^
 
 A SUMMER 
 
 IN 
 
 OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 A NOVEL. 
 
 BY 
 
 W. H. METCALF. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 
 1887.
 
 Copyright, 1887, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Trouble Cup Island The Home of the Hunters 
 Children as Judges of Character Oldport and Vicinity 
 North Rock and Bogus Island Extracts from Belle's 
 Letter The Sandy Cottage Music on the Waters . . 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Belle and her Friend The Doctor's Letter to Boots Mrs. 
 Tillottson A short History of Miss Knowles Boarding- 
 school Friendship Roger Dexter Morning at Cup Island 
 Jack as he appeared to the Natives . . . '32 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A Story without a Hero Two thoroughly American Young 
 Men The Arrival of the Ladies The Van Twists The 
 Girls upon Bogus Island Bid's Adventure The Rescue 
 Cup Island by Moonlight ...... 53 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 John Beesford Stratton Character Comparisons Jack's 
 Letter to Bob Evans Belle and Nettie gather Sea-Mosses, 
 and are left by the Tide Mr. Craik Another Rescue In 
 Tow 76 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 An Interview with Mr. Beegum The Incubator A Letter 
 from Bob Evans Fun in a Studio Bid proves her Superior 
 Tact A short Sketch of Aunt Deborah Puritan Ancestry . 92 
 
 3
 
 4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A Letter from Rome Adam Dexter's Grief A Severe 
 Shock Tom and Nettie become Metaphysical Jack's 
 Idea of Florence Natural Physiognomists . . . Iio 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Dinner on the " Siren" Communion of Soul Tom as an 
 Oracle Dry Food for Craik The Minister and the Pro- 
 fessor Visions of a Sea-Serpent Prefiguration No Proof 
 of Continuous Evolution Tom gives up a Luxury A Vil- 
 lain at Large Newspapers 128 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Mrs. Tillottson moves to Cup Island Bid as an Angler 
 The Oldport Church Mr. Kendall as a Philanthropist 
 Jack deeply Impressed The Sermon The Serenade . 1 60 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mr. Dexter's Condition improves Augustus Campion A 
 Successful Lawyer Employing a Detective Mr. Bangs 
 sails for Europe Ferris and his Labors Mr. Dexter able 
 to write 179 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 High Life on Deck Van Dusen an Epicure His Friends 
 A Visit to Smoke Island Craik Overdoes It Alice Van 
 Twist as an Artist Rescued from Drowning The Pater- 
 nal Parkins' Pants A Word for Physiognomy Nettie sails 
 "The Queen" 195 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Nettie's Letter to her Uncle A few Lines from Jonathan 
 Ferris Is Mr. Craik Jim Bolan? Comparing Pictures 
 Uncle Camp decides to go to Oldport A Letter from Mr. 
 Bangs Nettie an Heiress 220
 
 CONTENTS. 5 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mrs. Tillottson remembers an Old Friend Mr. Campion 
 provided for The Van Twists visit Cup Island Plans 
 for an Open-air Tea-party Jack to deliver an Address . 236 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Sail to Millville Light Blue-fishing Captain and 
 Mrs. Parkins entertain Jack talks with a Parrot Jack 
 opens his Heart Belle's Tongue is loosened Mr. Cam- 
 pion arrives He makes a Confidante of Mrs. Tillottson . 244 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Craik Outwitted Tom and Nettie become Cupid's Un- 
 conscious Victims A Touching Scene in the Summer- 
 house The Tea-party Jack's Address, and Aunt Deb's 
 Suggestions A Silent Declaration 259 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Night on Oldport Harbor A Desperate Struggle and a 
 Capture Mr. Campion utilizes his Muscle Mr. Van 
 Dusen Indignant An Explanation Ferris Happy Cup 
 Island becomes deserted . . . . . . .271 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Ten Years elapse Rome Nettie at her Villa Aunt Deb- 
 orah writes from America She contemplates Marriage 
 Bid's last Venture Alice Van Twist a Widow Matri- 
 mony in the Air ........ 277 
 
 I*
 
 A 
 
 SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Jack in Trouble Cup Island The Home of the Hunters Chil- 
 dren as Judges of Character Oldport and Vicinity North 
 Rock and Bogus Island Extracts from Belle's Letter The 
 Sandy Cottage Music on the Waters. 
 
 IT was Jack that was screaming at the top of 
 his voice ; but the doctor, although he heard him 
 well enough, did not heed his cries, for it was a 
 very common thing to hear Jack scream ; in fact, 
 since they were encamped upon the island, Jack 
 was screaming or singing most of the time. 
 
 " Doc ! Oh, Doc !" came again from above. 
 
 " Hello !" shouted the doctor, finally, in reply. 
 
 " Come up here, and help me with this boot, 
 will you ?" yelled Jack, in the clear, vigorous tones 
 of a minaret crier of the far East. 
 
 The doctor hesitated a moment, for he was just 
 in the act of rinsing out the coffee-pot when the 
 idea occurred to him that perhaps his friend was 
 
 7
 
 g A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 really in trouble; so, dropping the coffee-pot, he 
 bounded hastily up the narrow stairway, five steps 
 at a time. 
 
 The little house contained but two rooms, one 
 below, upon the ground-floor, and one above, 
 which they were using for a sleeping apartment. 
 The stairway was at the rear, and outside of the 
 house proper, but was boxed in with boards so 
 that one could pass from one room to the other 
 under cover. 
 
 When Tom, or the doctor, arrived in the upper 
 chamber, he found Jack flat upon his back, his 
 face redder than a Berkshire sunset, his chest 
 heaving with over-exertion, puffing and squirming 
 as though in mortal agony, and with great beads 
 of perspiration rolling down his brow. 
 
 " What is the matter, old boy ?" said Tom. 
 
 Jack ceased wriggling for a moment, while with 
 a look pathetic enough to have melted the heart 
 of an angry mother-in-law, he said, in a subdued 
 tone, 
 
 " Doc, for heaven's sake release my foot from 
 that chair ; it is caught, and I have been struggling 
 to get it out for ten or fifteen minutes." 
 
 Telling him to lie still, and drawing closer, Tom 
 took in the whole situation at a glance. Jack, 
 having been unable to pull off his wet boots, and 
 not possessing a boot-jack, had improvised one 
 out of an old hair-cloth rocking-chair, which was
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. g 
 
 a part of their common stock of furniture. By 
 lying upon his back on the floor, and placing his 
 foot between the rocker and the bottom of the 
 seat, toe up, he had succeeded in drawing off one 
 of the refractory boots ; but when he endeavored 
 to do likewise with the other, the integrity of the 
 chair-bottom gave way, wedging his toe in be- 
 tween the coils of a stiff spiral spring, and jam- 
 ming his heel still tighter upon the rocker. In 
 this predicament Tom found him. By drawing up 
 the spring a little, and carefully turning the cap- 
 tive foot, it was at length released, Tom meantime 
 reading the prostrate giant a lecture upon the im- 
 propriety of placing one's feet unwarily in strange 
 places. 
 
 Jack was a good-natured soul. He had been 
 reared in the same town with Tom. As boys to- 
 gether they had cemented a friendship which had 
 grown with the passing years. They had fostered a 
 mutual regard which had its beginnings in youthful 
 indiscretions. The same bond of sympathy which 
 as orchard depredators had tied their friendships 
 had, by that curious dispensation which so often 
 transforms the bad boy into the noble man, de- 
 veloped into an affectionate regard and admiration 
 for true manly qualities. Jack, as he approached 
 maturity, went abroad to study art in Florence, 
 and about the same time Tom attended an Ameri- 
 can college nearer home. It so happened that
 
 I0 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 they did not again meet for years, and when they 
 did, it was in New York city, at the table of a 
 mutual friend. Jack had settled in the city as ah 
 artist, and Tom as an aspiring young physician 
 with a growing practice. Their first meeting or 
 reunion was the signal for the renewal of their 
 old friendship, and they were afterward much to- 
 gether; in fact, they hired common apartments, 
 and became as comfortable and happy as two 
 moderately successful young bachelors could be. 
 A little over two years they had led this life, 
 working diligently at their respective professions 
 and allowing themselves a very limited supply of 
 recreation. One day, toward the middle of July, 
 Jack proposed that they should take a vacation, 
 throw away all care, and unrestrainedly woo the 
 muses. This proposition suited Tom exactly, the 
 more so since there was just at that time a young 
 fellow-classmate, who had been assisting him in 
 hospital duties, who could take charge of his prac- 
 tice during his absence. 
 
 Tom and Jack both needed recreation, for they 
 began to feel the strain of continued application. 
 It was therefore with light hearts that they laid 
 out their plans for an eight-weeks' vacation. 
 Tom's family owned a small island, containing 
 perhaps twenty-five acres, and situated near the 
 Connecticut shore in Long Island Sound. His 
 father, before he died, had been in the habit of
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. l j 
 
 visiting this island in the fall of each year with a 
 party of- friends, to fish and shoot ducks. There 
 he had built or " thrown together" a small frame 
 shanty or cottage of two rooms, which, roughly 
 furnished, served for shelter and made the sports- 
 men tolerably comfortable. Here it was, upon 
 Cup Island, that Tom and his friend Jack decided 
 to enjoy their eight weeks of leisure. 
 
 Cup Island was once probably a bare rock ; but 
 time, aided by the perpetually restless winds and 
 tides, had covered its surface with several feet of 
 alluvial soil, out of which trees and bushes had 
 sprung up, making it withal a place picturesque 
 and attractive. 
 
 At flood-tide Cup Island seemed to consist of 
 three distinct islands ; but when the tide was low, 
 it was possible to walk from one end to the other 
 without seriously wetting the soles of the feet. It 
 lay about a third of a mile from the Connecticut 
 shore ; and lying near it, at perhaps a distance of 
 three hundred yards, was another and smaller 
 island, owned by a wealthy Connecticut gentle- 
 man, who resided in one of the interior towns of 
 the State. Smoke Island, as it was called by the 
 natives thereabouts, was much smaller than the 
 one upon which Tom and Jack were to sojourn, 
 perhaps one-half the size. Major Van Twist, the 
 owner, with his wife and only daughter, Alice, 
 occasionally spent a summer there, where he had
 
 12 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 erected a very comfortable and commodious cot- 
 tage, with every convenience which could be ar- 
 ranged in such a place. 
 
 Every nook and corner of these islands became 
 familiar to Tom in his boyhood, when he had ac- 
 companied his father on his duck-shooting ex- 
 cursions. At these times he had been instructed 
 in the management of a boat, the use of a gun 
 and fishing-tackle, and the by no means non- 
 essential, though rudimentary, knowledge of the 
 culinary art. 
 
 There were times during the early morning 
 hours when it was too cold for him to lie in wait 
 for ducks with the others. On these occasions he 
 would assist the mulatto cook, from whom he 
 learned many secrets in cookery, and on the re- 
 turn of the hungry hunters his skill was often 
 praised, and he was pronounced a gastronomical 
 prodigy. 
 
 How jolly they seemed of an evening, as they 
 gathered around the steaming punch-bowl to re- 
 late the experiences of the day just past. Some 
 smoking their long-stemmed pipes, the vigorous 
 wood fire sending forth its myriads of quick, bright 
 sparks, while the long-tongued flames lapped the 
 chimney back so smoothly, till with a roar they 
 would instantly vanish up the dark flue above. 
 The recollection of those happy times, of those 
 ruddy, good-natured faces, made more rosy by the
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. x ^ 
 
 red glow of the brisk, warm fire ; of the exciting 
 stories which often brought such hearty laughter 
 or applause ; of those happy in-door nights upon 
 Cup Island, brought back to Tom the same sense 
 of confiding dependence, the same feeling of per- 
 fect security and trustfulness which had so mas- 
 tered his heart as a boy. Well did he remember 
 how^fiercely the elements would rage outside of 
 that little cottage on those autumn nights. Some- 
 times the little house actually rocked under the 
 strain, and then, who could laugh louder or longer 
 than these half-dozen strong men, who were 
 lounging in restful attitudes about the ample fire- 
 place? 
 
 " The housemates sit 
 Around the radiant fireplace enclosed 
 In a tumultuous privacy of storm." 
 
 Then there were nights when Tom, lying in the 
 little upper chamber of the cottage and listening 
 to the distant roar of the elements and the nearer 
 sonorous breathing of his father's friends, would 
 speculate upon his own chances of ever reaching 
 such a glorious manhood as theirs. How well he 
 loved them all, this whole-hearted boy. 
 
 Could the mature half of humanity possess both 
 the capacity to feel and the ability to understand 
 the youthful heart, how easy of solution would be 
 the problem of child-management. How different, 
 and how much more effective, would be the method
 
 I4 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 of rearing, instructing, and guiding children. There 
 is,- no doubt, some truth in the statement that 
 children are under the continual guidance and 
 constant care of heavenly angels. Certainly their 
 bright looks, happy moods, their beauty, and their 
 innocent and uncontrollable way of wearing love 
 on the surface, all of these winning traits seem to 
 bear out the thought. Perhaps they are under the 
 direct guardianship of God's companions, else why 
 should they in their tender years evince such won- 
 derful capacity in the judgment and discrimination 
 of character ? a trait they often sadly lose later 
 in life. Are not their evil moods but harbingers 
 of advancing maturity, when the physical sup- 
 plants the spiritual, or the human crowds back the 
 angelic ? Could we but think so, perhaps second 
 childhood, as we often see it in extreme old age, 
 would lose much of its unsightliness. 
 
 It is easy to guarantee the moral worth of a 
 stranger when we notice that he is generally loved 
 by little children. On the other hand, if the little 
 ones fear or seem to instinctively avoid a person, 
 how easy and natural it is to suspect that " there 
 is a screw loose somewhere." If a person is 
 genuine in his fondness for children, putting him- 
 self out, perhaps, to please them, not in a studied 
 way, but spontaneously, naturally, how pleasing it 
 is to us as fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, or 
 relatives to single him out from among men as
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. jrj 
 
 one to be trusted and safely loved. On the other 
 hand, it would be difficult to find in history a man 
 who has won the hearts of the people and disliked 
 little children. A child is the symbol of innocence ; 
 therefore, to love a child is to love innocence. 
 
 Some such thoughts as these coursed through 
 the doctor's mind as he selected Cup Island for 
 theix,.summer resort. Their preparations for de- 
 parture began immediately. A few days to ar- 
 range the affairs of office and studio previous to 
 so prolonged an absence, a day or two to collect 
 traps and luggage essential to such a pleasure trip, 
 and they were ready to depart. 
 
 It was on the early morning train from New 
 York, on the " Shore Line Railroad," that they 
 started for Oldport, on the ipth of July, and a few 
 hours brought them safely to their destination. 
 Oldport, which was the nearest village to Cup 
 Island, certainly did not belie its name, either in 
 the appearance of its ancient-looking streets and 
 houses or the peculiar characteristics of its inhab- 
 itants. The railroad did not profane the immedi- 
 ate precincts of the place, the station being at 
 least two miles from the centre of the village. In- 
 deed, one would hardly know where the centre of 
 the place was were it not generally understood 
 that the grocery and post-office served as a sort 
 of landmark for that important locality. The 
 doctor and his friend Jack took more than an or-
 
 jg A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR, 
 
 dinary interest in the surroundings; and this was 
 natural, since they had come to live for the greater 
 part of the summer so near to the quaint old 
 town. 
 
 Sending their luggage ahead, therefore, in the 
 grocery wagon, which, by the way, also carried 
 the mail and was a thing to be relied upon at 
 every train, they strolled along the country road 
 until they reached the village proper, taking care- 
 ful and accurate mental notes of all they saw and 
 heard. 
 
 Jack, as became an artist, was in ecstasies over 
 the many picturesque views which caught his eye, 
 pausing often to admire and comment upon a rus- 
 tic bridge or gateway, or a few sleek and robust 
 cattle browsing upon a sunlit stretch of bright 
 green meadow or reclining lazily upon the side of 
 a grass-covered hillock. Now a high-gabled farm- 
 house of antique proportions, nestling under the 
 protecting shade of a brace of buttonwood-trees, 
 with its usual accompaniments of red barn and 
 old-fashioned well, would bring him to a pause 
 spellbound with admiration. Occasionally the 
 familiar farm dog, an animal of large proportions 
 and shaggy coat, would rouse itself from slumber 
 and walk lazily toward them with a look in its eye 
 of mistrust until it comprehended their friendly 
 greetings. 
 
 Tom was particularly amused by the people.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. ij 
 
 They passed a couple of farm lads with their red, 
 freckled faces almost hidden under the broadest of 
 straw hats, whose rims rose and fell, as the lads 
 walked, ludicrously like the ears of the mule which 
 they were leading. Soon after this they passed a 
 farm-house and noticed in the door-yard a buxom, 
 large-limbed maiden suspending the week's wash- 
 ing upon a line which she had stretched from one 
 apple-tree to another. As she worked she sang to 
 herself a well-worn distich from " Pinafore" about 
 " A merry, merry maiden and a tar," when sud- 
 denly, becoming aware of the proximity of our 
 young friends, she ceased her melody and made a 
 conspicuous effort to creep in out of herself, the 
 gracefulness of which must be seen in country 
 maidens to be thoroughly appreciated. 
 
 Thus collecting food for future discourse and en- 
 tertainment, they finally came to the village post- 
 office. It was the typical country post-office, use- 
 less to describe because so familiar. A grocery in 
 the rear, where from the same shelf calico came 
 to the light of day with dried herrings ; where but- 
 ter, cheese, beer, nails, candy, hosiery, cigars, and 
 cat, all reposed upon a common counter. A heter- 
 ogeneous display of the necessities of life, all within 
 ready reach of the slow-moving proprietor, upon 
 whose shrewd Yankee visage one could see stamped 
 a corresponding type of incongruity. There seemed 
 nothing wanting to supply the needs of micro- 
 b 2*
 
 !3 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 cosmic man in this haven of rusticity save per- 
 chance a postmaster. But, behold! the same 
 wizard, Samuel Sandy by name, who, after dealing 
 out sugar and oil in quantities to suit your con- 
 venience, will take nine slowly-measured steps to 
 the front of this establishment, where he will dis- 
 appear into a little cubby-hole of a place on the 
 right and transform himself into a model country 
 postmaster, possessing the requisite modicum of 
 " inquisitive curiosity." 
 
 Time was at a discount in Oldport. Fifteen 
 minutes to buy a two-cent stamp was in rennn 
 natura a reasonable wait. Three-quarters of an 
 hour to sort a mail of seven postal cards and a 
 half-dozen letters was to the patient native a nolens 
 volens. Had he not the blessed privilege of con- 
 soling himself with the charitable thought that 
 the worthy postmaster was not overtaxing himself 
 but was industriously cramming his ample brains 
 with postal-card lore? Why should he shorten 
 his precious life by unnecessary and uncalled-for 
 speed ? It has been rumored that the people of 
 Oldport never formally die, that their demise is 
 a process so gradual and continuous, or, as the 
 French would say, a propos de rien, as to be hardly 
 perceptible, a method of slow withering until a 
 period of desiccation is reached, in connection 
 with which it taxes mortal scrutiny to discover 
 one in the act of departure. Certain it is, our
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. jg 
 
 young friends did not see a soul there who had 
 anything like a lucid recollection of a funeral. 
 
 The store was not far from the beach where they 
 were to embark, so, after the necessary negotiations 
 for the use of boats during their stay at Cup Island, 
 in which the de facto heterogenarian took an active 
 interest (for besides his multifarious mercantile pro- 
 clivities, Sam Sandy owned and let out boats), they 
 jumped into the store-wagon, and were driven to 
 the shore. From the pier upon the beach both 
 islands were in sight, Smoke Island being partially 
 hidden behind her sister. The day was beautiful, 
 the water placid, with enough breeze to freshen 
 the air, which, with the bright sunlight reflecting 
 the white sails of a score of craft in the distance, 
 added picturesqueness to the scene and vigor to 
 our city friends who witnessed it. 
 
 Mr. Sandy had locked up the store and post- 
 office, "just for safety, ye know," as he remarked, 
 and had accompanied them to the beach, where, 
 from an assortment of two, one of which leaked 
 outrageously, they selected a row-boat. He prom- 
 ised to bring them a sailboat on the following day 
 at noon, a " reel clipper," as he designated her. 
 He said, " I've hauled her up fur a few days ter 
 give 'er a coat of paint." 
 
 A short row of perhaps ten minutes brought 
 them with their belongings to Cup Island, where 
 they were soon snugly installed in their new home.
 
 2Q A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 It was now about ten o'clock in the forenoon ; 
 so after unpacking some of their things, they sal- 
 lied forth upon the island to explore a little before 
 dinner. Tom noticed few changes of great im- 
 portance. Here and there some one had built a 
 bench or rustic chair, and quite a substantial 
 landing-place or pier had been put up for the 
 landing of people from boats. 
 
