Jarette

“ But I felt relieved, for I could breathe freely now, and I lay still with the lid raised, listening for Jarette’s uneasy step as he came and went, and thinking of how easy it was to make plans, and how difficult to carry them out. I knew that if we were going to try and obtain the mastery once more we must act at once, for a fresh breeze would separate us at once, and the chance be gone. But how could we do it without weapons? ”

“ I found the market-place of Jarette very interesting to sketch. There was always a great crowd in the morning, selling meat, vegetables, grain, tiny dried fish, poultry, etc. The walls were mostly mud coloured and the men in clothes the colour of earth, too, with only now and again the bright red or blue of a woman’s veil, or the striped skirt they wear in Gabès. But the brilliance of the sun made the whole scene sparkle and glow. ”

“ But we did not wish to safely reach land in that way, and the exaltation in Mr Brymer’s face and tone was due to the power which Jarette had unwittingly placed in our leader’s hands.
“He never thought of it; he could not have thought of it,” said Mr Brymer. “Of course in a gale of wind we shall be nowhere, but if the weather is kindly, we can hang about the ship, or sail round her if we like, and so weary him out, that sooner or later our chance must come for surprising him.”
“Without any arms,” said Mr Preddle, shaking his head sadly.
“We must use brains instead, sir,” replied Mr Brymer. ”

“ I knew that the wind had dropped again, for the ship had grown steady once more; but I forgot all about the approaching boats, and could only sit holding Walters’ hand, and watching his altered face.
“Yes,” he said at last, “Jarette aimed too straight, Dale, old fellow, it has all been a mistake. I was a weak, conceited fool, and thought every one was against me, when it was all my fault. I know it now. Any fellow can make himself liked if he only tries—no, without trying, if he’ll only go straight and act like a man. ”

“ You will join us?”
“No, sir, no.”
“But your fish—dying!”
“Poor things! It is a disappointment, sir; but I cannot do as you wish me to, even to save them.”
“You will not?”
“No, sir, no.”
“Idiot!” cried Jarette, sharply, and directly after the door was banged and fastened.
“My fish—my fish—my poor little fish!” muttered Mr Preddle; “but I couldn’t, even to save them.”
Then there was silence, and I softly recovered the little hole and looked round at Mr Frewen, who nodded and smiled.
“Yes,” he whispered, “it is quite true: he is a gentleman, poor fellow, in spite of all.” ”

“ That there was a group of men below me I felt absolutely certain, though I could see nobody; and at last, when I had come to the conclusion that I had reached the extreme limit of my strength, and that I must drop, Jarette spoke suddenly, but in quite a low voice—
“You two stay here by the sky-light, and if any attempt is made to get on deck, shoot at once. If they are killed, their blood be on their own heads. Where’s young Mr Walters?”
“Why, you left him on guard with the others at the cabin-door,” said a man surlily. ”

“ If you cannot treat yourself Dr. Harper can do something for you, I am sure."
"Who the devil are you?" said Harper, bluntly.
The stranger came nearer and, bending toward them, said in a whisper: "I call myself Jarette sometimes, but I don't mind telling you, for old friendship, that I am Dr. William Mancher."
The revelation brought Harper to his feet. "Mancher!" he cried; and Helberson added: "It is true, by God!"
"Yes," said the stranger, smiling vaguely, "it is true enough, no doubt."
He hesitated and seemed to be trying to recall something, then began humming a popular air. ”

“ Mr Brymer fidgeted a little, and Mr Frewen saw it.
“Bear with me a few moments,” he said, “and I have done. I shrink, I say, from shedding blood; but if the stern necessity comes, I will strike home as a man should at such a time.”
“You—” began Mr Brymer.
“Stop, sir, and hear me out,” said Mr Frewen. “It seems to me that there can be no doubt of one thing: if we can shoot down—wounded, I hope—this man Jarette, we might easily master his followers.” ”

