the cave
exactly as described, and could not but believe, they
would find . something valuable in the cell in the
north wall of the cavern. This was a reasonable
conclusion, and, to increase their faith, they had
encountered another person, who had not been in
communication with any of the ship-wrecked crew,
nor with any living person cognizant of the facts,
in possession of a knowledge of the signs and the
location of the buried treasure, which he had de-
rived from occult sources that he called spiritual
and others supernatural.
Greatly astonished at this confirmation of their
evidence and at the success of their exploration
thus far, they saw themselves confronted by ad-
1 78 THE SEA LETTER
verse conditions, which were as unexpected as
novel. The hermit had no legal claim to the land,
nor to the contents of the cave, but he was upon
the spot working and watching, and believed he
had a right of eminent domain confided to him by
the spirits. What man would dare question such
a title ? How could they, late comers, dispossess
this industrious, vigilant servant of the spirits ?
One thing gave them hope: the hermit, though
guided to the cave, had not been instructed as to
the exact position of the treasure, and had spent
his strength in efforts to penetrate deeper into its
bottom. If he could be encouraged to continue in
this direction awhile, and his spiritual aids did not
reveal the little cell in the north wall, they might
hit upon some plan to complete their task.
" The rock is very hard," remarked Delano,
examining a fragment.
" Yes, I am obliged to sharpen my tools very
often," replied the hermit. "The cement the pir-
ates laid over the chest is harder than the rock it-
self."
"Cement? Why, these fragments and frac-
tures show you are working in the primitive rock."
The hermit smiled and said, "You may think
so, but their cement was of Egyptian origin, and
had the power of internal crystallization after a lapse
of time. Don't you see the discoloration made by
percolating water, while the mass was contracting
and solidifying?"
THE LAST OF THE POKAXOKET INDIANS AT GAY HEAD,
THE SEA LETTER 179
" Perhaps How deep do you expect to blast ?"
" My instructions are to go about four feet
down and six inches horizontally towards the
north."
Delano was disturbed the spirits were not
far astray but asked, "Why did you commence
in the bottom of the cave?" It was a risky ques-
tion, but he wished to learn just how much the her-
mit and his spiritual guides knew.
" Because that is where the arrows point, and
the cement showed cracks in the juncture with the
rock."
Delano felt relieved ; the man was controlled
by reason, and was not entirely under spiritual es-
pionage. He would continue the laborious blast-
ing in the bottom of the cave.
"May I ask your name, sir?" said Delano,
suddenly turning towards the hermit.
" Certainly ; it is Lucas Ayllon, of St. Augus-
tine, Florida and yours?"
(" Caesar ! the name in our sea letter," whis-
pered Delano aside to the captain.) "Is Thomas
Delano, of New York ; my friend is Captain George
Oliver, of Capawock." They shook hands all round
and smiled pleasantly.
"We are on a yachting cruise along the coast,
and find this region so beautiful and agreeable, we
have determined not to proceed any farther east,"
remarked Delano carelessly. He thought it better
1 8o THE SEA LETTER
to explain their presence in such an out-of-the-way
place.
" An exceedingly pleasant pastime," said Mr.
Ayllon, who relaxed his watchful attention of them
and became more at ease. He thought gentlemen
of means and leisure only went yachting, and they
would not break their oaths, nor interfere with his
undertaking.
"We must go now, and should be glad to have
you visit our camp, sir," said Delano graciously.
" We should be pleased to show you the yacht,
sir," added the captain.
Ayllon thanked them and said, "You must
visit me again, gentlemen You are welcome to
our finest blackberries."
They saluted him as they rowed away, and he
took off his hat and stood on the shore watching
them. The madcap daughter had kept away, but
they caught a glimpse of her in a tree just beyond
the cabin, where she had been observing all their
movements during the interview.
CHAPTER XIV.
Mr. Ayllon went down to the camp one after-
noon in his boat soon after their visit, remained to
supper, and returned to his cabin at dark. The
gentlemen were agreeably surprised to find him
well educated, witty and philosophical. Every-
thing was serene, except when they discussed
spiritualism ; then their guest became excited, il-
logical and intolerant, and made statements widely
at variance with knowledge and experience. He
was a firm believer in spiritism and every kind of
spiritual manifestations, and had an intimate ac-
quaintance with mediums and believers in B ,
where he had spent considerable time. His guid-
ing spirit was that of a deceased citizen of the
place, and he had only to go into a trance, when he
could commune with spirits, receive knowledge
about the outside world, and influence persons to
assist him in his affairs. His trust never failed ;
his faith was sublime ; he did not doubt for a mo-
ment the active interest in him of angelic hosts.
The officers rowed over after blackberries
1 82 THE SEA LETTER
and assisted Ayllon with his work, in order to de-
cide how to get into the cave and remove the treas-
ure undiscovered ; as they were now convinced it
was securely hidden in the north wall. The blasting
was not done in a systematic manner, and it was
apparent Ayllon was not inured to hard manual
labor. Delano induced him to drill deeper and
explode large charges, and helped erect a winch
upon timbers across the north side of the opening
to hoist out the broken stone. This was protected
by a screen of tree poles, which leaned against
the timbers above, and rested upon the bottom of
the cave outside the place of explosion. It pro-
tected the winch from injury, hid the north wall,
and left an enclosed place behind large enough for
several persons to stand. Delano and the cap-
tain worked several hours a day with Ayllon, taking
advantage of every opportunity to examine the hid-
den wall. They scraped the dirt and vegetation
from its face, and searched by the light of matches
for cracks and cemented stones. They were
obliged to push aside several poles to get in, and
to replace them quickly when Ayllon or his daugh-
ter approached. One only dared enter, the other
remained outside to watch and warn. Once Ayllon
made a detour from the cabin to the shore and
returned unexpectedly by the cave, where the cap-
tain stood back to him, the poles pushed aside, and
Delano behind them with a lighted match. The
captain heard a footfall and gave a low hiss ; De-
THE SEA LETTER 183
lano came out of the opening, lighting a cigar,
pushed back the poles, and said coolly to Ayllon,
" Windy day, isn't it ?"
" Yes," replied Ayllon, unsuspiciously; "these
south westers are severe along the coast."
" And generally blow up a rain," added the
captain.
They discovered Belita, on another occasion,
looking down upon them from the top of the cliff,
but she could not see what they were doing. They
brought a candle, finally, inspected the wall closely,
and inserted the point of a knife in suspicious
places, Gray cement crumbled here and there,
and, at last, Delano found and traced an irregular
line up and across. His heart palpitated, his
arm fell shaking, he presented a pale face at the
door, and said in a whisper, "Captain, I have
found it. See!"
The captain sprang in and quickly verified
the statement. There, indeed, one part of the
wall was artificial, and gave a hollow sound when
struck. Ayllon and his child were behind the
cabin sharpening a drill, and Delano continued his
efforts until he had gone entirely around a roughly
outlined door about two feet square, while the cap-
tain watched him and the cabin. Then he took
the vegetable scrapings and dirt and rubbed them
over the knife marks, replaced the poles, and con-
tinued to drill in the bottom of the cave.
1 84 THE SEA LETTER
Ayllon invited them one evening to a spiritual
stance, and, as they were curious and skeptical,
and wished to please him, they were at the cabin
soon after seven, where they met Belita face to
face for the first time. She was a petite brunette,
with regular features, slender form and childish
manners. Her eyes were constantly in motion;
her hands and feet were always busy ; she could
not sit quietly a minute, and her unrest was a gen-
eral spasmodic action like St. Vitus Dance. Her
speech came quickly, her answers to questions
were jerky, and her boldness and impudence were
surprising. Though she was about seventeen
years old, she had not been to school; her little
education had been acquired through a housekeep-
er and her father. She wore a tattered woolen
dress with high neck and short skirt; her hair
hung loose in a soiled red ribbon, and her feet
were covered by gray stockings and heavy shoes.
After they had been introduced, she sat down and
blurted out, "What you come for ? "
"To spend the evening with your father,"
replied Delano.
" He doesn't want you," she said quickly.
" Belita, be quiet ! I invited the gentlemen,"
said Ayllon.
She pouted and kept muttering, " I don't like
you." This antipathy continued, and they recog-
nized the feeble condition of her intellect, but who
THE SEA LETTER 185
can say she had not an instinctive warning their
presence boded evil to her father?
It was a pleasant, starlight night and they sat
upon a bench out side the cabin and smoked and
talked for an hour, while the girl shifted around
and made her presence known like a cross little
dog in cold weather. Then they went into the
cabin and sat around the table, " to commune with
the departed," said Ayllon.
Their hands were joined in the usual circle
and Ayllon asked, "Are there any spirits present?"
Many distinct raps responded from the table,
wall and floor, and caused the visitors to move un-
easily in their seats.
"Who comes first?" he demanded, and sever-
al raps followed. "The chief?" Two raps were
heard. "That means no," explained Ayllon. "My
wife?" Two raps. "My father?" Three decid-
ed raps were heard, followed by others all over the
room. "That means yes. It is my father's spirit,"
said the host.
"What do you wish, Father?" The silence
was unbroken save by the quick breathing of the
guests, and a "to whoo! to whoo!" of a distant
owl, which rather intensified than relieved their
suspense.
"We must spell it out," said Ayllon: "a-b-c-
d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-1-m , three distinct raps for m, the
first letter. A-b-c-d-e , three raps for e, the
second letter. A-b-c-d , three raps for d, the
1 86 THE SEA LETTER
third letter. Med Do you wish a medium?"
asked Ayllon.
Three raps came quickly, followed by many,
and there was no doubt of the answer. "I am
ready." said Ayllon, and his face flushed, his fea-
tures became quiet, and the skin translucent. It
resembled a face modeled in porcelain, but mind
showed like the light of a taper through the mask
of mortality. He stood up erect and rigid, his eyes
were closed, his lips only moved, and he began to
voice his father's thoughts:
" Mortals in burdensome flesh, you seek vain
things and are beset by shadows. Spirits of evil
are abroad and good angels hover around to help
you. You think you wander and work alone upon
the earth, but spirits of the departed are continu-
ally present to guide and protect you. I see a
mortal approaching the Stygian river, who will
soon cross with Charon and join our heavenly host.
It has been decreed by higher power, and we bow
in adoration of Infinity. Yet a little while and
you shall have your heavenly reward.
"Beware! the stranger within your sphere.
Trust not the sauve speaker of platitudes, the pol-
ished manners of society. I see a storm cloud
gathering ; the lightning is lurid beyond ; the thun-
der makes the earth tremble. It bodes good and
evil. I know not its rewards and punishments. It
will seriously affect the family of Ayllon, already
THE SEA LETTER 187
so cruelly oppressed by fate. Youth will triumph ;
wealth increase ; age sink to an honored grave.
"The wind sighs in the forest ; the brook bab-
bles over the pebbles ; the waves beat upon the
shore, and the world rolls on among clouds and
fiery nebulae obedient to the King of Heaven."
Ayllon's voice died away to a whisper; his
face twitched convulsively ; his eyes opened with a
vacant stare that fled before the light of con-
sciousness, and the silence was broken only by
heart throbs and labored breathing. The visitors
were deeply impressed by the spirit's communica-
tion, which was full of poesy and prophesy. They
fell into the rapture of believers; seemed to feel
the presence of angels, and to hear a rustling of
wings; wondered who was descending into the
shadow of death ; recognized the warning against
themselves and their mission ; thought they could
explain the threatening cloud ; questioned who was
to be rewarded, and were carried away by emotion
into a dreamy contemplation of nature, angels and
Heaven.
"Are spirits present?" asked Ay lion again.
A storm of raps sounded all over the cabin and
awoke them from their reverie.
" What do they wish ? " Tumultuous raps and
trembling movements of the furniture responded.
The girl closed her eyes and became convulsed;
her muscles jerked frightfully an4 threw her arms
1 88 THE SEA LETTER
and head about ; her face took on an ecstatic look;
the motions ceased, and she began to speak.
" I come sweet Belita from the Spirit land be-
yond the stars to comfort my dearest ones and
lighten their sorrows. I sit daily with you at table,
and rejoice to see you keep my seat vacant. I bless
your food and watch that you are well supplied.
Spirits attend you during the labors of the day and
slumbers of the night, and the good work in the
cave, which is to glorify the dead and raise up the
living, goes on under spiritual aid and blessing.
"Though my earthly body rests by the rushing
river St. Johns, beneath plumes of pampas grass
and the feathery tufts of long leaved pines, my
spirit braves the rigors of a ruder clime, and com-
munes with my other self, my heart's love, my lord.
I bring heart's ease to you, and to that other bud of
my soul, wandering up and down the earth moth-
erless. Listen to the heavenly music; see the
bright, angelic forms around you ; feel the brush
of wings upon your cheek, and the touch of angel
fingers upon your hand. Doubt no longer, way-
farers of earth! Behold! Christ has opened the
door of Heaven. 'Come unto me all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 1
The young medium became agitated, yawned,
sighed deeply, opened her eyes, and collapsed into
her chair in a way that showed much exhaustion.
Absolute silence reigned awhile, bright hopes il-
THE SEA LETTER 189
luminated the countenances of the mediums, and
their friends were overcome by many emotions.
" Would you gentlemen like to ask any ques-
tions?" inquired the host.
" Whose spirit talked through your daughter?"
asked the captain.
"It was my wife, who died many years ago,
and is buried at St. John's Bluff, by the river St.
Johns in Florida," answered Ayllon.
"That is near Fort Caroline, is it not?"
"Yes, onaplantation that lies along the bank,"
said he, with some surprise at the captain's know-
ledge.
"I know the Bluff very well," said the cap-
tain.
"Will the spirits tell me where Gabrielle
Palmer is?" asked Delano in some trepidation,
though he had recovered from his emotional dis-
turbance.
Ayllon took a double slate, put a pencil be-
tween its leaves, closed it and handed it to Delano,
telling him to grasp it firmly with both hands. He
did as directed. In a moment, he heard a light
scratching, as if made by a pencil, during a period
of twenty seconds, then he was told to open and
read. He saw written plainly within, " Gabrielle
Palmer is at Watch Hill."
The captain uttered an exclamation. Delano
was visibly disturbed, but he tried again. "Where
is Laura Conant?" He used the slate as before
and read, " Laura Conant is at her home in Con-
necticut."
"Here, Captain, you try it," he said blushing.
The captain received the slate from Ayllon,
after he had cleaned it, and asked some spirit of a
relative to communicate with him. The pencil
scratched, the slate was opened, and he read this
message :
" George, you are far away from loved ones
and in danger. Your mother cannot say, if you
will return unharmed. I feel a warning, as I did
when your father went away in the ship Orient,
which was lost with all on board. I will try and
protect you from evil. I wished to communicate with
you before, but others hindered, and you did not
know. I will be with you and yours often, my
dear son. Your good life will have its reward.
Farewell for a little while."
The captain handed Delano the slate, and, be-
fore he had finished reading the message, fell
against the table, dizzy and faint, because he rec-
ognized his mother's spirit through the communi-
cation, which contained information he had forgot-
ten, that he knew no other person present could
know except by occult power.
"It is nothing," he said, as Ayllon gave him
water and he sat up erect again ; but Delano
thought they had seen and heard enough, and
moved away from the table. This broke the circle
THE SEA LETTER 191
and spell, and the spirits ceased their manifesta-
tions and departed with a few feeble raps.
Conversation was resumed, and Belita laid
the table and served cocoa and hardtack. One
place opposite the host was vacant, and he inform-
ed them his wife's spirit occupied the seat and often
manifested herself to them. The captain asserted
he had felt a touch of wings upon his cheek, and
Delano was certain an angel's hand had grasped his
fingers. They went outside. The starry heavens
had a new appearance to them. They groped no
longer in darkness. They recognized a new re-
lation between matter and spirit and began to
realize that, around, above and beyond, there was
another sphere where angels reigned.
CHAPTER XV.
Some nights after their unique experience,
Delano, the captain and crew, manned the boat,
muffled the oars, rowed quickly along the opposite
shore, crossed the sound, and landed silently in a cove,
where the great cliff towered above them and threw
a deep gloom far out from its base. Clouds nearly
covered the sky and but few stars were visible.
Delano ordered the men to keep quiet, remain by
the boat, and be ready to push off quickly. Then
he and the captain, talking in whispers, groped
their way through the dark forest until they arrived
at the great ledge and the cave.
Delano went behind the barrier, lit a candle,
and began to chip away the cement that held the
stones in the door of the small cavern, while the
captain took a position where he could watch
Ayllon's cabin. The former had secreted the
few tools needed during the previous afternoon.
He covered the hammer with pieces of leather to
deaden the sound of the blows, and worked away
THE SEA LETTER 193
on the obstructions until his arms were weary and
perspiration ran down his face. Then he went out
to watch, and the captain relieved him, and con-
tinued to remove cement and pieces of stone until
he was tired, when they changed places again.
Thus they labored until the thin wall was entirely
removed, and they had uncovered a piece of board.
This was pried out, and there, like an egg in a nest,
they saw a small, square box, bound with sheet
iron, and having rope handles, knotted and leather-
ed sailor fashion. They looked at the chest and at
each other. Both were pale, their hearts beat furi-
ously, and the candle light threw a sickly glare
around. They tried to whisper, but their dry
throats only uttered hoarse croaks.
Everything was quiet at the cabin ; the wind
sighing in the pines, and the hoot of a distant owl
broke the solemn silence of the night. They re-
moved the chest and set it upon the ledge outside
the cave ; filled the opening loosely with stone ; ex-
tinguished the candle ; put the poles back in posi-
tion, and clambered out of the cave. Then each
one took a handle of the chest and carried it quick-
ly back to the base of the cliff. Just then a shot
was fired from the cabin, and Belita in white and
Ayllon in dressing-gown, rushed across the ledge
to the cave, tarried a moment in observation, and
ran down to the usual landing by the spring.
But the boat was hidden far up the shore.
The bushes and trees around the base of the cliff
I 9 4 THE SEA LETTER
shielded the marauders, but permitted them to see
the forms of father and daughter against the sky,
as they crossed the barren ledge. Where were
their spirit guides when they needed them so much?
Were they in aereal conflict with other spirits,
allies of the captain and Delano?
In a few moments, Ayllon and Belita return-
ed to the cave, crossed the ledge and disappeared
towards the cabin. Only then did they venture to
go on with the chest. They picked the way cau-
tiously and noiselessly through the woods to the
boat ; placed the burden in the stern ; helped the
men push off quietly; rowed directly across the
sound to the other shore, and followed it until
abreast of the yacht, when they boarded her with-
out further precaution. The chest was passed
into the cabin, pushed into the run, and covered by
sails. The men were requested not to mention the
night expedition under promise of an explanation
later, and were set ashore at the camp, but their
officers remained aboard the yacht.
They slept late and did not go up to Ayllon' s
until after dinner, when they took some canned
goods and hardtack, which pleased and surprised
the old man, and he forgot to relate the night
adventure until they told him they had heard
shooting about 2 o'clock, and asked him if he knew
anything about it.
"Belita is a restless sleeper," said he, "and
I awake often and find her standing at the door
THE SEA LETTER 195
listening, or stalking around outside with the gun.
Last night she declared an owl became \*ery noisy
and she went to the door and heard voices ; then
she saw two objects by the cave which resembled
bears. She came in for the gun, awakened me,
and hurried out, but they had disappeared. She
fired into the bushes near, and we ran to the cave
and down to the shore, but did not see or hear a
thing except an owl crying, 'to whoo! towhoo!'
Who could be prowling around here that time of
night, and what could they be after? They could
not get the treasure out of the ledge with a single
night's labor, and the spirits would have notified
us of danger."
Ay lion had forgotten the warnings of his fath-
er, or remained unconscious of the matter com-
municated in the mediumistic state. Belita had
heard and should have remembered, though her
mind was not exactly sound. No doubt the rob-
bers had resembled bears, as they climbed over
the edge of the cave upon hands and knees, and
bent over to lift the chest. They had secured the
treasure without opposition from the spirits, but
had narrowly escaped the scattering shot from
Belita's gun. These reflections passed in the
minds of the guilty men, as they listened attentive-
ly and commented upon Ayllon's story, and they
felt uneasy under the restless, foxy eyes of the girl,
who watched their movements and caught every
word they uttered.
196 THE SEA LETTER
Delano proposed they should fill the drill-holes
of the previous day's labor and blast more stone,
and they took the tools and material and went to
the cave, which brightened Belita's countenance
immediately. Everything about the cave was as
usual, and, during preparation of the charges, De-
lano managed to remove the tools hidden behind
the barrier and mix them with the others. The
girl climbed into a tree behind the cabin, the fuses
were lighted, the men retreated into the woods,
and a double explosion sent fragments of rock fly-
ing all over the ledge. They hoisted out the re-
maining pieces, and resumed the laborious drilling
in the floor. The assistants showed as much ener-
gy and eagerness in the project as Ayllon, and
continued to work with him until sunset, when they
bade him adieu and returned to the yacht.
Delano told the men after supper, that a crazy
man was blasting a hole in a ledge upon the west-
ern shore, and would shoot any stranger who land-
ed upon the territory. That he had been fired at
while stumbling through the woods near his cabin,
when they had removed the chest, which contain-
ed some valuable papers that had been deposited
near the cliff. He had been afraid they might be
discovered by the new settler, and thought it wise
to remove them. This truthful, yet, evasive state-
ment apparently satisfied the men, and everything
went along as usual for a few days. They con-
tinued their visits to Ayllon and helped him in the
THE SEA LETTER 197
cave, and the crew picked blueberries on the moun-
tains and caught plenty of fish. The days were
bright, cool and bracing. Views of the camp in
the green valley, the pretty yacht anchored in the
cove, the deep blue sound with its reflected pictures,
and the autumn foliage in its Dolly Varden dress of
yellow, orange and scarlet, covering the mountain
side, filled their souls with satisfaction and delight.
Some of the most beautiful regions in the world
have been the scenes of frightful tragedies, and this
secluded beauty spot was destined to be brought
to the notice of mankind by a baptism of blood.
CHAPTER XVI.