 The tide was high, but they found a rough 
 bridge of timber thrown across the water, con- 
 necting North Rock, as it was called, with the 
 centre or main part of the island. This little 
 north island consisted of a huge boulder-like rock, 
 sloping upward perhaps thirty feet from the water 
 in a gradual ascent. On the sea side this rise was 
 more abrupt, but there were shelving ridges, along 
 which one could safely walk, and which afforded 
 inviting seats where it was possible to fish or 
 meditatively watch the sea. 
 
 When the tide was low this rock was a part of 
 the main island, and one could easily walk there 
 over the moist rocks ; but now the water was rush- 
 ing swiftly under the little bridge and against the 
 sides of the rocks, as if anxious not to be left 
 behind in the tide of ocean affairs. 
 
 At the south end of Cup Island they found a 
 little cove, with a shelving beach. At flood-tide 
 this little cove or bay extended quite across the 
 island, separating the south end also into a dis-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 I 
 
 tinct island, which they named Bogus Island. It 
 was much larger and more inviting than North 
 Rock, having upon it a number of small trees 
 which struggled for existence, and a neat little 
 summer-house. From this summer-house was a 
 delightful view of the sound, a distant view of the 
 Connecticut coast, and a more extended one of 
 Long Island. They shoved themselves across the 
 narrow channel to Bogus Island in the boat, sat 
 for a few moments in the summer-house, and then 
 returning to the cottage, began to make prepara- 
 tions for dinner. 
 
 Having eaten little since their early meal in the 
 city, they both possessed good appetites, which 
 condition served as a stimulus to activity in the 
 production of their repast, more than to elaborate 
 care in the details of its preparation. 
 
 Jack, true to his Bohemian instincts, made the 
 coffee with artistic precision, while Tom spread 
 indiscriminately upon the table a hearty supply of 
 the substantiate and delicacies with which their 
 box of provisions was stored. From these things, 
 so roughly served, they proceeded to extract that 
 inexpressible satisfaction known only to those 
 who have been placed in similar happy circum- 
 stances. 
 
 " Well," said Jack, as he was finishing, and with 
 a sigh of contentment producing an ample meer- 
 schaum pipe, in which he proceeded to pack the
 
 22 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 bright golden flakes of Virginia smoking tobacco, 
 " is not this about the perfection of comfort and 
 independence ?" 
 
 "Jack," replied Tom, following his friend's ex- 
 ample and producing a cigar, " as I advance into 
 the fulness of manhood, into the roundness of 
 maturity, I realize more and more fully the joys 
 of living and companionship." 
 
 " And eating," Jack replied ; " for where would 
 be fulness and the roundness without ? Yea, even 
 the manhood or maturity ?" 
 
 " I think you are right," Tom replied, laughing ; 
 and then lapsing unconsciously into a philosophical 
 mood born of repletion, " Yet, how strange seems 
 the fact that on this mundane sphere there exist 
 beings who hold eating and drinking to be vulgar, 
 when the very vis vita of existence is helplessly 
 dependent upon this function." 
 
 " Yes," said Jack, lazily, behind a cloud of 
 smoke, but with a facetious twinkle in his hand- 
 some blue eyes, " Arnold says, you know, in his 
 ' Light of Asia,' ' How lizard fed on ant, and 
 snake on him, and kite on both ; and how the 
 fish-hawk robbed the fish-tiger of that which it 
 had seized ; the shrike chasing the bulbul, which 
 did chase the jewelled butterflies ; till everywhere 
 each slew a slayer, and in turn was slain, life living 
 upon death.' Nature is indeed but a huge mother- 
 gourmand, a sort of cannabalistic gormandizer,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 2 $ 
 
 whose myriad children industriously devour each 
 other as from a sense of duty. Scientists have 
 dubbed this voracious faculty ' the conservation of 
 forces and matter,' and some materialists, with 
 whom I am not at all inclined to differ, base their 
 plausible theory of ' the survival of the fittest' 
 upon this very law." 
 
 Jack's materialism had for some time been a 
 source of anxiety to the doctor; and had he fol- 
 lowed his first impulse he would have given him 
 a sharp reply to this last sally ; but his better in- 
 stincts prevailed, and decided him to await a more 
 favorable opportunity, so he simply said good- 
 humoredly, " By the way, Jack, who is to wash 
 these dishes ? They certainly have a very material 
 look about them." 
 
 "As a dish-washer I have been a success," 
 replied Jack. 
 
 " Then I will be your successor," said Tom ; 
 " and these horny hands of labor shall make the 
 dishes shine like the bald pates of your paternal 
 ancestry." 
 
 " And while you do it," Jack said, with a hearty 
 laugh, " I, whom the Fates have decreed should be 
 a maid-of-all-work, since all work seems made for 
 me, will hie me to the guest-chamber above, and 
 prepare our downy couch for its restless occu- 
 pants." 
 
 " All right," said the doctor. " By the way, you
 
 24 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 will find mattresses in the old chest in the corner, 
 and also blankets enough to make Morpheus grin 
 with lazy joy. Here is the key." 
 
 The following few hours were devoted to fixing 
 up their quarters, and they soon considered them- 
 selves comfortably settled, barring, of course, the 
 little inconveniences which one naturally expects 
 and even welcomes on such occasions. 
 
 At about three in the afternoon they took the 
 boat and rowed over to Oldport to see if there 
 might be some mail for them at the post-office. 
 
 Tom found a few lines from his assistant, asking 
 advice upon some matters concerning his practice, 
 
 and a letter postmarked " W , Mass.," directed 
 
 in his sister Belle's handwriting to Dr. Thomas 
 Tillottson, Oldport, Connecticut. This he opened 
 speedily, fearing that his mother, who had been 
 quite ill of late, might be worse. 
 
 Judge of his surprise when he reached a part 
 of the letter which read as follows : 
 
 " And now, dear Tom, rejoice in what I have to 
 tell you next. Dr. Perry says that mamma must 
 have sea air, that an immediate change is impera- 
 tive, and that she should stay by the salt water 
 until the hottest of the weather is past. Now, dear 
 old Tom, what shall we do, and where can we go, 
 unless to Oldport, where we can be with you ? 
 The worst of it is, Nettie Knowles (my old room- 
 mate at school, you remember) has just arrived here
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 2 $ 
 
 to make me a long visit. I have told her the circum- 
 stances, and she is willing and even anxious to go 
 to Oldport with us. Mamma says, if we hear favor- 
 ably from you, that we can all go together, and she 
 will take Bid along to cook for us. Now, Tom, 
 dear, be real good, and say that Nettie and I can 
 come to the cottage and camp out with you and 
 Mr, Stratton. Oh, it would be delightful. Mamma 
 and Aunt Deborah can board in Oldport, and we 
 can see them every day. Oh, Tom, if you only 
 will say yes, I will bless you all the mortal days 
 of my existence and hug you to death. Just think 
 of it. Nettie and I can do lots and lots of things 
 for you and your friend, and we will catch fish for 
 dinner : and now, Tom, dear, you will not say no, 
 will you, but hunt up a nice boarding-place near 
 the water for mamma and send for us right away. 
 Bid can sleep most anywhere. Nettie says she 
 remembers you perfectly, although she only saw 
 you two or three minutes, and I know you will 
 like her, for she is just the dearest angel living. 
 Answer at once, and say come. 
 
 " Your loving, yearning sister, 
 
 " BOOTS." 
 
 Boots was rather a strange pet name for a 
 brother to give his young lady sister ; but, though 
 not particularly elegant, it was not altogether in- 
 appropriate, as its origin will show. 
 B 3
 
 2 6 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 Many years before, when Belle was a little 
 curly-haired child of three or four summers, she had 
 wandered down-stairs in a spirit of mischievous- 
 ness, long after the family had supposed her sound 
 asleep, arrayed in her night-dress and a pair of 
 Tom's boots. Her appearance thus unexpectedly 
 at all hours of the evening was not a very un- 
 common occurrence ; and, although she knew it 
 was contrary to the domestic laws of the estab- 
 lishment, she always escaped punishment by some 
 comical act connected with her visit below-stairs. 
 As she hobbled on this occasion into the bril- 
 liantly-lighted parlor where the family and a few 
 invited guests were assembled, she succeeded in 
 creating a sensation. She was soon smothered in 
 the loving arms of one of the lady guests, from 
 which position she was rescued by Tom, who 
 called her his little Boots as he carried her back 
 to bed. From that time the name clung to her, 
 at least whenever Tom addressed her, and thus it 
 was that the beautiful Belle Tillottson was called by 
 her brother, Boots. 
 
 Tom was very much surprised at the letter. His 
 first inclination was to send them word that it 
 would be impossible in such a small place to ac- 
 commodate so many, but reflection caused him to 
 change his mind. He was alarmed about the re- 
 ported illness of his mother and desirous to have 
 her near him, where, if necessary, he could ad-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 / 
 
 minister his professional skill. So, after showing 
 or reading the letter to Jack, they both agreed 
 that it would be only fair to see if a suitable board- 
 ing-place could be obtained for Mrs. Tillottson. 
 They therefore interviewed Mr. Sandy at once, 
 asking him if he knew of a desirable place. 
 
 " Waal," said he to the doctor, slowly rubbing 
 his red chin with the back of his redder hand, 
 " if yer mammy ain't over pertickler, an' could git 
 'long 'th ordinery kind o' livin', I ruther incline 
 to think my ole woman wouldn't go agin keepin' 
 of her fur a few weeks. We live snug by the 
 water yonder, 'an so we git a coolish breeze the 
 better part of the hot weather. Ef yer like, we'll 
 trot down an' tech the ole lady 'bout it." 
 
 Tom agreed ; so they walked over to the Sandy 
 residence, which was a comfortable frame cottage, 
 painted a pale peacock-green, with reddish colored 
 blinds. Mrs. Sandy was drawing water from the 
 family well in front of the cottage. Tom stated 
 the case to her briefly, and after a quick glance at 
 the smiling face of her good husband, she said she 
 thought she could accommodate the two ladies,' 
 and led them to a comfortable room at a corner 
 of the house, which overlooked the water on one 
 side and commanded an extensive view of the 
 street on the other. 
 
 After the necessary arrangements about terms, 
 etc., Tom asked for writing materials, and imme-
 
 2 8 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 diately indited a letter to his sister Belle, inform- 
 ing her that they could all come on at once. This 
 the postmaster waited for. As they were passing 
 out of the house they were met by a huge dog 
 with anything but a friendly look in his eyes. 
 
 " Don't be skeered on him," said Mr. Sandy. 
 " Here Sikey, lie down, sir." The dog sulked into 
 the house. " That is the meanest dorg out," he 
 continued. "Pie was fetched to me by an ole 
 sailor, a mate o' mine, from across the water. He 
 is a cross atween a Sain' Bernard an' a blood- 
 hound ; an' when he fust come, he'd chase the 
 cattle almost to death an' destruction ; but I cured 
 him, I did, didn't I, wife ?" Mrs. Sandy nodded 
 approvingly. 
 
 "How did you cure him, Mr. Sandy?" asked 
 Jack. 
 
 "Waal, fust I began to lick him whenever he 
 cut up them capers ; but the critter didn't seem to 
 notice what I were lickin' him fur; so one day I 
 made up my mind I'd learn the cuss to obey. I 
 fetched him inter the barn, shet all the doors an' 
 threw a chunk o' meat on the floor, and told 'im 
 not to tetch it. Waal, he did tetch it, an' gobbled 
 it down at one gulp. Then I licked him for tetch- 
 in' it until he yelled. Then I flung another chunk 
 o' meat, an' telled him not to tetch that; but he 
 gobbled that right down the same as t'other, and 
 so I licked 'im agin. Waal, I kep droppin' chunk
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 29 
 
 arter chunk o' meat, an' he kep a gobblin' 'em right 
 along, and I kep a lickin' on him like blazes, until, 
 finally, I could stick a chunk right under the 
 critter's nose an' he never offered to tetch it, or 
 even smell of it. That's the way I cured that 
 dorg, gentlemen. You can try it on any dorg you 
 ever see, an' it'll allus work like a charm." 
 
 "Didn't it take a large quantity of meat?" 
 asked Jack. 
 
 " Waal, yes," said Sandy, " it did ; but it's only 
 fur once, an' it's worth it." 
 
 After making arrangements with Mr. Sandy to 
 bring them provisions every morning, including 
 milk and bread, they returned to the boat. 
 
 " Here's a go !" shouted Jack, as they rowed 
 back over the water. " What shall we do?" 
 
 " We must do the best we can," said Tom. "The 
 girls and Bid must occupy the upper room, and 
 we can sleep down-stairs on the floor, or hang 
 ourselves upon nails in the chimney-corner." 
 
 " I will build a couple of bunks in a corner of 
 the lower room," said Jack. " I noticed some loose 
 boards under the house this morning, which will 
 serve nicely for that purpose." 
 
 " No more dish-washing," said Tom, with a sigh 
 of relief. 
 
 "And no more bed-making," said Jack, "nor 
 care about how our grub must be cooked. I tell 
 you, old fellow, it is a grand scheme, having them 
 
 3*
 
 30 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 here. We will live like fighting-cocks and grow 
 fat." 
 
 It was a few hours after this that Jack, coming 
 in from one of his tramps in search of views for 
 future work, went up-stairs to pull off his wet 
 boots. 
 
 After supper they strolled out for a walk, Jack 
 taking his banjo. They crossed the cove to Bogus 
 Island in the boat, sat in the summer-house, and 
 enjoyed the charming view to the east, south, 
 and west of them. The evening was perfect. 
 The surface of the water reflected in a thousand 
 golden ripples the soft rays of the slowly-setting 
 sun, which was now a huge ball of lurid fire in the 
 glowing western sky. 
 
 Jack was in ecstasies ; Tom inclined to revery. 
 Thus they sat, occasionally conversing until long 
 after the sun had disappeared behind the distant 
 western hills. What a delightful contrast was this 
 to their constrained life in the hot metropolis. 
 Here that elixir of life, pure cool air, gave them 
 strength and vigor, while the knowledge of the 
 contrast to what they had endured in the city 
 only made it more enjoyable. 
 
 Here, instead of the weary, limited view of bricks 
 and mortar, was an unconfined expanse of water ; 
 in one direction hills and woods, in another an un- 
 obstructed view of a sublime sunset to gaze upon. 
 
 When darkness in long sweeping shadows began
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. ^i 
 
 to gather around them Jack laid aside his pipe, and 
 in his clear tenor voice began to sing, accompany- 
 ing himself upon the banjo. Tom joined in with 
 his rich bass voice. 
 
 It was their common practice at home to sing ; 
 but never before had music seemed so gratifying as 
 here upon the quiet waters of Oldport Harbor. 
 Both being excellent singers, and Jack a master at 
 accompaniment, the melody which they produced 
 was well calculated to bring out the sleeping fairies 
 of the island and woo the water-nymphs to its 
 moss-bound shores. The sweet music wafted its 
 way over the peaceful harbor to the near-lying 
 coast, there mingling harmoniously with the gentle 
 beating of the incoming waves, while along the 
 country lanes and by-ways by the beach wooing 
 couples ceased their love-exchanges to imbibe the 
 precious melody, and the weary rustic on his way 
 to the well for his evening draught paused spell- 
 bound till the music ceased. 
 
 Who has not experienced the great charm of 
 music upon the waters at night? At such times 
 it seems as though the conditions by which music 
 may flow into the willing soul are all amply ful- 
 filled. Our friends in the summer-house sang and 
 chatted until the chilly sea-air warned them to re- 
 tire to the cottage to spend their first night in the 
 country. 
 
 Ah, that first night ! How the very thought of
 
 32 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 it brings to the weary city-worn soul a sense of 
 vigorous refreshment. No gasping at the wide- 
 open casement for a breath of fresh air. No toss- 
 ing upon hot linen in vain effort to secure a com- 
 fortable position. No lying with eyes wide open 
 into the small hours of morning when the rumbling 
 of early milk- and market-wagons attests to the 
 nearness of daylight. None of these curses, but 
 sleep, sweet, restful, uninterrupted sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Belle and her Friend The Doctor's Letter to Boots Mrs. Till- 
 ottson A short History of Miss Knowles Boarding-school 
 Friendship Roger Dexter Morning at Cup Island Jack as 
 he appeared to the Natives. 
 
 Two handsome girls were sitting in a low basket 
 phaeton at the door of an unimposing-looking post- 
 office in the town of W , Massachusetts. They 
 
 were awaiting the regular distribution of the morn- 
 ing mail. One, around whose white shapely arm the 
 reins are twisted carelessly, whose broad-brimmed 
 sun-hat failed to conceal the golden-hued' curls 
 which had escaped bondage and were clustered 
 around two deep-blue laughing eyes, whose 
 rounded cheeks and graceful neck and matchless,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 33 
 
 healthful complexion, and whose pouting, restless 
 lips bespoke a life of fun, frolic, and incessant 
 activity ; this young lady, with her broad shoulders 
 and shapely figure, a Venus in modern trapery, 
 was Isabel Tillottson, Tom's sister. 
 
 By her side, a trifle shorter in stature, but not 
 less striking in face or figure, sat her friend, Nettie 
 Knowles. People said on seeing them together, 
 
 " What a beautiful contrast. Behold evening 
 and morning." 
 
 Miss Knowles had brown eyes, with hair as 
 black as night itself. Her complexion was dark, 
 but full of bloom. No sluggish or lymphatic blood 
 coursed through her veins ; yet, while one viewed 
 her, expecting momentarily vivacity and excite- 
 ment, there was an air of pure contentment and 
 self-possession, a look of sweet repose, about her 
 which told the story of a true life well spent, and 
 a future of noble exertions. A glance at these 
 two specimens of fascinating girlhood as they sat 
 innocently chatting in the neat little phaeton, would 
 have sufficed to transform the most hardened for- 
 eign skeptic into a willing panegyrist upon the 
 beauty of these, America's maidens. 
 
 The short, compact, dignified little roan pony, 
 to whom Miss Belle occasionally addressed a 
 caressing word, though apparently troubled by 
 the inevitable summer flies, acted and looked full 
 appreciation of the importance and responsibility
 
 34 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 which devolved upon him as the bearer of such 
 precious freight. He stamped his feet, switched 
 his apology for a caudal appendage, vigorously 
 shook the solid muscles of his shoulders, occa- 
 sionally turning his head backward for a moment, 
 and with soulful eyes looking gratitude at Nettie, 
 who industriously brushed off the venomous flies 
 with the end of the whip. How well he knew 
 that the weapon was never put to a more serious 
 use. Tobey was a good pony, and well deserved 
 the care and affection which were lavished upon 
 him by his human acquaintances. 
 
 A slight commotion among the people gath- 
 ered about the post-office indicated that the dis- 
 tribution of the mail had begun. Miss Tillottson 
 jumped lightly out of the vehicle, and, after dis- 
 appearing for a few moments, returned with the 
 family mail. 
 
 " See, Nettie," cried she joyfully, stepping at 
 the same time briskly into the phaeton, " a letter 
 from Tom. I knew he would answer promptly, 
 and I feel that it contains good news for us. 
 Keep the reins. Now, drive Tobey slowly and I 
 will read the letter." This without further cere- 
 mony she proceeded to do. 
 
 Her look of eager curiosity soon changed, and 
 a pleased smile illuminated her beautiful face as she 
 read, and before she had reached the end, and as 
 she finished, her whole countenance was wreathed
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 35 
 
 in smiles. She burst into a hearty laugh, and said 
 to her friend Nettie, 
 
 " I will read what the dear boy says. He is too 
 good for anything, but you must not tell that I 
 betrayed confidence, will you ?" 
 
 " Honor bright," said Nettie, mysteriously, and 
 Belle then read as follows : 
 
 " DEAR BOOTS, To say that the contents of 
 your letter surprised me would be drawing it too 
 mildly. I was annihilated, discombobolated, and 
 for a while helplessly paralyzed. Why, Jack and 
 I were hardly settled in our rough (very rough) 
 quarters when along comes your bombshell of a 
 letter, upsetting all of our arrangements and over- 
 throwing all of our plans. We fly from petticoat- 
 infested Gotham, seeking the seclusion sacred of a 
 deserted isle, when before we have slept upon our 
 relieved condition in pops your epistle upon us, 
 and with visions of petticoats innumerable. There, 
 now, don't cry. Of course you may come, Boots ; 
 you always did do just as you wanted, and always 
 will, I suppose, as long as you have such a weak- 
 headed, easily-ridden brother. Jack does not seem 
 to feel bad about your prospective raid, so I guess I 
 won't care ; besides, I have not entirely forgotten 
 the bright vision of a round, pretty face, with deep 
 inquiring hazel eyes peering out of its upper story, 
 which greeted me when I visited your school. I
 
 36 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 have carried them eyes about with me ever since. 
 Yes, I have, in my vest-pocket, the upper left. 
 Now, don't go and tell Miss Knowles all this, 
 Boots, for you know I only saw her for a moment. 
 I wonder if she remembers me ? Seriously, though, 
 Boots, do you think you girls can stand it at the 
 cottage ? You have been here, you know, and 
 can best judge whether your friend will be able to 
 endure the inconveniences. 
 
