CHAPTER XV
PUZZLING IT OUT
"To begin with," Captain Brett went on after a long and (to Janet andMarcia) very trying pause, "we've something to hold on to in just thedate--Sept 25, 1889--and Amoy."
"What's Amoy, anyway?" demanded Marcia.
"It's a large seaport in the province of Fu-kien, China, and I'vestopped there many a time myself. Then there's the date of this wedding.Somebody might possibly remember it. There's just the faintest chance."
"But there aren't any names given," argued Marcia. "And besides, theremust be hundreds of Chinese weddings going on all the time. I don'tbelieve you could find any one who could remember just this particularone!"
"There are one or two things about this you don't understand, Marcia.First place, I'm almost certain this isn't any Chinese wedding referredto here. The Chinese don't do things that way. I know a little abouttheir customs. It's English or American. You can bank on _that_!
"Another thing--about the names. I'm pretty sure that this contains bothnames--at least the ones the parties went by in China. You see, theChinese have no equivalents in their language for such names as Jones orRobinson or Brett, for instance. What they do is to take somecharacteristic of a person, and give him a name signifying thatcharacteristic. I strongly suspect that whatever words in Chinese standfor 'maker of melodies' and 'flower-maiden' are the names the man andwoman were known by there."
"Then," interrupted Janet, who had been doing some rapid thinking, "theman must have been some kind of a musician, and the woman may have lovedflowers, or looked like a flower, or something of that sort."
"I think it extremely likely," agreed the captain.
"_Maker of melodies--musician!_" cried Marcia, suddenly hopping up fromher deck-chair in excitement. "Does that make you think of anything?"
The captain and Janet both looked rather mystified and shook theirheads.
"Why, _Cecily_, of course!" exclaimed Marcia. "Don't you remember howshe adores music--and always seems to be remembering something aboutthat 'Traeumerei'? I'll warrant--just anything--that these people who gotmarried were some relation to her! And besides, didn't she have one ofthe bracelets?"
"It looks as if you _had_ run down a clue," admitted Captain Brett. "ButI'm sorry to say it doesn't help us much in discovering who thesecontracting parties were. One point, however, I think it seems tosettle--the question whether the bracelet came into the possession ofyour little friend in some such manner as I got the other, or whether itwas hers by right as a family trinket. I believe the latter--almostbeyond question. But now comes the difficulty. How are we going tounearth anybody who has any remembrance of--"
Marcia suddenly inspired with an idea, interrupted: "Why not ask LeeChing? He's Chinese. Who knows but what he came from just that region?"
"Nothing like trying," said the captain. "I don't know what province hehails from, but it won't hurt to ask." And he sent a sailor to summonLee Ching once more. When he appeared the captain put his firstquestion:
"Lee Ching, what province did you come from?"
"Fu-kien," came the answer, promptly, and the girls' hopes were raisedsky-high.
"Did you ever live in Amoy?"
"No, never lived there--always in hills back beyond."
"Well, do you, by any chance, happen to know anything about the partiesspoken of in that bracelet translation?"
"No. Was at sea at date mentioned. Young man then--not very well on dryland. Must live on ship always--or not live. Never was acquainted withparties mentioned."
"Thank you. That is all, Lee Ching."
The bright hopes of the girls were considerably dampened, but Marcia wasnot to be downed.
"Anyway," she argued, "you've other Chinese sailors on board. Whycouldn't we question them all? We might find _some_ one who knows."
The captain was rather dubious about it. "Yes, the cook and four sailorsare Chinese. You can question them if you like, but I'm afraid it won'tbe much satisfaction. They're an appallingly ignorant lot! But I'll havethem summoned."
In a few moments the five were lined up, and, true to the captain'sestimate, a hopeless-looking lot they were. After much confusedquestioning in Pidgin-English it developed that the cook and two sailorswere from the province of Shansi, a third from Kiang-su, and the twoothers from nowhere in particular that they could seem to remember.None of them knew anything about Amoy beyond the squalid shops about thewharves.
