CHAPTER XIII.--_At San Francisco._
The sun was quite high above the horizon when George joined Clarence ondeck; and both began to promenade and talk while waiting for the ladiesto come, that the four might go to breakfast together.
"My private opinion is that these young ladies are going to oversleepthemselves," George said, as they passed the door of his room, afterpromenading for half an hour.
"No they are not," Elvira said, coming out as fresh and beautiful as a_rosa de castilla_. "Good morning, Mr. Darrell, I hope you are well."
"I thank you," replied Clarence, "I believe I never felt better. I amdelighted to see you so bright and blooming; you are evidently anexcellent sailor."
"Oh yes," Elvira answered, "I really enjoy it; but where is the SenoritaMercita; is she not yet up?"
"I think not. She has not come from her room," was Clarence's reply.
"I am going to peep through her window," said Elvira. She did so byturning the slats and pushing aside the curtain just a little. She thenmotioned to George to come and look.
"By jove, Darrell, you ought to see this picture."
"Hush! you will awake her by speaking so loud," Elvira said, stilllooking at her sister.
A tiny sunbeam played over Mercedes' forehead, making the little curlsover it look like golden threads. Her head was thrown back a little andturned towards the window, displaying her white throat, partiallycovered by the lace frills of her night dress. Her left arm restedgracefully over her head, with the sleeve pushed off displaying part ofthe forearm and the perfect curve of her delicate wrist. The right handrested over the coverlet, and it looked like a child's hand, so dimpledand white and soft. It was a perfect picture of a "sleeping beauty."
"Doesn't she look like a baby? My own sweet sister; I am so glad she issleeping so sweetly. She has slept very poorly for months," whisperedElvira. "Come away, we mustn't talk near her window, she must have allthe sleep she wants."
So saying, she pulled back the curtain, shut down the window slats, andall walked noiselessly away.
As they went down to breakfast, Elvira said:
"I hope no one will come smoking some nasty cigar by her window,poisoning the air and making her miserable, for she cannot bear tobaccosmoke when the boat is in motion."
"I thought she was not subject to sea-sickness," George said.
"No, not at all, as long as there are no tobacco fumes near, but itseems that tobacco smoke, combined with the rocking of the sea, make herdeathly sick, whereas the tobacco alone or the rocking by itself, willnot affect her."
"I understand that well, for I don't like to smoke while sailing either,if there is much motion, and I think no one ought to be allowed to smokeon deck where ladies are," George said.
"I think so too. We have too many rights, and more than our share ofprivileges," Clarence added.
"Wait until we have woman suffrage. We will make things uncomfortablefor inebriates and tobacco smokers," Elvira said, laughing.
Their pleasant voyage came to its end, as all things must in thisfleeting life, and the names of Mr. George Mechlin and party, from SanDiego, were duly entered in the hotel register.
"I put your name down, Darrell, for we want you with us while in thecity," said George.
"I thank you sincerely; that is exactly what I wished."
"We will be ready for dinner at six."
"I shall be on hand promptly."
Clarence was anxious to see his broker and afraid he would leave theoffice before he got there, but it was more imperative yet to visit histailor. He did so, and though in haste, selected with care the cut andstyle and color which he knew was most becoming. He left a list of allthe articles of clothing he desired to be sent to his hotel by fiveo'clock, and then directed his driver to take him to his broker'soffice.
"Just in time," said Hubert Haverly, coming forward to meet him. "Assoon as the steamer was signaled at the gate, I sent to look for ourArizona men. They are now at the back office waiting for you."
"Tell me something about the matter, to guide me. And tell me too, howpoor or how rich I am, before I make any bargain to purchase mines."
"Well, on the whole, I guess I'll call you rich. I bought the farm asyou--or rather as Everett--telegraphed. I paid--well, how much do youthink I paid for it?"
"Hundred and forty thousand?"
Hubert shook his head, saying "Try again."
"Hundred and twenty?"
"Ninety thousand only, lucky fellow."
"What? You said he asked a hundred and fifty thousand."
"Yes, and you--or Everett--telegraphed to pay the money, but you see thepoor fellow lost heavily in stocks that day, and as the bank was goingto foreclose on the farm for a loan of forty thousand, he thought thebest thing he could do was to sell out quick. He came to see me and said'Do you think Clarence will buy for one hundred and twenty thousand?' Itold him I had telegraphed to you and probably you would come up. Hesaid 'If you pay me ninety thousand cash down _to-day_, Clarence canhave the farm for that price.' I told him to let me have the refusal foryou, for that price, until the next morning. I got your telegram in theevening. Next morning he came looking very dejected, and asked if I hadheard from you. 'Yes,' I said. He waited, but as I said no more, headded, 'I hope Clarence is not going to pinch me hard. The farm is worthtwo hundred thousand, but as the Darrells made all the improvements onit, I am willing he should have it cheaper than any one else. How muchdoes he offer?' 'He left it to me to make the best bargain I can. I willlet you have the ninety thousand, of course.' You never saw a man sorelieved. He lifted his head and said, 'I will pay all my debts and havethirty thousand clear, anyway, to make a beginning,' and so the paperswere drawn up and the farm is yours. I congratulate you."