 " I have found a place for mother and Aunt Deb 
 near the beach in Oldport. Bid can be accommo- 
 dated at the cottage, I guess. Mother's room is 
 at the house of a man of astounding accomplish- 
 ments, one Sandy by name and appearance. 
 Samuel Sandy has sandy hair and complexion. 
 The Sandy cottage is close upon a sandy beach, 
 and is, withal, about as snug and comfortable a 
 place as mother could desire or expect in such an 
 antiquated, out-of-the-way neighborhood. 
 
 " I write in haste to catch the down mail. You 
 will receive this in the morning. Come on the 
 noon train next Wednesday, the day after to-mor- 
 row, and please bring extra bedding along for two 
 or three. Jack says he will rig up some Oriental 
 bunks in the scullery a la Chinese ; but we don't 
 agree to do the washing. Bring a bottle of whis- 
 key and some court-plaster ; we may need both. 
 " Ever your loving 
 
 "THOMAS CAT."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 37 
 
 " Now, didn't I tell you the dear boy couldn't 
 refuse me ?" said Belle, gleefully. " He is just too 
 good for anything. Think of it, Nettie, what an 
 awful bore it will be to those men, having two 
 girls roughing it out on that island !" 
 
 " Perhaps we had better give it up after all ?" 
 said Nettie, whose heart failed her when she 
 thought of being a trouble to anybody. 
 
 " No, indeed ; we cannot give up going now," 
 replied Belle, " for there is mamma, you know, 
 who must have a change. The doctor has ordered 
 sea-air; so now we must make the best of the 
 little time we have before to-morrow, in order to 
 get everything ready." Then, still seeing a look 
 of doubt on Nettie's countenance, she continued, 
 
 "We can be of the greatest use to Tom and 
 Mr. Stratton, you know, dear. We will see that 
 the house is kept tidy, and that the cooking is 
 good, and before we have been on the island 
 twenty-four hours they will be glad enough that 
 we came." 
 
 " It is rather strange that he should have re- 
 membered me so long," Nettie said, half to her- 
 self. 
 
 " Not at all strange, you dear little goose," said 
 Belle, accompanying her remark with a kiss. " He 
 did nothing but talk of you for a whole week 
 after we reached home." 
 
 " But he only saw me for a moment or two, 
 4
 
 38 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 and then there were several other girls in the 
 room." 
 
 " Not like my sweet old Net," said Belle, lov- 
 ingly. " Isn't it good of Jack I mean Mr. Strat- 
 ton to make those Oriental booths in the lower 
 room of the cottage ?" 
 
 " Bunks, you mean," said Nettie, laughing. 
 
 " Well, bunks," said Belle, " whatever they are. 
 But I forgot, Nettie, that you had never seen the 
 place. I hope you will not be disappointed. It 
 is horribly inconvenient; but it is lovely there on 
 the island, and the views are so exquisite that one 
 soon forgets everything unpleasant." 
 
 " I am certain, Belle, that if you are pleased and 
 happy there, I shall be," said Nettie. 
 
 Thus chatting, as they rode along, occasionally 
 stopping at some dry-goods establishment or 
 grocery to purchase some of the things which 
 they needed for their journey, and which they 
 had carefully written down upon a piece of paper, 
 they finally reached home, where they imparted 
 the good news to Mrs. Tillottson. 
 
 Belle's mother was a lady of striking appear- 
 ance. In figure tall and majestic, with a face of 
 uncommon sweetness and serenity, she was a lady 
 who always commanded respect from those with 
 whom she came in contact. Her voice was one 
 of her chief charms. She never vaporized nor 
 adopted high accents; but whenever she spoke
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 39 
 
 there was to the listener a soothing effect like 
 that caused by the summer wind breathing softly 
 through grateful foliage. Her manner was always 
 easy and unconstrained ; and this gracious gift was 
 particularly noticeable on those occasions when a 
 slight stiffness or formality might be expected and 
 perfectly excusable. In this she differed materi- 
 ally from the great majority of ladies of her own 
 age, who, when taken unawares or in emergencies, 
 lose in manner and presence of mind. But per- 
 haps the most noticeable virtue of this sweet 
 woman was her great love for the society of 
 young people. 
 
 Her house was always open to them, and they 
 in their turn were glad to be in her company. A 
 subtle something in her manner of receiving their 
 overtures seemed to win their youthful hearts at 
 once, and with their hearts their full and unre- 
 strained confidence. If secrets were kept from 
 others, they were never withheld from Aunt Mary, 
 as she was called by all of her young acquaint- 
 ances. She in her turn was always faithful, and 
 true to her trust, although a sort of repository for 
 all sorts of information. Youthful lovers always 
 found sympathy with Aunt Mary. Was there a 
 new baby in town, Aunt Mary knew of it first, 
 and, moreover, would be the first to see that its 
 mother was comfortable. Was there sickness or 
 suffering, she was the ever-present ministering
 
 4Q A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 angel. It is easy to understand, therefore, why 
 Aunt Mary was very much beloved by the good 
 people of W . 
 
 With the occasional exception of a short trip to 
 New York or Boston, she had been away from 
 
 W very little since her husband's death, ten 
 
 years previous ; therefore, when her physician ad- 
 vised and urged her to go to the sea-shore for a 
 few weeks, she naturally felt reluctant about leav- 
 ing her home. Her daughter, Belle, however, 
 with her happy thoughtfulness, suggested going 
 to Oldport, and the prospect of joining her son 
 Tom had entirely reconciled her to the idea of 
 leaving. She consequently awaited his reply with 
 almost as much anxiety and interest as the two 
 young ladies. 
 
 Judge of her pleasure, then, when they came 
 joyfully bustling into her presence with Tom's 
 welcome letter. 
 
 " Now, girls," said she, after reading it atten- 
 tively, " is the time for action; There is much to 
 be accomplished before to-morrow morning. I 
 will trust you to collect the things we shall neces- 
 sarily need during our absence, while I see that 
 the household affairs are left in proper condition, 
 for you know Aunt Deborah is going with us." 
 
 It is needless to describe the busy bustle of 
 preparation into which they now threw themselves. 
 Nettie was by no means a useless guest, neither
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. ^ 
 
 did she require the contagion of activity as an in- 
 centive to action. With her, mind and body were 
 completely subservient to will, and her will was 
 always good. 
 
 Here, perhaps, it may be best to give the reader 
 something of her previous history. 
 
 Nettie Knowles was an orphan. About fifteen 
 years previous, her father, then a missionary of 
 considerable reputation, and settled at Honolulu, 
 in the Hawaiian Islands, died, leaving an invalid 
 widow, and Nettie, his daughter, then little more 
 than two years of age. Mrs. Knowles, his widow, 
 unable to endure the first fierce agonies of grief at 
 her bereavement, became more feeble, could not 
 even seem to rally for her child's sake, to meet 
 again the struggles of the world. She lingered 
 between life and death a few short weeks, and 
 finally followed her husband, leaving her little girl 
 alone, and in a foreign land. The American con- 
 sul, a man of large heart and noble impulses, took 
 little Nettie into his own family, writing, as he had 
 promised her mother he would, to the child's near- 
 est relative in the United States. Adam Dexter, 
 to whom the letter was addressed, was a widower, 
 and the brother of Mrs. Knowles. He lived in 
 
 G , one of the flourishing towns in Central 
 
 New York, where, by prudence, energy, and fate, 
 he had amassed a considerable fortune as a manu- 
 facturer. He had one son, Roger, then a youth 
 
 4*
 
 42 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 of perhaps ten years. To this uncle of Nettie's 
 came the sad intelligence of the death of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Knowles, and the destitute condition of their 
 child. He was not a man to hesitate when duty 
 demanded his services ; therefore, he immediately 
 started for Honolulu, and in less than three months 
 little Nettie was comfortably settled at her uncle's 
 as his adopted daughter. 
 
 She was too young to miss her parents long. 
 Time, that obliterator of human sorrow, soon 
 taught her to regard Mr. Dexter as a father, and 
 she loved him with all the affection of a daughter. 
 
 Shortly after her fourteenth anniversary Mr. 
 Dexter sent her to a fashionable boarding-school 
 in Massachusetts, where she met and became 
 strongly attached to Belle Tillottson, her room- 
 mate and fellow-student. Thus, thrown so closely 
 together, and both possessing affectionate, clinging 
 natures, they formed a friendship, which, unlike 
 the ordinary school-girl attachments, was destined 
 to last as long as life itself. 
 
 The year previous to the time when we now see 
 
 them at W , they had graduated from school 
 
 and parted, each going to her own home; but 
 their mutual love was too strong to allow a long 
 separation, and Belle had spent the greater part of 
 the winter at Nettie's home in New York State. 
 Of course, the advent of two pretty and otherwise 
 attractive young ladies in a town like G
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 43 
 
 awakened considerable curiosity and interest. 
 They were invited out, feasted and entertained by 
 the ladies of the town to a degree almost danger- 
 ous ; dangerous, provided they had been frivolous 
 young maidens, which they were not. Their heads 
 were not easily turned, nor their hearts ready to 
 be stormed ; therefore, at the end of their gay sea- 
 son, t;hey were as fresh, as vivacious, as sensible 
 and free from guile as when they began it. Their 
 close friendship served to guard them from society's 
 contagious evils, for they acted, one for the other, 
 as guardian and consort. Nettie not having a 
 brother or sister of her own, naturally clung to 
 Belle with greater affection. Her uncle's son, 
 Roger, had left his home some years before, after 
 a brief but serious quarrel with his father, and had 
 never returned ; in fact, he had not even written. 
 
 Nettie had become very much attached to this 
 boy ; but as time passed she but vaguely remem- 
 bered the circumstances connected with his depart- 
 ure, for her uncle seldom spoke of him in her 
 presence. Roger had been quick-tempered, but 
 Nettie had loved him sincerely, and he, in boy 
 fashion, had amply returned her affection, showing 
 his fondness for her in the thousand ways of which 
 children are so capable. 
 
 The recollection of one particular event was 
 stamped indelibly upon her memory. She had 
 one morning entered a small garden near her
 
 44 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 uncle's house in girlish thoughtlessness, when, to 
 her surprise and horror, there appeared before her 
 a savage dog of huge proportions. Growling 
 fiercely, and showing its wicked teeth, it followed 
 her to a corner of the garden where it viciously 
 stood guard over her, not allowing her to move a 
 step. She had reached a condition of fright known 
 only to those timid natures who have been simi- 
 larly situated, when her cousin Roger happened 
 to look out of an upper window of Mr. Dexter's 
 house and saw the trouble. In less time than it 
 takes to tell it, he was down in the garden vigor- 
 ously belaboring, with a large poker, the brute, 
 who, not relishing that sort of treatment, and suc- 
 cumbing quickly to the sovereignty of man and 
 poker, went howling down the street, never, it is 
 to be hoped, to return. Roger ever after this was 
 Nettie's hero. A mutual admiration syndicate was 
 started, which, until Roger's departure, tied the 
 knot of their childish fealty to one another tighter 
 and stronger than ever before. There was, there- 
 fore, a tender spot cherished in Nettie's heart for 
 this absent, excommunicated one, which time was 
 unable to eradicate. 
 
 The young men upon Cup Island were awakened 
 with the early day on Tuesday morning by a lusty 
 voice shouting, " Hello ! Is there anybody to 
 hum?" accompanying the question with a lively 
 banging upon the door of the cottage. Jack was
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 45 
 
 the first to awake, and, stepping quickly to the 
 window, said, with some anxiety, 
 
 " What's the row down there ? Who is it ? 
 What do you want ? Oh, is that you, Mr. Sandy ? 
 Good-morning. Hold on a jiffy, and I will be 
 down to let you in." 
 
 Tom rolled lazily over, and, gradually gaining 
 consciousness, asked Jack, in a sleepy sort of way, 
 if there" were burglars about. 
 
 " Yes," said Jack, hastily donning his outer 
 garments. " Don't you hear them whistling?" 
 
 Sure enough, " The Fisher's Hornpipe" came 
 floating in through the open window, accompa- 
 nied by a tattoo upon the door which would have 
 aroused the admiration of a drum-major. Jack 
 ran down and admitted the drummer. 
 
 " I've fetched ye over them things," said he, 
 picking up a basket, carrying it into the house, 
 and returning for a large tin pail filled with milk. 
 " I reckon 'twould be better to lower that butter 
 down into the well, fur it gits tolable hot here 
 daytimes, an' it might run away from ye." 
 
 " No ; we don't git a night-mail in Oldport," in 
 answer to a question from Jack, who then asked, 
 
 " What time do you open the post-office in the 
 morning, Mr. Sandy?" 
 
 " Waal, long about eight o'clock, ef I happen to 
 be thar at the store. I hev a young feller to open 
 the store at six o'clock, while I'm doin' up my
 
 4 6 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 chores. Good-morning, Dorkter. Hope you had 
 a good night's rest, sir. Fair night for sleepin' ; 
 good sea-breeze, an' no skeeters." 
 
 " Do you have mosquitoes at Oldport, Sam ?" 
 asked Tom, quickly. 
 
 " Waal, they is times, Dorkter, yer know," said 
 Sandy, scratching his head meditatively, and see- 
 ing his mistake, " they is times when the tarnal 
 critters will swarm everywhere, and I s'pose Old- 
 port ain't no 'ception ; but yer needn't be afeered 
 of the ole lady gittin' bit, for my spouse hez net- 
 tin' up to every winder in the shanty. The raskils 
 never tackle me. I like to hear 'em sing of a 
 night, but my wife's dreadful sensitive at 'em ; an' 
 when she's bit they swell up big as a hen's egg, 
 and pester her all day long with their itchin'. I 
 reckon I'll be 'round with that boat 'bout noon- 
 time," he continued, forgetting the mosquitoes. 
 " I'm going down now to git some of the boys to 
 help me launch her an' see how she rides. Yer 
 see, I've been heavy-plankin' her inside, and I 
 want ter see how she rides when I git her new 
 ballus* in. Oh, she isn't a bit cranky. Don't 
 you be skeered. Only I want her to look kind 
 o' ship-shape an* snug, so's the ladies won't be 
 ashamed on her. Do yer understan' sailin' a 
 craft, Dorkter ?" 
 
 " Somewhat," said Tom, winking at Jack. 
 
 " I reckoned yer did, fur yer father was as neat
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 47 
 
 a sailor fur a lan'-lubber as ever I seen. I allus 
 calkerlated he bed taken a vige when he was a 
 youngster somewhor. He had a keen eye fur 
 ducks, too; so don't forget it. An* he was a 
 good hand at a gun, an' knew which end was 
 dangerous. Like as not yer friend is a banker ?" 
 nodding his head in Jack's direction, who, at the 
 other end of the room, was taking the things out 
 of the basket. 
 
 " Oh, no," said Tom. 
 
 " Lawyer, maybe ?" said Sandy, in a tone which 
 struggled in vain to sound indifferent. 
 
 " No," said Tom ; " he is not a lawyer, exactly." 
 
 " What may he do fur a livin', then ?" asked 
 Sandy, getting desperate, but determined. 
 
 " He is a student of chiaroscuro and perspec- 
 tive," said Tom, in his most impressive manner. 
 
 This reply seemed to perfectly satisfy Sandy, 
 who, with a grunt of approval, prepared to depart, 
 saying that he would return in the middle of the 
 day with the sail-boat. 
 
 A few days after this they heard through Mrs. 
 Tillottson, who had gathered it from some of the 
 villagers, that Sandy had told several of them 
 that Jack was soon to be some kind of a doctor, 
 for Dr. Tillottson had informed him that he (Jack) 
 was studying to be a " curious-curer." He also 
 said openly that, for his part, he didn't take much 
 stock in these new-fangled doctors, who pretended
 
 48 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 to cure by " rubbin' an' 'lectrics, an' all such per- 
 spectives." 
 
 It may be supposed from this that Mr. Sandy 
 was not an intelligent man, but quite the contrary 
 was the case. His knowledge was to a large ex- 
 tent in fact, almost exclusively of the practical 
 kind. If a horse in the village or neighborhood 
 was sick or disabled, Mr. Sandy's veterinary skill 
 was sure to be called upon, and generally by no 
 means in vain. If an arm was broken, and the 
 village doctor was out of town ; if a potato crop 
 was in danger, if a cow obstinately refused to 
 " give down," if hens could not be coaxed to lay, 
 or if a pump would not do its duty, our friend 
 Sandy could generally suggest a remedy which 
 proved effective. Among the villagers he was a 
 sort of Solomon, a man for emergencies. When, 
 therefore, his proclamation went abroad, giving 
 Jack such a reputation for mysticism as was in- 
 volved in his mysterious words "curious-curer," 
 " perspectives," and " 'lectrics," it is not strange 
 that they should have lifted him, in their minds, 
 up to the level of things marvellous and unac- 
 countable. Of this Jack had frequent evidence 
 during his stay in the neighborhood. Jack's cos- 
 tume, on his sketching jaunts, by no means led to 
 a lessening of this feeling. He often wore a white 
 helmet (not so common in this country then as 
 now, an excellent head-protector from the sun's
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 49 
 
 rays), a jersey and pants of some very light-colored 
 material, probably corduroy, and his feet were en- 
 cased in a pair of white-canvas tennis shoes. Add 
 to this costume a figure seventy-three inches in 
 height from heel to crown, with a weight of grace- 
 ful correspondence, a beard light-brown in color 
 and of German type, close-cut hair, and a habit 
 of walking very erect, and we have Jack as he 
 appeared to people more or less accustomed to the 
 sight of summer tourists or tennis players. How 
 he appeared to these simple villagers may perhaps 
 be best described by quoting the words of one of 
 the village matrons, who was describing him to 
 farmer Green, her good husband. 
 
 " Well, yer see, Abner, I was fearful took back. 
 I sot thar a milkin' the yaller brindle clus by the 
 woods in the corner of the old south pasture, where 
 I allus milks her, when I heerd some one a-comin' 
 long the road whistlin'. I looked up, and thar was 
 a great tall feller all in white, jest as Jim Parsons 
 would look with nothing but his underclothes on, 
 and a sort of scoop thing a settin' on top of his head, 
 an' a pair of white slippers on his feet, inside out. 
 I knew in a minit it was that curious-curer chap, an' 
 almost giggled right out in his face. Pretty soon 
 he came right close up ter me an' leaned over the 
 rails, an' said good-mornin', so cheerful-like that I 
 felt kind of ashamed o' myself for laughin' at him. 
 He looked smilin' enough, too ; but, dear me, when 
 c d 5
 
 jo A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 I fust seen him I thought 'twas Pete Briggs, the 
 miller, gone crazy. He asked me a few questions 
 which I managed to answer civil enough, though 
 'twas much as I could do ter keep from bu'stin' 
 right out laughin', and all the time he was talkin' he 
 was writin' or I thought he was something in 
 a little book he took out of his pocket. Jest afore 
 he went away, though, he showed me the book, 
 an' thar was a picter of the woods, with the big 
 chestnut which I wouldn't let you chop down last 
 fall, an' thar was the yaller brindle a standin' by 
 the fence, half asleep, an', as I live, thar was I my- 
 self, as nat'ral as life, a sittin' thar a milkin' the 
 yaller brindle on that old starch-box. That feller 
 ought to be a' artist or a photygrapher sure. It 
 was killin'." 
 
 Tom's appearance did not seem at all strange to 
 these people at Oldport. Tall and dark, with full 
 side-whiskers and moustache, he wore a Scotch 
 cap, a gray flannel shirt tucked in at the waist and 
 confined by a leather belt, with dark pants tucked 
 into high-top boots. His was a costume perfectly 
 familiar to these fish-eating people; it smacked 
 more of the true sailor. 
 
