Julian Hawthorne

“ V Matthew's bunk in the Señorita Felicidad was much unlike the cool luxury of the stately bed at Mona which had been his two nights before.
The Señorita was a schooner of much experience and few attractions. Had she been low, black, with raking masts and a skull-and-crossbones flag, she might almost, so far as age went, have been Nobleman Jack's property; but in fact she was built with an eye, not to crime and gold, but to sugar and bananas and the like virtuous cargoes. ”

“ He saw no more of Boskom that night, and felt grateful to the jug of old Jamaica. He was up early in the morning, and saw the romantic loom of the island in the soft tropic sunshine, rising mountainous out of the serene azure.
As the vessel rounded into the harbor, he looked over the rail and beheld a huge white shape moving silently beneath the transparent surface, on the watch for garbage, or for any passenger who might be tempted to take a morning dip. Then the grimy wharf, with its rows of negro women waiting to bring coal and carry out freight ”

“ If so, then Matthew realized that he was destined to become the murderer of her fiancé.
Meanwhile she and her mother were eating ox-tail soup. Nothing to compare with that profile, as she lifted her perfect chin to meet the soup-spoon at rhythmic intervals, had ever been imagined since the artists of ancient Greece carved medallions on jewels. And that wrist, that forearm, the nape of that neck, with the tiny golden curls on it—and that ear! A man might spend a happy lifetime in no other occupation than that of following the matchless curves of Mayda's ear! ”

“ Matthew lost his grip on the reins for a moment.
"It was a dream of love at first sight—not of the story, though!"
"Do you think it a dream? I've always believed that love at first sight is a reality." ”

“ Seaton affectionately. "If Jeff can manage it, we hope to have his wedding at Mona next month. You must try to be there!"
Matthew's smile was like that of the Spartan boy when the wild beast was devouring his entrails. He to be present at Mayda's wedding—as best man, perhaps!
On pretense of packing and letter-writing, he spent the afternoon in his room. He feared to be alone with Mayda. The barrier between them seemed to be yielding; he must protect her, if necessary, against herself. ”

“ It was winter, the season when doddering valetudinarians of great wealth are prone to seek the tropics. Suppose Mayda's unspeakable fiancé had preceded her and her mother to Havana, or wherever else! There he would be, waiting to take her in his loathsome arms as she alighted at the wharf or station. How about that?
Sudden death—there could be no other answer! But Matthew felt that the prospect would be better if he could secure a formal introduction to Mayda before committing the justifiable homicide. Otherwise she might, in the natural agitation of such a moment, fail to catch his idea. ”

“ In the flurry of the moment Matthew had forgotten something. He dropped the box, seized Boskom by the shoulder, and began to drag him in the direction which the "eddicated" chimpanzee seemed to have taken.
"I'm a fool!" he growled. "He's got it on him! Come on! If you know him, he knows you and will come to you. Boskom, I'll give you a thousand dollars in gold, the day we get out of this, and the ape into the bargain, if you catch him, and I get it back! Hurry, man! ”

“ To wander amid tropic forests and over lonely seas, "ever roaming with a hungry heart," as Ulysses says? What were animals and plants to him? Mayda would soon be married. She and Jack—Jeff—would set up housekeeping in New York, and if Matthew should return there, it would of course be impossible to avoid meeting them. Mayda the wife of another man! No, he must never return.
The breeze held gentle but steady till sundown, flying-fish and porpoises played their endless game of tag, the turbaned oriental stood naked and impassive at the wheel, and the rest of the crew dozed in the forecastle. ”

“ Matthew would have been glad of the garment it came from for a night-dress; but a detached coat-tail on a desert island is of negligible value.
On second thought he divided the fragment into two parts, and with the aid of some tough, string-like lianas from the ceiba, and a padding of palm-leaf shreddings, he built himself a pair of sandals. Walking unshod in the jungle and over boulders—much more running, should it come to that—would be unpleasant. ”

