theirrun round Africa, alluded to in the last chapter of this tale; but, aswould be gleaned from the conversation recorded therein, he did not sochoose. He and McBain had their little secret, which they kept well.They were determined to turn explorers, so Ralph built a ship, built anoble ship--built it without acquainting any one what service it wasintended for, and even his dear friends Ralph and Rory were to knownothing about her until they, returned from their cruise in the tropics.Ralph meant it all as a kindly and a glad surprise to them, for welldid he know how their hearts would bound with joy at the very thoughtsof sailing once more in quest of adventures. Nor, as the sequel willshow, was he in one whit disappointed.
In character, disposition, and appearance my four principal heroes maybe thus summed up--I have already told you about Allan's:--
McBain--Captain McBain--was a hardy, fear-nothing, daring man, his mindimbued with a sense of duty and with piety, both of which he had learnedat the maternal knee.
Ralph was a young Englishman in every sense of the word--tall, broad,shapely, somewhat slow in action, with difficulty aroused, but a verylion when he did march out of his den intent on a purpose.
Somewhat more youthful was Rory, smaller as to person, poetic as totemperament, fond of the beautiful, an artist and a musician. And ifyou were to ask me, "Was he, too, brave?" I should answer, "Are notpoets and Irishmen always brave? Does not Sir Walter Scott tell us thatthey laugh in their ranks as they go forward to battle--that they--
"Move to death with military glee?"
Sir Walter, I may also remind those who live in the land o' cakes, saysin the same poem:
"But ne'er in battlefield throbbed heart more brave Than that which beats beneath the Scottish plaid."
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So now we are back again at the place where we left off in the lastchapter, with the yacht being towed slowly past good Ralph's ship on thestocks, and lusty cheers being exchanged from one vessel to the other.
Rory and Allan exchanged glances. The faces of each were at that momenta study for a physiognomist, but the uppermost feeling visible in eitherwas one of astonishment--not blank astonishment, mind you, for there wassomething in the eyes of each, and in the smile that flickered roundtheir lips, that would have told you in a moment that Ralph'snicely-kept secret was a secret no more. Rory, as usual with natives ofgreen Erin, was the first to break the silence.
"Depend upon it," he said, nodding his head mirthfully, "it is all somemighty fine joke of Ralph's, and he means giving us a pleasantsurprise."
"The same thought struck me," replied Allan, "as soon as I clapped eyeson the word `_Arrandoon_.'"
"Oh?" chimed in Helen Edith, with her sweet, musical voice; "that is thereason your friend would not come with us on our delightful voyage."
"That _was_ the reason," said Allan, emphatically, "because he wasbuilding a ship of his own, the sly dog."
"But wherever do you think he means cruising to at all, at all?" addedRory, with puzzled face.
"That's what I should like to know," said Allan.
And this thought occupied their minds all the way up to Glasgow; butonce there, and the ladies seen safely to their hotels, Rory and Allansped off without delay to visit this big, mysterious yacht; and they hadnot been half an hour on board ere, as Rory expressed it, in languagemore forcible than elegant.
"The secret was out entirely, the cat flew out of the bag, and everydrop of milk got out of the cocoa-nut."
Poor Ralph was delighted at the return of his friends from their longcruise; and now that he had their company he had no longer any wish ordesire to remain in the vicinity of the _Arrandoon_; so giving up hispretty Highland cottage, bidding a kindly adieu to the widow, kissingwee weeping Jeannie, and promising to be sure to return some day, thetrio hurried them southwards, to spend most of their time at Ralph'spleasant home, until the ship should be ready to launch.
Leigh Hall was a lordly mansion, possessing no very great pretensions toarchitectural splendour, but beautifully situated among its woods andparks on a high braeland that overlooked one of England's fairest lakes.For miles you approached the house from behind by a road which, withmany a devious turning, wound through a rich but rolling country. Pastmany a rural hamlet; past many a picturesque cottage, their gables andfronts charmingly painted and tinted by the hands of the magic artistTime; past stately farms, where sleek cattle seemed to low kindlywelcome to our heroes as their carriage came rolling onwards, with herea wood and there a field, and yonder a great stretch of common wherecows waded shoulder deep in ferns and furze, daintily cropping the greenand tender tops of the trailing bramble; and here a broad, rushy moor,on which flocks of snowy geese wandered.