 After Sandy's departure, the young men busied 
 themselves about breakfast, after which they began 
 to make preparations for the arrival and reception 
 of the girls the following day. They gathered 
 running vines, went over to the village where they
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 5 x 
 
 bought flags and fireworks, ransacked the woods 
 back of Oldport for wild-flowers, and erected a 
 flag-pole on the cottage. They trimmed the girls' 
 part of the upper room with handsome vines, 
 decorated the walls with flags, and placed wild- 
 flowers in every available spot, so that from the 
 bare and uninviting attic, the room was transformed 
 into a. bower of fragrant beauty. In the midst of 
 their preparations they were interrupted by the 
 arrival of Sandy with the sail-boat. Tom gave 
 her a critical inspection as she rounded up to the 
 little pier in the cove, expressing by his looks his 
 satisfaction. Her name, "The Queen," in large 
 but neat letters, was painted on her stern. She 
 was large enough to comfortably accommodate 
 six, or perhaps, on a pinch, eight or ten persons. 
 She was sloop-rigged, carried a heavy sail, a light 
 jib, and a centre-board. She was not a grey- 
 hound in build or speed, but was a fast sailer, and 
 admirably adapted for a safe pleasure-boat, capable 
 of successfully coping with the variable winds and 
 tides around the islands and along the coast near 
 where she was built. She had a locker or small 
 cabin forward, in which provisions, clothing, etc., 
 could be stored, or in which, in case of an emer- 
 gency, three or four people could stow themselves 
 away quite comfortably. 
 
 Mr. Sandy was hypereulogistic in his praises 
 of the craft, and insisted upon their immediately
 
 52 -A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 taking a little sail to prove his statements. This 
 they proceeded to do; Tom stepping on board 
 last, taking the tiller, and in a graceful and mas- 
 terly manner catching a sail full of wind. After a 
 few experiments in rounding the points of the 
 island, in stemming the tide, and in tacking and 
 beating up before the wind, they decided that she 
 was a comfortable little boat, obedient to the helm, 
 and comparatively easy to handle. 
 
 Thus amusing themselves in various ways, they 
 pleasantly passed the second day of their sojourn 
 upon Cup Island. 
 
 Wednesday morning dawned upon them bright 
 and pleasant. They were up and moving long 
 before Mr. Sandy appeared with the supplies. 
 They had passed the previous night in the bunks, 
 which Jack had constructed in a very creditable 
 manner. They were nailed against the wall, one 
 above the other, after the manner of those com- 
 monly seen upon steamboats, and, when provided 
 with the bedding, which was brought from the 
 apartment above, rendered good and comfortable 
 service. By hanging up blankets they contrived 
 to effectually partition off a sleeping apartment 
 from the main room, and the effect was withal 
 quite Oriental, if not unique. The village car- 
 penter had partitioned off the upper room also, so 
 that there were three small apartments instead of 
 one large room.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 53 
 
 When the time for the arrival of the train bear- 
 ing the ladies drew near, the young men began to 
 exhibit symptoms of nervousness. Jack busied 
 himself improving the immediate surroundings 
 of the cottage, which he decorated here and there 
 with flags and bright colors, while Tom occupied 
 his time in preparing "The Queen" for their 
 reception. 
 
 Finally they left the island and sailed across to 
 Oldport, towing the row-boat behind them to carry 
 baggage on their return. They moored the boats 
 to the pier, and, hiring a many-seated wagon, 
 went to the railroad station, where they were soon 
 greeted by the whistling and rumbling of the 
 approaching train. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A Story without a Hero Two thoroughly American Young 
 Men The Arrival of the Ladies The Van Twists The 
 Girls upon Bogus Island Bid's Adventure The Rescue 
 Cup Island by Moonlight. 
 
 IT is only fair to inform the reader that we 
 claim no hero to our little story. Tom and Jack 
 are both good enough fellows in their way. Gen- 
 erous, truthful, and kind-hearted, if you please, but 
 not perfect. In vain have we searched the cosmos 
 
 5*
 
 54 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 for a hero free from imperfection, an immaculate 
 sort of individual, without a blemish to mar a 
 character which the gods might envy. We do 
 not mean to imply by this that we desired a 
 goody-goody young gentleman in the sense com- 
 monly accepted, but that specimen of a high- 
 minded, perfect-souled individual with homo sum 
 written in letters of gold upon his physiognomy. 
 A creature who breakfasts upon humility, dines 
 upon probity, and sups with gusto upon self- 
 denial, a sort of modern example of self-abne- 
 gated purity. Our youngsters were none such. 
 They were simply good-natured, honest men of 
 the world, as men of the world go. Free from 
 mean streaks, they would be sure to scorn an act 
 which savored of pettiness. Perhaps a great emer- 
 gency might bring out some act of self-forgetful- 
 ness which would suggest the heroic, but emer- 
 gencies are not common nowadays, and we are 
 content to present Tom and Jack to the reader as 
 they are, below the average of heroes as heroes 
 run in romance. With all their imperfections and 
 shortcomings there was in their manner, in the 
 frank expression of their eyes, an indescribable 
 something, which so surely wins honest feminine 
 regard and trusting confidence. Could we say 
 more in their favor than this ? 
 
 Such heroes, however, are not rare. America is 
 full of them. They are not ideal ; they are real.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 55 
 
 They are not perfect, they are progressive ; con- 
 stantly improving under our precious feminine 
 encouragement. They are not over-domestic, but 
 their warm-heartedness on occasions brings out 
 the nobleness of their natures, while there is 
 nothing consistent with true gallantry which they 
 will not readily do. 
 
 They do not sulk through a lifetime nursing a 
 sick, torn heart which will not heal ; for, once in 
 love, they generally win the object of their choice 
 by an irresistible tenacity of purpose, born, per- 
 haps, of Puritan ancestry, or an essential outcome 
 from the truthfulness and joyfulness of their 
 natures. Another, and perhaps better reason for 
 their success in affairs of the heart, is that there 
 is nothing ephemeral or clandestine in their court- 
 ship. They are as sure of their loves as the mag- 
 net is of the steel. The net of the flirt has no 
 charm for them ; they play around it but never in 
 it. In fact, they do not flirt themselves because 
 of their instinctive honesty. 
 
 They are, to be sure, in one sense, evanescent, 
 fond of a change, of merriment, a joke, of pleas- 
 ures light ; but these, like the anticipatory aromas 
 of a fine dinner, are but the fleeting harbingers of 
 something more substantial. In their respective 
 professions our young men excelled, which was 
 perhaps reason enough for their eligibility to the 
 highest social circles in New York. We say the
 
 56 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 highest, meaning that element which if not at the 
 top or head, by virtue of intelligence, was none 
 the less considered the society, par excellence 
 distingue. We do not mention this circumstance 
 to emphasize their talents, although they were 
 by no means mediocre ; but simply to inform 
 the reader of their social advantages. Like the 
 majority of shining lights, they practised their 
 handicrafts upon the very people among whom it 
 was their privilege to shine; a fact in harmony, 
 we think, with the laws which should govern 
 social equity and equality. De Quincey, in his 
 " Literary Reminiscences," has made the following 
 interesting statement : " Three persons in all" 
 (meaning in England) " may be mentioned from 
 the ranks of intellectual people who have had a 
 footing in privileged society. I mean not merely 
 had admission there, but a known and extensive 
 acceptation. These three were Lord Byron, Dr. 
 Johnson, and Sir Walter Scott. Now it is ob- 
 servable that the first was in some sense a denizen 
 of such society, in right of birth and rank, and 
 of both the others it is remarkable that their 
 passes were first countersigned by kings. Dr. 
 Johnson's by George III., Sir Walter's by George 
 IV." 
 
 Our young friends were not championed into 
 society channels by any such methods. They 
 fairly won their social spurs by efficiency, not oaly
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 57 
 
 in the practice of their talents as professional men, 
 but by their natural refinement in manners and in 
 matters of taste. It is, therefore, with a sense of 
 national pride that we introduce them to our 
 readers as typical Americans, if not as typical 
 heroes. They were both educated to look upon 
 work as honorable, and not with the pusillanimous 
 idea that idleness or the dawdling away time use- 
 lessly was the true insignia of nobility. Happi- 
 ness was to them no Ignis Fatuus, it was life, 
 reality. 
 
 The train from the city steamed alongside of the 
 little station, at Oldport, exactly on time. 
 
 The passengers alighted, the trunks and other 
 baggage were thrown upon the wooden platform, 
 the whistle sounded, the bell tolled, and away 
 went the train gaining impetus with each throe 
 of the engine, leaving a flurry of dust, smoke, and 
 anxious passengers in its wake. 
 
 Tom recognized his mother and sister at once, 
 and, after the usual formal introductory overtures, 
 he and Jack succeeded in getting the females 
 safely seated in the long wagon, having made 
 arrangements with the station-agent to have the 
 trunks, etc., transferred to the town at once. An- 
 other party had alighted at the Oldport Station, 
 an elderly gentleman, his wife and daughter and 
 servants, but more of them anon. 
 
 " Here we are at last," said Belle, clapping her
 
 5 8 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 hands as gleefully as a young child. "What a 
 curious-looking place this always is ! Why, where 
 are our trunks ? Oh, yes, I see them. Nettie, 
 isn't this a queer town ?" 
 
 " I see no houses to make it a town," said Nettie, 
 laughing ; " and where is the water ?" 
 
 " You will see presently," said Tom, with a 
 smile; "but first let us get under way. Hop in, 
 Jack." 
 
 " All right," said Jack, suiting the action to the 
 word, and, jumping in beside Belle, off they 
 went. 
 
 The drive to Oldport proper was doubly pleas- 
 ant to Jack, for he had an appreciative sharer of 
 his enjoyment of the quaint scenery by the way, 
 while Tom, with Nettie by his side on the front 
 seat, drove the horses, occasionally directing a 
 sly glance of admiration at the trim figure of his 
 lovely neighbor. 
 
 "Are you familiar with country life, Miss 
 Knowles ?" Tom asked, at length. 
 
 " Yes and no," Nettie replied, pleased to enter 
 into a conversation which she knew not how to 
 begin. "Yes, because, as you remember, no 
 doubt, our boarding-school was situated in the 
 outskirts of a country town ; and no, because, as 
 perhaps you do not know, we were denied oppor- 
 tunities to enjoy what you probably mean by 
 country life. But I love the country, and it cer-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 59 
 
 tainly must be amusing and instructive to be able 
 to study the natures and manners of country 
 people, to say nothing of nature herself. Oh, 
 what a lovely view of the water !" The wagon 
 had ascended a slight eminence as they turned a 
 bend in the road. 
 
 " Yes," Tom replied, slackening the speed of 
 the horses ; " and if you will look carefully be- 
 tween those two high trees on the right you will 
 see one end of Cup Island, our temporary home. 
 A little farther on to the right you will notice 
 Oldport, which is recognizable by the steeple of 
 the little white church." 
 
 " I think I can see the island, and yes, there is 
 the church-steeple," said Nettie, turning immedi- 
 ately and imparting the information to Belie. 
 Chatting pleasantly in this manner, they were not 
 long in reaching Mr. Sandy's cottage, the quaint 
 color of which seemed to greatly amuse the ladies. 
 
 Mr. Sandy's reception of the party was a little 
 shy, but cordial. 
 
 Mrs. Tillottson was pleased with her new quar- 
 ters, and seemed relieved that things had turned 
 out so auspiciously. Her sister seemed delighted 
 to come to her journey's end, and immediately 
 entered into a confidential chat with Mrs. Sandy. 
 It had been planned that they should all dine 
 at Mr. Sandy's, and soon after their arrival they 
 assembled at table. The girls were somewhat
 
 60 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 surprised to find sitting opposite them the gentle- 
 man and his family they had previously noticed 
 upon the train. 
 
 " Mrs. Tillottson an' young ladies an 1 gents," 
 said Sandy, clearing his throat with a mighty 
 effort, accompanied by a gracious wave of his 
 sunburned hand, " allow me ter interduce yer ter 
 Major Van Twist, Mrs. Van Twist, and their dar- 
 ter, from Forestville, Connecticut." After which 
 grandiloquent remark he subsided into his seat at 
 the head of the table. 
 
 " I am happy to meet you," said Mrs. Tillottson, 
 bowing to the Van Twists. 
 
 The major bowed cordially in return and ar- 
 ranged himself in true military style to reply, but 
 before he could command words Mrs. Van Twist 
 said, 
 
 " Mr. Sandy informs me, madame, that your 
 young folks are to camp for a while on Cup 
 Island. It is somewhat strange, but very pleasant 
 and opportune, that we should both arrive to-day, 
 as the major, my daughter, and myself are about 
 to visit our cottage upon Smoke Island for a few 
 weeks." 
 
 " It will be very nice to have such near neigh- 
 bors, I am sure," said Mrs. Tillottson, cheerfully. 
 
 " Why, that is jolly," said Tom, gayly. " It is, 
 indeed, a surprise, and a very agreeable one." 
 
 " We come here almost every summer," said
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 6 1 
 
 Miss Van Twist, " except when mamma insists 
 upon going abroad. For my part I would always 
 prefer coming here ; it is so stupid, rushing about 
 on the continent from one hotel to another like 
 some restless travelling agent, especially when we 
 cannot understand a word that people say. Then, 
 too, the people here are so very amusing ; such a 
 queer set." 
 
 ,A11 this was said directly at Tom, who appeared 
 to listen intently while wondering to himself how 
 the girls would get on with this forward creature 
 who seemed to delight so in the sound of her own 
 voice. Then noticing that Mr. Sandy was appar- 
 ently about to resent her slighting remarks about 
 the Oldport people, he said quickly, addressing her 
 mother, 
 
 " Mrs. Van Twist, if we, that is Mr. Stratton and 
 myself, can be of service at any time to you during 
 your stay upon Smoke Island, I trust you will 
 command us, and I am sure it will give us great 
 pleasure." 
 
 " Yes," said Jack, in his dry, pleasing way ; " the 
 doctor and I are both excellent cooks, and as a 
 housemaid with an enviable character I most con- 
 fidently recommend my services; provided you 
 have set tubs and the modern conveniences, and 
 give me Thursdays and Sundays out." 
 
 This sally brought a smile to all faces and a 
 roar from the major. His wife alone maintained 
 
 6
 
 62 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 a serious demeanor, being one of those peculiarly- 
 constituted individuals who concentrate their men- 
 tal forces so thoroughly upon the realities of life 
 that they cannot by any moderate effort descend 
 to side issues. 
 
 Then Belle, feeling that conciliation might be 
 in order, said, addressing Mrs. Van Twist, 
 
 " Mr. Stratton and my brother have been keep- 
 ing bachelor's hall for several days at the cottage 
 upon Cup Island, and no doubt feel themselves 
 capable, even with this limited experience, of 
 solving the most intricate problems in domestic 
 economy." 
 
 Here she cast a mischievous glance at Jack, 
 who, not to be put down and ready for fun, 
 replied, 
 
 " Yes, we have made a complete success of it, 
 as our ability to invite such distinguished guests 
 for a prolonged visit will testify. We desire them 
 to witness our complete triumph." 
 
 "And capture your colors," said Nettie, laugh- 
 ing, who was now wrought up to a conversational 
 pitch. " We have planned a campaign, which, in 
 the end, you will be as ready to admire as you 
 are now perhaps likely to ignore." 
 
 "And we mean to fight it out on that line if it 
 takes all summer," said Belle, hiding her laughing 
 mouth behind a glass of water. 
 
 The major enjoyed the controversy immensely.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 63 
 
 " If there must be war," he said, swelling up, as 
 he always did when he began to speak, " if there 
 must be war, I am from this moment a willing 
 volunteer, and will join the forlorn hope. We 
 will storm Cup Island together, young ladies." 
 
 " Well," said Tom, looking curiously at Nettie, 
 " if you capture Cup Island by storm, do not for- 
 get that you first landed upon its hospitable shores 
 as-guests and in the welcome summer sunshine." 
 
 " I have heard," said Jack, persistently, " of 
 storming ' rock-ribbed' fortresses and capturing 
 hearts by siege, but who ever heard of storming 
 Paradise or Parnassus or Cup Island by assault ?" 
 
 " In a storm, a salt might do it," said Tom, per- 
 petrating a vicious pun. 
 
 " Don't be alarmed, ladies," said Jack ; " if the 
 doctor is unwell he can cure himself." 
 
 " Thank you," said Tom ; " I feel better already. 
 And now, if the ladies will excuse us, perhaps we 
 had better transport their luggage over to the 
 aforesaid paradise." 
 
 " No, indeed," said Belle ; " Nettie and I will go 
 over first with you, and then you can return for 
 the things ; we are dying to inspect the island." 
 
 "All right, then," Tom replied. "Follow me 
 and behold Nirvanna." 
 
 The whole party went to see them off at the 
 pier, and they were soon scudding across the 
 water under full sail, Tom at the helm. Jack
 
 64 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 stood upon the bowsprit flourishing his hat at 
 those upon shore, the two girls made a display 
 of linen handkerchiefs, and Bid sat near the stern 
 with her lap and arms literally buried in wraps 
 and wearing apparel. It had been arranged for 
 Bid to stay upon the island with them and do 
 the heavy work. 
 
 Their brilliant reception at the island was a de- 
 lightful surprise to the young ladies. Jack and 
 the doctor entered spiritedly into the thing, singing 
 a song of welcome to banjo accompaniment, set- 
 ting off fire-crackers, and delivering neat speeches 
 of welcome, in which they dwelt enthusiastically 
 upon the distinguished characters and rare virtues 
 of the new arrivals and the priceless advantages of 
 their new Eldorado. 
 
 After this was all accomplished to their satisfac- 
 tion, the young men started back to Oldport for 
 the luggage; and the girls, delighted at being 
 left alone upon the island, immediately began an 
 exploring expedition. They visited every nook 
 and corner from North Rock to the summer-house 
 upon Bogus Island. With this latter place they 
 were delighted, and the tide being low they crossed 
 the little cove with ease upon the boulders, which 
 were hardly wet with the advancing tide, Belle 
 carrying her sketch-book and Nettie her writing 
 materials, leaving Bid at the cottage to fix things 
 up and prepare supper.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 65 
 
 Belle was soon interested in sketching an old 
 wreck, which lay upon a reef, and was visible at 
 low tide ; while Nettie, after a brief indulgence in 
 revery, busied herself in writing a long letter to 
 Mr. Dexter, her uncle, to whom the news of her 
 removal to Oldport would be fresh. Thus occu- 
 pied, time sped unawares, until Belle, looking at 
 last at her watch, discovered that it was after five 
 o'clock. 
 
 " Why, Nettie," she exclaimed, surprised ; " I 
 did not dream it so late. We must return to the 
 cottage." 
 
 Nettie acquiesced, and gathering up their things 
 they started to return ; but here a difficulty stared 
 them in the face, and both stood upon the shore 
 of the cove puzzled, irresolute, and astonished. 
 Bogus Island was now a genuine island, and they 
 were completely surrounded by water. The tide 
 had " stolen a march" on them while they were 
 enjoying themselves in the summer-house. They 
 were prisoners. What to do they did not know. 
 Belle, with a face paling with fright, turned to 
 Nettie, and in a trembling voice said, 
 
 " Nettie, what shall we do ? Let's scream." 
 
 " No," said Nettie, thinking of the young men. 
 " They will think us great geese if we do." 
 
 " Can we not wade across ?" said Belle, in tones 
 of despair. 
 
 " But suppose they were to return and find us 
 
 e 6*
 
 66 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 wading like a couple of veritable herons, we would 
 never hear the last of it," said Nettie, with a grim 
 smile. 
 
 Nettie's coolness, and the facetious vein of her 
 last remark, somewhat restored Belle's equanimity 
 at least temporarily. 
 
 Meantime, what had become of Jack and the doc- 
 tor ? They had reached Oldport shortly after leav- 
 ing the girls, and Tom, anxious to receive his mail, 
 had been up to the post-office, where he learned 
 that the afternoon train which bore the mail was de- 
 layed by an accident, a freight train having jumped 
 the track, causing an impediment, which for an 
 hour or so would obstruct all travel. Returning 
 to the boat, they decided that instead of waiting 
 they would take a short sail along the coast, per- 
 haps catch a few blue-fish for breakfast, then re- 
 turn to Oldport for the mail and the balance of 
 the luggage. 
 
 When they had sailed for about an hour due 
 east the wind died completely down, making their 
 immediate return impossible. Thus they were 
 compelled to wait until it freshened up again, 
 which it did not do for nearly three hours, making 
 the time nearly seven o'clock before they arrived 
 again at the Oldport pier. 
 
 The girls returned to the summer-house with 
 long faces. The tide was rising rapidly, and rush- 
 ing waters swiftly swept between the two islands,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 67 
 
 now rendering wading impossible. There were no 
 signs of the young men, and they both admitted 
 that their situation was somewhat ludicrous. 
 
 " What do you suppose keeps them ?" said 
 Belle, with a decided tremulousness in her voice. 
 
