Chapter XXXIII.
THE "TIMES" CORRESPONDENT.
As this skater approached, they could see that he was a tall youngman, wearing cap and gloves of sealskin, and a fur-trimmed overcoat.He had skates of the newest patent, and, altogether, seemed to be whatTug pronounced him under his breath, "a swell."
He slackened his pace as he came up, and then, seeing the boat theywere dragging, and the queer appearance of the whole outfit, stoppedshort, raising his hat to Katy.
"What kind of an expedition is this, pray tell?" he said pleasantly,but with his face full of curiosity.
"I'm 'fraid we ain't any too scrumptious," Tug replied, off-hand, "butyou could hardly expect it, I s'pose, seein' we've been a month ormore on the ice."
"A month on the ice! How? Where?"
So they told him, each one talking a little, but making a short storyof it. He did not interrupt by any "I swannys!" as the old farmer had,but kept his eyes--Katy thought they were the sharpest eyes she hadever seen--upon each speaker's face, as if committing every word tomemory.
"That's a mighty good story," he said. "What are you going to do now?"
"We shall go on to my uncle's in Cleveland right away, that is, if wehave money enough to take us there."
"I suppose you wouldn't object to earning a little more money, then?"the stranger remarked, interrogatively.
"Nothing would suit Tug and me better," Aleck rejoined. "Do you knowhow we can do it? My name is Aleck Kincaid, and this promising youthhere is Thucydides, otherwise 'Tug,' Montgomery. This is my sisterKaty, and the youngster is my brother Jim."
"I am Harry Porter," the young man announced, shaking hands with themall, "and I am glad to get acquainted with you. Now, sit down aminute, and I'll make you a proposition. I live in New York city, andam on the staff of _The Times_, but am out here for a few days on avisit to my father. Your adventures would make a capital story--whatwe call a 'sensation'--in that newspaper. Do you think you could writeit out in good shape?"
"I'm afraid not, sir," Aleck said. "I've never felt that I had anyfaculty in that direction--but I could make you an automatic brassvalve if you wanted it!"
"Could you? That's more than I could do. Well, now, you see, you havethe facts, but you must make use of my training to put them intoreadable shape, so that the story will be worth money to somenewspaper. I can see how two or three very good articles, indeed, canbe made, and what I propose is this: you come to a boarding-house,kept by a friend of mine, in Port Linton, and stay there as long as isnecessary to tell me everything. Then I can write it all into aconnected story, and we'll divide the profits."
"But supposing _The Times_ shouldn't want to print it?"
"I'll take care of that," Mr. Porter replied.
"But we would have to wait a good while to get the money back,wouldn't we?" Aleck asked. "And we want it now worse than we evershall again, probably."
"Ye--es, that's a difficulty," Mr. Porter admitted, slowly. Then hethought over it a minute or two in silence. "I'll tell you what I'lldo," he said at last, "and I think I shall be safe. I estimate thatyou can give me facts enough for ten or twelve columns--say ten; andthat for this 'special and exclusive' they will pay me twenty dollars,or more, a column. So if you are willing to take one hundred dollarsfor your information, I'll run the risk of getting that back andanother hundred on top of it for the labor of writing."
"I am sure that we shall be very glad to do it if you think you arenot cheating yourself."
"That's _my_ lookout," said the newspaper man. "And, now, MissKincaid, if you will take a seat in the boat, I think we should allregard it as a pleasure to draw you the rest of the way, for I meanto bear a hand at dragging."
Katy demurred, but all the boys insisted, so she unstrapped herskates, nestled warmly into the boat, where Mr. Porter folded hisfur-trimmed coat about her, saying he should be too warm with skatingto wear it, and they set off gayly.
The plan thus made upon the ice was fully carried out, beginning thatvery evening, which was Friday; and on Tuesday morning Mr. Porter gaveTug twenty-five dollars and Aleck seventy-five--the latter "for thefamily," as he said. Besides this, they sold their scow for fifteendollars, feeling that they had a right to do so, since, if thefishermen who had left it on the island (the name and position ofwhich they learned) should ever return for it, they would find left inits place the _Red Erik_.
The goods that they cared to keep were packed and sent on to Clevelandby freight. At nine o'clock on Tuesday morning, therefore, the fouradventurers--yes, _five_, for Rex was not forgotten--feelingthemselves already famous in New York, and hence around the wholeworld, took the train for Cleveland, and reached their uncle's housein time for his one-o'clock dinner. All were heartily welcomed, andtold their adventures again and again--in fact, until they became sothoroughly tired of being "trotted out" that Tug one day declared thathe almost wished he had never left the island.
Chapter XXXIV.
A HAPPY CONCLUSION.
All the members of our party, to whose courage and independence ofmind my story has borne witness, immediately and anxiously exertedthemselves to relieve their hospitable relative of the burden of theirsupport, and it was not long before they succeeded.
Aleck and Tug found profitable work to do. Katy was eager to resumeher studies, and therefore gladly accepted an invitation to stay withher aunt and help her in her sewing before and after school-hours. Jimroomed with his brother, and went to school also, acting morning andevening as an office-boy for a lawyer to whom Mr. Porter had given hima letter of introduction.
To prepare themselves for these different stations used up their stockof money, but by close economy they came through without anydebt--yes, even with some money left--just nineteen cents among themall! To this Tug's pocket contributed nothing, but he was happy."There's one great comfort in being 'dead broke,'" he told them. "Youknow precisely where you are, and that matters can get no worse. Youare ready to begin all new again."
This sense of beginning anew was a tonic that strengthened the heartsof all of them; for each one knew that, although he had no money, hisfeet were planted firmly on the first round of the ladder which, ifsteadily climbed, might lead to prosperity.
With this satisfactory state of things the story might end, but twentyyears and more have passed since that hard winter which made theirjourney to the island and escape from it possible; twenty years, inwhich no such hard winter has been seen again. Aleck is manager andpart owner of a manufactory of gas-fixtures and brass fittings inPittsburgh, and Jim is his cashier. Tug lives in Cleveland, where heis busy, as an inventor, and expects some day to be made rich by hisimprovements in railway-brakes and in oil-pumping machinery; butnobody addresses him as "Tug" except his wife (whom _he_ calls Katy)and his little boy, who never tires of hearing how papa and mamma andUncle Aleck went adrift on an ice-floe in Lake Erie.
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Transcriber's note:
Archaic syntax and inconsistent spelling were retained.
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