"Thanks," Clarence said, squeezing Hubert's hand. "And now about thebalance on hand and the Arizona mines."
"Well, you have about one hundred thousand dollars. If you sell all yourstocks, you could have two hundred thousand," Hubert replied.
"Besides the interest on the bonds?"
"Certainly. I never figure on that."
"What about the Arizona mines?"
"Well, the men say they are yet '_a prospect_,' but a very good one.Their proposition is that you pay them five hundred dollars down if youaccept their proposal. Then you are to send an expert to examine themines. If on his report you conclude to buy them at once, you can havethem for ten thousand dollars. If you prefer to bond them to prospectfurther before buying, then you can have six months to prospect; butthen you must pay two thousand down, and at the end of the six monthsyou must pay fifty thousand dollars if you want both mines, or twentythousand if you only take one. The shaft they have sunk is the dividingline between the two mines."
"Between the two prospects," Clarence suggested.
"Yes, that is more proper, the shaft is only about one hundred feetdeep. But you had better talk to them. They brought rock similar to thatwhich they sent me last month."
Rather rough looking men were the three waiting, but all had good faces.After exchanging salutations with them, Clarence asked:
"Have you had any assays made?"
"Yes sir," said the oldest of the three handing to him three slips ofpaper. "Here are three certificates from assayers recommended to us asthe best in San Francisco."
"What! One hundred silver and one hundred and fifty gold? And twohundred, and three hundred and fifty? But that is enormous for surfacerock."
The miners laughed. The oldest said:
"And the ledge is so wide that it almost takes the half of the hill. Wetook two claims and put our prospect shaft in the middle."
"Did you make your locations in good legal form?" was the next question.
"Yes sir, we have our papers," said the spokesman, handing to Clarencesome papers.
"I see you are four partners, where is the other?"
"He is at the mine, working at the shaft."
"Well gentlemen," Clarence said, "I have just come, an hour ago. I
don'tknow how soon I will find an expert, but I think I will do so betweennow and to-morrow by mid-day. I will consult with him and see how soonhe can go to look at your mines. Meantime I'll have some of the rockassayed. From what depth was the rock assayed taken?"
"From fifty, seventy and ninety feet. We have some few pieces from thelast we took the day we left, at a depth of one hundred feet." Sosaying, he handed to Clarence other pieces of rock which looked muchricher, adding, "This is the ore we have not had assayed yet. My opinionis that the rock hasn't changed much."
It was agreed that Clarence would meet them at eleven next morning andnotify them if he had found an expert. When they had left the roomClarence asked Hubert where his brother Fred was.
"He is here, he came yesterday."
"And you did not mention that fact to me, when you know I want a good,reliable expert."
"I did not, because I wouldn't urge his services upon any one--evenyou--and then I think he might be already engaged to go to examine somemines in Nevada, as parties have been looking for him for that purpose."
"Please don't be so proud as to deprive me of the services of so good aman, but tell him to come to my hotel at once."
"Very well, I'll tell him, but he will not be here until five o'clock.Shall I tell him to call on you after dinner?"
"Yes, at half-past seven exactly, to send his card to me to any place Imay be at the hotel. And now I'll go to have two or three assays more ofthis rock. Remember, I shall be looking for Fred at half-past seven."
"I'll remember. He will be there promptly."
It was very evident that the "party from San Diego" made an impressionand quite a stir among the guests of the hotel, who were at dinner whenthey entered the dining-room. Preceded by the head waiter, they had tocross the entire length of the room, for the seats assigned to them wereat the furthest corner from the door. Everybody turned to look, to seewhat everybody else was looking at, and all acknowledged that they hadnever seen handsomer or more graceful people than those two couples.Exclamations of surprise were uttered in suppressed tones, andunqualified praises were whispered everywhere. The head waiter wascalled here and there to say who these four people were, so veryhandsome and _distingue_.
"They are from Southern California, on their way east. Mr. GeorgeMechlin and bride, her sister, and their friend Mr. Darrell, travellingwith them," was the answer that the steward had to give twenty times.
"Which is the bride, the blonde or the brunette?"
"The brunette."
After dinner several young gentlemen remained in the corridors to seethem pass, and some four eastern tourists who were dining at the nexttable, made a pretext of drinking more wine, to remain looking at thesouthern beauties. One of them especially looked at Mercedes sopersistently that Clarence began to feel angry, and when they arose fromthe table he looked at the admirer with a bold stare of defiantreproval. But that in no way checked the admiration of the New Yorker,and he followed as near to Mercedes as he could, and when he saw herdisappear into her parlor, he looked at the number on the door and wentstraight to the office to make all the enquiries he could concerningthose two beautiful ladies. The clerk gave all the information he could,and added laughing:
"I have had to answer those questions a dozen times already."