 " Something unexpected has delayed them," 
 said Nettie, striving to be brave. " Perhaps they 
 found that some of the baggage was missing and 
 kSVe driven over to the station for it. In that case 
 they would hardly have returned by this time." 
 
 Thus, occasionally cheering each other, the two 
 girls waited, communing with their thoughts, and 
 listening to the noise of the rushing waters as they 
 dashed against the rocks, the tide growing higher 
 and higher. 
 
 They were in full view of the cottage, and Belle, 
 whose eyes had been absently fixed upon it, sud- 
 denly saw Bid appear at the door and look in their 
 direction. 
 
 " There is Bid !" she quickly exclaimed. " Let us 
 wave our handkerchiefs and she will come to us." 
 
 This they did ; but Bid, mistaking their signals 
 of distress for a friendly salute, simply flourished 
 a towel which was in her hand and disappeared 
 within the cottage. 
 
 " Oh, dear !" said Belle ; " how provoking ;" 
 then screaming at the top of her voice, " Bid ! 
 oh-h-h Bid ! Come here quick, we want you !" 
 
 No response, however, came from headquarters,
 
 68 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 for the distance was too great for Belle's voice to 
 travel, and the wind was blowing toward them 
 from that direction. 
 
 Presently, though, Bid appeared again, this time 
 walking directly toward them with her calico 
 dress thrown up over the back of her head, which 
 the wind formed into a sort of balloon. Suddenly 
 she paused, and the girls could hardly refrain from 
 laughing as they saw the look of horror upon her 
 face, when, on reaching the shore, she noticed the 
 rushing water between them. 
 
 " Bid !" screamed Belle, " where is Tom ?" 
 
 " Oh, moi, moi ! Oh, moi !" shouted Bid, across 
 the cove. " Shure he's not back at all ; but how 
 did ye's get over the wather, anyhow ?" 
 
 " The tide was low," said Belle. 
 
 " The toide, was it ?" said Bid. 
 
 "Yes," said Belle, "the tide; but now it has 
 risen and caught us here. Bid, what shall we 
 do?" 
 
 They shouted at Bid thus for perhaps half an 
 hour ; meantime Belle's watch showed that it was 
 after seven o'clock, and the sun was declining 
 rapidly behind the western hills of Connecticut. 
 Bid, who was nearly wild with fright at the appar- 
 ent danger of these two young ladies, who, to 
 her simple mind, were in her sole charge, spied at 
 last the little row-boat moored to a stake near her 
 on the shore, where it had been left by the young
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. fa 
 
 men. In a moment she had made up her mind to 
 rescue her dear girls at the risk of her own life ; 
 and before they were at all aware of her intentions, 
 she had untied the painter, pulled the little boat 
 toward her, stepped into it, and with the wrong 
 end of an oar was wildly trying to impel the boat 
 toward them. But poor Bid's skill did not cor- 
 respond to her noble impulse. Unfortunately, in 
 Ike" methods of navigation her education had been 
 wofully neglected, and this was her first attempt 
 to manage a row-boat. As soon, therefore, as the 
 boat floated out from the shore far enough to catch 
 the strong flow of the tide, Bid and boat were 
 swiftly swept away from between the islands, turn- 
 ing around and around in their uncertain course 
 like a feather in the wind. 
 
 The girls by this time were really alarmed, for 
 here was their last hope drifting away from them. 
 They screamed all sorts of directions at Bid, who, 
 apparently oblivious to everything they said, was 
 frantically dashing the oar to and fro, which, like 
 a straw in her brawny arms, splashed the water in 
 every direction, particularly her own. 
 
 " Put the oar in the row-lock !" yelled Nettie, 
 who was herself a tolerable sailor. 
 
 " Sit down on the seat or you will tip over !" 
 screamed Belle. " Oh, dear ! she don't hear a 
 word." 
 
 " Bid !" screeched Nettie, at the top of her voice.
 
 JQ A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 This seemed to attract her attention, for the poor 
 woman ceased her struggles with the elements and 
 turned toward them a face as long and woebegone 
 as possible. 
 
 " Sit down !" Nettie continued, in the same high 
 key. 
 
 Bid sat down, but with a narrow escape from 
 capsizing. 
 
 " Now, Bid, sit still ; you are going with the 
 tide toward the shore ; when you get near enough 
 you can scream and attract the attention of people 
 on the shore ;" but by this time Bid was out of 
 distinct hearing, and both Nettie and Belle were 
 thoroughly alarmed. Fortunately, Bid continued 
 to sit still. Let us credit her with so much good 
 judgment. She probably began to realize her 
 nautical incompetency, and subdued her pride by 
 ruminating upon the frailty of man when subjected 
 to a conflict with the raging elements. She was 
 now on thorough exhibition. Occasionally her 
 Hibernian profile was presented to the girls, her 
 low forehead, short but by no means straight 
 nose, large, strong lower jaws, and prominent lips, 
 forcing her true pedigree upon them ; then her 
 full, mournful, scared face would drift into view, 
 causing their tender hearts to ache for her, until 
 at last her broad, large-waisted back forcibly re- 
 minded them of her native ability for endurance ; 
 and thus slowly revolving, like the dressed wax
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. ji 
 
 figure in a dressmaker's window, she was gradu- 
 ally drifting away. 
 
 Tom and Jack meantime had just landed on the 
 opposite shore of the island, and were conveying 
 their first load of things to the cottage in some 
 haste, as clouds were forming and mounting in the 
 west, and they were expecting a thunder-shower. 
 They were surprised to find the cottage empty. 
 They knocked upon the wall, thinking that the 
 girls were up-stairs ; they shouted, but in vain ; and 
 finally, after assuring themselves that the cottage 
 was deserted, they wandered out upon the island, 
 where they immediately spied them in the summer- 
 house on Bogus Island. 
 
 But the girls did not return their looks. Their 
 gaze was riveted in another direction ; they were 
 intently looking shoreward. The young men fol- 
 lowed the direction of their glances, and then, for 
 the first time, saw poor Bid sitting in the little boat, 
 her face toward its bow, with an oar lying help- 
 lessly across her lap ; while the boat, with its bow 
 six inches out of water, for Bid was sitting on the 
 rear seat, was slowly revolving on its keel as ma- 
 jestically as a balloon in mid-air. 
 
 " Hello !" shouted Jack and Tom in a breath, 
 both running at the same time toward Bogus 
 Island. 
 
 " Oh, Tom !" screamed Belle, when they were 
 within hearing distance. " Come quick, we have
 
 72 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 been imprisoned for hours; but first save poor 
 Bid ; save dear old Bid first !" 
 
 " Yes, yes," said Nettie, " do save Bid first." 
 
 Both young men were by this time doubled up 
 with laughter. They were convulsed. Now, your 
 true heroes would, of course, have dashed reck- 
 lessly into the billowy deep, breasted the angry 
 waves, and rescued the beautiful maidens at the 
 imminent risk of their own sweet lives ; but Jack 
 and the doctor, as we have before stated, were not 
 true heroes. They did nothing of the sort. They 
 laughed, and the girls were somewhat reassured 
 by their hilarity, for their good sense told them 
 that the young men knew what they were about, 
 and would not have shown so much amusement 
 in the presence of actual danger. 
 
 " Boots," said Tom, as soon as he could com- 
 mand his voice sufficiently, " keep cool and we 
 will be back in a minute." Then hastening with 
 Jack over to " The Queen," they quickly cast her 
 off and were briskly sailing after the nautical 
 domestic in a good breeze. 
 
 Bid rescued, which was a matter soon accom- 
 plished, Tom took her place in the little boat and 
 pulled vigorously for Bogus Island, leaving Jack 
 to pilot " The Queen." 
 
 At this time great drops of rain began to fall, 
 the sky darkened rapidly, thunder rumbled in the 
 distance, and the wind, which hitherto had been
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 73 
 
 warm and moderate, increased to a stiff cool breeze 
 which blew the spray from the tops of the small 
 waves in the harbor. Jack returned safely to Cup 
 Island with Bid, while Tom rowed lightly over 
 the waves against the tide, having the strong wind 
 in his favor. The girls, by the time he reached 
 them, were thoroughly wet, the summer-house 
 proving a poor protection in such a gale ; but they 
 <tvere happy in the knowledge of Bid's safety, and 
 in the assurance of Tom's powers. To bundle 
 them into the boat, shove the boat across the cove, 
 and land them upon the other shore took Tom 
 but a short time ; but the rain was now descending 
 in torrents ; and the loud cracking and booming 
 thunder, preceded by vivid flashes of lightning, 
 by no means reassured them of complete safety. 
 Tom quickly moored the boat, then running 
 after the girls, who were by this time half way 
 to the cottage, he threw his coat over Nettie, 
 who was the least protected. They were soon 
 safely housed, looking like a brood of very wet 
 chickens. 
 
 Their drenching did them no harm, for the air 
 was not very cold, but bracing. The young ladies, 
 rejoicing in the happy termination of their exciting 
 adventure, were soon in high spirits, and at supper, 
 having changed their apparel, a stranger could not 
 have perceived that anything had occurred to in- 
 terfere with their serenity.
 
 74 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 " I told you we would capture the island by 
 storm," said Belle, gayly. 
 
 "Which island?" asked Jack, roguishly; then 
 added quickly, " I notice by your cheeks, ladies, 
 that you have fulfilled your threat regarding 
 colors." 
 
 Bid, who with her customary stoical indifference, 
 was now ready to wait upon table, was asked by 
 the doctor how she enjoyed her sail. 
 
 "Ah, Misther Torm," said she, "shure an' were 
 it not for you and your good friend, it's the 
 loikes av me wud now be tossin' at the bottom av 
 the moanin' say." 
 
 Bid could not break herself of the habit of ad- 
 dressing the doctor as " Misther Torm." She had 
 been in the family many years. She was a faithful 
 soul, and ever after the event which had just hap- 
 pened, she held to the idea that Tom and Jack had 
 saved her from the " moanin' say." Perhaps they 
 had, who knows? The storm, which was now 
 fiercely raging outside, had already lashed the 
 waters of the harbor into angry waves, which in 
 such a gale might easily have capsized the frail 
 boat and its restless occupant, and Bid was less 
 skilled in the natatorial science than in that of 
 navigation; therefore, perhaps, she was not un- 
 reasonably grateful. 
 
 The young ladies also felt a true sense of se- 
 curity and comfortableness in the presence of Tom
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 75 
 
 and Jack, while the beating of the rain upon the 
 windows, the occasional lurid flashes of lightning, 
 and the roar of the elements outside, added to 
 their feeling of safety, as they enjoyed the warmth 
 of the burning logs which crackled and blazed 
 upon the hearth. They were brought, too, 
 into closer acquaintanceship with the young men 
 by^. the little adventure just related, which, of 
 course, effected more in advancing their social 
 intimacy than a whole week's residence upon the 
 island might under ordinary circumstances have 
 done. 
 
 The girls chatted incessantly and without re- 
 straint. They talked of their adventure, of the 
 conveniences and inconveniences of the cottage 
 which was to be their home, of their plans for en- 
 joyment on Cup Island, of their school experiences, 
 in fact of everything that seemed to pop into their 
 young noddles ; while the young men, delighted 
 with such pleasant companionship, listened in- 
 tently, now and then dropping an encouraging 
 word, or giving a nod of approval, or deftly 
 putting a question to draw forth more of such 
 delicious eloquence. 
 
 They were a contented party ; and now while 
 they still talk the fierce wind gradually dies away, 
 the heavy clouds pass to the south, and the soft 
 rays of the mid-summer moon light up the scene 
 outside with a sweet, mellow brilliancy. Cup
 
 76 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 Island sparkles with a thousand crystal reflections, 
 and peacefully yet regally holds her head high 
 above the still troubled waters of the sound. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 John Beesford Stratton Character Comparisons Jack's Letter 
 to Bob Evans Belle and Nettie gather Sea-Mosses, and are 
 left by the Tide Mr. Craik Another Rescue In Tow. 
 
 JACK STRATTON, or John Beesford Stratton at 
 pleasure, was in many respects a genius. He was, 
 in the first place, a natural born artist. There are 
 those, we know, who deny such a possibility, 
 claiming that all talent or power of accomplish- 
 ment is acquired by cultivation. Nevertheless, 
 we know that Jack, even as a very young child, 
 evinced a strong natural, and without doubt, an 
 inherited tendency toward art. We will there- 
 fore side with the phrenologists, for he unmistaka- 
 bly displayed a natural capacity for the artistic, 
 and at a very tender age. He also possessed a 
 nature pervaded by an apparently inexhaustible 
 current of good humor. Craniology may here 
 again lay claim, for Jack's head certainly did have 
 a jolly cast. It was a head to caress, like that of 
 a faithful dog. A tender heart may be added to
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. j-j 
 
 the attributes mentioned, and we have in Jack 
 Stratton a man whose life was certain to be a 
 happy one ; a person in whose nature there was 
 no room for the world's perplexities or for anxiety 
 about the morrow. Genial, well-bred, well-read, 
 an experienced traveller, communicative, yet a 
 good listener, handsome and young. What more 
 could be asked ? He was also a well-tempered 
 /outh, and had been safely through those inevita- 
 ble fires of experience which either make or ruin 
 a man. In his case the metal left the furnace 
 brighter and purer for the smelting. 
 
 Beneath that halo of good nature which always 
 seemed to surround him, there was a groundwork 
 of discrimination, and for so young a man, a nota- 
 bly wise and discreet judgment. His love for the 
 doctor was deep-rooted. In him he saw a nature 
 true as steel ; and Tom returned his friendship 
 measure for measure. Their characters, however, 
 were very dissimilar. Tom, while he enjoyed a 
 frolic as a sort of recreation or refreshment,, had 
 his serious moments, moments when the intri- 
 cate and perplexing problems of life seemed to 
 flow into and flood his soul with anxious thought. 
 His tastes, too, were different ; where Jack saw 
 beauty, Tom found a background of true moral 
 worth. Jack saw form ; Tom substance. But 
 this difference in their methods of receiving the 
 world's impressions served to draw their natures 
 
 7*
 
 78 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 into a closer and more sympathetic companion- 
 ship, for what one lacked the other possessed and 
 yielded freely. 
 
 Their methods were different, but were at the 
 same time complementary. They were by differ- 
 ent processes possessed of affectionate dispositions. 
 Jack's moods were spontaneous, while Tom's affec- 
 tions seemed latent, always ready present, a matter 
 of permanency, an instinctive possession. The 
 knowledge which Stratton gained of men was 
 borne to him through his keen artistic vision. He 
 was what Lavater would have called a natural 
 physiognomist. Tom judged human nature by a 
 different standard; he weighed mankind in the 
 scales of thoughtful comparison. Jack took fan- 
 cies and dislikes at sight ; Tom only by lengthened 
 acquaintance. Jack lived almost entirely in the 
 present, while Dr. Tillottson revered the past, re- 
 joiced in the present, and reasoned upon the 
 future. Yet with all these differences they were 
 alike. Both were enthusiastic in their respective 
 professions, both unselfish in their aspirations. 
 They worked from a love of results, not recom- 
 pense. Jack sketched and painted because he 
 took pleasure in reproducing the wonders of na- 
 ture, discovering with each progressive step in his 
 work something new to admire. The doctor 
 healed the sick and relieved suffering humanity 
 because he loved to do good. This zealous un-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. yg 
 
 selfishness served to make them popular with 
 their patrons, and was also instrumental in making 
 them more skilful in the practice of their pro- 
 fessions. Thus at heart they were affinities. 
 
 After a few days upon Cup Island, Jack, who 
 had been busily active every moment of the time, 
 remembered that he had promised to write to an 
 intimate friend in the city, one Robert Evans, a 
 brother artist. Evans was a young man about 
 Jack's age. They had studied together in Flor- 
 ence under the same master, and had renewed 
 their intimacy in New York, to their mutual ad- 
 vantage, for both gave good promise of becoming 
 famous. They were both looked upon with favor- 
 ing eyes by that portion of the great public who 
 take more than a passing interest in the specialty 
 of painting. Evans was a frequent visitor at Jack's 
 den, as he called it, where the three young men 
 enjoyed many happy hours in social chat and 
 festive communion. 
 
 To Evans, then, Jack, after some struggling for 
 opportunity, wrote the following amusing letter : 
 
 " DEAR BOB, Nothing is more difficult, as you 
 are probably well aware for an artist, than to pause 
 in his mad career to indite a letter; but just a few 
 words must I write to Bobbie, if only to say ' how 
 d'ye,' or ' God bless you.' Ah, my lad, I am very 
 happy, I may say supremely so, and if I had
 
 go A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 you within ear-reach, I should be strongly tempted 
 to tell you the cause of my joy. But you must 
 not ask me. Silence ! I'm mum. No, no, though, 
 this won't do ; on reflection, Robert, I relent ; you 
 deserve better treatment at my hands and can be 
 trusted. Were we not together nurtured in that 
 cradle of art, Florence ? and does not our mother- 
 muse smile benignly upon us as twin daubers ? 
 Indeed, I should be conscience-smit did I not share 
 my joys with you as readily as I would my sor- 
 rows. Know ye, then, that the cause of all my 
 present felicity is a woman. Now down on your 
 knees. She is an angel. 
 
 Why do I love this lassie so ? 
 
 This bonnie bit of a girl, 
 With golden hair, and eyes as fair 
 
 As the blue in the heart of a pearl. 
 
 "By the way, Bobbie, it is essential that you 
 should understand that the heart of a pearl is un- 
 mistakably blue. 
 
 " You will be somewhat astonished when I in- 
 form you that our party at the cottage here on 
 Cup Island has grown from two to five individuals, 
 and more surprised when I inform you that the 
 three additional individuals are of the female per- 
 suasion. It happened in this way : 
 
 " Tom's mother, being out of health, has sought 
 the sea-air at Oldport, where she, with her sister,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. g r 
 
 is comfortably established. Her daughter, Miss 
 Belle, and a friend, Miss Knowles, came on with 
 them. Tom's sister urged him to allow her, with 
 her friend, to stop at the cottage with him; so 
 here we are, four of us, as jolly a crowd as you 
 will seldom meet ' Bid,' Mrs. Tillottson's maid, 
 is with us, and makes an excellent cook. She has 
 th^ ancestral atmosphere of burnt peat about her, 
 is Hibernian to the core, both in brogue and 
 blarney, and is withal an indispensable institution. 
 Miss Knowles is a beauty. Tom's sister, Belle, is 
 divine. I mean it. We have now been but two 
 days together, yet the gavel has fallen, and I'm a 
 goner. I cannot write about anything else. Of 
 course she don't suspect ; neither does Tom, dear 
 old chap, and I can't seem to muster up courage 
 enough to tell him what a terrible fix I am in. 
 What shall I do, Bobbie ? Send me some fatherly 
 advice. I have tried my level best to throw off 
 the spell and laugh myself out of it, but it is no 
 use. There is a sweet melody playing constantly 
 upon my heart-strings which I cannot and will 
 not interrupt, for it attunes the routine of my life 
 to a harmony, which stimulates me to better hopes 
 and deeds ; and should it cease, or should discord 
 intrude, I fear I could not bear the strain. But I 
 must be a man, and write something of what is 
 happening hereabouts. 
 
 " There is another little island Smoke Island
 
 8 2 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 within a stone's throw of us, on which live for the 
 summer a Major Van Twist, wife and daughter, 
 with a small retinue of three servants. The major 
 is a jolly chappie, rather below the medium height 
 and above the ordinary breadth, what we call, in 
 broad English, stocky. He is a good sort of a 
 fellow, who smokes prime Havanas, and is given 
 to forty-rod puns. His wife, who, I understand, 
 brought the major an immense fortune on their 
 wedding-day, is one of the queer sort. You know, 
 Bobbie, one of those peculiar females who think 
 a great deal of their standing and very little of 
 their letters. She drops an occasional g, and is a 
 wholesale dealer in superlatives. I haven't gauged 
 the daughter yet, but she would sit for a splendid 
 Goddess of Liberty. They have a luxurious cot- 
 tage on Smoke Island, which rather throws our 
 modest affair in the shade. We have the good 
 times, though. Yesterday a large yacht anchored 
 in Oldport Harbor, and the gentlemen are now 
 visiting the Van Twists ; friends of theirs, I sup- 
 pose. Tom says that the yacht looks like that of 
 Van Dusen, the millionaire, he that paid me the 
 snug price last year for the Beatrice picture, you 
 know. If it is he, and he finds me out, he will 
 be over here, I suppose. There are four in their 
 party, and one is dark enough to be a Spaniard. 
 Here comes Tom again, and he says the yacht is 
 the 'Siren' (Van Dusen's, you know). Tom says
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 83 
 
 he just made out the name with the glass, and that 
 Van Dusen is related to the Van Twists. 
 
