When the last pirate had disappeared behind the rocks of Holmes Island, and all was in readiness for action, the good old lady, who had hitherto been as calm and unruffled as a child, began to get red in the face and to bustle5 about in a manner which betrayed considerable perturbation of spirit.
“Now, Mrs. Noah,” said Cleopatra, as, peeping out from the billiard-room window, she saw Morgan disappearing in the distance, “the coast is clear, and I resign my position of chairman to you. We place the vessel in your hands, and ourselves subject to your orders. You are in command. What do you wish us to do?”
“Very well,” replied Mrs. Noah, putting down her knitting and starting for the deck. “I’m not certain, but I think the first thing to do is to get her moving. Do you know, I’ve never discovered whether this boat is a steamboat or a sailing-vessel? Does anybody know?”
“I think it has a naphtha tank and a propeller6,” said Elizabeth, “although I don’t know. It seems to me my brother Raleigh told me they’d had a naphtha engine put in last winter after the freshet, when the House-boat was carried ten miles down the river, and had to be towed back at enormous expense. They put it in so that if she were carried away again she could get back of her own power.”
“That’s unfortunate,” said Mrs. Noah, “because I don’t know anything about these new fangled notions. If there’s any one here who knows anything about naphtha engines, I wish they’d speak.”
“I’m of the opinion,” said Portia, “that I can study out the theory of it in a short while.”
“Very well, then,” said Mrs. Noah, “you can do it. I’ll appoint you engineer, and give you all your orders now, right away, in advance. Set her going and keep her going, and don’t stop without a written order signed by me. We might as well be very careful, and have everything done properly, and it might happen that in the excitement of our trip you would misunderstand my spoken orders and make a fatal error. Therefore, pay no attention to unwritten orders. That will do for you for the present. Xanthippe, you may take Ophelia and Madame Récamier, and ten other ladies, and, every morning before breakfast, swab the larboard deck. Cassandra, Tuesdays you will devote to polishing the brasses7 in the dining-room, and the balance of your time I wish you to expend8 in dusting the bric-a-brac. Dido, you always were strong at building fires. I’ll make you chief stoker. You will also assist Lucretia Borgia in the kitchen. Inasmuch as the latter’s maid has neglected to supply her with the usual line of poisons, I think we can safely entrust9 to Lucretia’s hands the responsibilities of the culinary department.”
“I’m perfectly10 willing to do anything I can,” said Lucretia, “but I must confess that I don’t approve of your methods of commanding a ship. A ship’s captain isn’t a domestic martinet11, as you are setting out to be. We didn’t appoint you housekeeper12.”
“Now, my child,” said Mrs. Noah, firmly, “I do not wish any words. If I hear any more impudence13 from you, I’ll put you ashore14 without a reference; and the rest of you I would warn in all kindness that I will not tolerate insubordination. You may, all of you, have one night of the week and alternate Sundays off, but your work must be done. The regimen I am adopting is precisely15 that in vogue16 on the Ark, only I didn’t have the help I have now, and things got into very bad shape. We were out forty days, and, while the food was poor and the service execrable, we never lost a life.”
“Hurrah,” cried Elizabeth, clapping her hands with glee, “we are off!”
“I will repair to the deck and get our bearings,” said Mrs. Noah, putting her shawl over her shoulders. “Meantime, Cleopatra, I appoint you first mate. See that things are tidied up a bit here before I return. Have the windows washed, and to-morrow I want all the rugs and carpets taken up and shaken.”
Portia meanwhile had discovered the naphtha engine, and, after experimenting several times with the various levers and stop-cocks, had finally managed to move one of them in such a way as to set the engine going, and the wheel began to revolve18.
“Are we going all right?” she cried, from below.
“I am afraid not,” said the gallant19 commander. “The wheel is roiling20 up the water at a great rate, but we don’t seem to be going ahead very fast—in fact, we’re simply moving round and round as though we were on a pivot21.”
“I’m afraid we’re aground amidships,” said Xanthippe, gazing over the side of the House-boat anxiously. “She certainly acts that way—like a merry-go-round.”
“Well, there’s something wrong,” said Mrs. Noah; “and we’ve got to hurry and find out what it is, or those men will be back and we shall be as badly off as ever.”