Merangue was on anchor-watch at six-bells,
(3 a. m. ) one night, when he noticed a flash against
the face of the western hills in the direction of the
hermit's camp, and he called the captain, Delano
and Frizzle upon deck. Hardly had they rubbed
the stiffness and congestion of sleep out of their
eyes, and located the fire near the cabin, when
great flames shot skyward, a dull report broke the
silence of the night, firebrands and a shower of
sparks illuminated the face of the cliff, and then
all subsided to a dull red glare.
" Fasten the hatch and lock the cabin, Bob !
Haul up the boat, Merangue ! Captain, we must
hurry to the rescue poor Ayllon is in trouble,"
said Delano excitedly. They jumped into the boat,
rowed rapidly to the landing, and rushed over the
ridge to the edge of the forest, where the remains
of the cabin and several fallen trees were blazing
fiercely. The logs of the little house, pieces of
the roof, parts of the bunks and fragments of
furniture, were scattered over the ledge and in the
THE SEA LETTER 199
edge of the forest, with a tangle of broken and
prostrated trees around, smoking and burning.
They groped through the wreck and smoke, seek-
ing the occupants of the cabin, and found gun-bar-
rels without a stock, pieces of the oil-stove, crushed
tin dishes, broken crockery and other housekeeping
articles scattered around. They seized poles from
the cave, pried the logs apart, lifted tree-tops, and
scattered the burning rubbish that they might
search more carefully. Delano was frantic, and
rushed here and there, directing, examining and
working. During an upward rush of flame, which
lighted up the dark woods, the captain had a glimpse
of something upon one of the trees, and called
Delano's attention to it. They went nearer, and
sickened at the sight of the torn and mangled
body of Belita, burned into a brown and charred
mass. It was evident sh had been badly burned,
instantly killed, and thrown upwards by the
explosion.
They wrapped the body in bagging from the
cave, laid it back among the ferns of the forest, and
renewed their search for Ayllon, whom they could
no longer expect to find alive. Having explored
the ledge and forest around, they began to remove
some fallen trees behind the cabin, and came upon
the body of Ayllon among the spruce branches,
bruised and scorched, but clothed in the familiar
dressing-gown. His hair and whiskers were singed,
his outer garments were charred, and purple bruis-
200 THE SEA LETTER
es and a broken arm showed his participation in
the disaster. They removed the branches and
rubbish around him, dragged the body from its
leafy bed, and placed it upon a mossy knoll in the
light of the fire, which was crackling and roaring
in the logs of the cabin. Delano washed Ayllon's
head, replaced a flap of torn scalp, and arranged
his limbs he had listened for heart-beats and
breathing in vain then wet his handkerchief and
covered over the pallid face.
Thus they left him, and resumed exami-
nation of the debris, and consolidated the brands
and logs into a bonfire, which was cheerful even
amid its funereal surroundings. They were all
fatigued by their exertions and excitement and rest
ed, talking in low tones of the tragedy and making
plans for future guidance. The captain advised
sending the men to the yacht for overcoats, stimu-
lants and supplies, and breakfasting upon the spot;
and Bob and Merangue went and returned soon
with everything necessary for their comfort. Hot
coffee and hardtack refreshed them, while Frizzle
proceeded to prepare a substantial meal.
Delano walked pensively around smoking a
cigarette, and, finally stood looking down at the man-
ly form of Ayllon. " What a sad fate for a noble
man! Who and what was he?" he murmured.
Was he deceived, or did he see a movement of the
handkerchief over the dead man's face ? He fell
upon his knees and listened with his ear over the
THE SEA LETTER 201
heart. There was no mistake ; the heart was
fluttering back to life. He sprang to his feet and
shouted, " Captain, he lives ! he lives ! Bring some
whiskey and hot water, and a blanket quickly !"
The captain and men rushed to him with the
things demanded, and assisted in wrapping Ayllon
in blankets, bathing his face and hands in hot water,
and administering a few drops of whisky. He
choked a little and groaned ; then they gave him
some whisky and hot water, which he swallowed
with much gurgling and effort. The breathing in-
creased gradually in depth and the heart in strength
of beats, and the injured man moved his limbs
and groaned, as the broken arm fell useless by his
side. They gave him half a cupful of coffee, when
he could swallow freely, which immediately restor-
ed consciousness and strength. He opened his
eyes in a frightened stare, gazed inquiringly at
the anxious faces around him, looked towards the
fire and muttered, "My daughter?"
"We shall see about her after awhile," said
Delano.
"She is lost! I know it! I feel it!" he cried.
No one denied it, and he shuddered, and
closed his eyes to hinder the tears. Delano tore
his hankerchief into strips and bound up the pa-
tient's head with a wet compress ; rubbed the
bruises with whisky; bandaged the fractured limb
to an improvised splint; administered another dose
of whisky and hot water, and advised him to com-
202 THE SEA LETTER
pose himself and sleep, while they had breakfast.
Truth to say, they ate heartily, and enjoyed their
morning smoke more than usual, because they had
worked and endured much nervous strain.
Delano left the captain in charge of Ayllon,
who had fallen asleep, and went with Merangue in
the boat to Somesville, where he consulted the
leading physician, and made arrangements for bury-
ing Belita and transferring Ayllon to the hotel for
treatment. A wagon with mattress and blankets
was sent down the main road behind the cliff, and
the doctor accompanied Delano in the boat. The
injured man had slept most of the time during his
absence ; the captain and Bob had burned all the
rubbish of the disaster, and everything had a more
cleanly appearance. The doctor was shocked at
Belita's remains, and advised immediate burial.
He gave Ayllon a thorough examination, declared
he would recover with careful attention, and com-
plimented the friends for what they had already
done. The patient had recovered consciousness,
and was told enough of their plans to gain his con-
fidence and ready acquiescence. A stretcher was
made of a blanket and two poles ; he was carried
back to the wagon, and consigned to the doctor's
care, with a promise to visit him often at the hotel.
A camp was built of spruce boughs down
near the spring that the yachtsmen might be'more
comfortable in their self-imposed vigils ; Belita was
carried to the north end of the ledge and laid be-
THE SEA LETTER 203
neath a tree, and they took turns watching and
sleeping, with the bright stars twinkling and the
hoot-owl calling in melancholly tones, "to whoo !
to whoo!"
Delano awoke from a troubled dream and
heard the dismal sounds and shuddered. The call
seemed to appeal to him for an answer, and he
remembered it had the same significance, when he
and the captain had stolen away with the treasure
chest. While he could not perceive in their action
any cause for the frightful calamity that had be-
fallen his new acquaintances; the deception prac-
ticed and the robbery performed made him feel in
some measure responsible and guilty, and the pres-
ence of death awoke his conscience and reasoning
powers. "To whoo? you bad grammarian ! To
whom ?" he said. "To the owner, of course, the
treasure shall go, if treasure there be. Guided by
a message from the dead, we will do justice to the
living, when we know our duty through an exami-
nation of the contents of the sailor's chest. Until
then, cease your nightly brawling and sleep."
He arose, lighted a cigar and sent Merangue
to bed, taking his two hours' watch from 4 to 6
o'clock. He was uneasy and nervous; the snap-
ping of sticks beneath the feet of wild animals
reminded him of spirit rappings; the morning
breeze brushed his cheeks like wings ; his fingers
tingled as when grasped by spirit hands, and he
felt the immaterial presence of beings that he
204 THE SEA LETTER
could neither see nor touch. He had never exper-
ienced before such nearness to death, and was
shocked by its suddenness and brutality. He
looked upon the inanimate human remains, where
a soul had dwelt, and wondered if Belita's spirit
hovered near, or had fled to a happier realm, to
Heaven. He stood face to face with the great
mystery of the universe in fear and awe. The cry
from the forest startled him, "To whoo, to whoo?"
"To Jesus," he whispered, and turned away
and went down to the shore, where the lapping of
the waves soothed his troubled mind. It was the
only satisfying solution of the problem of death.
Boats came from Somesville after breakfast,
bringing many men and women, a minister, and
an undertaker, to perform the last sad duty to
Belita. The father had consented to her burial
upon the spot she had loved so well, in the forest
at the foot of the great cliff. Gentle women laid
her in the plain oak coffin ; and sweet village flow-
ers covered everything except the plate. The
minister read the service, " I am the resurrection
and the life, &c. ;" the ladies sang, "There are
angels hovering round;" and the yachtsmen lower-
ed the case into its narrow bed. " Earth to earth,
ashes to ashes, dust to dust;" the ladies sang
"Abide with Me," and a benediction ended the
impressive and solemn ceremony. Tears of sym-
pathy were seen upon many cheeks, and Belita's
terrible fate was universally commiserated. All
THE SEA LETTER 205
was simple, sincere, and heartfelt. Delano thanked
the villagers for their kindness and sympathy, and
they took their boats and rowed back home, while
Merangue finished the grave and set up a cross
that he had made.
The day of worry and distress was past; the
men sought the shore and built a camp-fire, par-
took of a bountiful supper, and smoked around the
blazing logs till late, exchanging experiences and
regaining their cheerfulness and nerve. The sun
was shining over the green mountains when they
awoke next morning ; they broke camp after break-
fast ; covered the new grave with spruce boughs,
and returned to the yacht and permanent camp.
Bob and the captain overhauled the rigging and
dried the sails, and Merangue rowed Delano up to
Somesville to call upon Ayllon.
He was resting comfortably, with his arm in
clean white bandages and splints, in a large room
upon the south side of the hotel. The sunlight
streamed through the windows, having muslin cur-
tains looped back by blue ribbons, and a boquet of
old fashioned posies upon the table vied with the
flowers of the wall-paper in giving warmth and
welcome to the visitor.
"You are very kind to come so early," said
Ayllon, greeting with his left hand ; " I trust sleep
has banished fatigue and refreshed your soul and
what about Belita?" His voice trembled and
tears rushed to his eyes.
206 THE SEA LETTER
"We kept vigil by her grave, Ayllon, and
everything was done as you wished by the kind
villagers and ourselves."
"And the place of burial? "
" It is at the base of the cliff beneath the cross,
and a wooden cross stands at the head of the
grave."
" I am very grateful to you and your good men
for the service which you have rendered me and
mine, and I wish you to thank them for me. How
providential, you were in the vicinity! Without
your rescue and attention, I, too, should have per-
ished and our family name would have been lost
forever. And the spirits Where were they?
How could they permit why did they not prevent
the horrible catastrophy? Is it possible they are
powerless against fate that they foresee and can-
not prevent disaster?"
" I cannot enlighten you, my good sir, having
seen so little of spiritualism and its practical uses,
but reflection upon the strange stance at your
home leads me to believe the spiritual manifesta-
tions are caused by some unknown attribute of
matter, which is influenced by minds exceptionally
endowed with magnetic power. We know some-
thing of the effects of mind upon mind that per-
sonal power, mesmeric, hypnotic, or spiritual ; but
the influence of mind upon matter is almost a
closed book. There is a realm beyond the ken of
our finite senses along the borders of which we
THE SEA LETTER 207
wander, whence come occasional manifestations of
power and phenomena inexplicable by the known
sciences. When we enter it, as the X ray pene-
trates solids, the veil will be lifted, and there will
be no more miracles."
"Perhaps" said Ayllon doubtfully, brushing
away a troubled expression from his forehead;
"but we are mortal yet, and I wish to know what
my expense will be here I cannot get any satis-
faction from the landlord."
"You are not to bother your poor, battered head
with such questions at present. The doctor and I
have arranged matters. When you have fully re-
covered, it will be time enough to discuss mathe-
matical problems."
Ayllon sank back into the pillows, relieved
and resigned, and closed his eyelids over tears.
Delano recognized his weakness and took leave,
after some cheerful remarks about his pleasant
surroundings and nursing, promising to return
next day. He had agreed to pay for the burial,
and had arranged with the doctor and landlord to
give the patient the best possible attention at his
expense. Though they would have done every-
thing necessary for his comfort and curing for
humanity's sake, the knowledge that Delano was
a rich New Yorker and would pay them promptly,
no doubt quickened their impulses and augmented
Ayllon' s comfort.
Delano visited the patient every day, some-
208 THE SEA LETTER
times taking the captain with him, and spent many
hours in talking, reading and sympathizing with
him. When recovery had much advanced, he
asked for an explanation of the explosion. Ayllon
said he was awakened by Belita rattling some of
the dishes, and asked her what she was doing that
time of night. She replied she couldn't sleep and
was making cocoa upon the oil-stove. The cabin
was warm and stuffy, and he arose and strolled
down to the shore and back again, stopping a mo-
ment at the cave. Just then Belita uttered a wild
scream ; he rushed to the cabin door, and saw her
bending over the stove surrounded by flames.
Before he could enter, the whole cabin filled with
fire, a loud explosion rent the air, and he was lifted
as by a whirlwind, and he knew nothing more un-
til resuscitated.
The oil had escaped from its reservoir, be-
come ignited upon the floor, set Belita' s clothes on
fire, dripped through the cracks to the store of
powder and dynamite, and blown up the whole
establishment. Why he had not been killed, was
a miracle ; and he wished he had been, instead of
being maimed and having his secret exposed to
scoffers and the whole world. The spirits had not
protected them, and he doubted the correctness of
their information, though his wife and father had
been the instigators of his undertaking.
It was apparent the shock and injuries had
cleared the hermit's mind, and he was subjecting
THE SEA LETTER 209
his actions and beliefs to logical analysis. No one
would detect anything abnormal in his mental
processes, though his emotions were easily excited
a condition readily accounted for by his years of
wandering and despair.
Delano could not remove Ayllon's doubts, but
he diverted his attention to other matters, read the
papers to him, and cheered him by his youthful
vivacity and hope, so that time passed rapidly
with him, and his sufferings were greatly mitigated.
CHAPTER XVII.
The perfect September weather at Capawock
kept half the summer visitors unconscious of the
flight of time, and bicycling, driving, bathing, sail-
ing and fishing were more enjoyable, because in-
dulged in more leisurely. The coaching party was
dissolved by the departure of the stylish outfit and
its intelligent bachelors immediately after Delano
left, and our summer girls were shocked into seri-
ousness by the sundering of affectionate ties, and
wandered in couples, exchanging hopes and fears
under solemn vows of secrecy. The gentlemen
had consumed so much of their time in excursions
and conversation, there seemed a lengthening of
days now, and they returned to their fancy work
and novels, to musing and castle building.
"Who would have thought the coach-and-four
would have left such a hiatus in our social circle?"
exclaimed Helen, who was frank to boldness.
"O, men are indispensable in everything ex-
cept afternoon teas," remarked Mrs. Conant.
THE SEA LETTER 211
" It was a queer freak for Mr. Delano to leave
his party and go off yachting so late in the season,"
said Vic.
"It seems so because we do not know his reas-
ons. They must have been important, because he
was so reticent about his preparations. Probably
he wished to take in Bar Harbor before the season
ended."
"Not very complimentary to us, at least,"
observed Gabrielle with a toss of the head.
"O, mamma, did you hear the news ?" cried
Laura, as she ran along the hotel piazza with a
paper in her hand.
" No, my dear, what is it ?"
"Something in the yachting department of
the Boston World listen to this" everybody
ceased work and listened eagerly: "'The Yacht
Orinda, Captain Oliver, with Mr. Thomas Delano,
of New York, on board, is anchored in Somes
Sound, Maine, where they have established a camp
on shore, and are amusing themselves assisting a
couple of spiritualists in a search for treasure, said
by a medium to be buried there. Lunatics have
been hunting for Captain Kidd's treasure up and
down the coast for a century, and we suppose they
will continue the search forever ; but, as no authen-
tic proof has been presented that Kidd left any-
thing thereabouts, what has never been lost cannot
be found.
212 THE SEA LETTER
" Isn't that funny? That's the best news
we've had about him since he went away," ex-
claimed Laura.
"What did I tell you, Victoria?" said Mrs.
Conant, with a significant glance.
"Hunting for treasure! He's rich enough
already. He'd better look after his cotton busi-
ness," observed Mrs. Ward.
" He ought to have written to some of us,"
said Gabrielle.
" 'Out of sight, out of mind,' my dear," re-
marked Mrs. Palmer.
" I do not believe the old saying. When men
have important business, society is a secondary
consideration. But you cannot keep a woman out
of a man's mind long. Memories of her are con-
stantly mixing up with all his plans," said Mrs.
Conant.
" If he prefers spiritualists and Mt. Desert to
us and Capawock, I've not much respect for his
judgment," added Vic contemptuously.
"He doesn't, you bet," said Laura.
"Laura!" said her mother severely.
"He seems to," declared Flossie decidedly.
"He hasn't treated his gentlemen friends any
better. Mr. Thompson wrote me none of the coach-
ing party had heard a word from him," continued
Gabrelle.
" Yes, they have Mr. Sanders wrote me, Mr.
Delano had written to him recently to ship some
THE SEA LETTER 213
provisions to Southwest Harbor the place where
the steamer calls nearest to his camp," added May,
blushing at the confession of correspondence.
"Mr. Atkins hasn't heard from him," said
Vic.
"Nor Mac either," murmured Flossie.
"Well girls, you have 'let the cat out of the
bag,' sure enough," said Helen with a healthy gig-
gle. " Your particular friends have not yet forgotten
their summer girls, by your own confessions," and
they blushed and laughed gently.
" Only Laura and I are neglected out in the
cold come and let us sympathize with each other,
Laura." She came and Helen hugged her and
kissed her blushing face.
"Wilson is too slow," said Vic.
"His letter will be worth reading when it
comes," replied Helen.
Laura confessed to her afterwards in confi-
dence, that she had received a note from Delano
in which he stated he was homesick to get back to
Capawock ; but supposed it would be too late when
he reached Boston, the summer girls would all be
gone, and he would see her when she visited Ga-
brielle, in New York, during the holidays.
"A whale! a whale! there she blows!"
shouted an excited gentleman on the north piazza
pointing towards Falmouth, and everybody left
their chairs and gathered around him. A stream
of water like a jet from a garden-hose arose about
214 THE SEA LETTER
ten feet and fell in a curve into the sea. This was
repeated several times, as everyone fixed his eyes
upon the spot, where the leviathan of the deep was
floundering. A rounded, brown hump rose above
the surface, moved along a few yards, and sank
down out of sight; only to reappear, go through
the same movements again, and shoot the water
skyward. When all the people had seen him well
with marine glasses, he left the sound and contin-
ued the show in the afternoon at Block Island. He
came into the Sound to the westward, and finding
the water warm and shallow, and too contracted
by the shoals of the Middle Ground, Hedge Fence
and L'Homme Dieu, gave his exhibition to the
summer guests and made for the open sea, shaking
his fluke in the air, as a salute to the Gay Head
Light-keeper.
"They come in here occasionally," said the
doctor, who had rushed out of his office at the
alarm ; " the landlord says, he arranges the visits
every season in order to keep the guests here
later."
"Just as others do with the sea-serpent," said
the discoverer of the whale.
"I saw a sea-serpent off Cape Neddick," ob-
served a yachtsman in the crowd.
" In your boots ?" asked one.
"Through the bottom of a glass ?" questioned
another.
"No! in the ocean It looked like a great
THE SEA LETTER 21$
log, projecting at an angle ten feet above the sur-
face. It changed position so fast, I could not get
a look at it with the glasses."
"It was a sword-fish I've seen lots of them
off Nantucket. That sloop in the Haven, with the
iron cage upon the bowsprit, is a sword-fisher. A
man stands in it and throws a harpoon. They
catch porpoises the same way. Whales were form-
erly harpooned from a boat, but they now shoot a
bomb-lance out of a gun. Steamers have replaced
sailing vessels, and long voyages are an exception.
One Nantucket captain was out three years, and
returned without any oil or whalebone. When
asked what was the use of such a disgraceful and
expensive voyage, he replied, ' I had a mighty good
sail, anyway."
The crowd listened and laughed and the ladies
returned to their rocking-chairs and fancy work.
The doctor had more leisure now and tarried with
them. Miss Dale had gone back to her school.
" With a breakwater, this would be another
Newport. It is situated in the right place for a
rendezvous when sailing east or west. Our yacht
station here would then grow into a magnificent
club-house, and we should have a crowd here all
summer," said the yactsman.
"Wouldn't that be glorious!" exclaimed
Flossie.
"Here comes Etheridge on his bike," said
Helen.
216 THE SEA LETTER
"Hullo! Skipper, what brings you to the
place where youth and beauty most do congregate ?"
asked the doctor; then he said aside, "I call him
skipper since we went blue-fishing ask him about
it."
The skipper was a good fellow, known to all
the party. They had met his charming daughters
at the Haven.
" Exercise and a new project," he replied
laughing, as he greeted the persons around with
great cordiality.
"What's up now?" asked the doctor.
"I'm going to paralyze lobsters by electiic
currents so they cannot nip when handled. Ho,
ho, ho! Ha, ha, ha!"
"The fishermen are, of course, opposed to this
innovation upon old time methods?" questioned
the doctor.
"Of course, but they'll come round the Old
Salts Club on Main Street are discussing the mat-
ter every night. It's lucky I sprang it. They had
tired of the November storm, summer swells, street
improvements, school regulation, and disposition
of garbage, and my idea cleared the smoke in the
club-room and revived the drooping spirits of the
minority."
"You had a fine time blue-fishing, the doctor
says," observed Gabrielle ; " I long to know all
about it."
"Fine time? I should say we had it lays
THE SEA LETTER 217
over every trip I ever made. We went off in Ike's
cat, at 3 o'clock, got around Cape Poge before
dawn, drew fresh eel-skins over the jigs, and threw
out our lines as soon as we arrived in the rips.
The boat fairly flew over the sea ; the line trailed
out astern twenty to tweny-five fathoms ; the jigs
pulled and jumped in the waves ; we stood holding
tight, believing the uncertain blues could not be
there, and we could not catch them if they were.