“ I cried excitedly; “but wait while I get a rope.”
“Yes; quick, my lad,” said Mr Brymer. “It is our only opportunity.”
I made no attempt now at concealment, but ran through the saloon, and out on the deck, to secure the first coil of rope I could find.
I got hold of one directly, not neatly coiled, but tumbled down anyhow; and then, looking forward to see if any one was on deck, I was conscious of a dull bluish glow, which I attributed to the lights by the forecastle-hatch, from which I could hear a low muttering of voices dominated by Jarette’s sharp angry snapping. ”

“ For, seeing that he meant to leap overboard, I made a start to run back to the cabin and shout to those in the boat to pick him up, when he caught his foot in a rope, and fell upon the deck with a heavy thud; and before he could rise, the man with the oilskin overcoat flung it over him, rolled him over and over in it, and extinguished the flames.
In the midst of the loud talking which followed, I heard Jarette’s voice above all the rest.
“It was his own fault,” he cried. “Here, carry him below. I shall not take the blame.”
“But you shot at and hit him,” growled a man angrily. ”

“ I had failed, and all my hopes of our gallant little party storming the deck and carrying all before them were crushed.
By degrees, though, the mental wind changed the course of that peculiar weathercock, one’s mind, and I felt better.
Violence would not do, so why not try cunning?
How?
Well, I thought, if I could so easily steal on board, and get actually into the cabin, it must surely be possible for Mr Brymer, Mr Frewen, and two of the men to get up, wait their opportunity, and, in spite of his pistols, seize and master Jarette.
“That’s it,” I said to myself; “the only chance. ”

“ I said to myself, as I lay with my eyes closed, thinking how I would sham being too ill to leave the doctor’s cabin; but directly after feeling quite in dismay, for it struck me that if I were not taken away, Mr Frewen might be, and then all our proposed plans would be upset.
I opened my eyes with quite a start just then, for to my great delight a gruff voice exclaimed—
“He arn’t ill. Wants a bucket of cold water drawn and soused over him. That’d put him right.”
“You speak when you’re spoken to, Bob Hampton,” said Jarette, with a snarl.
“All right, skipper—cap’n, I mean; all right.” ”

“ Of the middle height and slender, with hair just turning from iron-gray to gray, immaculate in white duck, and wearing a dignified Panama, he stood looking at Strange—who, tall and stalwart in his greasy overalls, held his head high in conscious pride in his position in the shed—as Capital might look at Labor. It seemed a long time before Mr Jarrott spoke—the natural harshness of his voice softened by his quiet manner. ”

“ Jarrott's right, and opposite Miss Queenie Jarrott, the sister of the head of the house. The host, as his manner was, spoke little. Miss Jarrott, too, only looked at Strange across the table, smiling at him with her large, thin, upward-curving smile, comic in spite of itself, and with a certain pathos, since she meant it to be charged with sentiment. Over the party at table, over the elderly men-servants who waited on them, over the room, over the patio, there was—except for the singing of the birds—the hush that belongs to a household that never hears the noise or the laughter of youth. ”

“ I shall take them to Kelmersdale Castle, near Rugeley, where their grandmother is the housekeeper. If she can keep them, I am to leave them with her for a time."
"Well, good-bye, good-bye," said Mr. Gair, retreating hastily towards his private room, for his sons were wont to laugh at him for being always ready to interest himself in any one. But he took a parting glance at Janet, and something in the youth, sweetness, and determination in her face touched his heart. Muttering, "I will now; they may say what they like, just for once I will please myself," back he came. ”

“ He even became aware that they were growing fond of him—making the discovery with a queer sensation of surprise. It was a thing so new in his experience that he would have treated the notion as ridiculous had it not been forced upon him. Women had shown him favors; one lonely old man, now lying in the Recoleta Cemetery, had yearned over him; but a household had never opened its heart to him before. And yet there could be no other reading of the present situation. He began to think that Mr. Jarrott was delaying his departure for Rosario purposely, to keep him near. ”

“ Day said, as she made room for her father by her side. "She is going to win renown on her embroidered stockings."
Rob strode across the floor and sat himself down on the arm of his mother's chair.
"To quote the language of Sir George, how rummy!" he observed. "Janet, I bespeak your services for me and Dad. I'll have a football on mine, one leg, that is, and a pair of goal posts on the other. Then they can chase each other when I walk. As for Dad, he'll have a traim of choo-cars around each ankle, just above his ties." ”