 " I am sketching a fine old wreck here, and in- 
 tend to work up a picture out of it for the ex- 
 hibition, if I am not too much of a wreck myself. 
 Meantime, I see a certain face in everything I 
 look at. 
 
 "-There is an abundance of material scattered 
 about here for good work, odds and ends, you 
 know; queer-looking farm-houses, with the high, 
 old-fashioned gable roofs ; eccentric characters, 
 etc. Yesterday we passed a boatload of fisher- 
 men just landing a net. Some of them had on 
 red shirts, and their sea-dog faces warm-tinted by 
 the sun then low in the western sky, which made 
 a gorgeous play of red upon the dripping net and 
 waters was a sight which will haunt my memory 
 until I make one of my futile attempts to repro- 
 duce it. 
 
 " We have two boats, a sloop-rigged and a 
 row-boat. The exercise of rowing is fine, and we 
 are all benefited by it greatly. Tom looks like a 
 veteran tar already. I enclose a rough sketch of 
 him, and likewise a profile view of his sister. Is 
 it not a wonderful face ? I caught the expression 
 on the sly while she was eagerly watching a sea- 
 gull catch a fish. 
 
 " By the way, Bob, please go to White's, the 
 fruit-store on the corner, and tell Mr. White
 
 34 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 to send me a basket of his best peaches every 
 week. She likes them. And will you be kind 
 enough, old boy, to send me Scribble's last 
 novel ? She has heard of it. I know you too 
 well, Bobbie, to fear that these commissions will 
 trouble you. 
 " Write soon to 
 
 " Your humble friend, 
 
 "JACK." 
 
 The day following the writing of this epistle 
 the girls, who understood rowing, took the little 
 boat with the intention of making a short visit 
 upon Mrs. Tillottson, in order to carry her some 
 fresh fish of their own catching. After this visit 
 they had planned to row along the coast and 
 gather sea-mosses for pressing. 
 
 The day was perfect ; too warm perhaps inland, 
 but on the water, breeze enough was stirring to 
 make the air comfortable and invigorating. 
 
 After seeing Mrs. Tillottson, presenting their 
 gift of fish, and receiving an assurance from Mrs. 
 Sandy that the fish should be cooked with due 
 care, they left Oldport, and half drifted and half 
 rowed along the coast with the tide until they 
 came to a sloping, sandy beach, with here and 
 there a cluster of huge black rocks. The tide was 
 going out, which was favorable for their pursuit, 
 so running the boat ashore they were soon briskly
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. g$ 
 
 engaged in searching among the rocks and all 
 along the beach for mosses. 
 
 In their enthusiasm they had failed to notice 
 behind a clump of rocks, near their landing-place, 
 another boat about the size of their own. Half 
 sitting, half reclining in the boat was a man. A 
 Panama hat was drawn down over his eyes, but 
 enough of his features were visible to show that 
 he was handsome. His complexion was dark 
 enough to suggest Spanish blood, which idea was 
 not lessened by the appearance of his small 
 shapely feet and well-formed, effeminate hands. 
 His dress was jaunty, and not free from an at- 
 tempt at show, but it fitted a figure, the pleasing 
 proportions of which would redeem almost any 
 inconsistency of cut or quality. At first glance 
 the very boat itself seemed to borrow dash and 
 buoyancy from its occupant. There are indi- 
 viduals who, until we know them and have 
 weighed their character, seem to lend beauty or 
 grace to whatever they draw near to or touch by 
 their perfection of manner and figure. 
 
 Such a person was this man ; and as he now 
 sits erect and pushes back his hat, we see a face so 
 pervaded by the lines of beauty that we involun- 
 tarily admire. A dark, symmetrically curled 
 moustache covers his upper lip, and handsome 
 regular teeth are brought in sight as he murmurs 
 something to himself. Let us listen to his words: 
 
 8
 
 86 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 " What an idiot I was to leave New York to 
 coop myself up in that jackass's yacht. I ought 
 to have known better. They say he is a million- 
 aire, but devil take him, he won't stake anything. 
 I tried him last night again by all the arts I 
 possess, and after toddy, too ; but he won't drink 
 much, and a straight game of euchre is all he 
 seems to care or know anything about, and not a 
 
 d cent would he stake on the game. As for 
 
 the others they are N.G. One a parson with his 
 prayer-meetings and gibberish, and the other with 
 nothing to talk about but bugs and fish, and such 
 nonsense. If I didn't think it might lead to some- 
 thing rich I would skip back to New York and 
 leave the whole crowd. I wonder what keeps 
 Van Dusen so long. He said he was only going 
 up to that farm-house on an errand and would be 
 back in ten minutes. He has been away now 
 nearly an hour." 
 
 He now stood up in the boat in order to get an 
 unobstructed view of the farm-house. As he did 
 so he saw Van Dusen a short distance from him 
 on the beach in conversation with two young 
 ladies. Stepping quickly out of the boat he 
 walked leisurely toward them. Van Dusen saw 
 him approaching, and, when near enough, said with 
 a gracious wave of the hand in his direction, 
 
 " Ladies, allow me to introduce my friend, Mr. 
 Craik."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. gy 
 
 Then in turn introducing the ladies to Mr. 
 Craik, he continued, 
 
 "You have arrived most opportunely, for we 
 must assist in delivering these ladies from rather 
 an unfortunate dilemma. They have been gather- 
 ing mosses along the shore, and during their ab- 
 sence their boat has been left high and dry by the 
 
 tide-" 
 
 * "Certainly, it will give me great pleasure to be 
 of service to the ladies," said Craik, with one of 
 his fascinating smiles. 
 
 " No, no," he continued, " please do not exert 
 yourself." This to Belle, who offered to help them 
 with the boat. " We can easily do it alone." 
 
 They soon pushed the boat over the deep sand 
 into the water, and Craik, stepping into it, guided 
 it alongside of a flat rock from which it was easy 
 for the girls to embark. Thanking the gentlemen 
 for their kindness, the girls, who were now safely 
 seated, took up the oars and were soon industri- 
 ously pulling for home. 
 
 " How strange," said Belle, presently, " that we 
 should meet them here, and in such a plight. 
 What a handsome man that Mr. Craik is. He is 
 certainly the best looking and most graceful man 
 I ever saw." 
 
 Nettie was silent, but presently she said, quietly, 
 
 " He certainly is very good looking, but there is 
 something about him which I do not like ; I can-
 
 88 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 not describe it, and perhaps if I had met him alone 
 I might not have been so impressed ; but the con- 
 trast is so great, there is such a striking difference 
 between himself and Mr. Van Dusen, who, as 
 millionaires go, is apparently a very nice man, that 
 I was struck by it, and I certainly think Mr. Craik 
 suffers by the comparison. He does not look one 
 in the eye frankly." 
 
 " His manner seemed perfect to me," said 
 Belle, " and he was the personification of grace- 
 fulness." 
 
 " Well, perhaps I am mistaken," said Nettie ; 
 " but I never shall like him, of that I feel sure. 
 Why, what is the matter with the boat ? we have 
 gained but very little distance since we started, and 
 see, we are drifting away from the shore fast." 
 
 " It must be the wind and tide," said Belle. 
 " Oh, dear, I am frightened. Why did we come 
 so far away from Cup Island ? Tom will not like 
 it ; but see, Nettie, the gentlemen see us. They 
 evidently understand our predicament, and will 
 help us." 
 
 " Craik," said Van Dusen, after the girls had 
 rowed and drifted out of hearing, " those are two 
 fine-looking girls ; about as pretty as I ever saw." 
 
 "By Jove, you are right," responded Craik. 
 " Where in the deuce did you meet them ?" 
 
 " I never met Miss Knowles before ; Miss Til- 
 lottson I saw at the Academy exhibition last fall.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 9 
 
 I know her brother, Dr. Tillottson, very well. 
 Miss Tillottson tells me they are camping on the 
 little island, Cup Island I think they call it, near 
 where we are anchored. She says her brother, the 
 doctor, and a friend of his by the name of Stratton, 
 are with them. I wonder if it is Stratton, the 
 artist ?" 
 
 JHere an exclamation from Craik arrested his 
 Attention. 
 
 " They are not making any headway ! See, they 
 are drifting out with the strong tide !" 
 
 " So they are," said Van Dusen. " We must 
 help them ; we will row to their assistance." 
 
 This they proceeded at once to do. It did not 
 take them long to reach the boat in which the girls 
 were so unfortunately drifting, and taking their 
 painter, they were soon slowly towing them in the 
 proper direction. After fifteen or twenty minutes, 
 however, of hard pulling, they had made but little 
 progress, and were glad to see a sail-boat bearing 
 down upon them from a distance. It contained 
 Tom and Jack, who were returning from a fishing 
 excursion, on which they had started in the early 
 morning. As they drew near they recognized the 
 girls by their dress and began to shout, 
 
 " Hello, there," roared Jack. " Ship ahoy." 
 
 " Hello yourself," shouted Van Dusen, in a 
 good-natured way. " Hurry up here and give us 
 
 a lift, will you ?" 
 
 8*
 
 QO A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 " That is Van Dusen," said Tom. " I know his 
 voice. Yes, they are towing the girls." 
 
 " Don't swing around too near them," said Jack ; 
 but the caution was unnecessary, for Tom rounded 
 neatly up to Van Dusen's boat, and the whole 
 party were soon on board of " The Queen," with 
 their two boats in tow. 
 
 The story of their misfortunes was soon told by 
 the girls while they were bowling along toward 
 home under full canvas. 
 
 " I am greatly indebted to you, I am sure," said 
 Tom, addressing Van Dusen, " for your kindness 
 to these ladies." 
 
 "Oh, not at all, not at all," said Van Dusen, 
 heartily ; " don't mention it. You see I have been 
 on a short foraging expedition, looking up some 
 nice butter and eggs and spring chickens. I'm 
 about to give a spread on Sunday on board of the 
 ' Siren,' and I have been making sure of provisions 
 enough up there at the old farm-house. By the 
 way, why can't you all come over to-morrow and 
 dine with us ? Plain Sunday spread, you know ; 
 nothing very fancy or elaborate, but truly whole- 
 some, ha ! ha ! like the air here. The Van Twists 
 are coming." 
 
 "Thank you," said Tom, "most happy;" and 
 the others bowed their acceptance. 
 
 "Well, then, I'll tell Bolser" Bolser was the 
 cook " to put on some extra plates ; shall I hope
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. gi 
 
 to see your mother and aunt, doctor? Delighted 
 to have them. Plenty of room." 
 
 " No, thank you," said Tom ; " mother is hardly 
 able yet to dine out, and, besides, you know, she 
 must attend church, come what may." 
 
 " Yes, I know these old ladies," said Van Dusen ; 
 "and it's all right. Bless their dear souls, they 
 kejjp us poor sinners straight !" 
 * Arriving at Cup Island, Craik and Van Dusen, 
 declining an invitation from Belle to walk up to the 
 cottage, soon took their departure, Van Dusen as 
 he stepped into his boat reminding them of their 
 promise to meet the following day and stating that 
 they would dine at two. The sun was high in the 
 meridian, and the party were correspondingly high 
 in spirits, as they ascended toward the cottage. 
 Bid stood at the door in a clean white apron, her 
 ruddy face beaming with a broad smile of welcome, 
 which argued a good warm dinner, for which their 
 adventures had well prepared them.
 
 92 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 An Interview with Mr. Beegum The Incubator A Letter from 
 Bob Evans Fun in a Studio Bid proves her Superior Tact 
 A short Sketch of Aunt Deborah Puritan Ancestry. 
 
 LIFE at Cup Island was by no means eventless 
 or monotonous. Our little party was always busy. 
 Sometimes they boarded "The Queen" for a fishing 
 excursion, lasting perhaps all day ; or, the weather 
 being propitious, they would go for a long sail up 
 or down the coast, taking Bid along to cook for 
 them. On such occasions they would land where 
 the beach was sandy, build a fire, spread a cloth 
 upon the clean white sand, and enjoy repasts, 
 which Bid and the girls well knew how to pro- 
 duce. Sometimes they would visit one or another 
 of the many little villages scattered along the Con- 
 necticut shore, when they would take opportunity 
 to replenish their stock of provisions, or whatever 
 they needed in the way of supplies. They visited 
 Oldport often, soon becoming well acquainted with 
 the majority of its inhabitants. While they were 
 there on one occasion, Jack and the doctor, leav- 
 ing the girls with Mrs. Tillottson, strolled up the 
 road in search of a man named Beegum, who they 
 had heard offered chickens for sale. Mr. Beegum,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 93 
 
 they were informed, lived a mile or so northwest 
 of the village, in a shanty just at the base of a high 
 hill, which was pointed out to them at the Sandy 
 cottage. Beegum, or Bigum, as his neighbors 
 called him, was a widower and lived alone. He 
 had never been what might be called a pecuniarily 
 successful man, though there had been a time 
 years before when he had inherited a considerable 
 property. He was, however, in imagination, a 
 man of wealth, and sanguine to an astonishing de- 
 gree. He had sacrificed piece by piece and little 
 by little all that he formerly possessed in futile 
 attempts to carry out his plans. Reverses, how- 
 ever, had by no means shaken a firm faith in his 
 ability to scheme and execute. " Trust Beegum 
 for that," he would say when his method of effect- 
 ing some impossibility was questioned. His mar- 
 ried life had been happy, because the simple- 
 minded, trusting little woman who shared his 
 fortunes believed in him implicitly, and, although 
 she saw his plans fail one by one, as regularly 
 and surely as they were made, and his property 
 slip away from him as a certain result, until he 
 was absolutely penniless, she died at last, as she 
 had lived, his foremost champion and the uncom- 
 plaining sharer of his defeats. Beegum was now 
 about sixty years of age ; but years never had 
 brought him to that turning-point of careers, when 
 an unfortunate but sanguine man begins to mis-
 
 94 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 trust himself, or to suspect a weak spot in his own 
 mental economy. 
 
 The young men found him at home. He re- 
 sponded in person to their summons. Short in 
 stature almost to dwarfishness, with a head un- 
 usually large, a long, swaying body upon short, 
 bowed legs, and a face which never seemed at 
 rest, he was an individual who seemed to have 
 jumped from boyhood to old age in a single 
 night, taking with him the form, size, and, in 
 some respects, the actions of extreme youthful- 
 ness. 
 
 " Is Mr. Beegum at home ?" said Tom, politely. 
 
 " Well, ruther, I should say," said the little man, 
 smiling broadly. " That's me, gents ; that's me. 
 Come right in. I've been sorter spectin' ye fer a 
 week or so. Of course, you're come to see my 
 incubator ? I knew my last letter 'd fetch yer. I 
 tell you what, it's a good thing, an' there's piles 
 of spondulix in it." 
 
 He led them into a small front room, keeping 
 up a running fire of words. 
 
 " Set down, set down, both on ye," said he, " an' 
 I'll explain the workin' of the tarnal thing to ye. 
 I tell you, gents, it hez taken brains to get that 
 thing untangled. Yer see, too much heat kills 
 'em in the shell, and not enough heat kills 'em 
 the same way by slow degrees, and " 
 
 " I understand that you have chickens for sale ?"
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 95 
 
 said Tom, who had been striving to get in a word 
 edgeways for some minutes. 
 
 "Yes; oh, yes; but, you see, I'm on'y workin' 
 a bit of a model now of the incubator, and that 
 on'y turns out from seven to a dozen a week. 
 Why, sir, what do you think of two hundred an' 
 fifty a day, or fifteen to seventeen hundred a week, 
 makin', say, at a small calkerlation, ninety thou- 
 sa.d two-legged chickens a year ? Oh, I tell you, 
 thar's money in it. I can feel it right now atween 
 these ole fingers, but I must have money to git it 
 under way ; and it was reel good of yer to come 
 to-day. I'll show yer my plans, an' then you'll 
 be sure to want ter invest a few hundred dollars 
 in such a good thing. As I said, I've been ex- 
 pectin' yer fer a week or so. When did you leave 
 New York ? That's a big place, isn't it ? How 
 they would stare and crowd around a windy in 
 Broadway to see my incubator a-hatchin' out a 
 chicken every five minutes ! You better believe 
 they would." 
 
 Here he chuckled to himself at the thought, 
 and Tom, who now saw his golden opportunity, 
 said, with an effort to keep a straight face, 
 
 " Mr. Beegum, you are mistaken. We are per- 
 fect strangers to you, and stopping here near Old- 
 port for the summer. We simply called upon you 
 to purchase a few live chickens." 
 
 " An' ain't you neither on yer chicken-dealers ?
 
 C>6 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 An' ain't yer name Higgins ?" asked poor Beegum, 
 with a sort of groan. 
 
 "No, sir," said Tom. "We want to eat the 
 chickens." 
 
 " Well, bless my soul !" said Beegum, trying 
 nobly to cover up his disappointment. " I al- 
 lowed yer was men from New York that I've 
 been a'writin' to about my incubator. But jest 
 let me show you my plans. Here yer see is the 
 heater, which I feed with this six-wicked coal-ile 
 burner; an' here I'm going to put a wire-nettin', 
 which tempers an' spreads the heat as it rises into 
 this cock-loft above." 
 
 " Yes," said Tom, firmly ; " but we have ladies 
 waiting for us in the village, Mr. Beegum, and 
 will be compelled to leave you. Perhaps some 
 other time we will be able to listen to your plans 
 and look at your drawings. Now we must go, 
 unless you can sell us a dozen chickens right 
 away." 
 
 Beegum looked appealingly at Jack a moment, 
 but seeing the same look of determination upon 
 his face, and that they were fully decided to de- 
 part, he became suddenly as deeply interested in 
 the sale of his chickens as he had been in his 
 prospective incubator, and, after a little dickering, 
 sold them a dozen fine hens, which he promised 
 to deliver to Mr. Sandy in the morning, and, es- 
 corting them to the road, was profuse in his invi-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 97 
 
 tations for them to come soon again and investi- 
 gate his plans for a model incubator, which would 
 turn out over ninety thousand chickens a year 
 and surprise the world. There they left him ges- 
 ticulating at the gate as they walked back to- 
 ward Oldport, restraining their hilarity until they 
 reached a convenient bend in the road. At the 
 post-office Jack received, among his letters, one 
 from his friend Robert Evans, in reply to his, 
 which we have read. It was written in a style 
 characteristic of Evans, and was so thoroughly 
 enjoyed by Jack that we will indulge the reader 
 with its contents : 
 
 " MY DEAR STRATTON, Though it is insuffera- 
 bly hot in town, here I am just as I have been all 
 summer, sweltering in my little attic room, with 
 the mercury somewhere up in the nineties. Yes- 
 terday it dallied around ninety-four in the shady 
 shadow of my protecting roof-tree, and your humble 
 servant came within a peg or two of melting. To- 
 day it seems even warmer, so I am sitting neglige, 
 in my lofty apartment, with windows and doors 
 open wooing the breezes, which, by the way, don't 
 woo worth a cent. It is too hot to eat, drink, or 
 be merry; and as I breakfasted late, I don't ex- 
 pect a sign of an appetite to dawn upon my gas- 
 tronomical horizon before night brings me a dimi- 
 nution of caloric. Thank your lucky stars, my 
 * 9 9
 
 pg A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 boy, that you are away from brick and mortar 
 and this superlatively Hottentottish climate. I 
 had the peaches sent as you directed and Scrib- 
 bles' last agony. I would do more than this for 
 admiration of the sweet face which you sent me. 
 Allons! You are indeed a lucky dog to have 
 Cup Island so quickly converted into a paradise. 
 I have a strong mind to run down there and cut 
 you out. 
 
 " Advice ? Well, you are a ' chicken.' How 
 can you expect a susceptible, inexperienced young 
 flip like myself to send you advice ? 
 
 " The boys at college, just before a race, used 
 to say to me, ' Now, Bobbie, go in and win.' I 
 would recommend the same advice to you, did I 
 not know that you will do it any way. Phaint 
 heart never won phair lady you know. I am 
 digging away as usual, and have nearly finished 
 the miser picture. Old Cripps, the model, poor 
 old beggar, went sound asleep yesterday while I 
 was getting in some neat work on his immaculate 
 garments. Lawton came in, full of the old Harry 
 as usual, and we decorated old Cripps while he 
 innocently slumbered. We put a two-quart tin 
 pail on his head, tied a clothes-line about his neck, 
 attaching the free end to my sleeping dog, Bruno. 
 Lawton then placed the skeleton gently in Cripps's 
 lap, and dropped a few No. 8 shot into his boots. 
 We then rolled the big mirror up in front of him,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. gg 
 
 and watched his expression as we brought him to 
 consciousness by stirring up Bruno to the tune of 
 ' rats.' 
 