" Suddenly a tug, a straightening of the line,
almost pulls you over the stern ; it cuts and swishes
right and left, slackens for a moment, then becomes
taut as a bow-string. You pull hard and cut your
tender hands ; you draw in steadily and strongly
and the great fish springs above the foam-capped
waves, shakes his head sideways viciously to dis-
lodge the torturing hook, and plunges deeply into
the briny blue again, jerking furiously. Your hands
are sore, your arms stretched, your necktie is awry,
perspiration runs over your face and neck, but you
will conquer or die. Nearer he comes, his eyes
glaring, his mouth open, his body panting, and his
resistance more a dead weight than in the early
struggles. You become too confident and favor your
sore hands ; the fish dashes away with a slack and
tangled line ; he springs above the tide like a flash
of silvery light ; he dives down, down to the dark
bottom ; he rushes hither and thither in zigzags ;
he sulks, and seems to pull a hundred pounds.
You grasp the line firmer though it hurts, draw
218 THE SEA LETTER
him steadily nearer, and he dives beneath the
boat, but you turn his course, drag him alongside,
and land him upon the slippery floor.
"Caesar! what a blue gray villian! How his
eyes flash defiance, his jaws snap and show his
teeth, and his tail hammers the plank! Weighs
ten pounds if an ounce you sink fatigued upon
the seat victory is yours.
"A moment before you have thought of noth-
ing but fish and sea. The skipper slaps you on
the back and says, 'Well done for a landlubber!'
and brings you backto conciousness of other things.
You notice Ike smoking his pipe, holding the tiller
carelessly and watching the sail and rough water,
and wonder at his coolness. The other landlubber
your doctor is toiling over his line ; he pulls and
hauls and tangles it awkwardly; he sways and
staggers, as the boat pitches ; he chews his tongue
and watches the swishing, jerking line eagerly,
determined to land that fish or perish. The fish
plays the usual tricks, yields to the steady strain,
then dashes ahead through a white-cap, leaps into
sight, dislodges the cruel hook, flips his tail in de-
rision, and returns to his relations below. A dis-
gusted, demoralized, despairing look clouds your
friend's countenance he has lost his first case
he glances towards the skipper with a deprecatory
expression, and hears him say, 'There are as good
fish in the sea as ever were caught,' with silent
contempt.
THE SEA LETTER 219
"He draws in his line, spits upon the bait,
glances around the boat resignedly, and throws
his hook far astern. A fish takes it, his face
brightens, his arms work nervously, he pulls hard,
and lifts his silver majesty over the rail, dripping,
flapping and rebellious.
"'Bravo!' I cry, 'that matches mine to an
ounce two families will be well fed to-morrow.'
I unhook my prize, coil the line and cast astern
again, taking a position of expectant attention.
Ike rushes the boat into rougher water and a school
of fish; the boat dashes, slaps, sheers and plunges,
throwing spray all over us; the fish grab the bait
fiercely and we land them quickly ; the lines are
shortened to lessen the victim's play; we soon fill
the tub with a pile of sea beauties, weighing from
three to twelve pounds, and reel up our lines, fa-
tigued and satisfied.
"Breakfast, did you say? It is nine o'clock,
and we had been so excited it had been forgotten.
The nibbled hardtack during the sail over had sus-
tained us. Now we haul out the baskets, anchor
in quiet water, start the oil-stove, fry blue-fish
steaks, make delicious coffee, and have afeast more
relished than one at Delmonico's.
"Catching is not all of fishing,
Eating is part of one's life;
Fishing and catching and eating,
Sleeping and marrying a wife.
220 THE SEA LETTER
"We laid around deck smoking, talking and
watching the fleet of cat-boats that went skimming,
darting and jumping over the turbulent rips and
mimic seas like a flock of gulls. The boats were
sailed with consummate skill; the women aboard,
dressed in a variety of costumes, gave color to the
scene, and their quick, graceful movements in
handling the lines and conquering the lusty blues
evoked surprise and admiration. Cries of disap-
pointment, joy and victory, mingled with chaffing,
warnings to keep off, and cordial greeting. Sev-
eral boats anchored near shore to get breakfast, or
to ease the qualms of sensitive stomachs; others
ran farther east and anchored upon rocky bottom to
fish for black bass, tautog, scuppog, weak fish, hake
and cod; but, as the schools of blue-fish rushed
away in search of herring for they are wild
rovers along the coast the boats drew together,
slacked off their sheets, made comparison of their
catches, and related the experiences of the morn-
ingwith many a jibe and jest for all had made
good hauls.
"Then we sailed in amongst them and told our
fish story, and they would not believe we were high
line with fifty-six fish, one weighing thirteen pounds,
until we had counted them over and weighed the
monster. The breeze was rising with the sun,
Nantucket and Cape Cod deepened the haze on the
horizon, strong puffs of wind blackened the sea in
patches, the sky was half full of gray clouds moving
THE SEA LETTER 221
rapidly, the sails began to shake and belly noisily,
the skippers glanced to the southwest anxiously,
and all of them, acting as if by common impulse,
hauled in the sheets, trimmed the sails and pointed
their boats homeward.
" It was a merry race ; we were neither ahead
nor astern, but held fair speed in the middle of
the fleet, and enjoyed the good company and live-
ly pictures of our competitors. Never shall I for-
get the exhilaration and pleasure of that sail upon
the summer sea."
The narration was so interesting and enthus-
iastic that the hearers listened spell-bound.
"It was glorious, and Etheridge does not
exaggerate," said Dr. Kenelm, after the long con-
tinued applause had ceased.
The band was playing classical rubbish
noisy and nerve irritating which the girls did not
fancy, and they strolled down to the wharf, where
several persons were fishing for scup, tautog and
flounder, and catching sea-robbins and sculpins,
and others were watching them and the pleasure
craft. The harbor was rippling in the breeze, per-
sons afloat were shouting and singing, the oppo-
site shore cast dark shadows, the sunlight streamed
through rifts in the gray clouds, and the buildings
along the Falmouth shore looked startlingly dis-
tinct in the clear, pearly atmosphere.
"We're goin' to hev an east'ly; I kin tell by
222 THE SEA LETTER
the loom on t'other shore," said an old man posi-
tively, who sat upon a cat-boat moored to the
wharf.
"Wall, 'tis 'bout time we had a break-up.
We've hed awful fine weather fur quite a spell,"
answered a gray-haired man, sitting and fishing
upon the edge of the wharf, backed by a basket and
surrounded by broken clam and quahaug shells, and
half a dozen shrivelled scup and sculpins which he
had caught.
" I s'pose we'll get the equinoctial gale before
long," remarked a gentleman near by, as he swung
his rod and cast his hook far out from the wharf.
"Yes; summer folks has had a good spell
o' weather: now we'll hev a nor'easter, an' a cold
one, too; then it'll clair up an' be fine nigh onto
Christmas."
"That's ginerally the sort, butyer can't count
on it alwus," added the boatman.
" Look out ! James ; don't ride so near the
edge!" exclaimed an anxious mother to her reck-
less boy on his bicycle.
"Don't worry, ma; I could ride along the cap-
ping, if I wanted to," replied the youngster.
"Laura, look out for the carriage!" called
Gabrielle, as a wagon, full of people, drawn by a
spirited bay horse, rushed along and turned round
almost in their midst.
"From Villa Carita, Miss B driving," said
Flossie in a low voice, as she bowed.
THE SEA LETTER 223
"Who are those ladies?" asked Helen of
Gabrielle, who had just returned the salutations of
a trap full of stylish people on the avenue.
"They are from West Chop, where there is
an unusual combination, health and wealth, cour-
tesy and exclusiveness.
"They have chosen a lovely location for their
cloistered retreat."
"Charming. Do you know, the gnarled and
twisted oaks and depressed, flattened cedars there,
remind me of a lot of witches, with dishevelled hair
and flying raiment, fleeing before a gale?"
" Yes, they have an uncanny look and influ-
ence, as if their sighing in the breeze said,
"'I'll witch sweet ladies with my words and
looks.' "
"The wind-swept bluffs and scarred cliffs
have always been a favorite spot for visitors, and it
is said, the reverential cedars were once so thick
that children walked upon their tabled tops."
"The views of ship and shore, of curling
breakers and white-capped billows, of the great
blue dome and the gorgeous sunsets, astonish and
delight everyone."
" Here comes Mr. Dewey and Tom and his
dog from Innisfail," added Gabrielle.
Our summer girls exchanged nods with the
riders and acknowledged their cordial greetings
with smiling faces.
'I thought they had gone." said Vic.
224 THE SEA LETTER
"They are not in a hurry. September often
has a hot spell, unbearable in the city after a sum-
mer by the seaside."
"I wish we could stay till October," said
Laura.
"Wouldn't it be glorious?" added Flossie.
"You cannot play all the time, girls. Re-
member your music and language lessons. After
you are finished and polished it will be time enough
for longer vacations," said Helen.
"Finished and polished, indeed! you must
think we are furniture," said Flossie pouting.
" Auntie and I have begun packing our trunks
already," remarked May.
" Papa says, 'It's cool enough in the city now',
and we are going Monday," added Vic.
" I am sorry to hear it, but I suppose that's
the next bridge we must cross," said Gabrielle.
The girls realized for the first time that the
season was about finished, and it made them sad
and silent they had been such a happy family.
They looked along the shores and over the blue
sea long and lovingly, turned away sighing and
silent, and went back to the hotel for supper.
A message from the U. S. Weather Bureau
the next morning announced the approach of a
storm of rain and wind, coming up the coast from
Cape Hatteras; the ominous red repeater and the
red square with black center were flying from the
pole of the Signal Station. Most of the hotel guests
THE SEA LETTER 225
hurriedly packed their trunks and departed upon
the boats for Woods Hole and New Bedford be-
fore evening, and our summer girls joined the
hegira. At the great Southern Station, whence
the iron rails spread like spider legs all over the
country, they parted, with hugs, kisses, tears,
laughter, and vows of eternal friendship, consoled
somewhat by promises of future reunions.
A cold, northeast gale burst upon the island
that evening and kept delicate persons in doors
three days; the shores were lashed by foaming
surf; the harbor was full of storm-tossed vessels;
the streets were covered with streams and puddles
of water; the flowers and shrubs were battered
and broken ; the trees shed much of their foliage,
and dogs scuttled to the nearest shelter. A few
shrouded figures appeared now and then upon the
piazzas of the hotels; the cottages showed few
signs of life; the milk and market men came at
longer intervals ; the mails ceased because the boats
could not withstand the wind and sea, and the Is-
landers took up their winter-quarters about the
kitchen stove.
This climatic disaster practically ended the
season. Day by day lonesome individuals, forlorn
couples, and family groups gathered at the wharf
amongst the bundles, boxes, trunks, baby -carriages
and bicycles, produced their season tickets, bade
farewell to acquaintances with eager friendliness
sympathized with those left behind, and exulted at
226 THE SEA LETTER
their own prospective deliverance. The steam-
boat was no longer filled to the hurricane deck by
a happy throng : there was no need of hustling a
well-dressed crowd outside the wharf gates : no mu-
sic enlivened the occasion for the band had depart-
ed ; and the hack-horses drooped their heads,
while their drivers mourned over the poor business.
The steamer seemed to sneak away ashamed of her
small load of passengers, who made a few parting
signals with handkerchiefs and hats and hastened
inside the cabins, while the abandoned ones walked
slowly and sadly up the wharf and scattered about
the town, as if returning from a funeral. There
was silence and solemnity in the streets everywhere,
compared with what had been. Most of the hotels
were closed; the gay stores were emptied of their
art-treasures; the doors and windows of cottages
were shuttered and boarded ; wind-shields were
placed about the shrubs and young trees; the
vines and flowers were shrivelled and dead ; the
parks were deserted, and only here and there a
solitary pedestrian wended his way timidly, as if
afraid of the sound of his own footsteps upon the
concrete pavement.
It was different over at the Haven, where a
pleasant New England village had attracted retired
business men and Government officers to build
permanent homes, and the population was dimin-
ished only slightly, during the inclement season.
THE SEA LETTER 227
There was life and society there all the year
round.
CHAPTER XVIII.
In a couple of weeks, Ayllon was out of dan-
ger and far advanced towards recovery, and Delano
and the captain, while smoking with him after din-
ner one day, alluded cautiously to his previous life.
He had kept silent about his personal affairs and
history during their daily intercourse, and they
were anxious to hear his story, because of his ret-
icence and mysterious occupation, and desirous to
have all the evidence possible about the treasure.
" You are not a native of Maine, I presume,
Mr. Ayllon?" asked Delano carelessly, as a pre-
liminary.
"No; of Florida."
"Indeed! Why have you wandered so far
away from the land of oranges and alligators?"
" In search of my lost child ; then the spirits
whispered in my ears constantly to go to the coast
of Maine, and I was obliged to obey."
"What spirits?"
"My wife's and my father's they accompan-
ied me everywhere but I may as well tell you
THE SEA LETTER 229
everything since you know the secret of the cave
and have been so kind to me," said he in a grateful
tone of voice.
" We should be delighted to hear it, wouldn't
we, Captain?"
The captain removed his pipe and said, " Cer-
tainly; spin us the yarn Mr. Ayllon," and he be-
gan his narrative.
"I was born in 18 , at St. John's Bluff near
the sight of Fort Caroline upon the right bank of
the St. Johns River, in Duvall County, Florida.
I became conscious early of swinging in a hammock
under a tree with shining green leaves and round,
golden fruit; my face was tickled by a bunch of pam-
pas grass, waved by a black woman with big eyes
and white teeth, and I slept at night by a beautiful
white faced creature, who kissed me often and
smothered me with covers. I looked from the win-
dows of a broad, low house, surrounded by piazzas,
at a great stretch of river that reflected the sun-
light and dazzled my eyes. I saw boats, sailing
craft and steamers go up and down between the
banks of gray and green. A pretty vessel with
great white sails remained at anchor several weeks
at a time before our house, and a tiny boat would
bring a rough, black-whiskered man, who embraced
my mother, and kissed and tumbled me about in
a horrible manner. My black mammy said, he was
my father, but I did not like to own him for a long
time.
230 THE SEA LETTER
"When I became older, I learned that I was
the only child of Juan and Catalina Ayllon, a fami-
ly of Spanish descent, living upon a plantation of
three thousand acres, fronting the river and extend-
ing back along the creek into a great forest. Our
white overseer lived in a cottage upon the bluff
below our mansion, and his wife and little girl
were almost our only associates. Our slaves lived
in cabins along the creek, where there was a vine-
yard, orange grove and melon patch, and, beyond,
were great fields of corn, rice and cotton, bounded
by runs, swamps and the great pine forest.
"There were dugouts in the creek; sailboats
on the river ; horses in the granero, and guns and
ammunition in the houses, and I soon became ac-
quainted with the country, and had all the boat-
ing, riding, fishing and shooting any reasonable
youngster could desire. There was plenty of game
in the region then doves, snipe, quail, marsh-hen,
curlew, duck, turkey, deer, bear and alligator
and I was in a boat or a saddle in all weathers,
and became a good sportsman and a well develop-
ed man.
" My mother was too delicate for the annoy-
ances and austerities of plantation life in such an
isolated region, though she had numerous servants
and an ample income ; and the contentment of the
men with the bold, free life made her grieve more
over her loss of society, and sink into a fretful,
hopeless despair.
THE SEA LETTER 231
"She taught me to read and say my prayers,
then sent me to the overseer's wife, who had been
a school-teacher in the North, and I began to study
and recite regularly with her little girl, Margery.
We made rapid progress in history, geography,
mathematics and Latin, and I was obliged to les-
sen my wild ramblings in order to keep up with
my companion. I was prepared for college at
sixteen, but was destined never to enter. I learn-
ed conversational Spanish from my parents, stud-
ied its grammar and literature after I had finished
the Latin classics, and saw a little of the world by
going with my father to the West Indies and
southern ports of my country, carrying the pro-
ducts of the plantation and the fishing in the
schooner Cisneros."
Delano uttered an exclamation and met the
captain's warning glance, as he said, "Was she
the vessel that lay at anchor often in front of your
home?"
" Yes," continued Ayllon without noticing
their disturbed manner, "my father was part own-
er and had a crew of seven men, mostly Minor-
cans, who had families and homes along the river.
They all spoke Spanish their settlement was
often called Spanish Town and they had some
interest in the vessel, I am certain, because we
carried some of their products and brought their
supplies, and I noticed my father always consulted
them about going and coming.
232 THE SEA LETTER
"They went fishing during the winter; sold
their catch at Cape Haytien, Matanzas and Hava-
na, and brought back aguadiente, wines, brandy,
tobacco and sugar, which was discharged into boats
at night and carried inland through the inlets and
sounds. I heard the men talking about Warsaw,
St. Andrews and Sapelo sounds, and asked, why
they went into these places instead of Jacksonville,
Brunswick and Savannah.
"They looked at each other, laughed and re-
plied, 'That would be too dead easy.'"
The captain rubbed his hands together and
said, " Difficult places, if you haven't a pilot. I've
blockaded those channels, and chased vessels
among the islands and up the creeks until they
would dodge into some hole in the woods and be
hidden by the foliage. It was very aggravating to
be sure of a prize one minute, and have her turn a
bend in the channel and disappear. I've built lots
of castles with the prize-money I never got."
" I suppose so counting the eggs before you
found the nest," said Delano smiling.
"I am glad you missed the Cisneros, Captain,
because, if you had not, you might not be here to-
night. She had two beautiful brass 24-pounder
howitzers and plenty of small arms," said Ayllon.
"Was she a naval vessel or a privateer?"
"Neither, I believe."
"Then she was a pirate."
THE SEA LETTER 233
" Not exactly only private property the own-
ers intended to keep."
"It is piracy to arm a private vessel without
Governmental authority."
" I reckon the captain would have had papers,
if he had been caught but he did not calculate
on being captured alive."
"I should have been delighted to have met
him and his vessel," asserted the captain.
"I was not permitted to go with father often
mother would have been too lonely, but the spring
I was 1 8 years old, the mansion was closed, mother
and I went on board the schooner and sailed away
out of sight of land, and we did not see it again
for three weeks. Then rocky shores, high land,
and an old castle appeared, which father pointed out
upon the chart, as Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, and
we were astounded at the information vouchsafed,
that we were going through the Straits of Gib-
raltar to mother's old home in Minorca. I was so
delighted, I hugged and kissed old blackbeard,
though he smelled of tobacco and rum, and mother
wept quietly for joy because she would see some
of her childhood friends, the scenes of her youth
and her parent's graves by the sea.
"We had excellent views of Gibraltar, the
mountains and coast beyond to Cape Gata, and
the city of Cartagena, where we took in water,
and, passing in sight of the island of Majorca,
dropped anchor in Port Mahon, Minorca, in the
234 THE SEA LETTER
shadow of vine-clad hills and the towering battle-
ments of the fortifications.
"Though an American by birth and resi-
dence, I seemed to have known only the fringe of
my country, and my exultation was great that I
could claim heritage through my parents in the
glorious Kingdom of Spain. The quaint houses,
walled gardens, profusion of flowers, picturesque
costumes, sunny skies and soft airs of the little is-
land in the blue Mediterranean, were constant
sources of pleasure to us, and mother's health im-
proved rapidly in the home environment. I was
awakened to a broader life and an ambition for ex-
traordinary achievements, and pursued my studies
ardently with an old pensioner of the University of
Madrid. We were so contented and happy that
we merely wondered, when the Cisneros did not
return on time, but letters explained the delay, and
it was two years before she pushed her bowsprit
into port and showed us the stars and stripes above
the taffrail.
" My kind rough father was as glad to see us,
as we were to greet him ; he told us all the news of
the plantation and the country, and we embarked and
sailed for the United States. We stopped, how-
ever, at Cadiz and father took us to Madrid, where
he wished to examine the archives in reference to
the title to our estate, which had been a grant
from King Charles V to our ancestors for ser-
THE SEA LETTER 235
vices rendered the Crown, during the wars with
France and England.
"We were amazed in the two cities at the
magnificent buildings, the multitude of people, the
splendid uniforms of the soldiers, the gay dresses
of the women, and the politeness, gayety, noise
and music of the streets, and it all seemed a dream
after our return to the vessel. If you have never
seen a Spanish city, go and look at St. Augustine
and Havana.
"We made a quick run across the ocean in
the northeast trade winds, called at Porto Rico for
water, but did not visit San Juan because of Quar-
antine, and entered the St. Johns River and anchor-
ed in front of our plantation, just as a wild norther
swept down from the snow fields and blackened the
early fruit and vegetables with its frigid breath.
"I had never before realized what pioneers
we were, and how narrow and uncouth our life was
in comparison with that in a city. My education
spoiled me for a planter, but circumstances pre-
vented my being anything else for many years.
"We landed the next morning, set our old
servants to work, and soon had the household af-
fairs running as usual. There was a little more
forest cleared, a few more pickaninnies, and my
school-mate had gone North to college. I was an-
noyed she should go away so far and I not be told
of it. I had often brought her brown hair, blue-
eyes, and sweet face before my mind's eye in com-
236 THE SEA LETTER
parison with the coquettish, black-eyed beauties
of Spain, and never without preferring my coun-
try woman. Intelligence, purity and amiability
shone in her bright eyes, and, when she smiled her
face was like a saint's. I had thought of meet-
ing and greeting her on the home coming, and
relating to her all my experiences and adventures,
and to find her gone and my generous intentions
thwarted choked me with vexation and disappoint-
ment. I must have betrayed my feelings to her
mother, as she read me several letters from Margery,
but did not ask me to write her, though I did after
awhile, because I could not otherwise endure her
absence. The mother wished not to influence me
because of the difference in our social positions
a consideration I did not then understand and now
condemn. Margery answered my letter, and we
continued a friendly correspondence until her re-
turn home.
" I remember well when she came, a sweet
girl graduate, a year after my arrival from Europe.
I drove my pair of bays to the road-wagon up to
the ferry and waited with her mother. The boat
came over, I caught a glimpse of a bright face,
brown boots, a cloud of challie, and a chip hat with
a scarlet wing, and Margery was smothered in her
mother's arms. I lifted my hat and was chagrined
at not being noticed, until her mother said, 'Mr.
Ayllon, Margery,' when she stared, took my
THE SEA LETTER 237
hand and dropped it quickly, saying, ' Oh ! how you
have changed.'
