THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 From the library cf 
 Henry Goldman, Ph.D. 
 1686-1972
 
 r 
 
 .
 
 THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. 
 LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE
 
 THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. 
 LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 
 
 BY 
 FRANK. R. STOCKTON 
 
 AUTHOR OF "RUDDER GRANGE," "THE LADY, 
 OR THE TIGER?" "THE LATE MRS. NULL," 
 "THE MERRY CHANTER," "THE HUNDREDTH 
 MAN," "THE SQUIRREL INN," ETC., ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE CENTURY CO. 
 1892
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1886, 1892, 
 
 BY FRANK It. STOCKTON. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 THE DE VINNE PRESS
 
 Stack 
 
 Annex 
 
 can 
 
 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE 
 
 PART I 
 
 WAS on my way from San Fran 
 cisco to Yokohama, when in a very 
 desultory and gradual manner I be 
 came acquainted with Mrs. Leeks 
 and Mrs. Aleshine. The steamer, 
 on which I was making a moderately 
 rapid passage toward the land of the legended fan 
 and the lacquered box, carried a fair complement of 
 passengers, most of whom were Americans; and, 
 among these, my attention was attracted from the 
 very first day of the voyage to two middle-aged women 
 who appeared to me very unlike the ordinary traveler 
 or tourist. At first sight they might have been taken 
 for farmers wives who, for some unusual reason, had 
 determined to make a voyage across the Pacific; but, 
 on closer observation, one would have been more apt 
 to suppose that they belonged to the families of pros-
 
 2 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 perous tradesmen in some little country town, where, 
 besides the arts of rural housewifery, there would be 
 opportunities of becoming acquainted in some degree 
 with the ways and manners of the outside world. 
 They were not of that order of persons who generally 
 take first-class passages on steamships, but the state 
 room occupied by Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine was 
 one of the best in the vessel; and, although they kept 
 very much to themselves and showed no desire for 
 the company or notice of the other passengers, they 
 evidently considered themselves quite as good as any 
 one else, and with as much right to voyage to any part 
 of the world in any manner or style which pleased 
 them. 
 
 Mrs. Leeks was a rather tall woman, large-boned 
 and muscular, and her well-browned countenance 
 gave indications of that conviction of superiority 
 which gradually grows up in the minds of those who, 
 for a long time, have had absolute control of the des 
 tinies of a state, or the multifarious affairs of a coun 
 try household. Mrs. Aleshine was somewhat younger 
 than her friend, somewhat shorter, and a great deal 
 fatter. She had the same air of reliance upon her 
 individual worth that characterized Mrs. Leeks, but 
 there was a certain geniality about her which indicated 
 that she would have a good deal of forbearance for 
 those who never had had the opportunity or the 
 ability of becoming the thoroughly good housewife 
 which she was herself. 
 
 These two worthy dames spent the greater part 
 of their time on deck, where they always sat together 
 in a place at the stern of the vessel which was well
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MBS. ALESHINE. 3 
 
 sheltered from wind and weather. As they sat thus 
 they were generally employed in knitting, although 
 this occupation did not prevent them from keeping 
 up what seemed to me, as I passed them in my walks 
 about the deck, a continuous conversation. From a 
 question which Mrs. Leeks once asked me about a 
 distant sail, our acquaintance began. There was no 
 one on board for whose society I particularly cared, 
 and as there was something quaint and odd about 
 these countrywomen on the ocean which interested 
 me, I was glad to vary my solitary promenades by an 
 occasional chat with them. They were not at all 
 backward in giving me information about themselves. 
 They were both widows, and Mrs. Aleshine was going 
 out to Japan to visit a son who had a position there 
 in a mercantile house. Mrs. Leeks had no children, 
 and was accompanying her friend because, as she said, 
 she would not allow Mrs. Aleshine to make such a 
 voyage as that by herself; and because, being quite 
 able to do so, she did not know why she should not 
 see the world as well as other people. 
 
 These two friends were not educated women. They 
 made frequent mistakes in their grammar, and a 
 good deal of Middle States provincialism showed 
 itself in their pronunciation and expressions. But, 
 although they brought many of their rural ideas to 
 sea with them, they possessed a large share of that 
 common sense which is available anywhere, and they 
 frequently made use of it in a manner which was 
 very amusing to me. I think, also, that they found 
 in me a quarry of information concerning nautical 
 matters, foreign countries, and my own affairs, the
 
 4 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 working of which helped to make us very good ship 
 friends. 
 
 Our steamer touched at the Sandwich Islands ; and 
 it was a little more than two days after we left Hon 
 olulu that, about nine o clock in the evening, we had 
 the misfortune to come into collision with an eastern- 
 bound vessel. The fault was entirely due to the 
 other ship, the lookout on which, although the night 
 was rather dark and foggy, could easily have seen 
 our lights in time to avoid collision, if he had not 
 been asleep or absent from his post. Be this as it 
 may, this vessel, which appeared to be a small steamer, 
 struck us with great force near our bows, and then 
 backing disappeared into the fog, and we never saw 
 or heard of her again. The general opinion was that 
 she was injured very much more than we were, and 
 that she probably sank not very long after the acci 
 dent; for when the fog cleared away, about an hour 
 afterward, nothing could be seen of her lights. 
 
 As it usually happens on occasions of accidents at 
 sea, the damage to our vessel was at first reported to 
 be slight; but it was soon discovered that our injuries 
 were serious, and indeed disastrous. The hull of our 
 steamer had been badly shattered on the port bow, 
 and the water came in at a most alarming rate. For 
 nearly two hours the crew and many of the passen 
 gers worked at the pumps, and everything possible 
 was done to stop the enormous leak; but all labor to 
 save the vessel was found to be utterly unavailing; 
 and a little before midnight the captain announced 
 that it was impossible to keep the steamer afloat, and 
 that we must all take to the boats. The night was
 
 MKS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 5 
 
 now clear, the stars were bright, and, as there was 
 but little wind, the sea was comparatively smooth. 
 With all these advantages, the captain assured us 
 that there was no reason to apprehend danger, and 
 he thought that by noon of the following day we 
 could easily make a small inhabited island, where we 
 could be sheltered and cared for until we should be 
 taken off by some passing vessel. 
 
 There was plenty of time for all necessary prep 
 arations, and these were made with much order and 
 subordination. Some of the ladies among the cabin 
 passengers were greatly frightened, and inclined to 
 be hysterical. There were pale faces also among the 
 gentlemen. But everybody obeyed the captain s orders, 
 and all prepared themselves for the transfer to the 
 boats. The first officer came among us, and told each 
 of us what boats we were to take, and where we were 
 to place ourselves on deck. I was assigned to a large 
 boat which was to be principally occupied by steerage 
 passengers; and as I came up from my stateroom, 
 where I had gone to secure my money and some 
 portable valuables, I met on the companionway Mrs. 
 Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, who expressed considerable 
 dissatisfaction when they found that I was not going 
 in the boat with them. They however hurried below, 
 and I went on deck, where in about ten minutes I was 
 joined by Mrs. Leeks, who apparently had been look 
 ing for me. She told me she had something very 
 particular to say to me, and conducted me toward the 
 stern of the vessel, where, behind one of the deck 
 houses, we found Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 "Look here," said Mrs. Leeks, leading me to the
 
 6 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 rail and pointing downward, "do you see that boat 
 there ? It has been let down, and there is nobody in 
 it. The boat on the other side has just gone off, full 
 to the brim. I never saw so many people crowded 
 into a boat. The other ones will be just as packed, I 
 expect. I don t see why we should n t take this empty 
 boat, now we ve got a chance, instead of squeezin 
 ourselves into those crowded ones. If any of the other 
 people come afterward, why, we shall have our choice 
 of seats, and that s considerable of a p int, I should 
 say, iii a time like this." 
 
 " That s so," said Mrs. Aleshine, "and me and Mrs. 
 Leeks would a got right in when we saw the boat 
 was empty, if we had n t been afraid to be there with 
 out any man, for it might have floated off, and neither 
 of us don t know nothin about rowin . And then 
 Mrs. Leeks she thought of you, supposin a young 
 man who knew so much about the sea would know 
 how to row." 
 
 "Oh, yes," said I, "but I cannot imagine why this 
 boat should have been left empty. I see a keg of 
 water in it, and the oars, and some tin cans, and so I 
 suppose it has been made ready for somebody. "Will 
 you wait here a minute until I run forward and see 
 how things are going on there!" 
 
 Amidships and forward I saw that there was some 
 confusion among the people who were not yet in their 
 boats, and I found that there was to be rather more 
 crowding than at first was expected. People who had 
 supposed that they were to go in a certain boat found 
 there no place, and were hurrying to other boats. It 
 now became plain to me that no time should be lost 
 in getting into the small boat which Mrs. Leeks had
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 7 
 
 pointed out, and which was probably reserved for 
 some favored persons, as the officers were keeping the 
 people forward and amidships, the other stern-boat 
 having already departed. But as I acknowledged no 
 reason why any one should be regarded with more 
 favor than myself and the two women who were wait 
 ing for me, I slipped quietly aft, and joined Mrs. 
 Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 "We must get in as soon as we can," said I in a 
 low voice, "for this boat may be discovered, and then 
 there will be a rush for it. I suspect it may have been 
 reserved for the captain and some of the officers, but 
 we have as much right in it as they." 
 
 "And more too," replied Mrs. Leeks ; " for we had 
 nothin to do with the steerin and smashin ." 
 
 " But how are we goin to get down there ? " said 
 Mrs. Aleshine. " There s no steps." 
 
 "That is true," said I. "I should n t wonder if 
 this boat is to be taken forward when the others are 
 filled. We must scramble down as well as we can by 
 the tackle at the bow and stern. I 11 get in first and 
 keep her close to the ship s side." 
 
 " That s goin to be a scratchy business," said Mrs. 
 Leeks, " and I m of the opinion we ought to wait till 
 the ship has sunk a little more, so we 11 be nearer to 
 the boat." 
 
 " It won t do to wait," said I, "or we shall not get 
 in at all." 
 
 " And goodness gracious ! " exclaimed Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, "I can t stand here and feel the ship sinkin 
 cold-blooded under me, till we ve got where we can 
 make an easy jump ! " 
 
 " Very well, then," said Mrs. Leeks, " we won t wait.
 
 8 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 But the first thing to be done is for each one of us to 
 put on one of these life-preservers. Two of them I 
 brought from Mrs. Aleshine s and my cabin, and the 
 other one I got next door, where the people had gone 
 off and left it on the floor. I thought if anythin 
 happened on the way to the island, these would give 
 us a chance to look about us; but it seems to me 
 we ll need em more gettin down them ropes than 
 anywhere else. I did intend puttin on two myself to 
 make up for Mrs. Aleshine s fat ; but you must wear 
 one of m, sir, now that you are goin to join the 
 party." 
 
 As I knew that two life-preservers would not be 
 needed by Mrs. Leeks, and would greatly inconveni 
 ence her, I accepted the one offered me, but declined 
 to put it on until it should be necessary, as it would 
 interfere with my movements. 
 
 " Very well," said Mrs. Leeks, " if you think you 
 are safe in gettin down without it. But Mrs. Ale- 
 shine and me will put ours on before we begin sailor- 
 scramblin . We know how to do it, for we tried em 
 on soon after we started from San Francisco. And 
 now, Barb ry Aleshine, are you sure you Ve got every- 
 thin you want, for it 11 be no use thinkin about any- 
 thin you Ve forgot after the ship has sunk out of 
 sight." 
 
 " There s nothin else I can think of," said Mrs. 
 Aleshine ; " at least nothin I can carry; and so I sup 
 pose we may as well begin, for your talk of the ship 
 sinkin under our feet gives me a sort o feelin like an 
 oyster creepin up and down my back." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks looked over the side at the boat, into
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 9 
 
 which I had already descended. " I 11 go first, Bar- 
 b ry Aleshine," said she, " and show you how." 
 
 The sea was quiet, and the steamer had already sunk 
 so much that Mrs. Lecks s voice sounded frightfully 
 near me, although she spoke in a low tone. 
 
 " Watch me," said she to her companion. " I m 
 goin 7 to do just as he did, and you must follow in 
 the same way." 
 
 So saying, she stepped on a bench by the rail; then, 
 with one foot on the rail itself, she seized the ropes 
 which hung from one of the davits to the bow of the 
 boat. She looked down for a moment, and then she 
 drew back. 
 
 " It s no use," she said. " We must wait until she 
 sinks more, an I can get in easier." 
 
 This remark made me feel nervous. I did not know 
 at what moment there might be a rush for this boat, 
 nor when, indeed, the steamer might go down. The 
 boat amidships on our side had rowed away some 
 minutes before, and through the darkness I could dis 
 tinguish another boat, near the bows, pushing off. It 
 would be too late now for us to try to get into any 
 other boat, and I did not feel that there was time 
 enough for me to take this one to a place where the 
 two women could more easily descend to her. Stand 
 ing upright, I urged them not to delay. 
 
 " You see," said I, " I can reach you as soon as you 
 swing yourself off the ropes, and I 11 help you down." 
 
 " If you re sure you can keep us from comin down 
 too sudden, we 11 try it," said Mrs. Leeks, " but I M as 
 soon be drowned as to get to an island with a broken 
 leg. And as to Mrs. Aleshine, if she was to slip she d
 
 10 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 go slam through that boat to the bottom of the sea. 
 Now then, be ready ! I m comin down ! " 
 
 So saying, she swung herself off, and she was then 
 so near me that I was able to seize her and make the 
 rest of her descent comparatively easy. Mrs. Ale- 
 shine proved to be a more difficult subject. Even 
 after I had a firm grasp of her capacious waist she 
 refused to let go the ropes, for fear that she might 
 drop into the ocean instead of the boat. But the re 
 proaches of Mrs. Leeks and the downward weight of 
 myself made her loosen her nervous grip; and, al 
 though we came very near going overboard together, 
 I safely placed her on one of the thwarts. 
 
 I now unhooked the tackle from the stern ; but be 
 fore casting off at the bow, I hesitated, for I did not 
 wish to desert any of those who might be expecting 
 to embark in this boat. But I could hear no approach 
 ing footsteps, and from my position, close to the side 
 of the steamer, I could see nothing. Therefore I cast 
 off, and, taking the oars, I pushed away and rowed to 
 a little distance, where I could get whatever view was 
 possible of the deck of the steamer. Seeing no forms 
 moving about, I called out, and, receiving no answer, 
 I shouted again at the top of my voice. I waited for 
 nearly a minute, and, hearing nothing and seeing 
 nothing, I became convinced that no one was left on 
 the vessel. 
 
 " They are all gone," said I, " and we will pull after 
 them as fast as we can." 
 
 And I began to row toward the bow of the steamer, 
 in the direction which the other boats had taken. 
 
 " It s a good thing you can row," said Mrs. Leeks,
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 11 
 
 settling herself comfortably in the stern-sheets, "for 
 what Mrs. Aleshine and me would ha 7 done with them 
 oars, I am sure I don t know." 
 
 " I d never have got into this boat," said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, " if Mr. Craig had n t been here." 
 
 " No, indeed," replied her friend. " You d ha gone 
 to the bottom, h an gin for dear life to them ropes." 
 
 When I had rounded the bow of the steamer, which 
 appeared to me to be rapidly settling in the water, I 
 perceived at no great distance several lights which of 
 course belonged to the other boats, and I rowed as 
 hard as I could, hoping to catch up with them, or at 
 least to keep sufficiently near. It might be my duty 
 to take off some of the people who had crowded into 
 the other boats, probably supposing that this one had 
 been loaded and gone. How such a mistake could 
 have taken place I could not divine, and it was not 
 my business to do so. Quite certain that no one was 
 left on the sinking steamer, all I had to do was to row 
 after the other boats, and to overtake them as soon 
 as possible. I thought it would not take me very 
 long to do this, but, after rowing for half an hour, 
 Mrs. Aleshine remarked that the lights seemed as far 
 off, if not farther, than when we first started after 
 them. Turning, I saw that this was the case, and 
 was greatly surprised. With only two passengers I 
 ought soon to have come up with those heavily laden 
 boats, but, after I had thought over it a little, I con 
 sidered that as each of them was probably pulled by 
 half a dozen stout sailors, it was not so very strange 
 that they should make as good or better headway than 
 I did. 
 2
 
 12 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 It was not very long after this that Mrs. Leeks said 
 that she thought that the lights on the other boats 
 must be going out, and that this, most probably, was 
 due to the fact that the sailors had forgotten to fill 
 their lanterns before they started. "That sort of 
 thing often happens," she said, " when people leave a 
 place in a hurry." 
 
 But when I turned around, and peered over the 
 dark waters, it was quite plain to me that it was not 
 want of oil, but increased distance, which made those 
 lights so dim. I could now perceive but three of 
 them, and as the surface was agitated only by a 
 gentle swell, I could not suppose that any of them 
 were hidden from our view by waves. We were being 
 left behind, that was certain, and all I could do was 
 to row on as long and as well as I could in the direc 
 tion which the other boats had taken. I had been 
 used to rowing, and thought I pulled a good oar, and 
 I certainly did not expect to be left behind in this 
 way. 
 
 " I don t believe this boat has been emptied out 
 since the last rain," said Mrs. Aleshine, " for my feet 
 are wet, though I did n t notice it before." 
 
 At this I shipped my oars, and began to examine 
 the boat. The bottom was covered with a movable 
 floor of slats, and as I put my hand down I could 
 feel the water welling up between the slats. The 
 flooring was in sections, and lifting the one beneath 
 me, I felt under it, and put my hand into six or eight 
 inches of water. 
 
 The exact state of the case was now as plain to me 
 as if it had been posted up on a bulletin-board. This
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MKS. ALESHINE. 13 
 
 boat had been found to be unseaworthy, and its 
 use had been forbidden, all the people having been 
 crowded into the others. This had caused confusion 
 at the last moment, and, of course, we were supposed 
 to be on some one of the other boats. 
 
 And now, here was I, in the middle of the Pacific 
 Ocean, in a leaky boat with two middle-aged women ! 
 
 " Anythin the matter with the floor ! " asked Mrs. 
 Leeks. 
 
 I let the section fall back into its place and looked 
 aft. By the starlight I could see that my two com 
 panions had each fixed upon me a steadfast gaze. 
 They evidently felt that something was the matter, 
 and wanted to know what it was. I did not hesitate 
 for a moment to inform them. They appeared to me 
 to be women whom it would be neither advisable nor 
 possible to deceive in a case like this. 
 
 " This boat has a leak in it," I said. " There is a 
 lot of water in her already, and that is the reason we 
 have got along so slowly." 
 
 " And that is why," said Mrs. Aleshine, "it was left 
 empty. We ought to have known better than to 
 expect to have a whole boat just for three of us. It 
 would have been much more sensible, I think, if we 
 had tried to squeeze into one of the others." 
 
 " Now, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, " don t 
 you begin findin fault with good fortune, when it 
 conies to you. Here we Ve got a comfortable boat, 
 with room enough to set easy and stretch out if we 
 want to. If the water is comin in, what we ve got 
 to do is to get it out again just as fast as we can. 
 What s the best way to do that, Mr. Craig ? "
 
 14 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 " We must bail her out, and lose no time about it," 
 said I. " If I can find the leak I may be able to 
 stop it." 
 
 I now looked about for something to bail with, and 
 the two women aided actively in the search. I found 
 one leather scoop in the bow, but as it was well that 
 we should all go to work, I took two tin cans that 
 had been put in by some one who had begun to pro 
 vision the boat, and proceeded to cut the tops from 
 them with my jack-knife. 
 
 " Don t lose what s in em," said Mrs. Leeks ; " that 
 is, if it s anythin we d be likely to want to eat. If 
 it s tomatoes, pour it into the sea, for nobody ought 
 to eat tomatoes put up in tins." 
 
 I hastily passed the cans to Mrs. Leeks, and I saw 
 her empty the contents of one into the sea, and those 
 of the other on a newspaper which she took from her 
 pocket and placed in the stern. 
 
 I pulled up the movable floor and threw it over 
 board, and then began to bail. 
 
 "I thought," said Mrs. Aleshine, "that they always 
 had pumps for leaks." 
 
 "Now, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, "just 
 gether yourself up on one of them seats, and go to 
 work. The less talkin we do and the more scoopiu , 
 the better it 11 be for us." 
 
 I soon perceived that it would have been difficult to 
 find two more valuable assistants in the bailing of a 
 boat than Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. They were 
 evidently used to work, and were able to accommo 
 date themselves to the unusual circumstances in 
 which they were placed. We threw out the water
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 15 
 
 very rapidly, and every little while I stopped bailing 
 and felt about to see if I could discover where it came 
 in. As these attempts met with no success, I gave 
 them up after a time, and set about bailing with new 
 vigor, believing that if we could get the boat nearly 
 dry, I should surely be able to find the leak. 
 
 But, after working half an hour more, I found that 
 the job would be a long one ; and, if we all worked 
 at once, we would all be tired out at once, and that 
 might be disastrous. Therefore, I proposed that we 
 should take turns in resting, and Mrs. Aleshine was 
 ordered to stop work for a time. After this Mrs. 
 Leeks took a rest, and when she went to work I 
 stopped bailing and began again to search for the 
 leak. 
 
 For about two hours we worked in this way, and 
 then I concluded it was useless to continue any longer 
 this vain exertion. With three of us bailing we were 
 able to keep the water at the level we first found it ; 
 but with only two at work it slightly gained upon us, 
 so that now there was more water in the boat than 
 when we first discovered it. The boat was an iron 
 one, and the leak in it I could neither find nor remedy. 
 It had probably been caused by the warping of the 
 metal under a hot sun ; an accident which, I am told, 
 frequently occurs to iron boats. The little craft, 
 which would have been a life-boat had its air-boxes 
 remained intact, was now probably leaking from stem 
 to stern ; and in searching for the leak without the 
 protection of the flooring, my weight had doubtless 
 assisted in opening the seams, for it was quite plain 
 that the water was now coming in more rapidly
 
 16 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 than it did at first. We were very tired, and even 
 Mrs. Leeks, who had all along counseled us to keep at 
 work and not to waste one breath in talking, now 
 admitted that it was of no use to try to get the water 
 out of that boat. 
 
 It had been some hours since I had used the oars, 
 but whether we had drifted or remained where we 
 were when I stopped rowing, of course I could not 
 know ; but this mattered very little ; our boat was 
 slowly sinking beneath us, and it could make no 
 difference whether we went down in one spot or an 
 other. I sat and racked my brain to think what could 
 be done in this fearful emergency. To bail any longer 
 was useless labor, and what else was there that we 
 could do? 
 
 " When will it be time," asked Mrs. Leeks, " for us 
 to put on the life-preservers ? When the water gets 
 nearly to the seats ? " 
 
 I answered that we should not wait any longer than 
 that, but in my own mind I could not see any advan 
 tage in putting them on at all. Why should we wish 
 to lengthen bur lives by a few hours of helpless float 
 ing upon the ocean ? 
 
 " Very good," said Mrs. Leeks ; " I 11 keep a watch 
 on the water. One of them cans was filled with lob 
 ster, which would be more than likely to disagree with 
 us, and I Ve thro wed it out ; but the other had baked 
 beans in it, and the best thing we can do is to eat 
 some of these right away. They are mighty nour- 
 ishin , and will keep up strength as well as anythin , 
 and then, as you said there s a keg of water in the 
 boat, we can all take a drink of that, and it 11 make
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 17 
 
 us feel like new cre tur s. You 11 have to take the 
 beans in your hands, for we ve got no spoons nor 
 forks." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine were each curled up 
 out of reach of the water, the first in the stern, and 
 the other on the aft thwart. The day was now be 
 ginning to break, aud we could see about us very dis 
 tinctly. Before reaching out her hands to receive her 
 beans, Mrs. Aleshine washed them in the water in the 
 boat, remarking at the same time that she might as 
 well make use of it since it was there. Having then 
 wiped her hands on some part of her apparel, they 
 were filled with beans from the newspaper held by 
 Mrs. Leeks, and these were passed over to me. I 
 was very hungry, and when I had finished my beans 
 I agreed with my companions that although they 
 would have been a great deal better if heated up with 
 butter, pepper, and salt, they were very comforting 
 as they were. One of the empty cans was now passed 
 to me, and after having been asked by Mrs. Leeks to 
 rinse it out very carefully, we all satisfied our taste 
 from the water in the keg. 
 
 " Cold baked beans and lukewarm water ain t 
 exactly company vittles," said Mrs. Aleshiue, " but 
 there s many a poor wretch would be glad to get em." 
 
 I could not imagine any poor wretch who would be 
 glad of the food, together with the attending circum 
 stances ; but I did not say so. 
 
 " The water is just one finger from the bottom of 
 the seat," said Mrs. Leeks, who had been stooping 
 over to measure, "and it ; s time to put on the life- 
 preservers."
 
 18 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 " Very good," said Mrs. Aleshine ; " hand me mine." 
 
 Each of us now buckled on a life-preserver, and as 
 I did so I stood up upon a thwart and looked about 
 me. It was quite light now, and I could see for a 
 long distance over the surface of the ocean, which 
 was gently rolling in wide, smooth swells. As we 
 rose upon the summit of one of these I saw a dark 
 spot upon the water, just on the edge of our near 
 horizon. " Is that the steamer?" I thought; "and 
 has she not yet sunk?" 
 
 At this there came to me a glimmering of coura 
 geous hope. If the steamer had remained afloat so 
 long, it was probable that on account of water-tight 
 compartments, or for some other reason, her sinking- 
 had reached its limit, and that if we could get back to 
 her we might be saved. But, alas, how were we to 
 get back to her? This boat would sink long, long 
 before I could row that distance. 
 
 However, I soon proclaimed the news to my com 
 panions, whereupon Mrs. Aleshine prepared to stand 
 upon a thwart and see for herself. But Mrs. Leeks 
 restrained her. 
 
 " Don t make things worse, Barb ry Aleshine," said 
 she, " by tumblin overboard. If we Ve got to go into 
 the water, let us do it decently and in order. If that s 
 the ship, Mr. Craig, don t you suppose we can float 
 ourselves to it in some way "I " 
 
 I replied that by the help of a life-preserver a per 
 son who could swim might reach the ship. 
 
 " But neither of us can swim," said Mrs. Leeks, 
 "for we ve lived where the water was never more 7 n 
 a foot deep, except in time of freshets, when there s
 
 MBS. LECKS AND MBS. ALESHINE. 19 
 
 no swimmin for man or beast. But if we see you 
 swiin perhaps we can follow, after a fashion. At any 
 rate, we must do the best we can, and that s all there 
 is to be done." 
 
 " The water now," remarked Mrs. Aleshiue, " is so 
 near to the bottom of my seat that 1 ve got to stand 
 up, tumble overboard or no." 
 
 "All right," remarked Mrs. Leeks; "we d better 
 all stand up, and let the boat sink under us. That 
 will save our jumpin overboard, or rollin out any 
 which way, which might be awkward." 
 
 " Goodness gracious me !" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine. 
 " You set the oysters creepin over me again ! First 
 you talk of the ship sinkin under us, and now it s 
 the boat goin to the bottom under our feet. Before 
 any sinkin s to be done I d ruther get out." 
 
 " Now, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, " stand 
 up straight, and don t talk so much. It 11 be a great 
 deal better to be let down gradual than to flop into 
 the water all of a bunch." 
 
 "Very well," said Mrs. Aleshine. " It may be best 
 to get used to it by degrees, but I must say I wish I 
 was home." 
 
 As for me, I would have much preferred to jump 
 overboard at once, instead of waiting in this cold 
 blooded manner; but as my companions had so far 
 preserved their presence of mind, I did not wish to do 
 anything which might throw them into a panic. I 
 believed there would be no danger from the suction 
 caused by the sinking of a small boat like this, and 
 if we took care not to entangle ourselves with it in 
 any way, we might as well follow Mrs. Lecks s advice
 
 20 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 as not. So we all stood up, Mrs. Leeks in the stern, 
 I in the bow, and Mrs. Aleshine on a thwart between 
 us. The last did not appear to have quite room 
 enough for a steady footing, but, as she remarked, it 
 did not matter very much, as the footing, broad or 
 narrow, would not be there very long. 
 
 I am used to swimming, and have never hesitated 
 to take a plunge into river or ocean, but I must ad 
 mit that it was very trying to my nerves to stand up 
 this way and wait for a boat to sink beneath me. 
 How the two women were affected I do not know. 
 They said nothing, but their faces indicated that 
 something disagreeable was about to happen, and 
 that the less that was said about it the better. 
 
 The boat had now sunk so much that the water 
 was around Mrs. Aleshine s feet, her standing-place 
 being rather lower than ours. I made myself certain 
 that there were no ropes nor any other means of 
 entanglement near my companions or myself, and 
 then I waited. There seemed to be a good deal of 
 buoyancy in the bow and stern of the boat, and it 
 was a frightfully long time in sinking. The suspense 
 became so utterly unendurable that I was tempted to 
 put one foot on the edge of the boat, and, by tipping 
 it, put an end to this nerve-rack ; but I refrained, for 
 I probably would throw the women off their balance, 
 when they might fall against some part of the boat, 
 and do themselves a hurt. I had just relinquished 
 this intention, when two little waves seemed to rise 
 one on each side of Mrs. Aleshine, and gently flowing 
 over the side of the boat, they flooded her feet with 
 water.
 
 MES. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 21 
 
 "Hold your breaths!" I shouted. And now I 
 experienced a sensation which must have been very 
 like that which comes to a condemned criminal at the 
 first indication of the pulling of the drop. Then 
 there was a horrible sinking, a gurgle, and a swash, 
 and the ocean, over which I had been gazing, ap 
 peared to rise up and envelop me. 
 
 In a moment, however, my head was out of the 
 water, and, looking hastily about me, I saw, close by, 
 the heads and shoulders of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
 shine. The latter was vigorously winking her eyes 
 and blowing from her mouth some sea-water that 
 had got into it; but as soon as her eyes fell upon me 
 she exclaimed : " That was ever so much more sud- 
 dint than I thought it was goin to be ! " 
 
 "Are you both all right?" 
 
 " I suppose I am," said Mrs. Aleshine, " but I never 
 thought that a person with a life-preserver on would 
 go clean under the water." 
 
 "But since you ve come up again, you ought to be 
 satisfied," said Mrs. Leeks. "And now," she added, 
 turning her face toward me, "which way ought we 
 to try to swim ? and have we got everythin we want 
 to take with us?" 
 
 "What we have n t got we can t get," remarked Mrs. 
 Aleshine; "and as for swimmin , I expect I m goin 
 to make a poor hand at it." 
 
 I had a hope, which was not quite strong enough to 
 be a belief, that, supported by their life-preservers, the 
 two women might paddle themselves along; and that, 
 by giving them in turn a helping hand, I might even 
 tually get them to the steamer. There was a strong
 
 22 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 probability that I would not succeed, but I did not 
 care to think of that. 
 
 I now swam in front of my companions, and en 
 deavored to instruct them in the best method of pro 
 pelling themselves with their arms and their hands. 
 If they succeeded in this, I thought I would give them 
 some further lessons in striking out with their feet. 
 After watching me attentively, Mrs. Leeks did manage 
 to move herself slowly through the smooth water, but 
 poor Mrs. Aleshine could do nothing but splash. 
 
 "If there was any thin to take hold of," she said to 
 me, "I might get along, but I can t get any grip on 
 the water, though you seem to do it well enough. 
 Look there!" she added in a higher voice. "Is n t 
 that an oar floatin over there? If you can get that 
 for me, I believe I can row myself much better than 
 I can swim." 
 
 This seemed an odd idea, but I swam over to the 
 floating oar, and brought it her. I was about to show 
 her how she could best use it, but she declined my 
 advice. 
 
 "If I do it at all," she said, "I must do it in my own 
 way." And, taking the oar in her strong hands, she 
 began to ply it on the water, very much in the way in 
 which she would handle a broom. At first she dipped 
 the blade too deeply, but, correcting this error, she 
 soon began to paddle herself along at a slow but 
 steady rate. 
 
 " Capital ! " I cried. " You do that admirably ! " 
 
 "Anybody who s swept as many rooms as I have," 
 she said, "ought to be able to handle anythin that 
 can be used like a broom."
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 23 
 
 "Is n t there another oar? 7 cried Mrs. Leeks, who 
 had now been left a little distance behind us. "If 
 there is, I want one." 
 
 Looking about me, I soon discovered another float 
 ing oar, and brought it to Mrs. Leeks, who, after 
 holding it in various positions, so as to get "the hang 
 of it," as she said, soon began to use it with as much 
 skill as that shown by her friend. If either of them 
 had been obliged to use an oar in the ordinary way, 
 I fear they would have had a bad time of it; but, 
 considering the implement in the light of a broom, its 
 use immediately became familiar to them, and they 
 got on remarkably well. 
 
 I now took a position a little in advance of my com 
 panions, and as I swam slowly they were easily able 
 to keep up with me. Mrs. Aleshine, being so stout, 
 floated much higher out of the water than either Mrs. 
 Leeks or I, and this permitted her to use her oar with 
 a great deal of freedom. Sometimes she would give 
 such a vigorous brush to the water that she would 
 turn herself almost entirely around, but, after a little 
 practice, she learned to avoid undue efforts of this 
 kind. 
 
 I was not positively sure that we were going in the 
 right direction, for my position did not allow me to 
 see very far over the water ; but I remembered that 
 when I was standing up in the boat and made my dis 
 covery, the sun was just about to rise in front of me, 
 while the dark spot on the ocean lay to my left. Judg 
 ing, therefore, from the present position of the sun, 
 which was not very high, I concluded that we were 
 moving toward the north, and therefore in the right
 
 24 
 
 direction. How far off the steamer might be I had no 
 idea, for I was not accustomed to judging distances 
 at sea; but I believed that if we were careful of our 
 strength, and if the ocean continued as smooth as it 
 now was, we might eventually reach the vessel, pro 
 vided she were yet afloat. 
 
 " After you are fairly in the water/ said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, as she swept along, although without the 
 velocity which that phrase usually implies, "it is n t 
 half so bad as I thought it would be. For one thing, 
 it don t feel a bit salt, although I must say it tasted 
 horribly that way when I first went into it." 
 
 "You did n t expect to find pickle-brine, did you?" 
 said Mrs. Leeks. "Though if it was, I suppose we 
 could float on it settin ." 
 
 "And as to bein cold," said Mrs. Aleshiue, "the part 
 of me that s in is actually more comfortable than that 
 which is out." 
 
 "There s one thing I would have been afraid of," 
 said Mrs. Leeks, "if we had n t made preparations for 
 it, and that s sharks." 
 
 "Preparations!" I exclaimed. "How in the world 
 did you prepare for sharks ? " 
 
 "Easy enough," said Mrs. Leeks. "When we went 
 down into our room to get ready to go away in the 
 boats we both put on black stockin s. I ve read that 
 sharks never bite colored people, although if they see a 
 white man in the water they 11 snap him up as quick 
 as lightnin ; and black stockiu s was the nearest we 
 could come to it. You see, I thought as like as not 
 we d have some sort of an upset before we got 
 through."
 
 MES. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 25 
 
 "It s a great comfort/ remarked Mrs. Aleshine, 
 " and I m very glad you thought of it, Mrs. Leeks. 
 After this I shall make it a rule : Black stockin s 
 for sharks." 
 
 " I suppose in your case," said Mrs. Leeks, address 
 ing me, " dark trousers will do as well." 
 
 To which I answered that I sincerely hoped they 
 would. 
 
 "Another thing I m thankful for," said Mrs. 
 Aleshine, " is that I thought to put on a flannel 
 skeert." 
 
 "And what s the good of it," said Mrs. Leeks, "when 
 it s soppin wet ? " 
 
 " Flannel s flannel," replied her friend, " whether 
 it s wet or dry ; and if you d had the rheumatism as 
 much as I have, you d know it." 
 
 To this Mrs. Leeks replied with a sniff, and asked 
 me how soon I thought we would get sight of the 
 ship, for if we were going the wrong way, and had to 
 turn round and go back, it would certainly be very 
 provoking. 
 
 I should have been happy indeed to be able to give 
 a satisfactory answer to this question. Every time 
 that we rose upon a swell I threw a rapid glance 
 around the whole circle of the horizon, and at last, 
 not a quarter of an hour after Mrs. Lecks s question, 
 I was rejoiced to see, almost in the direction in which 
 I supposed it ought to be, the dark spot which I had 
 before discovered. I shouted the glad news, and as 
 we rose again my companions strained their eyes in 
 the direction to which I pointed. They both saw it, 
 and were greatly satisfied.
 
 26 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 " Now, then," said Mrs. Aleshine, " it seems as if 
 there was somethiii to work for," arid she began to 
 sweep her oar with great vigor. 
 
 " If you want to tire yourself out before you get 
 there, Barb ry Aleshine, said Mrs. Leeks, " you d 
 better go on in that way. Now what I advise is that 
 we stop rowin altogether and have somethiu to eat, 
 for I in sure we need it to keep up our strength." 
 
 " Eat !" I cried. * What are you going to eat ? Do 
 you expect to catch fish ? " 
 
 " And eat em raw ? " said Mrs. Leeks. " I should 
 think not. But do you suppose, Mr. Craig, that Mrs. 
 Aleshine and me would go off and leave that ship 
 without takin somethin to eat by the way ? Let s 
 all gether here in a bunch, and see what sort of a 
 meal we can make. And now, Barb ry Aleshine. if 
 you lay your oar down there on the water, I recom 
 mend you to tie it to one of your bonnet-strings, or 
 it 11 be floatiu away, and you won t get it again." 
 
 As she said this, Mrs. Leeks put her right hand 
 down into the water, and fumbled about apparently 
 in search of a pocket. I could not but smile as I 
 thought of the condition of food when, for an hour or 
 more, it had been a couple of feet under the surface 
 of the ocean; but my ideas on the subject were en 
 tirely changed when I saw Mrs. Leeks hold up in the 
 air two German sausages, and shake the briny drops 
 from their smooth and glittering surfaces. 
 
 " There s nothin ," she said, "like sausages for ship 
 wreck and that kind o thing. They re very sustaining 
 and bein covered with a tight skin, water can t get 
 at em, no matter how you carry em. I would n t
 
 MES. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 2? 
 
 bring these out in the boat, because havin the beans 
 we might as well eat them. Have you a knife about 
 you, Mr. Craig V 
 
 I produced a dripping jack-knife, and after the open 
 blade had been waved in the air to dry it a little, Mrs. 
 Leeks proceeded to divide cne of the sausages, hand 
 ing the other to me to hold meanwhile. 
 
 " Now don t go eatin sausages without bread, if 
 you don t want em to give you dyspepsy," said Mrs. 
 Aleshine, who was tugging at a submarine pocket. 
 
 " I m very much afraid your bread is all soaked," 
 said Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 To which her friend replied that that remained to 
 be seen, and forthwith produced with a splash a glass 
 preserve-jar with a metal top. 
 