“Maybe this has something to do with it,” observed Mrs. Lot, pointing to the anchor rope. “It looks to me as if those horrid22 men had tied us fast.”
“That’s just what it is,” snapped Mrs. Noah. “They guessed our plan, and have fastened us to a pole or something, but I imagine we can untie23 it.”
Portia, who had come on deck, gave a short little laugh.
“Why, of course we don’t move,” she said—“we are anchored!”
Portia explained the science of the anchor.
“What nonsense!” ejaculated Mrs. Noah. “How can we get away from it?”
“We’ve got to pull it up,” said Portia. “Order all hands on deck and have it pulled up.”
“It can’t be done, and, if it could, I wouldn’t have it!” said Mrs. Noah, indignantly. “The idea! Lifting heavy pieces of iron, my dear Portia, is not a woman’s work. Send for Delilah, and let her cut the rope with her scissors.”
“It would take her a week to cut a hawser25 like that,” said Elizabeth, who had been investigating. “It would be more to the purpose, I think, to chop it in two with an axe26.”
“Very well,” replied Mrs. Noah, satisfied. “I don’t care how it is done as long as it is done quickly. It would never do for us to be recaptured now.”
The suggestion of Elizabeth was carried out, and the queen herself cut the hawser with six well-directed strokes of the axe.
“You are an expert with it, aren’t you?” smiled Cleopatra.
“I am, indeed,” replied Elizabeth, grimly. “I had it suspended over my head for so long a time before I got to the throne that I couldn’t help familiarizing myself with some of its possibilities.”
“Ah!” cried Mrs. Noah, as the vessel began to move. “I begin to feel easier. It looks now as if we were really off.”
“It seems to me, though,” said Cleopatra, gazing forward, “that we are going backward.”
“Oh, well, what if we are!” said Mrs. Noah. “We did that on the Ark half the time. It doesn’t make any difference which way we are going as long as we go, does it?”
“Why, of course it does!” cried Elizabeth. “What can you be thinking of? People who walk backward are in great danger of running into other people. Why not the same with ships? It seems to me, it’s a very dangerous piece of business, sailing backward.”
“Oh, nonsense,” snapped Mrs. Noah. “You are as timid as a zebra. During the Flood, we sailed days and days and days, going backward. It didn’t make a particle of difference how we went—it was as safe one way as another, and we got just as far away in the end. Our main object now is to get away from the pirates, and that’s what we are doing. Don’t get emotional, Lizzie, and remember, too, that I am in charge. If I think the boat ought to go sideways, sideways she shall go. If you don’t like it, it is still not too late to put you ashore.”
The threat calmed Elizabeth somewhat, and she was satisfied, and all went well with them, even if Portia had started the propeller revolving27 reverse fashion; so that the House-boat was, as Elizabeth had said, backing her way through the ocean.
The day passed, and by slow degrees the island and the marooned28 pirates faded from view, and the night came on, and with it a dense29 fog.
“We’re going to have a nasty night, I am afraid,” said Xanthippe, looking anxiously out of the port.
“No doubt,” said Mrs. Noah, pleasantly. “I’m sorry for those who have to be out in it.”
“That’s what I was thinking about,” observed Xanthippe. “It’s going to be very hard on us keeping watch.”
“Watch for what?” demanded Mrs. Noah, looking over the tops of her glasses at Xanthippe.
“Not at all,” said Mrs. Noah. “Perfectly absurd. We never did it on the Ark, and it isn’t necessary now. I want you all to go to bed at ten o’clock. I don’t think the night air is good for you. Besides, it isn’t proper for a woman to be out after dark, whether she’s new or not.”
“But, my dear Mrs. Noah,” expostulated Cleopatra, “what will become of the ship?”
“I guess she’ll float through the night whether we are on deck or not,” said the commander. “The Ark did, why not this? Now, girls, these new-fangled yachting notions are all nonsense. It’s night, and there’s a fog as thick as a stone-wall all about us. If there were a hundred of you upon deck with ten eyes apiece, you couldn’t see anything. You might much better be in bed. As your captain, chaperon, and grandmother, I command you to stay below.”