" I had thought out this meeting beforehand
and wondered, if I ought not to kiss her ; but,
when I saw her, I would as soon have ventured to
kiss one of the Imperial family, and I could only
mutter, 'Howdy.'
" I paid a great deal of attention to the road
and horses going back, and caught but little of the
rattling conversation upon the back seat. Only a
few commonplace remarks passed between us, and
I landed my passengers in style at the cottage and
left them with a stiff bow. I did not know what
was the matter as well as I do now, neither did
Margery, but the constraint caused by education
and altered conditions wore away gradually, and
she became a favorite with everybody.
" My father was too restless to remain long at
home, and I was obliged to keep accounts and as-
sist the overseer in managing the plantation. I
rode to the different fields, set the gangs to work,
watched the seeding, cultivating and harvesting,
and selected the markets. At the end of two
years, I understood farming fairly well, and, when
the overseer was killed by the bursting of his gun
while hunting, I assumed direction of affairs, in-
stalled his wife as our housekeeper to relieve my
mother, and the next year Margery and I were
married.
THE SEA LETTER
"You will find the record of the important
event in the old cathedral at St. Augustine, where
a retinue of our servants, an escort of neighbors,
and the crew of the Cisneros, were present at the
ceremony, and took part in the feasting and fes-
tivities at the plantation during the whole week.
Father remained at home the entire month, talked
to me about his private affairs and the family his-
tory, and gave his reasons for believing there
would be a war between the South and North. He
cautioned me to take no part in it, because it
would be my duty to protect the women and our
home under all circumstances. He declared his
intention to deed the estate, some family jewels and
a fortune to Margery, that they might be preserv-
ed in possession of a neutral. He had her give
him a gold eagle and a kiss for consideration,
which he wrote in the deed at $10,010. He told
me he would keep the valuables in a safe place ;
sailed away to St. Augustine to execute the papers,
and we never saw him again.
"War was declared soon after his departure,
and he sent word he was going to the West Indies to
await events. We learned that he went to the
North on a secret mission for the Confederate
Government, pretended to be engaged in the fisher-
ies, made a rendezvous at Vineyard Haven
awhile, and ran the blockade regularly, carrying
provisions and equipments into Sapelo ^and St.
Andrew's Sounds.
THE SEA LETTER 239
"One of the crew sent word to his wife, later,
that they had been obliged by the Revenue Cut-
ters of Massachusetts, whose officers had become
suspicious, to find a hiding place among the islands
of the Maine coast. Then we heard the Cisneros
had arrived at Havana with a full cargo of cotton
worth nearly two dollars a pound and nothing
more for a long time.
"We were distressed at the absence of father
and the schooner, and anxious over the war in our
vicinity. Gunboats came over the bar and up the
river, shelling the banks and dragging for torpe-
does; transport steamers loaded with soldiers fol-
lowed them ; Jacksonville was captured and garri-
soned ; the upper reaches of the river were patrolled,
shelled and cleared of Confederate boats, and
squads of soldiers and sailors foraged along the
banks, seized potatoes, pigs and chickens and shot
the cattle. I had to submit for the safety of the
women, but the negroes and natives ambushed,
captured and killed some of the robbers all along
the river. One afternoon, a fine schooner-rigged
gunboat anchored in front of our plantation, and
sent some men ashore to get milk and eggs. The
officer in command was polite enough and paid for
the supplies, but we did not like to accept his
money. Some of our negroes carried news of
the vessel's arrival to a camp of our army, and, in
spite of my protests, the colonel planted a battery
of guns upon the bluff in front of our house at
240 THE SEA LETTER
night, and opened fire at daylight, with grape and
cannister upon the vessel.
"Caramba\ but she slipped her cable and
steamed out of there quickly, with splinters flying
and bloody men along the deck ; then she opened
her battery upon the bluff, dismounted the guns,
tore great holes through the forest, riddled our
buildings and set them on fire, and sent a landing-
party to finish the terrible work. When the first
shell went roaring and crashing through the trees,
the terrified field-hands fled back into the woods
and ran for miles ; several house-servants helped
me harness our best horses and turn the others
loose ; the carriage and wagons were loaded with
the people and all the provisions, house goods and
valuables they could carry, and we drove furiously
away from our burning homes amid shrieking,
bursting shells and splintering, falling trees. This
was war destroying both the guilty and the in-
nocent.
"We pulled up the panting, lathered horses
at a ravine about five miles back from the river
and held a counsel. The women had made no
trouble nor sign of distress until then, but Margery
was now crying hysterically and her mother was
comforting her ; and my mother, who had been fail-
ing in health steadily since her return from Minor-
ca, was leaning back in the carriage upon some
pillows, looking very pale and weak. I cheered
them all with brave words, got water from the run
THE SEA LETTER 241
to bathe face and hands, gave everybody a drink of
scuppernong wine, and we rested awhile and list-
ened to the heavy cannonading behind us.
" I had built a log hunting-cabin farther down
the road, and after the horses had cooled and re-
covered their wind, we drove leisurely to it, un-
loaded our precious freight, and soon had the
family housed and comfortable. All went well
except with mother, who became weaker in spite
of hot applications and plenty of stimulants, and,
in the early morning, my precious mother died
weakly pressing my hand."
Ayllon stopped and sobbed a few minutes,
while Delano and the captain sniffed and swallow-
ed, and walked across the room and looked out of
the window.
"Though overwhelmed by grief, my duty to
the living could not be neglected, and I took a
wagon and one negro and drove back to the plan-
tation. The gunboat had departed, but what a
scene of desolation and blackened ruin met my
eyes ! I shuddered and went to work to avoid fall-
ing into despair. We found some boards of the
garden fence and made a rude coffin, using afew tools
scattered under the shed ; dug a grave near a bunch
of pampas grass beneath a great pine ; gathered
the tools, farming implements and other useful
things and locked them in one of the abandoned
cabins ; opened a potato-bank and loaded the wag-
on; caught most of the chickens; gathered an
242 THE SEA LETTER
armful of flowers, and returned to the hunting-
lodge and scene of sorrow. We buried mother in
the afternoon upon the bluff overlooking the river;
covered her rude coffin and grave with flowers :
placed a wooden cross at the head, and wept,
black and white together, with a common sorrow.
" Our plantation was not molested any more ;
a few slaves returned to their homes and gathered
the crops; we lived at the camp and superintend-
ed the farm-work by the river, and sold our pro-
duce at good prices to the northern invaders. The
Declaration of Emancipation by President Lincoln
made our negroes restless and independent, since
we could not punish them as formerly; but enough
remained obedient and faithful to the family to
enable me to carry on the plantation until it was
confiscated and sold, as the property of a rebel, by
the U. S. Government, and I was legally dispos-
sessed. It was a cruel blow, but I prevailed upon
the owner to keep my mother's grave sacred and
inviolate, and he employed me to continue my care
of the whole property until he took possession in
1 8 . That year our first child was born and we
named her Laura after Margery's mother, her
grandmother, who would not permit any black
mammy to take the place of her mother or herself.
"The hundred acres about the camp were not
a part of the plantation and remained fortunately
in my possession. I cleared enough to furnish a
comfortable living for the family and few negroes
THE SEA LETTER 243
who remained faithful, sold most of the horses and
vehicles and invested the proceeds at a high rate
of interest, and began to enjoy life again with my
loved ones. Margery and her mother, however,
were discontented over our isolation in the woods,
and the absence of all those amenities of social
life found in town. They crossed bridges before
they came to them, or, in other words, foresaw the
deprivations and tribulations of Laura should she
remain in the wilderness. The dear child was so
happy with the buds and blossoms, the butterflies,
birds, kittens, chickens, dogs and horses, and so
healthy and robust from her free out-of-door life,
that I ridiculed their notions and put away any
thought of change. But a little sister came poor
and puny, full of cries and temper, and Margery's
recovery was unpromising and slow. Our distance
from medicines and medical aid, and the paucity of
delicacies and variety of food so necessary in the
alimentation of whimsical and suffering invalids,
gave cogency to the arguments for removal and
set me to thinking seriously about it.
"It seemed desirable for the women and
children, and would afford me opportunities for
intellectual activity and development not possible
in the woods. I rented the farm to my best ne-
groes and moved to St. Augustine, which my
ancestors had assisted in founding, and took resi-
dence in one of the old Spanish houses, having
barred windows, balconies and walled garden,
244 THE SEA LETTER
situated in one of the narrow streets. The city
was in a modern turmoil of splendid improvement,
thronged with gay people throughout the winter,
and we were excited and delighted by the new life
and its festivities.
"I had read some law and become a legal
arbiter for my few acquaintances along the river,
and I wrote fairly well; therefore, I secured a
position with a law-firm to do writing for a moder-
ate compensation, a desk and the use of the library
in the office, and began work much more congen-
ial than farming. Time slipped away pleasantly
then ; I was admitted to practice before the courts,
and increased my income considerably. I had
searched the archives and there was not any record
of a deed from my father to Margery, and I de-
cided there was no hope of regaining the estate.
"One day I took Margery and the baby,
Belita, around to Jacksonville upon an excursion
steamer, leaving Laura with the servants, and re-
turned in the evening. We found the house in a
turmoil, the servants wringing their hands and
crying, and Laura gone. Margery screamed and
fainted, and we were busy restoring and comfort-
ing her awhile; we notified the police, visited all
the houses for squares around, and kept a crowd
of people searching the alleys, streets and country
roads all night and next day. Messages were tele-
graphed in all directions, describing the child and
her dress ; the Indian camps were searched ; the
THE SEA LETTER 245
harbor was dragged ; vessels were examined, and
everything reasonable done, but not a trace could
we find of our darling every clew ended in dis-
appointment. Advertisements brought no answers,
and our moderate reward went unclaimed."
Ayllon covered his face with his only useful
hand and wept silently, the captain groaned aloud,
and Delano, with tears in his eyes, placed his hand
upon the sufferer's head and said, "My dear Ayllon,
do not grieve so ; it will hinder your recovery. We
sympathize with you from the bottom of our
hearts."
The poor man gradually recovered control of
his emotions and continued: "The conviction was
forced upon us that our child had been kidnapped
or drowned, and, though we did not cease to hope
for her recovery, our souls were full of despair.
The shock killed Margery. She had been delicate
since the birth of Belita, and faded away like a
frost-blighted lily neither the best attendance,
nor my tender love could stay the destroyer her
heart was broken and she died. Excuse me
gentlemen I cannot finish my story now ."
"Our kind friend at the Bluff generously
granted me permission to bury my beloved by my
mother's side, and there we laid her and our hearts
with her. Since that time, I have been a home-
less wanderer with poor Belita and, now, she is
246 THE SEA LETTER
at rest, thank God ! and I, the last of a doomed
family linger. Oh! why did you not let me die?"
Ayllon paused and struggled to control his
emotions; the captain walked the floor uneasily, as
if ready to shout his orders aloft, and Delano cried,
"Can God send such afflictions upon His own, and
not arouse our doubts of His goodness and mercy?"
"I thought I should lose my mind for awhile,"
continued the stricken man, "but I fought against
hallucinations for dear Belita's sake, and wander-
ed over America led by whims and fancies. An
Indian woman, a sorceress of the Everglades, told
me she saw my father in a terrible storm, my
mother in a beautiful country, spirits hovering
around me, and a cloud of disaster threatening. I
would have a great sickness, recover and find a
fortune my latter days would be full of peace and
happiness. At a spiritual seance, in New York, a
medium represented my father's spirit he had
been free for many years he wished me to go to
the coast of Maine and seek valuable things he
would tell me when to stop my mother and Mar-
gery were in the spirit land he had seen and
talked with them they attended me frequently
Laura was not there.
"There was mystery, comfort and hope in
the communications. I went to Maine and felt a
strange impulse to stop at B . I tried to leave
the city several times, but my feet dragged and I
could not. I became en rapport with a number
THE SEA LETTER
of spiritualists and attended their seances. My
father, mother and Margery came frequently and
conversed through mediums with me and Belita
and brought us happiness. If this is delusion, I
thought, it is sent from Heaven to protect us from
ourselves. I could get no news of Laura they
answered, 'she is not here'. We would have been
comforted, if she had been.
"I was instructed about the cave and the
treasure therein, and guided to the ledge where
you found me. Cultivation of a receptive acquies-
cence enabled both Belita and myself to become
mediums at will for our own instruction, protec-
tion and happiness, and I prosecuted the labor of
the search under spiritual guidance. I believe
this as firmly as I believe I am alive. I have not
found the treasure, but I was approaching near it,
when the unfortunate accident occurred.
" My mother-in-law, Mrs. Reed, who was with
me until recently, said I was crazy, and went off
in a huff to California. Now I am crippled for a
time and will go south to recuperate, and return
later to get the treasure. Am I crazy? Do I look
like a maniac? Ha! ha! ha!"
The laugh startled the listeners a little, but
they hastened to assure Ayllon he was not crazy,
and that they believed treasure had been hidden
in the cave and would be recovered some time.
This gave him great satisfaction and he said,
" Perhaps, I may find my daughter some day."
248 THE SEA LETTER
"God grant it!" exclaimed Delano earnestly.
Ayllon was exhausted by excitement and
emotion, and his friends thanked him for his story
and bade him farewell, promising to see him the
next morning.
"What a sad history!" said Delano sighing;
"the world seems full of tragedy."
"Yes, we know little of the sorrows of our
fellows," answered the captain, lighting his pipe.
"Did you ever hear of the Cisneros on the
blockade, Captain?"
"Certainly; she was chased several times, but
sailed too fast for us. I was aboard of the gunboat,
which was attacked from the Bluff, but I did not
wish to acknowledge it to Ayllon."
" Is it possible ? Did you ever meet any of
the family?"
" Yes ; before and after the fight. We left
rather suddenly, you know."
"Yes, rather suddenly," muttered Delano,
with his mind intent on something else, and they
got into the boat and rowed down to the cutter.
CHAPTER XIX.
It rained the next two days, and all remained
on board in the cosy cabin and under the awning
of the yacht, smoking and yarning, as only sailors
can. It was impossible to read much there was
too much to divert attention. The two gentlemen
called upon Ayllon the third day and pursuaded
him to visit Capawock, as soon as he was able;
then, to stop at New York on his way South, and
Delano forced him to accept a loan of money,
which he said he might return when he came into
possession of his fortune. The doctor and land-
lord were paid two weeks ahead, as the former de-
clared the patient could travel safely by that time,
and the yachtsmen took leave of Ayllon with hearty
cordiality.
The yacht sailed around to Southwest Harbor
for supplies, and over to Cranberry Island Harbor,
where they examined the channel between the
islands and anchored for the night. There was a
dead calm the next morning, and all hands took a
run over the village and the islands until noon.
250 THE SEA LETTER
They got under way after lunch, sailed along the
shore of Mt. Desert to have a look into French-
man's Bay, and went out to sea around Baker's
Island. The views of Mt. Desert from outside
were exquisitely beautiful. Dark shadows filled
the ravines between the mountains and extended
to their feet in shades of purple and gray, blend-
ing with the blue evening mists and gleaming
spray. Noble villas, located upon every available
promontory, from which the evening lights were
beginning to twinkle, looked down upon the rocky
shore like robber castles on the Rhine. Delano
thought he had never seen a more beautiful picture
in nature, and he longed for brushes and palette,
that he might seize and secure its evanescent
beauties.
" Homeward bound at last," said the captain,
slapping his knee ; " I've shaped a course to Mon-
hegan, which we will coast along and then run
to Portland. I wonder how Alice is getting on?"
"All right, of course, old man. My friends
must have departed from Capawock by this time,"
replied Delano.
" No doubt. This first week of October will
find few summer birds there. They begin the
flight with the snipe and yellow-legs, though the
autumn months are very mild and agreeable."
The easterly breeze freshened after sunset,
a club -topsail and spinnaker were carried all
night, Matinic Island was passed at a distance,
THE SEA LETTER 251
Monhegan was approached near enough to see the
fine light-house and open harbor, and the anchor
was dropped inside the Portland breakwater late in
the evening. They were off again at daylight be-
fore a strong northeaster, which hurried the yacht
to Thatcher's Island before dark; passed the twin
lights of Baker's Island into quaint Marblehead
for late supper, and anchored in the old berth op-
posite the Corinthian club-house. Two fine days
had favored the voyagers greatly; the next morn-
ing opened with a southeast gale and rain, and
confined them to the cabin and cockpit all day.
Delano was sorry the cruise was so near its
end. He lay back upon the cushions and listened
to the patter of the rain and the whistling wind in
the rigging, with a sense of enjoyment and person-
al comfort not often experienced in a howling gale.
The marine glasses hung in their leather case at his
feet; the barometer above marked 29.8; the ther-
mometer, 58; the fog-horn, charts and flags
were in the bunk above him, and the swinging-
lamp was turned low. The captain was asleep;
the companion way dripped a little water upon the
steps below; heavy coats, oil-clothes and rubber-
boots lay handy, and the table was buttoned up
beneath the deck. Delano saw all these, with the
bright beams and gilt mouldings around him, and
his apprehension was dulled, or the cigar, that had
burned to ashes next his lips, filled his mind with
nicotic fancies and he dreamed.
252 THE SEA LETTER
He was awakened by the sharp tones of Me-
rangue in the companionway, " She is dragging,
Sir!" He sat up and rubbed his eyes. The cap-
tain sat opposite to him putting on oil-skins and
rubber boots. He did the same thing mechani-
cally. There was music in the air; the wind was
playing a string-band concert upon the rigging;
the chain-cable was twanging bass across the wire
bobstay, and Merangue was giving the yacht more
scope.
"What's the matter, Captain? What are you
going to do ? " asked Delano, smiling though his
teeth were rattling.
"Do? Let go the heavy anchor, of course.
I can't sleep comfortably with only one hook in the
mud, and it blowing great guns like this."
" That's what's the matter with me only I
was asleep on watch. I s'pose I'll have to be
court-martialed."
The captain looked at his messmate sharply a
moment and went upon deck and forward, where
Merangue was handling chain and Bobby held the
lantern. Phew! how it blew, and how searching the
rain down the neck and between the buttons. The
yacht was sheered a little by the rudder and the
starboard anchor dropped ; the cables were veered
to twenty and thirty fathoms respectively; the
topmast was housed, the awning furled, and the
yacht hung well on the triangle, but there could be
no more rest that night. Vessels were dragging
THE SEA LETTER 2 S3
all over the harbor; many times, it was only by
pushing and hauling, sheering by the rudder, and
shooting under a piece of the staysail, that they
avoided being wrecked by drifting, unmanageable
craft. Bob made coffee and set out lunch, and
they ate, smoked, told stories and watched, with a
head above the companion slide most of the time,
and all hands making sudden rushes when danger
threatened. Daylight revealed a multitude of
stranded and more or less battered vessels, but
Orinda was uninjured.
"This don't amount to nothing like a Vineyard
blow, Delano," remarked the captain.
"No; but if the wind had been northeast,
we'd have had a picnic. I dragged in the harbor
once with three anchors down, and kept half afloat
and half under water, having brought up with a
fluke under a rock, when I was within forty feet
of the shore."
" Rather narrow sea-room, eh ? " said the cap-
tain.
"Yes, and we had a half day's work unhook-
ing the anchor."
The sea was heavy upon the south shore of
the Neck and the surf was magnificent. It was
smoother the next day ; the yacht made a pleas-
ant run to Boston, and her last gun was fired, as
she dropped anchor off the Boston Yacht Club.
The precious chest and baggage accompanied our
friends to the hotel ; the crew was paid off next
254 THE SEA LETTER
morning with a liberal bonus, and the yacht was
delivered to her keepers at the yard, where she
was immediately unloaded, stripped and covered.
There she may be seen or others like her any
winter, high upon her blocks and cradle a verit-
able marine chrysalis.
Delano and the captain arrived at Capawock
the next afternoon ; most of the hotels and cottages
had closed their doors and windows with unsightly
boards and shutters, and people were scarce in the
streets. Alice and Lucy gave them warm welcome.
Delano took up his old quarters in the front room,
and placed the chest upon a table preparatory to an
investigation of its contents a task they had of-
ten thought over and postponed, because of the
necessity of tools, labor and security. Mrs. Oliver
considered the sea-chest a relic of Delano's yacht-
ing outfit and laughed at its salty appearance.
That night they began upon the double lock and
in half an hour raised the lid. A hot, spicy odor
filled the room. The contents were hidden beneath
pampas grass and banana leaves; then came a
piece of canvass, covering a bundle of papers, a
cigar box, aud two corded bags full and heavy.
They opened the smaller bag and were astonished
and gratified at the golden outpour of American
eagles to the number of one thousand. The larger
bag held a mixture of English sovereigns, French
napoleons and Spanish pesetas, amounting by cal-
THE SEA LETTER 255
dilation to twenty thousand dollars, which, with
the American money, made the snug sum of $30,-
ooo.
"Non nobis solum" muttered Delano.
"What do you say?" asked the captain.
"Not for us alone."
"Whose then?" demanded the captain some-
what fiercely.
" I do not know we shall, perhaps, find out
from the papers."
"'Finders are keepers' amongst the boys,
and, if this is a pirate's hoard, we've a right to
keep it."
There was a mournful whistle in the chimney
and the old house shook and snapped loudly. The
wind was rising and the harbor looked as black as
ink. Delano arose, pulled all the shades down
closely, and locked the door before replying.
"Granted but " a brilliant light filled the
room, a terrific peal of thunder shook the house,
and the air smelled sulphurous.
Delano sprang from his chair, pale and fright-
ened.
" The Devil is getting into the chimney again,"
said the captain, lighting his pipe, which had gone
out during his intense interest over the gold.
"Caesar! that was heavy must have struck
near here," said Delano.
"Probably; we'll get some cold weather after
this," replied the captain coolly.
256 THE SEA LETTER
They put the money back in the bags and
opened the box, which was bradded, as if full of
cigars. Instead, there was a lot of Confederate
bills stuffed in around articles of jewelry that were
wrapped separately in silk: a brooch set with dia-
monds and pearls ; a pair of diamond earrings, and
a pair with reddish jade pendants; a belt-buckle
with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires;
a bracelet in the form of a serpent, with ruby eyes
and emerald scales, and rings, pins, chains, buck-
les, combs and other articles of pure gold not es-
pecially valuable.