 " I saw this nearly empty, as I looked into the ship s 
 pantry, and I stuffed into it all the soft biscuits it 
 would hold. There was some sort of jam left at the 
 bottom, so that the one who gets the last biscuit will 
 have somethin of a little spread on it. And now, Mrs. 
 Leeks," she continued triumphantly, as she unscrewed 
 the top, " that rubber ring has kept em as dry as chips. 
 I m mighty glad of it, for I had trouble enough gettin 
 this jar into my pocket, and gettin it out, too. for that 
 matter." 
 
 Floating thus, with our hands and shoulders above 
 the water, we made a very good meal from the sau 
 sages and soft biscuit. 
 
 " Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, as her friend 
 
 proceeded to cut the second sausage, " don t you lay 
 
 that knife down when you ve done with it, as if t 
 
 was an oar; for if you do it 11 sink, as like as not, 
 
 3
 
 28 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 about six miles. I ve read that the ocean is as deep 
 as that in some places." 
 
 " Goodness gracious me ! " exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, 
 " I hope we are not over one of them deep spots." 
 
 "There s no knowin ," said Mrs. Leeks, "but if it s 
 more comf ortin to think it s shallerer, we 11 make up 
 our minds that way. Now, then," she continued, 
 " we 11 finish off this meal with a little somethin to 
 drink. I rn not given to takiu spirits, but I never 
 travel without a little whisky, ready mixed with 
 water, to take if it should be needed." 
 
 So saying, she produced from one of her pockets a 
 whisky-flask tightly corked, and of its contents we 
 each took a sip, Mrs. Aleshiue remarking that, leav 
 ing out being chilled or colicky, we were never likely 
 to need it more than now. 
 
 Thus refreshed and strengthened, Mrs. Leeks and 
 Mrs. Aleshine took up their oars, while I swam slightly 
 in advance, as before. When, with occasional inter 
 missions of rest, and a good deal of desultory conver 
 sation, we had swept and swam for about an hour, 
 Mrs. Leeks suddenly exclaimed : "I can see that thing 
 ever so much plainer now, and I don t believe it s a 
 ship at all. To me it looks like bushes." 
 
 "You re mighty long-sighted without your specs," 
 said Mrs. Aleshine, "and I m not sure but what you re 
 right." 
 
 For ten minutes or more I had been puzzling over 
 the shape of the dark spot which was now nearly all 
 the time in sight. Its peculiar form had filled me 
 with a dreadful fear that it was the steamer, bottom 
 upward, although I knew enough about nautical
 
 MES. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 29 
 
 matters to have no good reason to suppose that this 
 conld be the case. I am not far-sighted, but when 
 Mrs. Leeks suggested bushes, I gazed at the distant 
 object with totally different ideas, and soon began to 
 believe that it was not a ship, either right side up or 
 wrong side up, but that it might be an island. This 
 belief I proclaimed to my companions, and for some 
 time we all worked with increased energy in the desire 
 to get near enough to make ourselves certain in re 
 gard to this point. 
 
 " As true as I m standin here," said Mrs. Leeks, 
 who, although she could not read without spectacles, 
 had remarkably good sight at long range, " them is 
 trees and bushes that I see before me, though they 
 do seem to be growin right out of the water." 
 
 " There s an island under them ; you may be sure 
 of that !" I cried. "And is n t this ever so much bet 
 ter than a sinking ship?" 
 
 " 1 m not so sure about that," said Mrs. Aleshine. 
 " I m used to the ship, and as long as it did n t sink 
 I d prefer it. There s plenty to eat on board of it, 
 and good beds to sleep on, which is more than can be 
 expected on a little bushy place like that ahead of us. 
 But then, the ship might sink all of a suddint, beds, 
 vittles, and all." 
 
 " Do you suppose that is the island the other boats 
 went to?" asked Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 This question I had already asked of myself. I had 
 been told that the island to which the captain in 
 tended to take his boats lay about thirty miles south 
 of the point where we left the steamer. Now I knew 
 very well that we had not come thirty miles, and had
 
 30 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 reason to believe, moreover, that the greater part of 
 the progress we had made had been toward the north. 
 It was not at all probable that the position of this 
 island was unknown to our captain ; and it must, 
 therefore, have been considered by him as an unsuit 
 able place for the landing of his passengers. There 
 might be many reasons for this unsuitableness; the 
 island might be totally barren and desolate ; it might 
 be the abode of unpleasant natives; and, more im 
 portant than anything else, it was, in all probability, 
 a spot where steamers never touched. 
 
 But, whatever its disadvantages, I was most wildly 
 desirous to reach it; more so, I believe, than either of 
 my companions. I do not mean that they were not 
 sensible of their danger, and desirous to be freed 
 from it; but they were women who had probably had 
 a rough time of it during a great part of their lives, 
 and on emerging from their little circle of rural 
 experiences accepted with equanimity, and almost as 
 a matter of course, the rough times which come to 
 people in the great outside world. 
 
 " I do not believe," I said, in answer to Mrs. Leeks, 
 " that that is the island to which the captain would 
 have taken us ; but, whatever it is, it is dry land, and 
 we must get there as soon as we can." 
 
 "That s true," said Mrs. Aleshine, " for I d like to 
 have ground nearer to my feet than six miles, and if 
 we don t find anythin to eat and any place to sleep 
 when we get there, it s no more than can be said of 
 where we are now." 
 
 "You re too particular, Barb ry Aleshine," said 
 Mrs. Leeks, " about your comforts. If you find the
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 31 
 
 ground too hard to sleep on when you get there, you can 
 put on your life-preserver, and go to bed in the water." 
 
 "Very good," said Mrs. Aleshine; "and if these 
 islands are made of coral, as I Ve heard they was, and 
 if they re as full of small p ints as some coral 1 7 ve 
 got at home, you 11 be glad to take a berth by me, 
 Mrs. Leeks." 
 
 I counseled my companions to follow me as rapidly 
 as possible, and we all pushed vigorously forward. 
 When we had approached near enough to the island 
 to see what sort of place it really was, we perceived 
 that it was a low-lying spot, apparently covered with 
 verdure, and surrounded, as far as we could see as we 
 rose on the swells, by a rocky reef, against which a 
 tolerably high surf was running. I knew enough of 
 the formation of these coral islands to suppose that 
 within this reef was a lagoon of smooth water, into 
 which there were openings through the rocky barrier. 
 It was necessary to try to find one of these, for it 
 would be difficult and perhaps dangerous to attempt 
 to land through the surf. 
 
 Before us we could see a continuous line of white- 
 capped breakers ; and so I led my little party to the 
 right, hoping that we would soon see signs of an 
 opening in the reef. 
 
 We swam and paddled, however, for a long time, 
 and still the surf rolled menacingly on the rocks be 
 fore us. We were now as close to the island as we 
 could approach with safety, and I determined to cir- 
 cumnavigate it, if necessary, before I would attempt, 
 with these two women, to land upon that jagged reef. 
 At last we perceived, at no great distance before us,
 
 32 MRS. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 
 
 a spot where there seemed to be no breakers; and 
 when we reached it we found, to our unutterable de 
 light, that here was smooth water flowing through a 
 wide opening in the reef. The rocks were piled up 
 quite high, and the reef, at this point at least, was a 
 wide one; for as we neared the opening we found that 
 it narrowed very soon and made a turn to the left, so 
 that from the outside we could not see into the lagoon. 
 
 I swam into this smooth water, followed close by 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, who, however, soon 
 became unable to use their oars, owing to the prox 
 imity of the rocks. Dropping these useful implements, 
 they managed to paddle after me with their hands; 
 and they were as much astonished as I was when, just 
 after making the slight turn, we found stretched 
 across the narrow passage a great iron bar about 
 eight or ten inches above the water. A little farther 
 on, and two or three feet above the water, another 
 iron bar extended from one rocky wall to the other. 
 Without uttering a word I examined the lower bar, 
 and found one end of it fastened by means of a huge 
 padlock to a great staple driven into the rock. The 
 lock was securely wrapped in what appeared to be 
 tarred canvas. A staple through an eyehole in the 
 bar secured the other end of it to the rocks. 
 
 " These bars were put here," I exclaimed, "to keep 
 out boats, whether at high or low water. You see 
 they can only be thrown out of the way by taking off 
 the padlocks." 
 
 "They won t keep us out," said Mrs. Leeks, "for we 
 can duck under. I suppose whoever put em here 
 did n t expect anybody to arrive on life-preservers."
 
 PART II 
 
 DOPTING Mrs. Lecks s suggestion, 
 I "ducked my head under the bar, 
 and passed to the other side of it. 
 Mrs. Leeks, with but little trouble, 
 followed my example; but Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, who, by reason of her stout 
 ness, floated so much higher out of the water than her 
 friend and I, found it impossible to get herself under 
 the bar. In whatever manner she made the attempt, 
 her head or her shoulders were sure to bump and 
 arrest her progress. 
 
 " Now, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, who had 
 been watching her, "if you ever want to get out of 
 this salt water, you ve got to make up your mind to 
 take some of it into your mouth and into your eyes; 
 that is, if you don t keep em shut. Get yourself as 
 close to that bar as you can, and I 11 come and put 
 you under." 
 
 So saying, Mrs. Leeks returned to the other side of 
 the bar, and having made Mrs. Aleshine bow down 
 her head and close her eyes and mouth, she placed 
 both hands upon her companion s broad shoulders 
 
 33
 
 34 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 and threw as much weight as possible upon them. 
 Mrs. Aleshine almost disappeared beneath the water, 
 but she came up sputtering and blinking on the other 
 side of the bar, where she was quickly joined by Mrs. 
 Leeks. 
 
 " Merciful me! " exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, wiping her 
 wet face with her still wetter sleeve, "I never supposed 
 the heathens would be up to such tricks as makin us 
 do that!" 
 
 I had waited to give any assistance that might be 
 required, and, while doing so, had discovered another 
 bar under the water, which proved that entrance at 
 almost any stage of the tide had been guarded against. 
 Warning my companions not to strike their feet 
 against this submerged bar, we paddled and pushed 
 ourselves around the turn in the rocky passage, and 
 emerged into the open lagoon. 
 
 This smooth stretch of water, which separated the 
 island from its encircling reef, was here about a hun 
 dred feet wide; and the first thing that arrested our 
 attention as we gazed across it was a little wharf or 
 landing-stage, erected upon the narrow beach of the 
 island, almost opposite to us. 
 
 "As sure as I stand here," exclaimed Mrs. Leeks, 
 who never seemed to forget her upright position, 
 " somebody lives in this place ! " 
 
 "And it is n t a stickery coral island, either," cried 
 Mrs. Aleshine, " for that sand s as smooth as any I 
 ever saw." 
 
 "Whoever does live here," resumed Mrs. Leeks, "has 
 got to take us in, whether they like it or not ; and the 
 sooner we get over there, the better."
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 35 
 
 Mrs. Aleshine now regretted the loss of her oar, and 
 suggested that some one of us who could get under 
 bars easily should go back after it. But Mrs. Leeks 
 would listen to no such proposition. 
 
 " Let the oars go," she said. " We won t want era 
 again, for I 11 never leave this place if I have to scoop 
 myself out to sea with an oar." 
 
 I told the two women that I could easily tow them 
 across this narrow piece of water; and instructing 
 Mrs. Leeks to take hold of the tail of my coat, while 
 Mrs. Aleshine grasped her companion s dress, I began 
 to swim slowly toward the beach, towing my com 
 panions behind me. 
 
 " Goodnessful gracious me ! " suddenly exclaimed 
 Mrs. Aleshine, with a great bounce and a splash, "look 
 at the fishes ! " 
 
 The water in the lagoon was so clear that it was 
 almost transparent, and beneath us and around us we 
 could see fish, some large and some small, swimming 
 about as if they were floating in the air, while down 
 below the white sandy bottom seemed to sparkle in 
 the sunlight. 
 
 "Now don t jerk my skeert off on account of the 
 fishes," said Mrs. Leeks. "I expect there was just as 
 many outside, though we could n t see em. But I 
 must say that this water looks as if it had been boiled 
 and filtered." 
 
 If any inhabitant of the island had then been stand 
 ing on the wharf, he would have beheld on the surface 
 of the lagoon the peculiar spectacle of a man s head 
 surmounted by a wet and misshapen straw hat, and 
 followed by two other heads, each wearing a dripping
 
 36 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 and bedraggled bonnet, while beneath, among the 
 ripples of the clear water, would be seen the figures 
 belonging to these three heads, each dressed in the 
 clothes ordinarily worn on dry land. 
 
 As I swarn I could see before me, on the island, 
 nothing but a mass of low-growing, tropical vegeta 
 tion, behind which rose some palms and other trees. 
 I made for the little wharf, from which steps came 
 down into the water, and as soon as we reached it we 
 all clambered rapidly up, and stood dripping upon the 
 narrow platform, stamping our feet and shaking our 
 clothes. 
 
 Do you see that house?" said Mrs. Leeks. " That s 
 where they live, and I wonder which way we must 
 go to get there." 
 
 From this somewhat elevated position I could plainly 
 see, over the tops of the bushes and low trees, the 
 upper part of the roof of a house. When I found the 
 bars across the passage in the reef, I had easily come 
 to the conclusion that the inhabitants of this island 
 were not savages; and now since I had seen the 
 wharf and the roof of this house, I felt quite convinced 
 that we had reached the abode of civilized beings. 
 They might be pirates or some other sort of sea 
 miscreant, but they were certainly not savages or 
 cannibals. 
 
 Leaving the wharf, we soon found a broad path 
 through the bushes, and in a few moments reached a 
 wide, open space, in which stood a handsome modern- 
 built house. It was constructed after the fashion of 
 tropical houses belonging to Europeans, with jalousied 
 porches and shaded balconies ; the grounds about it
 
 MES. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 37 
 
 were neatly laid out, and behind it was a walled in- 
 closure, probably a garden. 
 
 " Upon my word," exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, " I d 
 like to be less drippin before I make a call on genteel 
 folks ! " 
 
 " Genteel folks!" exclaimed Mrs. Leeks indignantly. 
 " If you re too proud to go in as you are, Barb ry 
 Aleshme, you can go set in the sun till you re dry. 
 As for me, I in goin to ask for the lady of the house, 
 and if she don t like me she can lump me, so long as 
 she gives me somethin to eat and a dry bed to get 
 into." 
 
 I was too much amazed to speak, but my compan 
 ions took everything as a matter of course. They 
 had expected to see strange things in the outer world, 
 and they were not surprised when they saw them. 
 My mind was not capable of understanding the ex 
 istence of an establishment like this 011 a little island 
 in mid-ocean. But it was useless for me to attempt 
 to reason on this apparent phenomenon; and, indeed, 
 there was no time for it, for Mrs. Leeks walked boldly 
 up to the front door and plied the knocker, stepping 
 back immediately, so that she might not drip too much 
 water on the porch. 
 
 " When they come," she said, " we 11 ask em to let 
 us in the back way, so that we sha n t slop up their 
 floors any more than we can help." 
 
 We waited for a couple of minutes, and then I, as 
 the member of the party who dripped the least, went 
 up on the porch and knocked again. 
 
 "It s my belief they re not at home," said Mrs. 
 Leeks, after we had waited some time longer, "but
 
 38 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 perhaps we 11 find some of the servants in " ; and she 
 led the way to the back part of the house. 
 
 As we passed the side of the mansion I noticed that- 
 all the window-shutters were closed, and my growing 
 belief that the place was deserted became a conviction 
 after we had knocked several times at a door at the 
 back of the building without receiving any answer. 
 
 "Well, they re all gone out, that s certain!" said 
 Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 " Yes, and they barred up the entrance to the island 
 when they left," I added. 
 
 " I wonder if there s another house in the neighbor 
 hood I " asked Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 " I don t believe," said I, " that the neighborhood is 
 very thickly settled ; but if you will wait here a few 
 minutes, I will run around this wall and see what 
 there is beyond. I may find the huts of some natives 
 or work-people." 
 
 I followed a path by the side of the garden wall, 
 but when I reached the end of the inclosure I could 
 see nothing before me but jungle and forest, with 
 paths running in several directions. I followed one 
 of these, and very soon came out upon an open beach, 
 with the reef lying beyond it. From the form of the 
 beach and the reef, and from the appearance of -things 
 generally, I began to think that this was probably a 
 very small island, and that the house we had seen was 
 the only one on it. I returned and reported this be 
 lief to my companions. 
 
 Now that Mrs. Aleshiue had no fear of appearing 
 in an untidy condition before " genteel folks," her 
 manner changed very much. " If the family has
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 39 
 
 gone into the country," said she, " or whatever else 
 they ve done, I want to get into this house as soon 
 as I can. I expect we can find something to eat. At 
 any rate we can get ourselves dry, and lay down some 
 where to rest, for not a wink has one of us slept since 
 night before last." 
 
 "I should think," said Mrs. Leeks, addressing me, 
 " that if you could manage to climb up to them second- 
 story windows, you might find one of them that you 
 could get in, and then come down and open the door 
 for us. Everybody is likely to forget to fasten some 
 of the windows on the upper floors. I know it is n t 
 right to force our way into other people s houses, but 
 there s nothin else to be done, and there s no need of 
 our talkin about it." 
 
 I agreed with her perfectly, and taking off my coat 
 and shoes I climbed up one of the columns of the 
 veranda, and got upon its roof. This extended nearly 
 the whole length of two sides of the house. I walked 
 along it and tried all the shutters, and I soon came to 
 one in which some of the movable slats had been 
 broken. Thrusting my hand and arm through the 
 aperture thus formed, I unhooked the shutters and 
 opened them. The sash was fastened down by one 
 of the ordinary contrivances used for such purposes, 
 but with the blade of my jack-knife I easily pushed 
 the bolt aside, raised the sash, and entered. I found 
 myself in a small hall at the head of a flight of stairs. 
 Down these I hurried, and, groping my way through 
 the semi-darkness of the lower story, I reached a side 
 door. This was fastened by two bolts and a bar, and 
 I quickly had it open.
 
 40 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 Stepping outside, I called Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
 shine. 
 
 "Well," said the latter, "I m sure I 11 be glad to get 
 in, and as we Ve squeezed most of the water out of our 
 clothes we won t make so much of a mess, after all." 
 
 We now entered, and I opened one of the shutters. 
 
 " Let s go right into the kitchen," said Mrs. Leeks, 
 " and make a fire. That s the first thing to do." 
 
 But Mrs. Leeks soon discovered that this mansion 
 was very different from a country dwelling in one of 
 our Middle States. Externally, and as far as I had 
 been able to observe its internal arrangements, it re 
 sembled the houses built by English residents which I 
 had seen in the West Indies. It was a dwelling in 
 which modern ideas in regard to construction and 
 furnishing adapted themselves to the requirements of 
 a tropical climate. Apparently there was no kitchen. 
 There were no stairs leading to a lower floor, and the 
 darkened rooms, into which my companions peered, 
 were certainly not used for culinary purposes. 
 
 In the mean time I had gone out of the door by 
 which we had entered, and soon discovered, on the 
 other side of the house, a small building with a chim 
 ney to it, which I felt sure must be the kitchen. The 
 door and shutters were fastened, but before making 
 any attempt to open them I returned to announce my 
 discovery. 
 
 " Door locked, is it ? " said Mrs. Aleshine. " Just 
 wait a minute." 
 
 She then disappeared, but in a very short time 
 came out, carrying a bunch of large keys. 
 
 "It s always the way," said she, as the two followed
 
 MES. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 41 
 
 me round the back of the house, " when people shut 
 up a house and leave it, to put all the door-keys in 
 the back corner of some drawer in the hall, and to 
 take only the front-door key with them. So, you see, 
 I knew just where to go for these." 
 
 " It s a poor hen," said Mrs. Leeks, "that begins to 
 cackle when she s goin to her nest ; the wise ones 
 wait till they re comin away. Now we 11 see if one 
 of them keys fit." 
 
 Greatly to the triumph of Mrs. Aleshine, the second 
 or third key I tried unlocked the door. Entering, we 
 found ourselves in a good-sized kitchen, with a great 
 fireplace at one end of it. A door opened from the 
 room into a shed where there was a pile of dry twigs 
 and firewood. 
 
 " Let s have a fire as quick as we can," said Mrs. 
 Leeks, " for since I went into that shet-up house I ve 
 been chilled to the bones." 
 
 "That s so," said Mrs. Aleshine, " and now I know 
 how a fish keeps comfortable in the water, and how 
 dreadfully wet and flabby it must feel when it s taken 
 out." 
 
 I brought in a quantity of wood and kindling, and, 
 finding matches in a tin box on the wall, I went to 
 work to make a fire, and was soon rewarded by a 
 crackling blaze. Turning around, I was amazed at 
 the actions of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshiue. I had 
 expected to see them standing shivering behind me, 
 waiting for the fire to be made ; but, instead of that, 
 they were moving rapidly here and there, saying not 
 a word, but going as straight to cupboard, closet, and 
 pantry as the hound follows the track of the hare.
 
 42 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 From a wild chaos of uncongenial surroundings, 
 these two women had dropped into a sphere in which 
 they were perfectly at home. The kitchen was not 
 altogether like those to which they had been accus 
 tomed, but it was a well-appointed one, and their 
 instincts and practice made them quickly understand 
 where they would find what they wanted. I gazed 
 on them with delight while one filled a kettle from a 
 little pump in the corner which brought water from 
 a cistern, and the other appeared from the pantry, 
 carrying a tea-caddy and a tin biscuit-box. 
 
 " Now, then," said Mrs. Leeks, hanging the kettle 
 on a crane over the fire, and drawing up a chair, " by 
 the time we ve got a little dried off, the kettle will 
 bile, and we 11 have some hot tea; and then the best 
 thing to do is to go to bed." 
 
 " We 11 take time to have a bite first," said Mrs. 
 Aleshine, " for I was never so near famished in my 
 life. I brought out a box nearly full of biscuits, and 
 there s sardines in this, Mr. Craig, which you can 
 easy open with your knife." 
 
 I piled on more wood, and we gathered close around 
 the genial heat. The sunshine was hot outside, but 
 that did not prevent the fire from being most com 
 forting and refreshing to us. 
 
 As soon as the kettle began to simmer, up jumped 
 Mrs. Aleshiue. A sugar-bowl and some cups were 
 placed upon a table, and in a short time we were 
 cheered and invigorated by hot tea, biscuits, and 
 sardines. 
 
 "This is n t much of a meal," said Mrs. Aleshine 
 apologetically, "but there s no time to cook nothin ,
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MKS. ALESHINE. 43 
 
 and the sooner we get off our wet things and find 
 some beds, the better." 
 
 " If I can once get into bed," said Mrs. Leeks, " all 
 I ask is that the family will not come back till I have 
 had a good long nap. After that, they can do what 
 they please." 
 
 We now went back to the house and ascended the 
 main stairway, which led up to a large central hall. 
 
 " We won t go into the front rooms," said Mrs. 
 Leeks, " for we don t want to make no more distur 
 bance than we can help ; but if we can find the smallest 
 kind of rooms in the back, with beds in em, it is all 
 we can ask." 
 
 The first chamber we entered was a good-sized one, 
 neatly furnished, containing a bedstead with uncov 
 ered mattress and pillows. Opening a closet door, 
 Mrs. Leeks exclaimed: " This is a man s room, Mr. 
 Craig, and you d better take it. Look at the trousers 
 and coats ! There s no bedclothes in here, but I 11 see 
 if I can t find some." 
 
 In a few minutes she returned, bearing blankets, 
 sheets, and a pillow-case. With Mrs. Aleshine on one 
 side of the bedstead and Mrs. Leeks on the other, the 
 sheets and blankets were laid with surprising deft 
 ness and rapidity, and in a few moments I saw before 
 me a most inviting bed. 
 
 While Mrs. Aleshine held a pillow in her teeth as 
 she pulled on the pillow-case with both hands, Mrs. 
 Leeks looked around the room with the air of an at 
 tentive hostess. "I guess you 11 be comfortable, Mr. 
 Craig," she said, "and I advise you to sleep just as 
 long as you can. We 11 take the room on the other 
 4
 
 44 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 side of the hall, but I rn first goin down to see if the 
 kitchen fire is safe, and to fasten the doors." 
 
 I offered to relieve her of this trouble, but she 
 promptly declined my services. "When it s rowin or 
 swimmin , you can do it, Mr. Craig; but when it s 
 lockin up and lookin to fires, I 11 attend to that my 
 self." 
 
 My watch had stopped, but I suppose it was the 
 middle of the afternoon when I went to bed, and I 
 slept steadily until some hours after sunrise the next 
 morning, when I was awakened by a loud knock at 
 the door. 
 
 It s time to get up," said the voice of Mrs. Leeks, 
 "and if your clothes are not entirely dry, you ? d better 
 see if there is n t somethin in that closet you can put 
 on. After a while I 11 make a big fire in the kitchen, 
 and dry all our things." 
 
 I found my clothes were still very damp, and after 
 investigating the contents of the closet and bureau, I 
 was able to supply myself with linen and a light 
 summer suit which fitted me fairly well. I even found 
 socks and a pair of slippers. 
 
 When I entered the kitchen, I first opened wide my 
 eyes with delight, and then I burst out laughing. Be 
 fore me was a table covered with a white cloth, with 
 plates, cups, and everything necessary upon it; at one 
 end was a steaming tea-pot, and at the other a dish of 
 some kind of hot meat ; and Mrs. Aleshiue was just 
 taking a pan of newly baked biscuits from a small 
 iron oven. 
 
 "I don t wonder you laugh," said Mrs. Leeks, "but 
 our clothes was still wet, and we had to take just
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 45 
 
 what we could find. I m not in the habit of goin 
 about in a white muslin wrapper with blue-ribbon 
 trimmin s ; and as for Mrs. Aleshine, I did think we d 
 never find any thin that she could get into ; but there 
 must be one stout woman in the family, for that yel- 
 ler frock with black buttons fits her well enough, 
 though I must say it s a good deal short." 
 
 " I never thought," said Mrs. Aleshine, as she sat 
 down at the tea-pot, " that the heathens had so many 
 conveniences, specially bakin powders and Dutch 
 ovens. For my part, I always supposed that they 
 used their altars for bakin , when they was n t offerin 
 up victims on em." 
 
 "Have you got it into your head, Barb ry Aleshine," 
 said Mrs. Leeks, looking up from the dish of potted 
 beef she was serving, "that this house belongs to 
 common heathen ? I expect that most of the savages 
 who live on these desert islands has been converted 
 by the missionaries, but they d have to take em from 
 Genesis to Revelations a good many times before 
 they d get em to the p int of havin force-pumps in 
 their kitchens and spring-mattresses on their beds. 
 As far as I ve seen this house, it looks as if the fam 
 ily had always been Christians, and probably either 
 Catholics or Episcopalians." 
 
 " On account of the cross on the mantelpiece in our 
 room, I suppose," said Mrs. Aleshine. "But whether 
 they re given to idols or prayer-books, I know they ve 
 got a mighty nice house ; and considerin the distance 
 from stores, there s a good deal more in that pantry 
 than you d expect to find in any house I know of, 
 when the family is away."
 
 46 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 "It is ray opinion," said I, "that this house belongs 
 to some rich man, probably an American or European 
 merchant, who lives on one of the large islands, not 
 far away, and who uses this as a sort of summer resi 
 dence." 
 
 "I thought it was always summer in this part of 
 the world," said Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 " So it is in effect/ I replied, " but there are some 
 seasons when it is very unpleasant to remain in one 
 of those towns which are found on the larger islands, 
 and so the owner of this house may come up here 
 sometimes for fresh sea air." 
 
 " Or, it s just as like," said Mrs. Aleshine, " that he 
 lives somewhere up in the iceberg regions, and comes 
 here to spend his winters. It would do just as well. 
 But, whichever way it is, I can t help thinkin it s care 
 less not to leave somebody in the house to take care 
 of it. Why, for all the family would know about it, 
 tramps might break in and stay as long as they like." 
 
 "That s just what s happenin now," said Mrs. 
 Leeks, "and for my part I ain t goin to find no fault. 
 I don t suppose the people would have been so hard 
 hearted as to turn us away from their doors, but I ve 
 seen enough of folks in this world not to be too sure 
 about that." 
 
 " How do you suppose," said Mrs. Aleshine, address 
 ing me, "that the family gets here and goes back! 
 Do they keep a private steamboat ? " 
 
 " Of course they have a private vessel of some 
 kind," I answered, " probably a yacht. It is quite 
 certain that ordinary steamers never touch here." 
 
 " If that s the case," said Mrs. Leeks, " all we can
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 47 
 
 do is to wait here till they come, arid get them to send 
 us away in their ship. But whether they ve just 
 gone or are just a-comin back depends, I suppose, 
 on whether they live in a freezin or a burnin country, 
 and if they don t like our bein here when they come 
 back, there s one thing they can make up their minds 
 to, and that is that I in never goin to leave this place 
 on a life-preserver." 
 
 "Nor me nuther," said Mrs. Aleshine, finishing, 
 \\lth much complacency, her third cup of tea. 
 
 When breakfast was over, Mrs. Leeks pushed back 
 her chair, but did not immediately rise. With an ex 
 pression of severe thought upon her face, she gazed 
 steadfastly before her for a minute, and then she 
 addressed Mrs. Aleshine, who had begun to gather 
 together the cups and the plates. "Now, Barb ry 
 Aleshine," said she, " don t you begin to clear off the 
 table, nor touch a single thing to wash it up, till we Ve 
 been over this house. I want to do it now, before Mr. 
 Craig goes out to prospect around and see what else is 
 on the island, which, I suppose, he 11 be wantin to do." 
 
 I replied that I had that intention, but I was quite 
 willing to go over the house first. 
 
 " It s come to me," said Mrs. Leeks, speaking very 
 gravely, " that it s no use for us to talk of the family 
 bein here or bein there, till we ve gone over this 
 house. If we find that they have, as far as we know, 
 gone away in good health and spirits, that s all well 
 enough ; but if anything s happened in this house, I 
 don t want to be here with what s happened at 
 least without knowin it ; and when we do go over 
 the house, I want a man to go with us."
 
 48 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 " If you d talked that way last night, Mrs. Leeks/ 
 exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, " I d never slept till after 
 sun-up, and then got up and gone huntiii round 
 among them frocks and petticoats to find somethin 
 that would fit me, with the quiet pulse I did have, 
 Mrs. Locks ! " 
 
 To this remark Mrs. Leeks made no reply" but, ris 
 ing, she led the way out of the kitchen and into the 
 house. 
 
 The rooms on the first floor were very well fur 
 nished. There was a large parlor, and back of it a 
 study or library ; while, on the other side of the hall, 
 was a dining-room, and an apartment probably used 
 as a family room. We found nothing in these which 
 would indicate that anything untoward had happened 
 in them. Then we went up-stairs, I leading the way, 
 Mrs. Leeks following, and Mrs. Aleshine in the rear. 
 We first entered one of the front chambers, which was 
 quite dark, but Mrs. Leeks unfastened and threw open 
 a shutter. Then, with a rigid countenance and de 
 termined mien, she examined every part of the room, 
 looked into every closet, and even under the bed. It 
 was quite plain that it was in one of the chambers 
 that she expected to find what had happened, if any 
 thing had happened. 
 
 The room on the.other side of the hall was very like 
 the one we first examined, except that it had two beds 
 in it. We next visited the chamber recently occu 
 pied by my two companions, which was now under 
 going the process of " airing." 
 
 " We need n t stop here," remarked Mrs. Aleshiue. 
 But Mrs. Leeks instantly replied, " Indeed, we will 
 stop ; I m going to look under the bed."
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 49 
 
 " Merciful me ! " exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, putting 
 her hand on her friend s shoulder. " Supposin you 
 should find something and we sleepin here last night ! 
 It curdles me to think of it ! " 
 
 11 It s my duty/ said Mrs. Leeks, severely, " and I 
 shall do it." 
 
 And do it she did, rising from the task with a sigh 
 of relief. 
 
 My room was subjected to the same scrutiny as the 
 others ; and then we visited some smaller rooms at the 
 extreme back of the house, which we had not before 
 noticed. A garret, or loft, was reached by a steep 
 stairway in one of these rooms, and into its dusky 
 gloom I ventured by myself. 
 
 "Now, don t come down, Mr. Craig," said Mrs. 
 Leeks, " till you re sure there s nothin there. Of all 
 places in the house that cockloft, after all, is the most 
 likely." 
 
 I had none of the fears which seemed to actuate 
 the two women, but I had a very unpleasant time of 
 it, groping about in the darkness and heat, and, as 
 the place was only partly floored, running the con 
 tinual risk of crashing down through the lath and 
 plaster. I made myself quite sure, however, that 
 nothing had happened in that loft unless some one 
 had suffocated there, and had dried up and become 
 the dust which I raised at every step. 
 
 " Now, then," said Mrs. Leeks, when I descended, 
 " as there is no cellar, we 11 go wash up the breakfast 
 things; and if you want to take a walk, to see if there s 
 any genuwine heathens or anybody else a-livin in this 
 island, we re not afraid to be left alone." 
 
 For the whole of the rest of the morning I wan-
 
 50 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 dered about the island. I investigated the paths that 
 I had before noticed, and found that each of them led, 
 after a moderate walk, to some wide and pleasant part 
 of the beach. At one of these points I found a rustic 
 bench ; and, stuffed in between two of the slats which 
 formed the seat, I found a book. It had been sadly 
 wet and discolored by rain, and dried and curled up 
 by the wind and sun. I pulled it out and found it to 
 be a novel in French. On one of the fly-leaves was 
 written " Emily." Reasoning from the dilapidated 
 appearance of this book, I began to believe that the 
 family must have left this place some time ago, and 
 that, therefore, their return might be expected at a 
 proportionately early period. On second thoughts, 
 however, I considered that the state of this book was 
 of little value as testimony. A few hours of storm, 
 wind, and sun might have inflicted all the damage it 
 had sustained. The two women would be better able 
 to judge by the state of the house and the condition 
 of the provisions how long the family had been away. 
 
 I now started out on a walk along the beach, and in 
 little more than an hour I had gone entirely around 
 the island. Nowhere did I see any sign of habitation 
 or occupation, except at the house which had given us 
 shelter, nor any opening through the surrounding 
 reef, except the barred passageway through which 
 we had come. 
 
 When I returned to the house, I found that Mrs. 
 Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine had been hard at work all 
 the morning. They had, so to speak, gone regularly 
 and systematically to housekeeping, and had already 
 divided the labors of the establishment between them.
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 51 
 
 Mrs. Aleshine, who prided herself 011 her skill in culi 
 nary matters, was to take charge of the cooking, 
 while Mrs. Leeks assumed the care of the various 
 rooms and the general management of the household. 
 This arrangement was explained to me at length; and 
 when I remarked that all this seemed to indicate that 
 they expected to remain here for a long time, Mrs. 
 Leeks replied : 
 
 " In my part of the country I could tell pretty close, 
 by the dust on the tables and on the top of the plan 
 ner, how long a family had been out of a house; but 
 dust iii Pennsylvany and dust on a sea island, where 
 there s no wagons nor carriages, is quite different. 
 This house has been left in very good order, and 
 though the windows wants washing and the floors and 
 stairs brushiii , which will be easy consideriu that 
 none of em has carpets, and everything in the house 
 a reg lar cleanin up and airiri , it may be that the 
 family has n t been gone away very long, and so it 
 may be a good while before they come back again. 
 Mrs. Aleshiue and me has talked it all over, and we ve 
 made up our minds that the right thing to do is just 
 to go along and attend to things as if we was a-goin 
 to stay here for a month or two ; and it may be even 
 longer than that before the people come back. And 
 I don t think they 11 have anything to complain of 
 when they find their house in apple-pie order, their 
 windows washed, their floors clean, and not a speck of 
 dust anywhere." 
 
 "For my part," said Mrs. Aleshine, "I don t see 
 what they ve got to find fault with, anyway. I look 
 on this as part of the passage. To be sure, we ain t
 
 52 THE CASTING AWAY OP 
 
 movin a bit on our way to Japan, but that s not my 
 fault, nor yet yours, Mrs. Leeks, nor yours, Mr. Craig. 
 We paid our passage to go to Japan, and if the ship 
 was steered wrong and got sunk, we had n t anything 
 to do with it. We did n t want to come here, but 
 here we are, and I d like to know who s got any 
 right to find fault with us." 
 
 "And bein here," said Mrs. Leeks, " we 11 take care 
 of the things." 
 
 "As far as I m concerned, added Mrs. Aleshine, 
 "if this island was movin on to Japan, I d a great 
 deal rather be on it than on that ship, where, to my 
 way of thinkin , they did n t know much more about 
 housekeepin than they did about steerin ." 
 
 "I think your plans and arrangements are very 
 good," I said. " But how about the provisions ? Are 
 there enough to hold out for any time ? " 
 
 " There s pretty nigh a barrel of flour," said Mrs. 
 Aleshine, a good deal of tea and coffee and sugar, 
 and lots of things in tins and jars. There s a kind of 
 cellar outside where they keep things cool, and there s 
 more than half a keg of butter down there. It s too 
 strong to use, but I can take that butter and wash it 
 out, and work it over, and salt it, and make it just as 
 good butter as any we got on board the ship." 
 
 "But," said I, "you have given me nothing to do. 
 I shall not be content to stand about idle and see you 
 do all the work." 
 
 "There s nothin in the house," said Mrs. Leeks, 
 " which you need put your hand to ; but, if you choose 
 to go out into that garden, and see if there s anything 
 can be done in it, or got out of it, that is, if you
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 53 
 
 know anything about garden work, I m sure we d 
 be very glad of any fresh vegetables we could get." 
 
 I replied that I had been accustomed to garden work 
 in an amateur way, and would be glad to do anything 
 that was possible in that direction. 
 
 " I never seed into that garden/ said Mrs. Aleshine, 
 " but of all the foolish things that ever came under my 
 eye, the buildin a wall around a garden, when a pale- 
 fence would do just as well, is the foolishest." 
 
 I explained that in these countries it was the fashion 
 to use walls instead of fences. 
 
 "If it } s the fashion," said Mrs. Aleshine, "I sup 
 pose there s no use savin anything agiu it ; but if the 
 fashion should happen to change, they d find it a good 
 deal easier to take down a barbed- wire fence than a 
 stone wall." 
 
 This conversation took place in the large lower hall, 
 which Mrs. Leeks had been "putting to rights," and 
 where Mrs. Aleshine had just entered from the kitchen. 
 Mrs. Leeks now sat down upon a chair, and, dust-cloth 
 in hand, she thus addressed me : 
 
 " There s another thing, Mr. Craig, that me and 
 Mrs. Aleshine has been talkin about. We have n t 
 made up our minds about it, because we did n t think 
 it was fair and right to do that before speakin to you, 
 and hearin what you had to say on one side or another 
 of it. Mrs. Aleshine and me has had to bow our heads 
 to afflictions, and to walkin sometimes in roads we 
 did n t want to, but we ve remembered the ways in 
 which we was brought up, and have kept in them as 
 far as we Ve been able. When our husbands died, 
 leavin Mrs. Aleshine with a son, and me without any,
 
 54 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 which, perhaps, is just as well, for there s no knowin 
 how he might have turned out " 
 
 "That ? s so," interrupted Mrs. Aleshine, "for he 
 might have gone as a clerk to Roosher, and then you 
 and me would a had to travel different ways." 
 
