The steamer carried a queer assortment4 of passengers, and they were all around Ensign Glennie as he sat well aft on the grating beside the hand-steering gear.
Venezuelans were chattering5 like magpies6; little brown youngsters were rolling over and over around Glennie’s feet; a British engineer was talking with a Jew pearl buyer from Margarita Island—the Spanish coming queerly from their alien lips; a German coffee planter was exchanging small talk with the wife of a Dutch officer who lived in Cura?oa; and there was the usual ragtag and bobtail of English and Brazilians, all of whom gave the youth in the naval7 uniform more or less curious notice.
But the youth, his suit case on a table at his elbow, seemed absorbed in his own thoughts. Judging merely by appearance, Ensign Glennie’s thoughts were far from pleasant. His fingers drummed sharply on the table top, and there was a frown of discontent on his face as his eyes fixed8 themselves gloomily on the Trinidad hills that lay back of the town of Port of Spain. In all conscience, the ensign had enough to trouble him.
215
Several days previous, he had been detached from the United States cruiser Seminole at La Guayra on special duty. Incidentally, the commander of the Seminole had intrusted him with a packet of important papers to be delivered to Mr. Brigham, the United States consular9 representative at Para, in the mouth of the Amazon River. In the course of his duty, Ensign Glennie was to call at Para; also the course of his duty demanded that he proceed to Georgetown, British Guiana, and there await the arrival of a certain boat in which he was to take passage around “the Horn.”
Ensign Glennie, let it be known, was descended10 from a line of Massachusetts notables who first came over in the Mayflower. His father was a Boston nabob, and there was a good deal more pride and haughtiness11 about Glennie than was good for him. No sooner had he been cut loose from the Seminole on detached duty, than he proceeded to hire the services of a body servant—a sphinxlike little Jap by the name of Tolo.
How Tolo came to be in La Guayra at the very time the ensign landed there, and why he should insinuate12 himself into the particular notice of Glennie and ask for a job, were mysteries not destined13 to be solved for some time. The prime thing to be taken account of here is that Tolo did present himself, and was hired.
For two days he brushed the ensign’s clothes, polished his boots, and performed other services such as fall to the lot of a valet who knows his business. Then, after two days of faithful service, Tolo disappeared; and, about the same time, the packet of important papers likewise vanished.
Glennie led the authorities in a wild hunt through La Guayra, and after that through Caracas, but Tolo216 was not to be found. What on earth the little Jap wanted with the papers, Glennie could not even guess, but that he had them seemed a certainty.
Returning to La Guayra, Glennie found that the authorities there had discovered that Tolo had taken passage, on the very morning he had turned up missing, on a tramp steamer bound for Trinidad and Port of Spain; and the authorities further stated that Tolo had formerly14 been employed as a waiter in the hotel Ciudad Bolivar, which fronted the esplanade of the capital city of the island.
Ensign Glennie changed his plans forthwith. Instead of proceeding15 direct to Georgetown he would gain that port by way of Trinidad, stopping long enough in Port of Spain to hunt up the enterprising Tolo and secure the papers.
So this was why Glennie happened to be on the Borneo; and it was also the reason he was not so comfortable in his mind as he might otherwise have been.
As a commissioned officer in the United States navy he had been intrusted with important dispatches. If he did not recover the dispatches, and then proceed with the rest of the duty marked out for him, a black mark would be set against his name that would interfere16 with his promotion17.
Glennie was worried as he had never been before in his life. His one desire was to serve Uncle Sam with a clean and gallant18 record. His father, the Boston nabob, expected great things of him, and Glennie, being puffed19 up—as already stated—with rather high ideas regarding his family, expected them of himself. Therefore the loss of that packet of official papers caught him like a slap in the face. It made him squirm, and he was squirming as he sat by that table on the grating, felt the Borneo reach the end217 of her scope of cable and come to a stop with her mud hook hard and fast.
The water was too shoal for a large boat to get very far inshore, and Glennie was among the first to tumble into the launch that soon hove alongside. When he had scrambled20 off the launch at the landing, he hailed a queer-looking cab and ordered the dusky driver to carry him, as rapidly as possible, to the Ciudad Bolivar.
The ensign did not pay much attention to the scenery as he was jostled along—his mind was too full of other things for that—and presently he went into the wood and stone building that faced the plaza21 and proceeded to make frantic22 inquiries23 regarding a waiter by the name of Tolo.
To all of these eager questions the Venezuelan proprietor24 of the hotel gave a negative shake of the head.