Alluding to the latter, says Rory, "Don't these geese come out prettilyagainst the patches of green grass, and how soft and easy it must be forthe feet of them!"
"They're preparing for Christmas," said Ralph. Poet Rory gave him alook--one of Rory's looks. "There's never a bit of poetry nor romancein the soul of you," he said.
"Except the romance and poetry of a well-spread table," said Allan,laughing.
"And, 'deed, indeed," replied Rory, "there is little to choose betwixtthe pair of you; so what can I do but be sorry for you both?"
It was on a beautiful autumn afternoon that the three young men were nowapproaching the manor of Leigh. The trees that had been once of atender green, whose leaves in the gentle breath of spring had rustledwith a kind of silken _frou-frou_, were green now only when the sunshone upon them; all the rest was black by contrast. Feathery seedlingsfloated here and there on the breeze that blew from the north. Thisbreeze went rushing through the woods with a sound that made Rory, atall events, think of waves breaking in mid-ocean, and even the fields ofripe and waving grain had, to his mind, a strange resemblance to thesea. The rooks that floated high in air seemed to glory in the wind,for they screamed with delight, baffled though at times they were--takenaback you might say, and hurled yards out of their course.
It was only a plain farmer's autumn wind after all, but it made theseyouthful sailors think of something else than baffled, rooks and fieldsof ripening grain.
Now up through a dark oak copse, and they come all at once to one of theold park gates. Grey is it with very age, and so is the quaintly-gabledlodge; its stones are crumbling to pieces. And well suited for such adwelling is the bent but kindly-faced old crone who totters out on herstaff to open the ponderous gates. She nods and smiles a welcome, towhich bows and smiles are returned, and the carriage rolls on. A greatsquare old house; they come to it at last, so big and square that it didnot even look tall at a distance. They drove up to what really appearedthe back of this mansion, with its stairs and pillars and verandahs, thedoor opening from which led into the hall proper, which ran straightthrough the manor, and opened by other doors on to broad green terraces,with ribbon gardens and fountains, and then the braelike park, with itsancient trees, and so on, downwards to the beautiful lake, with thehills beyond.
Right respectfully and loyally was Ralph greeted by his servants andretainers. All this may be imagined better than I can describe it.
While Rory was marching through the long line of servants I believe hefelt just a little awed; and if, as soon as they found themselves alone,Ralph had addressed himself to his guests in some such speech asfollows, he would not have been very much astonished. If Ralph hadsaid, "Welcome, Ronald Elphinston, and you, my lord of Arrandoon, to theancient home of the Leighs!" Rory would have thought it quite inkeeping with the poetry of the place.
Ralph did nothing of the kind, however; he pitched his hat and glovesrather unceremoniously on a chair, and said, all in one breath and onetone of voice, "Now, boys, here we are at last; I'm sure you'll makeyourselves at home. We'll have fine times for a few weeks, anyhow.Would you like to wash your hands?"
Well, if it was not a very poetic welcome, it was a very hearty onenevertheless.
CHAPTER FO
UR.
LIFE AT LEIGH HALL--THE LAUNCH OF THE "ARRANDOON"--TRIAL TRIPS--A ROWAND A FIGHT--"FREEZING POWDERS."
As the owner of a large house, the head of a county family, and a landedproprietor, there were many duties devolved upon Ralph Leigh when athome, from which he never for a moment thought of shrinking. Though agreat part of the day was spent in shooting, rowing, or fishing, themornings were never his own, nor the evenings either. He had a knack ofgiving nice dinners, and young though he was, he also possessed thehappy knack of making all his guests feel perfectly at home, so thatwhen carriages drew round, and it was time to start for their varioushomes, everybody was astonished at the speed with which the evening hadsped away; and that was proof positive it had passed most pleasantly.
They kept