 "And when our husbands died," continued Mrs. 
 Leeks, " they left us enough, and plenty, to live on, 
 and we was n t the women to forget them and their 
 ways of thinkin , any more than we d forget the ways 
 of our fathers and mothers before us. r 
 
 " That s so ! " said Mrs. Aleshine, fervently. 
 
 " And now, Mr. Craig," continued Mrs. Leeks, " we 
 don t know how you ve been brought up, nor any 
 thing about you, in fact, except that you ve been as 
 kind to us as if you was some sort of kin, and that 
 we never would have thought of comin here without 
 you: and so me and Mrs. Aleshine has agreed to leave 
 this whole matter to you, and to do just as you say. 
 When us two started out on this long journey, we 
 did n t expect to find it what you call the path of 
 roses, and, dear only knows, we have n t found it so." 
 
 " That s true ! " ejaculated Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 " And what we ve had to put up with," continued 
 Mrs. Leeks, " we have put up with. And so, Mr. Craig, 
 whether you say dinner in the middle of the day at 
 twelve, as we ve always been used to, or at six o clock 
 in the afternoon, as they had it on board that ship 
 and how people ever come to turn their meals hind 
 part foremost in that way, I can t say we are goin 
 to do it ; and if you ve been brought up to six o clock, 
 you won t hear no complainin from us, think what 
 we may."
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 55 
 
 I was on the point of laughing aloud at the conclu 
 sion of this speech, but a glance at the serious faces 
 of the two women, who, with so much earnest solici 
 tude, awaited my reply, stopped me, and I hastened 
 to assure them that dinner in the middle of the day 
 would be entirely in accordance with my every wish. 
 
 " G-ood ! " exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, her eyes spark 
 ling amid the plumpness of her face, while an expres 
 sion of calm relief passed over the features of Mrs. 
 Leeks. 
 
 "And now I ll be off and get us somethin to eat in 
 less than no time," said Mrs. Aleshine. " We did n t 
 know whether to make it lunch or dinner till we had 
 seen you ; so you can t expect much to-day, but to 
 morrow we 11 begin, and have everything straight 
 and comfortable. I m goin to get tip early in the 
 mornin and bake a batch of bread ; and you need n t 
 be afraid, Mr. Craig, but what I 11 have you a bit of 
 hot meat every night for your supper." 
 
 In the afternoon we all visited the garden, which, 
 although a good deal overgrown with luxuriant 
 weeds, showed marks of fair cultivation. Some of 
 the beds had been cleared out and left to the weeds, 
 and we found some " garden truck," as my com 
 panions called it, with which we were not familiar. 
 But there were tomato vines loaded with fruit, plenty 
 of beans of various kinds, and a large patch of pota 
 toes, many of which had been dug. 
 
 From the lower end of the garden, Mrs. Aleshine 
 gave a shout of delight. We went to her, and found 
 her standing before a long asparagus bed. 
 
 " Well ! " she exclaimed. " If there s anything that
 
 56 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 settles it firm in my mind that these people is Chris 
 tians, it s this bed of grass. I don t believe there ever 
 was heathens that growed grass." 
 
 " I thought that was all settled when we found the 
 bakin powders," said Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 "But this clinches it," answered her companion. 
 "I can t tell from a sparrowgrass bed what church 
 they belong to, but they re no idolaters." 
 
 The next morning I delivered to the genial Mrs. 
 Aleshine a large basket full of fresh vegetables, and 
 we had a most excellent dinner. Somewhat to my 
 surprise, the table was not set in the kitchen, but in 
 the dining-room. 
 
 " Me and Mrs. Aleshine have made up our minds," 
 said Mrs. Leeks, in explanation, "that it s not the 
 proper thing for you to be eatin in the kitchen, nor 
 for us neither. Here s table-cloths, and good glass 
 and china, and spoons and forks, which, although 
 they re not solid silver, are plated good enough for 
 anybody. Neither you nor us is servants, and a 
 kitchen is no place for us." 
 
 "That s so!" said Mrs. Aleshine. "We paid our 
 money for first-class passages, and it was understood 
 that we d have everything as good as anybody." 
 
 "Which I don t see as that has anything to do with 
 it, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, "for the steam 
 ship people don t generally throw in desert islands as 
 part of the accommodation." 
 
 " We did n t ask for the island," retorted Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, "and if they d steered the ship right, we 
 should n t have wanted it." 
 
 When we had finished our dinner, Mrs. Leeks pushed
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 57 
 
 back her chair, and sat for a few moments in thought, 
 as was her wont before saying anything of importance. 
 
 " There s another thing," said she, " that I ve been 
 thinkin about, though I have n t spoke of it yet, even 
 to Mrs. Aleshine. We have n t no right to come here 
 and eat up the victuals and use the things of the peo 
 ple that own this house, without pay in for em. Of 
 course, we re not goin to sleep 011 the bare ground 
 and starve to death while there s beds and food close 
 to our hands. But if we use em and take it, we ought 
 to pay the people that the place belongs to that is, 
 if we Ve got the money to do it with ; and Mrs. Ale- 
 shiue and me has got the money. When we went 
 down into our cabin to get ready to leave the ship, the 
 first thing we did was to put our purses in our pockets, 
 and we ve both got drafts wrapped up in oil silk, and 
 sewed inside our f rock -bodies ; and if you did n t think 
 to bring your money along with you, Mr. Craig, we 
 can lend you all you need." 
 
 I thanked her for her offer, but stated that I had 
 brought with me all my money. 
 
 " Now," continued Mrs. Leeks, "it s my opinion that 
 we ought to pay our board regular every week. I 
 don t know what is commonly charged in a place like 
 this, but I know you can get very good board where I 
 come from for six dollars a week." 
 
 "That is for two in a room," said Mrs. Aleshine; 
 "but havin a room to himself would make it more for 
 Mr. Craig." 
 
 " It ain t his fault," said Mrs. Leeks, somewhat se 
 verely, "that he ain t got a brother or some friend to 
 take part of the room and pay part of the expense.
 
 58 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 But, anyway, the room is n t a large one, and I don t 
 think he ought to pay much more for having a room 
 to himself. Seven dollars is quite enough." 
 
 " But then you ve got to consider," said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, "that we do the cookin and housework, and 
 that ought to be counted." 
 
 "I was comin to that," said Mrs. Leeks. "Now, if 
 me and Mrs. Aleshine was to go out to service, which 
 you may be sure we would n t do unless circumstances 
 was very different from what they are now " 
 
 "That s true!" earnestly ejaculated Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 " But if we was to do it," continued Mrs. Leeks, "we 
 would n t go into anybody s family for less than two 
 dollars a week. Now, I ve always heard that wages 
 is low in this part of the world, and the work is n t 
 heavy for two of us; and so, considering the family 
 is n t here to make their own bargain, I think we d 
 better put our wages at that, so that 11 make four 
 dollars a week for each of us two to pay." 
 
 "But how about Mr. Craig?" said Mrs. Aleshine. 
 " He ought n t to work in that garden for nothin ." 
 
 "Fifty cents a day," said Mrs. Leeks, "is as little 
 jis any man would work for, and then it ought n t to 
 take all his time. That will make three dollars to 
 take out of Mr. Craig s board, and leave it four dol 
 lars a week, the same as ours." 
 
 I declared myself perfectly satisfied with these ar 
 rangements, but Mrs. Aleshine did -not seem to be 
 altogether convinced that they were just. 
 
 "When a woman goes out to service," said she, "she 
 gets her board and is paid wages besides, and it s the 
 same for gardeners."
 
 MKS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 59 
 
 "Then I suppose, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. 
 Leeks, " that we ought to charge these people with 
 our wages, and make em pay it when they come 
 back ! " 
 
 This remark apparently disposed of Mrs. Aleshine s 
 objections, and her friend continued : " There s a jar 
 on the mantelpiece there, of the kind the East Indy 
 ginger comes in. It s got nothin in it now but some 
 brown paper in which fish-hooks is wrapped. We 
 came here on a Wednesday, and so every Tuesday 
 night we 11 each put four dollars in that jar, under 
 the fish-hook paper ; and then if, by night or by day, 
 the family comes back and makes a fuss about our 
 bein here, all we have to say is, The board money s in 
 the ginger-jar, and our consciences is free." 
 
 Mrs. Lecks s plan was adopted as a very just and 
 proper one, and at the expiration of the week we each 
 deposited four dollars in the ginger- jar. 
 
 While occupying this house I do not think that any 
 of us endeavored to pry into the private concerns of 
 the family who owned it, although we each had a 
 very natural curiosity to know something about said 
 family. Opportunities of acquiring such knowledge, 
 however, were exceedingly scarce. Even if we had 
 been willing to look into such receptacles, the several 
 desks and secretaries that the house contained were 
 all locked; and nowhere could Mrs. Leeks or Mrs. 
 Aleshine find an old letter or piece of wrapping-paper 
 with an address on it. I explained to my companions 
 that letters and packages were not likely to come to 
 a place like this, but they kept a sharp lookout for 
 anything of the kind, asserting that there could be no
 
 60 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 possible harm in reading the names of the people 
 whose house they were in. 
 
 In some of the books in the library, which were 
 English and French in about equal proportions, with 
 a few volumes in German, I found written on the 
 blank pages the names "Emily" and "Lucille," and 
 across the title-pages of some French histories was 
 inscribed, in a man s hand, "A. Dusante." We dis 
 cussed these names, but could not make up our minds 
 whether the family was French or English. For in 
 stance, there was no reason why an Englishwoman 
 might not be called Lucille, and even such a surname 
 as Dusante was not uncommon either among English 
 or Americans. The labels on the boxes and tins of 
 provisions showed that most of them came from San 
 Francisco, but this was likely to be the case, no matter 
 what the nationality of the family. 
 
 The question of the relationship of the three per 
 sons, of whose existence we had discovered traces, was 
 a very interesting one to Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 " I can t make up my mind," said the latter, "whether 
 Emily is the mother of Lucille or her daughter, or 
 whether they are both children of Mr. Dusante, or 
 whether he s married to Lucille and Emily is his 
 sister-in-law, or whether she s his sister and not hers, 
 or whether he s the uncle and they re his nieces, or 
 whether Emily is an old lady and Mr. Dusante and 
 Lucille are both her children, or whether they are two 
 maiden ladies and Mr. Dusante is their brother, or 
 whether Mr. Dusante is only a friend of the family, 
 and boards here because no two women ought to live 
 in such a lonely place without a man in the house."
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 61 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Leeks, " whether Mr. Dusante 
 comes back with two nieces, or a wife and daughter, 
 or Mrs. Dusante and a mother-in-law, or a pair of 
 sisters, all we Ve got to say is, The board money s 
 in the ginger-jar/ and let em do their worst." 
 
 In my capacity as gardener I do not think I earned 
 the wages which my companions had allotted to me, 
 for I merely gathered and brought in such fruits and 
 vegetables as I found in proper condition for use. In 
 other ways, however, I made my services valuable to 
 our little family. In a closet in my chamber I found 
 guns and ammunition, and I was frequently able to 
 bring in a few birds. Some of these were pronounced 
 by Mrs. Aleshine unsuitable for the table, but others 
 she cooked with much skill, and they were found to 
 be very good eating. 
 
 Not far from the little wharf which has been men 
 tioned there stood, concealed by amass of low-growing 
 palms, a boat-house in which was a little skiff hung 
 up near the roof. This I let down and launched, and 
 found great pleasure in rowing it about the lagoon. 
 There was fishing-tackle in the boat-house, which 
 I used with success, the lagoon abounding in fish. 
 Offerings of this kind were much more acceptable to 
 Mrs. Aleshine than birds. 
 
 u There s some kinds of fishes that s better than 
 others," said she, "but, as a gen ral rule, a fish is a 
 fish, and if you catch em you can eat em ; but it s a 
 very different thing with birds. When you ve never 
 seen em before, how are you goiu to tell but what 
 they re some kin to an owl, a pigeon-hawk, or a crow? 
 And if I once get it into my head that there s any of
 
 62 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 that kind of family blood in em, they disagree with 
 ine just the same as if there really was." 
 
 One afternoon, as I was returning in the boat from 
 the point on the other side of the island, where I had 
 found the rustic seat and Emily s book, I was sur 
 prised to see Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine standing 
 on the end of the little wharf. This was an unusual 
 thing for them to do, as they were very industrious 
 women and seldom had an idle moment ; and it seemed 
 to be one of their greatest pleasures to discuss the 
 work they were going to do when they had finished 
 that on which they were then engaged. I was curious, 
 therefore, to know why they should be standing thus 
 idly on the wharf, and pulled toward them as rapidly 
 as possible. 
 
 When I had rowed near enough to hear them, Mrs. 
 Aleshine remarked with cheerful placidity : 
 
 " The Dusantes are comin ." 
 
 The tide was quite low, and I could not see over the 
 reef; but in a few moments I had grounded the skiff 
 and had sprung upon the wharf. Out on the ocean, 
 about a mile away, I saw a boat, apparently a large 
 one, approaching the island. 
 
 "Now, then, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, 
 " you 11 soon see whether it s his two nieces, or his 
 daughters, wife and sister-in-law, or whatever of them 
 other relationships which you ve got so pat." 
 
 " Yes." said Mrs. Aleshine, " but what s more, we 11 
 find out if he s goin to be satisfied with the board 
 money we ve put in the ginger-jar."
 
 PART m 
 
 HEX the boat which we saw ap- 
 proaehing the island had come near 
 enough for us to distinguish its 
 occupants, we found that it con 
 tained five persons. Three sat in 
 
 the stern, and two were rowing. 
 
 Of those in the stem, we soon made out one to be a 
 woman; and, after putting our eyesight to its very 
 best efforts, we were obliged to admit that there was 
 only one female on board. 
 
 Now, that s disapp iutin." said Mrs. Aleshine, 
 "for I Ve wondered and wondered which I should 
 like best, Emily or Lucille : and now that only one of 
 em has come, of course I can t tell." 
 
 The boat came on, almost directly toward the pas 
 sageway in the reef, and it was not long before the 
 two women had been able to decide that Mr. Dusaute 
 was an elderly man, and that the lady was moder 
 ately young, and in all probability his daughter. 
 
 " It may be," said Mrs. Aleshiue. " that the mother, 
 whether she was Emily, or whether she was Lucille, 
 has died, and for that reason they are comin back 
 sooner than they expected/
 
 64 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 "Well, I hope you re wrong there, Barb ry Ale- 
 shine," said Mrs. Leeks, " for they 11 see lots of things 
 here that will freshen up their affliction, and that 
 won t make em any too lively people to be with." 
 
 " On the other hand," said Mrs. Aleshine, " it may 
 be that Emily, or else Lucille, has got married, and 
 has gone away with her husband to travel, and by the 
 time she s got a little baby she 11 come here to live on 
 account of the sea air for the child; and that 11 make 
 the house pleasant, Mrs. Leeks." 
 
 " I d like to know how long you expect to live here," 
 said Mrs. Leeks, regarding her friend with some 
 severity. 
 
 "That s not for me to say," replied Mrs. Aleshine, 
 " knowin nothin about it. But this I will say, that 
 I hope they have brought along with them some 
 indigo-blue, for I nearly used up all there was the 
 last time I washed." 
 
 During this dialogue I had been thinking that it 
 was a very strange thing for the owners of this place 
 to visit their island in such a fashion. "Why should 
 they be in an open boat ? And where did they come 
 from? Wherever they might live, it was not at all 
 probable that they would choose to be rowed from 
 that point to this. From the general character and 
 appointments of the house in which we had found a 
 refuge, it was quite plain that its owners were peo 
 ple in good circumstances, who were in the habit of 
 attending to their domestic affairs in a very orderly 
 and proper way. It was to be presumed that it was 
 their custom to come here in a suitable vessel, and 
 to bring with them the stores needed during their
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 65 
 
 intended stay. Now, there was little or nothing in 
 that boat ; and, on the whole, I did not believe it con 
 tained the owners of this island. 
 
 It would not do, however, to assume anything of 
 the kind. There might have been a disaster ; in fact, 
 I knew nothing about it; and it was my immediate 
 duty to go and meet these people at the passage ; for, 
 if they were unable to unlock the bars, their boat 
 could not enter, and I must ferry them across the 
 lagoon. Without communicating my doubts to my 
 companions, I hurried into the skiff, and pulled as far 
 as possible into the passage through the reef. The 
 bars, of which there were more than I at first sup 
 posed, were so arranged that it was impossible for a 
 boat to go in or out at any stage of the tide. 
 
 I had been there but a few minutes when the boat 
 from without came slowly in between the rocks ; and 
 almost as soon as I saw it, its progress was suddenly 
 stopped by a sunken bar. 
 
 " Hello ! " cried several men at once. 
 
 " Hello ! " cried I, in return. " Have you the key 
 to these bars ? " 
 
 A stout man with a red beard stood up in the stern. 
 " Key ? " said he, " what key ? " 
 
 "Then you do not belong here?" said I. "Who 
 are you ? " 
 
 At this, the gentleman who was sitting by the lady 
 arose to his feet. He was a man past middle age, 
 rather tall and slim, and when he stood up the slight 
 rolling of the boat made him stagger, and he came 
 near falling. 
 
 " You d better sit down, sir," said the man with the
 
 66 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 red beard, who I saw was a sailor. " You can talk 
 better that way." 
 
 The gentleman now seated himself, and thus ad 
 dressed me : 
 
 " I am, sir, the Reverend Mr. Enderton, lately 
 missionary to Nanfouchong, China; and this is my 
 daughter, Miss Enderton. We are returning to the 
 United States by way of the Sandwich Islands, and 
 took passage in a sailing vessel for Honolulu. About 
 two weeks ago this vessel, in some way which I do not 
 understand, became disabled " 
 
 " Rotten forem st," interrupted the man with the 
 red beard, which give way in a gale; and strained 
 and leaky besides." 
 
 " I did not know the mast was rotten," said the gen 
 tleman, " but, since the occasion of our first really 
 serviceable wind, she has been making very unsatis 
 factory progress. And more than that, the whole 
 force of seamen was employed night and day in en 
 deavoring to keep the water out of the tea, thereby 
 causing such a thumping and pounding that sleep 
 was out of the question. Add to this the fact that 
 our meals became very irregular, and were sometimes 
 entirely overlooked " 
 
 " Prog was gettin mighty short, interpolated the 
 red-bearded man. 
 
 You can easily discern, sir." continued the gentle 
 man, " that it was impossible for myself and my 
 daughter to remain longer on that vessel, on which we 
 were the only passengers. I therefore requested the 
 captain to put us ashore at the nearest land, and, after 
 more than a week of delay and demur, he consented to 
 do so."
 
 MES. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 67 
 
 " Could n t do it," said the man, u till there was land 
 nigh enough." 
 
 " The captain informed me," continued the gentle 
 man, u that this island was inhabited, and that I could 
 here find shelter and repose until a vessel could be 
 sent from Honolulu to take me off. He furnished me 
 with this boat and three seamen, one of whom," point 
 ing to the red-bearded man, "is a coxswain. We have 
 been rowing ever since early this morning, with but a 
 very moderate quantity of food and much discomfort. 
 Now, sir, you have heard my story ; and I ask you, 
 as one man to another, if you still intend to bar your 
 water-gates against us f " 
 
 " I did not bar the gates," I said, " and I would 
 gladly unlock them if I could. I belong to a ship 
 wrecked party who took refuge here some two weeks 
 ago." 
 
 " And how did you get in ? " hastily inquired the 
 red-bearded coxswain. 
 
 " Our boat sunk when we were within sight of the 
 island, and we came here on life-preservers, and so 
 got under the bars." 
 
 The two men who had been rowing now turned sud 
 denly and looked at me. They both had black beards, 
 and they both exclaimed at the same moment, " By 
 George ! " 
 
 " I won t stop here to tell any more of our story," 
 said I. " The great point now is to get you all ashore, 
 and have you cared for." 
 
 " That s so ! " said the coxswain. And the two sail 
 ors murmured, " Ay, ay, sir." 
 
 The bar which stopped the progress of the larger
 
 68 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 boat was just under the surface of the water, while 
 another a foot above the water kept my skiff about 
 six feet distant from the other boat. There was some 
 loose flooring in the bottom of the coxsw r ain s boat, 
 and he ordered two of the boards taken out, and with 
 them a bridge was made, one end resting on the bow 
 of the larger boat, and the other on the iron bar by 
 my skiff. 
 
 " Now, said the coxswain, " let the lady go first." 
 
 The elderly gentleman arose, as if he would prefer 
 to. take the lead ; but his daughter, who had not yet 
 spoken a word, was passed forward by the coxswain, 
 steadied over the bridge by one of the sailors, and as 
 sisted by me into the skiff. Then her father came 
 aboard, and I rowed with them to the wharf. 
 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine came forward most 
 cordially to meet them. 
 
 " Mr. Dusante, I suppose ? " said Mrs. Leeks. And 
 Mrs. Aleshine hurriedly whispered in my ear, " Is it 
 Lucille or Emily ? " 
 
 As quickly as possible I explained the situation. For 
 a few moments Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine stood 
 speechless. Nothing which had happened to them, 
 the wreck of the steamer, the sinking of the boat, or 
 our experience with life-preservers, affected them so 
 much as this disappointment in regard to the problem 
 of the Dusante family. Travel by sea was all novel 
 and strange to them, and they had expected all sorts 
 of things to which they were not accustomed; but 
 they had never imagined that Fate would be so hard 
 upon them as to snatch away the solution of this 
 mystery, just as they were about to put their hands
 
 MBS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHIXE. G9 
 
 upon it. But, iu spite of this sudden blow, the two 
 good women quickly recovered themselves, and with 
 hearty and kindly words hurried the missionary and 
 his daughter to the house, while I went to bring over 
 the men. 
 
 I found the three sailors busy in securing their boat 
 so that it would not be injured by the rocks during 
 the rising and falling of the tide. When they had 
 finished this job, they had to do a good deal of scram 
 bling before they reached my skiff. 
 
 "We thought at first, sir," said the coxswain as I 
 rowed them across the lagoon, "that it was all gam 
 mon about your not livin here and havin no keys to 
 them bars; but we Ve come to the pinion that if 
 you d been able to unlock em you d have done it 
 sooner than take all this trouble." 
 
 I now related my story more fully, and the men 
 were greatly astonished when they heard that my 
 companions in this adventure were two women. Upon 
 my asking the coxswain why he had come to this 
 island, he replied that his captain had heard that 
 people lived on it, although he knew nothing about 
 them; and that, as it would be almost impossible to 
 get his brig here with the wind that was then pre 
 vailing, and as he did not wish to go out of his course 
 anyway, he made up his mind that he would rather 
 lose the services of three men than keep that mission 
 ary on board a day longer. 
 
 " You see, sir," said the coxswain, as we went ashore, 
 " the parson would n t never take it into account that 
 we were short of prog, and leakin like Sam Hill ; and 
 because things were uncomfortable he growled up
 
 70 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 aud he growled down, till he was wuss for the spirits 
 of the men than the salt water comin in, or the hard 
 tack givin out, and there was danger if he was n t got 
 rid of that he d be pitched overboard and left to take 
 his chances for a whale. And then, by sendin us 
 along, that give the crew three half -rations a day 
 extry, and that 11 count for a good deal in the fix 
 they re in." 
 
 When I reached the house I took the men into the 
 kitchen, where Mrs. Aleshine already had the table 
 spread. There were bread and cold meat, while the 
 tea-kettle steamed by the fire. In a very short time 
 three happy mariners sat round that table, while Mrs. 
 Aleshine, with beaming face, attended to their wants, 
 and plied them with innumerable questions. They had 
 not finished eating when Mrs. Leeks entered the kitchen. 
 
 "I put that minister and his daughter in the two 
 front bedrooms," said she to me, after hospitably 
 greeting the three men, "which me and Mrs. Aleshine 
 had run and got ready for the Dusantes, as soon as 
 you went in your boat to meet em. The young lady 
 was mighty nigh worn out, and glad enough of the 
 tea and things, and to get into bed. But the gentle 
 man, he wanted a soft-boiled egg, and when I told 
 him I had n t come across no hen-house yet on this 
 island, he looked at me as if he did n t half believe 
 me, and thought I was keepin the eggs to sell." 
 
 "Which it would be ridiculous to do," said Mrs. 
 Aleshine, "in the middle of an ocean like this." 
 
 "If he lets you off with soft-b iled eggs, ma am," 
 said the coxswain very respectfully, " I think you may 
 bless your stars."
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 71 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," said the two sailors with black beards. 
 
 Miss Ruth Enderton and her father did not make 
 their appearance until the next morning at breakfast- 
 time. I found the young lady a very pleasant person. 
 She was rather slight in figure, inclined to be pretty, 
 and was what might be called a warm-colored blonde. 
 Her disposition was quite sociable, and she almost 
 immediately stepped into the favor of Mrs. Leeks and 
 Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 Mr. Enderton, however, was a person of another 
 sort. He was a prim and somewhat formal man, and 
 appeared to be entirely self-engrossed, with very vague 
 notions in regard to his surroundings. He was not 
 by any means an ill-tempered man, being rather in 
 clined to be placid than otherwise ; but he gave so 
 little attention to circumstances and events that he 
 did not appear to understand why he should be in 
 commoded by the happenings of life. I have no doubt 
 that he made existence on board the disabled brig 
 a hundred times more unsatisfactory than it would 
 otherwise have been. With his present condition he 
 seemed very well satisfied, and it was quite plain that 
 he looked upon Mrs. Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, and my 
 self as the proprietors of the establishment, having 
 forgotten, or paid no attention to, my statement in 
 regard to our coming here. 
 
 As soon as she thought it fit and proper and this 
 moment arrived in the course of the first forenoon 
 Mrs. Leeks spoke to Mr. Enderton on the subject of 
 the board which should be paid to the Dusantes. She 
 stated the arrangements we had made in the mat 
 ter, and then told them that as he and his daughter
 
 72 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 had the best accommodations in the house, each oc 
 cupying a large, handsome room, she thought that 
 he should pay fifteen dollars a week for the two. 
 
 "Now, if your daughter," she continued, "can do 
 anythin about the house which will be of real help, 
 though for the life of me I don t see what she can find 
 to do, with me and Mrs. Aleshine here, somethin 
 might be took off on account of her services; but of 
 course you, sir, can t do nothin 7 , unless you was to 
 preach on Sundays; and not knowin what denomi 
 nation the Dusantes belong to, it would n t be fair to 
 take their money to pay for the preachin of doc 
 trines which, perhaps, they don t believe in." 
 
 This financial proposal aroused Mr. Enderton s op 
 position. " When I came here, madam," he said, " I 
 did not expect to pay any board whatever; and I 
 think, moreover, that your rates are exorbitant. In 
 Nanfouchong, if I remember rightly, the best of 
 board did not cost more than two or three dollars a 
 week." 
 
 "I don t want to say anythin , sir," said Mrs. Leeks, 
 "which might look disrespectful, but as long as I ve 
 got a conscience inside of me I m not goiii to stay 
 here and see the Dusantes lose money by Chinese 
 cheapness." 
 
 " I don t know anything about the Dusantes," said 
 Mr. Enderton, "but I am not going to pay fifteen 
 dollars a week for board for myself and daughter." 
 
 The discussion lasted for some time with consider 
 able warmth on each side, and was at last ended by 
 Mr. Enderton agreeing to pay board at the same rate 
 as the two women and myself, and each week to
 
 MES. LECKS AND MBS. ALESHINE. 73 
 
 deposit in the ginger-jar eight dollars for himself and 
 daughter. 
 
 "You may not care to remember, sir/ said Mrs. 
 Leeks, with cold severity, "that Mr. Craig, and me, 
 and Mrs. Aleshine puts in services besides, although 
 to be sure, they don t go into the jar." 
 
 "I only remember," said Mr. Enderton, "that I am 
 paying an unjustifiable price as it is." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, however, were not at 
 all of this opinion, and they agreed that, if it should 
 be in their power, they would see to it that the Du- 
 santes lost nothing by this close-fisted missionary. 
 
 After dinner and I may remark that the new 
 comers were not consulted in regard to the hours for 
 meals Mrs. Leeks had an interview with the cox 
 swain on the subject of board for himself and his two 
 companions. This affair, however, was very quickly 
 settled, for the three mariners had among them only 
 one dollar and forty-three cents, and this, the cox 
 swain explained, they would like to keep for tobacco. 
 It was therefore settled that, as the three sailors could 
 pay no money, as much work as possible should be got 
 out of them ; and to this plan they agreed heartily 
 and cheerfully. 
 
 "There s only one thing we 11 ask, ma am," said 
 the coxswain to Mrs. Leeks, "and that is that we be 
 put in a different mess from the parson. We ve now 
 eat two meals with the passengers, and me and my 
 mates is agreed that that s about as much as we 
 can go." 
 
 After this, therefore, the three men had their meals 
 in the kitchen, where they were generally joined by
 
 74 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 Mrs. Aleshine, who much delighted in their company. 
 But she made it a point sometimes to sit down with 
 us in the dining-room, merely to show that she had as 
 much right there as anybody. 
 
 "As to the work for them sailor men/ said Mrs. 
 Aleshine, I don t see what they re goin to do. Of 
 course they don t know iiothin about gardening and 
 it seems to me that the best thing to be done is to put 
 em to fishin ." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks considered this a good suggestion, and 
 accordingly the coxswain and his companions were 
 told that thereafter they would be expected to fish 
 for eight hours a day, Sundays excepted. This plan, 
 however, did not work very well. During the first 
 two days the sailors caught so many fish, that although 
 the fishermen themselves had excellent appetites for 
 such food, it was found utterly impossible to consume 
 what they brought in. Consequently, it was ordered 
 that thereafter they should catch only as many fish as 
 should be needed, and then make themselves useful 
 by assisting Mrs. Aleshine and Mrs. Leeks in any 
 manner they might direct. 
 
 I found it quite easy to become acquainted with 
 Miss Ruth Enderton, as she was very much inclined 
 to conversation. " It s ever so long," she said, "since 
 I Ve had anybody to talk to." 
 
 She had left the United States when she was quite 
 a little girl, and had since seen nothing of her native 
 land. She was, consequently, full of questions about 
 America, although quite willing to talk of her life in 
 China. Society, at least such kind as she had ever 
 cared for, had been extremely scarce in the little
 
 MBS. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 75 
 
 missionary station at which she had lived so long ; 
 and now, coming from a wearisome sojourn on a dis 
 abled sailing vessel, with no company but the crew 
 and a preoccupied father, she naturally was delighted 
 to get among people she could talk to. With Mrs. 
 Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, and myself she soon became 
 very friendly, and showed herself to be a most lively 
 and interesting young person. 
 
 I did all that I could to make Miss Ruth s time pass 
 agreeably. I rowed with her on the lagoon, taught 
 her to fish, and showed her all the pleasant points on 
 the island which could be easily reached by walking. 
 Mr. Enderton gave us very little of his company, for, 
 having discovered that there was a library in the 
 house, he passed most of his time in that room. 
 
 " You have made a very fair selection of books, 
 sir," he remarked to me, but it may readily be con 
 ceived, from the character of the works, that your 
 tastes are neither ecclesiastic nor scientific." 
 
 Several times I explained to him the ownership of 
 the library and the house, but he immediately forgot 
 what I had said, or paid no attention to it. When he 
 paid his board at the end of the week, he handed the 
 money to Mrs. Leeks ; and although before his eyes 
 she put it into the ginger-jar, beneath the paper of fish 
 hooks, I know very well that he considered he was 
 paying it to her for her own use and behoof. He was 
 comfortably lodged, he had all that he needed and 
 very nearly all that he wanted to eat ; and I do not 
 know that I ever saw a man more contented with his lot. 
 
 As for the coxswain and the two sailors, they had 
 a very pleasant time of it, but Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 6
 
 76 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 Aleshine would not think of snch a thing as allowing 
 them to eat in idleness the bread of the Dusantes. 
 After they had been with us a few days, Mrs. Leeks 
 told me that she thought she could show the coxswain 
 and his mates how to dig and gather the garden stuff 
 which was daily needed. 
 
 " To be sure," said she, " that work goes agin part 
 of your board, but fishin and bringin in firewood 
 don t take up quarter of the time of them sailors; and 
 so that the garden work is done, I don t suppose it 
 matters to the Dusantes who does it. And that 11 give 
 you more time to make things pleasant for Miss Ruth ; 
 for, as far as I can see, there is n t a thing for her to 
 do even if she knows how to do it. " 
 
 The three mariners were more than willing to do 
 anything desired by Mrs. Leeks or Mrs. Aleshine, to 
 whom they looked up with great admiration and re 
 spect. The latter was their favorite, not only because 
 she was with them a great deal during their meals 
 and at other times, but because of her genial nature 
 and easy sociability. The men were always trying to 
 lighten her labors, and to do something that would 
 please her. 
 
 One of them climbed to the top of what she called 
 a " palm-leaf-fan tree," and brought therefrom some 
 broad leaves which he cut, and trimmed, and sewed in 
 true nautical fashion, until he made some fans which 
 were heavy and clumsy, but, as he said, they would 
 stand half a gale of wind if she chose to raise it. The 
 coxswain caught or trapped two sea-birds, and, having 
 clipped their wings, he spent days in endeavoring to 
 tame them, hoping to induce them, as far as the power
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 77 
 
 in them lay, to take the place of the barn-yard fowls 
 whose absence Mrs. Aleshine continually deplored. 
 Every evening, the two black-bearded sailors would 
 dance hornpipes for her, much to her diversion and 
 delight, 
 
 u I ve often heard," she remarked, " that in these hot 
 cocoanut countries the tricks of the monkeys was 
 enough to keep everybody on a steady laugh, but I m 
 sure sailor men is a great deal better. When you get 
 tired of their pranks and their tomfooleries you can 
 tell em to stop, which with monkeys you can t." 
 
 It was about ten days after the arrival of the mis 
 sionary s party that, as I was going to get ready the 
 boat in which Miss Ruth and myself generally rowed 
 in the cool of the evening, I saw Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine sitting on the beach in the shade of some 
 low-growing trees. They were evidently waiting for 
 me, and as soon as I appeared Mrs. Leeks beckoned to 
 me ; whereupon I joined them. 
 
 " Sit down," said Mrs. Leeks, " there s some thin I 
 want to talk to you about. Mrs. Aleshine and me 
 have made up our minds that you ought to be hurried 
 up a little about poppin the question to Miss Ruth." 
 
 This remark astounded me. " Popping the ques 
 tion ! " I exclaimed. 
 
 u Yes," continued Mrs. Leeks, u and me and Mrs. 
 Aleshine know very well that you have n t done it 
 yet ; for both of us havin been through that sort of 
 thing ourselves, we know the signs of it after it has 
 happened." 
 
 " And we would n t say nothin to hurry you," ad 
 ded Mrs. Aleshine, " if it was n t that the groceries,
 
 78 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 especially the flour, is a-gettin low. We ve been talkin 
 to them sailor men, and they re pretty well agreed 
 that there s no use now in expectin their captain 
 to send for em ; for, if he was a-goin to do it at all, 
 he d a done it before this. And perhaps he never 
 got nowhere himself, in which case he could n t. And 
 they say the best thing we can all do when the victuals 
 has nearly give out, provided the Dusantes don t 
 come back in time, is to take what s left, and all get 
 into their big boat, and row away to that island, 
 which I don t know just how far it is, that the cap 
 tain of our ship was goin to. There we can stay 
 pretty comfortable till a ship comes along and takes 
 us off." 
 
 " But what has all that to do," I asked, " with Miss 
 Ruth and me?" 
 
 "Do?" cried Mrs. Leeks; "it has every thin to do. 
 When it s all settled and fixed between you and Miss 
 Ruth, there 11 be nothin to hinder us from gettin 
 ready to start when we please." 
 
 " But, my dear friends," I said with much earnest 
 ness, " I have not the slightest idea of proposing to 
 Miss Enderton." 
 
 " That s just what I said to Mrs. Aleshine," said 
 Mrs. Leeks, " and that s the reason we let our irons 
 cool, and come out here to talk to you. It s just like 
 a young man to keep puttin off that sort of thing; 
 but this can t be put off." 
 
 " That s so ! " cried Mrs. Aleshine ; " and I 11 just 
 let you see how the matter stands. There is house 
 keepers who allows a pint of flour a day to each per 
 son, but this is for farm hands and people who works
 
 MKS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 79 
 
 hard and eats hearty ; and I ve found that three 
 quarters of a pint will do very well if the dough is 
 kneaded conscientious and made up light, so that it 11 
 rise well when it s put into the oven. Now I ve 
 measured all the flour that s left, and me and Mrs. 
 Leeks, we ve calculated that, allowin three quarters 
 of a pint of flour a day to each one of us, there s just 
 eight days more that we can stay here that is, if 
 the Dusantes don t come back before that time, which, 
 of course, can t be counted on. So you can see for 
 yourself, Mr. Craig, there s no time to be lost, even 
 considerin that she has n t to make up anythin to be 
 married in." 
 
 " No," said Mrs. Leeks ; " just for us and three 
 sailors, that would n t be needed." 
 
 I looked from one to the other in dumb astonish 
 ment. Mrs. Leeks gave me no time to say anything. 
 
 " In common cases," said she, " this might all be 
 put off till we got somewhere; but it won t do now. 
 Here you are, with everythin in your own hands ; but 
 just get away from here, and there s an end of that. 
 She s as pretty a girl as you 11 see in a month of 
 Sundays; and if she leaves here without your gettin 
 her, there s no knowing who 11 snap her up. When 
 we ve got to that island, you may see her once a week, 
 but maybe you won t. She may go away in one ship 
 and you in .another, and there maybe somebody right 
 there, a missionary, for all I know, who 11 have her 
 before you have a chance to put in a word." 
 
 " And that s not the worst of it," said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine. " Supposin them Dusantes come back before 
 we go. There s no knowin what that Mr. Dusante
 
 80 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 is. He may be a brother of Emily and Lucille. Aud 
 what sort of a chance would you have then, I d like 
 to know, with Miss Ruth right here in his own house, 
 and he ownin the rowboat, and everythin ? Or it 
 may be he s a widower, and that 11 be a mighty sight 
 worse, I can tell you." 
 
 " Xo matter whether they re widowers or never 
 been married," said Mrs. Leeks, there 11 be plenty 
 that 11 want her as soon as they see her ; and if it is n t 
 for the girl s own pretty face, it 11 be for her father s 
 money." 
 
 " Her father s money ! " I exclaimed. " What are 
 you talking of ? " 
 
 " There s no good tellin me any thin about that," 
 said Mrs. Leeks, very decidedly. u There never was 
 a man as close-fisted as Mr. Enderton who had n t 
 money." 
 
