Part 26

"Constance, I'm going to get a place on that boat if I can. It's the very thing we've talked about. What happiness to ride up and down the river and see the world, and earn your own living, too!"

At this outbreak she was so startled she could not speak, but after a while, turning to me with a sob, said, and sorrowfully enough:

"You'll not do that, Gilbert, and leave your Uncle Job and--me!"

"You, Constance--only you!" I answered. "Uncle Job has Miss Betty now, and so will not miss me," I answered.

"Oh, but he will! Please don't think of it any more, Gilbert. I should never see you again, I know," she answered, taking hold of my hands.

"Yes, you would, Constance, and often, too, for the boat is passing here all the time. When she ties up in the fall, I will come back, and it'll not be long, either."

"Your uncle will never forgive you, Gilbert. You are like a son to him, as you are to papa."

"I know, but I have got to make my way in the world sometime, and why not now?" I answered.

"Papa and your Uncle Job will help you to do that, and be glad of the chance."

"I know; but what more can they do than they have? And if I don't do this, Constance, I'll have to go away to school soon, and then I'll not see you for a long time, and maybe never. What if they should send me to New York, or thereabouts. It takes months to go, and I couldn't come back for years!"

This and much more I said to win her consent, but most of all the thought that if I went away to school she would see me no more, at last won her to my way. So with tears streaming down her dear face, she put her arms about my neck and bade me do as I wished.

"There's no one on earth so good and sweet as you, Constance," I cried, kissing her. Then, not waiting to say more, I ran down to the landing, calling to her to stay where she was until I returned.

The captain of the War Eagle was on the upper deck, and reaching the spot where he stood, I looked back to see Constance, sad and dejected, standing where I had left her. Much put out now the time had come to proffer my request, I knew not what to say or do, but presently, as the captain did not look around, I went up to him and made known my wish, but without any voice or heart whatever. To this he paid no attention any more than as if I had not spoken, but continued on with the business he had in hand. Plucking up courage after a while, I said, and now with more animation:

"Captain, I want to get a berth on your boat, if you please."

To this he made no reply, any more than in the first instance, but looking down called angrily to the mate about some matter that was going wrong; and this makes me think that I have never known men with such high tempers, or its semblance, as those who work on the rivers. For if the smallest thing goes wrong, they appear to fly into a furious passion; but no sooner has the occasion passed than you will see them laughing and talking as if nothing in the world could disturb the serenity of their tempers.

Angered beyond speaking at the captain's treatment, and observing Constance watching me, I now went close to him, and taking hold of his jacket gave it a jerk, calling out, loud enough to be heard half across the river:

"Captain, I want a place on your boat as cabin-boy."

Upon this he turned about, half in anger, and eying me a moment, demanded:

"What is that you want, young man?"

Upon this I repeated my request, but now more respectfully, and hearing me through he answered, pleasantly enough:

"I've no work for you, my son. You are not strong enough for a roustabout, nor tall enough to look after the berths, and besides the darkies attend to such things."

"I only want a place as cabin-boy, sir."

"You are not smart enough for that," he replied, looking me over.

"If I don't know, I can learn," I answered, seeing my hopes slipping away.

"You are too slight, my son, that is what I mean. There, go away; I have no time to talk to you," and with that he turned and faced the crew as before.

Rebuffed and discouraged, I stood still, but he taking no further notice of me, I at last made my way to the lower deck, and now by the opposite stairs, so as not to be seen from the shore. In this way I reached the farther side of the boat, where I stopped, filled with such disappointment and shame that I could not find it in my heart to go back to Constance. While thus waiting, not knowing what to do, a woman standing by my side gave a cry, and as she did so I heard a splash and at the same moment the wail of a frightened child.