The captain dismissed them all with a disgusted wave of his hand andturned to the girls.
"You see how worse than useless it is to try and find out anything fromsuch sources! I knew it would be so, but I didn't want to discourageyou. Now you just leave me to myself for half an hour to smoke in peaceand do a little thinking. Go and look at them unloading, or roam aroundand amuse yourselves in any way you like. Perhaps, if I rack my brainshard, something will occur to me."
They left him pacing up and down on the deck, puffing at his cigar,while they went to explore the great ship all over again. But theoccupation, though fascinating, failed to keep their thoughts from thelatest phase of the queer mystery that surrounded Cecily Marlowe.
"Do you know," said Marcia, as they stood looking down into the well ofthe vast engine-room, "it seems simply impossible to me to connectlovely, dainty, English Cecily with anything so oriental as China. Ican't understand it. I can't imagine any connection. Can you?"
"No, I can't," admitted Janet. "And, more than that, where does MissBenedict come in on this Chinese proposition? Nothing could be lessconnected with it than she! I believe she'd have a fit if she ever sawthat awful-looking crowd of Chinese sailors your father had there awhile ago. Did you ever see such a rascally looking lot? And poor littleCecily would be horrified!"
"I liked Lee Ching, though. He's so grave and serious and dignified. Andisn't his English fascinating? I just love to hear him talk. But oh, Iwish Father hadn't sent us away for half an hour! I can hardly wait forthe time to pass! Let's go and look at those men on the dock unloading.Why do they make such a racket? You'd think there was a fire orsomething!"
So they whiled away the time, and at last, promptly on the minute, racedback to Captain Brett.
"Well?" demanded Marcia, breathless. "What now?"
"Just had a happy thought!" The captain threw the stump of his finishedcigar over the rail. "I've been trying to think whom I could remembermeeting in China during the past years--some responsible person whomight know these people or be able to track them down. Suddenly recalledold Major Goodrich. He was an English military attache stationed atHong-Kong for a while, and I got to know him rather well. He was retiredsome years ago, and the last I heard of him he was living in thiscountry, somewhere in Pennsylvania, with his only daughter, who happenedto have married an American. If anybody were likely to know anythingabout this business it would be he, for he knew everybody and everythingworth knowing about in Amoy at the time. I'll look up his address andwrite to him to-night. Now I hope that satisfies you both!"
"Father, you're a trump!" cried Marcia, blissfully. "I _knew_ you'd getright to the bottom of this mystery at once."
"Hold on! Don't count your chickens before they're hatched!" warned thecaptain. "This is only a possibility--not a _probability_. The major mayknow nothing whatever about it. But look here! it's high time we wereheading for home. We don't want to be late to dinner."
They reached the apartment, bursting with news to tell Aunt Minerva, butwere met at the door by that lady, flushed, flustered, and very muchexcited.
"Such a state of affairs!" she cried. "An hour ago I received a telegramfrom Cousin Drusilla in Northam saying she was very ill indeed andwouldn't I come up at once, as she was virtually all alone. Of courseI've got to go. I can't leave her there sick without a soul to lookafter her. But what on earth are you all going to do?"
"Oh, go right along, Minerva! The girls and I will get on famously. Theycan try their hand at housekeeping, and you've a good maid in thekitchen to help. Don't you worry a minute!"<
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"Yes, but--" began Aunt Minerva.
"You've got just fifteen minutes to catch the Boston express," said thecaptain, decisively, looking at his watch. "Give me that suitcase andcome right along."
Aunt Minerva, who had really been all packed and ready for the pasttwenty-nine minutes, meekly obeyed.
"I won't be gone more than a few days," she remarked, as she kissed thegirls good-by. "I'll get some one to take my place with Drusilla just assoon as I can. Don't let Eliza boil the corn too long, and tell her--"The sentence was never finished, for the captain at that point gentlybut firmly led her into the hall and closed the door.
And, though the girls suspected it not, this sudden departure of AuntMinerva had more bearing on the mystery they were trying to solve thanany of them dreamed!