 " And you know as well as we do," said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, " that in them countries where he s been, the 
 heathens worship idols of silver and idols of gold; 
 and when them heathens is converted, don t you sup 
 pose the missionaries get any of that ? I expect that 
 Mr. Enderton has converted thousands of heathens." 
 
 At this suggestion I laughed outright. But Mrs. 
 Leeks reproved me. 
 
 "Now, Mr. Craig," said she, this is no laughin 
 matter. What me and Mrs. Aleshine is savin is for 
 your good, and for the good of Miss Ruth along with 
 you. I have n t much opinion of her father, but his 
 money is as good as anybody else s, and, though they 
 had to leave their trunks on board their ship, what 
 little they brought with them shows that they ve
 
 MES. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 81 
 
 been used to bavin 7 the best there is. Mrs. Aleshiue 
 and me has set up till late into the night talk in over 
 this thing; and we are both of one mind that you two 
 need never expect to have the same chance again that 
 you Ve got now. The very fact that the old gentleman 
 is a preacher, and can marry you on the spot, ought to 
 make you tremble when you think of the risks you 
 are runnin by puttin it off." 
 
 u I Ve got to go into the house now to see about 
 supper," said Mrs. Aleshine, rising; "and I hope 
 you 11 remember, Mr. Craig, when your bread is on 
 your plate, and Miss Ruth is sittin opposite to you, 
 that three quarters of a pint of flour a day is about as 
 little as anybody can live on, and that time is flyin ." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks now also rose. But I detained the two 
 for a moment. 
 
 " I hope you have not said anything to Miss Ender- 
 ton on this subject," I said. 
 
 " No," replied Mrs. Aleshine, "we have n t. We are 
 both agreed that as you re the one that s to do what s 
 to be done, you are the one that s to be spoke to. And 
 havin been through it ourselves, we understand well 
 enough that the more a woman don t know nothin 
 about it, the more likely she is to be ketched if she 
 wants to be." 
 
 The two women left me in an amused but also some 
 what annoyed state of mind. I had no intention what 
 ever of proposing to Miss Ruth Enderton. She was 
 a charming girl, very bright and lively, and withal, I 
 had reason to believe, very sensible. But it was not 
 yet a fortnight since I first saw her, and no thought 
 of marrying her had entered into my head. Had
 
 82 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, or, more important than 
 all, had Miss Enderton, any reason to believe that I 
 was acting the part of a lover ? 
 
 The latter portion of this question was almost im 
 mediately answered to my satisfaction by the appear 
 ance of Miss Ruth, who came skipping down to me and 
 calling out to me in that free and hearty manner with 
 which a woman addresses a friend or near acquain 
 tance, but never a suspected lover. She betrayed no 
 more notion of the Leeks and Aleshine scheme than 
 on the day I first met her. 
 
 But, as I was rowing her over the lagoon, I felt 
 a certain constraint, which I had not known before. 
 There was no ground whatever for the wild imagin 
 ings of the two women, but the fact that they had 
 imagined it interfered very much with the careless 
 freedom with which I had previously talked to Miss 
 Ruth. I do not think, however, that she noticed any 
 change in me, for she chatted and laughed, and showed, 
 as she had done from the first, the rare delight which 
 she took in this novel island life. 
 
 When we returned to the house, we were met by 
 Mrs. Aleshine. " I am goin to give you two your 
 supper/ she said, " on that table there under the tree. 
 We all had ours a little earlier than common, as the 
 sailor men seemed hungry; and I took your father s 
 to him in the library, where I expect he s a-sittin yet, 
 holdin a book in one hand and stirrin his tea with 
 the other, till he s stirred out nearly every drop on the 
 floor, which, however, it won t matter at all, for in the 
 mornin I 11 rub up that floor till it s as bright as 
 new."
 
 MES. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 83 
 
 This plan delighted Miss Ruth, but I saw in it the 
 beginning of the workings of a deep-laid scheme. I 
 was just about to sit down, when Mrs. Aleshine said 
 to me in a low voice as she left us : 
 
 " Remember that the first three quarters of a pint 
 apiece begins now ! " 
 
 " Don t you think that Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
 shine are perfectly charming ? " said Miss Ruth, as she 
 poured out the tea. " They always seem to be trying 
 to think of some kind thing to do for other people." 
 
 I agreed entirely with Miss Enderton s remark, but 
 I could not help thinking of the surprise she would 
 feel if she knew of the kind thing that these two women 
 were trying to do for her. 
 
 " Have you taken any steps yet? " asked Mrs. Leeks 
 of me the next day. And on my replying that I had 
 taken no steps of the kind to which I supposed she 
 alluded, she walked away with a very grave and seri 
 ous face. 
 
 A few hours later Mrs. Aleshine came to me. 
 u There s another reason for hurryiii up," said she. 
 " Them sailor men seems able to do without most any- 
 thin in this world except tobacco, and Mrs. Leeks has 
 been sellin it to em out of a big box she found in 
 a closet up-stairs, at five cents a teacup full, which I 
 think is awful cheap, but she says prices in islands is 
 always low, and wrapping the money up in a paper, 
 with l Cash paid by sailor men for tobacco written 
 on it, and puttin it into the ginger-jar with the board- 
 money. But their dollar and forty-three cents is 
 nearly gone, and Mrs. Leeks she says that not a whiff 
 of Mr. Dusante s tobacco shall they have if they can t
 
 84 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 pay for it. And when they have nothiu to smoke 
 they 11 be wantin to leave this island just as quick 
 as they can, without waitin for the flour to give 
 out." 
 
 Here was another pressure brought to bear upon 
 me. Not only the waning flour, but the rapidly dis 
 appearing tobacco-money was used as a weapon to 
 urge me forward to the love-making which Mrs. Leeks 
 and Mrs. Aleshine had set their hearts upon. 
 
 I was in no hurry to leave the island, and hoped 
 very much that when we did go we should depart in 
 some craft more comfortable than a ship s boat. In 
 order, therefore, to prevent any undue desire to leave 
 on the part of the sailors, I gave them money enough 
 to buy a good many teacups full of tobacco. By this 
 act I think I wounded the feelings of Mrs. Leeks and 
 Mrs. Aleshine, although I had no idea that such would 
 be the effect of my little gift. The}^ said nothing to 
 me on the subject, but their looks and manners indi 
 cated that they thought I had not been acting honor 
 ably. For two days they had very little to say to me ; 
 and then Mrs. Aleshiue came to me to make what, I 
 suppose, was their supreme effort. 
 
 "Mrs. Leeks and me is a-goin to try," she said, and 
 as she spoke she looked at me with a very sad expres 
 sion and a watery appearance about the eyes, "to 
 stretch out the time for you a little longer. We are 
 goin to make them sailor men eat more fish, and as 
 for me and her, we 11 go pretty much without bread, 
 and make it up, as well as we can, on other things. 
 You and Miss Ruth and the parson can each have 
 your three quarters of a pint of flour a day, just the
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 85 
 
 same as ever, but what we save ought to give you 
 three or four days longer." 
 
 This speech moved me deeply. I could not allow 
 these two kind-hearted women to half starve them 
 selves iu order that I might have more time to woo, 
 and I spoke very earnestly on the subject to Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, urging her to give up the fanciful plans which 
 she and Mrs. Leeks had concocted. 
 
 " Let us drop this idea of love-making," I said, 
 "which is the wildest kind of vagary, and all live 
 happily together, as we did before. If the provisions 
 give out before the Dusantes come back, I suppose 
 we shall have to leave in the boat; but, until that 
 time comes, let us enjoy life here as much as we can, 
 and be the good friends that we used to be. 7 
 
 I might as well have talked to one of the palm-trees 
 which waved over us. 
 
 "As I said before," remarked Mrs. Aleshine, "what 
 is saved from Mrs. Lecks s and mine and the three 
 sailor men s three quarters of a pint apiece ought to 
 give you four days more." And she went into the 
 house. 
 
 All this time the Reverend Mr. Enderton had sat 
 and read in the library, or meditatively had walked 
 the beach with a book iu his hand; while the three 
 mariners had caught fish, performed their other work, 
 and lain in the shade, smoking their pipes in peace. 
 Miss Ruth and I had taken our daily rows and walks, 
 and had enjoyed our usual hours of pleasant converse, 
 and all the members of the little colony seemed happy 
 and contented except Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. 
 These two went gravely and sadly about their work,
 
 86 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 and the latter asked no more for the hornpipes and 
 the sea songs of her sailor men. 
 
 But, for some unaccountable reason, Mr. Endertou s 
 condition of tranquil abstraction did not continue. 
 He began to be fretful and discontented. He found 
 fault with his food and his accommodations, and in 
 stead of spending the greater part of the day in the 
 library as had been his wont, he took to wandering 
 about the island, generally with two or three books 
 under his arm, sometimes sitting down in one place 
 and sometimes in another, and then rising suddenly 
 to go grumbling into the house. 
 
 One afternoon, as Miss Ruth and I were in the skiff 
 in the lagoon, we saw Mr. Enderton approaching us, 
 walking on the beach. As soon as he was near enough 
 for us to hear him, he shouted to his daughter: 
 
 "Ruth, come out of that boat! If you want to take 
 the air I should think you might as well walk with 
 me as to go rowing round with witli anybody." 
 
 This rude and heartless speech made my blood boil, 
 while my companion turned pale with mortification. 
 The man had never made the slightest objection to 
 our friendly intercourse, and this unexpected attack 
 was entirely indefensible. 
 
 " Please put me ashore, 1 said Miss Ruth. And with 
 out a word, for I could not trust myself to speak, I 
 landed her. And petulantly complaining that she 
 never gave him one moment of her society, her father 
 led her away. 
 
 An hour later, my soul still in a state of turmoil, 
 but with the violence of its tossings somewhat abated, 
 I entered one of the paths which led through the
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 87 
 
 woods. After a few turns, I reached a point where I 
 could see for quite a long distance to the other end of 
 the path, which opened out upon the beach. There I 
 perceived Mr. Enderton, sitting upon the little bench 
 on which I had found Emily s book. His back was 
 toward me, and he seemed to be busily reading. 
 About midway between him and myself I saw Miss 
 Ruth, slowly walking toward me. Her eyes were 
 fixed upon the ground, and she had not seen me. 
 
 Stepping to one side I awaited her approach. When 
 she came near I accosted her. 
 
 " Miss Rath," said I, " has your father been talking 
 to you of me?" 
 
 She looked up quickly, evidently surprised at my 
 being there. " Yes/ she said, " he has told rne that it 
 is not suitable that I should be with you as much 
 as I have been since we came here." 
 
 There was something in this remark that roused 
 again the turmoil which had begun to subside within 
 me. There was so much that was unjust and tyran 
 nical, and what perhaps touched me still deeper 
 there was such a want of consideration and respect in 
 this behavior of Mr. Enderton that it brought to the 
 front some very incongruous emotions. I had been 
 superciliously pushed aside, and I found I was angry. 
 Something was about to be torn from me, and I found 
 I loved it. 
 
 " Ruth," said I, stepping up close to her, " do you 
 like to be with me as you have been ? " 
 
 If Miss Ruth had not spent such a large portion of 
 her life in the out-of-the-world village of Nanfou- 
 chong; if she had not lived among those simple-
 
 88 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 hearted missionaries, where it was never necessary to 
 conceal her emotions or her sentiments ; if it had not 
 been that she never had had emotions or sentiments 
 that it was necessary to conceal, I do not believe that 
 when she answered me she would have raised her 
 eyes to me with a look in them of a deep-bine sky 
 seen through a sort of Indian-summer mist, and that 
 gazing thus she would have said : 
 
 "Of course I like it." 
 
 " Then let us make it suitable," I said, taking both 
 her hands in mine. 
 
 There was another look, in which the skies shone 
 clear and bright, and then, in a moment, it was all 
 done. 
 
 About five minutes after this I said to her, " Ruth, 
 shall we go to your father?" 
 
 " Certainly," she answered. And together we walked 
 along the thickly shaded path. 
 
 The missionary still sat with his back toward us: 
 and, being so intent upon his book, I found that by 
 keeping my eyes upon him it was perfectly safe to 
 walk with my arm around Ruth until we had nearly 
 reached him. Then I took her hand in mine, and we 
 stepped in front of him. 
 
 " Father," said Ruth, " Mr. Craig and I are going to 
 be married." 
 
 There was something very plump about this re 
 mark, and Mr. Enderton immediately raised his eyes 
 from his book and fixed them, first upon his daugh 
 ter and then upon me; then he let them drop, and 
 through the narrow space between us he gazed out 
 over the sea.
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 89 
 
 "Well, father," said Ruth, a little impatiently, 
 " what do you think of it ? " 
 
 Mr. Enderton leaned forward and pieked up a leaf 
 from the ground. This he placed between the open 
 pages of his book and closed it. 
 
 " It seems to me," he said, u that on many accounts 
 the arrangement you propose may be an excellent 
 one. Yes," he added more decidedly, " I think it will 
 do very well indeed. I shall not be at all surprised 
 if we are obliged to remain on this island for a con 
 siderable time, and, for my part, I have no desire to 
 leave it at present. And when you shall place your 
 self, Ruth, in a position in which you will direct the 
 domestic economies of the establishment, I hope that 
 you will see to it that things generally are made more 
 compatible with comfort and gentility, and, as regards 
 the table, I may add with palatability." 
 
 Ruth and I looked at each other, and then together 
 we promised that as far as in us lay we would try to 
 make the life of Mr. Enderton a happy one, not only 
 while we were on the island, but ever afterward. 
 
 We were promising a great deal, but at that mo 
 ment we felt very grateful. 
 
 Then he stood up, shook us both by the hands, and 
 we left him to his book. 
 
 When Ruth and I came walking out of the woods 
 and approached the house, Mrs. Aleshine w r as stand 
 ing outside, not far from the kitchen. When she saw 
 us she gazed steadily at us for a few moments, a 
 strange expression coming over her face. Then she 
 threw up both her hands, and without a word she 
 turned and rushed indoors.
 
 90 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 We had not reached the house before Mrs. Leeks 
 and Mrs. Aleshine came hurrying out together. Run 
 ning up to us with a haste and an excitement I had 
 never seen in either of them, first one and then the 
 other took Ruth into her arms and kissed her with 
 much earnestness. Then they turned upon me and 
 shook my hands with hearty vigor, expressing, more 
 by their looks and actions than their words, a tri 
 umphant approbation of what I had done. 
 
 "The minute I laid eyes on you," said Mrs. Aleshine, 
 "I knowed it was all right. There was n t no need of 
 askin questions." 
 
 I now became fearful lest, in the exuberance of 
 their satisfaction, these good women might reveal to 
 Ruth the plans they had laid for our matrimonial 
 future, and the reluctance I had shown in entering 
 into them. My countenance must have expressed 
 my apprehensions, for Mrs. Aleshine, her ruddy face 
 glowing with warmth, both mental and physical, gave 
 me a little wink, and drew me to one side. 
 
 " You need n t suppose that we ve ever said any- 
 thin to Miss Ruth, or that we re goiii to. It s a great 
 deal better to let her think you did it all yourself." 
 
 I felt like resenting this imputation upon the in 
 dependence of my love-making, but at this happy mo 
 ment I did not want to enter into a discussion, and 
 therefore merely smiled. 
 
 " I m so glad, I don t know how to tell it," con 
 tinued Mrs. Aleshine, as Mrs. Leeks and Ruth walked 
 toward the house. 
 
 I was about to follow, but my companion detained me. 
 
 " Have you spoke to the parson ? " she asked.
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 91 
 
 " Oh, yes," said I, " and he seems perfectly satis 
 fied. I am rather surprised at this, because of late 
 he has been in such a remarkably bad humor." 
 
 " That s so," said Mrs. Aleshine ; " there 7 s no get- 
 tin round the fact that he ? s been a good deal Grosser 
 than two sticks. You see, Mr. Craig, that Mrs. Leeks 
 and me, we made up our minds that it was n t fair to 
 the Dusantes to let that rich missionary go on payin 
 nothin but four dollars a week apiece for him and his 
 daughter, and if we could n t get no more out of him 
 one way, we 7 d do it another. It was fair enough that 
 if he did n t pay more he ought to get less ; and so 
 we gave him more fish and not so much bread, the 
 same as we did the sailor men, and we weakened his 
 tea, and sent him just so much sugar, and no more; 
 and as for openin boxes of sardines for him, which 
 there was no reason why they should n t be left here 
 for the Dusantes, I just would n t do it, though he said 
 he d got all the fresh fish he wanted when he was in 
 China. And then we agreed that it was high time 
 that that libr ry should be cleaned up, and we went 
 to work at it, not mindin what he said ; for it s no 
 use tellin me that four dollars a week will pay for a 
 front room and good board, and the use of a libr ry 
 all day. And, as there was n t no need of both of us 
 cleanin one room, Mrs. Leeks, she went into the par 
 lor, where he d took his books, and begun there. And 
 then, again, we shut down on Mr. Dusante s dressing- 
 gown. There was no sense includin the use of that 
 in his four dollars a week, so we brushed it up, and 
 camphored it, and put it away. We just wanted to 
 let him know that if he undertook to be skinflinty, 
 7
 
 92 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 he d better try it on somebody else besides us. We 
 could see that he was a good deal upset, for, if ever 
 a man liked to have things quiet and comfortable 
 around him, and everything his own way, that man is 
 that missionary. But we did n t care if we did prod 
 him up a little. Mrs. Leeks and me, we both agreed 
 that it would do him good. Why, he d got into such 
 a way of shettin himself up in himself, that he did n t 
 even see that his daughter was goin about with a 
 young man, and fixin her affections on him more and 
 more every day, when he never had no idea, as could 
 be proved by witnesses, of marry in her." 
 
 " Mrs. Aleshine," said I, looking at her very stead 
 fastly, " I believe, after all, that you and Mrs. Leeks 
 had your own way in regard to hurrying up this 
 matter." 
 
 " Yes," said she, with happy complacency, " I 
 should n t wonder if we had. Stirrin up the parson 
 was our last chance, and it was n t much trouble to 
 do it." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks, whose manner toward me for the last 
 few days had been characterized by cold severity, now 
 resumed her former friendly demeanor, although she 
 was not willing to let the affair pass over without 
 some words of reproach. 
 
 u I must say, Mr. Craig," she remarked the next 
 morning, " that I was gettiu pretty well outdone with 
 you. I was beginniu to think that a young man 
 that could n t see and would n t see what was good 
 for him did n t deserve to have it ; and if Miss 
 Ruth s father had just come down with a heavy foot 
 and put an end to the whole business, I in not sure
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 93 
 
 I d been sorry for you. But it s all right at last, 
 and bygones is bygones. And now, what we ve got 
 to do is to get ready for the weddin ." 
 
 " The wedding ! " I exclaimed. 
 
 Mrs. Leeks regarded me with an expression in which 
 there was something of virtuous indignation and 
 something of pity. " Mr. Craig," said she, " if there 
 ever was anybody that wanted a guardeen, it s you. 
 Now, just let me tell you this. That Mr. Enderton 
 ain t to be trusted no further than you can see him, 
 and not so fur, neither, if it can be helped. He s 
 willin for you to have Miss Ruth now, because he s 
 pretty much made up his mind that we re goin to 
 stay here ; and as he considers you the master of this 
 island, of course he thinks it 11 be for his good for 
 his daughter to be mistress of it. For one thing, he 
 would n t expect to pay no board then. But just let 
 him get away from this island, and just let him set 
 his eyes on some smooth-faced young fellow that 11 
 agree to take him into the concern and keep him for 
 nuthiu on books and tea, he 11 just throw you over 
 without winkin . And Miss Ruth is not the girl to 
 marry you against his will, if he opens the Bible and 
 piles texts on her, which he is capable of doin . If in 
 any way you two should get separated when you leave 
 here, there s no knowin when you d ever see each 
 other again, for where he 11 take her nobody can tell. 
 He s more willin to set down and stay where he finds 
 himself comfortable than anybody I ve met yet." 
 
 " Of course," I said, " I m ready to be married at 
 any moment, but I don t believe Miss Ruth and her 
 father would consent to anything so speedy."
 
 94 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 " Don t you get into the way," said Mrs. Leeks, " of 
 beforehand believin this or that. It don t pay. Just 
 you go to her father, and talk to him about it ; and if 
 you and him agree, it 11 be easy enough to make her 
 see the sense of it. You attend to them, and I 11 see 
 that everythin is got ready. And you d better fix 
 the day for to-morrow, for we can t stay here much 
 longer, and there s a lot of house-cleanin and bakin 
 and cookin to be done before we go." 
 
 I took this advice, and broached the subject to Mr. 
 Enderton. 
 
 " Well, sir," said he, laying down his book, " your 
 proposition is decidedly odd ; I may say, very odd, in 
 deed. But it is, perhaps, after all, no odder than many 
 things I have seen. Among the various denomina 
 tional sects I have noticed occurrences quite as odd; 
 quite as odd, sir. For my part I have no desire to ob 
 ject to an early celebration of the matrimonial rites. 
 I may say, indeed, that I am of the opinion that a cer 
 tain amount of celerity in this matter will conduce to 
 the comfort of all concerned. It has been a very un 
 satisfactory thing to me to see my daughter occupying 
 a subordinate position in our little family, where she 
 has not even the power to turn household affairs into 
 the channels of my comfort. To-morrow, I think, will 
 do very well indeed. Even if it should rain, I see no 
 reason why the ceremony should be postponed." 
 
 The proposition of a wedding on the morrow was 
 not received by Kuth with favor. She was unpre 
 pared for such precipitancy. But she finally yielded 
 to arguments; not so much to mine, I fear, as to those 
 offered bv Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine.
 
 MES. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE. 95 
 
 For the rest of that day the three mariners were 
 kept very busy, bringing in green things to deck the 
 parlor, and doing every imaginable kind of work ne 
 cessary to a wedding which Mrs. Aleshine was willing 
 to give into their hands. As for herself and her good 
 friend, they pnt themselves upon their mettle as pro 
 viders of festivals. They made cakes, pies, and I never 
 knew, half so well as the three sailors, how many 
 other kinds of good things. Besides all this, they 
 assisted Ruth to fit herself out in some degree in a 
 manner becoming to a bride. Some light and pretty 
 adornments of dress were borrowed from Emily or 
 Lucille, they knew not which, and, after having been 
 " done up " and fluted and crimped by Mrs. Leeks, 
 were incorporated by Ruth into her costume with so 
 much taste that on the wedding morning she appeared 
 to me to be dressed more charmingly than any bride 
 I ever saw. 
 
 The three sailors had done their own washing and 
 ironing, and appeared in cleanly garb, and with hair 
 and beards well wet and brushed. Mrs. Leeks and 
 Mrs. Aleshine put on their best bibs and tuckers, and 
 Mr. Enderton assumed his most clerical air, as he 
 stood behind a table in the parlor and married Ruth 
 and me. 
 
 " This," said Mr. Enderton, as we were seated at the 
 wedding feast, " is a most creditable display of attrac 
 tive viands ; but I may say, my dear Ruth, that I think 
 I perceived the influence of the happy event of to-day 
 even before it took place. I have lately had a better 
 appetite for my food, and have experienced a greater 
 enjoyment of my surroundings."
 
 96 THE CASTING AWAY OF 
 
 "I should think so," murmured Mrs. Aleshine in my 
 ear, "for we d no sooner knowed that you two were 
 to make a match of it, than we put an extry spoonful 
 of tea into his pot, and stopped scrubbin the libr ry." 
 
 For the next two days all was bustle and work at 
 the island. Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine would not 
 consent to depart without leaving everything in the 
 best possible order, so that the Dusantes might not 
 be dissatisfied with the condition of their house when 
 they returned. It was, in fact, the evident desire of 
 the two women to gratify their pride in their house 
 wifely abilities by leaving everything better than they 
 found it. 
 
 Mr. Enderton was much surprised at these prepa 
 rations for immediate departure. He was very well 
 satisfied with his life on the island, and had prepared 
 his mind for an indefinite continuance of it, with the 
 position of that annoying and obdurate Mrs. Leeks 
 filled by a compliant and affectionate daughter. He 
 had no reasonable cause for complaint, for the whole 
 subject of the exhaustion of our supply of provisions 
 and the necessity of an open-boat trip to an inhabited 
 island had been fully discussed before him. But he 
 was so entirely engrossed in the consideration of his 
 own well-being, that this discussion of our plans had 
 made no impression upon him. He now became con 
 vinced that a conspiracy had been entered into against 
 him, and fell into an unpleasant humor. This, how 
 ever, produced very little effect upon any of tis, for 
 we were all too busy to notice his whims. But his 
 sudden change of disposition made me understand 
 how correct were the opinions of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs.
 
 MRS. LECKS AND MBS. ALESHINE. 97 
 
 Aleshiue concerning him. If I had left that island 
 with my marriage with Ruth depending upon Mr. 
 Enderton s cooperation, my prospects of future happi 
 ness would have been at the mercy of his caprices. 
 
 Very early on a beautiful morning Ruth and I 
 started out on our wedding journey in the long-boat. 
 Mr. Enderton was made as comfortable as possible in 
 the stern, with Ruth near him. Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine sat facing each other, each with a brown 
 paper package by her side, containing the life-pre 
 server on which she had arrived. These were to be 
 ever cherished as memorials of a wonderful experi 
 ence. The three sailors and I took turns at the oars. 
 The sea was smooth, and there was every reason to 
 believe that we should arrive at our destination before 
 the end of the day. Mrs. Aleshine had supplied us 
 with an abundance of provisions, and with the excep 
 tion of Mr. Enderton, who had not been permitted to 
 take away any of the Dusaute books, we were a con 
 tented party. 
 
 "As long as the flour held out," remarked Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, "I d never been will in to leave that island till 
 the Dusantes came back, and we could have took 
 Emily or Lucille, whichever it was that kept house, 
 and showed her everything and told her just what we 
 had done. But when they do come back," she added, 
 " and read that letter which Mr. Craig wrote and left 
 for them, and find out all that happened in their 
 country-place while they was away; and how two of 
 us was made happy for life; and how two more of us, 
 meanin Mrs. Leeks and me, have give up goin to 
 Japan, intending instid of that, writin to my son to
 
 98 MES. LECKS AND MES. ALESHINE. 
 
 come home to America, and settle down in the country 
 he ought to live in, why, then, if them Dusantes 
 ain t satisfied it s no use for anybody to ever try to 
 satisfy em. 
 
 "I should think not," said Mrs. Leeks, "with the 
 weddin cards on the parlor table, not a speck of dust 
 in any corner, and the board-money in the giuger- 
 
 -iar " 
 
 jar. 
 
 THE END
 
 THE DUSANTES
 
 THE DUSANTES 
 
 A SEQUEL TO 
 
 "THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. 
 LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE" 
 
 BY 
 FRANK R. STOCKTON 
 
 AUTHOR OF "RUDDER GRANGE," "THE LADY, 
 OR THE TIGER?" "THE LATE MRS. NULL," 
 "THE MERRY CHANTER, "THE HUNDREDTH 
 MAN," "THE SQUIRREL INN," ETC., ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE CENTURY CO. 
 1892
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1888, 1892, 
 
 BY FRANK. K. STOCKTON. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 DE VINNE PRESS
 
 THE DUSANTES 
 
 A SEQUEL TO "THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. LECKS 
 AND MRS. ALESHINE" 
 
 HEN the little party, consisting of 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, Mr. 
 Enderton, my newly made wife, and 
 myself, with the red-bearded cox 
 swain and the two sailor men, bade 
 farewell to that island in the Pacific 
 where so many happy hours had been passed, where 
 such pleasant friendships had been formed, and where 
 I had met my Ruth and made her my wife, we rowed 
 away with a bright sky over our heads, a pleasant 
 wind behind us, and a smooth sea beneath us. The 
 long-boat was comfortable and well appointed, and 
 there was even room enough in it for Mr. Enderton 
 to stretch himself out and take a noon-day nap. We 
 gave him every advantage of this kind, for we had 
 found by experience that our party was happiest when 
 my father-in-law was best contented. 
 
 7
 
 8 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 Early in the forenoon the coxswain rigged a small 
 sail in the bow of the boat, and with this aid to our 
 steady and systematic work at the oars we reached, 
 just before nightfall, the large island whither we were 
 bound, and to which, by means of the coxswain s 
 pocket-compass, we had steered a direct course. Our 
 arrival on this island, which was inhabited by some 
 white traders and a moderate population of natives, 
 occasioned great surprise, for when the boats con 
 taining the crew and passengers of our unfortunate 
 steamer had reached the island, it was found that Mrs. 
 Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, and myself were missing. There 
 were many suppositions as to our fate. Some persons 
 thought we had been afraid to leave the steamer, and, 
 having secreted ourselves on board, had gone down 
 with her. Others conjectured that in the darkness 
 we had fallen overboard, either from the steamer or 
 from one of the boats ; and there was even a surmise 
 that we might have embarked in the leaky small boat 
 in which we really did leave the steamer and so 
 had been lost. At any rate, we had disappeared, and 
 our loss was a good deal talked about, and, in a man 
 ner, mourned. In less than a week after their ar 
 rival the people from the steamer had been taken on 
 board a sailing vessel and carried westward to their 
 destination. 
 
 We, however, were not so fortunate, for we remained 
 on this island for more than a month. During this 
 time but one ship touched there, and she was western 
 bound and of no use to us, for we had determined to 
 return to America. Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine had 
 given up their journey to Japan, and were anxious
 
 THE DUSANTES. 9 
 
 to reach once more their country homes, while my 
 dear Ruth and I were filled with a desire to found a 
 home on some pleasant portion of the Atlantic sea 
 board. What Mr. Endertou intended to do we did not 
 know. He was on his way to the United States when 
 he left the leaking ship on which he and his daugh 
 ter were passengers, and his intentions regarding his 
 journey did not appear to have been altered by his 
 mishaps. 
 
 By the western-bound vessel, however, Mrs. Ale- 
 shine sent a letter to her son. 
 
 Our life on this island was monotonous, and to the 
 majority of the party uninteresting; but as it was the 
 scene of our honeymoon, Mrs. Craig and I will always 
 look back to it with the most pleasurable recollections. 
 We were comfortably lodged in a house belonging 
 to one of the traders, and although Mrs. Leeks and 
 Mrs. Aleshine had no household duties to occupy their 
 time, they managed to supply themselves with knitting 
 materials from the stores on the island, and filled up 
 their hours of waiting with chatty industry. The 
 pipes of our sailor friends were always well filled, 
 while the sands of the island were warm and pleasant 
 for their backs, and it was only Mr. Enderton who 
 showed any signs of impatient repining at our en 
 forced stay. He growled, he grumbled, and he in 
 veighed against the criminal neglect of steamship 
 companies and the owners of sailing craft in not 
 making it compulsory in every one of their vessels to 
 stop on every voyage at this island, where, at any 
 time, intelligent and important personages might be 
 stranded. 
 8
 
 10 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 At last, however, we were taken off by a three- 
 masted schooner bound for San Francisco, at which 
 city we arrived in due time and in good health and 
 condition. 
 
 We did not remain long in this city, but soon started 
 on our way across the continent, leaving behind us 
 our three sailor companions, who intended to ship 
 from this port as soon as an advantageous opportu 
 nity offered itself. These men heard no news of their 
 vessel, although they felt quite sure that she had 
 reached Honolulu, where she had probably been con 
 demned and the crew scattered. As some baggage 
 belonging to my wife and my father-in-law had been 
 left on board this vessel, I had hopes that Mr. Ender- 
 ton would remain in San Francisco and order it for 
 warded to him there; or that he would even take a 
 trip to Honolulu to attend to the matter personally. 
 But in this I was disappointed. He seemed to take 
 very little interest in his missing trunks, and wished 
 only to press on to the East. I wrote to Honolulu, 
 desiring the necessary steps to be taken to forward 
 the baggage in case it had arrived there; and soon 
 afterward our party of five started eastward. 
 
 It was now autumn, but, although we desired to 
 reach the end of our journey before winter set in. we 
 felt that we had time enough to visit some of the nat 
 ural wonders of the California country before taking 
 up our direct course to the East. Therefore, in spite 
 of some petulant remonstrances on the part of Mr. 
 Enderton, we made several trips to points of interest. 
 
 From the last of these excursions we set out in a 
 stage-coach, of which we were the only occupants,
 
 THE DUSANTES. 11 
 
 toward a point on the railroad where we expected to 
 take a train. On the way we stopped to change horses 
 at a small stage-station at the foot of a range of 
 mountains; and when I descended from the coach I 
 found the driver and some of the men at the station 
 discussing the subject of our route. It appeared that 
 there were two roads, one of which gradually as 
 cended the mountain for several miles, and then de 
 scended to the level of the railroad, by the side of 
 which it ran until it reached the station where we 
 wished to take the train. The other road pursued its 
 way along a valley or notch in the mountain for a 
 considerable distance, and then, by a short but some 
 what steep ascending grade, joined the upper road. 
 
 It was growing quite cold, and the sky and the wind 
 indicated that bad weather might be expected; and 
 as the upper road was considered the better one at 
 such a time, our driver concluded to take it. Six 
 horses, instead of four, were now attached to our 
 stage, and as two of these animals were young and 
 unruly and promised to be unusually difficult to drive 
 in the ordinary way, our driver concluded to ride one 
 of the wheel-horses, postilion fashion and to put a 
 boy on one of the leaders. Mr. Enderton was very 
 much afraid of horses, and objected strongly to the 
 young animals in our new team. But there were no 
 others to take their places, and his protests were dis 
 regarded. 
 
 My wife and I occupied a back seat, having been 
 ordered to take this comfortable position by Mrs. 
 Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, who had constituted them 
 selves a board of instruction and admonition to Mrs.
 
 12 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 Craig, and incidentally to myself. They fancied that 
 my wife s health was not vigorous, and that she needed 
 coddling ; and if she had had two mothers she could 
 not have been more tenderly cared for than by these 
 good women. They sat upon the middle seat with 
 their faces toward the horses, while Mr. Enderton 
 had the front seat all to himself. He was, however, 
 so nervous and fidgety, continually twisting himself 
 about, endeavoring to get a view of the horses or of 
 the bad places on the road, that Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine found that a position facing him and in close 
 juxtaposition was entirely too uncomfortable; and 
 consequently, the back of their seat being adjustable, 
 they turned themselves about and faced us. 
 
 The ascent of the mountain was slow and tedious, 
 and it was late in the afternoon when we reached the 
 highest point in our route, from w r hich the road de 
 scended for some eight miles to the level of the rail 
 road. Now our pace became rapid, and Mr. Euderton 
 grew wildly excited. He threw open the window and 
 shouted to the driver to go more slowly, but Mrs. 
 Leeks seized him by the coat and jerked him back on 
 his seat before he could get any answer to his appeals. 
 
 " If you want your daughter to ketch her death o 
 cold you 11 keep that window open!" As she said 
 this, she leaned back and pulled the window down 
 with her own strong right arm. " I guess the driver 
 knows what he is about," she continued, " this not 
 bein the first time he s gone over the road." 
 
 " Am I to understand, madam," said Mr. Enderton, 
 " that I am not to speak to my driver when I wish 
 him to know my will ? "
 
 THE DUSANTES. 13 
 
 To this question Mrs. Leeks made no answer, but 
 sat up very straight and stiff, with her back square 
 upon the speaker. For some time she and Mr. Ender- 
 ton had been "out," and she made no effort to conceal 
 the fact. 
 
 Mr. Enderton s condition now became pitiable, for 
 our rapid speed and the bumping over rough places 
 in the road seemed almost to deprive him of his wits, 
 notwithstanding my assurance that stage-coaches were 
 generally driven at a rapid rate down long inclines. 
 In a short time, however, we reached a level spot in 
 the road, and the team was drawn up and stopped. 
 Mr. Enderton popped out in a moment, and I also got 
 down to have a talk with the driver. 
 
 " These hosses won t do much at holdin 7 back," he 
 said, " and it worries em less to let ; em go ahead with 
 the wheels locked. Yon need n t be afraid. If nothin 
 breaks, we re all right." 
 
 Mr. Enderton seemed endeavoring to satisfy him 
 self that everything about the running-gear of the 
 coach was in a safe condition. He examined the 
 wheels, the axles, and the whiffletrees, much to the 
 amusement of the driver, who remarked to me that 
 the old chap probably knew as much now as he did 
 before. I was rather surprised that my father-in-law 
 subjected the driver to no further condemnation. On 
 the contrary, he said nothing except that for the rest 
 of this down-hill drive he should take his place on 
 the driver s unoccupied seat. Nobody offered any 
 objection to this, and up he climbed. 
 
 When we started again. Ruth seemed disturbed that 
 her father should be in such an exposed position, but
 
 14 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 I assured her that he would be perfectly safe, and 
 would be much better satisfied at being able to see for 
 himself what was going on. 
 
 We now began to go down-hill again at a rate as 
 rapid as before. Our speed, however, was not equal. 
 Sometimes it would slacken a little where the road 
 was heavy or more upon a level, and then we would 
 go jolting and rattling over some long downward 
 stretch. After a particularly unpleasant descent of 
 this kind the coach seemed suddenly to change its 
 direction, and with a twist and an uplifting of one side 
 it bumped heavily against something and stopped. I 
 heard a great shout outside, and from a window which 
 now commanded a view of the road I saw our team 
 of six horses, with the drivers pulling and tugging at 
 the two they rode, madly running away at the top of 
 their speed. 
 
 Ruth, who had been thrown by the shock into the 
 arms of Mrs. Aleshine, was dreadfully frightened, and 
 screamed for her father. I had been pitched forward 
 upon Mrs. Leeks, but I quickly recovered myself, and as 
 soon as I found that none of the occupants of the coach 
 had been hurt, I opened the door and sprang out. 
 
 In the middle of the road stood Mr. Enderton, 
 entirely uninjured, with a jubilant expression on his 
 face, and in one hand a large closed umbrella. 
 
 " What has happened ? " I exclaimed, hurrying 
 around to the front of the coach, where I saw that 
 the pole had been broken off about the middle of its 
 length. 
 
 " Nothing has happened, sir," replied Mr. Enderton. 
 " You cannot speak of a wise and discreet act, deter-
 
 THE DUSANTES. 15 
 
 minately performed, as a thing which has happened. 
 We have been saved, sir, from being dashed to pieces 
 behind that wild and unmanageable team of horses ; 
 and I will add that we have been saved by my fore 
 thought and prompt action." 
 