“There must be some mistake—the Se?or Americano has surely been wrongly informed. There has never been such a person as the Japanese employed in the hotel. The waiters were all Venezuelans, and no Japs were ever employed. Perhaps this Tolo had worked in the old hotel that had been burned during the great fire?”
Glennie’s trail, faint enough at best, had run into thin air. He was at the end of it, and it had led him nowhere. Going off into one corner of the wine-room, the ensign dropped down at a table in an obscure corner, rested his chin in his hands, and wondered dejectedly what he should do next.
He was not very well acquainted with Orientals, or the brand of guile25 they used. He had heard of Japs insinuating26 themselves into fortifications flying the United States flag and making drawings and jotting27 down memoranda28 of the guns, stores, and number of men. He had laughed contemptuously at such yarns,218 although heartily29 agreeing with the expediency30 that had suggested such a move on the part of the men from Nippon. Like all others in the sea and land service of the great republic, Ensign Glennie knew that it was not so much the forts, or the guns, or the ammunition31, as it is the unconquerable spirit of the men behind the guns that count.
But where was the tactical advantage to be gained by a Jap in stealing an envelope addressed to a consular agent tucked away in a Brazilian town at the mouth of the Amazon? The only advantage which Glennie could think of was that of pecuniary32 gain. Tolo had stolen the packet in order to demand money for its return. Glennie had plenty of money, and he began to think he had fallen into a grievous error by running away from La Guayra without giving Tolo a chance to communicate with him.
And yet there was the information developed by the La Guayra police, to the effect that Tolo had sailed for Port of Spain. However, this might be as unreliable as that other supposed discovery, namely, that Tolo had worked at the Ciudad Bolivar.
Nevertheless, no matter what theories Glennie might have, now that he was in Port of Spain, and could not get out of the town again until the next steamer sailed, it would be well to look around and thus make assurance doubly sure that Tolo was not on the island.
Although Ensign Glennie was not at all sanguine33, he immediately left the hotel and conferred with the city officials. A description of Tolo was given, handbills offering a reward for his apprehension34 were struck off and posted in conspicuous35 places, and the island telegraph lines and the cables to the mainland were brought into requisition.
Glennie had to work fast and thoroughly36. Before many days he must be in Georgetown, ready to go219 aboard the ship that was to carry him south, and if he did not recover the important packet before he was picked up, then there would be a reprimand, and perhaps a trial for dereliction of duty. He winced37 at the thought and redoubled his efforts.
But he was “going it blind.” The wily Tolo might be a thousand miles away and rapidly increasing the distance between him and his erstwhile employer. Yet, be that as it might, Ensign Glennie could not give over his hopeless labors38.
He fought against fate with all the Glennie firmness and resolution. Fate had no business trying to back-cap one of the Glennies, anyhow. Family pride swelled39 up in him as the skies of hope continued to darken. All he did was to cable his governor for a few thousand dollars and then begin scattering40 it wherever he thought it might do some good.
Three days Ensign Glennie was in Port of Spain; then one morning as he came down into the office of the hotel he heard an excited group talking about a mysterious under-water boat that had just bobbed up in the harbor.
“The Grampus,” was the answer.
That was enough for the ensign. He settled his bill, grabbed up his suit case, and rushed for the landing.
He had hardly got clear of the hotel before a Chinaman, with a copy of one of the handbills, presented himself and asked for John Henry Glennie. The Chinaman was told where the ensign had gone, and he likewise made a bee line for the waterfront.
Here, at last, was a possible clew—and it was sailing after Glennie with kimono fluttering and pigtail flying.
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1
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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2
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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3
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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4
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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5
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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6
magpies
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| 喜鹊（magpie的复数形式） | |
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7
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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8
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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9
consular
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| a.领事的 | |
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10
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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11
haughtiness
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| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
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12
insinuate
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| vt.含沙射影地说，暗示 | |
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13
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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14
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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15
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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16
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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17
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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18
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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19
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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20
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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21
plaza
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| n.广场，市场 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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23
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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24
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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25
guile
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| n.诈术 | |
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insinuating
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| adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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27
jotting
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| n.简短的笔记，略记v.匆忙记下( jot的现在分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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28
memoranda
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| n. 备忘录, 便条 名词memorandum的复数形式 | |
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29
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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expediency
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| n.适宜；方便；合算；利己 | |
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31
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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32
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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33
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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37
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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39
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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40
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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41
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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