The moment Delano saw the serpent brace-
let, he seized and examined it with great eagerness.
There was no mistaking its unique design and
workmanship. The captain gloated over the treas-
ures and admired everything.
They wrapped up the jewelry, as they found
it, and were crowding in the Confederate bills,
when Delano noticed a hundred dollar bill with a
peculiar back. There was a moonlight landscape
and a grave with a cross at the head, inscribed,
"In Memoriam." The foot-stone read, "C. S. A.;"
a draped flag of Dixie rested with the staff against
the cross, and beneath the picture there was print-
ed,
THE SEA LETTER 257
" Representing nothing on God's earth now,
And naught in the waters below it
As the pledge of a nation that's dead
and gone,
Keep it, dear friend, and show it."
They examined it with curiosity and surprise.
It was evidence the owner of the chest knew the
Confederate promises to pay were worthless and
had used them for packing. They were memen-
toes of that hopeless struggle of a heroic minority
of the people against a wealthy and powerful ma-
jority.
" Shin plasters ! " ejaculated the captain scorn-
fully.
"Promises to pay, with nothing but hope in
the treasury," remarked Delano.
Lastly, they removed the wrinkled wrapper
from the bundle of papers, untied the yellow cigar
ribbons that bound them and spread them out up-
on the table. It was seen at once that all the
documents except one were in the Spanish lang-
uage. The captain glanced over them with a smile
of , gratified pride, and suddenly exclaimed,
"Ayllon, as I live! Look here! a warranty deed
from Juan Ayllon and Catalina, his wife, to Marg-
aret Reed Ayllon, her heirs and assigns forever;
executed at St. Ausgustine, Florida, December
24th., 1860, giving her the great plantation at St.
John's Bluff, and all the personal and mixed pro-
258 THE SEA LETTER
perty, including twenty negroes, mentioned by
name."
" By Jove ! that was before war was declared
and she and her husband were non-combatants.
You can testify to that, Captain, for you know the
circumstances connected with the attack upon the
Ottawa."
"Jerusha! how things come around. Let me
see um properly signed, executed, witnessed
and stamped, and never put on record. Seems to
me, that it can be recorded now, and her heirs her
husband recover his own again. The Govern-
ment would be obliged to set aside its condemna-
tion and sale, and indemnify the innocent buyer
for his improvements. These other papers are all
signed Juan Ayllon."
" Captain ; the chest and contents undoubted-
ly belonged to Ayllon's father, Juan that was
his name, and his wife's was Catalina and Lucas
married Margery Reed. We have found the own-
er!"
" O, belay your imagination ! It would be
just my luck. It wouldn't be the first time my
pot has been bottom up, when it rained porridge, "
growled the captain, and he looked disgusted.
"What is this great piece of sheepskin, cover-
ed by ponderous waxen seals, stamped in numer-
ous places, and bearing a red, black and golden
coat of arms two lions, two castles and a crown ?"
THE SEA LETTER 259
The captain scrutinized the manuscript care-
fully and answered, " It is a royal grant of three
thousand acres of land upon the river St. John the
Baptist, in the Island of Florida, America, by
Charles V., King of Spain, to Lucas Vasquez de
Ayllon, his heirs and assigns, forever, for long and
faithful services rendered the Crown and the
Kingdom."
"Glorious! Ayllon told us his name was
Lucas, and he informed me confidentially that he
was Duke of Balearica. What is the date of
the grant?"
"It is May 3 1 st, 1525."
"Then the property has been in the family
continuously, and this is the oldest title in the
United States."
"Exactly! and the Ayllon title is good, be-
cause, notwithstanding the various owners of
Florida in the turbulent times ending with the war
of 1812-15, Spain held peaceful and undisputed
possession of that country, when she ceded it to
the United States, in 1819."
"There can be no doubt about it, because Juan
would not have taken the trouble to execute a deed
for property that he did not own."
The men looked over the royal document
awhile, then at each other and smiled.
"Here is a memoradum of the bags and con-
tents, a descriptive list of the jewelry, the names
of the papers enclosed, and this large envelope,
260 THE SEA LETTER
marked, 'Important ;' shall we break the seal?"
said the captain.
"Why not? Since we have burglarized the
house, we may as well open a closet."
The captain broke the seal and tore open the
envelope. It contained two papers: one was the
last will and testament of Juan Ayllon, short and
simple, bequeathing all his property, real, personal
and mixed, to Margaret Reed Ayllon. It was
dated and executed at the same time as the before
mentioned deed to her. The other was a list and
description of his assets, including the chest and
one half interest in the schooner Cisneros, with an
appended explanation of matters both important
and mysterious. Passing over the enumeration,
he had written :
"I hope to retain possession of the money,
jewelry and other property contained in this chest,
which are the accumulation of years of toil and
danger, that I may spend my old age in peace and
comfort upon the plantation. The advent of this
unjust war with its uncertainties, made it neces-
sary I should keep the chest on board the schooner,
or deposit it in some place remote from home.
The Cisneros narrowly escaped capture off Edisto
Inlet, the last time we ran the blockade, and, the
next voyage I made north, I took the advice of one
of my crew, who had been a smuggler of Cuban
products into New England, and deposited the
treasure chest in a cellar, from which a subterran-
THE SEA LETTER 261
can passage led to the shore. Here it remained
safely, while we ran the blockade several times,
taking in provisions, clothing, ammunition, &c.,
and bringing away cotton, turpentine and resin.
Disguised as a fisherman, we went into and out of
Vineyard Haven many times unmolested ; but our
quiet exclusiveness, and our ignorance of the
Georges and Grand Banks unwittingly revealed to
visitors and islanders, excited curiosity and sus-
picion, and we took our treasure on board one
stormy night and sailed away to the coast of Maine.
We were caught on a lee shore off two islands and
thought we were lost; but, when we were expect-
ing every moment to be dashed upon the rocks,
an opening in the wall appeared, we were buried
in foam and hurled upon boisterous seas through
without striking. We almost flew by a green is-
land into quiet water, anchored securely under the
lee of the land, and thanked God for our miraculous
preservation!"
"An angel must have steered that craft," said
Delano.
"Yes;" observed the captain, "the very straits
we examined between the two Cranberries; the in-
side island was Greening's, and the schooner was
driven up Somes Sound, where she found shelter
in the cove where Orinda lay. They had no chart
of the coast, I suppose, and blundered into the on-
ly place of safety."
262 THE SEA LETTER
" That must have been the case, Juan did not
dare venture into any large town, where he could
purchase one. He did not mention any names
of the place in the sea letter only gave a peculiar
and accurate description of the locality to indicate
where his treasure was hidden."
" He navigated in the old way, by seeing,
sounding and sense. Did you ever think how ex-
pert the ancient mariners were, in finding their
way safely over the world with nothing but a com-
pass and dipsy (deep-sea) lead ? "
"No; I should be lost without a chart."
"A chart isn't much account, when the lights
are out and the buoys removed, as was the case in
the South during the civil war. The leadsman in
the chains, casting the lead, was a better guide
then than the man in the chart room," said the
captain, and he continued to translate and read
aloud.
" We remained in our snug retreat for several
days repairing damages; discovered the cavern in
the ledge upon the western shore, and enlarged a
pocket in its north wall where I deposited the chest.
The opening was closed loosely by stones and dirt
and remained unmolested, while we made several
voyages along the coast and to the West Indies ;
but I am going now for greater security to cement
the stones and make them look like the natural
wall. The war may continue for years; I may be
obliged to leave the chest hidden until peace is de-
THE SEA LETTER 263
clared, and my status as a citizen is determined by
the side that wins. I may be lost at sea, or killed
in battle. God grant! this may fall into honest
hands, if any accident should prevent my return.
The finder will see that Margery and my son,
Lucas, receive their own, according to my last will
and testament.
"I had expected to record my deed, and de-
posit my will with Colonel Buffington, at St. Au-
gustine, before Fort Sumter was fired upon; but
he had gone to join his regiment under General
Beauregard, and I put to sea for fear of capture,
and, in order, to land my cargo from Cuba. Since
then, business in Florida has been in chaos, and
any attempt to perfect my plans would have been
futile and dangerous.
"In case my affairs fall to the administration
of strangers, I desire it known, that my men own
one half of the schooner Cisneros, share and share
alike, and each member of her crew has received
his part of the earnings at the expiration of each
voyage; therefore, they have no claim upon this
treasure. May God protect us and the family
heritage !
Capt. JUAN AYLLON."
" Witness, JOHN FLOYD,
Mayport, Fla."
264 THE SEA LETTER
"Is there nothing more?" asked Delano with
trembling voice and excited manner.
"Nothing!" exclaimed the captain, looking
hard at the papers and smoking rapidly.
They spread the documents out upon the
table, turned them over and over, and looked long
and carefully at the headings, forms, signatures
and seals. They had extracted all the meaning
from them, and they bundled them and returned
them with the box and bags to the chest and
closed it.
The captain walked up and down the room
and muttered, " I thought we had found a fortune,
but we have only struck a "
"Trust!" added Delano; "we are the stran-
gers to whom the administration has fallen the
'honest hands' and robbers withal. We deceived
Ayllon and stole the treasure, which he was seek-
ing under guidance of the spirits of his relatives.
But our interference was justified by the circum-
stances and the sea letter, and, certainly, provi-
dential for Ayllon and his property. Now, we
must guard these valuables and deliver them to
the owner, who can be none other than our friend,
Lucas Ayllon."
"It goes against my grain, but that's right,
and there's my hand on it," said the captain, and
the two excited men shook hands, and talked and
smoked over ways and means until near morning.
The next day, Delano wrote to Ayllon :
THE SEA LETTER 265
E , Mass., Oct. ioth., 18 .
"My dear Ayllon,
" I have decided to remain here awhile, and
we wish you to come on, as soon as the doctor
can spare you. This is a healthy and delightful
place, and you will recover rapidly, where climatic
influences are aided by our sympathetic and social
companionship.
"We have very important news concerning
your property and family interests, which I dare
not communicate to you by letter. Until we greet
you face to face, we shall pray for your health and
happiness. The captain joins me in kind regards
to you and the doctor.
Yours truly,
TOM DELANO."
CHAPTER XX.
Ayllon arrived five days later by the evening
boat, poorly clothed, pale and feeble. His friends
gave him a hearty welcome, and hurried him over
the hills in an easy surrey to their home. Mrs.
Oliver gave him a little bedroom upon the sunny
side of the house, having pretty matting, muslin
curtains and willow furniture, which brightened
his face immediately. He had never tasted fish
as delicate as the fried sole they had for supper.
He smoked his pipe out upon the homely piazza, and
rested his eyes upon the fine scenery of the oppo-
site shore and the blue water of the sound, with a
peace and contentment to which he had long been
a stranger. The balmy breeze from the Gulf
Stream was in great contrast to the frigid atmos-
phere of Mt. Desert, and he said he believed the
date of the almanac was a month ahead of the
season.
Delano had cautioned Ayllon to secrecy in re-
gard to his family history and his late adventures,
and, during walks and drives about the island,
THE SEA LETTER 267
communicated to him most of the information he
had acquired, and told him of the deeds he had
performed in solving the mystery of the sea letter.
The more he confessed, the more Ayllon' s wonder
increased and the greater his anxiety became to
know the source of his knowledge; but 'Delano
kept the discovery of the treasure chest secret un-
til he and the captain were positively certain by
laborious examination and numerous tests, that he
was Lucas, the son and heir of Juan Ayllon.
Then, they decided to make a full confession
and to exhibit their find to him in Delano's room.
The three men- smoked upon the porch after
supper, and, when darkness fell and the air became
chilly, went into the front room where Delano had
a little fire and lamps lighted. Ayllon was seated
in a great rocker with arms and cushions, and
they had conversed awhile, when Delano walked
slowly across the room and threw some yacht flags
off the chest. Ay lion's eyes followed his move-
ments and in a moment he jumped from his chair
and cried, "My God! my father's chest! How
came this here ? Where did you get it ? Oh ! my
poor father!" and he crossed the room and drew
one hand caressingly over the rude box, looking
from Delano to the captain inquiringly and anx-
iously.
"The captain and I found it in the north wall
of the cave where you were blasting," said Delano.
268 THE SEA LETTER
"And you stole it from me!" declared Ayllon
angrily.
"We did what your father requested," replied
Delano. "Here is his last communication with
the world, his dying message from the sea, which
we had for our instruction and authority," and he
spread out the original, water-stained, crumpled
paper with its Spanish writing upon the table.
Ayllon looked with amazement at the paper
and exclaimed, "It is my father's writing!" Then
he read it with much trouble and agitation, and
tears rolled down his cheeks, as he turned to his
companions and said, "Forgive me, gentlemen;
I am not responsible to-day."
Both men assured him of their forgiveness,
and Delano explained how he and the captain had
studied the chart, hired and sailed the yacht,
found the locality, and secured the chest, regard-
less of his claims, which they had considered more
the whims of a madman, than spiritually author-
ized. He drew forth the bundle of papers, spread
them out upon the table, and invited Ayllon' s ex-
amination. With shaking hands, alternately pale
and flushed face, and agitated manner, Ayllon
looked over the documents and translated them to
his hearers, making comments and exclamations,
and asking numerous questions. He read his
father's record of his movements twice over, as if
he thought this of more importance than all the
other papers, and folded it with a deep sigh.
THE SEA LETTER 269
"Alas! too late!" he muttered, as he finished
reading the deed and the will. His thoughts were
with his dead wife and children. "What might
have been, had these papers been put upon record
immediately after execution?" he asked gloomily.
He took up the memorandum of contents of
the chest, listless and indifferent to its importance,
and asked if the jewelry and money were in the
chest. Delano threw the cover back and exposed
the box and two bags. Ayllon passed his hand
carelessly over the bags and asked, "Has the
money been counted?"
"Yes; and it agrees with the statement to a
dollar," replied Delano.
"Good!" said he, and he emptied the con-
tents of the cigar box upon the table, and unwrap-
ped and examined every precious stone and piece
of jewelry. "I have seen a few of these ornaments
worn by my mother and Margery. This bracelet
resembles one my child wore when she was lost
a gift to Margery when we were married an heir-
loom that has been in our family several hundred
years. Our ladies would not wear jewels in the
wilderness, and they were given in father's care
for safety."
"A friend of mine has a bracelet very similar
to this one," remarked Delano.
"Yes? There are many bracelets made to
resemble a serpent."
270 THE SEA LETTER
"But few of such fine enamelling and work-
manship."
"Probably Moorish labor and life are held
cheaply in Europe."
"They are lessening in value here," added
the captain, who had taken a position to watch the
old man's expressions critically.
Ayllon wrapped the articles in the silk, placed
them in the box, and pushed it from him.
"What are your wishes, Senor?" asked De-
lano.
"I have none."
" But these papers, this jewelry, this golden
hoard, belong to you. The captain and I are fully
convinced of your identity and heirship to this
chest and all its contents. Is it not so, Captain?"
"There's no use backing and filling about
this matter. We heard the opinion from the other
world in your cabin, Mister Ayllon, and we've seen
all the papers in the case and voted you guilty.
This stuff belongs to you, and we are mighty
glad to be the means of restoring it safely to the
rightful owner. I agree with you, Mister Delano;"
and the captain slapped his thigh heavily.
"You are very generous, gentlemen," re-
plied Ayllon, "but you have been put to great
expense and trouble, and succeeded when I should
have failed. The papers, jewelry and, perhaps,
one of the bags, would permit me to send memen-
toes to a few family friends and relatives in Spain,
THE SEA LETTER 271
and support me in comfort the few years I have
yet to endure." A shade of melancholy passed
over his fine features as he ceased speaking, and
he settled into his chair utterly dejected.
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Delano; "we could
not accept your princely gift. We have been fully
recompensed by our delightful cruise and strange
experiences. I am rich enough to do what I like,
which is the object of wealth and the secret of
happiness provided one seeks wise things and
it would be impossible for me to take pay for doing
a good deed and rescuing a friend. The captain
can speak for himself. Hey, Captain?"
" I suppose I can," said the captain smiling,
"but not with the glibness of you landlubbers.
Somehow this New England climate and going to
sea make a man's tongue stiff and his speech slow,
and words come out like a chain-cable through a
hawsepipe, when you are given a little more scope,
link by link. I am not rich, but this old house
and the monthly pay I receive from Uncle Sam,
as a retired officer of the Navy, with the lobsters,
clams and fish I get, will enable me to pull along
without troubling other folks. If we had any more
income, we would likely spoil our stomachs with
luxuries, and go traveling around and get killed in
the city streets or on the railroad. Keep the stuff
and enjoy it, sir; you're welcome to all I have
done," and the old sea-dog began to fill his pipe
272 THE SEA LETTER
with cut-plug, which he said, 'Beats cavendish all
hollow for a comfortable smoke!'
"You are both very generous, but I feel un-
der great obligations to you and wish to lighten
them somewhat," said Ayllon, and he opened the
small bag, counted out fifty American eagles upon
the table, and pushed them over towards the cap-
tain. "You must take them, not as a reward, but
as a token of my friendship. Nay, nay! you must
gratify me in this," said he, as the captain contin-
ued to protest. Delano nodded and his shipmate
spread his broad hand lovingly over the gold.
Ayllon looked inquiringly at Delano, who
shook his head decidedly and said, "Not a dollar!"
" But something a memento a keepsake
by which to remember me," and he looked really
distressed.
Delano reflected a moment and said, "Well,
my dear sir, if it will make you happy, I will accept
a piece of jewelry as a souvenir."
Ayllon emptied the small box upon the table
gleefully and said, "Take anything everything
I shall be so gratified."
"Thank you very much anything, really?"
"Certainly," and he slid the heap towards
Delano, who pushed it back, held up the serpent
bracelet and said, "This?"
"Yes, and others take more it is a trifle."
"Thanks, no; I shall value this as your gift
and a beautiful reminder of our adventure."
THE SEA LETTER 273
"You are modest. May it be your mascot !"
"Thank you. I may need one sometime."
Ayllon filled his purse with gold, made Delano
accept the amount of his loan and what he had
paid for expenses at Somesville, and the three men
packed everything except the papers in the chest,
nailed the cover down and corded it, tacked on a
card addressed to Lucas Ayllon, Adams Express
Co., New York, N. Y., and said, "Good-night."
The next day, it went by express, heavily in-
sured, and they all felt much relieved. Ayllon's
arm and health improved rapidly. The captain
took him upon rowing and sailing trips upon the
lake and harbor ; they had picnics and clambakes
along shore, and rode all over the island. Mrs.
Oliver and Lucy led them to see places and things
the captain even knew not, and the invalid and
young lady were very congenial, the former find-
ing in the sprightly, vivacious girl some solace for
the loss of Belita. Delano watched them with af-
fectionate interest, and thought, "How sweet to
the aged are the loving ministrations of a daugh-
ter."
The men decided in consultation that the deed
of Juan to Margery should be recorded immediate-
ly and the will deposited in the Probate Court at
St. Augustine; then, Ayllon should take out ad-
ministration papers, and appeal to the Attorney
General of the United States for an annulment of
the decree and sale of the estate on the St. Johns
274 THE SEA LETTER
River. It would be easy to convince the Govern-
ment that the deed had not been recorded when
executed, because of the sudden closing of the
office, the removal of the archives, and the chaos
of the civil war. It could be proved Margery was
the child of northern parents; the wife of a
neutral, who had resided continuously upon a small
farm in the forest during the contest, and had
remained as manager of his father's confiscated
estate years afterwards.
"There is only one defect in our contention,"
remarked Ayllon, as they were discussing the
legal aspect of his affairs over their cigars one
evening in Delano's room.
"And what is that?" asked Delano.
" It is that we lived on the plantation, when
the gunboat was attacked from our bluff."
" That is a serious flaw. Is it not possible to
disavow the responsibility, and prove you could
not prevent the Confederate officer from locating
his guns upon the bluff?"
"Who would believe me I was there in
the house the officers on both sides are probably
dead I know the captain of the gunboat and the
captain of the artillery company are and the
Government is very suspicious of our post belhim
loyalty."
"Why don't you consult the spirits about it?"
"I am out of harmony with them they do
not respond any more."
c-
o.
M j=
CO T3
Ore
h
THE SEA LETTER 275
"Is it possible?"
" I think I can find you a witness, sefior,"
said the captain.
" You ? How is it possible ? "
" You must forgive me, sir I was an officer
of the Ottawa, when she destroyed your home and
the battery."
"What, you?" shouted Ayllon, rising flushed
and angry.
" Yes, it was my duty to work my division of
guns."
" Forgive me, Captain. It was the curse of
war, and our side attacked first," said he sinking
back into his chair, and struggling to suppress
the emotions excited by the memory of his great
losses.
" I was on shore and bought a beef from you.
Don't you remember ? "
" Is it possible you were the handsome,
young officer, who bought a heifer ? "
" Yes ; have I changed much ? "
" I would never have recognized you. I
wouldn't have sold her to you, but I knew you
would take her if I refused."
" How much did I pay you for her?"
" Ten dollars one gold eagle."
" You are right, and it is fortunate you re-
member. Do you recall any other circumstances
connected with the delivery ? "
276 THE SEA LETTER
" Yes ; the critter put a foot through the
bottom of the flat-boat and nearly drowned two
niggers."
" Exactly ! Now I can swear you gave us
milk and sold us beef, and, therefore, helped the
Union cause."
" I will not have it ! Giving aid and comfort
to the enemy ! "
" But you did ; and I can depose you said all
you dared to prevent the attack being made from
your bluff, and the Confederate captain cursed
you for being a traitor your negroes told me so
afterwards and I saw you took no part in the
fight, but were busy aiding your family to escape.
You remained a non-combatant throughout the
war, and sold oranges, sweet potatoes, melons,
eggs, chickens and beef to our naval and military
forces."
" Well, I had to do so in order to get a liv-
ing."
" Of course ; you did right, and it is fortunate
in this emergency that you did."