 I turned and looked at him in astonishment. " What 
 do you mean ? I said. " What could you have had 
 to do with this accident ? " 
 
 Allow me to repeat/ said Mr. Enderton, "that it 
 was not an accident. The moment that we began to 
 go down-hill I perceived that we were in a position 
 of the greatest danger. The driver was reckless, the 
 boy incompetent, and the horses unmanageable. As 
 my remonstrances and counsels had no effect upon 
 the man, and as you seemed to have no desire to 
 join me in efforts to restrain him to a more prudent 
 rate of speed, I determined to take the affair into 
 my own hands. I knew that the first thing to be 
 done was to rid ourselves of those horses. So long 
 as we were connected with them disaster was immi 
 nent. I knew exactly what ought to be done. The 
 horses must be detached from the coach. I had read, 
 sir, of inventions especially intended to detach run 
 away horses from a vehicle. To all intents and 
 purposes our horses were runaways, or would have 
 become so in a very short time. I now made it my 
 object to free ourselves from those horses. I got out 
 at our first stop and thoroughly examined the carriage 
 attachments. I found that the movable bar to which 
 the whiffletrees were attached was connected to the 
 vehicle by two straps and a bolt, the latter having 
 a ring at the top and an iron nut at the bottom.
 
 16 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 While you and that reckless driver were talking to 
 gether and paying no attention to me, the only per 
 son in the party who thoroughly comprehended our 
 danger, I unbuckled those straps, and with my strong, 
 nervous fingers, without the aid of implements, I un 
 screwed the nut from the bolt. Then, sir, I took my 
 seat on the outside of the coach and felt that I held 
 our safety in my own hands. For a time I allowed 
 our vehicle to proceed, but when we approached this 
 long slope which stretches before us, and our horses 
 showed signs of increasing impetuosity, I leaned 
 forward, hooked the handle of my umbrella in the 
 ring of the bolt, and with a mighty effort jerked it 
 out. I admit to you, sir, that I had overlooked the 
 fact that the other horses were attached to the end of 
 the pole, but I have often noticed that when we are 
 discreet in judgment and prompt in action we are also 
 fortunate. Thus was I fortunate. The hindermost 
 horses, suddenly released, rushed upon those in front 
 of them, and, in a manner, jumbled up the whole 
 team, which seemed to throw the animals into such 
 terror that they dashed to one side and snapped off 
 the pole, after which they went madly tearing down 
 the road, entirely beyond the control of the two riders. 
 Our coach turned and ran into the side of the road 
 with but a moderate concussion, and as I looked at 
 those flying steeds, with their riders vainly endeavor 
 ing to restrain them, I could not, sir, keep down an 
 emotion of pride that I had been instrumental in free 
 ing myself, my daughter, and my traveling compan 
 ions from their dangerous proximity." 
 
 The speaker ceased, a smile of conscious merit upon
 
 THE DUSANTES. 17 
 
 his face. For the moment I could not say a word to 
 him, I was so angry. But had I been able to say or 
 do anything to indicate the wild indignation that 
 filled my brain, I should have had no opportunity, 
 for Mrs. Leeks stepped up to me and took me by 
 the arm. Her face was very stern, and her ex 
 pression gave one the idea of the rigidity of Bessemer 
 steel. 
 
 "I ve heard what has been said," she remarked, 
 u and I wish to talk to this man. Your wife is over 
 there with Mrs. Aleshine. Will you please take a 
 walk with her along the road? You may stay away 
 for a quarter of an hour." 
 
 u Madam," said Mr. Euderton, "I do not wish to 
 talk to you." 
 
 "I did n t ask you whether you did or not/ said 
 Mrs. Leeks. "Mr. Craig, will you please get your 
 wife away as quick and as far as you can ?" 
 
 I took the hint, and, with Ruth on my arm, walked 
 rapidly down the road. She was very glad to go, for 
 she had been much frightened, and wanted to be 
 alone with me to have me explain to her what had 
 occurred. Mrs. Leeks, imagining from the expression 
 of his countenance that Mr. Enderton had, in some 
 way, been at the bottom of the trouble, and fearing 
 that she should not be able to restrain her indignation 
 when she found how he had done it, had ordered Mrs. 
 Aleshine to keep Ruth away from her father. This 
 action had increased the poor girl s anxiety, and she 
 was glad enough to have me take her away and tell 
 her all about our accident. 
 
 I did tell her all that had happened, speaking as
 
 18 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 mildly as I could of Mr. Endertou s conduct. Poor 
 Ruth burst into tears. 
 
 >; I do wish," she exclaimed, that father would 
 travel by himself! He is so nervous, and so easily 
 frightened, that I am sure he would be happier when 
 he could attend to his safety iu his own way; and 
 I know, too, that we should be happier without him." 
 
 I agreed most heartily with these sentiments, al 
 though I did not deem it necessary to say so, and Ruth 
 now asked me what I supposed would become of us. 
 
 " If nothing happens to the driver and the boy," I 
 replied, " I suppose they will go on until they get to 
 the station to which we were bound, and there they 
 will procure a pole, if such a thing can be found, or, 
 perhaps, get another coach, and come back for us. It 
 would be useless for them to return to our coach in 
 its present condition." 
 
 "And how soon do you think they will come back ? " 
 she said. 
 
 Not for some hours," I replied. " The driver told 
 me there were no houses between the place where we 
 last stopped and the railroad station, and I am sure 
 he will not turn back until he reaches a place where 
 he can get either a new pole or another vehicle." 
 
 Ruth and I walked to a turn at the bottom of the 
 long hill down which our runaway steeds had sped. 
 At this point we had an extended view of the road as 
 it wound along the mountain-side, but we could see 
 no signs of our horses nor of any living thing. I did 
 not, in fact, expect to see our team, for it would be 
 foolish in the driver to come back until he was pre 
 pared to do something for us, and even if he had sue-
 
 THE DUSANTES. 19 
 
 ceeded in controlling the runaway beasts, the quicker 
 he got down the mountain the better. 
 
 By the time we had returned we had taken quite 
 a long walk, but we were glad of it, for the exercise 
 tranquilized us both. On our way back we noticed 
 that a road which seemed to come up from below us 
 joined the one we were on a short- distance from the 
 place where our accident occurred. This, probably, 
 was the lower road which had been spoken of when 
 we changed horses. 
 
 We found Mr. Enderton standing by himself. His 
 face was of the hue of wood-ashes, his expression hag 
 gard. He reminded me of a man who had fallen from 
 a considerable height, and who had been frightened 
 and stupefied by the shock. I comprehended the sit 
 uation without difficulty, and felt quite sure that had 
 he had the choice he would have much preferred a 
 thrashing to the plain talk he had heard from Mrs. 
 Leeks. 
 
 " What is the matter, father ? " exclaimed Ruth. 
 " Were you hurt u ? " 
 
 Mr. Enderton looked in a dazed way at his daugh 
 ter, and it was some moments before he appeared to 
 have heard what she said. Then he answered abruptly : 
 " Hurt? Oh, no ! I am not hurt in the least. I was 
 just thinking of something. I shall walk on to the vil 
 lage or town, whichever it is, to which that man was 
 taking us. It cannot be more than seven or eight 
 miles away, if that. The road is down-hill, and I can 
 easily reach the place before nightfall. I will then per 
 sonally attend to your rescue, and will see that a vehi 
 cle is immediately sent to you. There is no trusting
 
 20 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 these ignorant drivers. No," he continued, deprecat- 
 ingly raising his hand, "do not attempt to dissuade 
 me. Your safety and that of others is always my first 
 care. Exertion is nothing." 
 
 Without further words, arid paying no attention to 
 the remonstrances of his daughter, he strode off down 
 the road. 
 
 I was very glad to see him go. At any time his 
 presence was undesirable to me, and under the present 
 circumstances it would be more objectionable than 
 ever. He was a good walker, and there was no doubt 
 he would easily reach the station, where he might pos 
 sibly be of some use to us. 
 
 Mrs. Leeks was sitting on a stone by the roadside. 
 Her face was still stern and rigid, but there was an 
 expression of satisfaction upon it which had not been 
 there when I left her. Ruth went to the coach to get 
 a shawl, and I said to Mrs. Leeks : 
 
 " I suppose you had your talk with Mr. Enderton ?" 
 
 " Talk ! " she replied. " I should say so ! If ever a 
 man understands what people think of him, and knows 
 what he is, from his crown to his feet, inside and out 
 side, soul, body, bones, and skin, and what he may ex 
 pect in this world and the next, he knows it. I did n t 
 keep to what he has done for us this day. I went back 
 to the first moment when he began to growl at payin 
 his honest board on the island, and I did n t let him 
 off for a single sin that he has committed since. And 
 now I feel that I Ve done my duty as far as he is con 
 cerned ; and havin got through with that, it s time we 
 were lookin about to see what we can do for ourselves." 
 
 It was indeed time, for the day was drawing toward
 
 THE DUSANTES. 21 
 
 its close. For a moment I had thought we would give 
 Mr. Enderton a good start, and then follow him down 
 the mountain to the station. But a little reflection 
 showed me that this plan would not answer. Ruth 
 was not strong enough to walk so far; and although 
 Mrs. Aleshine had plenty of vigor, she was too plump 
 to attempt such a tramp. Besides, the sky was so 
 heavily overcast that it was not safe to leave the shel 
 ter of the coach. 
 
 As might have been expected, Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine took immediate charge of the personal com 
 fort of the party, and the first thing they did was to 
 make preparations for a meal. Fortunately, we had 
 plenty of provisions. Mrs. Aleshiue had had charge 
 of what she called our lunch-baskets, which were, in 
 deed, much more like market-baskets than anything 
 else ; and having small faith in the resources of road 
 side taverns, and great faith in the unlimited capa 
 bilities of Mr. Enderton in the matter of consuming 
 food on a journey, she had provided bounteously and 
 even extravagantly. 
 
 One side of the road was bordered by a forest, and 
 on the ground was an abundance of dead w r ood. I 
 gathered a quantity of this, and made a fire, which 
 was very grateful to us, for the air was growing colder 
 and colder. When we had eaten a substantial cold 
 supper and had thoroughly warmed ourselves at the 
 fire, we got into the coach to sit there and wait until 
 relief should come. We sat for a long time; all night, 
 in fact. We were not uncomfortable, for we each had 
 a corner of the coach, and we were plentifully provided 
 with wraps and rugs.
 
 22 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 Contrary to their usual habit, Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine did not talk much. When subjected to the 
 annoyances of an ordinary accident, even if it should 
 have been the result of carelessness, their disposition 
 would have prompted them to take events as they 
 came, and to make the best of whatever might happen 
 to them. But this case was entirely different. We 
 were stranded and abandoned on the road, on the side 
 of a lonely, desolate mountain, on a cold, bleak night ; 
 and all this was the result of what they considered the 
 deliberate and fiendish act of a man who was afraid 
 of horses, and who cared for no one in the world but 
 himself. Their minds were in such a condition that 
 if they said anything they must vituperate, and they 
 were so kindly disposed toward my wife, and had such 
 a tender regard for her feelings, that they would not, 
 in her presence, vituperate her father. So they said 
 very little, and, nestling into their corners, were soon 
 asleep. 
 
 After a time Ruth followed their example, and, 
 though I was very anxiously watching out of the win 
 dow for an approaching light, and listening for the 
 sound of wheels, I, too, fell into a doze. It must have 
 been ten or eleven o clock when I was awakened by 
 some delicate but cold touches on my face, the nature 
 of which, when I first opened my eyes, I could not 
 comprehend. But I soon understood what these cold 
 touches meant. The window in the door of the coach 
 on my side had been slightly lowered from the top to 
 give us air, and through the narrow aperture the cold 
 particles had come floating in. I looked through the 
 window. The night was not very dark, for, although
 
 THE DUSANTES. 23 
 
 the sky was overcast, the moon was in its second 
 quarter, and I could plainly see that it was snowing, 
 and that the ground was already white. 
 
 This discovery sent a chill into my soul, for I was 
 not unfamiliar with snows in mountain regions, and 
 knew well what this might mean to us. But there 
 was nothing that we could now do, and it would be 
 useless and foolish to awaken my companions and 
 distress them with this new disaster. Besides, I 
 thought our situation might not be so very bad, after 
 all. It was not yet winter, and the snowfall might 
 prove to be but a light one. I gently closed the 
 window, and made my body comfortable in its corner, 
 but my mind continued very uncomfortable for I do 
 not know how long. 
 
 When I awoke, I found that there had been a heavy 
 fall of snow in the night, and that the flakes were still 
 coming down, thick and fast. When Ruth first looked 
 out upon the scene she was startled and dismayed. 
 She was not accustomed to storms of this kind, and 
 the snow frightened her. Upon Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine the sight of the storm produced an entirely 
 different effect. Here was a difficulty, a discomfort, 
 a hardship, but it came in a natural way, and not by 
 the hand of a dastardly coward of a man. With 
 naturally happening difficulties they were accustomed 
 to combat without fear or repining. They knew all 
 about snow, and were not frightened by this storm. 
 The difficulties which it presented to their minds actu 
 ally raised their spirits, and from the grim and quiet 
 beings of the last evening they became the same cheer 
 ful, dauntless, ready women that I had known before.
 
 24 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 "Upon my word," exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, as she 
 clapped her face to a window of the coach, "if this 
 is n t a reg lar old-fashioned snow-storm ! I ve shov 
 eled my own way through many a one like it to git 
 to the barn to do my milkin afore the men folks had 
 begun makin paths, and I feel jus like as though I 
 could do it ag in." 
 
 " Now, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, " if 
 you re thinkin of shoveliii your way from this place 
 to where your cows is, you d better step right out 
 and get at it, and I really do think that if you felt 
 they were sufferin for want of milkin you d make 
 a start." 
 
 "I don t say," answered Mrs. Aleshine, with an 
 illuminating grin, " that if the case was that way I 
 might n t have the hankerin though not the capable- 
 ness, but I don t know that there s any place to shovel 
 our way to jus now." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks and I thought differently. Across the 
 road, under the great trees, the ground was compar 
 atively free from snow, and in some places, owing to 
 the heavy evergreen foliage, it was entirely bare. It 
 was very desirable that we should get to one of these 
 spots and build a fire, for, though we had been well 
 wrapped up, we all felt numbed and cold. In the boot 
 at the back of the coach I knew that there was an ax, 
 and I thought I might possibly find there a shovel. I 
 opened the coach door and saw that the snow was 
 already above the lower step. By standing on the 
 spokes of the back wheel I could easily get at the 
 boot, and I soon pulled out the ax, but found no 
 shovel. But this did not deter me. I made my way
 
 THE DUSANTES. 25 
 
 to the front wheel and climbed up to the driver s box, 
 where I knocked off one of the thin planks of the 
 foot-board, and this, with the ax, I shaped into a rude 
 shovel with a handle rather too wide but serviceable. 
 With this I went vigorously to work, and soon had 
 made a pathway across the road. Here I chopped off 
 some low dead branches, picked up others, and soon 
 had a crackling fire, around which my three com 
 panions gathered with delight. 
 
 A strong wind was now blowing, and the snow 
 began to form into heavy drifts. The fire was very 
 cheery and pleasant, but the wind was cutting, and 
 we soon returned -to the shelter of the coach, where 
 we had our breakfast. This was not altogether a cold 
 meal, for Mrs. Aleshine had provided a little tea-kettle, 
 and, with some snow-water which I brought in boiling 
 from the fire in the woods, we had all the hot and 
 comforting tea we wanted. 
 
 We passed the morning waiting and looking out 
 and wondering what sort of conveyance would be 
 sent for us. It was generally agreed that nothing on 
 wheels could now be got over the road, and that we 
 must be taken away in a sleigh. 
 
 "I like sleigh-ridin ," said Mrs. Aleshine, " if you re 
 well wrapped up, with good hosses, and a hot brick for 
 your feet; but I must say I don t know but what I m 
 goin to be a little skeery goin down these long hills. 
 If we git fairly slidin , hosses, sleigh, and all together, 
 there s no knowin where we 11 fetch up." 
 
 " There s one comfort, Barb ry," remarked Mrs. 
 Leeks, " and that is that when we do fetch up it 11 be 
 at the bottom of the hills, and not at the top ; and as 
 9
 
 26 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 the bottom is what we want to get to, we ought n t to 
 complain." 
 
 " That depends a good deal whether we come down 
 hind part foremost, or fore part front. But nobody s 
 complainin so fur, specially as the sleigh is n t here." 
 
 I joined in the outlooking and the conjectures, but 
 I could not keep up the cheerful courage which ani 
 mated my companions ; for not only were the two 
 elder women bright and cheery, but Ruth seemed to 
 be animated and encouraged by their example, and 
 showed herself as brave and contented as either of 
 them. She was convinced that her father must have 
 reached the railroad-station before it began to snow, 
 and, therefore, she was troubled by no fears for his 
 safety. But my mind was filled with many fears. 
 
 The snow was still coming down, thick and fast, 
 and the wind was piling it into great drifts, one of 
 which was forming between the coach and a low em 
 bankment on that side of the road near which it 
 stood. 
 
 About every half hour I took my shovel and cleared 
 out the path across the road from the other side of 
 the coach to the woods. Several times after doing 
 this I made my way among the trees, where the snow 
 did not impede my progress, to points from which I 
 had a view some distance down the mountain, and 
 I could plainly see that there were several places 
 where the road was blocked up by huge snow-drifts. 
 It would be a slow, laborious, and difficult undertak 
 ing for any relief party to come to us from the station ; 
 and who was there, at that place, to come ? This was 
 the question which most troubled me. The settlement
 
 THE DUSANTES. 27 
 
 at the station was, probably, a very small one, and that 
 there should be found at that place a sleigh or a sledge 
 with enough men to form a party sufficiently strong 
 to open a road up the mountain-side was scarcely to 
 be expected. Men and vehicles might be obtained at 
 some point farther along the railroad, but action of 
 this kind would require time, and it was not unlikely 
 that the railroad itself was blocked up with snow. I 
 could form no idea, satisfactory to myself, of any plan 
 by which relief could come to us that day. Even the 
 advent of a messenger on horseback was not to be 
 expected. Such an adventurer would be lost in the 
 storm and among the drifts. On the morrow relief 
 might come, but I did not like to think too much 
 about the morrow ; and of any of my thoughts and 
 fears I said nothing to my companions. 
 
 At intervals, after I had freshly cleared out the 
 pathway, the three women, well bundled up, ran across 
 the road to the fire under the trees. This was the only 
 way in which they could keep themselves warm, for 
 the coach, although it protected us from the storm, 
 was a very cold place to sit in. But the wind and the 
 snow which frequently drove in under the trees made 
 it impossible to stay very long by the fire, and the fre 
 quent passages to and from the coach were attended 
 with much exposure and wetting of feet. I therefore 
 determined that some better way must be devised for 
 keeping ourselves warm ; and, shortly after our noon 
 day meal, I thought of a plan, and immediately set to 
 work to carry it out. 
 
 The drift between the coach and the embankment 
 had now risen higher than the top of the vehicle,
 
 28 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 against one side of which it was tightly packed. I 
 dug a path around the back of the coach, and then 
 began to tunnel into the huge bank of snow. In 
 about an hour I had made an excavation nearly high 
 enough for me to stand in, and close to the stage 
 door on that side; and I cleared away the snow so 
 that this door could open into the cavern I had 
 formed. At the end opposite the entrance of my 
 cave, I worked a hole upward until I reached the 
 outer air. This hole was about a foot in diameter, 
 and for some time the light unpacked snow from 
 above kept falling in and filling it up; but I managed, 
 by packing and beating the sides with my shovel, to 
 get the whole into a condition in which it would re 
 tain the form of a rude chimney. 
 
 Now I hurried to bring wood and twigs, and hav 
 ing made a hearth of green sticks, which I cut with 
 my ax, I built a fire in this snowy fireplace. Mrs. 
 Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, and Ruth had been watching 
 my proceedings with great interest; and when the 
 fire began to burn, and the smoke to go out of my 
 chimney, the coach door was opened, and the genial 
 heat gradually pervaded the vehicle. 
 
 "Upon my word," exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, "if 
 that is n t one of the brightest ideas I ever heard of ! 
 A fire in the middle of a snowbank, with a man there 
 attendin to it, an a chimney! T is n t every day 
 that you can see a thing like that ! " 
 
 " I should hope not," remarked Mrs. Leeks, " for if 
 the snow drifted this way every day, I d be ready to 
 give up the seein business out and out ! But I think, 
 Mr. Craig, you ought to pass that shovel in to us so
 
 THE DUSANTES. 29 
 
 that we can dig you out when the fire begins to melt 
 your little house and it all caves in on you." 
 
 " You can have the shovel," said I, "but I don t be 
 lieve this snowbank will cave in on me. Of course 
 the heat will melt the snow, but I think it will dis 
 solve gradually, so that the caving in, if there is any, 
 won t be of much account, and then we shall have a 
 big open space here in which we can keep up our 
 fire." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " exclaimed Ruth, " you talk as if you 
 expected to stay here ever so long, and we certainly 
 can t do that. We should starve to death, for one 
 thing." 
 
 " Don t be afraid of that," said Mrs. Aleshine. 
 11 There s plenty of victuals to last till the people 
 come for us. When I pack baskets for travelin or 
 picnickin , I don t do no scrimpin . An we ve got 
 to keep up a fire, you know, for it would n t be pleas 
 ant for those men, when they ve cut a way up the 
 mountain to git at us, to find us all froze stiff." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks smiled. " You re awful tender of the 
 feelin s of other people, Barb ry," she said, "and a 
 heart as warm as yourn ought to keep from freezin ." 
 
 " Which it has done, so far," said Mrs. Aleshine 
 complacently. 
 
 As I had expected, the water soon began to drip 
 from the top and the sides of my cavern, and the 
 chimney rapidly enlarged its dimensions. I made a 
 passage for the melted snow to run off into a hollow, 
 back of the coach ; and as I kept up a good strong 
 fire, the drops of water and occasional pieces of snow 
 which fell into it were not able to extinguish it. The
 
 30 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 cavern enlarged rapidly, and in a little more than an 
 hour the roof became so thin that while I was outside 
 collecting wood it fell in and extinguished the fire. 
 This accident, however, interrupted my operations 
 but for a short time. I cleared away the snow at the 
 bottom of the excavation, and rebuilt my fire on the 
 bare ground. The high snow walls on three sides of 
 it protected it from the wind, so that there was no 
 danger of the flames being blown against the stage 
 coach, while the large open space above allowed a 
 free vent for the smoke. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon, to the great 
 delight of us all, it stopped snowing, and when I had 
 freshly shoveled out the path across the road, my 
 companions gladly embraced the opportunity of walk 
 ing over to the comparatively protected ground under 
 the trees and giving themselves a little exercise. Dur 
 ing their absence I was busily engaged in arranging 
 the fire, when I heard a low crunching sound on one 
 side of me, and, turning my head, I saw in the wall of 
 my excavation opposite to the stage-coach, and at a 
 distance of four or five feet from the ground, an ir 
 regular hole in the snow, about a foot in diameter, 
 from which protruded the head of a man. This head 
 was wrapped, with the exception of the face, in a 
 brown woolen comforter. The features were those 
 of a man of about fifty, a little sallow and thin, 
 without beard, whiskers, or mustache, although the 
 cheeks and chin were darkened with a recent growth. 
 
 The astounding apparition of this head projecting 
 itself from the snow wall of my cabin utterly par 
 alyzed me, so that I neither moved nor spoke, but re-
 
 THE DUSANTES. 31 
 
 maiiied crouching by the fire, my eyes fixed upon the 
 head. It smiled a little, and then spoke. 
 
 " Conld you lend me a small iron pot?" it said. 
 
 I rose to my feet, almost ready to run away. Was 
 this a dream f Or was it possible that there was a race 
 of beings who inhabited snowbanks ? 
 
 The face smiled ag ain very pleasantly. " Do not 
 be frightened," it said. " I saw you were startled, 
 and spoke first of a familiar pot in order to reassure 
 you." 
 
 " Who ; in the name of Heaven, are you ? " I gasped. 
 
 " I am only a traveler, sir," said the head, " who 
 has met with an accident similar, I imagine, to that 
 which has befallen you. But I cannot further con 
 verse with you in this position. Lying thus on my 
 breast in a tunnel of snow will injuriously chill me. 
 Could you conveniently lend me an iron pot ? " 
 
 I was now convinced that this was an ordinary hu 
 man being, and my courage and senses returned to 
 me, but rny astonishment remained boundless. " Be 
 fore we talk of pots," I said. u I must know who you 
 are and how you got into that snowbank. 
 
 " I do not believe," said my visitor, " that I can get 
 down, head foremost, to your level. I will therefore 
 retire to my place of refuge, and perhaps we can com 
 municate with each other through this aperture." 
 
 "Can I get through to your place of refuge?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " Certainly," was the answer. "You are young and 
 active, and the descent will not be so deep on my side. 
 But I will first retire, and will then project toward 
 you this sheepskin rug, which, if kept under you as
 
 32 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 you move forward, will protect your breast and arms 
 from direct contact with the snow." 
 
 It was difficult to scramble up into the hole, but 
 I succeeded in doing it, and found awaiting me the 
 sheepskin rug, which, by the aid of an umbrella, the 
 man had pushed toward me for my use. I was in a 
 horizontal tunnel barely large enough for the passage 
 of my body, and about six feet in length. When I 
 had worked my way through this and had put my 
 head out of the other end, I looked into a small 
 wooden shed, into which light entered only through 
 a pane of glass set in a rude door opposite to me. I 
 immediately perceived that the whole place was filled 
 with the odor of spirituous liquors. The man stood 
 awaiting me, and by his assistance I descended to the 
 floor. As I did so I heard something which sounded 
 like a titter, and looking around I saw in a corner 
 a bundle of clothes and traveling-rugs, near the top 
 of which appeared a pair of eyes. Turning again, I 
 could discern in another corner a second bundle, simi 
 lar to, but somewhat larger than, the other. 
 
 "These ladies are traveling with me," said the man, 
 who was now wrapping about him a large cloak, and 
 who appeared to be of a tall though rather slender 
 figure. His manner and voice were those of a gentle 
 man, extremely courteous and considerate. "As I am 
 sure you are curious and this I regard as quite nat 
 ural, sir to know why we are here, I will at once 
 proceed to inform you. We started yesterday in a 
 carriage for the railway-station, which is, I believe, 
 some miles beyond this point. There were two roads 
 from the last place at which we stopped, and we chose
 
 THE DUSANTES. 33 
 
 the one which ran along a valley, and which we sup 
 posed would be the pleasauter of the two. We there 
 engaged a pair of horses which did not prove very 
 serviceable animals, and, at a point about a hundred 
 yards from where we now are, one of them gave out 
 entirely. The driver declared that the only thing to 
 be done was to turn loose the disabled horse, which 
 would be certain, in time, to find his way back to his 
 stable, and for him to proceed on the other animal to 
 the station to which we were going, where he would 
 procure some fresh horses and return as speedily as 
 possible. To this plan we were obliged to consent, as 
 there was no alternative. He told us that if we did 
 not care to remain in the carriage, there was a shed 
 by the side of the road, a little farther on, which was 
 erected for the accommodation of men who are some 
 times here in charge of relays of horses. After as- 
 suriug us that he would not be absent more than 
 three hours, he rode away, and we have not seen him 
 since. Soon after he left us I came up to this shed, 
 and finding it tight and comparatively comfortable, I 
 concluded it would give us relief from our somewhat 
 cramped position in the carriage, and so conducted 
 the ladies here. As night drew on it became very 
 cold, and I determined to make a fire, a proceeding 
 which of course would have been impossible in a ve 
 hicle. Fortunately I had with me, at the back of the 
 carriage, a case of California brandy. By the aid of 
 a stone I knocked the top off this case, and brought 
 hither several of the bottles. I found in the shed an 
 old tin pan which I filled with the straw coverings of 
 the bottles, and on this I poured brandy, which, be-
 
 34 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 ing ignited, produced a fire without smoke, but which, 
 as we gathered around it, gave out considerable heat." 
 
 As the speaker thus referred to his fuel, I under 
 stood the reason of the strong odor of spirits which 
 filled the shed, and I experienced a certain relief in 
 my mind. 
 
 The gentleman continued: "At first I attributed 
 the delay of the driver s return to those ordinary hin 
 drances which so frequently occur in rural and out-of- 
 the-way places; but, after a time, I could not imagine 
 any reasonable cause for his delay. As it began to 
 grow dark I brought here our provision-baskets, and 
 we partook of a slight repast. I then made the ladies 
 as comfortable as possible, and awaited with much 
 anxiety the return of the driver. 
 
 "After a time it began to snow, and feeling that the 
 storm might interrupt communication with the car 
 riage, I brought hither, making many trips for the 
 purpose, the rest of the brandy, our wraps and rugs, 
 and the cushions of the carriage. I did not believe 
 that we should be left here all night, but thought it 
 prudent to take all precautions and to prepare for re 
 maining in a place where we could have a fire. The 
 morning showed me that I had acted wisely. As you 
 know, sir, I found the road in either direction com 
 pletely blocked up by snow, and I have since been 
 unable to visit the carriage." 
 
 "Have you not all suffered from cold?" I inquired. 
 " Have you food enough I " 
 
 " I will not say," replied the gentleman, " that in 
 addition to our anxiety we have not suffered some 
 what from cold, but for the greater part of this day I
 
 THE DUSANTES. 35 
 
 have adopted a plan which has resulted in consider 
 able comfort to my companions. I have wrapped 
 them up very closely and warmly, and they hold in 
 each hand a hard-boiled egg . I thought it better to 
 keep these for purposes of warmth than to eat them. 
 About every half hour I reboil the eggs in a little 
 traveling tea-pot which we have. They retain their 
 warmth for a considerable period, and this warmth 
 in a moderate degree is communicated through the 
 hands to the entire person." 
 
 As he said this a low laugh again burst forth from 
 the bundle in one corner of the room, and I could not 
 help smiling at this odd way of keeping warm. I 
 looked toward the jocose bundle and remarked that 
 the eggs must be pretty hard by this time. 
 
 " These ladies," said the gentleman, " are not accus 
 tomed to the cold atmosphere of this region, and I 
 have, therefore, forbidden them to talk, hoping thus 
 to prevent injury from the inhalation of frosty air. 
 So far we have not suffered, and we still have some 
 food left. About noon I noticed smoke floating over 
 this shed, and I forced open the door and made my 
 way for some little distance outside, hoping to dis 
 cover whence it came. I then heard voices on the 
 other side of the enormous snow-drift behind us. but 
 I could see no possible way of getting over the drift. 
 Feeling that I must, without fail, open communica 
 tion with any human beings who might be near us, I 
 attempted to shout, but the cold had so affected my 
 voice that I could not do so. I thereupon set my wits 
 to work. At the back of this shed is a small window 
 closed by a wooden shutter. I opened this shutter,
 
 36 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 and found outside a wall of snow packed closely 
 against it. The snow was not very hard, and I be 
 lieved that it would not be difficult to tunnel a way 
 through it to the place where the voices seemed to 
 be. I immediately set to work, for I feared that if we 
 were obliged to remain here another night without 
 assistance we should be compelled to-morrow morning 
 to eat those four hard-boiled eggs which the ladies are 
 holding, and which, very shortly, I must boil again." 
 
 "How did you manage to cut through the snow!" 
 I asked. " Had you a shovel?" 
 
 "Oh, no," replied the other. "I used the tin pan. 
 I found it answered very well as a scoop. Each time 
 that I filled it I threw the contents out of our 
 door." 
 
 " It must have been slow and difficult work," I said. 
 
 " Indeed it was," he replied. " The labor was ardu 
 ous, and occupied me several hours. But when I saw 
 a respectable man at a fire, and a stage-coach near by, 
 I felt rewarded for all my trouble. May I ask you, 
 sir, how you came to be thus snow-bound ? " 
 
 I then briefly related the circumstances of our mis 
 hap, and had scarcely finished when a shrill sound 
 came through the tunnel into the shed. It was the 
 voice of Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 " Hello ! " she screamed, " are you in there ? An 
 you don t mean to tell me there are other people in 
 that hole ? " 
 
 Feeling quite certain that my wife and her com 
 panions were in a state of mental agitation on the 
 other side of the drift, I called back that I would be 
 with them in a moment, and then explained to the
 
 THE DUSANTES. 37 
 
 gentleman why I could not remain with him longer. 
 "But before I go," I said, " is there anything I can do 
 for you ? Do you really want an iron pot ? " 
 
 "The food that remains to us," he answered, "is 
 fragmentary and rather distasteful to the ladies, and 
 I thought if I could make a little stew of it, it might 
 prove more acceptable to them. But do not let me 
 detain you another instant from your friends, and I 
 advise you to go through that tunnel feet foremost, 
 for you might otherwise experience difficulties in get 
 ting out at the other end." 
 
 I accepted his suggestion, and by his assistance and 
 the help of the rough window-frame, I got into the 
 hole feet first, and soon ejected myself into the midst 
 of my alarmed companions. When they heard where 
 I had been, and what I had seen, they were naturally 
 astounded. 
 
 " Another party deserted at this very point ! " ex 
 claimed Ruth, who was both excitable and imagi 
 native. " This looks like a conspiracy ! Are we to be 
 robbed and murdered ! " 
 
 At these words Mrs. Aleshine sprang toward me. 
 " Mr. Craig," she exclaimed, " if it s robbers, don t 
 lose a minute ! Never let em get ahead of you ! Pull 
 out your pistol and fire through the hole ! 
 
 "Gracious me! Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, 
 " you don t suppose the robbers is them poor unfor 
 tunates on the other side of the drift ! And 1 must 
 say, Mrs. Craig, that if there was any such thing as 
 a conspiracy, your father must have been in it, for it 
 was him who landed us just here. But of course none 
 of us supposes nothin of that kind, and the first thing
 
 38 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 we Ve got to think of is what we can do for them poor 
 people." 
 
 " They seem to have some food left, but not much," 
 I said, and I fear they must be suffering from cold. 
 
 " Could n t we poke some wood to them through 
 this hole ? said Mrs. Aleshine, whose combative feel 
 ings had changed to the deepest compassion. " I 
 should think they must be nearly froze, with nothin 
 to warm em but hard-b iled eggs." 
 
 I explained that there was no place in their shed 
 where they could build a fire, and proposed that we 
 should give them some hot tea and some of our pro 
 visions. 
 
 " That s so ! " said Mrs. Aleshine. An jus shout 
 in to them that if they 11 shove them eggs through the 
 hole, I 11 bile em fur em as often as they want em." 
 
 " I ve just got to say this," ejaculated Mrs. Leeks, 
 as she and Mrs. Aleshine were busily placing a portion 
 of our now very much reduced stock of provisions in 
 the smallest of our baskets: "This is the first time in 
 my life that I ever heard of people warmin them 
 selves up with hens eggs and spirits, excep when 
 mixed up into egg-nog ; and that they resisted that 
 temptation and contented themselves with plain hon 
 est heat, though very little of it, shows what kind of 
 people they must be. And now do you suppose we 
 could slide this basket in without upsettin the little 
 kittle?" 
 
 I called to the gentleman that we were about to 
 send him a basket, and then, by the aid of an um 
 brella, I gently pushed it through the snow-tunnel 
 to a point where he could reach it. Hearty thanks
 
 THE DUSANTES. 39 
 
 came back to us through the hole, and when the bas 
 ket and kettle were returned, we prepared our own 
 evening meal. 
 
 " For the life of me," said Mrs. Leeks, as she sipped 
 a cup of tea, " I can t imagine, if there was a shed so 
 near us, why we did n t know it." 
 
 "That has been puzzling me," I replied ; "but the 
 other road, on which the shed is built, is probably 
 lower than this one, so that the upper part of the 
 shed could not have projected far above the embank 
 ment between the two roads, and if there were weeds 
 and dead grasses on the bank, as there probably were, 
 they would have prevented us from noticing the top 
 of a weather-worn shed." 
 
 " Especially," said Mrs. Leeks, " as we was n t lookin 
 for sheds, and, as far as I know, we was n t lookin for 
 auythin on that side of the coach, for all my eyes was 
 busy starm about on the side we got in and out of, 
 and down the road." 
 
 "Which mine was too," added Mrs. Aleshine. "An 
 after it begun to snow we could n t see nothin any 
 how, partic larly when everythin was all covered up." 
 
 " Well," added Mrs. Leeks in conclusion, " as we 
 did n t see the shed, it s a comfort to think there was 
 reasons for it and that we are not born fools." 
 
 It was now growing dark, and but few further com 
 munications took place through the little tunnel. 
 
 " Before we get ready to go to sleep," said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, "for, havin no candles, I guess we won t sit up 
 late, had n t we better rig up some kind of a little sled 
 to put in that hole, with strings at both ends, so that 
 we kin send in mustard-plasters and peppermint to
 
 40 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 them poor people if they happen to be sick in the 
 night? 1 
 
 This little project was not considered necessary, and 
 after receiving assurances from the gentleman on the 
 other side that he would be able to keep his party 
 warm until morning, we bade each other good night, 
 and, after having replenished the fire, I got into the 
 stage, where my companions had already established 
 themselves in their corners. I slept very little, while 
 I frequently went out to attend to the fire, and my 
 mind was racked by the most serious apprehensions. 
 Our food was nearly gone, and if relief did not come 
 to us very soon I could see nothing but a slow death 
 before us, and, so far as I could imagine, there was 
 no more reason to expect succor on the following day 
 than there had been on the one just passed. Where 
 were the men to be found who could cut a road to us 
 through those miles of snow-drifts? 
 
 Very little was said during the night by my com 
 panions, but I am sure that they felt the seriousness 
 of our situation, and that their slumbers were broken 
 and unrefreshing. If there had been anything to do, 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshiue would have been cheered 
 up by the prospect of doing it; but we all felt that 
 there was nothing we could do.
 
 PART II 
 
 FTER a second night spent in the 
 
 stage-coach on that lonely and deso 
 late mountain-road where we were 
 now snow-bound, I arose early in 
 the morning and went into the forest 
 to collect some fuel; and while thus 
 engaged I made the discovery that the snow was 
 covered with a hard crnst which would bear my 
 weight. After the storm had ceased the day before, 
 the sun had shone brightly and the temperature had 
 moderated very much, so that the surface of the snow 
 had slightly thawed. During the night it became 
 cold again, and this surface froze into a hard coating 
 of ice. When I found I could walk where I pleased, 
 my spirits rose, and I immediately set out to view the 
 situation. The aspect of the road gave me no en 
 couragement. The snowfall had been a heavy one, 
 but had it not been for the high wind which accom 
 panied it, it would have thrown but moderate diffi 
 culties in the way of our rescue. Reaching a point 
 which commanded a considerable view along the side 
 of the mountain, I could see that in many places the
 
 42 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 road was completely lost to sight on account of the 
 great snow-drifts piled up on it. I then walked to 
 the point where the two roads met, and crossing over, 
 I climbed a slight rise in the ground which had cut 
 off my view in this direction, and found myself in a 
 position from which I could look directly down the 
 side of the mountain below the road. 
 