Immediately after dinner a waiter came from the office and handed toClarence a card, with "Fred Haverly" written on it.
"Say to the gentleman I shall be down immediately," Clarence said to theservant; and then to George, "This is the expert I want to send toArizona. It is lucky for me to find him in town."
"I'll go down with you," George said. "One of the clerks promised to getme a box at the opera, or if that can't be had, to get the four bestseats he could find disengaged. Do you think you will have finished withyour expert in half an hour? I want the girls to see the opera bouffe;they have never seen it."
"I shall be with you in fifteen minutes," was the reply.
George was talking with the clerk about the seats at the opera, when hefelt a hand laid softly on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw hisfriend, Charles Gunther, of New York, standing by him, and behind himthe four gentlemen who had dined at the next table. After shaking handsmost cordially, and congratulating him on being a married man, Guntherpresented to George his four friends, and his brother Robert, who nowcame in; then he said:
"I heard you say you wanted a box at the opera, and that there areladies with you. Permit me to offer you our box, we can take seatsanywhere else. I shall be glad if you will accept."
"But there are no seats that you can have that I would offer you inexchange," was George's reply.
"Those I got for you are good seats for gentlemen," the clerk suggested,"and I think you can get two more."
Gunther was so urgent that George, only by being very rude, could havedeclined making the exchange. There was nothing else to do but accept,order a carriage for eight o'clock, and then go up stairs to tell theladies that they were to get ready for the opera.
"The opera! Why didn't you tell us before?" was Elvira's exclamation.
"Because I was not sure I could get seats," was George's reply; and hethen explained how he obtained their box by casually meeting Gunther,adding: "By the by, he introduced me to his brother Robert and thosefour admirers of yours, Mercedes, who dined at the next table. They areall of the same party. The young fellow of the little saffron whiskers,who stared at you so persistently, making Clarence's ears red, is a Mr.Selden, of New York; he and Robert Gunther have been in Europe severalyears. His father I know is a millionaire, and he is the only son. So heconsiders himself a good catch, I suppose, Senorita Mercedes."
"Bah!" ejaculated Mercedes; "who cares!"
"Be ready with your hats and cloaks on at five minutes to eight.Clarence and I will come for you. I am going to look for him now, andsee Gunther for a few moments," George said, leaving the two sisters togo to their bedrooms to delve for their opera cloaks and white hats inthe deep recesses of their Saratoga trunks.
"It is a lucky thing for me that Lizzie's aunt sent this pretty cloakand bonnet to her. Poor Lizzie! I am to _splurge_ in her fine Parisianthings, while she remains at the _rancho_, buried alive," said Mercedes.
"She is perfectly willing to have that sort of burial as long as she hasGabriel near her."
Mrs. Lawrence Mechlin had sent to Elvira and Lizzie their weddingtrousseau, which she ordered from Paris. To do this was a pleasure toMrs. Mechlin, which she could well afford, being rich, and which shedelighted in, being devoted to her sister's children.
The theatre was filled to its utmost capacity when our four _SanDieguinos_ arrived and occupied their proscenium box, which was on theleft of the auditorium, very roomy and elegantly furnished. Elvira'sseat faced the stage, and Mercedes' faced the audience, so that theperfect contour of her features was clearly seen when she looked at theactors. Between the sisters sat their cavaliers. The curtain rose asthey took their seats, so that not one of them gave a thought to theaudience, until the curtain fell on the first act.
Then they all looked at the house which was filled with a brilliantaudience. Immediately in front, in the first row of orchestra chairs,were Mr. Gunther and the party of New Yorkers. They were all looking attheir box. Mercedes blushed when she met the steady gaze of Mr. Selden,and his face reproduced the blush, while his heart beat with wild throbsof delight. Clarence's face also flushed, and then turned pale. He hadseen the two blush, and a cold feeling of undefinable fear andsavageness seized him--a desire to go and choke Mr. Selden where hewas--right there in his orchestra chair.
George by this time was exchanging bows with the New Yorkers. They spokeamong themselves, and soon after all arose and left their seats.
"I think Gunther is bringing his brother and friends to present them toyou, ladies," said George.
"Being your friends, we shall be pleased to see them," Elvira answered.
"I hope those gentlemen will cease to stare when they are acquainted.That young man of the
red whiskers made me blush by looking at me sosteadily. I hope that that is not the custom of New Yorkers," saidMercedes.
"I am afraid it is. You had better try to get used to it, and don't mindit," George replied.
Mr. Gunther now presented himself at the door, followed by his brotherand the four others, already well known by sight, the ceremony ofintroduction being performed by George, with the ease and grace of oneused to those society duties. All took seats, there being room enoughfor a dozen people in the spacious box.
George and Clarence had left their seats to receive the guests, so verynaturally Mr. Selden slipped by and sat next to Mercedes.