CHAPTER IV
SOME NEW ACQUAINTANCES, AND A WARNING
For an inexperienced tourist Uncle John managed their arrangements mostadmirably. He knew nothing at all about ocean travel or what was theproper method to secure comfortable accommodations; but while most ofthe passengers were writing hurried letters in the second deck gallery,which were to be sent back by the pilot, Mr. Merrick took occasion tointerview the chief steward and the deck steward and whatever otherofficial he could find, and purchased their good will so liberally thatthe effect of his astute diplomacy was immediately apparent.
His nieces found that the sunniest deck chairs bore their names; themost desirable seats in the dining hall were theirs when, half famishedbecause breakfast had been disregarded, they trooped in to luncheon; thebest waiters on the ship attended to their wants, and afterward theircabins were found to be cosily arranged with every comfort the heart ofmaid could wish for.
At luncheon it was found that the steward had placed a letter beforeUncle John's plate. The handwriting of the address Louise, who sat nexther uncle, at once recognized as that of her mother; but she saidnothing.
Mr. Merrick was amazed at the contents of the communication, especiallyas he had so recently parted with the lady who had written it.
It said: "I must warn you, John, that my daughter has just escaped aserious entanglement, and I am therefore more grateful than I canexpress that you are taking her far from home for a few weeks. A youngman named Arthur Weldon--a son of the big railroad president, youknow--has been paying Louise marked attentions lately; but I cautionedher not to encourage him because a rumor had reached me that he hasquarrelled with his father and been disinherited. My informant alsoasserted that the young man is wild and headstrong and cannot becontrolled by his parent; but he always seemed gentlemanly enough atour house, and my greatest objection to him is that he is not likely toinherit a dollar of his father's money. Louise and I decided to keep himdangling until we could learn the truth of this matter, for you caneasily understand that with her exceptional attractions there is noobject in Louise throwing herself away upon a poor man, or one whocannot give her a prominent position in society. Imagine my horror,John, when I discovered last evening that my only child, whom I have sofondly cherished, has ungratefully deceived me. Carried away by theimpetuous avowals of this young scapegrace, whom his own father disowns,she has confessed her love for him--love for a pauper!--and only by themost stringent exercise of my authority have I been able to exact fromLouise a promise that she will not become formally engaged to ArthurWeldon, or even correspond with him, until she has returned home. Bythat time I shall have learned more of his history and prospects, when Ican better decide whether to allow the affair to go on. Of course I havehopes that in case my fears are proven to have been well founded, I canarouse Louise to a proper spirit and induce her to throw the fellowover. Meantime, I implore you, as my daughter's temporary guardian, notto allow Louise to speak of or dwell upon this young man, but try tointerest her in other gentlemen whom you may meet and lead her toforget, if possible, her miserable entanglement. Consider a lovingmother's feelings, John. Try to help me in this emergency, and I shallbe forever deeply grateful."
"It's from mother, isn't it?" asked Louise, when he had finished readingthe letter.
"Yes," he answered gruffly, as he crumpled the missive and stuffed itinto his pocket.
"What does she say, Uncle?"
"Nothing but rubbish and nonsense. Eat your soup, my dear; it's gettingcold."
The girl's sweet, low laughter sounded very pleasant, and served to calmhis irritation. From her demure yet amused expression Uncle John guessedthat Louise knew the tenor of her mother's letter as well as if she hadread it over his shoulder, and it comforted him that she could take thematter so lightly. Perhaps the poor child was not so deeply in love asher mother had declared.
He was greatly annoyed at the confidence Mrs. Merrick had seen fit torepose in him, and felt she had no right to burden him with anyknowledge of such an absurd condition of affairs just as he was startingfor a holiday. Whatever might be the truth of the girl's"entanglement,"--and he judged that it was not all conveyed in MarthaMerrick's subtle letter--Louise would surely be free and unhampered byeither love or maternal diplomacy for some time to come. When shereturned home her mother might conduct the affair to suit herself. Hewould have nothing to do with it in any way.