 Here the mountain-side, which I had supposed to 
 be very steep and rugged, descended in a long and 
 gradual slope to the plains below, and for the greater 
 part of the distance was covered by a smooth, shining 
 surface of frozen snow, unbroken by rock or tree. 
 This snowy slope apparently extended for a mile or 
 more, and then I could see that it gradually blended 
 itself into the greenish-brown turf of the lower coun 
 try. Down there in the valley there still were leaves 
 upon the trees, and there were patches of verdure over 
 the land. The storm which had piled its snows up 
 here had given them rain down there and had fresh 
 ened everything. It was like looking down into 
 another climate, and on another land. I saw a little 
 smoke coming up behind a patch of trees. It must 
 be that there was a house there ! Could it be possible 
 that we were within a mile or two of a human habi 
 tation ? Yet, what comfort was there in that thought ? 
 The people in that house could not get to us nor we 
 to them, nor could they have heard of our situation, 
 for the point where our road reached the lower coun 
 try was miles farther on. 
 
 As I stood thus and gazed, it seemed to me that I 
 could make a run and slide down the mountain-side 
 into green fields, into safety, into life. I remembered
 
 THE DUSANTES. 43 
 
 those savage warriors who, looking from the summits 
 of the Alps upon the fertile plains of Italy, seated 
 themselves upon their shields and slid down to con 
 quest and rich spoils. 
 
 An idea came into my mind, and I gave it glad 
 welcome. There was no time to be lost. The sun 
 was not yet high, but it was mounting in a clear sky, 
 and should its rays become warm enough to melt 
 the crust on which I stood, our last chance of es 
 cape would be gone. To plow our way to any place, 
 through deep, soft snow, would be impossible. I hur 
 ried back to our coach, and found three very grave 
 women standing around the fire. They were look 
 ing at a small quantity of food at the bottom of a 
 large basket. 
 
 " That s every crumb there is left," said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine to me, " and when we pass in some to them un 
 fortunates on the other side of the drift, which, of 
 course, we re bound to do, we 11 have what I call a 
 skimpy meal. And that s not the worst of it. Until 
 somebody gets up to us, it will be our last meal." 
 
 I took my poor Ruth by the hand, for she was 
 looking very pale and troubled, and I said : " My 
 dear friends, nobody can get up to this place for a 
 long, long time ; and before help could possibly reach 
 us we should all be dead. But do not be frightened. 
 It is not necessary to wait for any one to come to 
 us. The snow is now covered with a crust which will 
 bear our weight. I have thought of a way in which 
 we can slide down the mountain-side, which, from a 
 spot where I have been standing this morning, is no 
 steeper than some coasting-hills, though very much
 
 44 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 longer. In a few minutes we can pass from this re 
 gion of snow, where death from cold and starvation 
 must soon overtake us, to a grassy valley where there 
 is no snow, and where we shall be within walking 
 distance of a house in which people are living." 
 
 Ruth grasped my arm. " Will it be safe ? " she ex 
 claimed. 
 
 " I think so," I answered. " I see no reason why 
 we should meet with any accident. At any rate, it is 
 much safer than remaining here for another hour; 
 for if the crust melts, our last chance is gone." 
 
 " Mr. Craig," said Mrs. Leeks, " me and Mrs. Ale- 
 shine is no hands at coastin down-hill, havin given 
 up that sort of thing since we was little girls with 
 short frocks and it did n t make no matter anyway. 
 But you know more about these things than we do ; 
 and if you say we can get out of this dreadful place 
 by slidin dow r n-hill, we re ready to follow, if you 11 
 just go ahead. We followed you through the ocean 
 with nothin between our feet and the bottom but 
 miles o water and nobody knows what sorts of dread 
 ful fish, and when you say it s the right way to save 
 our lives, we re ready to follow you again. And as 
 for you, Mrs. Ruth, don t you be frightened. I don t 
 know what we re goin to slide on, but, whatever it 
 is, even if it s our own selves, me and Mrs. Ale- 
 shine will take you between us, and if anything is 
 run against, we 11 get the bumps, and not you." 
 
 I was delighted to see how rapidly my proposition 
 was accepted, and we made a hasty breakfast, first 
 sending in some of our food to the other party. The 
 gentleman reported through the hole of communica-
 
 THE DUSANTES. 45 
 
 tion that they were all fairly well, but a good deal 
 stiffened by cold and want of exercise. He inquired, 
 in a very anxious voice, if I had discovered any signs 
 of approaching relief. To this I replied that I had 
 devised a plan by which we could get ourselves out of 
 our present dangerous situation, and that in a very 
 short time I would come round to the door of his 
 shed for I could now walk on the crusted snow 
 and tell him about it. He answered that these words 
 cheered his heart, and that he w r ould do everything 
 possible to cooperate with me. 
 
 I now went to work vigorously. I took the cush 
 ions from the coach, four of them altogether, and 
 carried them to the brink of the slope down which 
 I purposed to make our descent. I also conveyed 
 thither a long coil of rawhide rope which I had pre 
 viously discovered in the boot of the coach. I then 
 hurried along the other road, which, as has been said 
 before, lay at a somewhat lower level than the one 
 we were on, and when I reached the shed I found the 
 door had been opened, and the gentleman, with his 
 tin pan, had scooped away a good deal of the snow 
 about it, so as to admit of a moderately easy passage 
 in and out. He met me outside, and grasped my 
 hand. 
 
 "Sir, if you have a plan to propose," he said, " state 
 it quickly. We are in a position of great danger. 
 Those two ladies inside the shed cannot much longer 
 endure this exposure, and I presume that the ladies in 
 your party although their voices, which I occasion 
 ally hear, do not seem to indicate it must be in a 
 like condition."
 
 46 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 I replied that, so far, my companions had borne up 
 very well, and without further waste of words pro 
 ceeded to unfold my plan of escape. 
 
 When he had heard it the gentleman put on a very 
 serious expression. "It seems hazardous," he said, 
 "but it may be the only way out of our danger. "Will 
 you show me the point from which you took your 
 observations!" 
 
 " Yes," said I, " but we must be in haste. The sun 
 is getting up in the sky, and this crust may soon 
 begin to melt. It is not yet really winter, you know." 
 
 We stepped quickly to the spot where I had carried 
 the cushions. The gentleman stood and silently gazed 
 first at the blocked-up roadway, then at the long, 
 smooth slope of the mountain-side directly beneath 
 us, and then at the verdure of the plain, below, which 
 had grown greener under the increasing brightness of 
 day. " Sir," said he, turning to me, " there is nothing 
 to be done but to adopt your plan, or to remain here 
 and die. We will accompany you in the descent, and 
 I place myself under your orders." 
 
 " The first thing," said I, " is to bring here your car 
 riage cushions, and help me to arrange them." 
 
 When he had brought the three cushions from the 
 shed, the gentleman and I proceeded to place them 
 with the others on the snow, so that the whole formed 
 a sort of wide and nearly square mattress. Then, 
 with a rawhide rope, we bound them together in a 
 rough but secure network of cordage. In this part 
 of the work I found my companion very apt and 
 skilful. 
 
 When this rude mattress was completed, I requested
 
 THE DUSANTES. 47 
 
 the gentleman to bring his ladies to the place, while I 
 went for mine. 
 
 "What are we to pack up to take with us?" said 
 Mrs. Aleshine, when I reached our coach. 
 
 " We take nothing at all," said I, " but the mone}- 
 in our pockets and our rugs and wraps. Everything 
 else must be left in the coach, to be brought down to 
 us when the roads shall be cleared out." 
 
 With our rugs and shawls on our arms, we left the 
 coach, and as we were crossing the other road we 
 saw the gentleman and his companions approaching. 
 These ladies were very much wrapped up, but one of 
 them seemed to step along lightly and without diffi 
 culty, while the other moved slowly and was at times 
 assisted by the gentleman. 
 
 A breeze had sprung up which filled the air with 
 fine frozen particles blown from the uncrusted beds 
 of snow along the edge of the forest, and I counseled 
 Kuth to cover up her mouth and breathe as little of 
 this snow powder as possible. 
 
 If I in to go coastiu at all," said Mrs. Aleshine, 
 " I d as lief do it with strangers as friends ; and a 
 little liefer, for that matter, if there s any bones to be 
 broken. But I must say that I d like to make the 
 acquaintance of them ladies afore I git on to the sled, 
 which," at that moment catching sight of the mat 
 tress, "you don t mean to say that that s it?" 
 
 " Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks from under 
 neath her great woolen- comforter, " if you want to 
 get your lungs friz, you d better go 011 talkin . Man 
 ners is manners, but they can wait till we get to the 
 bottom of the hill."
 
 48 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 Notwithstanding this admonition, I noticed that as 
 soon as the two parties met, both Mrs. Leeks and 
 Mrs. Aleshine advanced and shook hands with the 
 ladies who had been their neighbors under such 
 peculiar circumstances, and that Mrs. Leeks herself 
 expressed a muffled hope that they might all get 
 down safely. 
 
 I now pushed the mattress which was to serve as 
 our sled as close as was prudent to the edge of the 
 descent, and requested the party to seat themselves 
 upon it. Without hesitation Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine sat down, taking Ruth between them, as they 
 had promised to do. My young wife was very nervous, 
 but the cool demeanor of her companions, and my 
 evident belief in the practicability of the plan, gave 
 her courage, and she quietly took her seat. The 
 younger of the two strange ladies stepped lightly on 
 the cushions, and before seating herself stood up for 
 a good look at the far-extending bed of snow over 
 which we were to take our way. The prospect did 
 not appear to deter her, and she sat down promptly 
 and with an air that seemed to say that she antici 
 pated a certain enjoyment from the adventure. The 
 elder lady, however, exhibited very different emotions. 
 She shrank back from the cushions toward which the 
 gentleman was conducting her, and turned her face 
 away from the declivity. Her companion assured her 
 that it was absolutely necessary that we should de 
 scend from the mountain in this way, for there was 
 no other; and asserting his belief that our slide would 
 be a perfectly safe one, he gently drew her to the mat 
 tress and induced her to sit down.
 
 THE DUSANTES. 49 
 
 I now, for the first time, noticed that the gentleman 
 carried under one arm, and covered by his long cloak, 
 a large package of some sort, and I immediately said 
 to him: "It will be very imprudent for us to attempt 
 to carry any of our property except what we can put 
 in our pockets or wrap around us. Everything else 
 should be left here, either in your carriage or our 
 coach, and I have no fear that anything will be lost. 
 But even if our luggage were in danger of being mo 
 lested, we cannot afford to consider it under circum 
 stances such as these." 
 
 "My dear sir," said the gentleman, speaking very 
 gravely, " I appreciate the hazards of our position as 
 keenly as yourself. Our valises, and all the light lug 
 gage which we had with us in our carriage, I have left 
 there, and shall not give them another thought. But 
 with the parcel I hold under this arm I cannot part, 
 and if I go down the mountain-side on these cushions, 
 it must go with me. If you refuse in such a case to 
 allow me to be one of your party, I must remain be 
 hind, and endeavor to find a board or something on 
 which I can make the descent of the mountain." 
 
 He spoke courteously, but with an air of decision 
 which showed me that it would be of no use to argue 
 with him. Besides, there was no time for parleying ; 
 and if this gentleman chose to take his chances with 
 but one arm at liberty, it was no longer my affair. 
 I therefore desired him to sit down, and I arranged 
 the company so that they sat back to back, their feet 
 drawn up to the edge of the mattress. I then took 
 the place which had been reserved for me as steers 
 man, and having tied several shawls together, end to
 
 50 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 end, I passed them around the whole of us under our 
 arms, thus binding us all firmly together. I felt that 
 one of our greatest dangers would be that one or more 
 of the party might slip from the mattress during the 
 descent. 
 
 When all was ready I asked the gentleman, who, 
 with the elder lady, sat near me, at the back of the 
 mattress, to assist in giving us a start by pushing 
 outward with his heels while I thrust the handle of 
 my wooden shovel into the crust and thus pushed 
 the mattress forward. The starting was a little dif 
 ficult, but in a minute or two we had pushed the mat 
 tress partly over the brink, and then, after a few more 
 efforts, we began to slide downward. 
 
 The motion, at first slow, suddenly became quite 
 rapid, and I heard behind me a cry or exclamation, 
 from whom I knew not, but I felt quite sure it did not 
 come from any of our party. I hoped to be able to 
 make some use of my shovel in the guidance of our 
 unwieldy raft or mattress-sled, but I soon found this 
 impossible, and down we went over the smooth, hard- 
 frozen slope, with nothing to direct our course but 
 the varying undulations of the mountain-side. Every 
 moment we seemed to go faster and faster, and soon 
 we began to revolve, so that sometimes I was in front 
 and sometimes behind. Once, when passing over a 
 very smooth sheet of snow, we fairly spun around, so 
 that in every direction feet were flying out from a 
 common center and heels grating on the frozen crust. 
 But there were no more cries or exclamations. Each 
 one of us grasped the cordage which held the cushions 
 together, and the rapidity of the motion forced us 
 almost to hold our breath.
 
 THE DUSANTES. 51 
 
 Down the smooth, white slope we sped, as a bird 
 skims through the air. It seemed to me as if we 
 passed over miles and miles of snow. Sometimes my 
 face was turned down the mountain where the snow- 
 surface seemed to stretch out inimitably, and then it 
 was turned upward toward the apparently illimitable 
 slopes over which we had passed. 
 
 Presently, my position now being in front of the 
 little group that glanced along its glittering way, I 
 saw at some distance below me a long rise or terrace 
 which ran along the mountain-side for a considerable 
 distance, and which cut off our view of everything be 
 low us. As we approached this hillock the descent 
 became much more gradual and our progress slower, 
 and at last I began to fear that our acquired velocity 
 would not be sufficient to carry us up the side of this 
 elevation, and so enable us to continue our descent. 
 I therefore called to everybody in the rear to kick 
 out vigorously, and with my shovel I endeavored to 
 assist our progress. As we approached the summit 
 of the elevation, we moved slower and slower. I be 
 came very anxious, for, should we slide backward, 
 we might find it difficult or impossible to get our 
 selves and the mattress up this little hill. But the 
 gentleman and myself worked valiantly, and as for 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, they kicked their heels 
 through the frozen crust with such energy that we 
 moved sidewise almost as much as upward. But 
 in a moment the anxious suspense was over, and we 
 rested on the ridge of the long hillock, with the 
 mountain-side stretching down to the plain, which 
 lay not very far below us. 
 
 I should have been glad to remain here a few min-
 
 52 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 utes to regain breath, and to give some considera 
 tion to the rest of our descent, but some of those 
 behind continued to push the mattress slid over 
 the edge of the terrace, and down again we went. 
 Our progress now was not so rapid, but it was very 
 much more unpleasant. The snow was thinner; there 
 was little or no crust upon it, and we very soon reached 
 a wide extent of exposed turf, over which we slid, but 
 not without a good deal of bumping against stones 
 and protuberances. Then there was another sheet 
 of snow, which quickened our downward impetus; 
 and, after that, the snow was seen only in occasional 
 patches, and our progress continued over a long slope 
 of short, partly dried grass, which was very slippery, 
 and over which we passed with considerable quickness. 
 I wished now to bring our uncouth sled to a stop, 
 and to endeavor to make the rest of the descent on 
 foot. But although I stuck out my heels and tried 
 to thrust the handle of my shovel into the ground, it 
 was of no use. On we went, and the inequalities of 
 the surface gave an irregularity of motion which was 
 uncomfortable and alarming. We turned to this side 
 and that, we bounced and bumped, and the rawhide 
 ropes, which must have been greatly frayed and cut 
 by the snow-crust, now gave way in several places, 
 and I knew that the mattress would soon separate 
 into its original cushions, if indeed they still could be 
 called cushions. Fearing increased danger should we 
 now continue bound together in a bunch, I jerked 
 apart the shawl-knot under my arms, and the next 
 moment, it seemed to me, there was a general disso 
 lution of our connection with each other. Fortunately,
 
 THE DUSANTES. 53 
 
 we were now near the bottom of the slope, for while 
 some of us stuck fast to the cushions, others rolled 
 over, or slid, independent of any projection; while I, 
 being thrown forward on my feet, actually ran down 
 hill! I had just succeeded in stopping myself, when 
 down upon me came the rest of the company, all 
 prostrate in some position or other. 
 
 And now from an unwieldy mass of shawls came 
 a cry: 
 
 "O Albert Dusante! Where are you? Lucille! 
 Lucille ! " 
 
 Instantly sprang to one foot good Mrs. Aleshine, 
 her other foot being entangled in a mass of shawls 
 which dragged behind her. Her bonnet was split 
 open and mashed down over her eyes. In her left 
 hand she waved a piece of yellow flannel, which in 
 her last mad descent she had torn from some part of 
 the person of Mrs. Leeks, and in the other a bunch of 
 stout dead weeds, which she had seized and pulled up 
 by the roots as she had passed them. Her dress was 
 ripped open down her rotund back, and the earth from 
 the weed roots had bespattered her face. From the 
 midst of this dilapidation her round eyes sparkled 
 with excitement. Hopping on one foot, the shawls 
 and a part of a cushion dragging behind her, she 
 shouted : 
 
 "The Dusantes ! They are the Dusantes! " 
 
 Then pitching forward on her knees before the two 
 strange ladies, who had now tumbled into each other s 
 arms, she cried : 
 
 " Oh, which is Emily, and which is Lucille 1 " 
 
 I had rushed toward Ruth, who had clung to a cush-
 
 54 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 ion, and was now sitting upon it, when Mrs. Leeks, 
 who was close beside her, arose to her feet and stood 
 upright. One foot was thrust through her own bon 
 net, and her clothes gave evidence of the frenzy and 
 power of Mrs. Aleshine s grasp, but her mien was 
 dignified and her aspect stately. 
 
 " Barb ry Aleshine ! " she exclaimed, " if them Du- 
 santes has dropped down from heaven at your very 
 feet, can t you give 7 em a minute to feel their ribs and 
 see if their legs and arms is broken?" 
 
 The younger lady now turned her head toward Mrs. 
 Aleshine. " I am Lucille," she said. 
 
 In a moment the good woman s arms were around 
 her neck. " I always liked you the best of the two," she 
 whispered into the ear of the astonished young lady. 
 
 Having found that Ruth was unhurt, I ran to the 
 assistance of the others. The gentleman had just 
 arisen from a cushion, upon which, lying flat on his 
 back, he had slid over the grass, still holding under 
 one arm the package from which he had refused to 
 part. I helped him to raise the elder lady to her feet. 
 She had been a good deal shaken, and much fright 
 ened, but although a little bruised, she had received 
 no important injury. 
 
 I went to fill a leather pocket-cup from a brook 
 near by, and when I returned I found the gentleman 
 standing, confronted by Mrs. Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, 
 and Ruth, while his own companions were regarding 
 the group with eager interest. 
 
 "Yes," he was saying, "my name is Dusante, but 
 why do you ask at this moment ? Why do you show 
 such excited concern on the subject?"
 
 THE DUSANTES. 55 
 
 "Why?" exclaimed Mrs. Leeks. "I will tell you 
 why, sir. My name is Mrs. Leeks, and this is Mrs. 
 Aleshiue, and if you are the Mr. Dusaute with the 
 house on the desert island, this is the Mrs. Craig who 
 was married in that very house, and the gentleman 
 here with the water is Mr. Craig, who wrote you the 
 letter, which I hope you got. And if that is n t reason 
 enough for our wanting to know if you are Mr. Du- 
 sante. I d like to be told what more there could be ! " 
 
 " It s them ! Of course it s them ! " cried Mrs. Ale- 
 shine. " I had a feelin while we were scootin down 
 hill that they was near and dear to us, though exactly 
 why and how, I did n t know. And she s told me 
 she s Lucille, and of course the other must be Emily, 
 though what relations - 
 
 "Am I to understand," interrupted the gentleman, 
 looking with earnest animation from one to the other 
 of us, " that these are the good people who inhabited 
 my house on the island ? " 
 
 " The very ones ! " cried Mrs. Aleshine. "And what 
 relation are you to Emily ? and Lucille to her ? " 
 
 The gentleman stepped backward and laid down the 
 package which he had held under his arm, and ad 
 vancing toward me with outstretched hands, and with 
 tears starting to his eyes, .he exclaimed : 
 
 "And this man then, to whom I owe so much, is 
 Mr. Craig ! " 
 
 "Owe me!" I said. "It is to you that we owe our 
 very lives, and our escape from death in mid-ocean." 
 
 "Do not speak of it," he said, shaking his head with 
 a sorrowful expression on his face. "You owe me 
 nothing. I would to Heaven it were not so ! But we
 
 56 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 will not talk of that now. And this is Mrs. Craig," 
 he continued, taking Ruth by the hand, "the fair 
 lady whose nuptials were celebrated in my house. 
 And Mrs. Leeks, and Mrs. Aleshine." As he spoke he 
 shook hands with each. " How I have longed to meet 
 you! I have thought of you every day since I returned 
 to my island, and discovered that you had been I 
 wish I could say my guests. And where is the rev 
 erend gentleman "? And the three mariners ? I hope 
 that nothing has befallen them ! " 
 
 "Alas ! =-for three of them at least," ejaculated Mrs. 
 Aleshine ; " they have left us, but they are all right. 
 And now, sir, if you could tell us what relation you 
 are to Emily, and what Lucille " 
 
 " Barb ry ! " cried Mrs. Leeks, making a dash toward 
 her friend, " can t you give the man a minute to 
 breathe ? Don t you see he s so dumflustered that he 
 hardly knows who he is himself ! If them two women 
 was to sink down dead with "hunger and hard slidin 
 right afore your very eyes while you was askin what 
 relation they was to each other and to him, it would 
 no more n serve you right ! We d better be seein if 
 anythin s the matter with em, and what we can do 
 for em." 
 
 At this moment the younger of Mr. Dusante s ladies 
 quickly stepped forward. " O Mrs. Craig, Mrs. Leeks, 
 and Mrs. Aleshine!" she exclaimed, "I m just dying 
 to know all about you ! " 
 
 "And which, contrariwise," cried Mrs. Aleshine, "is 
 the same with us, exactly." 
 
 "And of all places in the world," continued the 
 young lady, " that we should meet here ! "
 
 THE DUSANTES. 57 
 
 No one could have been more desirous than I was 
 to know all about these Dusantes, and to discuss the 
 strange manner of our meeting, but I saw that Ruth 
 was looking very pale and faint, and that the elder 
 Dusante lady had sat down again upon the ground, 
 as though obliged to do so by sheer exhaustion, and 
 I therefore hailed with a double delight the interrup 
 tion of further explanations by the appearance of two 
 men on horseback who came galloping toward us. 
 
 They belonged to the house which I had noticed 
 from the road above, and one of them had seen our 
 swift descent down the mountain-side. At first he had 
 thought the black object he saw sliding over the snow 
 slopes was a rock or mass of underbrush, but his keen 
 eye soon told him that it was a group of human 
 beings, and summoning a companion, he had set out 
 for the foot of the mountain as soon as horses could 
 be caught and saddled. 
 
 The men were much surprised when they heard the 
 details of our adventure, but as it was quite plain that 
 some members of our party needed immediate nourish 
 ment and attention, the questions and explanations 
 were made very short. The men dismounted from 
 their horses, and the elder Dusante lady was placed 
 upon one of them, one man leading the animal and the 
 other supporting the lady. Ruth mounted the other 
 horse, and I walked by her to assist her in keeping her 
 seat, but she held fast to the high pommel of the 
 saddle and got on very well. Mr. Dusante took his 
 younger companion on one arm, and his package 
 under the other, while Mrs. Leeks, having relieved 
 her foot from the encircling bonnet, and Mrs. Ale- 
 11
 
 58 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 shine, now free from the entangling shawls, followed 
 in the rear. The men offered to come back with the 
 horses for them if they would wait; but the two wo 
 men declared that they were quite able to walk, and 
 intended to do no waiting, and they trudged vigor 
 ously after us. The sun was now high, and the air 
 down here was quite different from that of the moun 
 tain-side, being pleasant and almost warm. The men 
 said that the snows above would probably soon melt, 
 as it was much too early in the season for snow to lie 
 long on these lower sides of the mountains. 
 
 Our way lay over an almost level plain for about a 
 mile. A portion of it was somewhat rough, so that 
 when we reached the low house to which we were 
 bound, we were all very glad indeed to get there. The 
 house belonged to the two men, who owned a small 
 ranch here. One of them was married, and his wife 
 immediately set herself to work to attend to our needs. 
 Her home was small, its rooms few, and her larder 
 very plain in quality; but everything she had was 
 placed at our disposal. Her own bed was given to the 
 elder Dusante lady, who took immediate possession of 
 it; and after a quickly prepared but plentiful meal 
 of fried pork, corn-bread, and coffee, the rest of us 
 stretched ourselves out to rest wherever we could find 
 a place. Before lying down, however, I had, at Ruth s 
 earnest solicitation, engaged one of the men to ride to 
 the railroad-station to inquire about Mr. Enderton, 
 and to inform him of our safety. By taking a route 
 which ran parallel with the mountain-chain, but at 
 some distance from it, the station, the man said, could 
 be reached without encountering snow.
 
 THE DUSANTES. 59 
 
 None of us had had proper rest during the past two 
 nights, and we slept soundly until dark, when we were 
 aroused to partake of supper. All of us, except the 
 elder Dusante lady, who preferred to remain in bed, 
 gathered around the table. After supper a large fire, 
 principally of brushwood, was built upon the hearth; 
 and with the bright blaze, two candles, and a lamp, 
 the low room appeared light and cheery. We drew up 
 about the fire for the night was cool on whatever 
 chairs, stools, or boxes we could find, and no sooner had 
 we all seated ourselves than Mrs. Aleshine exclaimed : 
 
 " Now, Mr. Dusante, it ain t in the power of mortal 
 man, nor woman neither, an if put the other way it 
 might be stronger, to wait any longer before know- 
 in what relation Lucille is to Emily, an you to them, 
 an all about that house of yours on the island. If I d 
 blown up into bits this day through holdin in my 
 wantiii to know, I should n t have wondered ! An it 
 it had n t been for hard sleep, I don t believe I could 
 have held in nohow ! " 
 
 " That s my mind exactly," said Mrs. Leeks; and 
 though I know there s a time for all things, and don t 
 believe in crowdin questions on played-out people, I 
 do think, Mr. Dusante, that if I could have caught up 
 with you when we was comin over here, I d have 
 asked you to speak out on these p ints. But you re 
 a long-legged walker, which Mrs. Aleshine is not, and 
 it would n t have done to leave her behind." 
 
 "Which she would n t a been," said Mrs. Aleshine, 
 " long legs or short." 
 
 Kuth and I added our entreaties that Mr. Dusante 
 should tell his story, and the good ranchman and his
 
 60 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 wife said that if there was anything to be done in the 
 story-telling line they were in for it, strong ; and quit 
 ting their work of clearing away supper things, they 
 brought an old hair trunk from another room and sat 
 down just behind Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 The younger Dusaute lady, who, having been di 
 vested of her wraps, her veil, and the woolen shawl 
 that had been tied over her head, had proved to be a 
 very pretty girl with black eyes, here declared that it 
 had been her intention at the first opportunity to get 
 us to tell our story, but as we had asked first, she sup 
 posed we ought to be satisfied first. 
 
 " I do not wish, my good friends," said Mr. Dusante, 
 u to delay for a moment longer than necessary your 
 very pardonable curiosity concerning me and my fam 
 ily ; and I must say at the same time that, although 
 your letter, sir, gave me a very clear account of your 
 visit to my island, there are many things which natu 
 rally could not be contained within the limits of a 
 letter, and about which I am most anxious to make 
 inquiries. But these I will reserve until my own nar 
 ration is finished. 
 
 " My name is Albert Dusante. It may interest you 
 to know that my father was a Frenchman and my 
 mother an American lady from New England. I was 
 born in France, but have lived very little in that coun 
 try, and for a great part of my life have been a mer 
 chant in Honolulu. For the past few years, however, 
 I have been enabled to free myself in a great degree 
 from the trammels of business, and to devote myself 
 to the pursuits of a man of leisure. I have never 
 married, and this young lady is my sister."
 
 THE DUSANTES. 61 
 
 "Then what relation/ 7 began Mrs. Aleshine, "is she 
 to ?" 
 
 At this moment the hand of Mrs. Leeks, falling 
 heavily into the lap of the speaker, stopped this ques 
 tion, and Mr. Dusante proceeded : 
 
 " Our parents died when Lucille was an infant, and 
 we have no near blood relations." 
 
 At this, the faces of both Mrs. Aleshine and Mrs. 
 Leeks assumed expressions as if they had each just 
 received a letter superscribed in an unknown hand, 
 and were wondering who it could possibly be from. 
 
 "The lady who is now resting in the adjoining 
 room," continued Mr. Dusante, "is a dear friend who 
 has been adopted by me as a mother. 7 
 
 " Upon my word ! 77 burst from Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine, in as much unison of time and tone as if the 
 words had been a response in a church service, while 
 Miss Lucille leaned back against the wall near which 
 she sat, and laughed gleefully. Mr. Dusante, however, 
 continued his statements with the same quiet gravity 
 with which he had begun. 
 
 " This lady was a dear friend of my mother, although 
 younger than she. T adopted her as a mother to my 
 little orphan sister, and, consequently, placed her in 
 the same maternal relation to myself, doing this with 
 much earnest satisfaction, for I hoped to be able to 
 return, as a son, something of the tender care and 
 affection which she would bestow on Lucille as a 
 daughter. 77 
 
 " And she is Emily ? 77 cried Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 "She adopted our name, 77 answered the speaker, 
 " and she is Mrs. Emily Dusante."
 
 62 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 "And she is your adopted mother?" said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine. 
 
 " Adopted mother ! " ejaculated Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 " Yes," answered Mr. Dusante. 
 
 " And that is the only relation she is to you two ? " 
 said Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 " And you to her?" added Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 " Most assuredly," answered Mr. Dusante. 
 
 Here Mrs. Leeks leaned back in her chair, folded 
 her hands in her lap, and ejaculated, " Well, well ! " 
 and then allowed her face to assume a rigid inten 
 tion of having nothing more to say at the present 
 moment. 
 
 " One thing is certain," remarked Mrs. Aleshine, 
 in a tone which indicated that she did not care who 
 heard her, " I always liked Lucille the best ! " 
 
 At this Ruth and I exchanged smiles with Miss Lu 
 cille, and Mr. Dusante proceeded : 
 
 " I do not wish to occupy too much of your time 
 with our personal affairs, and will therefore state that 
 the island on which you found refuge, and where I 
 wish, most heartily, I had been present to act as host, 
 was bought by me as a retreat from the annoyances 
 of business and the exactions of society. I built there 
 a good house " 
 
 " "Which it truly was," said Mrs. Aleshine, " with 
 fixtures in it for water, and letting it off, which I 
 never saw in a house so far out of town." 
 
 " I furnished it suitably," said Mr. Dusante. " We 
 had books and music, and for several years we passed 
 vacations there which were both enjoyable and profit 
 able. But of late my sister has found the place lonely,
 
 THE DUSANTES. 63 
 
 and we have traveled a good deal, making intermit 
 tent and often short visits to the island. 
 
 "As I never cared to leave any one on that lonely 
 spot during our absences from it, I arranged a gate 
 way of bars across the only opening in the reef, with 
 the intention of preventing marauding visits from 
 fishing-boats or other small craft which might be 
 passing that way. As the island was out of the or 
 dinary track of vessels, I did not imagine that my 
 bars would ever prove an obstacle to unfortunate 
 castaways who might seek a refuge there." 
 
 "Which they did n t," remarked Mrs. Aleshine, 
 "for under we bobbed." 
 
 " I never exactly understood," said Mr. Dusante, 
 " and I hope to have it explained to me in due time, 
 how you passed my bars without removing them, and 
 I have had a sore weight upon my conscience since I 
 discovered that shipwrecked persons, fleeing to my 
 house from the perils of the sea, should have found 
 those inhospitable bars in their way " 
 
 " Which is a weight you might as well cast off and 
 be done with it," said Mrs. Leeks, her deep-set notions 
 on the rights of property obliging her to speak; "for 
 if a man has n t a right to lock up his house w r hen he 
 goes away and leaves it, I don t know what rights 
 anybody has about anything. Me, or Mrs. Aleshine, 
 or anybody else here who has a house, might just as 
 well go off travelin or to town visitin and leave our 
 front door unlocked and the yard gate swing-in on its 
 hinges, because we was afraid that some tramp or 
 other body with no house or home might come along 
 and not be able to get in and make himself comfort-
 
 64 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 able. Your business, sir, when you left that house 
 and all your belongiu s on that island, was to leave 
 everything tight and safe, and the business of people 
 sailin in ships was to go on their proper way and not 
 be rimuiu into each other. And if these last men 
 tioned did n t see fit to do that and so got into trouble, 
 they should have gone to some island where there 
 were people to attend to em, just as the tramps should 
 go to the poorhouse. And this is what we would have 
 done not meanin the poorhouse if we had n t been 
 so over long-headed as to get into a leaky boat, which, 
 I wish it understood, is sayin nothin against Mr. 
 Craig." 
 
 " That s true," said Mrs. Aleshine, " for nobody has 
 got a right to complain that a fellow-bem locks his 
 own door after him. But it does seem to me, sir, that 
 in such scattered neighborhoods as your island is in, 
 it might be a good thing to leave something to eat an 
 drink perhaps in a bottle or in a tin pail at the 
 outside of your bars for them as might come along 
 shipwrecked an not be able to get inside on account 
 of bein obliged to come in a boat, an not as we did ; 
 an so when they found they d have to go on, they 
 might have somethin to keep up their strength till 
 they got to another house." 
 
 "Now, Barb ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Leeks, "when 
 you start off on a journey to Japan or any other place 
 an leave mince-pies and buttered toast a-stickiu on 
 the p ints of your palin s for tramps that might come 
 along and need em, you can do that kind of talkin . 
 But as that time has n t come, let s hear the rest of 
 Mr. Dusante s story."
 
 THE DUSANTES. 65 
 
 "When I first visited my island this year," contin 
 ued the narrator, " we made but a short stay, as we 
 were all desirous of taking a somewhat extended sea- 
 voyage in my steam-yacht. We visited several places 
 of interest, and when we returned, just six weeks 
 ago to-day " 
 
 "Just one week, lackin a day," exclaimed Mrs. Leeks, 
 " after we left that spot !" 
 
 "If I d a knowed," said Mrs. Aleshine, rising to 
 her feet, " that you d be back so soon, I d a made 
 them sailormen live on fish, I d a eat garden truck 
 myself, and I d be bound I d a made the flour hold 
 out for six days more for the rest of em, if I d a had 
 to work my fingers to the skin and bone to do it ! " 
 Then she sat down solemnly. 
 
 "When we returned," continued Mr. Dusante, "I 
 was pleased to find my bars intact; and when these 
 were unlocked, and the boat from our yacht went 
 through with ourselves and our servants, it was very 
 agreeable to notice the good order which seemed to 
 prevail everywhere. As we passed from the wharf to 
 the house, not even fallen boughs or weeds were seen 
 to indicate that we had been away from the place for 
 more than two months. When we entered the house, 
 my mother and sister immediately ascended to their 
 chambers, and when the windows had been opened I 
 heard them from above calling to each other and 
 remarking upon the freshness and cleanliness of the 
 rooms. I went to my library, and when I had thrown 
 open the window I was struck with the somewhat 
 peculiar air of order which seemed to obtain in the 
 room. The books stood upon their shelves with a re-
 
 66 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 markable regularity, and the chairs and other furni 
 ture were arranged with a precision which impressed 
 me as unusual. In a moment, sir, I saw your letter 
 upon the table addressed to me. Greatly astonished, 
 I opened and read it. 
 
 " When I had finished it, my amazement was great 
 indeed ; but obeying an instant impulse, I stepped 
 into the dining-room, which a servant had opened, and 
 took the ginger-jar from the mantelpiece. When I 
 lifted from it the little brown-paper parcel, and be 
 neath it saw the money which had been mentioned in 
 the letter, you may imagine the condition of my mind. 
 I did not take out the money, nor count it ; but cover 
 ing it again with the paper parcel, which I believed 
 contained fish-hooks, and with the jar in my hands, I 
 returned to the library, where I sat down to ponder 
 upon these most astounding revelations. While so 
 doing, my mother and sister hastily entered the room. 
 Lucille declared in an excited manner that she believed 
 that the brownies or some other fairies had been there 
 while we were away and had kept the house in order. 
 The whole place was actually cleaner, she said, than 
 when we left it. She had taken down a thin dress 
 from her closet, and it positively looked as if it had 
 just come from the hand of a laundress, with the 
 ruffles ironed smoother and more evenly than they had 
 ever been since it was first stitched together. Albert, 
 said my mother, her face pale, there has been some 
 body in this house ! Then she went on to say that 
 the windows, which were left unwashed because we 
 went away in somewhat of a hurry, were as bright 
 and clean as if the maids had just been rubbing them ;
 
 THE DUSANTES. 67 
 
 the floors and furniture were cleaner and freer from 
 dust than they had ever been before ; and the whole 
 house looked as if we had just left it yesterday. In 
 fact/ she said, it is unnaturally clean ! " : 
 
 During this part of Mr. Dusante s story, Mrs. Leeks 
 and Mrs. Aleshiue sat very quiet, with an air of sedate 
 humility upon their faces; but I could see by the 
 proud light in their eyes that they felt their superi 
 ority to ordinary women, although they were properly 
 resolved not to show such feeling. 
 
 "At that moment," continued Mr. Dusante, "a ser 
 vant came hurrying into the room, and informed us 
 that the flour was all gone, and that there was scarcely 
 anything in the pantries to eat. At this my mother 
 and my sister, who knew that an abundance of pro 
 visions had been left in the house, looked at each 
 other aghast. But before they could express their 
 consternation in words, I addressed them. My dear 
 mother/ said I, and Lucille, there truly has been some 
 one in this house. By this letter I am informed that 
 for several weeks eight persons have lived here under 
 this roof; a marriage has been solemnized, and the 
 happy couple have gone forth from our doors. These 
 persons have eaten our food, they have made use of 
 our property, and this has been their temporary home. 
 But they are good people, honest and true-hearted, for 
 they have left the house in better order than they 
 found it, and more than the price of all they have 
 consumed is in that ginger -jar. And, thereupon, I 
 read them your letter, sir. 
 
 "I cannot undertake to describe the wonder and 
 absorbing interest with which this letter filled our
 
 68 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 minds. All needful stores were brought ashore from 
 the yacht, which lay outside the reef, and we began 
 our usual life on the island ; but none of the occupa 
 tions or recreations in which we formerly employed 
 our time now possessed any attractions for us. Our 
 minds were filled with thoughts of the persons who 
 had been so strangely living in our house ; and our 
 conversation was mainly made up of surmises as to 
 what sort of people they were, whether or not we 
 should ever see them, and similar suppositions." 
 
 " Yes, indeed ! " exclaimed Miss Lucille, I thought 
 of you by day and by night, and pictured you all 
 in various ways, but never as you really are. Some 
 times I used to think that the boat in which you went 
 away had been sunk in a storm in which you were all 
 drowned, and that perhaps your ghosts would come 
 back and live in our house, and sleep in our beds, and 
 clean our windows, and wash and iron our clothes, and 
 do all sorts of things in the night." 
 
