a great many things getting ready to come!
the newspapers from the city brought full accounts of the stranding of the "prudhomme," and of the safety of her passengers and cargo.
the several editors seemed to differ widely in their opinions relating to the whole affair; but there must have been some twist in the mind of the one who excused everybody on the ground that "no pilot, however skilful, could work his compass correctly in so dense a fog as that."
none of them had any thing whatever to say of the performances of "the swallow." the yacht had been every bit as well handled as the great steamship; but then, she had reached her port in safety, and she was such a little thing, after all.
whatever excitement there had been in the village died out as soon as it was known that the boys were safe; and a good many people began to wonder why they had been so much upset about it, anyhow.
mrs. lee herself, the very next morning, so far recovered her peace of mind as to "wonder wot dab kinzer's goin' to do wid all de money he got for dem bluefish."
"i isn't goin' to ask him," said dick. "he's capt'in."
as for dab himself, he did an immense amount of useful sleeping, that first night; but when he awoke in the morning he shortly made a discovery, and the other boys soon made another. dab's was, that all the long hours of daylight and darkness, while he held the tiller of "the swallow," he had been thinking as well as steering. he had therefore been growing very fast, and would be sure to show it, sooner or later.
ford and frank found that dab had forgotten nothing he had said about learning how to box, and how to talk french; but he did not say a word to them about another important thing. he talked enough, to be sure; but a great, original idea was beginning to take form in his mind, and he was not quite ready yet to mention it to any one.
"i guess," he muttered more than once, "i'd better wait till ham comes home, and talk to him about it."
as for frank harley, mr. foster had readily volunteered to visit the steamship-office in the city, with him, that next day, and see that every thing necessary was done with reference to the safe delivery of his baggage. at the same time, of course, mrs. foster wrote to her sister mrs. hart, giving a full account of all that had happened, but saying that she meant to keep frank as her own guest for a while, if mrs. hart did not seriously object.
that letter made something of a sensation in the hart family. neither mrs. hart nor her husband thought of making any objection; for, to tell the truth, it came to them as a welcome relief.
"it's just the best arrangement that could have been made, maria, all around," said he. "write at once, and tell her she may keep him as long as she pleases."
that was very well for them, but the boys hardly felt the same way about it. they had been planning to have "all sorts of fun with that young missionary," in their own house. he was, as fuz expressed it, to be "put through a regular course of sprouts, and take the hindu all out of him."
"never mind, though," said joe, after the letter came, and the decision of their parents was declared: "we'll serve him out after we get to grantley. there won't be anybody to interfere with the fun."
"well, yes," replied fuz, "and i'd just as lief not see too much of him before that. he won't have any special claim on us, neither, if he doesn't go there from our house."
that was a queer sort of calculation, but it was only a beginning. they had other talks on the same subject, and the tone of them all had in it a promise of lively times at grantley for the friendless young stranger from india.
others, however, were thinking of the future, as well as themselves; and joe and fuz furnished the subject for more than one animated discussion among the boys down there by the long island shore. ford foster gave his two friends the full benefit of all he knew concerning his cousins.
"it's a good thing for you," he said to frank, "that the steamer didn't go ashore anywhere near their house. they're a pair of born young wreckers. just think of the tricks they played on my sister annie!"
they were all related in ford's most graphic style, with comments to suit from his audience. after that conversation, however, it was remarkable what good attention dab kinzer and frank harley paid to their sparring-lessons. it even exceeded the pluck and perseverance with which dab worked at his french; and ford was compelled to admit, to him in particular, "you ought to have a grown-up teacher,—somebody you won't kill if you make out to get in a hit on him. you're too long in the reach for me, and your arms are too hard."
what between the boxing-gloves and the boat, there could be no question but what frank harley had landed at the right place to get strong in.
there was plenty of fishing, bathing, riding, boating, boxing: if they had worked day and night, they could not have used it all up. three boys together can find so much more to do than one can, all alone; and they made it four as often as they could, for dick lee had proved himself the best kind of company. frank harley's east-indian experience had made him indifferent to the mere question of color, and ford foster was too much of a "man" to forget that long night of gale and fog and danger on board "the swallow."
it was only a day or two after that perilous "cruise," that dab kinzer met his old playmate, jenny walters, just in the edge of the village.