As soon as luncheon was finished they rushed for the deck, and you mayimagine that chubby little Uncle John, with his rosy, smiling face andkindly eyes, surrounded by three eager and attractive girls of fromfifteen to seventeen years of age, was a sight to compel the attentionof every passenger aboard the ship.
It was found easy to make the acquaintance of the interesting group,and many took advantage of that fact; for Uncle John chatted brightlywith every man and Patsy required no excuse of a formal introduction toconfide to every woman that John Merrick was taking his three nieces toEurope to "see the sights and have the time of their lives."
Many of the business men knew well the millionaire's name, and accordedhim great respect because he was so enormously wealthy and successful.But the little man was so genuinely human and unaffected and so openlyscorned all toadyism that they soon forgot his greatness in thefinancial world and accepted him simply as a good fellow and aninvariably cheerful comrade.
The weather was somewhat rough for the latter part of March--they hadsailed the twenty-seventh--but the "Irene" was so staunch and rode thewaves so gracefully that none of the party except Louise was at allaffected by the motion. The eldest cousin, however, claimed to beindisposed for the first few days out, and so Beth and Patsy and UncleJohn sat in a row in their steamer chairs, with the rugs tucked up totheir waists, and kept themselves and everyone around them merry andlight hearted.
Next to Patsy reclined a dark complexioned man of about thirty-five,with a long, thin face and intensely black, grave eyes. He wascarelessly dressed and wore a flannel shirt, but there was an odd lookof mingled refinement and barbarity about him that arrested the girl'sattention. He sat very quietly in his chair, reserved both in speech andin manner; but when she forced him to talk he spoke impetuously and withalmost savage emphasis, in a broken dialect that amused her immensely.
"You can't be American," she said.
"I am Sicilian," was the proud answer.
"That's what I thought; Sicilian or Italian or Spanish; but I'm gladit's Sicilian, which is the same as Italian. I can't speak your lingomyself," she continued, "although I am studying it hard; but you managethe English pretty well, so we shall get along famously together."
He did not answer for a moment, but searched her unconscious face withhis keen eyes. Then he demanded, brusquely:
"Where do you go?"
"Why, to Europe," she replied, as if surprised.
"Europe? Pah! It is no answer at all," he responded, angrily. "Europe isbig. To what part do you journey?"
Patsy hesitated. The magic word "Europe" had seemed to sum up theirdestination very effectively, and she had heretofore accepted it assufficient, for the time being, at least. Uncle John had bought anarmful of guide books and Baedeckers, but in the hurry of departure shehad never glanced inside them. To go to Europe had been enough tosatisfy her so far, but perhaps she should have more definite knowledgeconcerning their trip. So she turned to Uncle John and said:
"Uncle, dear, to what part of Europe are we going?"
"What part?" he answered. "Why, it tells on the ticket, Patsy. I can'tremember the name just now. It's where the ship stops, of course."
"That is Napoli," said the thin faced man, with a scarcely veiled sneer."And then?"
"And then?" repeated Patsy, turning to her Uncle.
"Then? Oh, some confounded place or other that I can't think of. I'm nota time-table, Patsy; but the trip is all arranged, in beautiful style,by a friend of mine who has always wanted to go abroad, and so has thewhole programme mapped out in his head."
"Is it in h
is head yet?" enquired Patsy, anxiously.
"No, dear; it's in the left hand pocket of my blue coat, all writtendown clearly. So what's the use of bothering? We aren't there yet. Byand bye we'll get to Eu-rope an' do it up brown. Whatever happens, andwherever we go, it's got to be a spree and a jolly good time; so take iteasy, Patsy dear, and don't worry."
"That's all right, Uncle," she rejoined, with a laugh. "I'm not worryingthe least mite. But when folks ask us where we're going, what shall wesay?"