 " Goodnessful, gracious me ! " cried Mrs. Aleshine, 
 " don t talk that way ! The idea of bein a cold ghost, 
 goin about in the dark, is worse than slidin down a 
 snow-mountain, even if you had to do it on the bare 
 of your back." 
 
 " Barb ry ! " said Mrs. Leeks, severely. 
 
 " The idea is jus as chillin ," replied her undaunted 
 friend. 
 
 " Two things connected with this matter," continued 
 Mr. Dusante, " weighed heavily on my mind. One of 
 these I have already mentioned the cruel inhospi- 
 tality of the barred entrance." 
 
 I had refrained from adding to the interruptions
 
 THE DUSANTES. 69 
 
 to Mr. Dusante s narrative, but I now felt impelled to 
 assure the gentleman, on behalf of myself and wife, 
 that we shared the opinions of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. 
 Aleshine, and felt that he could in no way be blamed 
 for thus protecting his private property. 
 
 "You are very good," said Mr. Dusante, u but I will 
 say here that there are now no bars to that entrance. 
 I have left some people on the island, who will take 
 care of my property and succor any unfortunate cast 
 aways w r ho may arrive there. The other matter to 
 which I alluded was, however, the heavier load which 
 oppressed me. This was the money in the ginger-jar. 
 I could not endure to reflect that I had been paid ac 
 tual money for the hospitality I would have been so 
 glad to offer to you poor shipwrecked people. Every 
 sentiment of my being rebelled against such a thing. 
 I was grieved. I was ashamed. At last I determined 
 I would bear no longer the ignominy of this brand 
 of inhospitality, and that, with the ginger-jar in my 
 hand, I would search over the world, if necessary, 
 for the persons who in my absence had paid board 
 to me, and return to them the jar with its contents 
 uncounted and untouched. Your letter informed me 
 of the island to which you were bound, and if I did 
 not find you there I could discover to what port you 
 had taken your departure. There I could make 
 further inquiries, and so follow you. When I pro 
 posed this plan to my family they agreed to it in 
 stantly, for their interest in the matter was almost 
 as great as mine; and in a day or two we started on 
 our quest. 
 
 " I easily traced you to San Francisco, and found
 
 70 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 the hotel at which you had stopped. Here I obtained 
 fresh news of you, and learned that you had started 
 East, and that the destination of the party was believed 
 to be Philadelphia, I had hoped that I should meet 
 with you before you left California; but supposing 
 that by that time you had reached your destination, 
 or were, at least, far on your way, I yielded to the so 
 licitations of my sister and made some excursions in 
 California, intending then to follow you to Philadel 
 phia and there to advertise for Mr. Craig, if he could 
 not otherwise be found. However, by the rarest and 
 most fortunate of chances, we have met thus early, 
 and for this I can never be too devoutly thankful." 
 
 " Nor we," said I earnestly ; " for our greatly de 
 sired acquaintance with you and your family could 
 not have begun too soon." 
 
 "Now," said Mr. Dusante, "I will perform the duty 
 for which my journey was undertaken, and I assure 
 you it is a great pleasure to me to be able, so soon, to 
 carry out this cherished purpose." 
 
 He then took up from the floor by his side the pack 
 age which he had so safely guarded during his swift 
 and perilous descent of the mountain-side, and which 
 he had since kept close by him. Placing this upon 
 his knee, he removed the light shawl in which it had 
 been rolled, and then several pieces of wrapping-paper, 
 revealing to our eyes the familiar fat little ginger-jar 
 which had stood on the mantelpiece of the dining- 
 room in the house on the island, and in which we had 
 deposited our board-money. 
 
 " It would be simply impossible for me," said Mr. 
 Dusante, " to consent to retain in my possession
 
 THE DUSANTES. 71 
 
 money paid for the aid which I involuntarily ren 
 dered to shipwrecked people. Had I been present 
 on the island, that aid would have been most heartily 
 and freely given, and the fact of my absence makes 
 no difference whatever in regard to my feelings on 
 the subject of your paying for the food and shelter 
 you found at my house. Having understood from 
 Mr. Craig s letter that it was Mrs. Leeks who super 
 intended the collection and depositing of the money, 
 I now return to you, madam, this jar with its cot- 
 tents." 
 
 "And which," said Mrs. Leeks, sitting up very 
 rigidly, with her hands clasped behind her, u I don t 
 take. If it had been a day and a night, or even two 
 nights and over a Sunday, it would n t have mattered ; 
 but when me and Mrs. Aleshine and the rest of the 
 party can speak for themselves stays for weeks and 
 weeks, without leave or license, in a man s house, we 
 pay our board of course, deductin services. Good 
 night." 
 
 With that she arose, and walked, very erect, into the 
 adjoining room. 
 
 " It was all very well, Mr. Dusante," said Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, " for you to try to carry out what you thought 
 was right, but we have our ideas as to what our duty 
 is, an you have your ideas as to what your duty is, 
 an consciences is even." 
 
 And she followed her friend. 
 
 Mr. Dusante looked surprised and troubled, and he 
 turned toward me. u My dear sir," said I, "those two 
 good women are very sensitive in regard to right and 
 justice, and I think it will be well not to press this
 
 72 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 subject upon them. As for my wife and I, neither of 
 us would consent to touch money which was placed in 
 that jar by Mrs. Leeks with the expectation that no 
 one but you or one of your family would take it out. 
 " Very well, sir," said Mr. Dusante, replacing the 
 wrapping-paper around the jar; "I will drop the 
 subject for the present. But you will allow me to 
 say, sir, that I also am very sensitive in regard to 
 right and justice." 
 
 1 Early the next morning the man who had been 
 sent to the railroad-station came back, bringing news 
 that a four-hors<? wagon wouW shortly be sent for us, 
 and also bearing a letter from Mr. Enderton to Ruth. 
 In this that gentleman informed his daughter that he 
 was quite well, but that he had suffered anxiety on 
 account of her probable hardships in the abandoned 
 stage-coach. He had hoped, however, that the snow 
 which had precluded his return with assistance had 
 fallen lightly in the elevated position in which she 
 had been left ; and he had trusted also that Mr. Craig 
 had bethought himself to build a fire somewhere near 
 the coach, where his daughter might be warmed ; and 
 that the provisions, of which he knew an ample quan 
 tity had been packed for the trip, had been properly 
 heated for her and given to her at suitable intervals. 
 This anxiety, he said, had added very much to his own 
 mental disquietude occasioned by the violent vitu 
 perations and unjust demands of the driver of the 
 stage-coach, who had seen fit to attack him with all 
 manner of abuse, and might even have resorted to 
 personal violence had it not been for the interference 
 of bystanders and the locking of his room door. He
 
 THE DUSANTES. 73 
 
 was now, however, much relieved by the departure of 
 this driver, and by the news that his daughter had 
 reached a place of safety, which, of course, he had 
 supposed she would do, her detention having occurred 
 on an ordinary route of travel. 
 
 While waiting for the arrival of the wagon, the ad 
 ventures of Mrs. Leeks, Mrs. Aleshine, and myself, as 
 well as those of Ruth and her father, from the time 
 the one party left America and the other China, were 
 related at length to the Dusaiites, who showed a deep 
 interest in every detail and asked many questions. 
 
 Mrs. Dusante, whose nervous equilibrium had been 
 fully restored by her night s rest, and who, although 
 feeling a little stiff and bruised, now declared herself 
 quite well, proved to be a very pleasant lady of fifty- 
 five or thereabouts. She was of a quiet disposition, but 
 her speech and manner showed that in former years, 
 at least, she had been a woman of society, and I soon 
 found out that she was much interested in the study 
 of character. This interest was principally shown in 
 the direction of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, whom 
 she evidently looked upon as most remarkable women. 
 If any of her sentiments were those of admiration, 
 however, they were not returned in kind : Mrs. Leeks 
 and Mrs. Aleshine had but a small opinion of her. 
 
 " There s mother-in-laws, and stepmothers, and real 
 mothers, and grandmothers, and sometimes great- 
 grandmothers livin ," said Mrs. Leeks to me apart; 
 " but though Mr. Dusante may be a well-meanin man 
 and I don t doubt he is and wishin , I have n t 
 the least reason to disbelieve, to do his whole duty 
 by his fellow-men, still I must say, bein brought up 
 12
 
 74 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 as I was, he has n t any right to make a new kind of 
 mother. To be sure, a man can adopt children, but 
 that is n t goin backward, like this is, which is agin 
 nat ral law and gospel." 
 
 I expect," said Mrs. Aleshine, who was with us, 
 "that them French has got fashions that we don t 
 know about, and thankful we ought to be that we 
 don t! I never had no patience with French heels an 
 French arsenic-green beans, an now if there ? s to be 
 adoptin of mothers in this country, the next thing 
 will be gullotynes." 
 
 "I don t see," said I, "why you look upon the Du- 
 sautes as French people. They are just as much 
 American as French." 
 
 "Well," said Mrs. Leeks, "it s not for me and Mrs. 
 Aleshine to set ourselves up to judge other people. 
 In our part of the country we don t adopt mothers, 
 but if they do it in France, or the Sandwich Islands, 
 or down East, I don t know that we ought to have 
 anythin to say." 
 
 "He might as well have adopted a father at the 
 same time," said Mrs. Aleshine, " although, to be sure, 
 he would a had to been particular to take one that 
 was acquainted with Mrs. Dusante, and not had em 
 strangers to each other, though parents to him." 
 
 "If I was you, Barb ry Aleshine/ said Mrs. Leeks, 
 "I d adopt some sort of rag to the top of my head to 
 serve for a bonnet, for here comes the wagon, and I 
 suppose now we 11 be off." 
 
 We took leave of the kind-hearted ranch people, who 
 looked upon us as a godsend into their lonely life, and 
 disposed ourselves as comfortably as we could in the
 
 THE DUSANTES. 75 
 
 large wagon. Our journey of seven or eight miles to 
 the railroad-station was slow, and over ways that were 
 rough. Mrs. Dusante was a delicate woman and not 
 used to hardship, whereas Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Ale- 
 shine were exceedingly vigorous and tough. The 
 consequence of this difference was that the kindly 
 hearts of the latter prompted them to do everything 
 they could to prevent Mrs. Dusante feeling the bumps 
 and jolts, and to give her such advantages of wraps 
 and position as would help her to bear better the 
 fatigues of the journey. 
 
 In doing this these good women gradually forgot 
 the adopted mother and came to think only of the 
 very pleasant lady who needed their attentions, and 
 who took such a lively and agreeable interest in their 
 family histories, their homes, their manner of living, 
 and everything that pertained to them; and before 
 we reached the end of our trip, these three were talk 
 ing together like old friends. Ruth and Miss Lucille 
 had also struck up a warm acquaintance, while I found 
 Mr. Dusante a very entertaining man, of sedate and 
 careful speech, ingenious ideas, and of a very courte 
 ous disposition. 
 
 "When we arrived at the railroad-station we were 
 met by Mr. Enderton, who showed a moderate degree 
 of pleasure at seeing us and an immoderate amount 
 of annoyance, exhibited principally to me, in being 
 obliged to give up to the women of our party the large 
 room he had occupied in the only lodging-house in the 
 little settlement. 
 
 When I informed him that the strangers with us 
 were the Dusautes, on whose island we had been stay-
 
 76 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 ing, he at first listened vaguely. He had always looked 
 upon the Dusante family as a sort of fable used by 
 Mrs. Leeks to countenance her exactions of money 
 from the unfortunate sojourners on the island. But 
 when I told him what Mr. Dusante had done, and re 
 lated how he had brought the board-money with him, 
 and had offered to pay it back to us, an eager interest 
 was aroused in him. 
 
 "I do not wonder/ he exclaimed, "that the con 
 science-stricken man wishes to give the money back, 
 but that any one should refuse what actually belongs 
 to him or her is beyond my comprehension ! One 
 thing is certain I shall receive my portion. Fifteen 
 dollars a week for my daughter and myself that wo 
 man charged me, and I will have it back." 
 
 " My dear sir/ I said. " your board was reduced to 
 the same sum as that paid by the rest of us, four 
 dollars a week each." 
 
 " I call to mind no reduction," said Mr. Enderton. 
 " I remember distinctly the exorbitant sum charged 
 me for board on a desert island. It made a deep im 
 pression upon me." 
 
 " I do not care to talk any further on this subject/ 
 I said. " You must settle it with Mrs. Leeks." 
 
 Mr. Enderton gave a great sniff, and walked away 
 with dignity. I could not but laugh as I imagined 
 his condition two minutes after he had stated his 
 opinions on this subject to Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 When Mr. Dusante had started from San Francisco 
 on his search for us, he had sent his heavy baggage 
 ahead of him to Ogden City, where he purposed to 
 make his first stop. He supposed that we might pos-
 
 THE DUSANTES. 77 
 
 sibly here diverge from our homeward-bound route 
 in order to visit the Mormon metropolis ; and, if we 
 had done so, he did not wish to pass us. It was there 
 fore now agreed that we should all go to Ogden 
 City, and there await the arrival of our effects left in 
 the snowed-up vehicles on the mountain-side. We 
 made arrangements with the station-master that these 
 should be forwarded to us as soon as the stage-coach 
 and the carriage could be brought down. All the 
 baggage of my party was on the coach, and it con 
 sisted only of a few valises bought in San Francisco 
 and a package containing two life-preservers, which 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine said they would take 
 home with them, if they took nothing else. 
 
 On the morning after our arrival at Ogden City, 
 Mr. Dusante took me aside. " Sir," he said, " I wish 
 to confide to you my intentions regarding the jar 
 containing the money left by your party in my house, 
 and I trust you will do nothing to thwart them. 
 When your baggage arrives, you, with your party, 
 will doubtless continue your eastern way, and we 
 shall return to San Francisco. But the jar, with its 
 contents, shall be left behind to be delivered to Mrs. 
 Leeks. If you will take charge of the jar and hand 
 it to her, sir, I shall be obliged greatly." 
 
 I promised Mr. Dusante that I would not interfere 
 with his intentions, but asserted that I could, on 110 
 account, take charge of the jar. The possession of 
 that piece of pottery, with its contents, was now a 
 matter of dispute between him and Mrs. Leeks, and 
 must be settled by them. 
 
 "Very well, then, sir," he said. "I shall arrange
 
 78 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 to depart before you and your company, and I shall 
 leave the jar, suitably packed, in the care of the clerk 
 of this hotel, with directions to hand it to Mrs. Leeks 
 after I am gone. Thus there will be nothing for her 
 to do but to receive it." 
 
 Some one now came into the smoking-room, where 
 we were sitting, and no more was said on this sub 
 ject. Mr. Dusante s statement of his intention very 
 much amused me, for Mrs. Leeks had previously 
 taken me into her confidence in regard to her inten 
 tions in this matter. " Mr. Dusante," she had said, 
 " has n t dropped a word more about the money in that 
 ginger-jar, but I know just as well as he does what 
 he s goin to do about it. When the time comes to 
 go, he s goin to slip off quietly, leavin that jar be 
 hind him, thinkin then I 11 be obliged to take it, 
 there bein nobody to give it back to. But he 11 find 
 me just as sharp as he is. I ve got the street and 
 number of his business place in Honolulu from his 
 sister, askin about it in an offhand way, as if it 
 did n t mean anything an if that jar is left for me, 
 I 11 pack it in a box, money and all, and I 11 express 
 it to Mr. Dusante ; and when he gets to Honolulu 
 he 11 find it there, and then he 11 know that two can 
 play at that sort of game." 
 
 Knowing Mr. Dusante, and knowing Mrs. Leeks, 
 I pictured to myself a box containing a ginger- 
 jar, and covered with numerous half -obliterated ad 
 dresses, traveling backward and forward between the 
 Sandwich Islands and Pennsylvania during the life 
 time of the contestants, and, probably, if testamen 
 tary desire should be regarded, during a great part of
 
 THE DUSANTES. 79 
 
 the lifetime of their heirs. That the wear and tear 
 of the box might make it necessary to inclose it in a 
 keg, and that, eventually, the keg might have to be 
 placed in a barrel, and that, after a time, in a hogs 
 head, seemed to me as likely as any other contingen 
 cies which might befall this peregrinating ginger-jar. 
 
 We spent three days in Ogden City, and then, the 
 weather having moderated very much, and the snow 
 on the mountains having melted sufficiently to allow 
 the vehicles to be brought down, our effects were for 
 warded to us, and my party and that of Mr. Dusante 
 prepared to proceed on our different ways. An east 
 ward-bound train left that evening an hour after we 
 received our baggage, but we did not care to depart 
 upon such short notice, and so determined to remain 
 until the next day. 
 
 In the evening Mr. Dusante came to me to say that 
 he was very glad to find that the westward train would 
 leave Ogden City early in the morning, so that he and 
 his family would start on their journey some hours be 
 fore we should leave. " This suits my plans exactly, 
 he said. " I have left the ginger-jar, securely wrapped, 
 and addressed to Mrs. Leeks, with the clerk of the 
 hotel, who will deliver it to-morrow immediately after 
 my departure. All our preparations are made, and we 
 purpose this evening to bid farewell to you and our 
 other kind friends, from whom, I assure you, we are 
 most deeply grieved to part." 
 
 I had just replied that we also regretted extremely 
 the necessity for this separation, when a boy brought 
 me a letter. I opened it, and found it was from Mr. 
 Enderton. It read as follows :
 
 80 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I have determined not to wait here until to-mor 
 row, but to proceed eastward by this evening s train. I desire 
 to spend a day in Chicago, and as you and the others will prob 
 ably not wish to stop there, I shall, by this means, attain my 
 object without detaining you. My sudden resolution will not 
 give me time to see you all before I start, but I have taken a 
 hurried leave of my daughter, and this letter will explain my 
 departure to the rest. 
 
 I will also mention that I have thought it proper, as the 
 natural head of our party, both by age and position, to settle the 
 amicable dispute in regard to the reception and disposition of 
 the money paid, under an excusable misapprehension, for our 
 board and lodging upon a desert island. I discovered that the 
 receptacle of this money had been left in the custody of the 
 clerk, addressed to Mrs. Leeks, who has not only already refused 
 to receive it, and would probably do so again, but who is, in my 
 opinion, in no wise entitled to hold, possess, or dispose of it. 
 I, therefore, without making any disturbance whatever, have 
 taken charge of the package, and shall convey it with me to 
 Chicago. When you arrive there, I will apportion the contents 
 among us according to our several claims. This I regard as a 
 very sensible and prudent solution of the little difficulty which 
 has confronted us in regard to the disposition of this money. 
 Yours hurriedly. DAVID J. ENDERTOX. 
 
 P. S. I shall stop at Brandiger s Hotel, where I shall await you.
 
 PART III 
 
 B. ENDERTON S letter astonished 
 and angered me, but in spite of my 
 indignation, I could not help smil 
 ing at the unexpected way in which 
 he had put a stop to the probable 
 perpetual peregrinations of the gin 
 ger-jar. I handed the letter to Mr. Dusante, and when 
 he had read it his face flushed, and I could see that he 
 was very angry, although he kept his temper under 
 excellent control. 
 
 " Sir," he said presently, " this shall not be allowed. 
 That jar, with its contents, is my property until Mrs. 
 Leeks has consented to receive it. It is of my own 
 option that I return it at all, and I have decided to re 
 turn it to Mrs. Leeks. Any one interfering with my 
 intentions steps entirely beyond the line of just and 
 warrantable procedure. Sir, I shall not go westward 
 to-morrow morning, but, with my family, will accom 
 pany you to Chicago, where I shall require Mr. En- 
 derton to return to me my property, which I shall 
 then dispose of as I see fit. You must excuse me, 
 sir, if anything I have said regarding this gentle- 
 si
 
 82 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 man with whom you are connected has wounded your 
 sensibilities." 
 
 "Oh, don t think of that," I exclaimed. "Pitch into 
 Enderton as much as you please, and you may be sure 
 that I shall not object. When I took the daughter to 
 wife, I did not marry the father. But, of course, for 
 my wife s sake I hope this matter will not be made the 
 subject of public comment." 
 
 "You need have no fear of that," said Mr. Dusante; 
 "and you will allow me to remark that Mr. Enderton s 
 wife must have been a most charming lady." 
 
 "Why do you think so?" I asked. 
 
 "I judge so," he answered, with a bow, "from my 
 acquaintance with Mrs. Craig." 
 
 I now went immediately to Ruth, who, I found, 
 knew nothing of what had occurred, except that her 
 father had gone on to Chicago in advance of our party, 
 and had had time only to bid her a hasty good-by. I 
 made no remarks on this haste which would not allow 
 Mr. Enderton to take leave of us, but which gave him 
 time to write a letter of some length; and as Ruth 
 knew nothing of this letter, I determined not to men 
 tion it to her. Her father s sudden departure sur 
 prised her but little, for she told me that he always 
 liked to get to places before the rest of the party with 
 whom he might be journeying. " Even when we go 
 to church," she said, "he always walks ahead of the 
 rest of us. I don t understand why he likes to do so, 
 but this is one of his habits." 
 
 When I informed Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine of 
 what had happened, they fairly blazed. 
 
 "I don t know what Mr. Dusante calls it," exclaimed 
 Mrs. Leeks, "but I know what I call it."
 
 THE DUSANTES. 83 
 
 "Yes, indeed!" cried Mrs. Aleshine, her round eyes 
 sparkling with excitement; "if that is n t ex-honesty, 
 then he ain t no ex-missionary ! I pity the heathen 
 he converted ! " 
 
 "I 11 convert him," said Mrs. Leeks, "if ever I lay 
 eyes on him ! Walkin away with a package with my 
 name on it ! He might as well take my gold specta 
 cles or my tortoise-shell comb ! I suppose there s no 
 such thing as ketchin up with him, but I 11 telegraph 
 after him ; an I 11 let him know that if he dares to 
 open a package of mine, I 11 put the law on him ! " 
 
 " That s so," said Mrs. Aleshine. " You kin send 
 telegraphs all along the line to one station an another 
 for conductors to give to him in the cars, an directed 
 to Mr. Enderton, a tall man with gray-mixed hair an 
 a stolen bundle. That s the way they did in our 
 place when Abram Marly s wife fell into the cistern, 
 an he d jus took the cars to the city, an they tele 
 graphed to him at five different stations to know 
 where he d left the ladder." 
 
 " Which ain t a bad idea," said Mrs. Leeks, "though 
 his name will be enough on it without no description ; 
 an I 11 do that this minute, an find out about the 
 stations from the clerk." 
 
 " You must be very careful," I said, " about anything 
 of that kind, for the telegrams will be read at the sta 
 tions, and Mr. Enderton might be brought into trouble 
 in a way which we all should regret; but a despatch 
 may be worded so that he, and no one else, would 
 understand it." 
 
 " Very well," said Mrs. Leeks, " an let s get at it ; 
 but I must say that he don t deserve bein saved no 
 trouble, for I m as sure as that I m a livin woman
 
 84 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 that he never saved nobody else no trouble sence the 
 first minute he was born." 
 
 The following despatch was concocted and sent on 
 to Bridger, to be delivered to Mr. Enderton on the 
 train : 
 
 The package you know of has been stolen. You will recognize 
 the thief. If he leaves it at Chicago hotel, let him go. If he 
 opens it, clap him in jail. MRS. LECKS. 
 
 " I think that will make him keep his fingers off it," 
 said Mrs. Leeks; " an if Mr. Dusaute chooses to send 
 somethin of the same kind to some other station, it 
 won t do no harm. An if that Endertou gets so skeered 
 that he keeps out of sight and hearin of all of us, it 11 
 be the best thing that s happened yet. An I want 
 you to understan , Mr. Craig, that nothin s goin to 
 be said or done to make your wife feel bad ; an there s 
 no need of her hearin about what s been done or 
 what s goin 7 to be done. But I 11 say for her, that 
 though, of course, Mr. Enderton is her father aud she 
 looks up to him as such, she s a mighty deal livelier 
 and gayer-hearted when he s away than when he s 
 with her. An as for the rest of us, there s no use 
 sayin anythin about our resignedness to the loss of 
 his company." 
 
 " I should say so," said Mrs. Aleshine ; " for if there 
 ever was a man who thought of himself ninety-nine 
 times before he thought of anybody else once, an then 
 as like as not to forgit that once, he s the man. An 
 it s not, by no means, that I m down on missionaries, 
 for it s many a box I Ve made up for em, an never 
 begrudged neither money nor trouble, an will do it
 
 THE DUSANTES. 85 
 
 ag*m many times, I hope. But he ought n t to be 
 called one, havin given it up, unless they gave him 
 up, which there s no knowin which it was, for if 
 there s any thin which shows the good in a man it s 
 his bein willin to give up the comforts of a Christian 
 land an go an convert heathens ; though bein willin 
 to give up the heathens an go for the comforts shows 
 him quite different, besides, as like as not, chargin 
 double, an only half convertinV 
 
 Mr. Dusante was fully determined to go on with us 
 until he had recovered possession of the ginger-jar. 
 His courteous feelings toward Mrs. Craig and myself 
 prevented his saying much about Mr. Enderton, but 
 I had good reason to believe that his opinions in re 
 gard to my father-in-law were not very different from 
 those of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. Ever since 
 Mr. Enderton had shown his petulant selfishness, when 
 obliged to give up his room at the railroad-station for 
 the use of the women of his party, Mr. Dusante had 
 looked upon him coldly, and the two had had but little 
 to say to each other. 
 
 We were all very glad that our pleasant party was 
 not to be broken up; and although there was no res 
 ignation at the absence of the ginger-jar, we started 
 on our journey the next day in a pleasanter mood for 
 the absence of Mr. Enderton. Before we left, Mr. Du 
 sante sent a telegram to Kearney Junction, to be de 
 livered to Mr. Enderton when he arrived there. What 
 this message was I do not know, but I imagine its tone 
 was decided. 
 
 Our journey to Chicago was a pleasant one. We 
 had now all become very well acquainted with each
 
 86 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 other, and there was no discordant element in the 
 combined party. Some of us were a little apprehen 
 sive of trouble, or annoyance at least, awaiting us in 
 Chicago, but we did not speak of it; and while Ruth 
 knew nothing of her father s misbehavior, it might 
 have been supposed that the rest had forgotten it. 
 
 At Chicago we went at once to Brandiger s Hotel, 
 and there we found, instead of Mr. Enderton, a letter 
 from him to Ruth. It read as follows: 
 
 MY DEAR DAUGHTER : I have determined not to wait here, as 
 originally intended, but to go on by myself. I am sorry not to 
 meet you here, but it will not be long before we are together 
 again, and you know I do not like to travel with a party. Its 
 various members always incommode me in one way or another. 
 I had proposed to go to Philadelphia and wait for you there, but 
 have since concluded to stop at Meadowville, a village in the 
 interior of Pennsylvania, where, as they have informed me, the 
 two women, Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, reside. I wish to 
 see the party all together before I take final leave of them, and 
 I suppose the two women will not consent to go any farther 
 than the country town in which they live. Inclosed is a note to 
 your husband relating to business matters. I hope that he will 
 take the best of care of you during the rest of the journey, and 
 thus very much oblige YOUR AFFECTIONATE FATHER. 
 
 This was my note : 
 
 MR. CRAIG. SIR : I should have supposed that you would have 
 been able to prevent the insolent messages which have been 
 telegraphed to me from some members of your party, but it 
 is my lot to be disappointed in those in whom I trust. I shall 
 make no answer to these messages, but will say to you that I am 
 not to be browbeaten in my intention to divide among its right 
 ful claimants the money now in my possession. It is not that I 
 care for the comparatively paltry sum that will fall to myself 
 and my daughter, but it is the principle of the matter for which
 
 THE DUSANTES. 87 
 
 I am contending. It was due to me that the amount should have 
 been returned to me, and to no other, for me to make the proper 
 division. I therefore rest upon my principles and my rights; 
 and, desiring to avoid needless altercations, shall proceed to 
 Meadowville, where, when the rest of my party arrive, I shall 
 justly apportion the money. I suppose the man Dusante will 
 not be foolish enough to protract his useless journey farther than 
 Chicago. It is your duty to make him see the impropriety of so 
 doing. Yours, etc., 
 
 D. J. ENDERTON. 
 
 Ruth s letter was shown to all the party, and mine 
 in private to Mr. Dusaiite, Mrs. Leeks, and Mrs. Ale- 
 shine. When the first moments of astonishment were 
 over, Mrs. Leeks exelaimed: 
 
 "Well, after all, I don t know that I m so very sorry 
 that the old sneak has done this, for now we re rid 
 of him for the rest of the trip ; and I m pretty certain, 
 from the way he writes, that he has n t dipped into 
 that jar yet. We ve skeered him from doin that." 
 
 "But the impidence of him!" said Mrs. Aleshine. 
 "Think of his goin to the very town where we live 
 an gittin there fust! He 11 be settiii on that tavern 
 porch with every loafer in the place about him, an 
 tellin em the whole story of what happened to us 
 from begiunin to end, till by the time we git there 
 it 11 be all over the place an as stale as last week s 
 bread." 
 
 " The man Dusante, " quietly remarked that indi 
 vidual, " will not abandon the purpose of his journey. 
 He left his island to place in the hands of Mrs. Leeks, 
 011 behalf of her party, the ginger-jar with the money 
 inclosed. He will therefore go on with you to Mea 
 dowville, and will there make formal demand, and, if
 
 88 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 necessary, legal requisition, for the possession of that 
 jar and that money ; after which he will proceed to 
 carry out his original intentions." 
 
 We all expressed our pleasure at having him, with 
 his ladies, as companions for the remainder of our 
 journey, and Mrs. Leeks immediately offered them the 
 hospitalities of her house for as long a time as they 
 might wish to stay with her. 
 
 "The weather there," she said, "is often splendid 
 till past Thanksgivin Day, an nobody could be wel- 
 comer than you." 
 
 " I d have asked you myself," said Mrs. Aleshine, 
 " if Mrs. Leeks had n t done it, which of course she 
 would, bein alive, but I m goin to have Mr. Craig 
 an his wife, an as our houses is near, we 11 see each 
 other all the time. An if Mr. Eaderton chooses to stay 
 awhile at the tavern, he can come over to see his 
 daughter whenever he likes. I 11 go as fur as that, 
 though no further can I go. I m not the one to turn 
 anybody from my door, be he heathen, or jus as bad, 
 or wuss. But tea once, or perhaps twice, is all that I 
 can find it in my heart to offer that man after what 
 he s done." 
 
 As the Dusantes and Ruth expressed a desire to see 
 something of Chicago, where they had never been be 
 fore, we remained in this city for two days, feeling 
 that, as Mr. Enderton would await our coming, there 
 was no necessity for haste. 
 
 Early in the afternoon of the second day I went into 
 the parlor of the hotel, where I expected to find our 
 party prepared for a sight-seeing excursion; but I 
 found the room tenanted only by Mrs. Aleshine, who
 
 THE DUSANTES. 80 
 
 was sitting with her bonnet and wraps on, ready to 
 start forth. I had said but a few words to her when 
 Mrs. Leeks entered, bonnetless and shawlless, and 
 with her knitting in her hand. She took a seat in a 
 large easy-chair, put on her spectacles, and proceeded 
 to knit. 
 
 " Mrs. Leeks ! " exclaimed her friend in surprise, 
 " don t you intend goin out this afternoon ? " 
 
 " No," said Mrs. Leeks. " 1 ve seen all I want to 
 see, an I m goin to stay in the house an keep quiet." 
 
 " Is n t Mr. Dusante goin out this afternoon? " asked 
 Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 Mrs. Leeks laid her knitting in her lap ; then she 
 took off her spectacles, folded them, and placed them 
 beside the ball of yarn ; and, turning her chair around, 
 she faced her friend. " Barb ry Aleshine," said she, 
 speaking very deliberately, "has any such a thing 
 got into your mind as that I m settin my cap at Mr. 
 Dusante ? " 
 
 " I don t say you have, an I don t say you have n t," 
 answered Mrs. Aleshine, her fat hands folded on her 
 knees, and her round face shining from under her new 
 bonnet with an expression of hearty good will, " but 
 this I will say, an I don t care who hears it, that 
 if you was to set your cap at Mr. Dusante there 
 need n t nobody say any thin agin it, so long as you 
 are content. He is n t what I d choose for you, if 
 I had the choosin , for I d git one with an Ameri 
 can name an no islands. But that s neither here 
 nor there, for you re a grown woman an can do your 
 own choosin . An whether there s any choosin to be 
 done is your own business too, for it s full eleven years 
 13
 
 90 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 sence you ve been done with widder fixin s; an if Mr. 
 Leeks was to rise up out of his grave this minute, he 
 could n t put his hand on his heart an say that you 
 had n t done your full duty by him, both before an 
 after he was laid away. An so, if you did want to do 
 choosin , an made up your mind to set your cap at 
 Mr. Dusante, there s no word to be said. Both of 
 you is ripe-aged an qualified to know your own minds, 
 an both of you is well off enough, to all intents an 
 purposes, to settle down together, if so inclined. An 
 as to his sister, I don t expect she will be on his hands 
 for long. An if you can put up with an adopted 
 mother-in-law, that s your business, not mine; though 
 I allus did say, Mrs. Leeks, that if you d been Pisco- 
 palian, you d been Low Church." 
 
 " Is that all!" said Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 "Yes," replied the other; "it s all I have to say 
 jus now, though more might come to me if I gave 
 my mind to it." 
 
 "Well, then," said Mrs. Leeks, " I Ve somethin to 
 say on this p iut, and I m very glad Mr. Craig is here 
 to hear it. If I had a feelin in the direction of Mr. 
 Dusante that he was a man, though not exactly what 
 I might wish, havin somethin of foreign manners 
 with ties in the Sandwich Islands, which I should n t 
 have had so if I d had the orderin of it, who was still 
 a Christian gentleman, as showed by his acts, not 
 his words, a lovin brother ; an a kind an attentive 
 son by his own adoption ; and who would make me a 
 good husband for the rest of our two lives ; then I d 
 go and I d set my cap at him not bold nor flauntin 
 nor unbecomin to a woman of my age, but just so
 
 THE DUSANTES. 91 
 
 much settin of it at him, that if he had any feelin s 
 in my direction, and thought, although it was rather 
 late in life for him to make a change, that if he was 
 goin to do it he d rather make that change with a 
 woman who had age enough, and experience enough, 
 in downs as well as ups, and in married life as well 
 as single, to make him feel that as he got her so he d 
 always find her ; then I say all he d have to do would 
 be to come to me an say what he thought, an I d say 
 what I thought, an the thing would be settled, an no 
 body in this world need have one word to say, except 
 to wish us joy, an then go along and attend to their 
 own business. 
 
 " But now I say to you, Barb ry Aleshine, an just 
 the same to you, Mr. Craig, that I have n t got no 
 such feelin s in the direction of Mr. Dusante, an I 
 don t intend to set my cap at him, an if he wore such 
 a thing and set it at me, I d say to him, kind though 
 firm, that he could put it straight again as far as I 
 was concerned ; an that if he choose to set it at any 
 other woman, if the nearest an dearest friend I have 
 on earth, I d do what I could to make their married 
 lives as happy as they could be under the circum 
 stances ; and no matter what happened, I would n t 
 say one word, though I might think what I pleased. 
 An now you have it, all straight and plain : if I 
 wanted to set caps, I d set em ; and if I did n t want 
 to set em, I would n t. I don t want to, and I don t." 
 
 And, putting on her spectacles, she resumed her 
 knitting. 
 
 Mrs. Aleshine turned upon her friend a beaming 
 face.
 
 92 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 "Mrs. Leeks/ she said, " your words has lifted a load 
 from off my mind. It would n t ha broke me down, 
 an you would n t never have knowed I carried it ; 
 but it s gone, an I m mighty glad of it. An as for 
 me an iny cap, an when you spoke of nearest and 
 dearest friends, you could n t meant nobody but me, 
 you need n t be afraid. No matter what I was, nor 
 what he was, nor what I thought of him, nor what he 
 thought of me, I could n t never say to my son when 
 he comes to his mother s arms, all the way from 
 Japan : George, here s a Frenchman who I give to 
 you for a father ! 
 
 Here I burst out laughing, but Mrs. Leeks gravely 
 remarked: "Now I hope this business of cap-settin 
 is settled an done with." 
 
 " Which it is," said Mrs. Aleshine, as she rose to 
 meet the rest of our party as they entered the room. 
 
 For several days I could not look upon the dignified 
 and almost courtly Mr. Dusante without laughing in 
 ternally and wondering what he would think if he 
 knew how, without the slightest provocation on his 
 side, a matrimonial connection with him had been 
 discussed by these good women, and how the matter 
 had been finally settled. I think he would have con 
 sidered this the most surprising incident in the whole 
 series of his adventures. 
 
 On our journey from Chicago to the little country 
 town in the interior of Pennsylvania we made a few 
 stops at points of interest for the sake of Ruth and 
 the Dusante ladies, Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine gen 
 erously consenting to these delays, although I knew 
 they felt impatient to reach their homes. They were
 
 THE DUS ANTES. 93 
 
 now on most social terms with Mrs. Dusante, and the 
 three chatted together like old friends. 
 
 " I asked her if we might call her Emily," said Mrs. 
 Aleshiue in confidence to me, "an she said, yes/ an 
 we re goin to do it. I ve all along wanted to, be 
 cause it seemed to come nat ral, considerin we knowed 
 em as Emily and Lucille before we set eyes on em. 
 But as long as I had that load on my mind about 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mr. Dusante, I could n t Emily his 
 adopted mother. My feelin s would n t ha stood 
 it. But now it s all right ; an though Emily is n t 
 the woman I expected her to be, Lucille is the very 
 picter of what I thought she was. And as for Emily, 
 I never knowed a nicer-mannered lady, an more 
 willin to learn from people that s had experience, 
 than she is." 
 
 We arrived at Meadow ville early in the afternoon, 
 and when our party alighted from the train we were 
 surprised not to see Mr. Endertou on the platform of 
 the little station. Instead of him, there stood three 
 persons whose appearance amazed and delighted us. 
 They were the red-bearded coxswain and the two 
 sailor men, all in neat new clothes and with their 
 hands raised in maritime salute. 
 
 There was a cry of joy. Mrs. Aleshine dropped 
 her bag and umbrella, and rushed toward them with 
 outstretched hands. In a moment Mrs. Leeks, Ruth, 
 and myself joined the group, and greeted warmly our 
 nautical companions of the island. 
 
 The Dusante party, when they were made acquainted 
 with the mariners, were almost as much delighted as 
 we were, and Mr. Dusante expressed in cordial words
 
 94 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 his pleasure in meeting the other members of the 
 party to whom his island had given refuge. 
 
 " I am so glad to see you," said Mrs. Aleshine, " that 
 I don t know my bonnet from my shoes! But how, 
 in the name of all that s wonderful, did you get 
 here?" 
 