"I told you the captain was a 'regular sea-
lawyer,' Ay lion," said Delano. "The war is a
dead issue of the long ago ; you wish to recover
your plantation ; sentiment must be suppressed ;
you would be laughed at if you tried to prove you
were a Confederate, when all your actions indicat-
ed the contrary."
"Yes but my sympathies "
THE SEA LETTER 277
" Were on the wrong side and contrary to
your acts. Keep your mouth shut, recover your
property, and then discuss secession the remain-
der of your life if you so desire."
Ayllon twisted and turned on his chair and
did not reply. Appearances, facts and logic over-
whelmed him.
" Another point," continued his advocate ;
"the property was condemned for your father's
deeds, when it really belonged to your wife, and
you suffered as his representative. Your claim
will be irresistible when the deed is proven along
with the facts of your neutrality."
"Your young head is better than my old
one," said Ayllon resignedly.
" We have all the documents to prove your
identity and heirship, and the captain will be a
star witness to establish your neutrality and
loyalty."
" Quien sabe ? You seem to be a good
lawyer, and I must be an obedient client."
"A principal cannot judge his own case;
he is too much of an interested witness."
" You will come out on deck, sir, if you take
our advice," added the captain.
CHAPTER XXI.
The steamer took Delano and Ayllon to
Woods Hole next morning, and they arrived in
New York in the evening. The chest was re-
ceived the next day ; a deposit of all the gold
made in Delano's bank to Ayllon's credit though
suspicion was aroused by its character, which was
only allayed by his companion a safe deposit
box rented and the jewelry locked therein, and the
chest sent to Delano's apartments. Delano
showed Ayllon the attractions of the metropolis,
introduced him to the Palmers, and had the doctor
examine and dress the injured arm. Then the
old man took passage by steamer for Jacksonville,
Fla., where he arrived safely, went over to St.
Augustine and secured a room overlooking the
fountains, and next day was refreshed and ready
for business.
He put the deed upon record immediately,
deposited the will at court, took out administration
papers upon his wife's estate, and confided his
business to the law-firm of Burrit & Buffington,
THE SEA LETTER 279
who assured him he had an excellent case. The
following day he journeyed to the old plantation ;
made himself known to the manager ; visited and
mourned over the graves of the two women, who
had been dearest to him on earth, and estimated
the value of land and improvements. This visit
to the old home, where he had spent the sweetest
years of his life, was sad and distressing ; and,
shaken by his emotions and fatigued by travel
and excitement, he was glad to accept the hospi-
tality of the gentleman, and rest a few days under
a new roof near the spot where he had been so
happy. The plantation was in an excellent state
of cultivation, and the beautiful villa faced the
river and had in the rear barns of the most modern
adaptability. He was pleased to learn the place
was still in possession of the man for whom he
had worked years before, who had become rather
tired of it because of the great destruction caused
to his semi-tropical garden by several seasons of
severe weather, when the temperature had fallen
near zero.
Ayllon was rested and quieted by the beauty
of the place, consoled by the thought that he
would soon be in possession of the plantation and
the graves of his beloved, and stimulated by hope
of yet finding his lost child which Delano had
aroused anew and he returned much improved
in health and spirits to his legal advisers at St.
Augustine. Judge Burrit and he took train
280 THE SEA LETTER
immediately for Washington, where his case was
gone over with the Attorney General, and proper
measures instituted to annul the condemnation
and restore the plantation to him, as administrator
and only surviving heir of Margery. Negotiations
were begun with Col. Marple, the owner of the
property, and he agreed to sell for a sum of money
equal to what he had paid plus the improvements.
There was no question raised, nor quibbling heard
after the papers had been examined and Ayllon
had told his story and substantiated it by Captain
Oliver and old neighbors along the St. Johns.
Justice was not blind, and the Government
officers exhibited great interest and sympathy in
prosecuting his claim to a finish ; but, after the
legal decision, an act of Congress was necessary
to provide money, and, as that august body was
not in session, an arrangement was made with the
Congressman of the district to introduce and
secure the passage of a bill, appropriating a lump
sum for the relief of Lucas Ayllon, Administrator
for Margaret Reed Ayllon, deceased, as recom-
mended by the Department of Justice of the
United States.
The bill was rushed through in December, a
decree restoring the estate was made, and Ayllon
entered into possession before New Years. He
engaged the old manager immediately, ordered
some alterations in buildings and grounds, erected
a monument by the two graves on the bluff, and
THE SEA LETTER 281
returned to New York to consult with Delano,
who had been anxious to see him for a month.
After Ay lion's departure for the South,
Delano had plunged into business with renewed
vigor, and could give little time to a consideration
of events of the summer and the problems they
had furnished for solution. He saw Gabrielle and
Thompson frequently ; the latter had become a
welcome visitor at her house, and a student of
medicine with her father, who derived great
pleasure from his accurate knowledge of recent
scientific developments. Thompson was an en-
thusiast in everything he undertook, and his mind
was so occupied with the severe studies of the
medical course, that he had little time for senti-
ment, or philosophical reflections upon his feel-
ings towards Laura and Gabrielle. He was satis-
fied to leave relations as they were until he had
finished his task, having Laura secluded in a
country town and Gabrielle under his daily obser-
vation.
The Palmers had rallied Delano upon his
mission to the wilds of Maine, and his acquaint-
ance with the long-haired spiritualist, but he had
borne their jibes good naturedly, and had told
them only enough of his adventure to allay their
curiosity. He talked with Mrs. Palmer about the
Conants, and found her singularly reticent concern-
ing their early history and Laura. He slipped
away from business one day in December and
282 THE SEA LETTER
arrived in Essex in the evening. The Conants
were surprised and gratified at his unexpected
visit, and Laura showed her pleasure by a height-
ened color and nervous enthusiasm quite un-
natural to her. She had become more fully
developed in the brief interval since the summer,
and Delano's eyes showed such undisguised
admiration, that her eyelids drooped as she gave
him her hand. Their warm hands met in a
momentary, yet, lingering clasp, and a strange
thrill of rapture passed like a musical wave to
their brains and hearts and left them embarrassed.
He turned quickly away and said to Mrs. Conant,
" I expected to see a summer girl, but I find Miss
Laura has ' growed ' like Topsy."
" That's what our friends tell us, but really I
see very little difference," replied her mother.
" I hope I don't look like Topsy, Mr.
Delano?" said Laura.
' No, your hair isn't kinky enough."
" I reckon I'se not so black 's she wuz."
" Where did you get that kind of talk ? "
" Dunno, 'spects from mammy."
" What does Laura mean, Mrs. Conant ? "
asked Delano, much surprised.
" Some of her nonsense. She's a great
mimic, and declares she will be an actress."
" She will get over that idea," said Mr.
Conant. " When I was a boy my highest ambi-
tion was to be a locomotive engineer."
THE SEA LETTER 283
"And mine, to be a hunter, trapper and
Indian fighter. Kit Carson was my model," said
Delano.
" I should begin as a star," continued Laura.
" Which is impossible," declared her mother.
" When did you arrive home, Mrs. Conant ? "
asked Delano suddenly.
" The middle of September."
" Did the Palmers go to Lenox ? I forgot to
ask them."
" No ; they stopped at Watch Hill until the
hotel closed, and then went home to New York.
The doctor had only a short vacation this season."
" Indeed ; I am glad he got away awhile
he works very hard," and Delano's thoughts went
back to the strange stance in Ayllon's cabin,
where a spirit had written upon a slate the where-
abouts of his friends.
Laura played the piano and sang awhile, they
talked of their pleasant experiences at Capawock,
and, later, Mr. Conant took his guest to his den
to smoke. When they returned to the drawing-
room, Laura had retired and Mrs. Conant was
reading. Their conversation soon became per-
sonal, and Delano related in confidence his strange
experience during his yachting cruise. His audi-
tors were amazed that the facts for such a tragic
narrative could be gathered in the United States
in the ninteenth century, and expressed great
sympathy for the afflicted father and hopes that he
284 THE SEA LETTER
might find his lost child. Then Delano pulled up
his cuff and showed them the bracelet, with the
ruby eyes, coiled around his wrist.
Mrs. Conant smiled and said, "How careless
of Laura ! Did she leave it upon the table or
lend it to you ? "
" Neither ; go to her room and see if she has
not her own."
She went away and soon returned, holding
Laura's bracelet in her hand and looking pale and
distressed. They compared them side by side
and found them exactly alike, except that Laura's
was brighter from constant wear.
" Whose is that ? Where did you get it, Mr.
Delano ? For Heaven's sake ! tell me quickly ! "
she exclaimed.
" I found it with the treasure in the cave, and
Ayllon insisted that I should take it as a souvenir."
" Was there any writing with it ? "
" None, but it was mentioned in the list of
contents."
" There was with ours James, will you get
it from the safe, please ? "
Mr. Conant went into the library, brought
back a piece of paper and read aloud,
" I wore this bracelet for my love,
And he has worn the other.
The slime of the serpent is over me,
And he has gone forever.
Mother of God ! forgive me, I pray
THE SEA LETTER 285
Cursed be he and his progeny ! "
"This is a translation of the original paper,
which is written in Spanish," added Mrs. Conant,
very much agitated.
" Why, Mrs. Conant ! what is the matter ?
Why are you so distressed ?" asked Delano.
"Oh! you don't know! You don't know!"
she cried, rubbing her brow and wiping her eyes.
" Well, my dear, I think you can afford to
take Mr. Delano into your confidence, since he
has been so generous with us," remarked Mr.
Conant.
"Would you, James ? Do you think the time
has come?"
" I think he may be able to clear up the
mystery."
"Very well, James ; it shall be as you desire.
We will entrust to you, Mr. Delano, the secret of
our daughter ; trusting to your honor to keep it
inviolate until such time as we shall release you.
We have not always lived here ; our early married
life was spent in New York, where my husband
was employed in a dry-goods house, and I enjoyed
all the educational advantages and refined pleas-
ures of a great city. I was especially interested
in our church, and assisted in the charities and man-
agement of the Episcopal Hospital. We lived in
a sweet little flat on a pleasant street, had a good
servant to care for it, and, as we had no children,
286 THE SEA LETTER
I had abundant leisure to help the poor and com-
fort the suffering.
" I was coming down the hospital steps one
morning, when the ambulance backed up to the
entrance to the surgical pavilion, a woman was
carried in upon a stretcher, and a bright faced
child followed upon the young surgeon's shoulder.
It was one of those crushing accidents, a broken
arm and several fractured ribs, so common in the
city streets, and the poor creature was shocked
and unconscious. She disappeared in the direction
of the ward ; her child was given to the attendant
in the reception-room, and the matron notified.
Something unusual in the appearance of the
patient, and the winsome smiles of the little girl,
impelled me to return to the office to learn the
nature of the case. 'A street car accident,' said
the clerk blandly. I sought the little one bereft
so cruelly ; she nestled in my arms, prattled in a
southern dialect, and rested quite contented.
" ' O, here you are, you good Samaritan ! '
said the matron, as she came into the room.
' Dear me ! what are we to do now ? We've beds
and wards for all the ills flesh is heir to, but we
haven't a cot for a healthy baby.'
" ' Can't you let her have a corner in some
private room, and detail a nurse to look after her?'
said I.
" ' Mercy ! no ; we have extra cots in every
out-of-the-way place now, and many of the nurses
THE SEA LETTER 287
are on double-turn and almost worn out. Her
mother is on the dangerous list and may die, and,
if she doesn't, she is going to have a long conva-
lescence. We'll have to send her to the Day
Nursery or the Foundling Hospital,' said the
matron.
" 'That would be too bad ; her mother will
want to see her when she becomes rational.'
" 'Which may never be. She's a sweet child
and clean as newly laundered linen. Why can't
you take her home with you a few days, Mrs.
Conant ? Tell Mr. Conant you thought it time
there was a baby in the house.'
" 'James would think I was insane.'
" ' No ; he's a kind man and would play with
her evenings. ' Men like babies and puppies.'
" ' I am very doubtful about my husband lik-
ing them.'
" ' Well, take her till to-morrow, anyhow, and
we'll talk it over again,' said the matron, and she
smoothed out her white apron, gave the baby a kiss
and rushed away to her duties.
" I could not bear to see the waif abused and
took her home with me, resolving to find a good
place for her among my friends. I must say, I
was agreeably disappointed in James. He and the
servant were delighted with the temporary addi-
tion to the family, and the child behaved nicely.
It was several days before the mother was able to
288 THE SEA LETTER
see any visitor, then she asked for her little girl,
and kept on crying, ' Laura ! where is Laura ? ' '
Delano arose hastily and walked across the
room, then came back and stood before Mrs.
Conant and asked in an excited manner, " How
old was the child ? "
" About four years, we thought," she replied,
as he settled into a chair and listened intently to
every word she uttered.
Mrs. Conant continued : " The House Sur-
geon telephoned me and I took the child to her
mother. The latter was very feverish and weak,
and, after embracing her, let me hold her in my
lap by the bedside. The head-nurse had explained
that she had been taken to a pleasant home by
one of the lady-managers of the hospital, and the
patient said she was very thankful. She begged
I would keep her and bring her daily that she
might see her, and I consented. I kept my prom-
ise several days, and contributed to the pleasure
of mother and child, though I noticed the mother
became less interested and weaker each visit. A
broken rib had injured the right lung and caused
pneumonia, and the doctors looked grave and
shook their heads, when I pressed them for an
opinion. It was apparent the mother was going
to die, and she seemed to realize it herself, for she
clung to us one afternoon in a pathetic way, and
had the nurse put the screens closer around the
bed and go away a while. Then she pressed my
THE SEA LETTER 289
hand and said, ' You have been very good to my
little girl, Mrs. Conant, and I thank you very
much. May Jesus and the Saintly Mary bless
and keep you ! I have been a great sinner ; I
violated my vows of chastity ; I loved a noble-
man's son and fled from a convent to marry him,
but he deceived and abandoned me at St.
Augustine, and I lost him forever. Though he
gave me plenty of gold, he took away my bracelet,
the pledge of our betrothal, because it was an
heirloom ; but I had my revenge and recovered it
at last. I wish you to keep it safely for my
child I fear I am slipping away from earth.'
" She drew her breath in an interrupted,
spasmodic way, pressed her hand upon her side
and continued : ' My child is of noble birth ; her
father was an adventurer, but the son of a distin-
guished family of Spain. He inherited a vast
estate in Florida and squandered it. I dared not
investigate his affairs; but his daughter should
have her own. If I should die' she fingered the
rosary and cross that lay upon her pillow and
closed her eyes a few moments and prayed 'I beg
you to care for my child she has had a rough
life with me I had given up my room in a
tenement house and was going to leave the city,
when this accident occurred. I have all our clothes
here. Here is my Savings Bank Book, with a
check already signed, to enable you to draw the
money for Laura and my funeral expenses.'
290 THE SEA LETTER
" ' Don't talk that way, Mrs. Vasquez ; you
may get well and be happy yet,' said I, laying my
hand caressingly upon her pinched and wrinkled
face.
" ' No, Mrs. Conant, I have had the priest,
Father Chidwick, and he has prepared me for
Heaven. I am going soon he says so and
there'll be no more sin and sorrow in my cup.
Only, dear madam, promise me you will take
Laura for your own, and make a better woman of
her than I have been. They tell me you haven't
any children. Oh ! promise me, and I will bless
you with my dying breath ! '
" What could I do but promise, relying upon
Mr. Conant' s kind heart for acquiescence and
he has never regretted his charity. The poor
woman reached under her pillow and drew forth a
velvet jewel-case James, will you please get it ?
and said, 'Here is my bracelet ; keep it for me
and let Laura wear it. It may be very important
some time in establishing her claim to family
estates. Don't lose it, for Heaven's sake ! If I
should recover, you can return it to me.'
"This is it, the bracelet lay thus, and the
piece of paper was under the velvet, where you
see it has started off a little. I took the jewel
to examine it, when the patient snatched it from
my hand, covered it with kisses and wept over it.
The child patted her cheek, and said, 'Poor
Mamma ! don't cry, mamma.'
THE SEA LETTER 291
" ' My darling ! ' she sobbed, as she embraced
Laura and kissed her.
" She handed me the bracelet with a deep
sigh and despairing, lingering look, and covered
her eyes with her handkerchief and wept. I
cried too, while I cautioned her to control her
emotions for fear she would make her disease
worse.
" ' Nothing can make me any worse now,' she
said dejectedly.
" 'While there is life there is hope ; you will
be better to-morrow,' I said cheerfully, trying to
awaken a hope which I was far from feeling my-
self.
" ' To-morrow ? the father will tell you what
arrangements we have made.'
" ' Well, I will talk with him, Mrs. Vasquez.
Has Laura been baptised ? '
" ' O, yes, long ago.'
" ' And her baptismal name is Laura ? '
" ' You will find it inside the bracelet. Touch
a little spring and scales of the serpent will open
and reveal it engraved within.' "
" Indeed ! extraordinary ! and you found it
was ?" asked Delano, excitedly.
"No, we did not find it we could not see
any spring, and we did not investigate farther,
believing it to be a delusion of the mother's
brain."
292 THE SEA LETTER
"About as truthful as some of her other
statements ? " remarked Delano sarcastically.
" What do you mean, Mr. Delano ? "
" I mean she lied about being the mother of
the child and ."
" How terrible to suppose such a thing ! "
"Well excuse me and the name of the
lover husband the father of Laura did she
tell you that ? " demanded he eagerly.
" No ; she did not ; she was too ill to catechise.
She strained Laura to her breast and kissed her
over and over again, then threw one arm around
my neck and said, 'A Dios, Senora ! may the
Mother of God bless you!'
" ' Good afternoon, Mrs. Vasquez ; I shall
see you early to-morrow/ said I, and bent down
and kissed her cheek. She gave me a quick
glance of affection and gratitude, closed her eyes,
and we withdrew quietly beyond the screen."
Mrs. Conant was overcome by her emotions
and sobbed behind her handkerchief. Mr. Conant
placed his arm around her shoulders and kissed
her forehead, and Delano turned his back and
scrutinized the bracelets carefully without im-
mediate result.
Mr. Conant continued his wife's story :
" The next morning we received a telephone
message that Mrs. Vasquez had died during the
night, a post mortem would be held in the after-
noon, and the body must be removed early the
THE SEA LETTER 293
next morning. Such are the brutal statements
sent out to friends as if the poor woman had not
been maimed enough. I called upon Father
Chidwick, learned the woman had given him some
money for his expenses of burial and a mass at the
cathedral, and got him to secure a lot in conse-
crated ground.
"We buried her with flowers and tears and
beautiful service in the cemetery by the river, and
I had a simple marble cross erected later, bearing
this inscription,
' Eloisa Vasquez,
Born in Havana, Cuba, 1840.
Died in New York, N. Y., 1884.
' Only to thy cross I cling ! '
" We gave all the clothes to the hospital
authorities, drew the money from the bank and re-
invested it for Laura, and adopted her as our own
child. Blessed be the day she came to us ! She
has been the light, the life and the joy of our
home."
" You may well say that, James," said Mrs.
Conant ; " I have kept my promise to her dying
mother. I love her as I would my own child.
She is our darling and no one shall take her from
us."
" No child could be nearer and dearer to us,"
added Mr. Conant. "Now that we are getting
294 THE SEA LETTER
along in years, we feel considerable anxiety for her
future. I hope before we go, she may be happily
married, and come into possession of any property
to which she may be entitled from her family.
But that investment that I made for her years ago
turned out uncommonly well, and she'll have a dot
of five figures, which is more than many men are
worth. I agree with my wife in everything except
the foreign prospects. She will have enough
without a tainted title," and he rubbed his hands
together palm to palm, as if they were itching.
" She might find a title and a coat-of-arms,"
said madam.
" With a bar sinister," said her husband.
" Perhaps, royal blood. Now wouldn't you
like it, dear, if she were a princess ? "
Mr. Conant smiled and said, "To shorten
the story, Delano, we came to this beautiful town,
in 1887, have done some business and had a pleas-
ant home. Laura's early experience has mingled
with the dreams of childhood ; her own mother
has faded and become personified in her foster-
mother, and she recognizes me as her father, as
she probably seldom saw him. She is in happy
ignorance of our secret, as are all our associates
and town's people, and the few persons in New
York, who once knew it, have forgotten, moved
away or died. Except our cousins, the Palmers,
however ; they share the burden with us and are
THE SEA LETTER 295
pledged to secrecy. All was serene and lovely,
and you pounced down upon us with a strange
story and a bracelet."
" It is true, Mr. Conant ; I hope I shall not
be a marplot, but duty is often contrary to one's
inclinations," replied Delano.
" Take care that your duty does not destroy
our happiness."
" God forbid ! " said he, fervently, looking up-
wards, "but there seems to be a mystery about
these bracelets which we ought to unfold. If we
find the results threatening, we can suppress
them. Laura Conant was once Laura Vasquez,
and before that, perhaps, somebody else of a
great family name hidden within the bracelet.
Let me think ; my mind is like a shuttlecock,
flying from one idea to another, and these crowd
upon my consciousness so fast they confuse and
hinder logical conclusion."
He walked up and down the drawing-room,
while his friends watched him, curious and anxious.
He stopped suddenly before them and said, tap-
ping his left palm with the index finger of his
right hand, as he presented each fact : " Here are
two bracelets exactly alike, made apparently by
the same hands ; one is in the possession of a
young lady through inheritance ; the other, in that
of a privateersman to give him the best char-
acter. This paper "-taking the slip from the
velvet case "says, 'I wore this bracelet for my
296 THE SEA LETTER
love,' that is, this one left to Laura, which her
mother said, 'was an heirloom that had been
taken away from her by her lover, but recovered
at last when she had taken her revenge.' She
valued it highly, as a pledge of affection, a pos-
sible evidence of a right to property, and the
repository of his name. She felt her degrada-
tion bitterly 'the slime of the serpent' 'cursed
be he and his progeny' 'and he has gone for-
ever' but she was ignorant of his fate. Long
watching for his coming had ended in disappoint-
ment and despair, and she realized death was near.
Then a flood of memory and affection swept over
her and filled her heart with tenderness and for-
giveness, and hope added its blessed balm to her
euthanasia. She forgave all for love and Laura,
and believed Father Chidwick and Heaven would
restore the lost and render the future blessed.