"Oh, my God, my baby!" she screamed, wringing her hands and leaning over the water as if about to throw herself headlong into the stream. Looking down, the child had disappeared, but while I gazed it came to the surface a little way below, and doing so, threw up its hands imploringly as it again sank beneath the water. This distressing sight and the cries of the poor woman were such as would have stirred any one, and without thinking I threw off my shoes, and running to the spot where the child had disappeared, plunged into the stream. The water being clear, I found the little thing directly, and supporting it with my arm, brought it to the surface. Now, indeed, I was thankful to my dear father for having one day thrown me headlong into the pool at Wild Plum, in sport, he said, to make me swim whether I would or no. Putting my arm about the child, I lifted it to my shoulder, and with the other turned about to regain the boat. This I might easily have done had the water been still, but the current turning outward with the bend in the river, or from some other cause, carried me swiftly in the opposite direction. Saying some soft words to the child, I soon had it quieted, for it was in no way the worse for the ducking that I could see. Then, on its showing some further uneasiness, I made as if we were having a lark, whereupon it laughed, and taking up the water in its hand, dashed it in my face, crowing with glee, as if it were great sport. The little thing's weight was nothing, and I carried it as easily as I would a riding-whip; but having the use of only one arm I could make no headway whatever. As we drifted farther into the stream the current grew stronger, boiling and bubbling about us, but without adding much, if any, to the labor of keeping afloat. At first I plainly heard the captain giving orders to man the yawl, but while this was being done, the father of the child, a poor deck-hand, frenzied with grief, sprang into the river. This, foolishly, as it appeared, for he could not swim a stroke, and so sank where he fell. Thus he had first to be rescued, and when the boat at last turned in my direction I was but a speck on the distant water. The exertion of keeping afloat did not in any way tax my strength, but not knowing the cause of the delay I could not make out why they were so long in coming to our relief. Finally, no boat appearing, I thought they had given us up for lost. At this I was greatly discouraged, for I could see no way by which I could reach the shore unaided, because of the swift current, which now ran like a mill-race. While meditating on what I should do, I looked back, and to my great joy saw the boat coming toward us. At this I felt as good as new, and thus we floated on past the bend in the river, and out of sight. This only for a moment, for the boat quickly came into view again, throwing the spray high on either side, as if skimming the water like a bird. Then in a moment they lifted us aboard, and we were saved, the captain taking off his jacket and wrapping it about my body, the mate doing the same for my little companion. When we were thus tucked up, and not until then, the captain spoke, but it was no longer the voice I had heard, but that of a soft-hearted, compassionate man.

"How do you think you find yourself now, my son?"

"I'm all right, sir," I answered, as indeed I was.

"We should have reached you sooner, but for that fool of a deck-hand. I expect you found the water pretty cold?" he asked, fastening his jacket more securely about my body.

"Not at first, sir, nor enough to hurt. The little one, though, looks pinched. See how blue its lips are," I answered, no whit the worse for my bath.

Upon this the captain called to the mate to rub the child's hands and limbs and wrap it up more warmly, but the little thing was in nowise cast down. Brought up on the river, it looked on the water as its home, and this fortunately for me, for it gave me no trouble whatever, but from the first treated the whole thing as if it were play.

On our way back the shore was lined with the passengers and crew of the War Eagle and such of the townspeople as happened to be about, and among them I saw Constance with arms outstretched. At this I stood up in the boat and waved my hand, calling her name, and this I continued to do, that she might see I was safe and unharmed. When finally we reached the War Eagle, I made my way to where she stood, and putting my arms about her trembling form, held her, neither of us speaking. While we stood thus, the captain came up, and thinking we were brother and sister, said, out of compliment to her:

"You ought to be proud of your brother, my little lady!"

"Yes, sir; but he's not my brother," she answered, without offering to disengage herself from my arms.

"A cousin, or some relative?"

"No, sir."

"Your lover, then? Well, I like that best. Yes, yes, decidedly, that's as it should be. A few years, and they will soon pass, and then you will make a fine couple. Be always as you are now, though, for it was in that way my wife and I grew up; and now she is the finest woman in the world. Come, my son," he went on, "are you the lad that asked me for work?"

"Yes, sir," I answered.

"I thought so. Well, I have changed my mind; captains, you see, can do that as well as other people. If you don't know enough to be a cabin boy, you will learn, and of that I am sure. So if you still want the place, I shall be mighty glad to give it to you."

"Thank you," I answered; "I wish you would."

"When do you want to come aboard--to-day or on our return? For we shall be pulling out in a few minutes."

"Yes, to-day; and I'll be ready as soon as I can go to Appletop and back."

"You have plenty of time for that, or if not, we will wait for you. Now be off and get some dry clothing. We will furnish your uniform, and glad of the chance."

"Thank you, sir; I'll be back in half an hour," I answered, taking Constance's hand.

"Good by, little lady, and don't worry. I will take good care of him, and send him back to you as full of wisdom as a turtle," the captain called as we hurried away.

