Wl LL! AM H N RY WINS LOW The Sea Letter LAURA. I T^l | 1 he * * 9 * 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. "