“ Oh, Jael, sweet, pretty, good-hearted Jael, have pity on me, and tell me the truth: is it me she loves, or that Coventry?”
“It is you.”
“Oh, bless you! bless you! Ah, if I could only be sure of that, what wouldn't I do for her? But, if she loves me, why, why send me away? It is very cruel that so many should be in the same room with her, and HE should dance with her, and I must not even look on and catch a glimpse of her now and then. I won't go home.”
“Ah!” said Jael, “you are like all the young men: you think only of yourself. And you call yourself a scholar of the good doctor's.” ”

“ The sight of inspired craftsmanship is irresistible to men. The organization wavered between affection for the one and awe of the other and ended by giving its undivided loyalty to Galt, not for love of his eyes but for reasons that were obvious.
One day Mr. Valentine complained that I was unable to serve him and Galt both, and asked me gently if I did not wish to go entirely to Galt. He had guessed my inclinations. So we shook hands and parted. Thereafter my place was in Galt’s room and I attended the board meetings as his private secretary. ”

“ Consequently, he had recommenced the bringing of illustrated newspapers, and more than once he and Mrs. Jarrett discussed impending marriages in high life, conduct of the German Emperor, accidents caused by motor-cars, and other topical subjects. The niece, taking charge of the roll of journals, had distributed amongst the passengers some of Mrs. Jarrett’s neatly printed cards, had pointed out to them p. 169a notable church and conspicuous dwellings. Leaning over the side of the conveyance, she gave the information already referred to. ”

“ At last Garth managed to twist the small wrist so that practically he controlled the fellow's movements. Then he pressed the button of his lamp. The light shone mercilessly upon an abhorrent face.
The skin was yellow, and tight, like parchment, across the high cheek bones. The tiny eyes lay far back in rounded sockets. In the lamplight they were deceptively reminiscent of the eyes of a cat. But it was on the head, from which the hat had fallen, that Garth's glance lingered with the most distaste. A queue was curled about it. ”

“ You didn’t mind hitting me foul and then knocking me around before I could get up. You big stiff!” His tone brought the blood tingling into Garrity’s freckled face. “I don’t believe you ever fought fair in all your life. Do you want me to slap your face again?”
He took a quick step forward, his eyes blazing. Garrity, dazed, yet furiously angry, flung up one hand—and the fight was on.
As usual, Red lunged forward to get into a clinch. To his amazement he got an upper cut which drove him backward half a dozen feet where he scraped painfully against a pine trunk. ”

“ As Gertrude listened, the blood came back to her face, and two flames into her eyes. She looked at Richard from head to foot. "You are not weak," she said, "you are in your senses, you are well and strong; you shall tell me what you mean. You insult the best friend I have. Explain yourself! you insinuate foul things,—speak them out!" Her eyes glanced toward the door, and Richard's followed them. Major Luttrel stood on the threshold.
"Come in, sir!" cried Richard. "Gertrude swears she'll believe no harm of you. Come and tell her that she's wrong! ”

“ A tolerably good clerk is all you are, my boy, and now you have not even an unblemished character. I should have to work all the same, and maybe for them as well as for myself. No, thank you, Mr. Fred; it is not playing the flute that will help you now, and if my lord will get me a snug place, as he offered to do when poor mother died, I don't want to have you on my hands. I think I was a fool not to take the offer then. What great good has my marriage done me? By the way, Janet has a brother somewhere, doing well, if I remember right. But no, Fred is not likely to do well after all this ”

“ Janet Jardine bowed her neck to the self-chosen yoke, with the light of a supreme affection in her heart, and showed in her gentler ways, her love of books, her fine accomplishments with the needle 15and her general air of ladyhood, that her lot had once been cast in easier, but not necessarily happier, ways. Her blacksmith lover proved not unworthy of his lady bride, and in her old days found a quiet and modest home, the fruit of years of toil and hopeful thrift, their own little property, in which they rested and waited a happy end. ”