*CHAPTER XLIII*

*ON BOARD THE WAR EAGLE*

Accompanying Constance to her home, I returned with all haste, to find the War Eagle ready to cast off; and the captain seeing me come aboard, gave the word, whereupon the boat backed into the stream. No sooner had I set foot on deck, however, than the roustabouts and emigrants flocked about me as if I were a lord, determined to make a great deal out of what I had done. This is always the way, though, and grows out of the natural amiability of men and the desire they have to be agreeable. Among the foremost to welcome me were the child's father and mother, the latter holding the little thing high above her head. Upon perceiving me, it reached out its hands, and seeing this I took it in my arms, but more to please its father and mother than anything else. For, like most men, I have never had any great fancy for strange children. The father and mother I could hardly shake off, and throughout their lives, all too short, they loved me and never tired of going out of their way to do me some office of kindness. Telling them, and truly enough, that if I had not done what I did, others would, I finally got off, and so made my way to the captain on the upper deck. He received me kindly, and upon my answering that I was ready to go to work, sent for Mr. Devlin, the third steward, and put me in his charge. This gentleman, when stripped of all superfluity of title, I found to be the head waiter, and nothing more. Taking me to his room, he offered me the half of it, which kindness I gladly accepted. Here I was fitted out with my uniform of light shoes, duck trousers, and jacket to match, a military cap completing the outfit. Thus arrayed I looked far more like a dapper young cadet, I thought, than the country-bred lad I was.

As the day was partly spent, Mr. Devlin told me I need not go on duty till the next morning, and in the mean time might look about and acquaint myself with the boat and the duties I was to perform. Thanking him, I first of all sought out those who were to be my companions, and these I found to be agreeable young fellows, mostly the sons of farmers and small traders living about the river towns. They one and all received me kindly, as did the lower officers, so that I was at once put at my ease among them. After that I made a tour of the War Eagle, and a fine vessel she was, with side-wheels, and a sharp prow that stuck out like the nose of a fox, and in a way that seemed to invite other boats to follow. A band of gold encircled her side, and at the summit of her flagstaff an eagle perched as if about to fly. Another like it, but of burnished gold, hung suspended between the smokestacks, and this with outstretched wings and eager neck, as if all its strength were put forth to keep up with the noble vessel.

Going through the boat, and critically, as one having some knowledge of these things, I found it far beyond what I had thought, and such as to fulfill in everyway the captain's pride of ownership. The management and practices on board, too, were also in keeping and orderly, as I soon came to know. For the captain was a fine business man, and neither drank nor gambled, nor encouraged such things in others. This, every one agreed, was greatly to his honor, considering that the receipts of the tap-room were wholly dependent upon such lines of custom, and by his giving way ever so little its earnings might have been greatly increased. Being a firm man, however, he was never led astray by prospect of gain once he had made up his mind in regard to a thing of this nature. He was also strenuous in respect to matters of conduct in others. Thus, he would have it that all gaming should cease promptly at break of day, and this so that the business of the boat and the comfort of other passengers might not be interfered with unduly. If there were exceptions to the rule, they were infrequent and such as could not properly be criticised, being called forth by the prominence of the guests, or for some other equally good reason. Another thing he did that was commendable was this: Whenever guests became incompetent from drink, and so as to scandalize the management or create disorder, he would insist that they should abstain from further indulgence for the time being, and if still incompetent, should go to their rooms. I could recite a hundred instances like these, if necessary, to prove his fine sense and firm determination not to let matters drift as the captains of some vessels were in the habit of doing, to the great scandal of the river and its business.

After I had finished the round of the boat, I went to join Mr. Devlin, and this young gentleman I found stretched in his bunk, reading Kent's Commentaries, or something like that. For it was his ambition, it appeared, to become a lawyer, and his present duties were only a means thereto. Notwithstanding this, he easily surpassed every one about him in the business we had in hand. For once a guest had been served, and opportunity afforded Mr. Devlin to get a look at him, he knew from that time on better than the man himself what dishes pleased him best. A passenger had but to move his lips or raise his eyes, and he was off like a shot to procure what was wanted. If we did not happen to have the thing asked for, which was sometimes the case, though not often, he was never abrupt or rude in making it known, as less skillful persons would have been, but tactful, so that in the end the passenger felt that nothing in the world could have been more inopportune than his request. Thus he kept every one in good humor and taught his subordinates, by example and otherwise, the science of doing obscure things well. Often, too, it fell out that some of us small fry would get into trouble with a guest, whereupon Mr. Devlin would be called, and always to the extinguishment of the passenger. For, while he did not deny that we were in the wrong, he in the end never failed to bring about our vindication. This, however, only to such as he thought were doing their best. The others he sent ashore with their pack and such small savings as the clerk had to their credit at the first landing.