“What’s the use of steering32 until we can see where to steer to?” demanded Mrs. Noah. “I certainly don’t intend to bother with that tiller until some reason for doing it arises. We haven’t any place to steer to yet; we don’t know where we are going. Now, my dear children, be reasonable, and don’t worry me. I’ve had a very hard day of it, and I feel my responsibilities keenly. Just let me manage, and we’ll come out all right. I’ve had more experience than any of you, and if—”
A terrible crash interrupted the old lady’s remarks. The House-boat shivered and shook, careened way to one side, and as quickly righted and stood still. A mad rush up the gangway followed, and in a moment a hundred and eighty-three pale-faced, trembling women stood upon the deck, gazing with horror at a great helpless hulk ten feet to the rear, fastened by broken ropes and odd pieces of rigging to the stern-posts of the House-boat, sinking slowly but surely into the sea.
It was the Gehenna!
The House-boat had run her down and her last hour had come, but, thanks to the stanchness of her build and wonderful beam, the floating club-house had withstood the shock of the impact and now rode the waters as gracefully33 as ever.
Portia was the first to realize the extent of the catastrophe34, and in a short while chairs and life-preservers and tables—everything that could float—had been tossed into the sea to the struggling immortals35 therein. On board the Gehenna, those who had not cast themselves into the waters, under the cool direction of Holmes and Bonaparte, calmly lowered the boats, and in a short while were not only able to felicitate themselves upon their safety, but had likewise the good fortune to rescue their more impetuous brethren who had preferred to swim for it. Ultimately, all were brought aboard the House-boat in safety, and the men in Hades were once more reunited to their wives, daughters, sisters, and fiancées, and Elizabeth had the satisfaction of once more saving the life of Raleigh by throwing him her ruff as she had done a year or so previously36, when she and her brother had been upset in the swift current of the river Styx.
Order and happiness being restored, Holmes took command of the House-boat and soon navigated37 her safely back into her old-time berth38. The Gehenna went to the bottom and was never seen again, and when the roll was called it was found that all who had set out upon her had returned in safety save Shylock, Kidd, Sir Henry Morgan, and Abeuchapeta; but even they were not lost, for, five weeks later, these four worthies39 were found early one morning drifting slowly up the river Styx, gazing anxiously out from the top of a water-cask and yelling lustily for help.
And here endeth the chronicle of the pursuit of the good old House-boat. Back to her moorings, the even tenor40 of her ways was once more resumed, but with one slight difference.
The ladies became eligible41 for membership, and, availing themselves of the privilege, began to think less and less of the advantages of being men and to rejoice that, after all, they were women; and even Xanthippe and Socrates, after that night of peril42, reconciled their differences, and no longer quarrel as to which is the more entitled to wear the toga of authority. It has become for them a divided skirt.
As for Kidd and his fellows, they have never recovered from the effects of their fearful, though short, exile upon Holmes Island, and are but shadows of their former shades; whereas Mr. Sherlock Holmes has so endeared himself to his new-found friends that he is quite as popular with them as he is with us, who have yet to cross the dark river and be subjected to the scrutiny43 of the Committee on Membership at the House-boat on the Styx.
Even Hawkshaw has been able to detect his genius.
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1
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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2
abducted
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| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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7
brasses
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| n.黄铜( brass的名词复数 )；铜管乐器；钱；黄铜饰品（尤指马挽具上的黄铜圆片） | |
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8
expend
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| vt.花费，消费，消耗 | |
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9
entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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10
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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martinet
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| n.要求严格服从纪律的人 | |
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12
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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13
impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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14
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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15
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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16
Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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17
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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18
revolve
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| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
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19
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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20
roiling
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| v.搅混（液体）( roil的现在分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气 | |
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21
pivot
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| v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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untie
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| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
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queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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25
hawser
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| n.大缆；大索 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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27
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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28
marooned
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| adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的 | |
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29
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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30
lookouts
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| n.寻找（ 某人/某物）( lookout的名词复数 )；是某人（自己）的问题；警戒；瞭望台 | |
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31
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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32
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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33
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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immortals
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| 不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 )； 永生不朽者 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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navigated
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| v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃 | |
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38
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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39
worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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40
tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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41
eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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42
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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43
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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