"how well you look, dabney!" remarked the sharp-tongued little lady.
"drowning must agree with you."
"yes," said dab, "i like it."
"do you know what a fuss they made over you, when you were gone? i s'pose they'd nothing else to do."
"jenny," said dab suddenly, holding out his hand, "you mustn't quarrel with me any more. bill lee told me about your coming down to the landing. you may say any thing to me you want to."
jenny colored, and bit her lip; and she would have given her bonnet to know if bill lee had told dab how very red her eyes were, as she looked down the inlet for some sign of "the swallow." something had to be said, however; and she said it almost spitefully.
"i don't care, dabney kinzer: it did seem dreadful to think of you three boys being drowned, and you, too, with your new clothes on. good-morning, dab."
"she's a right good-hearted girl, if she'd only show it," muttered dab, as jenny tripped away; "but she isn't a bit like annie foster."
his thoughts must have been on something else than his young-lady acquaintances, nevertheless; for his next words were, "how i do wish ham morris would come home!"
there was time enough for that, and ham was hardly likely to be in a hurry. the days were well employed in his absence; and, as they went by, the morris homestead went steadily on looking less and less like its old self, and more and more like a house made for people to live and be happy in. mrs. kinzer and her daughters had now settled down in their new quarters as completely as if they had never known any others; and it seemed to dab, now and then, as if they had taken almost too complete possession. his mother had her room, of course; and a big one it was. there could be no objection to that. then another big one, of the very best, had to be set apart and fitted up for ham and miranda on their return home; and dab had taken great delight in doing all in his power to make that room all it could be made. but then samantha had insisted upon having a separate domain, and keziah and pamela had imitated their elder sister to a fraction.
the "guest-chamber" had to be provided as well, or what would become of the good old long island notions of hospitality?
dab said nothing while the partition was under discussion, nor for a while afterwards; but one day at dinner, just after the coming of a letter from miranda, announcing the speedy arrival of herself and her husband, he quietly remarked,—
"now i can't sleep in ham's room any longer, i suppose i'll have to go out on the roof. i won't sleep in the garret or in the cellar."
"that will be a good deal as mrs. morris says, when she comes," calmly responded his mother.
"as miranda says!" said dab, with a long breath.
"miranda?" gasped samantha and her sisters in chorus.
"yes, my dears, certainly," said their mother. "this is mrs. morris's house,—or her husband's,—not mine. all the arrangements i have made are only temporary. she and ham both have ideas and wills of their own. i've only done the best i could for the time being."
the girls looked at one another in blank amazement, over the idea of mrs. kinzer being any thing less than the mistress of any house she might happen to be in; but dabney laid down his knife and fork, with—
"it's all right, then. if ham and miranda are to settle it, i think i'll take the room sam has now. you needn't take away your books, sam: i may want to read some of them, or lend them to annie. you and kezi and mele had better take that upper room back. the smell of the paint's all gone now, and there's three kinds of carpet on the floor."
"dabney!" exclaimed samantha, reproachfully, and with an appealing look at her mother, who, however, said nothing on either side, and was a woman of too much good sense to take any other view of the matter than that she had announced.
things were again all running on smoothly and pleasantly, before dinner was over; but dab's ideas of how the house should be divided were likely to result in some changes,—perhaps not precisely the ones he indicated, but such as would give him something better than a choice between the garret, the cellar, and the roof. at all events, only three days would now intervene before the arrival of the two travellers, and any thing in the way of further discussion of the room question was manifestly out of order.
every thing required for the coming reception was pushed forward by mrs. kinzer with all the energy she could bring to bear; and dab felt called upon to remark to pamela,—
"isn't it wonderful, mele, how many things she finds to do after every thing's done?"
the widow had promised her son-in-law that his house should be "ready" for him, and it was likely to be a good deal more ready than either he or his wife had expected.
