Part 21 (1/2)
He laughed as he said it, but, in the silence, his laugh seemed to be an intrusion
”You're mistaken, Syd,” he replied; and, as he took off his hat and surveyed it, he continued, ”In all weathers, there's no head gear so durable, and therefore so econoood silk chi in the way of a _chapeau_ so co”
”Tastes differ,” said I
”They do,” answered John, ”and I speak about my own I've tried others
Oh, yes, I have,” said he, as we looked at him incredulously, ”and I speak froive enough for them Why, I know an old felloho has worn the very same tile, in all weathers, for fifteen years; it has been in the height of fashi+on twice in that tiain; and it is a very decent thing yet when it has been newly pressed and ironed”
”I prefer olfer,” said I
”Which shows very plainly that your sartorial education has been neglected,” returned John, ”and I pity you You are not living up to your privileges, and, worse still, you are unaware of the privileges you ht live up to But, I say, this is a sneezer!” and he looked about hi denser everythe pace I suppose it wouldn't do to drive along through this thick stuff We o on the bridge?”
”The captain may not allow us,” said I
”Pooh! I know the cap He's a forty-second cousin of
I'll introduce you now that we are out of the narrows and in the open sea”
”It seems to me as if the sea were shut,” whispered Syd, as we followed the Honourable John to the bridge
”Closed, at any rate,” said I, ”and with very h which we h into the harbour”
We reached the upper deck, which was dotted with bulgy figures in cloaks and capes, dae formed the forward part of the upper deck, where it terminated amidshi+ps; the helmsman, with his hands upon the spokes, shi+fted his eyes alternately between the binnacle and the bows, and gave the wheel a turn now this way and now that, while the captain paced cross-wise between the paddle-boxes, and searched the mirk above and ahead to see whether there was any likelihood that the weather would clear
Abaft the funnel the deck was free to those of the passengers who held saloon tickets, but afore the funnel--that is, on the bridge itself--no one was alloithout the captain's special pered lift in the any on either side, both of which were non and barred We were not quite sure whether the captain were really the Honourable John's relative, or whether our comrade's proposal to join the captain was only one of those erratic notions which visited his aristocratic brain, and were often carried through with a confidence so complete as to be rarely unsuccessful He was unmercifully snubbed so about him was that the snubs asted Where others would have retired crestfallen, the Honourable John held his head high and heeded not
We were prepared to find that the forty-second cousinshi+p was a fiction, and that the captain would quietly ignore hiround, and it mattered very little to us; the deck would be as welcoe
”Well, cousin cap,” said John faany rail, ”and how are you?”
”Hallo!” exclai round ”Where have you tuhtown, St Mary's, was the last bit ofaboard the _Queen of Paddlers_ May we venture within your private domain?”
”Why, certainly, John,” and he lifted the rail and beckoned us forward
”Two chu us, and then he named the captain as his respected cousin forty-two times removed The captain smiled at him, shook his head, and observed that the relationshi+p was a little closer than that, but a puzzle, nevertheless, to work out exactly
”I must have missed you when you caet-up I don't see how I could very well You look as if you had just stepped out of a band-box, except for the dampness, of course”
”Oh, you were busy when I joined you,” said John, evidently pleased with the captain's remarks about his appearance ”I had to jump for it But you haven't answered my question How are you?”
”Tol'able, thank'e And your folks--how are they? I need not ask how _you_ are,” and, while John answered him, he placed caentlemen; and excuse me if I address myself mainly to this eccentric cousin of ood friend I do not see hi my way”--a statement which Syd and I could easily believe For, with all John's faults, and he had many of them, he was one of the least obtrusive of men where hospitality came in, and one of the most reticent about himself and his own affairs; and orked with hiood fellow in the department, and a capital companion for a holiday
The captain placed John's camp-stool on the starboard side of the binnacle Their conversation was broken into snatches by the captain's e, backwards and forwards, he halted each time just for a ainst the binnacle and tilted his stool at an angle that threatened collapse Syd and I sat quite apart, and left them alone to their semi-private conversation We noticed, however, that the captain appeared to be uneasy about the vessel's course and progress; he glanced more than once at the compass-card, and several tiered over the paddle-boxes, and intently watched the water as it slipped by So that his conversation with the Honourable John becamentary, and was more frequently interrupted the nearer we approached the land
After some time the captain came to a sudden stand over the port paddle-box, and curved his left hand round his ear For a minute or more he stood like a statue, perfectlyabsorbed in an effort to catch a faint and expected sound across the water Satisfied with the effort, he stepped briskly to the indicator, and signalled to the engineer to increase the speed of the steamer