 " It would stagger a Shakespeare or a Hugo 
 to describe the results of that experiment Cripps 
 certainly thought death held him an unwilling 
 captive. I enclose a modified sketch of him 
 as he appeared in death's embrace. Poor old 
 Gnpps. Lawton gave him a fiver for his fright, 
 and he hobbled off on the No. 8 shot, thinking, 
 probably, that fright had brought on a sudden case 
 of bunions. 
 
 " Tell Tom I dropped around to his den yester- 
 day, and Baker, M.D., was in good spirits and. 
 seemed to be doing nicely. I shall be glad when 
 you boys get back to Gotham. For heaven's 
 sake, Jack, don't perpetrate any more rheumatic 
 rhythm ; the weather is too warm, and, besides, it 
 is a bad symptom. Tom will tell you that Bloom- 
 ingdale has been reinforced for milder offences 
 against sanity than that. No sane soul ever in- 
 sisted that the heart of a pearl was blue. 
 
 " Take my advice, boy ; stick to your brush, 
 and let Milton and Longfellow sleep in peace. 
 
 " Now I'll shut the doors and take a snooze, for 
 this temperature does not encourage wakefulness. 
 Good-by, Jacob. Regards to Tom. 
 
 " Yours, as ever, BOB. 
 
 " P.S. Be brave, old chap, be brave."
 
 IOO A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 The following day, about noon, Sandy rowed 
 over to Cup Island, carrying the dozen hens which 
 he had tied in pairs by their feet. 
 
 "Whar d'ye want 'em, Dorkter?" said he to 
 Tom, who with Jack stood on the landing. 
 
 Now it was a fact that neither Jack nor Tom had 
 thought of this problem since the purchase of the 
 birds ; but Tom, not wishing to betray their im- 
 providence, told Sandy, in an easy way, to let 
 them loose upon the island, as they were neither 
 web-footed nor fleet of wing. 
 
 " I reckon ye'll have a time ketchin' on 'em, 
 Dorkter," said Sandy ; " fur a hen is a lively critter 
 when you want her for cookin' purposes." Saying 
 which he released the hens by cutting the cords 
 which secured them, and tossed them lightly 
 upon the sand. The fowl, after looking about in 
 a dazed sort of way, shaking out their rumpled 
 plumage and stretching their cramped limbs, be- 
 gan to pick their way over the rocks in a digni- 
 fied but uncertain manner toward a patch of 
 ground which seemed to promise them a scanty 
 breakfast. 
 
 "I brought ye over a peck o' corn an' a few 
 pounds o' meal fur the chicks," said Sandy, laying 
 them out upon the beach ; " an' I reckon they'd fat 
 up quicker ef they was cooped up. I allus fats 
 mine in the dark." With which good advice he 
 rowed away toward Oldport, with that easy but
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. IOI 
 
 effective swing of the oars which is common to 
 boatmen. 
 
 " Let us have broiled chicken for dinner to- 
 morrow," said Tom to Jack and the girls, who 
 with Bid had gathered at the pier to witness the 
 landing of the pilgrims. 
 
 " Shure, an' ye'll be afther catchin' a coople o' 
 'era- now thin, an' choppin' the heads off av the 
 poor dears," said Bid, who was also standing upon 
 the pier. 
 
 This was a contingency which now occurred to 
 the young men for the first time and with sinking 
 hearts. But they had handled wild duck when 
 alive and wounded, and they were not to be put 
 out by such a little thing as the slaughter of a 
 hen, so Jack said, cheerfully, 
 
 "All right, Bid," and proceeded at once to 
 carry out her suggestion. The hens, however, 
 were unusually shy, for when Jack approached 
 they ambled off away from him uttering notes of 
 alarm. 
 
 "I will head them off," said Tom, suiting the 
 action to the word ; but the birds scattered indis- 
 criminately about as soon as they perceived them- 
 selves between two enemies, wildly half flew and 
 ran in all directions, filling the air with their cack- 
 lings, and showing by their tactics that they were 
 well up in warfare of this nature. Jack and Tom, 
 however, were not to be outgeneralled in this way; 
 
 9*
 
 IO 2 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 so, after a short consultation, during which there 
 was a decided expression of interest visible upon 
 the faces of the female witnesses, they each singled 
 out a victim and started confidently in hot pursuit. 
 Over rocks and under bushes they went, sometimes 
 so exasperatingly near the objects of their chase 
 that they would stretch forth an expectant hand, 
 when, alas ! in a trice and by an artful dodge, the 
 hens would put rods of distance between them. 
 Finally, the hens one after another flew up into the 
 neighboring trees, and the young men were obliged 
 to give up the chase and acknowledge themselves 
 defeated. 
 
 " Never mind," said Belle, as they all returned 
 to the cottage, " we can easily do without the 
 broiled chickens." 
 
 There was, however, a mischievous look in her 
 eyes as she glanced toward Nettie, and the young 
 men noticed that the same mysterious expression 
 pervaded the faces of Nettie and Bid. Jack, who 
 felt desperate, sat for a little while in a brown 
 study and soon afterward was seen taking down 
 his gun. 
 
 " What are you going to do ?" said Tom. 
 
 " I think I will go gunning," said Jack, with a 
 determined look; "and if I do not have pretty 
 good luck, I'm mistaken." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Stratton, please do not shoot the poor, 
 dear chickens," said Belle, pleadingly.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 " Rather tame sport for a hunter of reputation," 
 said Tom, laughing uneasily. 
 
 " Well, it would be rather a barbarous way to 
 obtain a brace of domestic fowl," said Jack, at 
 the same time carefully putting up his gun. 
 
 "Shure, Misther Torm," said Bid, "wud yes 
 give me a bit o' the male, an' oi wud be afther 
 bringing yes a coople o' thim fowls in a jiffy." 
 * Tom gave her the meal-bag, and soon Bid was 
 hurrying over the ground in the direction of the 
 hens, who were now peacefully scratching for a 
 living at a distance. 
 
 " Chook ! chook ! chook !" said Bid, walking 
 slower as she neared them. The hens looked up, 
 but did not appear frightened at sight of a female. 
 Bid rattled the spoon upon the tin pan in which 
 she had mixed the meal into a sort of hasty-pud- 
 ding with hot water. The hens appeared to know 
 that breakfast was ready, and did not offer to run. 
 Bid approached them now very slowly, stirring 
 the meal and talking soothingly to the hens. 
 When quite near them she dexterously threw 
 upon the ground a little of the moist meal. There 
 was an immediate scramble among the fowl to see 
 who would get the first bite, during which Bid 
 quietly squatted upon the ground, at the same 
 time throwing a little more of the meal quite near 
 to her. The hens approached fearlessly ; in fact, 
 they rushed directly at the meal. Then Bid quietly
 
 104 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 held the spoon with some meal in it so that by 
 craning out their necks they could reach it. After 
 the first mouthful or two they crowded around 
 the spoon, eating voraciously. Two or three of 
 the hens were more eager than the others, or 
 more fearless, and as Bid placed the pan down 
 upon the ground close beside her they immedi- 
 ately pounced upon it, their example being soon 
 followed by nearly the whole flock. This gave 
 Bid her well-earned opportunity, and quickly seiz- 
 ing two fat hens by their legs, she arose and bore 
 them, squawking and flapping their wings, tri- 
 umphantly to the cottage. 
 
 " Sure, an* 'tis aisy 'nuff, wud ye be gintle wid 
 'em," she said, nonchalantly, in reply to their con- 
 gratulations ; and a few moments later she was sit- 
 ting upon a rock at the rear of the cottage indus- 
 triously denuding the hens of their feathers, while 
 Nettie and Belle audibly discussed the superiority 
 of woman in an emergency where great tact and 
 discretion were essential, much to the discomfiture 
 or, perhaps we should say, to the entertainment of 
 Jack and the doctor. 
 
 Meantime, Mrs.Tillottson's condition was rapidly 
 improving at the Sandy cottage. Her life there, 
 although not eventless, was rather a lonesome one. 
 Her sister's company was not satisfying to her. 
 They were so unlike in many respects. Early in 
 life circumstances had drifted them away from
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. Io e 
 
 each other. Deborah Tremane never in any way 
 resembled her sweet sister Mary ; and now, when 
 the years had wrought so many changes and fate 
 had again brought them together, it was not 
 strange that the loving social ties of sisterhood 
 had weakened by disuse. 
 
 Deborah had never married. The reasons for 
 this were obvious; always provided with those 
 ct>mforts which make home pleasant, and leading 
 a life without a thought of the future, she had 
 naturally not entertained notions of matrimony. 
 Brought up in the country, where she saw little 
 of society, she interested herself mostly with those 
 things which floated under her direct observation. 
 In many respects she was an excellent house- 
 keeper. Warm-hearted, in a spontaneous sense, 
 she never was at a loss either for words or action. 
 Unlike Mary, her sister, she was very plain in ap- 
 pearance and rather simple in mind, which latter 
 deformity had never stimulated her to a thorough 
 cultivation of her naturally limited mental possi- 
 bilities. 
 
 While Mary was at finishing school, receiving 
 the polish which was to aid her through life, De- 
 borah was content to help their good mother at 
 housekeeping, or to ride galloping about the 
 country on their dun-colored cob, gathering bits 
 of news or gossiping with the neighbors. Thus 
 it happened that Deborah grew up into woman-
 
 IO 6 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 hood a sort of good-natured ignoramus, but at 
 the same time as facile of tongue as it is possible 
 to conceive. Perhaps this extreme loquacious- 
 ness had saved her from matrimonial fetters ; cer- 
 tain it is that, although young men showed a de- 
 cided preference for her good mother's apples 
 and cider, and though they always appeared glad 
 of Deborah's society, there never was one glad 
 enough to ask her for a life-interest in it. 
 
 So when her sister Mary married and left the 
 homestead, Deborah stayed on, the same chatty, 
 thoughtless creature, until one day her mother 
 died and left her alone a comparatively old woman 
 and without home-ties. 
 
 After the funeral, her sister Mary had lovingly 
 put her arms about her, and offered to share her 
 home. So the old house was closed, and Deborah 
 Tremane became a permanent member of the Til- 
 lottson family. She was short of stature, of 
 lightish complexion, and possessed a face which, 
 although by no means handsome, marked her as 
 a woman of good motive and kindly disposition. 
 
 " Sister Mary," she said one day to Mrs. Tillott- 
 son, after the girls had made their customary visit, 
 " don't you think we'd both on us feel a sight 
 easier if we was with Belle and the rest on Cup 
 Island ? I mean if we was there all the time ; 
 not but what it is nice here, an' I'm sure we're 
 both growing strong and fat, for Mrs. Sandy is an
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 ID/ 
 
 awful nice cook, an' knows a thing or two 'bout 
 housekeeping; but if we was on the island we 
 would not be so much alone as we are here, an' 
 we could have an eye out for the comfort of those 
 young folks. Bid is a good girl enough, but, 
 law sakes, what does she know about them 
 youngsters ?" 
 
 " Well, I don't know, Deborah," said Mrs. Til- 
 lottsbn ; " I hardly think there would be room for 
 so many in that little cottage. However, we will 
 go over and investigate some day, and if they all 
 think it is feasible we will try it." 
 
 " Yes, that's it," said Deborah ; " we will go 
 over an' see ; an' if it is possible to squeeze us in 
 there, I think we will feel easier an' more sociable- 
 like than we do here; although I've nothing to 
 say agin Mrs. Sandy, who is a mighty clever, 
 home-like sort of a body. She knows I want to 
 go over to the island to live, for I told her. Here 
 she comes now. Now, Mrs. Sandy, we was just 
 talkin' it over 'bout goin' over to Cup Island to 
 live with the young folks. Of course you know, 
 as I was tellin' you afore, that we ain't dissatisfied 
 here at all, only I was jest a-tellin' my sister it would 
 be more like home to be with the children ; an' you 
 know them gals haven't any one to look after 
 them but two boys an' Bid, who knows more 
 'bout nursin' than she does about the wants of 
 two young ladies."
 
 IO 8 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 "Well, if you think you'd be comfortable- 
 like over there," said Mrs. Sandy, " I'm sure I 
 should go if I was you, though goodness knows I 
 like well 'nough to have you stay here as long 
 as you feel like it. I was a-tellin' Sam to-day 
 that I never had city folks here before who made 
 so little trouble ; for generally when they come it's 
 all fuss an' feathers." 
 
 " Well, if we is city folks," said Deborah, with 
 a clear accent and a position a little more erect, 
 " if we is city folks, we know what's what, an' we 
 don't want to put folks as ain't city folks to any 
 trouble or bother that can be helped; do we, 
 Mary ?" 
 
 But Mary had quietly departed, as was her cus- 
 tom when such conversations were taking place. 
 
 It was somewhat of a trial to Mrs. Tillottson to 
 have a rustic sister so constantly with her ; but she 
 was too heroic to put an end to it by separation, 
 and, on the whole, she took an inward pleasure in 
 the sacrifice of her feelings. Mrs. Tillottson was 
 one of those thoughtful women who, although 
 they possess a modicum of family pride, recognize 
 the fact that few families when viewed through a 
 long line of New England ancestry fail to develop 
 instances here and there of the tape-measuring 
 element, and although her own progenitors were, 
 from her father, who was a man of the cloth, to the 
 primeval ancestor who stepped off of the " May-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 109 
 
 flower," all professional men, she was liberal enough 
 in her feelings to concede an equality of excellence 
 in others so long as they kept up the essential 
 social requisites of morality and politeness. In- 
 deed, it was prominently apparent that her sister 
 Deborah Tremane possessed much more of what 
 is called family pride than Mrs. Tillottson. Deb- 
 orah never lost an opportunity to bring this sub- 
 ject clearly before an indulgent listener. 
 
 " As far as money goes," she would say, " I know 
 our folks don't take the lead, though we always 
 had a roof to cover our heads and everything that 
 ordinary folks needs to make 'em comfortable ; 
 but when it comes to pedigree, we can hold up our 
 heads as high as any of 'em, for from Michael 
 Tremane, who first come over in the ' Mayflower,' 
 to my dear father who was a preacher of the gos- 
 pel, our men folks have all been leaders, doctors, 
 lawyers, and sich. Sometime I will show you 
 some of the letters which my great-grandfather, 
 who was a surgin in the army under George Wash- 
 ington during the revolutionary war, I say I will 
 show you some of the letters he writ home to his 
 wife, Melindy. They are the sweetest, nicest writ 
 letters I ever read, an' writ in them heathen times, 
 too ; it is really wonderful." 
 
 10
 
 IIO A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A Letter from Rome Adam Dexter's Grief A Severe Shock 
 Tom and Nettie become Metaphysical Jack's Idea of Flor- 
 ence Natural Physiognomists. 
 
 ADAM DEXTER, Nettie's uncle, sat in his cool 
 breakfast-room on the 25th of July, calmly looking 
 over his mail. One by one he read the letters 
 before him, pausing now and then to comment 
 upon them to himself. He had nearly finished 
 when he noticed one which bore a foreign stamp 
 and post-mark. Opening it with some curiosity, 
 he read as follows : 
 
 " ROME, ITALY, June , 18 . 
 " MR. ADAM DEXTER : 
 
 " My Dear Sir, Prepare yourself for most 
 startling news of your long-lost son. Painful as 
 the duty is, it devolves upon me to inform you of 
 his recent death. This duty is made doubly 
 painful and distressing to me from the fact that he 
 was my best, my dearest friend. He confided to 
 me just before his death the particulars of his 
 quarrel with you so many years ago, how he left 
 your home in a moment of passion and indigna- 
 tion never to return, and with tearful eyes he 
 poured this unfortunate story of his youth into my
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. ni 
 
 ears. He said that the recollection of your last 
 unnatural words to him had often killed his re- 
 newed intention to return to your roof and ask 
 your forgiveness. 
 
 " Ah, sir, you could not have known the pure 
 gold in his heart when you so coldly and cruelly 
 drove him from you. 
 
 " His death was a sad and most unfortunate one. 
 frlear, I may say, he was murdered. It happened 
 in the following manner : 
 
 " Your son, known here as Dexter Rogers, was 
 attending a ball given by the Countess Finnotti. 
 He was a great favorite with the Countess, who is 
 one of our most cultivated and esteemed women. 
 
 " He was seldom absent from her receptions, 
 and was always willing and ready to aid her in 
 pleasing and entertaining her guests. It was at 
 one of these receptions that he received his death- 
 wound. It seems that one Antoinne De Lacey, a 
 man of very pleasing manners and great personal 
 attractions to ladies, was one of the invited guests. 
 I have since learned that this man is an adventurer 
 and a scoundrel ; that he made his entree into our 
 society by means of forged letters of introduction. 
 On this particular evening at the entertainment, 
 he, for some reason, appeared to become heated 
 with wine and to lose control of himself, offending 
 several ladies, and finally, grossly insulting the 
 Countess herself. Roger, who happened to be
 
 H2 A SUMMER 77V OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 standing near, remonstrated with him, attempting 
 to lead him away. At this, De Lacey, becoming 
 enraged, struck Roger, who, finding that he must 
 defend himself, knocked the rascal down. 
 
 " Struggling to his feet again, however, De 
 Lacey drew a pistol and fired, the shot taking 
 effect in your son's breast. 
 
 " During the confusion which immediately en- 
 sued the villain escaped. 
 
 " It has since developed that the whole fracas 
 was an imbroglio planned by several desperadoes 
 to rob the apartments of the Countess. This was 
 thoroughly done during the intense excitement 
 which followed the shooting. At first we thought 
 that your son was not seriously injured, he laugh- 
 ing at the wound, assuring his friends that it was 
 trivial, and walking without assistance to his car- 
 riage ; but there was difficulty in finding the bul- 
 let, which had found lodgment in the joint of his 
 shoulder, and after a few days a serious fever set 
 in, and Roger was delirious. He was even then 
 not considered seriously wounded by his physi- 
 cians ; but his condition, week after week, became 
 gradually worse, until, after two months of in- 
 tense suffering, but heroic endurance, he died. 
 His physicians disagreed as to the actual cause 
 of his death, one stating his opinion that it was 
 blood-poisoning, and the other two maintaining 
 that he had contracted a malignant fever.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 "We were partners in the same banking-busi- 
 ness ; and I am glad to say that he has been very 
 fortunate in all of his business ventures. You are, 
 of course, aware that the firm of Wigand & Rog- 
 ers is, and has been for some years, the leading 
 banking-house in Italy. Your son has, by pru- 
 dence, good judgment, and judicious management, 
 accumulated great wealth. This fortune, which 
 will probably amount to half a million in your 
 money, he has left, unconditionally, by will, to 
 his cousin, Miss Knowles, of whose welfare and 
 movements, as well as your own, he has kept 
 himself fully informed during his residence in 
 Italy. I enclose a letter written by him to his 
 cousin, informing her of his desire to make her 
 his heir. He informed me that you were finan- 
 cially independent, and would be pleased that 
 your niece should be sole heir to his valuable 
 estate. I enclose a photograph of the deceased, 
 my dear sir, and the address of his attorney here, 
 with whom you can immediately communicate 
 with reference to prompt settlement. The re- 
 mains of my beloved friend I have had carefully 
 embalmed, and they await your direction. I also 
 enclose a likeness of the scoundrel, De Lacey, 
 who was probably the cause of your son's un- 
 fortunate and early death, thinking that possibly 
 he may have taken flight to America, and that it 
 may lead to his detection and capture. He may 
 h 10*
 
 H4 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 easily be identified by a peculiar deformity of the 
 little finger of his right hand, which he is unable 
 to close or bend, that is, when he closes his 
 right hand this one finger remains extended, and 
 is therefore conspicuous. I am informed by the 
 police that in England he was known as ' James 
 Bolan/ or ' Gentleman Jim ;' that he is by no 
 means a common scoundrel, but can deceive the 
 most cultured people by his grace of manner, 
 gentlemanly bearing, and wily tongue. 
 
 " Now, my dear sir, let me again assure you 
 that you have my heartfelt sympathy, and kindest 
 hopes that you may be able to bear this terrible 
 blow with courage. 
 
 " Most respectfully yours, 
 
 " MOSES WIGAND." 
 
 Can you imagine, dear reader, the intensity of 
 suffering and shame which this letter brought to 
 Adam Dexter ? In a moment of passion he had 
 denounced his youthful son as unworthy of him ; 
 and with a fierce curse had sent him from his 
 presence, never, alas ! to see him again alive. The 
 offence of the boy was a severe one, to be sure, for 
 he had spoken falsely ; but the punishment ah 
 that was what was now racking the father's long- 
 suffering heart as he pictured his only son dying 
 in a foreign land, and then realized what might 
 have been. He sat for an hour with his head
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. n ^ 
 
 upon the table weeping like a child. The ser- 
 vants came in and passed out again respectfully, 
 not wishing or daring to disturb such grief. He 
 had long since repented his treatment of his boy 
 Roger; in fact, before he had been absent two 
 days he had scoured the immediate country for 
 him, afterward advertising far and wide, and finally 
 he^had sought him himself over the world. But 
 itoger for several years was at sea and never 
 knew of his father's desire to forgive and be for- 
 given. 
 