 " T ain t much of a story," said the coxswain, "an 
 this is just the whole of it. When you left us at 
 Frisco we felt pretty downsome, an the more that 
 way because we could n t find no vessel that we cared 
 to ship on ; an then there come to town the agent of 
 the house that owned our brig, and we was paid off 
 for our last v yage. Then, when we had fitted our 
 selves out with new togs, we began to think different 
 about this shippin on board a merchant vessel, an 
 gettin cussed at an livin on hard-tack an salt prog, 
 an jus as like as not the ship springin a leak an all 
 hands pumpin night an day, an goin to Davy Jones 
 after all. An after talkin this all over, we was struck 
 hard on the weather-bow with a feelin that it was a 
 blamed sight better beggin your pardon, ma am 
 to dig garden-beds in nice soft dirt, an plant peas, an 
 ketch fish, an all that kind of shore work, an eatin 
 them good things you used to cook for us, Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, and dancin hornpipes for ye, and tamin birds 
 when our watch was off. Was n t that so, Jim an Bill ! " 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir ! " said the black-bearded sailor men. 
 
 11 Then says I, Now look here, mates, don t let s 
 go and lark away all this money, but take it an make 
 a land trip to where Mrs. Aleshine lives, which port 
 I had the name of on a piece of paper which you gave 
 me, ma am."
 
 THE DUSANTES. 95 
 
 And here Mrs. Aleshine nodded vigorously, not be 
 ing willing to interrupt this entrancing story. 
 
 " An if she s got another garden, an wants it dug 
 in, an things planted, an fish caught, an any other 
 kind of shore work done, why, we re the men for her ; 
 an we 11 sign the papers for as long a v yage as she 
 likes, and stick by her in fair weather or foul, bein 
 good for day work an night work, an allus ready to 
 fall in when she passes the word. Ain t that so, Jim 
 and Bill!" 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir ! " returned the sailor men with so 
 norous earnestness. 
 
 Upon my word! " cried Mrs. Aleshine, tears of joy 
 running down her cheeks, " them papers shall be 
 signed if I have to work night an day to find some- 
 thin for you -to do. I ve got a man takin keer of 
 my place now ; but many a time have I said to my 
 self that if I had anybody I could trust to do the work 
 right, I d buy them two fields of Squire Ramsey s an 
 go into the onion business. An now you sailor men 
 has come like three sea angels, an if it suits you we ll 
 go into the onion business on sheers." 
 
 " That suits us tiptop, ma am," said the coxswain; 
 " an we 11 plant inyans for ye on the shears, on the 
 stocks, or in the dry-dock. It doirt make no dif rence 
 to us where you have em ; just pass the word." 
 
 " Well, well," said Mrs. Leeks, " I don t know how 
 that s goin to work, but we won t talk about it now. 
 An so you came straight on to this place?" 
 
 "That did we, ma am," said the coxswain. "An 
 when we got here we found the parson, but none of 
 you folks. That took us aback a little at fust, but he
 
 96 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 said he did n t live here, an ? you was comin pretty 
 soon. An so we took lodgin s at the tavern, an for 
 three days we ve been down here to meet every train, 
 expectin you might be on it." 
 
 Our baggage had been put on the platform, the 
 train had moved on, and we had stood engrossed in 
 the coxswain s narrative, but now I thought it neces 
 sary to make a move. There was but one small vehicle 
 to hire at the station. This would hold but two per 
 sons, and in it I placed Mrs. Dusante and Ruth, the first 
 being not accustomed to walking, and the latter very 
 anxious to meet her father. I ordered the man to 
 drive them to the inn, which was about a mile from 
 the station, where we would stay until Mrs. Leeks and 
 Mrs. Aleshine should get their houses properly aired 
 and ready for our reception. 
 
 "Mrs. Craig will be glad to get to the tavern and 
 see her father," said Mrs. Aleshiue. "I expect he for 
 got all about its bein time for the train to come." 
 
 " Bless you, ma am!" exclaimed the coxswain, "is 
 she gone to the tavern? The parson s not there ! " 
 
 " Where is he, then ? " asked Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 "He s at your house, ma am," replied the coxswain. 
 
 "An what in the name of common sense is he 
 doin at my house!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, her eyes 
 sparkling with amazement and indignation. 
 
 "Well, ma am, for one thing," said the coxswain, 
 "he s had the front door painted." 
 
 "What!" cried Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine in 
 one breath. 
 
 "Yes," continued the coxswain ; "the parson said he 
 hated to see men hangin around doin nothin . An ?
 
 THE DUSANTES. 97 
 
 then he looked about, an said the paint was all wore 
 off the front door, an we might as well go to work an 
 paint that, an he sent Jim to a shop to git the paint 
 an brushes " 
 
 "An have em charged to me ? " cried Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 " Yes, ma am," continued the coxswain. "An Jim 
 an Bill holystoned all the old paint off the door an I 
 painted it, bavin done lots of that sort of thing on 
 shipboard ; an I think it s a pretty good job, ma am 
 red at top and bottom an white in the middle, like 
 a steamer s smoke-stack." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine looked at each other. 
 "An he told you to do that ? " said Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 " Yes, ma am," answered the coxswain. The par 
 son said he never liked to be nowhere without doin 
 what good he could. An there was some other paintin 
 he talked of bavin done, but we ain t got at it yet. I 
 s posed he was actin under your orders, an I hope I 
 have n t done no wrong, ma am." 
 
 "You re not a bit to blame," said Mrs. Aleshine; 
 " but I 11 look into this thing. No fear about that ! 
 An how did he come to go to my house ? An how 
 did he get in, I d like to know ! " 
 
 "All I know about that," said the coxswain, " is what 
 the gal that s livin there told me, which she did along 
 of askin us if we was comin to live there too, an 
 if she should rig up beds for us somewhere in the 
 top-loft, but we told her no, not havin no orders, an 
 payin our own way at the tavern. She said, said she, 
 that the parson come there an lowed he was a friend 
 of Mrs. Aleshine s an travelin with her, an that if 
 she was at home she would n t let him stay at no tav-
 
 98 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 em ; an that knowin her wishes he d come right 
 there, an spected to be took care of till she come. 
 She said she felt oncertain about it, but she tuck him 
 in till she could think it over, an then we come an 
 certified that he was the parson who d been along with 
 Mrs. Aleshine an the rest of us. Arter that she 
 thought it was all right, an , beggin your pardon if 
 we was wrong, so did Jim an Bill an me, ma am." 
 
 " Now, 1 exclaimed Mrs. Aleshiue, " if that is n t 
 exactly like Elizabeth Grooteuheimer ! To think of 
 Elizabeth Grootenheimer thinkin ! The Grooten- 
 heimers always was the dumbest family in the town 
 ship, an Elizabeth Grootenheimer is the dumbest of 
 em all ! I did say to myself when I went away : Xo\v 
 Elizabeth Grootenheimer is so stone dumb that she 11 
 jus stay here an do the little I tell her to do, an has n t 
 sense enough to get into no mischief. An now, look 
 at her ! " 
 
 She waved her hand in the direction of the invisible 
 Elizabeth Grootenheimer. 
 
 Mrs. Leeks had said very little during this startling 
 communication, but her face had assumed a stern and 
 determined expression. Now she spoke. 
 
 " I guess we ve heard about enough, an we d better 
 be steppin along an see what else Mr. Euderton an 
 Elizabeth Grootenheimer is doiiv." 
 
 The homes of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshiue were 
 not far from each other, and were situated about mid 
 way between the station and the village inn, and in 
 the direction of these our party now started. Mrs. 
 Aleshine, contrary to her custom, took the lead, and 
 walked away with strides of unusual length. Mrs.
 
 THE DUSANTES. 99 
 
 Leeks was close behind her, followed by the two Du- 
 santes and myself, while the three mariners, who in 
 sisted upon carrying all the hand-baggage, brought 
 up the rear. We stepped quickly, for we were all 
 much interested in what might happen next; and 
 very soon we reached Mrs. Aleshine s house. It was 
 a good-sized and pleasant-looking dwelling, painted 
 white, with green shutters and with a long covered 
 piazza at the front. Between the road and the house 
 was a neat yard with grass and flower-beds, and from 
 the gate of the picket-fence in front of the yard a 
 brick-paved path led up to the house. 
 
 Our approach had been perceived, for on the piazza, 
 in front of the gayly painted door, stood Mr. Ender- 
 ton, erect and with a bland and benignant smile upon 
 his face. One hand was stretched out as if in wel 
 come, and with the other he gracefully held the ginger- 
 jar, now divested of its wrappings. 
 
 At this sight Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine made 
 a simultaneous dash at the gate, but it was locked. 
 The two women stamped their feet in fury. 
 
 " Put down that jar ! " shouted Mrs. Leeks. 
 
 "Elizabeth Grootenheimer ! Elizabeth Grooten- 
 heimer ! " screamed Mrs. Aleshine. " Come here and 
 open this gate." 
 
 " Break it down ! " said Mrs. Leeks, turning to the 
 sailors. 
 
 " Don t you do it!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, throw 
 ing herself in front of it. " Don t you break my gate ! 
 Elizabeth Grootenheimer ! " 
 
 " My friends," said Mr. Enderton in clear, distinct 
 tones, " be calm. I have the key of that gate in my
 
 100 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 pocket. I locked it because I feared that on your 
 first arrival you would hurry up to the house in a 
 promiscuous way, and give heed to irrelevant matters. 
 I wished to address you in a body and in a position 
 where your attention would not be diverted from me. 
 I hold here, my friends, the receptacle containing the 
 money which, under a misapprehension, was paid for 
 our board while on a desert island. This money I 
 have taken care of, and have carefully guarded for 
 the benefit of us all. Unfortunately objections have 
 arisen to this guardianship, which were forwarded to 
 me by telegraph, but I have not heeded them. If you 
 cannot see for yourselves the propriety of my assump 
 tion of this trust, I will not now undertake to enlighten 
 you. But I hope there is no necessity for this, for, 
 having had time to give the matter your fullest atten 
 tion, I doubt not that you entirely agree with me. I 
 will merely add, for I see you are impatient, that the 
 sum which will fall to the share of each of us is com 
 paratively insignificant, and in itself not worth striv 
 ing for; but what I have done has been for the sake of 
 principle. For the sake of principle I have insisted 
 that this money should be received by its rightful 
 owners; for the sake of principle I assumed the cus 
 tody of it ; and for the sake of principle I shall now 
 empty the contents of this jar which by me has 
 not been examined or touched upon the floor of this 
 piazza, and I shall then proceed to divide said contents 
 into five suitable portions the three mariners, as I 
 understand, having paid no board. The gate can then 
 be opened, and each one can come forward and take 
 the portion which belongs to him or to her. The por-
 
 THE DUSANTES. 101 
 
 tion of my daughter, whom I saw pass here in a car 
 riage, going, doubtless, to the inn, will be taken charge 
 of by myself." 
 
 "You man ! " shrieked Mrs. Leeks, shaking her fist 
 over the fence, " if you as much as lift that paper 
 of fish-hooks from out the top of that ginger-jar, 
 I 11 " 
 
 Here she was interrupted by the loud, clear voice of 
 Mr. Dusante, who called out: "Sir, I require you to 
 put down that jar, which is my property." 
 
 "I 11 let you know," said Mrs. Leeks, "that other 
 people have principles!" 
 
 But what more she said was drowned by the voice 
 of Mrs. Aleshine, who screamed for Elizabeth Grooten- 
 heimer, and who was now so much excited that she 
 was actually trying to break open her own gate. 
 
 I called out to Mr. Enderton not to make trouble 
 by disturbing the contents of the jar; and even Miss 
 Lucille, who was intensely amused at the scene, could 
 be heard joining her voice to the general clamor. 
 
 But the threats and demands of our united party 
 had no effect upon Mr. Enderton. He stood up, serene 
 and bland, fully appreciating the advantage of having 
 the key of the gate s padlock in his pocket and the 
 ginger-jar in his hand. 
 
 "I will now proceed," said he. But at that moment 
 his attention was attracted by the three mariners, who 
 had clambered over the pointed pales of the fence and 
 who now appeared on the piazza, Bill to the right 
 hand of Mr. Enderton, Jim to the left, and the red- 
 bearded coxswain at his back. They all seemed to 
 speak at once, though what they said we could not
 
 102 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 hear, nothing but a few hoarse mutterings coming 
 down to us. 
 
 But in consequence of what Bill said, Mr. Enderton 
 handed him the key of the gate ; and in consequence 
 of what Jim said, Mr. Enderton delivered to him the 
 ginger-jar ; and in consequence of what the coxswain 
 said, he and Mr. Enderton walked off the piazza ; and 
 the two proceeded to a distant corner of the yard, 
 where they stood out of the way, as it were, while the 
 gate was opened. Bill bungled a little, but the pad 
 lock was soon removed, and we all hurried through 
 the gate and up to the piazza, where Jim still stood, 
 the ginger- jar held reverently in his hands. 
 
 The coxswain now left Mr. Enderton, and that gen 
 tleman proceeded to the open gate, through which he 
 passed into the road, and then turned, and in a loud 
 and severe tone addressed Mrs. Aleshine: 
 
 "I leave your inhospitable house and go to join my 
 daughter at the inn, where I request you to send my 
 valise and umbrella as soon as possible." 
 
 Mrs. Aleshine s indignation at this invasion of her 
 home and this trampling on her right to open her own 
 gate had entirely driven away her accustomed geni 
 ality, and in angry tones she cried : 
 
 Jus you stop at that paint-shop when you git to 
 the village, an pay for the paint you had charged to 
 me; an when you ve done that you can send for your 
 things." 
 
 " Come, now, Barb ry," said Mrs. Leeks, " don t let 
 your feelin s run away with you. You ought to be 
 thankful that he s let you off so easy, an that he s 
 gone."
 
 THE DUSANTES. 103 
 
 "I m all that," said Mrs. Aleshine; "an on second 
 thoughts, every whip-stitch of his bag and baggage 
 shall be trundled after him as soon as I kin git it 
 away." 
 
 We all now stood upon the piazza, and Mrs. Ale- 
 shine, in calmer tones, but with her face still flushed 
 from her recent excitement, turned to us and said: 
 "Now, is n t this a pretty comin home? My front 
 gate fastened in my very face; my front door painted 
 red and white; the inside of the house, as like as not, 
 turned upside down by that man jus as much as the 
 outside; an where in the world, I d like to know, is 
 Elizabeth Grootenheimer ? " 
 
 "Now don t you be too hard on her," said Mrs. 
 Leeks, " after havin been away from her so long. I 
 have n t a doubt she s feedin the pigs; and you know 
 very well she never would leave them as long as she 
 felt they needed her. You need n t mind if your house 
 is upset, for none of us is comiii in, havin only in 
 tended to see you to your door, which I must say is a 
 pretty blazin one." 
 
 "And now, Mrs. Leeks, 1 said Mr. Dusante, taking, 
 as he spoke, the ginger-jar from the hand of Jim, 
 "I think this is a suitable opportunity for me to ac 
 complish the object for which my present journey 
 was undertaken, and to return to you the contents of 
 this jar." 
 
 " Which," said Mrs. Leeks, in a very decided tone, 
 " I don t take now no more n I did before." 
 
 Mr. Dusante looked surprised and troubled. After 
 all the dangers and adventures through which that 
 ginger-jar had gone, I believe that he expected Mrs.
 
 104 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 Leeks would at last relent and consent to accept it 
 from him. 
 
 "Now, look here," said Mrs. Aleshine, " don t let us 
 have any more fuss about the ginger-jar, or anythin 
 else. Let s put off talkin about that till we re all 
 settled and fixed. It won t do for you to take the jar 
 to the tavern with you, Mr. Dusante, for like as not 
 Mr. Enderton will git hold of it ag in, an I know Mrs. 
 Leeks won t let it come into her house ; so, if you like, 
 you may jus leave it here for the present, and you 
 may make up your minds nobody 11 touch it while 
 I m about. An about I intend to be." 
 
 This arrangement was gladly agreed upon, and the 
 jar being delivered to Mrs. Aleshine, we took our leave 
 of her. . 
 
 Mrs. Leeks found no difficulty in entering her gate, 
 where she was duly welcomed by a man and his wife 
 she had left in charge, while the Dusantes and my 
 self walked on to the inn, or "Hotel," as its sign im 
 ported, about which the greater part of the little town 
 clustered. The three mariners remained behind to 
 await further orders from Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 By the afternoon of the next day the abodes of those 
 two most energetic and capable housewives, Mrs. 
 Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine, were fully prepared for the 
 reception of their visitors, and the Dusante family 
 were ensconced beneath the roof of the one, while my 
 wife and I w r ere most warmly welcomed at the gaily 
 adorned door of the other. 
 
 Mr. Enderton remained at the inn, where he found 
 very comfortable quarters, an arrangement satisfac 
 tory to all parties.
 
 THE DUSANTES. 105 
 
 In Mrs. Aleshine s dwelling, where, from the very 
 first, Lucille took her position as a most constant visi 
 tor, being equally welcomed by Ruth and the mistress 
 of the house, all was satisfaction and high good humor. 
 The ceaseless activity and cheerful spirits of our hos 
 tess seemed to animate us all. At Mrs. Lecks s home 
 the case was different. There, I could plainly see, 
 there was a certain uneasiness amounting almost to 
 stiffness between Mrs. Leeks and Mr. Dnsante. The 
 latter had not accomplished the purpose for which he 
 had made this long journey; and though, if things had 
 turned out as he wished, he would have been very 
 glad to be the guest of Mrs. Leeks, still, under the 
 present circumstances, the situation did not suit him. 
 Mrs. Leeks, too, possessed an unsettled mind. She 
 did not know when Mr. Dusante would again endeavor 
 to force back upon her the board-money in the ginger- 
 jar, and in this state of uneasy expectancy she was 
 not at her best. 
 
 " He s not satisfied," said she to me, on the morn 
 ing after the Dusantes had come to her ; " he wants 
 to do something or else to go away. I wish that gin 
 ger-jar had dropped into the bottom of the sea while 
 he was bringin it, or else had smashed itself into a 
 thousand bits while he was slidin down the moun 
 tain, and the money had melted itself into the snow. 
 S posin at the end of the week he was to come to me 
 and offer to pay me board for himself and his family, 
 sayin that was no more than I d done to him ! Of 
 course the two cases are not a bit alike; for we went 
 to his house strangers, without leave or license, while 
 he comes to mine as a fi*iend, bein fully invited and 
 14
 
 106 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 pressed. But I don t suppose I could make him see 
 it in that light, and it worries me." 
 
 I was convinced that something ought to be done 
 to end this unpleasant state of affairs, and I took my 
 wife and Miss Lucille into council on the subject. 
 After we had deliberated a little while an idea came 
 to Ruth. 
 
 " In my opinion," said she, " the best thing we can 
 do with that board-money is to give it to those three 
 sailors. They are poor and will be glad to get it ; 
 Mr. Dusante and Mrs. Leeks ought to be fully satis 
 fied, for the one does n t keep it and the other does n t 
 take it back, and I m sure that this plan will please all 
 the rest of us." 
 
 This proposition was agreed to by the council, and 
 I was appointed to go immediately and lay it before 
 the parties interested. 
 
 Mr. Dusante gave his ready consent to this propo 
 sal. " It is not what I intended to do," said he, " but 
 it amounts to almost the same thing. The money 
 is in fact restored to its owners, and they agree to 
 make a certain disposition of it. I am satisfied." 
 
 Mrs. Leeks hesitated a little. " All right," said she. 
 " He takes the money and gives it to who he chooses. 
 I ve nothin to say against it." 
 
 Of course no opposition to the plan was to be ex 
 pected from anybody else, except Mr. Enderton. But 
 when I mentioned it to him I found, to my surprise, 
 that he was not unwilling to agree to it. Half clos 
 ing the book he had been reading, he said : " What 
 I have done was on behalf of principle. I did not be 
 lieve, and do not believe, that upon an entirely de-
 
 THE DUSANTES. 107 
 
 sorted island money should be paid for board. I paid 
 it under protest, and I do not withdraw that protest. 
 According to all the laws of justice and hospitality 
 the man who owned that island should not retain that 
 money, and Mrs. Leeks had no right to insist upon 
 such retention. But if it is proposed to give the sum 
 total to three mariners, who paid no board and to 
 whom the gift is an absolute charity, I am content. 
 To be sure, they interfered with me at a moment 
 when I was about to make a suitable settlement of 
 the matter, but I have no doubt they were told to do 
 so; and I must admit that while they carried out 
 their orders with a certain firmness characteristic of 
 persons accustomed to unreasoning obedience, they 
 treated me with entire respect. If equal respect had 
 been shown to me at the beginning of these disputes, 
 it would have been much better for all concerned." 
 
 And opening his book he recommenced his reading. 
 
 That afternoon all of us, except Mr. Enderton, as 
 sembled on Mrs. Aleshine s piazza to witness the pres 
 entation of the board-money. The three sailors, who 
 had been informed of the nature of the proceedings, 
 stood in line on the second step of the piazza, clad in 
 their best toggery, and with their new tarpaulin hats 
 in their hands. Mrs. Aleshine went into the house 
 and soon reappeared, carrying the ginger-jar, which 
 she presented to Mr. Dusante. That gentleman took 
 it, and stood holding it for a moment as if he were 
 about to speak ; but even if he had intended to say 
 anything he had no further opportunity, for Mrs. 
 Leeks now stepped forward and addressed him. 
 
 " Mr. Dusante," said she, " from what I have seen
 
 108 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 of you myself and heard tell of you from others, I 
 believe you are a man who tries to do his duty, as he 
 sees it, with a single heart and no turnin from one 
 side to the other. You made up your mind that 
 you d travel over the whole world, if it had to be 
 done, with that ginger-jar and the board-money inside 
 of it, till you d found the people who d been livin in 
 your house ; and then that you d give back that jar, 
 jus as you d found it, to the person who took upon 
 herself the overseein of the regular payiu of the 
 money, and the puttin of it therein. With that pur 
 pose in your mind you carried that jar over the ocean ; 
 you wandered with it up and down California; and 
 holdin it tight fast in your arms, you slid down the 
 slipperiest mountain that was ever made yet, I be 
 lieve, and if it had been your only infant child, you 
 could n t have held it firmer, nor regarded it more care 
 ful. Through ups and downs, and thicks and smooths, 
 you carried that jar or followed it, and for the sake 
 of doin what you d set your mind on you came all 
 the way to this place ; to which, if it had n t been for 
 that one idea, it is n t likely you d ever dreamed of 
 comin . Now, Mr. Dusante, we ve all agreed on what 
 we think is the right thing to do, and you agreed with 
 us, but I can see by your face that you re disapp inted. 
 The thing you set out to do you have n t done; and 
 I m not goin to have it to say to myself that you was 
 the only one of all of us that was n t satisfied, and that 
 I was the stumblin -block that stood in your way. So 
 I 11 back down from savin that I d never touch that 
 jar again, and you can put it into my hands, as you 
 set out to do."
 
 THE DUSANTES. 109 
 
 Mr. Dusante made no answer, but stepped for 
 ward, and taking Mrs. Lecks s large brown and 
 work-worn hand, he respectfully touched it with his 
 lips. It is not probable that Mrs. Lecks s hand had 
 ever before been kissed. It is not probable that 
 she had ever seen any one kiss the hand of another. 
 But the hard sense and keen insight of that inde 
 pendent countrywoman made her instantly aware 
 of what was meant by that old-fashioned act of 
 courteous homage. Her tall form grew more erect; 
 she slightly bowed her head ; and received the salute 
 with a quiet dignity which would have become a 
 duchess. 
 
 This little scene touched us all, and Mrs. Aleshine 
 afterward informed me that for a moment she had n t 
 a dry eye in her head. 
 
 Mr. Dusante now handed the ginger-jar to Mrs. 
 Leeks, who immediately stepped toward Ruth and 
 Lucille. 
 
 "You two young ones," she said, "can jus take this 
 jar, an your hands can be the first to lift off that 
 paper of fish-hooks and take out the money, which 
 you will then divide among our good friends, these 
 sailormen." 
 
 Ruth and Lucille immediately sat down on the 
 floor of the piazza, and the one emptied the board- 
 money into the lap of the other, where it was speedily 
 divided into three equal portions, one of which was 
 placed in the hands of each mariner. 
 
 The men stood motionless, each holding his money 
 in his open right hand, and then the red-bearded cox 
 swain spoke.
 
 110 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 " It ain t for me, nor for Bill, nor for Jim nuther, 
 to say a word agin what you all think is right and 
 square. We ve stood by ye an obeyed orders since 
 we first shipped on that island, an we intend to do so 
 straight along, don t we, Jim an Bill?" 
 
 "Aye, aye, sir ! " said Jim and Bill, in hearty hoarse 
 response. 
 
 " There s some of ye, specially Mrs. Aleshine, though 
 meanin no disrespec to anybody else, that we d fol 
 low to the crosstrees of the topgallantmast of the 
 tallest ship that ever floated in the middle of the 
 ragin est typhoon that ever blowed. "Would n t we, 
 Jim an Bill ? " 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir ! " sang out Jim and Bill. 
 
 " But though we stand ready to obey orders," said 
 the coxswain, " we made up our minds, when we heard 
 what was goin to be done, that we d listen keerful 
 fer one thing, an we have listened keerful an we 
 have n t heard that one thing, an that thing was what 
 we should do with this money. An not havin heard 
 it, an so bein under no orders as to the spendin of 
 it, we take the money, an thank you kindly, one an 
 all. Don t we, Jim an Bill ? " 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir ! " said Jim and Bill. 
 
 And into the pocket of each mariner clinked the 
 money. 
 
 Mr. Dusante now took up the ginger- jar and ap 
 proached Mrs. Leeks. "I hope, madam," he said, 
 " that as the subject of our little differences has now 
 been removed from this jar, you will consent to accept 
 it from me as a memento of the somewhat remarkable 
 experiences through which it has accompanied us."
 
 THE DUSANTES. Ill 
 
 " Take it, sir ?" said she. " To be sure I will. An 
 very glad am I to get it. As long as I live it shall 
 stand on the mantelpiece in my parlor; an when I 
 die it shall be left to my heirs, to be taken care of as 
 long as it holds together." 
 
 Every reason for dissatisfaction having now been 
 banished from our little company, we all settled down 
 for a season of enjoyment. Even Mr. Enderton, who 
 had found on the top shelf of a closet in his room 
 a lot of old leather-bound books, appeared to be in a 
 state of perfect content. To the Dusantes a residence 
 in this absolutely rural portion of our Middle States 
 in the autumnal season was an entirely novel experi 
 ence. The crisp and invigorating air, the mists and 
 the glowing hues of the Indian-summer time, the soft 
 ness of the sunshine, and even those masses of limbs 
 and twigs which had already dropped their leaves and 
 spread themselves in a delicate network against the 
 clear blue sky, were all full of a novel beauty for these 
 people who had lived so long in tropical lands and 
 among perennial foliage, and had never known the 
 delights of an American country life out of season. 
 Having enjoyed Mrs. Lecks s hospitality for a suitable 
 period, they proposed to that sensible woman that she 
 should receive them as boarders until the winter 
 should set in ; and to this practical proposition she 
 gave a ready assent, hoping that the really cold wea 
 ther would long defer its coming. 
 
 Ruth and I established ourselves on the same terms 
 with Mrs. Aleshine. A prolonged holiday from the 
 labors of my business had been the object of my at 
 tempted journey to Japan, and I could think of no
 
 112 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 place where it would better please my young wife and 
 myself to rest for a time than here among these good 
 friends. 
 
 A continual source of amusement to us were the 
 acts and doings of Mrs. Aleshine and her three sailor- 
 men. These bold mariners had enlisted, soul and 
 body, into the service of the thrifty housewife; and 
 as it was impossible to do anything in connection with 
 the growing of the onions until the desired fields 
 should be acquired and the spring should open, many 
 and diverse were the labors at which the coxswain 
 and those two able-bodied seamen, Bill and Jim, set 
 themselves, or were set by Mrs. Aleshine. 
 
 The brilliantly painted front door, which at first 
 had excited the good woman s ire, gradually came to 
 command her admiration; and when her sailormen 
 had done everything else that they could in the barns, 
 the fields, or at the wood-pile, she gave them privilege 
 to paint various portions of her property, leaving 
 designs and colors to their own taste and fancy. 
 Whether they milked the cows, cut the wood, or 
 painted the sides of the house, they always worked 
 like good fellows, and in nautical costume. They holy 
 stoned the front deck, as they called the floor of the 
 piazza, until it seemed sacrilegious to set foot upon it; 
 and when the house and the pale-fence had been suit 
 ably painted, they allowed their fancies lofty flights 
 in the decoration of the smaller out-buildings and 
 various objects in the grounds. One of the men had 
 a pocket-chart of the colors adopted by the different 
 steamship companies all over the world, and now 
 smoke-houses, corn-cribs, chicken houses, and so on,
 
 THE DUSANTES. 113 
 
 down to pumps and hitching-posts, were painted in 
 great bands of blue and red and white and black, ar 
 ranged in alternating orders, until an observer might 
 have supposed that a commercial navy had been sunk 
 beneath Mrs. Aleshine s house-grounds, leaving no 
 thing but its smoke-stacks visible. 
 
 The greatest work of decoration, however, was re 
 served by the red-bearded coxswain for himself, de 
 signed by his own brain, and executed by his own 
 hands. This was the tatooing of the barn. Around 
 this building, the sides of which were already of a 
 color sufficiently resembling a well-tanned human 
 skin, the coxswain painted, in blue spots resembling 
 tatooing, an immense cable passing several times 
 about the structure, a sea-serpent almost as long as 
 the cable, eight anchors, two ships under full sail, with 
 a variety of cannons and flags which filled up all the 
 remaining spaces. This great work was a long time 
 in execution, and before it was half finished its fame 
 had spread over the surrounding country. 
 
 The decoration of her premises was greatly en 
 joyed by Mrs. Aleshine. " It gives em somethin to 
 do, said she, till the onion-season comes on; it 
 makes em happy ; an the leaves an flowers bein 
 pretty nigh gone, I like to see the place blossomin 
 out as if it was a cold- weather garden." 
 
 In the evenings, in the large kitchen, the sailormen 
 danced their hornpipes, and around the great fireplace 
 they spun long yarns of haps and mishaps on distant 
 seas. Mrs. Aleshine always, and the rest of us often, 
 sat by the fire and enjoyed these nautical recreations. 
 
 " Havin myself done housekeepin in the torrid
 
 114 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 zone," she once said, " a lot of the things they tell 
 come home to me quite nat ral. An I d do any thin 
 in the world to make em content to live on dry land 
 like common Christians, instead of cavoortiu about 
 on the pitchin ocean, runnin into each other, an 
 springin leaks with no likelihood of findin a fur 
 nished island at every p int where their ship happened 
 to go down." 
 
 On one subject only did any trouble now come into 
 the mind of Mrs. Aleshine, and she once had a little 
 talk with me in regard to it. 
 
 " I Ve been afeard from the very beginnin ," she 
 said, " an after a while I more n half believed it, that 
 Elizabeth Grootenheimer was settin her cap at the 
 coxswain, so I just went to him an I spoke to him 
 plain. This sort o thing won t do at all, says I ; l an 
 although I have n t a doubt you see it for yourself, 
 I thought it my dooty to speak my mind about it. 
 There s plenty of young women in this township 
 that would make you sailormen fust-rate wives, an 
 glad enough I d be to see you all married an settled 
 an gone to farmin right here amongst us, but Eliza 
 beth Grootenheimer won t do. Settin aside every- 
 thin else, if there was to be any children, they might 
 be little coxswains, but they d be Grootenheimers too, 
 stone-dumb Grootenheimers ; an I tell you plain that 
 this county can t stand no more Grootenheimers ! 
 To which he says, says he, I want you to understan , 
 ma am, that if ever me or Jim or Bill makes up our 
 mind to set sail for any sort of a weddin port, we 
 won t weigh anchor till we Ve got our clearance 
 papers from you. By which he meant that he d
 
 THE DUSANTES. 115 
 
 ask my advice about courtin . An now my mind is 
 easy, an I can look ahead with comfort to onion-time." 
 
 I found it necessary to go to Philadelphia for a day 
 or two to attend to some business matters ; and, the 
 evening before I started, the coxswain came to me 
 and asked a favor for himself and his mates. 
 
 " It may n t have passed out of your mind, sir," said 
 he, " that when me an Jim an Bill took that money 
 that you all give us, which was n t zackly like prize- 
 money, because the rest of the crew, to put it that 
 way, did n t get any, we listened keerful to see if any- 
 thin was said as to what we was to do with the 
 money ; an nothin bein said, we took it, and we 
 was n t long makin up our minds as to what we was 
 goin to do with it. What we wanted to do was to 
 put up some sort of signal what could n t get blowed 
 away, or, more like, a kind of reg lar moniment as 
 would make them that looked at it remember the 
 rough squalls and the jolly larks we ve gone through 
 with together, an it was when we was talkin about 
 Mrs. Leeks bein give the ginger-jar to put on her 
 mantelpiece an keep forever, that me an Jim an Bill 
 we said, says we, that Mrs. Aleshine should have a 
 ginger- jar too, havin as much right to one as her 
 mate, an that that would be the signal-flag or the 
 moniment that we d put up. Now, sir, as you re 
 goin to town, we ask you to take this money, which 
 is the whole lot that was give us, an have a ginger- 
 jar built, jus the size an shape an gen ral trim of that 
 other one, but of no pottery-stuff, for you kin buy em 
 jus like that, an that ain t what we want. We want 
 her built of good oak, stout an strong, with live-oak
 
 116 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 knees inside to keep her stiff an save her from bein 
 stove in, in case of a collision. We want her bottom 
 coppered up above the water-line with real silver, an 
 we want a turtle-back deck with a round hatchway, 
 with a tight-fittin hatch, jus like common jars. We 
 want her sides calked with oakum, an well scraped an 
 painted, so that with water inside of her or outside of 
 her she won t leak. An on the bottom of her, so they 
 kin be seen if she keels over, we wants the names of me, 
 an Jim, an Bill, which we ve wrote on this piece of pa 
 per. An on her sides, below the water-line, on the silver 
 copperin , we want the names of all the rest of you, 
 an the latitood an longitood of that island, an any- 
 thin out of the logs that might a been kep by any 
 of you, as might help to be remembered the things 
 what happened. An then, if there s any room left on 
 the copperin an any money lef to pay for em, you 
 might have cut on as many anchors, an hearts, an 
 bits of cable, an such like suitable things as would 
 fill up. An that jar we re goin to give to Mrs. Ale- 
 shine to put on her mantelpiece, to stay there as long 
 as she lives, or anybody that belongs to her. An , by 
 George, sir!" he added behind his hand, although there 
 was nobody to hear, "if ever them two jars run into 
 each other, it won t be Mrs. Aleshine s that 11 go 
 down ! " 
 
 I undertook this commission, and in due course of 
 time there came to the village the most astonishing 
 ginger-jar that was ever built, and which satisfied the 
 three mariners in every particular. When it was pre 
 sented to Mrs. Aleshine, her admiration of this work 
 of art, her delight in its ownership, and her gratitude 
 to the donors were alike boundless.
 
 THE DUSANTES. 117 
 
 " However could I have had the idee," said she pri- 
 vatel} T to me, " that any one of them noble sailormen 
 could have brought himself down to marry Elizabeth 
 Grootenheimer ! " 
 
 It was not long after this happy event that another 
 great joy came to Mrs. Aleshine. Her son returned 
 from Japan. He had heard of the loss of the steamer 
 in which his mother and Mrs. Leeks had set sail, and 
 was in great trouble of mind until he received a letter 
 from his mother which brought him speedily home. 
 He had no intention of settling in Meadowville, but it 
 had been a long time since he had seen his mother. 
 
 He was a fine young man, handsome and well edu 
 cated, and we were all delighted with him; and in a 
 very short time he and Lucille Dusante, being the 
 only young bachelor and maiden of the company, be 
 came so intimate and super-friendly that it was easy 
 to see that to Mrs. Aleshine might come the unex 
 pected rapture of eventually being the mother of 
 Lucille. 
 
 We stayed much later at Meadowville than we had 
 expected. Even after the little hills and vales had been 
 well covered with snow, sleighing and coasting parties, 
 led by the lively new-comer, offered attractions, es 
 pecially to Lucille, which bound us to the cheery homes 
 of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. But, after a time, 
 the Dusantes considered it prudent to go to Florida 
 for the rest of the winter ; Mr. Enderton had long 
 since read all the books on his closet shelf and de 
 parted for New York ; and Ruth and I determined 
 that we, too, must move eastward. 
 
 But, before our little company separated, Mrs. Ale- 
 shine s son and Lucille Dusante had settled it between
 
 118 THE DUSANTES. 
 
 them that when the springtime came they would set 
 sail for a wedding port. This match was a highly 
 satisfactory one to all concerned, for Mr. Dusante 
 could scarcely have found a young brother-in-law who 
 would make his sister so happy, and who was, at the 
 same time, so well fitted by disposition and previous 
 occupation to assist in his increasing business cares. 
 
 In the spring the Dusante family came North again 
 and Lucille and her lover were married ; and then all 
 of us, except Mr. Enderton, who had obtained a most 
 congenial position as assistant librarian in a public 
 institution seldom visited, gathered at Meadowville 
 to spend a week or two together before Ruth and I 
 repaired to the New England town which was to be 
 our home, and the Dusante family, the young hus 
 band included, set out on a tour, partly of business 
 and partly of pleasure, through Canada and the far 
 Northwest. 
 
 It was arranged that, whenever it should be pos 
 sible, Lucille and Mrs. Dusante should spend their 
 summers at Meadowville; and as this would also 
 give her much of the society of her son, the heart of 
 Mrs. Aleshine could ask no more. 
 
 This visit to Meadowville was in the onion-season ; 
 and one morning Ruth and I sat upon a fence and 
 watched the three sailormen busily at work. The 
 soil looked so fine and smooth that one might almost 
 have supposed that it had been holystoned ; and the 
 three nautical farmers, in their tight-waisted, loose- 
 bottomed trousers, their tarpaulin hats, and their 
 wide-collared shirts, were seated on the ground at 
 different points, engrossed in the absorbing task of
 
 THE DUSANTES. 119 
 
 setting out young onions as onions had never been 
 set out before. All the careful attention to patient 
 minutias which nautical handiwork had taught them 
 was now displayed in their new vocation. In a por 
 tion of the field which had been first planted the 
 onions had sprouted, and we could see evidences of 
 astonishing designs. Here were anchors in onions; 
 hearts in onions ; brigs, barks, and schooners in 
 onions ; and more things pertaining to ships, the 
 heart s affections, and the raging main outlined in 
 onions than Ruth and I could give names to. 
 
 " It seems to me," said I, " that there must have 
 been some sort of enchantment in that little island 
 in the Pacific, for in one way or another it has made 
 us all very happy." 
 
 "That is true," answered Ruth ; "and, do you know, 
 I believe the cause of a great part of that happiness 
 was the board-money in the ginger-jar ! " 
 
 THE END.
 
 A 000138334