" My bracelet was found with the treasure of
Juan Ayllon. The note says, 'And he has worn
the other.' Laura's mother described him very
well. He was an adventurer, a son of a noble
family in Spain, and had a landed estate in
Florida. He visited St. Augustine and the West '
Indies frequently in his schooner, and was, prob-
ably, drowned at sea the day the sea letter was
written. I think he was the fugitive lover, who
left Eloisa well provided with money, and gave
her bracelet to Margery when she was married.
He did not intend to abandon the woman he
THE SEA LETTER 297
could not marry her until after the war. He pre-
ferred to restore the bracelet to the family, and
expected to return to St. Augustine, but the war
prevented and his death followed. Margaret must
have let her child wear the bracelet, and Mrs.
Vasquez stole it from no How old was Mrs.
Vasquez ? "
" Forty-four when she died, but she looked
much older," replied Mrs Conant.
" You said Laura was about four years, and
that was in 1884."
" Yes, late in the season, in December."
" Captain Ayllon and his crew were never
heard from after the summer of 1865, until we
found his sea message in the bottle upon the
South Beach of Capawock. A child of his son,
Lucas, named Laura, was lost disappeared
from her home in St. Augustine, in the spring of
1884. I believe this woman stole Laura and the
bracelet together ; revenged her wrongs upon her
betrayer's son ; grew to love the innocent child,
and, relenting partially, sought to arrange affairs
so that she should regain her rights by represent-
ing her to be the daughter of Juan Ayllon."
The pale, agitated listeners arose from their
chairs and stood before Delano dazed and dumb,
as he finished his peroration, "Laura Conant, your
adopted daughter, is the lost child of Lucas and
Margery Ayllon, of St. Augustine."
298 THE SEA LETTER
" Oh ! is it possible ? The treachery of that
woman ! She had her revenge ! Against an inno-
cent child, too ! My poor dear, Laura !" cried Mrs.
Conant, as tears flooded her face and she sank in-
to a chair.
" Thank God for his goodness ! Laura, our
darling, was born in wedlock of respectable
parents," said Mr. Conant gravely and gratefully.
" My dear Delano, you are a wonder. You have
the detective perceptions of a Pinkerton, and the
analytical acumen of a Byrnes. Don't cry Marion;
we ought to be joyful over the solution of the
great mystery, which has puzzled and worried us
so many years."
" Oh ! Mr. Delano, are you quite sure ? Can
there be any mistake?" demanded Mrs. Conant
anxiously.
" There are a few missing links, but the evi-
dence and probabilities are all upon our side, Mrs.
Conant," he answered ; "I think there can be no
mistake."
" I declare, Delano, you ought to have been
a lawyer," said Mr. Conant with emphasis.
" O, no ; I have only used common sense
and here is confirmation one of the missing
links ! " he shouted, as he held up one of the
bracelets, which he had been fingering and scru-
tinizing. He had found a spring beneath a scale,
which threw back longitudinal rows of the ser-
pent's scales, and exposed a plain interior surface
THE SEA LETTER 299
upon which was engraved, "Lucas Vasquez d'
Ayllon, Madrid, Spain." It was the one Laura
had worn. He seized the other one eagerly,
which opened in the same manner, and contained
the same inscription. " Thank Heaven ! we don't
need anything more to establish the relationship
between Laura and her grandfather, the father of
Lucas Ayllon, hereditary Duke of Balearica," said
Delano decidedly, sitting down by the table.
They looked at the two bracelets for some minutes
in silence.
" Where is Ayllon now ? " asked Mr. Conant.
" He is on the way north, and I have been
expecting him every train. I must break this
news to him gently, as joy might kill him."
"What will we say to Laura?" asked Mrs.
Conant anxiously.
" Better, nothing, Marion. Let her meet her
father as a stranger," advised Mr. Conant.
" A capital idea, Mr. Conant, and I think I
will keep her father in ignorance too and watch
the denouement. You can all come over to New
York, and we will get up a dinner-party and bring
them together," said Delano.
" Good ! I will get Mrs. Palmer to give the
dinner all right," added Mrs. Conant.
" Here is Laura's bracelet I must go back
by early train to-morrow, so I will say Good-
night ! " and he tore himself away from his
friends, who followed him to the door, begging
300 THE SEA LETTER
him to remain with them. Delano was surprised
and pleased the next morning to meet Laura, with
Mr. Conant, at the 7 o'clock train, looking as
beautiful and bright as the morning, and their
greetings and farewells filled his mind with projects
and fancies all the way to the metropolis.
He found a letter upon his desk from Cap-
tain Oliver, which astonished and delighted him.
It was as follows :
"E , Jan. 15, 1 8 .
" Dear Mr. Delano,
" Eureka ! I have found the robber's den.
I was up in the attic storing away some things,
when I noticed a loose board near the chimney.
I took it up and was surprised at the absence of
laths and plaster beneath only a black hole. I
removed other boards, and uncovered between the
timbers a great chasm four feet wide, eight feet
long and of unknown depth.
" I lowered a lantern down until it rested up-
on the ground below the base of the chimney, and
saw a tackle, suspended from an attic floor-joist,
extending to the bottom, having" a boatswain's
chair at the lower block. It was an easy task to
hoist one's self up to the garret and to lower
down again, as I experienced myself.
" The cell below was surrounded by the
bricks of half the chimney, and a small door in
the south wall was closed by a plank door, with
THE SEA LETTER 301
hinges and bolts. When I opened it, a gust of
cold, musty air blew out my lantern ; but an old
smoker is rarely without matches, and I soon re-
lighted it. The door opened into an underground
passage, which led about sou'sou'west and ended
in the side-hill towards Waquataqua, where I saw
the boat land during the storm. How did I de-
termine that ? I would not crawl through myself,
nor let any neighbors try it. I put my dog in the
passage below, shut the door, and went and
whistled at the shore end. Brownie came out so
scared and glad he nearly ate me up. That
settled it. I went in a short distance each end and
became satisfied a man could go through, and
there wasn't anything supernatural about it.
" I found a piece of rubber coat in the crack
of the door, and some crumpled paper and cigar
stumps upon the floor of the den. An envelope
was addressed to Captain Juan Ayllon, Habana,
Cuba, and some scraps of paper, covered with a
woman's handwriting, indicated a quarrel. I read,
'you villian' 'keep your gold' 'give me back
my bracelet' 'I will not go to Habana'
' Beware ! the serpent has fangs ' ' I will be re-
venged ! ' All I could decipher of a signature was
'Elo .' I have kept the pieces to show you.
" I think now the men I saw were not spooks,
but part of Ayllon' s fighting crew, and their armor
consisted of rubber hats, coats and boots, wet and
shining in the lightning. They had learned of
302 THE SEA LETTER
this secret passage and room, built probably for
escape from the Indians, and had utilized it to
hide the treasure-chest until circumstances forced
them to change their rendezvous to the obscure
sound upon the Maine coast. They were armed
enemies, nevertheless, engaged in the Confed-
rate cause, and, if I had only known it, there
would have been more than one gun against them.
How lucky I was home on sick-leave at the time.
How strange that our discoveries upon the cruise
should enable us to clear up the mystery here !
I have fastened the door of the den on the inside,
and no longer fear spirits or demons.
"I am glad to learn from your letter, which
should have been answered long ago, that Ayllon
has recovered his health and is likely to regain
possession of his wife's estate. Come over and
see us and get a smell of salt water the ducks
are flying thick upon the lakes. Alice and Lucy
join me in regards to you.
"Yours truly,
" GEORGE OLIVER."
" By Jove ! the captain has solved the prob-
lem and supplied more evidence to confirm my
suspicions," muttered Delano. " There is no
longer any doubt about Mrs. Vasquez being the
abandoned woman, who revenged her wrongs from
THE SEA LETTER 303
Juan by kidnapping his son's child and regaining
the bracelet. The captain is on deck ! He has
cleared his mind of all its forebodings and super-
stitions, and learned there are other ways of
entering a house than by the doors and windows."
CHAPTER XXII.
Lucas Ayllon arrived in New York in Jan-
uary in perfect healthy, looking twenty years
younger than when he went south. Delano intro-
duced him at his club, made him acquainted with
several families, dined with him at Palmer's and
took him to the opera and theatres, while waiting
for the coming of the Conants. When they ar-
rived, he consulted with them and the Palmers.
It was decided to give a dinner and evening recep-
tion to our summer girls and their bachelor friends,
and to present Ayllon as a distinguished visitor
from Florida.
The Madison Avenue house was admirably
adapted for the purpose. Its lower rooms and
halls were beautifully decorated with smilax,
lilies, and pink and crimson roses by an artistic
florist, and the dining-table was set with that
ornate display of flowers, mirrors, cut-glass, silver
and china characteristic of refined taste,
The ladies presented themselves early by
special request, and Gabrielle and Laura conduct-
ed them to their rooms ; conversed with them on
THE SEA LETTER 305
the events of the summer, their doings since their
separation and their future plans ; divested the
visit of formality and punctilious etiquette, and made
them feel very comfortable and happy. The gent-
lemen arrived later and were taken in charge by
Thompson and Delano, who introduced them to
Dr. Palmer and Ayllon, and they had a few games
of pool while waiting for the ladies. These did
not present themselves in the drawing-room until
nearly time for dinner. They came in a rainbow
of colored silks, satins and chiffon ; greeted Dr.
Palmer and Mr. Ayllon ; met their summer
friends with enthusiasm, and soon engaged in
animated conversation. When they went to dinner,
the same couples formed as in coaching days.
Delano was perplexed a moment, but when he
saw Thompson hastening to Gabrielle's side, he
offered his arm gladly to Laura, and they all
proceeded to the places indicated. Ayllon sat at
Dr. Palmer's right, next to Mrs. Conant and her
husband ; Laura was at the doctor's left with
Delano next to her. Mrs. Palmer had Thompson
at her right with Gabrielle, and Helen at the left
with Wilson, and the other couples were arranged
upon the sides according to their wishes.
" It affords me great pleasure to welcome our
summer girls of Capawock and their gentlemen
friends to New York, though I understand you re-
present only a small coterie of the innumerable
host that throngs its picturesque shoresduring the
306 THE SEA LETTER
summer," said the host. "After some study of its
location and sanitary advantages, I have recom-
mended the island to my patients and friends."
" We thank you for your hospitable welcome
and favorable opinion of our resort, and are sorry
you did not honor us with your presence last
season," replied Delano.
" I could not leave my practice until late, and
spent but two weeks at Watch Hill. Mrs. Palmer
preferred to remain there with me, rather than go
to Lenox alone."
A shade passed over Delano's face he re-
called again the slate and the spiritual messages.
The medium and slate had been instruments of a
force in nature, which annihilated time and dis-
tance, was independent of known scientific
methods of communication, and required spiritual
attributes for its manifestation. Was that force
a spirit, the soul, existing after its earthly habit-
ation had been destroyed ? Could it in angelic
form pervade space, know everything, and influ-
ence souls yet in the bondage of flesh ? Delano
thought and staggered upon the border land of
mysteries.
Ayllon was watching him, thinking of the
spiritual stance, the little cabin and Belita. He
looked along the table at the sweet, intelligent
faces of the ladies and at Laura, as if contrasting
her beauty with that of her companions, and sighed
at the thought of his terrible bereavements.
THE SEA LETTER 307
Thompson and Gabrielle were discussing the
similarity of development in fishes and birds, as
they ate roast chicken, unmindful of sarcastic
criticism from Mrs. Palmer, who finally devoted
her attention to Helen and Wilson upon the other
side of the table, talked of every day troubles with
cooks and dressmakers, and listened to Wilson's
explanation of wonderful electrical discoveries.
The others related their experience since the
summer, and planned future reunions, and the
vivacity, excitement and happiness of the younger
set was very pleasing to the Palmers.
Laura chatted with her mother across the
table more than she did with Delano. It was
satisfaction to have him near her, and she showed
her appreciation by talking with her eyes a
way rather disturbing to a bachelor. She con-
versed with the doctor and Ayllon and was self-
possessed and witty. The latter asked her, if she
had ever been south, and said she reminded him
of someone he had met somewhere. She replied,
she had been somewhere, but not in the south, and
smiled at him archly.
Dessert and coffee were finished, t he gen-
tlemen retired to the smoking-room awhile, and
the young people played a few games of pool,
while the elder ones watched them. Then they
had some singing and piano music in the parlor
and danced a little, and Ayllon forgot his grief
and showed his thorough enjoyment of the func-
308 THE SEA LETTER
tion. When each person had communicated the
thoughts that were crowding for expression ; the
music had ceased from exhaustion of individual
repertories, and the guests had arranged them-
selves by couples about the open grate at the
side of the room, the doctor addressing Delano
said :
" The mutual confessions of our summer
girls and their friends have given nothing out
of the ordinary ; you alone, Mr. Delano, have been
singularly reticent, and I voice the wishes of all in
asking you to describe your yachting experience
and explain your mysterious conduct after your
departed from Capawock."
This formal invitation, previously arranged by
Delano and the two families, attracted the immediate
attention of the young people, who had been cur-
ious to have an explanation of his movements and
a knowledge of gold hunting, which they had read
about in the newspapers, and they seconded the
doctor's request by much applause and numerous
appeals.
Delano was sitting at one end of the semi-
circle and could look into the faces of his hearers,
who fixed their eyes upon him with eager expect-
ation.
"You quite embarrass me, Doctor," said he;
"in asking me to make a speech before such a dis-
tinguished assembly. I ask forgiveness of you,
whom I left so unceremoniously at Capawock, and
THE SEA LETTER 309
I believe you will pardon my action, when you learn
the reasons for my haste and secrecy.
"You all remember the bottle and the piece
of paper within it, which Miss Laura and I found
upon the South Beach the night of our tally-ho ex-
cursion. In addition to what I read you and gave
to the press, another part directed the finder to go
to the coast of Maine but here, read this copy"
and he paused until all had read the translation
which he gave them, asked many questions, and
expressed their surprise.
"Captain Oliver and I," continued he, "char-
tered a small yacht, shipped two men, found the
sound, discovered the cave, removed a treasure-
chest, rescued Mr. Ayllon after the destruction of
his cabin, buried his daughter, Belita, restored
treasures and legal papers to the owner, and I am
trying to find a child, now a young lady, who was
stolen from her home in St. Augustine, in 1884."
His auditors seemed spell-bound and, despair-
ing of getting an understanding of the affair from
the condensed report, begged him to fill out and
dress his skeleton story, which he did in detail and
much to their satisfaction.
" Every wrong has been righted as far as pos-
sible except one," said he; " the restoration of the
daughter. I think I possess evidence to accom-
plish that, but a few links are missing, which we
must try and supply."
310 THE SEA LETTER
"What a glorious romance that would make!"
cried Vic.
The elderly people received the narration
with calmness; the young, with suppressed ex-
citement and intense interest. Delano answered
numerous questions, gave more complete explana-
tions, and appealed frequently to Ayllon for facts
and confirmation. The girls closed around the
two men and would have hugged them, as they ex-
pressed their feelings and admiration over their
heroic conduct.
"What links are missing, Tom?" asked
Gabrielle eagerly.
"The recognition of each other by the father
and child. There are childhood memories, which
may be awakened. You can consider ways and
means, while I confer with Mr. Ayllon."
The two men withdrew into an alcove and
Delano submitted a piece of lace to Ayllon's in-
spection, which was the only article except the
bracelet that Mrs. Conant had preserved. He
thought he recognized it, as a pattern of Honiton
that he had seen in the trimming of one of Mar-
gery's dresses. Delano informed him of his belief,
that his daughter had been found and was present
in the drawing-room, and cautioned him not to be-
tray any emotion until he had submitted her to
some tests, the result of which would confirm or
contradict his evidence.
THE SEA LETTER 311
It was decided Ayllon should tell that part of
his story, which embraced plantation life in the
woods and a description of his home in St. Augus-
tine, while persons in the secret should observe
the effect upon Laura. Then they returned to the
charming circle and submitted to many questions,
and Delano began to ask Ayllon concerning his
Florida home. He replied and continued in a nar-
rative of such interest, that every one of the young-
er set hung upon his words with parted lips and
catchy respiration. He described the hunting
cabin in the woods, the river plantation, the wo-
men and children, the negroes, horses, cattle and
dogs, and used negro dialect and Spanish freely.
Laura leaned forward in her chair, her face flushed,
her eyes like stars, and her breathing quick and
gasping. When he described his daughter and
her play among the flowers, butterflies, birds and
domestic animals, and mentioned the names of
Belita and Margery, her face became radiant and
she half rose to her feet, but sank back again,
looking and listening as before.
"I had a dream just like that a long time ago,"
she whispered to Gabrielle without taking her
eyes from Ayllon' s face.
He told of their happy home in St. Augus-
tine, baby Belita and her mammy, the fright and
despair when Laura disappeared and Margery's
death, and sobbed behind his handkerchief, while
312 THE SEA LETTER
half the assembly wept with him, as he murmured,
"Poor little Laura! Poor Margery!"
Laura arose, went over and kissed her mother,
and sat down by her side holding her hand, while
the latter put her arm lovingly around her and
restrained her emotions with difficulty.
" Vene a papa. querida\" said Ayllonin ca-
ressing tones.
"Padre miol" answered Laura, as she arose
and made a step towards Ayllon, her arms out-
stretched and her face showing pleasurable excite-
ment. Then, recalled t o a realization of her sur-
roundings, she knelt by her mother's side and
cried, " Mamma, where am I ? What is this stran-
ger saying ? Why is my head so confused ? I seem
to be far away in a strange land one moment and
back with you the next. Do I dream, or did I once
see the home in the woods described by Mr.
Ayllon ? I remember a great forest, dark roads,
a shining river, a log house, cattle running
through tall grass, and little and big negroes
singing and shouting. Then a fine house like this
and you and a baby in a beautiful city, with streets
full of white people, negroes and carriages. Did
we always live in Essex, mamma ? Essex and New
York? It seems to me I had lots of mammas. A
bad mamma took me away in a ship and I was
dreadful ill ; we lived in another city and my good
mamma came and took me home with her, and
THE SEA LETTER 313
you have always been my good mother. But where
is the baby, mamma, where is Belita?"
The friends gathered about Laura and her
mother and listened with almost breathless atten-
tion to the words that fell from the lips of the
beautiful girl, as the early impressions upon her
tender brain found expression in a broken story of
her child life.
When she first uttered the Spanish words for,
"My dear father," and started towards him, con-
viction came swift and strong to those, who knew
the history of the Ayllons, that she was the lost
child, and Ayllon started towards her with joyful
mien ; but Delano grasped his arm firmly and
said, "Not yet, Ayllon!" and he suppressed his
feelings and remained quietly observant. When,
groping in the recesses of her mind for vague im-
pressions, she had seized and hesitatingly uttered
the name, Belita, there was no longer doubt that
the lost had been found, and Laura was the
daughter of Lucas Ayllon.
Then Ayllon rushed towards her and would
have embraced her, saying, "Querida! mi hija
amada!" but she looked at him and then at Mr.
Conant with astonishment and dismay depicted up-
on her countenance, and, turning towards her
mother, said, "Mamma, dear, what does he mean?
Am I going crazy?" and hid her face in her moth-
er's dress, sobbing.
3M THE SEA LETTER
Mrs. Conant stroked her hair gently and ans-
wered, " No, my dear ; it is the unfolding of a great
mystery, which has distressed us many years."
"What is it mamma? You never told me.
Oh ! do explain, or I shall become wild with appre-
hension!"
"You have heard Mr. Ayllon's story of
his southern home and his lost daughter. I
found a bright little girl in a New York
hospital, with a woman, who claimed to be her
mother. The woman died and I adopted the
child as my own. She gave me a bracelet, which
she said belonged to the child and might be im-
portant sometime in establishing a right to pro-
perty. There was a note in its velvet case, which
said there was another bracelet like it. They were
heirlooms of a distinguished family. You were
the child, my dear Laura, and you have worn the
bracelet constantly. The other one has been found
by Mr. Delano in a chest of valuables belonging to
Mr. Ayllon's father, Juan, who was lost at sea.
They are mates, exactly alike, and both bear this
inscription within, "Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon,
Madrid, Spain." Your true name, my dear, is
Laura Conant de Ayllon."
Laura was weeping in her mother's arms.
"Then you and papa do not belong to me I will
never give you up ! " she sobbed, raising her tear-
stained face aud looking affectionately at her fost-
THE SEA LETTER 315
er-mother and father and timidly at Mr. Ayllon
and her friends.
"No, darling, you will never be obliged to
give us up," said Mrs. Conant with a choking
voice.
' You will always be our precious daughter,"
said Mr. Conant, as two tears struggled over the
lids and rolled down his cheeks.
" Miss Laura, I have been the means of your
distress, and I desire to make everything clear to
all," said Delano, stepping forward. " The sea
message told the truth; Juan Ayllon, your grand-
father, was lost at sea. The schooner Cisneros
and her crew have not been heard from since 1865.
His treasure chest was found by following his di-
rections. The owner, Lucas, gave me the other
bracelet, as a memento of my adventure upon the
coast of Maine. He little thought it would aid us
in finding his daughter. Your bracelet with the
family name, your memories of childhood, your
understanding of the Spanish words spoken by Mr.
Ayllon, your response in the same language, the
recollection of your baby sister, your resemblance
to your mother Margery and much other evidence
we have accumulated, are conclusive proofs that
you are the child of Lucas and Margery Ayllon.
You were kidnapped by Mrs. Vasquez in her re-
venge upon Juan Ayllon, who could not return to
her because he was dead. You belong to a noble
family and are heiress to a great estate. You have
316 THE SEA LETTER
not lost your foster-parents, but have found your
own father, who stands, trembling and anxious,
awaiting recognition by his darling daughter
whom he has hunted up and down the world for
many years."
Laura brushed the tears from her face, quick-
ly looked at her foster-parents, who smiled and
nodded assent, and ran to Mr. Ayllon and put hei
arms about his neck, and he pressed her to his
heart and kissed her repeatedly, saying tenderly,
"Querida! mi hi/a amada!", and Laura ans-
wered, " Padre mio /" And the onlookers cried
and laughed alternately and were greatly affected.