Unused to business or any kind of stir, I thought it fine to be doing something, but strive as I would I could never come up to the needs of the office. Of all the things set me to do, however, I found it hardest to remember the names of the dishes to be served at dinner and the order in which they were prescribed. For we had no written or printed bill of fare, as was afterward the custom, and as, indeed, some of the more wastefully managed boats had at the time of which I speak. These lapses of memory, so strange and inexcusable, were a constant source of mortification to me, for none of my companions had any difficulty in saying off the names glibly enough. To overcome this weakness I put forth every effort, but never with any success to speak of. Thus, acquainting myself with the names of the dishes in advance, I would con them over till I had them at my tongue's end; but when I approached a guest and sought to repeat them in order, they vanished from my mind as if I had never heard them. This not wholly, but in part, and usually the more important dishes, such as rare meats and particular pies, held in high esteem by our customers. Perhaps if some irate guest had rebuked me, I might have mended, but no such thing happened. For sometimes, when one would face about with kindling eye as if to say some rude thing, they would turn it off in another way. Why, I do not know, unless it might be because of my heightened color and look of shame. My companions soon came to know my failing, and so would stop as they passed to and fro to set me right, or recite at length the dishes that were being served. Because of this I labored the harder to master the business, but never, as I have said, with any success. Truly, I would often say to myself in shame, the captain was right when he said I was not smart enough for the business. No, alas! and never would be.

We had breakfast on the War Eagle at seven, and dinner at twelve, supper being served at six. With the first and last I got on very well, as there were but few dishes and they easily remembered. Dinner being an elaborate affair and made much of by the captain, I could in no way get the hang of it. Because of these lapses I mourned much in secret, and came to look forward to the hour with direful forebodings. Mr. Devlin, in his great kindness, placed me at the upper end of the saloon, where the ladies sat, and this, I knew, because they were less exacting than the men. Indeed, I was every day in debt to one or more of these dear creatures for some act of forbearance or gentle office of kindness in this connection. Sometimes, when I blundered more than usual, I would glance in affright at the captain to see if he noticed my awkwardness, and doing so would perhaps see a frown on his face; but when he saw me looking toward him he would smile in the most amiable way possible and as if greatly pleased at the deftness I showed in a business so perplexing. This forbearance endeared him to me the more, but without in any way lessening the shame I felt at not being able to do as well as the others. Indeed, in the end, it so preyed upon me that I went to Mr. Devlin and asked to be put in the pantry to look after the knives and forks. This he would by no means do, saying I got along very well, and that no complaint had ever been made by the captain or any guest. Encouraged by this, I redoubled my efforts to please, but without ever being able to come up to any just expectation of what I was required to do.

One of my duties, and that which I liked best, was to see that the pilots were supplied with drinking-water and such small things as their business required, which the fixedness of their work did not permit them to look after themselves. This took me to the wheelhouse, and many times, I am sure, when there was no excuse for it. For of all places this was the best for seeing what was going on, and especially for watching the river and the country round about. Had I been older, I thought, I should have sought to learn the trade of pilot, for save that of captain, it seemed to me the most considerable in the world. To know the channel by day or night and be able to carry the boat forward and be its master were things apart and worthy of any man's strivings.

The work of the cabin boys was not hard, nor their hours long. We were up at sunrise and off duty at seven in the evening. After that we were our own masters; and it was my habit, if the weather was not too rough, to spend my spare time on the upper deck or in the pilot-house. Thus midnight often found me, and reluctant to go to my room, where I was always sure to find Devlin poring over his studies.

Of all the things that happened, and they were many, the most romantic, I thought, was the landing at night for wood. Then the torches, placed here and there, lit up the dark forest and glistening water, making them look for all the world as if they were alive to what we were doing. At such times the patient roustabouts, running back and forth, amid the cries of the mate, gave to the scene the air of being a place of punishment, where lost souls were scourged with blows and curses to do more than lay in the power of men. This, I have often thought in my more mature years, was not far from the real truth, though the necessity of haste in the business of such carriers makes those in charge impatient of delay, and so perhaps more prone to lose their tempers than other men.

Thus the summer and fall passed as the War Eagle went back and forth between the fair city of St. Louis and the distant posts on the upper river. St. Louis was then the most considerable city in the West, and well worth studying by those seeing the world. Because of this I sought in every way during our visits to increase my knowledge of its affairs; and thus it fell out that here for the first time I found my way to the theater one hot night in midsummer. This not advisedly, as it turned out, for demanding a ticket at the office, and the agent being busy over his accounts, answered absently:

"Where?"

Not knowing what he meant, I replied at random:

"Anywhere, if you please."

At this he looked up, and seeing me, cried out with great promptness and show of gayety:

"Ha, no coat! From the country. To the gods with you"; and straightway handed me a bit of paper and claimed his quarter.

Not among the gods, but rather with the damned in hell, I thought, on climbing to my seat, for I could conceive of no hotter place than that in which I found myself. Here, too, I lost what small change I had about me, and this by the help of a pleasant-spoken young man who sat beside me and was at pains to point out the fine points of the play, and otherwise entertain me with stories of the town, in the intervals of the acts. This adventure, because of my inexperience, discouraged me from making further excursions of a like nature, so that thereafter I was content with such exterior views of the city as my short stature and the crowded streets would permit.