“ But the delay was transient only, and the islet could not be explored in the dark, anyway. Matthew schooled himself to wait, and meanwhile set about finding something to eat and drink.
He hadn't taken a dozen steps before he stumbled upon a coconut. He broke it carefully on a boulder, and drank the milk, sip by sip, as slowly as he could. It was delicious—not such as Mayda had prepared for him, indeed, but a life-saver! It stayed his stomach and allayed his thirst. ”

“ I prefer our rose-garden down at Mona."
"Is it never cold there?" inquired Matthew sardonically.
"We're getting too far beyond our party," was her rejoinder. "Oh, I see them, just rounding the turn below there. Steady, Saladin!" Saladin was her horse, a half Arabian, sensitive and spirited. "The darling! See how he dances and prances, after all that climb, with me on his back, too! He knows I'll give him a lump of sugar when we get there."
She caressed his glistening neck and cooed to him lovingly. Matthew suppressed a groan.
"Come on!" said Mayda. ”

“ Matthew observed his struggles for a few moments without sympathy—with a sensation of inward peace, rather. It is wonderful how much good a successful uppercut may do the purveyor of it. Finally he beckoned to one of the negroes to attend to the sufferer, and walked aft to bathe the knuckles of his left hand, which were bleeding from contact with Boskom's front teeth.
A breeze now began to puff in from the north, and the Señorita Felicidad awoke from her reverie and sauntered in a southwesterly direction. ”

“ Matthew found Mayda in the cabin, kneeling on the cushioned seat at the side, looking out at the sea through the porthole, the breeze blowing her hair past the curve of her perfect cheek.
"Everybody seems to be busy except you and me," he said, approaching her. "Isn't there anything we can talk about?" ”

“ It was very seldom that he permitted himself to get angry. It was very seldom—never, till now—that he had been in love. How perverse that emotions so alien should thus pile one upon the other! The poor charlatan had meant no harm; low natures must needs act according to their nature. Matthew was disgusted with himself almost as much as he had been with Boskom. He would apologize the next time he encountered the creature.
Meanwhile he would think no more about it. Let him think of Mayda. ”

“ But Matthew was a thoroughbred, and thoroughbreds never say die. Life, at all events, was not complete without that locket; and before darkness fell, he was resolved to find out whether it was anywhere on the floating ceiba. ”

“ Several hundred miles from the mainland, beyond question; but the Seranillo Bank might not be so far off, and there were islets—cays—there. Wind and water were doing their best to strangle him, but he strove against unconsciousness. Life, to be sure, held nothing for him. Death is the proper medicine for disappointed love; but if Matthew were to die, he wished to do it in his own way. Nobody likes to be kicked and cuffed even in the direction of his own desire. ”

“ To Matthew the voice had a familiar sound. The rowers shipped their oars; the helmsman stood up, and, stepping from one thwart to another, sprang to the beach. As he advanced upon Matthew, his searching expression gave place to a broad smile.
"Matt, you remind me of the float at the boat-houses, just before we took the eight-oar out," he said cheerfully. "Your muscle above the equator is a bit off, but your legs seem good still. How are you?" ”

“ How near did the ape come to you?"
"It might be a dozen yards, sir. 'E's a bit shy yet."
"Keep moving!" admonished Matthew.
There was silence for a while. It seemed evident that if the chimpanzee were wearing the missing locket, Boskom had not observed it.
"Make it your business to overcome the ape's shyness. Whether I let you live may depend on your success," Madison said finally. "There's a private matter to be settled between him and me. You will make your camp a hundred paces from me on the beach; and mind you keep the fire going! Be up early, and have the breakfast cooked. ”

“ OUT of that pure good nature which is sometimes an element in the character of persons otherwise admirable, Matthew Madison, Jr., had informed his vis-à-vis in the dining-car of the New York-Florida train that he was the son of a manufacturer of well-borers, that he was himself a sort of naturalist and archeologist, and that he was now on his way to Central America on a commission from the Smithsonian. ”