"Eu-rope."
"And then?" mischievously.
"And then home again, of course. It's as plain as the nose on your face,Patsy Doyle, and a good bit straighter."
That made her laugh again, and the strange Italian, who was listening,growled a word in his native language. He wasn't at all a pleasantcompanion, but for that very reason Patsy determined to make him talkand "be sociable." By degrees he seemed to appreciate her attention, andalways brightened when she came to sit beside him.
"You'll have to tell me your name, you know," she said to him; "becauseI can't be calling you 'Sir' every minute."
He glanced nervously around. Then he answered, slowly:
"I am called Valdi--Victor Valdi."
"Oh, that's a pretty name, Mr. Valdi--or should I say Signor?"
"You should."
"Do I pronounce it right?"
"No."
"Well, never mind if I don't; you'll know what I mean, and that Iintend to be proper and polite," she responded, sweetly.
Beth, while she made fewer acquaintances than Patsy, seemed to have castoff her sullen reserve when she boarded the ship. In truth, the girl wasreally happy for the first time in her life, and it softened her sowonderfully and made her so attractive that she soon formed a selectcircle around her. A young lady from Cleveland, who had two bigbrothers, was impelled to introduce herself to Beth because of the youngmen's intense admiration for the girl's beautiful face. When it wasfound that they were all from Ohio, they formed a friendly alliance atonce. Marion Horton was so frank and agreeable that she managed to drawout all that was best in Beth's nature, and the stalwart young Hortonswere so shyly enthusiastic over this, their first trip abroad, that theyinspired the girl with a like ardor, which resulted in the most cordialrelations between them.
And it so happened that several other young men who chanced to be aboardthe "Princess Irene" marked the Hortons' intimacy with Beth andinsisted on being introduced by them, so that by the time Louise hadconquered her _mal-de-mer_ and appeared on deck, she found an admiringgroup around her cousin that included most of the desirable youngfellows on the ship. Beth sat enthroned like a queen, listening to hercourtiers and smiling encouragement now and then, but taking little partin the conversation herself because of her inexperience. Such adorationwas new to the little country girl, and she really enjoyed it. Nor didthe young men resent her silence. All that they wanted her to do, as TomHorton tersely expressed it, was to "sit still and look pretty."
As for Uncle John, he was so delighted with Beth's social success thathe adopted all the boys on the spot, and made them a part of what hecalled his family circle.
Louise, discovering this state of affairs, gave an amused laugh andjoined the group. She was a little provoked that she had isolatedherself so long in her cabin when there was interesting sport on deck;but having lost some valuable time she straightway applied herself toredeem the situation.
In the brilliance of her conversation, in her studied glances, in athousand pretty ways that were skillfully rendered effective, she had adecided advantage over her more beautiful cousin. When Louise reallydesired to please she was indeed a charming companion, and young men arenot likely to detect insincerity in a girl who tries to captivate them.
The result was astonishing to Uncle John and somewhat humiliating toBeth; for a new queen was presently crowned, and Louise by some magneticpower assembled the court around herself. Only the youngest Horton boy,in whose susceptible heart Beth's image was firmly enshrined, refused tochange his allegiance; but in truth the girl enjoyed herself moregenuinely in the society of one loyal cavalier than when so many wereclamoring for her favors. The two would walk the deck together for hourswithout exchanging a single word, or sit together silently listening tothe band or watching the waves, without the need, as Tom expressed it,of "jabbering every blessed minute" in order to be happy.
Patsy was indignant at the artfulness of Louise until she noticed thatBeth was quite content; then she laughed softly and watched matters taketheir course, feeling a little sorry for the boys because she knewLouise was only playing with them.