After an interval of silence too sacred for
words, the company crowded around the delighted
father and daughter and congratulated them up-
on the happy reunion and denotement.
The bracelet was passed from hand to hand
and critically examined, while the young folks
kept up an animated conversation and comment
upon the series of events invested with such
dramatic interest.
"It is a singular evolution in the affair,"
remarked the doctor, "that the granddaughter
should find the sea letter from her grandfather up-
on the seashore, which enabled Mr. Delano to
determine her parentage, find her father, and re-
store the family treasures and estate."
"Delano and the captain certainly manifested
much cleverness in following the obscure direc-
THE SEA LETTER 317
tions of the message, and snatching the treasure
chest from the spirits and their colleagues," de-
clared Thompson.
Laura was standing by her new father with
his arm around her and her foster-mother by her
side. Her tears and gloom had vanished, and her
face shone like the sun after a summer shower.
Her joyous disposition had swept away all distress-
ing thoughts, and, assured that she had not lost,
but gained by the wonderful change in her affairs,
she talked and laughed with her friends as of yore.
"I always thought Laura had an aristocratic
nose, and now that she claims direct descent from
the Spanish nobility, I am open to congratulations
for my superior perception," remarked Vic, as
she drew back her chin and smiled complacently.
" Since we never had a hint of your opinion
previous to the presentation of the remarkable
evidence, I think your post hoc demands are, to say
the least, rather presumptuous," declared Atkins,
with mock solemnity.
"Star gazing seems to have developed your
linguistic abilities," commented Helen. "It is a
wonder you and Vic did not consult signs of the
Zodiac and cast Laura's horoscope in order to
foretell her delightful fortune."
" I judge they were too intent in forecasting
their own," suggested Wilson.
" Mr. Delano has informed us of your miss-
ion to the South, Senor Ayllon," said Mac. "May
318 THE SEA LETTER
I ask, if affairs there proved satisfactory ? "
" Entirely beyond my expectations, profes-
sor," replied he. "The papers received from the
chest enabled me through my lawyers to recover
the estate, which my father had deeded to my
wife, and as administrator for her, I shall soon
deliver the jewels, money and plantation to my
darling daughter."
" No, padre mio, I will not accept them and
impoverish you," said Laura. "You can keep
them and we will enjoy them together."
" Ah ! querida ! the law must be complied
with to legalize the title, but I am willing to co-
operate with your other father, Mr. Conant, in
managing your property for our mutual enjoy-
ment."
"Thank you for your consideration, Sefior,"
said Mr. Conant ; " there will be about $ 1 0,000,
the accumulations of the early investment, to add
to Laura's estate."
"You are a dear, good papa," said Laura,
" but since I am not your own daughter, I would
prefer you should keep it to partly recompense
you for my education."
" Tut ! tut ! my child, your affection and
companionship have made us your debtor."
Laura put her arms around his neck and
kissed him, and exclaimed, "Then we will not
differ, but all be rich together."
" It shall be as you wish, dearest."
THE SEA LETTER 319
" O, cherie, won't it be jolly ? " cried Flossie.
" You can send us orange-blossoms from your own
garden, when we get married."
' Certainly, but I shall make one condition."
" Well, don't make it too severe, because you
know we are not all noble heiresses."
" O, stuff ! don't call names. My condition
will be, if papa takes me to Florida to live, that
you shall come and pick the blossoms yourselves,
and spend your honeymoon upon the plantation."
" Wouldn't that be glorious ? " exclaimed
May.
" Yes but rather awkward," said Sanders ;
" you see, that would necessitate a double journey
to Florida, and we impecunious folks, who never
had any foster-fathers that understood the stock
market, nor Confederate blockade-running grand-
fathers, couldn't spare the cash."
This caused everyone to laugh and Gabrielle
intervened and said, " My dear foster-cousin, a
compromise would make us all, happy ; our summer
girls must be married among their kindred and
friends at home, and I would suggest you gather
the blossoms and express them to the brides-to-be,
with an invitation to visit you immediately after
the wedding."
" That's the Tansy ! I long to see the
Sunny-South, where baked 'possum and sweet
potatos are indigenous, and sugar cane keeps
the darkies fat," exclaimed Sanders.
320 THE SEA LETTER
" What a manager you are, Gabrielle ! What
shall I do without you ? It shall be as you say,"
said Laura. " I will try to insure the happiness
of all and not permit a single summer girl to
escape."
" I think, ladies and gentlemen, we have had
enough excitement and emotion for a festive
occasion, and propose we proceed to the billiard-
room and make merry the remainder of the
evening," said the doctor, leading the way.
Laura sought her mother and kissed her, and
they all went into the capacious room and played
pool and forgot for awhile the sadness and sorrows
of humanity. At ten o'clock, bread and butter
and delicious tea were served in the English
fashion in the drawing-room, and the guests
scattered in couples and groups and conversed
till midnight. Delano sat by Gabrielle and Mrs.
Palmer expressed regret that he had not been
able to see much of them because of his business,
and referred incidentally to the Captain's letter.
"Why, we haven't heard anything about
that," said Gabrielle.
" Is it possible I forgot to mention it ? "
" Indeed ! you did. How is the Captain ? "
" Very well. I must inform the company,"
said he ; and he held up his hand requesting atten-
tion and read the letter, which all perceived
supplied some important missing links. Conver-
sation became more animated after the interrup-
THE SEA LETTER 321
tion, and Gabrielle said, "A hiding place in a
chimney how strange ! How I should like to
see the inside of the old house. The dear little
dog ! More courageous than his master. Brownie
is a pretty name."
" This assembly reminds me of the ark,"
said Mrs. Palmer, with a little laugh.
" How so madam ? " asked Delano.
" Nearly everyone in the company is paired,"
she replied.
He blushed like a school-girl and Gabrielle
turned away her face to hide her self-conscious-
ness.
Trying to appear unconcerned, he remarked,
" My friends call a bachelor, 'a lucky dog,' and a
benedict, 'a happy fellow.' Which do you think
describes the conditions the better ? "
" I cannot tell ; there are men happy and
men miserable in each state. Men are prone to
discontent."
" Yes ; their energy drives them to destruc-
tion. I am trying to school myself to laziness."
" You were not very indolent in prosecuting
the Ayllon affair."
" That gratified my love for adventure. I am
tired of intellectual activity the necessity for
constant attention and strain. I would live in a
wilderness, where modern progress had never
penetrated and printed matter was unknown."
322 THE SEA LETTER
" Are you becoming misanthropic ? Tennyson
says,
' Better fifty years of Europe,
Than a cycle of Cathay.' "
" I would prefer Cathay in order to check
molecular changes in my brain-cells and the
activity resulting therefrom. I feel like the sea-
sick young lady on an ocean steamer, who, when
asked in sympathy by the captain, what he could
do for her, replied, 'Just stop the thud of the
screw and the motion of the ship for an hour or
two.' "
" But you would not abandon science, litera-
ture, languages all pursuit of knowledge ? "
" I have no sympathy with the higher educa-
tion, I will no longer respond to the whip of
educators. The printing press is driving us mad.
The bubble, reputation, bursts as you grasp it ; the
applause of the multitude is mingled with envy
and malice; 'the path of glory leads but to the
grave,' and man dies like an over-driven horse on
the race-course."
"O, you are pessimistic to-night was the tea
drawn to your taste?"
Delano smiled at Mrs. Palmer's materialism.
Gabrielle was listening with strange atten-
tion.
"You would prefer less intellectual life?"
"Life is too short and precious to bury in
THE SEA LETTER 323
books. I prefer nature to art, and empiricism to
transcendentalism."
"How different your ideas are from Mr.
Thompson's," said Gabrielle. "His ambition for
knowledge is boundless; his motto is, 'per aspera
ad astral He says,
'Through straits the great and grand we reach;
Through study touch the stars'."
"He is phlegmatic and can stand the racket;
I cannot and will not. I feel as you did last sum-
mer about your athletics. There is too much to do
and too little time. I would rather be a private
soldier than a captain ; a peasant, than a prince ! "
and this brave young man yawned almost in the
face of the one woman he thought perfection.
Gabrielle looked at him with astonishment and
disappointment, then asked, "Is there not a happy
mean?"
"No; society does not recognize one you
are either in or out."
"You do not seem well tonight."
" I am very, very tired."
He arose and went over by Mrs. Conant, and
was soon in lively conversation.
"I fear Mr. Delano is going to be ill," said
Mrs. Palmer. "He doesn't like work any more
than the Indian, whom the missionary told, ' If he
would become a Christian, get an education, work
324 THE SEA LETTER
hard and accumulate money, he could sit down and
take life easy. 'Me do that now, and me no work'
replied the red man."
Gabrielle looked after Delano a moment with
a clouded brow, and replied, " He is greatly chang-
ed since he left us last summer."
" Do you think there is anything between him
and Laura?" asked the mother.
" Laura says not ; she said to me yesterday,
' No, Gabrielle, no one ever proposed to me.' "
" Well, when a man is moody as he is tonight,
he is either sick or in love."
Thompson had been busy conversing with the
doctor and Ayllon, and he cast anxious glances at
the trio, during the discussion of modern condi-
tions. When Delano left his gracious hostess and
her daughter, Thompson immediately crossed the
room, settled into an easy chair and said cheer-
fully, as he smiled pleasantly, " How delightful it
is to rest in one of these cushioned chairs after the
daily task is finished. I take pleasure in my work,
'but all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.'
I think, Miss Palmer, you have the most restful
house on the avenue."
"Really? Papa and mamma are very expert
in selecting comfortable furnishings."
"And their daughter assists with exquisite
taste."
"O, no; they do not need me." Thus she dis-
avowed responsiblity, although she was secretly
THE SEA LETTER 325
pleased at the compliment. " How is the church
fair advancing?"
"Admirably; I had donations to-day of a doz-
en j umping-jacks and a pile of picture books."
"The committee will be very grateful," said
Gabrielle, who was chairman, looking greatly
pleased. Sympathetic appreciation and propin-
quity were producing the usual results.
It was late, many were fatigued by their
journeys, and the gentlemen took leave, with grate-
ful expressions for the reunion.
"Don't get lost again, darling," said Ayllon,
as he kissed Laura, good-night.
" No indeed! I will not, dear father," was the
reply.
The ladies remained with their hostess and
there was little sleep in their suite of rooms until
near morning. They were given teas and dinners;
taken upon rides and to the theatres, and spent
considerable time in shopping, sometimes accom-
panied by their gentlemen allies and sometimes
not, and all the out-of-town friends had left the
great metropolis behind them at the end of a
week. Senor Ayllon accepted an invitation from
the Conants and went home with them and Laura,
and the business and professional men resumed
their neglected duties.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The winter was over, and, with the first sun-
ny days of May, there was a shower of wedding in-
vitations in the silver card-basket, which was
very pleasing to Gabrielle and her mother. The
weddings were all to be in month of June, no two
upon the same day, and the notices announced the
approaching marriage of Miss Victoria White Mc-
Donald and Mr. Mortimer Atkins, Miss Helen
Prescott Purdy and Mr. Herbert Wilson, Miss
May Elizabeth Henderson and Mr. Benjamin
Franklin Sanders, Miss Florence Hastings and
Mr. Robert Stewart McFarlane, Miss Margaret
Dale and Theodore Chase Kenelm, M. D., and a
number of their city friends.
The winter had been extremely gay. The
great Charity Bazar, in aid of the new church in
Manila, had been very successful, and Gabrielle,
assisted by Thompson, had been unceasing in her
efforts and won the admiration and praise of the
community. The opera season was rich in music
and gorgeous in its fashionable audiences, and Dr.
THE SEA LETTER 327
Palmer's box contained a golden-haired beauty and
a fastidious knight, who attended her with exquis-
ite- grace and gallantry. The brilliant ball given
by the 22d. Regiment N. Y. N. G. was another
great event of the season, where silk and satin
mingled harmoniously with the gold-trimmed uni-
forms of its brave men, and Captain Thompson
and Miss Palmer attracted much favorable atten-
tion by their graceful dancing and proud demeanor.
At evening receptions, dinner-parties, card-
parties and church, where Gabrielle was, Mr.
Thompson was not far away. An invitation to the
distinguished and fashionable Dr. Palmer and fam-
ily was always accompanied by one to Mr. Thomp-
son, whom courtesy began to call doctor and gos-
sip associated with Gabrielle as an accepted lover.
Matters drifted on wards in a happy insouciance
until there was such an interdependence and har-
mony of ideas, that love awoke and each became
conscious of discomfort when fate kept them apart.
Delano was keenly alive to the situation and
did not attempt to hinder the rapprochement, nor
to place himself in the way to receive any favors
from his former idol. He manifested the same
interest in her doings and goings as before, and
showed by his gaze and reverential demeanor how
greatly he was impressed by her beauty and soul.
Gabrielle treated him graciously and confi-
dentially as of yore, but there was a tinge of re-
serve in her manner not noticeable in her inter-
328 THE SEA LETTER
course with Thompson. This may have been
because Delano was an occasional visitor and
Thompson was a professional assistant to her
father. We get often what we give, and the chill
came from one and affected the other, though it
was indefinable in degree.
Delano realized the prize was slipping away
from him, yet he was apathetic and indifferent,
and made no effort to regain his lost position in
her affections for they were once very near be-
trothal. Thompson had evidently decided that he
preferred Gabrielle to any other woman and was
doing his best to win her.
Was Delano still meditating upon that
which had bothered him before ? He had seen
Laura at the Palmers' a number of times during
the winter, and had made several visits to Essex
ostensibly to see Ayllon, but, in reality, to find a
quiet retreat from business cares and agreeable,
social companionship. He experienced a thrill of
pleasure, when he met Laura and looked into
her frank, languishing eyes : and he recognized the
presence of that affinity which he had always main-
tained should exist between lovers and man and
wife. Yet, he did not follow the logical sequence
of his doctrine and woo and wed as he ought to
have done. He remained undecided, quiescent and
mysteriously silent.
He and Thompson belonged to the same club
and lunched frequently together, and occasionally,
THE SEA LETTER 329
they would play a little pool in the evening and en-
joy a small bottle and cigars afterwards, while they
talked over their summer experience and the
Ayllon affair. One evening Thompson sought
Delano in his room, where he was sitting before
an open grate, looking into the ashes and smoking.
" Hullo ! doctoribus ; Was ist los f " said
Delano, as Thompson came rushing into the room
hastily.
" Nothing much ! I was afraid you had gone
out, and I wanted to catch you, if you were
going."
" Well, I do not intend to budge from this
comfortable fire until spring opens in reality."
" Glad of it ; I came down to have a good
talk," said Thompson, as he threw his overcoat and
hat on a chair and warmed his hands at the fire.
" O. K. Take a cigar ; there, are matches ;
or you may try my tongs and a coal."
" Thanks ; a match is good enough for me
I'm not antiquely romantic," and he sank into an
easy chair.
" What is the news ? All well at Palmer's?"
" Yes, very well ! I've come down to tell
you something about them."
" So ? Fire away ! What is the old Knicker-
bocker going to do now ?
"Take a son-in-law."
" What ? You don't mean it ? Who the
330 THE SEA LETTER
devil has ? " and Delano rose from his chair and
gazed at Thompson in amazement.
" Sit down, old man ! Don't get excited. It
had to come sometime."
" Who is the lucky man ? That German
Baron, or the French Count?"
" Neither ; it is a no account American.
You can congratulate me," said Thompson, blush-
in and smiling.
Delano sat down, dropped his face into his
hands, and bent over a few moments in silence.
He was struggling to regain his self-control. His
face was pale, as he stood up and said with con-
siderable effort, while he shook Thompson's hand
and looked searchingly in his eyes, " I congratu-
late you Gabrielle is a jewel."
" Thank you very much ! I knew you would
I am very happy that is, if you did not want
her yourself ? " and Thompson looked at his friend
anxiously.
" I did want her, God knows ! but I would
not propose, because I like her so much."
"You speak in riddles I do not understand
You gave her up for me ? "
" No, my dear fellow, not exactly ; I never
had her, but I forfeited my claim to insure her
happiness."
" Oh ! you chink she would not be happy
with you ? "
THE SEA LETTER 33 1
" Yes I think so, and I might not be happy
with her. Gabrielle belongs to a proud family ;
she will inherit considerable wealth, and move in
the highest circles of society. She is refined and
aesthetic in her tastes ; highly educated in science
and art, and brilliant in conversation and reason-
ing. She is very foud of society and social gather-
ings and active and ambitious in many public
functions. Her costumes are the envy of her associ-
ates, and she is happiest, when elegantly dressed
and royally governing. She has a kind heart and
excellent principles like her mother, and has
always had much her own way. Her happiness
demands an exercise of all her Heaven-born facul-
ties, and a continuance of her manner of living.
She is almost too fine clay for the ordinary duties
of wife and mother.
" If she should marry, her husband ought to
be as finely moulded, thoroughly cultured, highly
ambitious, and delicately attuned to life's duties
as herself. He should be in hearty sympathy
with all her notions, and ready to co-operate with
her in every undertaking. Then their union
would be a perpetual honeymoon."
" Your description is very accurate. How
could you resign so perfect a being ? "
" I recognized your fitness for the position,
which I could not fill. I could not continue the
strenuous study necessary to retain her respect ;
I could not endure the continual grooming and
332 THE SEA LETTER
vexatious exactions essential in order to be her
champion in society, and I shrank from exposing
my innate coarseness to one so refined and spirit-
uelle. I am a pessimist, she is an optimist. I
could not pull her down to my level from the
rosy clouds of her elysium. I would not sacri-
fice her upon the altar of my selfishness by decep-
tion and an exercise of virile power. I am no
John Storm."
" You do yourself great injustice, my dear
Delano," said Thompson ; " you have made a
great sacrifice from a morbid sense of your unfit-
ness. I cannot perceive why you have formed
such an extravagant opinion of myself."
" I have watched you for a year. You are
worthy of her ; and you will be both be happy."
" My happiness will be diminished by know-
ledge of your misery."
" I shall not be so miserable now that the
struggle is finished. There is a recompense in
feeling that one has done his duty. Besides, there
has been one thing lacking between Gabrielle and
myself. It is that mysterous affinity, which I
consider so essential in love. I shall find solace
for my woes with Laura. She is my affinity."
Had a thunderbolt struck the casement,
Thompson could not have been more astonished.
He sprang up, put a hand upon each of Delano's
shoulders and looked in his face, now flushed and
smiling ; then he threw both arms around his
THE SEA LETTER 333
shoulders, hugged him and said, " I am so glad !
so glad ! She is a charming girl, and I more
than like her. I sincerely hope you will both be
very happy. Are you engaged ? "
" Not yet, but I hope to be as soon as I can
get to her side."
" Glorious ! Gabrielle will be delighted ; she
really thinks a great deal of you, and would pre-
fer Laura should have you to any other. Would
you mind, if I ordered up some luncheon and
beer instead of dragging you over to my room,
which has no fire ? "
" Certainly not ; I was going to suggest
something of the kind, myself."
These good fellows and friends, who would
not permit any jealousy to embitter their inter-
course, ate the lunch and smoked again, as they
talked over all the phases of love and marriage
until midnight. When Thompson rose to go, he
said to Delano, " May I tell Gabrielle ? "
" You'd better wait until my fate is decided,
my dear man," he replied, as he threw the stump
of his cigar into the ashes and began to cover the
fire for the night.
CHAPTER XXIV.
The next day Delano took an early train for
Essex, and after a consultation with Ayllon and
the Conants, proposed to Laura and was accepted.
" I felt that I should love and marry you,
darling, ever since I stole that kiss upon the
South Beach," said he.
" I knew my prince would come some time
after Gabrielle had her choice," said she, as
she smiled mischievously.
" I shall be a brother to Gabrielle," said he.
"Mr. Thompson shall be the same to me,"
Delano remained a few days, looked over the
wedding invitations from the summer girls, approv-
ed an early date in June for the nuptials of Laura
and himself, directed all their wedding notices,
and read all the congratulations that poured in
upon them.
" Here's another square envelope in the mail
this morning," said Laura ; " I wonder what's
going to happen next ? Mother, open it quickly,
I'm dying to know,"
THE SEA LETTER 335
Mrs. Conant cut the envelope and drew out
a note to Laura, which read, " Yesterday sweet
Coz, I had the greatest pleasure in reading an
announcement of the approaching marriage of
Miss Laura Conant de Ayllon and Mr. Thomas
Delano. I congratulate everyone in the con-
spiracy. I send you a Roland for an Oliver.
Yours ever, Gabrielle."
" Here is the Roland," said Mrs. Conant
holding up an engraved missive. " Dr. and Mrs
Palmer invite us to be present, June 24, 19 , at
the marriage of Miss Gabrielle Palmer, and John
Thompson, M:D."
" Hurrah ! the last of our summer girls ! "
shouted Laura.
"And of the bachelors too ! " added Delano.
Laura and Delano were married, June 2d,
and went with Senor Ayllon to the plantation up-
on St. John's Bluff. They packed and forwarded
several boxes of orange-blossoms to the prospec-
tive brides, with cordial invitations to visit them,
and regrets at their inability to be present at the
ceremonies.
True to their plans, our summer girls and
bachelors, now happy wives and husbands,
gathered gradually at Ay lion's villa and filled
the tropical garden with merriment for a month.
One day Delano, Laura, Thompson and
Gabrielle were walking through a wild path in
the forest, when they heard a great commotion
336 THE SEA LETTER
in the cane-brake and Thompson said, " What is
that, a bear?"
"Probably, a wild hog"; replied Delano, who
had already learned considerable about southern
life.
The next moment, a stalwart form in rubber
boots, shooting-jacket and slouch hat, carrying a
gun and wearing a game-bag, burst into the
path and shouted to his astonished friends,
" Seen any 'possum about here ? " It was
Sanders.
The Great Sunday School Song
Book of the I>ay 1
WELCOME TIDINGS.
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IRA D. CANZEY,
INCLUDING THE LAST HYMNS AND MUSIC OF THE LATK
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