“ The next moment he uttered an exclamation of pleasure. "A cable from Matilda—Mrs. Seaton!" he cried joyfully. "They've modified their plans, and will be back here to-morrow morning. Good news, granny! Here's a shilling for you!" he added, searching the capacious depths of his white linen pocket.
"A hundred years ago it would have been a guinea at least," thought Matthew to himself, observing the little scene with sympathetic smiles. ”

“ When the dinner-gong sounded, he ran quickly down the great mahogany staircase. Mayda stepped out from behind the newel-post at the foot. She was tremulous, and her voice was scarcely audible.
"May I speak to you? Since you're going—and this is the end—I wanted to be sure you understood. I can't tell why I behaved as I did. It was too much—how could I be myself? Oh, I have seen—I have known—and the only right thing is to part; but I needed to feel sure that you know, and understand. ”

“ Destiny, for reasons of its own, seemed resolved to have them work out their problems in company.
The resources of the islet as hospital and refectory were limited, but Matthew did what he could for the patient. Meanwhile Boskom's autobiography for the past thirty-six hours dribbled out in gasps and croaks. Its essential points were simple. He had crawled into the Señorita's bumboat for coolness on the night of the tornado, and before he could get out, he and the little craft were afloat by themselves. Till morning he had lain in the bottom of the boat, momentarily expecting annihilation. ”

“ Nobleman Jack was a famous pirate and adventurer of those days—one of the last of the old buccaneers—and there were a hundred anecdotes about him. The last story was that he was in a sea-fight somewhere off the coast of Honduras, and his crew was slaughtered and his ship sunk; but his body was never found. Of course it was said that he had escaped with our box to a little island in that neighborhood, where he was in the habit of going: but the only sure thing is that we never got our jewels back."
"A real old-fashioned treasure story!" muttered Matthew. ”

“ Boskom must have been a profound observer to have detected a smile on Matthew's face at that juncture; but it was no use antagonizing the man. The distance to Trujillo, the Señorita's port, was a long six hundred miles, and she was capable of taking six days, or more, to make it.
"I thought you were to have gone on before this," I said. "Where's the menagerie?"
"Blessed if I know, sir—or my salary, which was to have been awaitin' me in Kingston, what's more! Them Andersons is no better than Nobleman Jack himself." ”

“ Seaton, if it had to be somebody, it couldn't be a better fellow than Jack—or Jeff!"
He uttered these words with a manly firmness and candor. Of all men alive, Jack Morton was the one whom he would least think of trying to supplant; so now, indeed, the last hope was gone. Mayda and Jack—kismet!
"Yes, yes—capital fellow," Mr. Seaton agreed. "I believe he's cruising somewhere in these waters in his yacht, the Capable Kate. Might drop in on us any day."
Oh, he might, might he? Decidedly, then, to-morrow should witness Matthew's departure. He knew when he had had enough! ”

“ Six soldiers, in short scarlet jackets and white trousers, had been sitting side by side on the parapet: they were out on a day's leave. As the horsewoman came upon them, they jumped to their feet as one man and saluted, probably mistaking her for the wife of one of the officers. Saladin rose on his hind legs.
Mayda had been a good rider since her childhood, and there would have been no danger except for the precipice—just as there would be none in a cannon-ball, but for the powder behind it. She rose in her stirrups and leaned against the horse's neck, to weight him down. ”

“ Several times he had tried to screw up his courage to the point of asking her about the ring. Had he been an unimpassioned and indifferent acquaintance—what a preposterous supposition that was!—he could have done it naturally and easily enough; but how shall a man control the tremor of his voice and subdue the fire in his eyes in asking a question upon the reply to which hangs his every hope of happiness? It were much easier to face a firing-squad with steady gaze and firm lips. ”