The trip across the Atlantic was all too short. On the fifth of Aprilthey passed the Azores, running close to the islands of Fayal and SanJorge so that the passengers might admire the zigzag rows of whitehouses that reached from the shore far up the steep hillsides. On thesixth day they sighted Gibraltar and passed between the Moorish andSpanish lighthouses into the lovely waters of the Mediterranean. Theworld-famed rock was now disclosed to their eyes, and when the shipanchored opposite it Uncle John assisted his nieces aboard the lighterand took them for a brief excursion ashore.
Of course they rode to the fortress and wandered through its gloomy,impressive galleries, seeing little of the armament because visitors arebarred from the real fortifications. The fortress did not seemespecially impregnable and was, taken altogether, a distinctdisappointment to them; but the ride through the town in the low basketphaetons was wholly delightful. The quaint, narrow streets and stonearches, the beautiful vistas of sea and mountain, the swarthy, dark-eyedMoors whose presence lent to the town an oriental atmosphere, and thequeer market-places crowded with Spaniards, Frenchmen, Jews andred-coated English soldiers, altogether made up a panorama that wasfascinating in the extreme.
But their stay was short, and after a rush of sightseeing that almostbewildered them they returned to the ship breathless but elated athaving "seen an' done," as Uncle John declared, their first foreignport.
And now through waters so brightly blue and transparent that theyaroused the girls' wonder and admiration, the good ship plowed her waytoward the port of Naples, passing to the east of Sardinia and Corsica,which they viewed with eager interest because these places had alwaysseemed so far away to them, and had now suddenly appeared as if bymagic directly before their eyes.
Patsy and the big whiskered captain had become such good friends that healways welcomed the girl on his own exclusive deck, and this afternoonshe sat beside him and watched the rugged panorama slip by.
"When will we get to Naples?" she asked.
"To-morrow evening, probably," answered the captain. "See, it is over inthat direction, where the gray cloud appears in the sky."
"And what is the gray cloud, Captain?"
"I do not know," said he, gravely. "Perhaps smoke from Vesuvius. AtGibraltar we heard that the volcano is in an ugly mood, I hope it willcause you no inconvenience."
"Wouldn't it be fine if we could see an eruption!" exclaimed the girl.
The captain shook his head.
"Interesting, perhaps," he admitted; "but no great calamity that causesthousands of people to suffer can be called 'fine.'"
"Ah, that is true!" she said, quickly. "I had forgotten the suffering."
Next morning all the sky was thick with smoke, and the sun was hidden.The waters turned gray, too, and as they approached the Italian coastthe gloom perceptibly increased. A feeling of uneasiness seemed topervade the ship, and even the captain had so many things to considerthat he had no time to converse with his little friend.
Signor Valdi forsook his deck chair for the first time and stood at therail which overlooked the steerage with his eyes glued to the grim skiesahead. When Uncle John asked him what he saw he answered, eagerly:
"Death and destruction, and a loss of millions of lira to the bankruptgovernment. I know; for I have studied Etna for years, and Vesuvio is asecond cousin to Etna."
"Hm," said Uncle John. "You seem pleased with the ide
a of an eruption."
The thin faced man threw a shrewd look from his dark eyes and smiled.Uncle John frowned at the look and stumped away. He was not at all easyin his own mind. He had brought three nieces for a holiday to thisforeign shore, and here at the outset they were confronted by anintangible danger that was more fearful because it was not understood.It was enough to make his round face serious, although he had so strongan objection to unnecessary worry.
Afternoon tea was served on deck amidst an unusual quiet. People soberlycanvassed the situation and remarked upon the fact that the darknessincreased visibly as they neared the Bay of Naples. Beth couldn't drinkher tea, for tiny black atoms fell through the air and floated upon thesurface of the liquid. Louise retired to her stateroom with a headache,and found her white serge gown peppered with particles of lava dustwhich had fallen from the skies.
The pilot guided the ship cautiously past Capri and into the bay. Theair was now black with volcanic dross and a gloom as of midnightsurrounded them on every side. The shore, the mountain and the water ofthe bay itself were alike invisible.