 Nettie had in some measure compensated for 
 Roger's absence, taking the boy's place in the 
 father's affections ; and he had at last persuaded 
 himself that Roger was dead and therefore out 
 of trouble. Nettie, however, knew that on every 
 anniversary of Roger's birth his father spent the 
 entire day in his room, and such was the nature 
 of his grief that for several days after these annual 
 events he was, although tender and gentle with 
 her, absent-minded, and irritable with strangers 
 and the servants. The same instinctive tenacity, 
 which kept the son away, gnawed at the heart of 
 the father in the shape of the painful consciousness 
 that he had been terribly unjust. 
 
 With Nettie it was different. At first she seemed 
 unconsolable, and her sorrow, though paroxysmal, 
 was acute ; but as the months and years rolled by 
 and the memories of Roger were always pleasant,
 
 H6 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 she grew to look upon him almost as a pleasing 
 creation of the imagination, seldom thinking of 
 him as a reality. Thus does time discriminate. 
 With the guilty it creates remorse and uncouth 
 images which fester in the recollection ; while to 
 the innocent it stretches forth a caressing hand, 
 the soft strokes of which smooth out the wrinkles 
 of care and mellow all that is grievous to 
 memory. 
 
 At last one of the maids, becoming alarmed and 
 a little impatient at Mr. Dexter's long silence, 
 approached him and said in a respectful manner, 
 
 " Shall I remove the things, sir?" 
 
 Receiving no response, she repeated the inquiry 
 in a louder voice ; still getting no reply, she be- 
 came frightened and called the other servants, 
 who soon discovered that their employer was per- 
 fectly helpless. They removed him gently to his 
 room and bed, immediately summoning the family 
 physician, who at once pronounced the trouble to 
 be a severe shock of paralysis. For several days 
 he lay almost lifeless, but breathing regularly, 
 otherwise showing no power; at last, however, 
 after much care and attention from his physician 
 he seemed able to slightly move his arms and 
 hands. This was a joyful moment to him, as he 
 was very desirous to impart some information to 
 his physician, and was unable to utter a word of 
 speech. At the end of a week he indicated by
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 signs that he wanted writing-materials, and when 
 these were given him he managed with much 
 difficulty and in a cramped hand to write that he 
 did not wish his condition made known to his 
 niece until later in the season, as he did not desire 
 to mar the enjoyment of her visit with her friends. 
 He said that he hoped and expected to recover 
 enough to lessen the shock, which the knowledge 
 of his affliction would give her. Thus it happened 
 that Nettie did not receive either news of her 
 uncle's illness, of Roger's death, or of her own 
 good fortune in becoming his heir, until several 
 weeks afterward. She entered into all of the 
 sports at Cup Island, and gave herself wholly to 
 the festivities of the hour. 
 
 The day following the adventure upon the beach 
 was Sunday. It was a perfect day, and during 
 the long morning hours the party of four sat in 
 the summer-house or lounged about the island. 
 Belle had an interesting book, which she persuaded 
 Jack to read aloud to her, while Nettie and Tom 
 gathered shells along the shore, chatting intelli- 
 gently about the many things which are sure to 
 find their way to the surface of such minds as 
 theirs. 
 
 " How strange," said Nettie ; " how very strange 
 is the life of a fish. Suppose, for instance, that I 
 were a fish and had the same power of thought 
 which I now possess ; I would behold with amaze-
 
 1T g A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 ment the creatures who could live out of water. 
 I would look upon them as ethereal beings, or as 
 I should recognize angels or ghosts, should they 
 appear to me now. I think I would not, were I 
 a fish, envy such beings their existence who could 
 live and breathe out of water. Perhaps, in my 
 estimation, I would place them upon a lower plane 
 than my own, since they were incapable of doing 
 as I did." 
 
 " If you were a fish," said Tom, laughing, " I 
 am certain that I would turn fisherman, and would 
 never be contented until I had used every avail- 
 able means known to fishermen, by hook or by 
 crook, to catch you." 
 
 " You overlook an important feature of my sup- 
 position," said Nettie, with a bland smile, " which 
 was, that in addition to being a fish I should have 
 the same power of thought which I now possess." 
 
 " Granted," said the doctor, gayly ; " but my bait 
 would be the bait of human kindness ; my line 
 and hook would simulate other charming qualities, 
 which would surely catch the hungry eye of" such 
 a fish." 
 
 "After which I should be a pitiful, one-eyed 
 fish," laughed Nettie. " Oh, that would be cruel. 
 But, seriously, if you were a fish, and at the same 
 time had the intelligence which is now your right, 
 what think you would be your impressions of the 
 aerial world of living creatures ?"
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 " That depends," said Tom, seriously, and with 
 great deliberation, " upon what creatures or crea- 
 ture passed before my piscatorial vision. Now, if 
 I saw you, for instance " 
 
 " No, no," said Nettie, interrupting him a little 
 impatiently ; " answer me seriously. You know I 
 do not fish for compliments, and it is almost cruel 
 for ..you to so misconstrue the object of my ques- 
 tion." 
 
 Tom sobered down instantly, and, in an earnest 
 tone and a manner worthy of a true philosopher, 
 said, 
 
 " If I were what you supposed, which of course 
 would be impossible, I should lose my faith in a 
 kind Creator. I would be a man in desire, affec- 
 tions, intelligence, ambition, all of those mental 
 and moral qualities which men possess, yet con- 
 fined, by the decree of my Creator, within the dis- 
 graceful possibilities of a fish. I would see human 
 beings doing what I desired to do, acting as I de- 
 sired to act, living as I desired to live, yet would 
 be but a fish with a fish's limited power. I should 
 curse myself and try to die. But, by the kind dis- 
 pensation of divine Providence, such cruelties are 
 not permitted. Animals always possess intelli- 
 gence in proportionate harmony with the tenor of 
 their existence; were it otherwise, chaos would 
 usurp the place of order or acting natural laws. 
 
 " An oyster is as happy in oysterdom as a
 
 12Q A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 Christian in Christendom, because he realizes 
 only those things which regulate his existence 
 as an oyster. This intelligent faculty in animals 
 and plants is called instinct, and differs from that 
 of man by virtue of the fact that man possesses 
 free-will; and to admit this latter assertion em- 
 phatically presupposes a future life for man. So 
 now, you see, Miss Knowles, you have succeeded 
 in getting me, in spite of myself, into deep water 
 by your hint that I might be a fish." 
 
 " I am pleased with your reply," said Nettie, 
 repentantly; " for you have touched upon a subject 
 which has long deeply interested me, and which I, 
 too, acknowledge is beyond my depth." 
 
 " Better become a fish, like myself," said Tom, 
 quickly. " We fish like deep water." 
 
 " No, thank you," replied Nettie ; " not with 
 human intelligence. It seems to me we have 
 enough trouble as human beings without adding 
 the dreadful condition which you have just pic- 
 tured." 
 
 " But," continued Tom, " we are so constituted, 
 by affection and intelligence, that we can over- 
 come trouble ; the fish has no trouble, because he 
 has no capacity to suffer." 
 
 " Are not the small fish in danger of being de- 
 voured by the large ?" she asked. 
 
 " Yes," said Tom, thoughtfully ; " but can they 
 not seek the shallow water for protection ? Their
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. I2 i 
 
 limited brain-power prevents their brooding over 
 trouble. The pickerel or the trout is so ravenous 
 by nature that he will snap at new bait while the 
 wound of a hook is fresh, or perhaps the hook 
 itself is hanging in his jaw. They hardly reason 
 from cause to effect ; some animals seem to pos- 
 sess this power, though even they are unable to 
 syllogize. A crow will avoid a man who carries 
 a" gun, but if the man disguises himself as a 
 female, the crow, although still shy, will permit 
 much nearer approach, even though the gun is 
 still in sight. A fox will avoid one kind of trap 
 to step cautiously into another with which he is 
 not so familiar. 
 
 " I once knew of a horse, owned by a pious 
 farmer, who had been in the habit of taking the 
 family to church on Sunday for many years. The 
 road to the church was a branch of the main road 
 to the village. On week-days the horse would 
 never voluntarily go down the church-road; but 
 on a Sabbath, without the slightest hint from the 
 reins or his master, he would turn dutifully down 
 the road which led to church. Did he know by 
 the tolling of the church-bell that his duty led 
 him in that direction on Sunday ? 
 
 " Most probably, because on one week-day as 
 
 his master was driving him to the village the bell 
 
 was ringing, and the old horse quietly turned 
 
 down the road to church, as a matter of course. 
 
 v ii
 
 122 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 Until this last incident occurred the simple people 
 to whom he belonged gave the horse credit for 
 possessing an intelligence to which he was not 
 fairly entitled. They thought he could distin- 
 guish between a Sabbath- and a week-day by 
 counting the days. 
 
 " Lower animals do not reason intelligently, 
 but merely exercise that modicum of instinct 
 which their simple lives demand ; hence their 
 sufferings are by no means poignant. 
 
 " Nature animal (excepting man), vegetable, 
 and mineral resembles a huge machine. It has 
 many parts, but each part has its specific duty to 
 perform, and would be useless elsewhere. A bird 
 would make a sorry fish ; a serpent would make a 
 despicable flower. Man has power over all the 
 fish of the sea, fowl of the air, and over every 
 living thing that moves, because he is made in 
 the image and likeness of God ; but man, unlike 
 these animate things of nature, has free-will ; thus 
 is the image and likeness made more perfect. 
 If he exercises this power of free-determination 
 rightly, care, suffering, trouble, anxiety are all 
 impossible to him. Of course, this would be the 
 picture of a perfect man (Adam before the fall). 
 But men are not perfect ; they have perverted the 
 image and likeness to God, and therefore have 
 suffering and troubles. A delicate prismatic glass 
 globe is a beautiful thing, and has its uses ; but
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 if we use it for a foot-ball it loses its usefulness 
 at the first kick. It is in a similar way that men 
 pervert their freedom. Free-will is God-likeness; 
 it is the one sublime faculty which makes man 
 noble ; but it must be used like the glass globe, 
 properly; pervert it, and men, who otherwise 
 would be angels, become devils. 
 fX In this simple truth lies the secret of life." 
 
 " Oh, thanks ; many, many thanks, Dr. Tillott- 
 son," said Nettie, enthusiastically, her beautiful 
 eyes radiant with pleasure and gratitude. " The 
 problem of living is clearer to me now than it ever 
 has been. I infer from what you have stated 
 that the most perfect people simply obey God's 
 laws, which are found in the decalogue, and that, 
 as none obey to the letter, troubles must come to 
 us all." 
 
 " Yes," said Tom, " in the abstract, you are 
 correct. Man is a little world, a microcosm ; all 
 things in nature have in him their correspondence; 
 hence, as nature fails when natural laws are 
 violated, so man fails when he violates spiritual 
 laws or the laws of God. This is sin ; nothing 
 more or less. Sin is not an entity; it is a nonentity. 
 It is the violation of moral laws, or rather the 
 failure to observe them." 
 
 " These ideas are beautiful," said Nettie ; " they 
 are poetic." 
 
 " Yes," said the doctor, " they emanated from
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 the greatest poet and philosopher that the world 
 has ever produced." 
 
 " Can you forgive me for thinking you frivolous 
 a few moments ago ?" said Nettie, casting a timid 
 glance of entreaty, not unmixed with favor, at 
 Tom. " I can hardly forgive myself." 
 
 Tom laughed aloud. " Indeed, you have my 
 full pardon," said he, " provided you will fulfil one 
 or the other of two conditions." 
 
 " Name them," said Nettie, bravely. 
 
 " Either release me at once from imprisonment 
 as a fish, or immediately transform yourself into 
 one of the same species. You notice my forgive- 
 ness is conditional." 
 
 "Well, since you have so fairly earned your 
 freedom, I release you at once," replied Nettie, 
 laughing and blushing, as only pure natures are 
 wont to blush. 
 
 "Thank fortune I am a man again," said the 
 doctor, pretending to stretch himself; " now let us 
 talk of worldly matters." 
 
 " I am afraid/' said Nettie, " if I wish you to 
 talk as I like, in the future I shall be obliged to 
 resort to the transformation act. Metamorphosis 
 seems to work like a charm in opening the flood- 
 gates of your speech." 
 
 It was by such familiar interchanges of wit and 
 thought that Nettie and Tom rubbed off the shy- 
 ness of new acquaintance and became stanch
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 125 
 
 friends who could chat together after the manner 
 of the most congenial natures. 
 
 Meanwhile Jack, having tired of reading aloud, 
 had been entertaining Belle by relating some of 
 his experiences in Italy, and his struggles as a 
 rising young artist. 
 
 " Life in Florence," Jack was saying, as the 
 otrter two strolled up to where they were sitting, 
 " is not calculated to infuse much ambition into a 
 man unless his soul is devoted to art. It has a 
 climate which begets lassitude and promotes sen- 
 timent. It is pre-eminently a city of associations 
 and traditions. The home of Dante, of Galileo, 
 and other equally famous men, it is, of course, 
 calculated to inspire one with more or less rever- 
 ence, and it is notably a city of art. Beautiful 
 statuary abounds everywhere, and one is con- 
 stantly looking at some production by which his 
 tastes are unconsciously elevated ; but the people, 
 with their conceit and eccentricities, weary one. 
 It is refreshing to meet an American. After all, 
 there is no place like home." 
 
 " Except Cup Island," said Nettie, gayly. 
 
 " And that is a sort of temporary home ; at any 
 rate, we must consider it so," said Tom, pleasantly ; 
 " but it is about time we prepared to depart. It 
 is now after one, and Van Dusen expects us on the 
 4 Siren* by two o'clock." 
 
 They all acted readily upon Tom's suggestion, 
 ii*
 
 ^ SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 and repaired to the cottage, appearing before many 
 minutes ready for the short row to the yacht. 
 While they were in the boat Jack said, in a sort 
 of meditative way, " I am haunted by the face of 
 that man Craik." 
 
 "A very handsome face, I am sure," said Belle, 
 roguishly; but Jack, without seeming to heed her 
 remark, continued, 
 
 " I have certainly seen his features somewhere 
 before, but where, puzzles me greatly. Of one 
 thing I am positive; the impression that they 
 make upon me is unfavorable. Where could it 
 have been ? I shall puzzle it out some time, I am 
 sure." 
 
 " Perhaps," said Belle, " it was in a dream, and 
 dreams go by contraries, you know." 
 
 " No," Jack replied; " I seldom dream; and when 
 I do, it makes no impression upon my memory. 
 I have surely met this man somewhere, for, be- 
 sides a natural love of physiognomy, I have a 
 good recollection for faces, and his face I remem- 
 ber well ;" saying which he took from his pocket 
 a small sketch-book, and, tearing from it a leaf, 
 quickly sketched a likeness of Craik's face, sur- 
 mounted by the broad-brimmed Panama hat. 
 They all admitted that the resemblance to the 
 original was very striking. Jack had proved him- 
 self a natural physiognomist by giving the picture 
 an exaggerated character. He had portrayed the
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 127 
 
 features excellently, and it was unmistakably the 
 representation of a very handsome man ; but it 
 was so ingeniously drawn that the true character 
 of the individual was apparent. It was a well- 
 executed caricature, but would instantly be pro- 
 nounced a remarkable likeness. 
 
 Carlyle once said, " Often I have found a por- 
 trait superior in real instruction to half a dozen 
 written biographies, as biographies are written ; 
 or, rather let me say, I have found that the portrait 
 was a small lighted candle, by which the biogra- 
 phies could for the first time be read and some 
 human interpretation be made of them." Carlyle's 
 descriptions of the faces, of the characters in his 
 histories and books, are so lucid, so vivid, that 
 one can almost feel their living presence. Here, 
 for instance, is his description, or word-sketch, of 
 Daniel Webster, 
 
 "As a logic-fencer, or parliamentary Hercules, 
 one would incline to back him at first sight against 
 all the extant world. The tanned complexion, that 
 amorphous crag-like face, the dull black eyes, 
 under their precipice of brows, like dull anthracite 
 furnaces, needed only to be blown; the mastiff- 
 mouth, accurately closed; I have not traced as 
 much of silent Berserker rage that I remember of 
 in any other man." 
 
 What Carlyle so ably described in words, Jack 
 could portray with his pencil and brush ; and here
 
 I2 8 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 in this picture, which he had made from his mem- 
 ory of Craik, was plainly shown the face of a 
 wicked, cruel, calculating man. There was the 
 dishonest droop of the eyelid over the cunning 
 corner of the dark, unloving eye, overwrought 
 perhaps in the drawing, but true enough to life ; 
 there was the mouth, thin of lips, and lacking the 
 graceful curves which indicate an affectionate na- 
 ture ; there were the tell-tale lines of dissipation 
 and avarice, all exaggerated, but indicating a na- 
 ture which in the picture impressed them all un- 
 favorably. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Dinner on the " Siren" Communion of Soul Tom as an Oracle 
 Dry Food for Craik The Minister and the Professor Vi- 
 sions of a Sea-Serpent Prefiguration No Proof of Contin- 
 uous Evolution Tom gives up a Luxury A Villain at Large 
 Newspapers. 
 
 THE dinner on board of the " Siren" was a suc- 
 cess. Van Dusen was a man who delighted in 
 nothing more than in entertaining. Cordial, fond 
 of anecdote, a fair judge of human nature, he 
 made an excellent host, exhaling such an atmos- 
 phere of contentment and good humor that his
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 guests at once felt comfortable and welcome. 
 At his right hand sat Major and Mrs. Van Twist, 
 and farther on Mr. Craik, Miss Van Twist, and 
 Professor Romney; on his left, in respective order, 
 were Belle, Jack, Nettie, Tom, and the parson, 
 Mr. Kendall, who sat at the other end of the table, 
 vis-a-vis to the host. 
 
 professor Romney, who counted one of the 
 yachting party, was a tall, military-looking indi- 
 vidual, the lines of whose face and figure were 
 strangers to roundness, in fact, the only round- 
 ness about him seemed concentrated in his eye- 
 glasses, which sat archly upon his Greco-Amer- 
 ican nose, and were calculated to surprise one 
 into the belief that they were the eyes of a fierce 
 monster glaring out of the dark recesses behind 
 them. Professor Romney proved, however, dur- 
 ing the dinner, that, although spare in person, he 
 was by no means destitute of ideas or informa- 
 tion. The customary courtesy to the presence of 
 a man of the cloth having been said in the shape 
 of grace, and the first urgent desires of appetite 
 satisfied, the excellently-cooked food seemed grad- 
 ually to lubricate the tongues of all present, and 
 a general hum of conversation attested to their 
 satisfaction and contentment. 
 
 Mr. Craik entertained Miss Van Twist with a 
 description of Spanish hotel-life, occasionally 
 glancing over at Belle, as if for approval. Jack
 
 1 3 o 
 
 A SUMMEK IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 also gave some of his impressions upon the same 
 subject, while Mr. Van Dusen, after skilfully put- 
 ting in a word here and there to encourage a gen- 
 eral communion of soul, devoted himself to the 
 martyrdom of listening to Mrs. Van Twist's ex- 
 periences as a financier, a topic, by the way, of 
 which she never tired, especially when the listener 
 was as polite a millionaire as her host. Tom, who 
 was industriously dissecting a tempting cut of 
 broiled blue-fish, roguishly asked Nettie, in an 
 undertone, if she was sure she could enjoy the 
 idea of eating fish since, in her imagination, she 
 had so recently transformed him into one. 
 
 " It would be a pity to devour so much intelli- 
 gence," Nettie replied, despairingly, " even in im- 
 agination." Here she laid down her fork. " But 
 I am neither going to allow you to tease me, nor 
 do I intend to get angry with you after your 
 learned discourse of this morning ; so, on the 
 whole, I think I will finish my fish," taking up 
 her fork again and putting it to good use. 
 
 " Then I die happy," said Tom. " Shakespeare, 
 I think, has said, ' Dainty bits make rich the ribs, 
 but bankrupt quite the wits.' It is evident that 
 the immortal bard was mistaken. What a bless- 
 ing it is to eat and really enjoy eating." 
 
 "Yes," said Nettie. "I have read that Cleo- 
 patra held sway over Caesar as much by her ex- 
 cellent suppers as by her personal charms."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. I ^ l 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said Tom, amused ; " and I 
 believe it is authentic history that one of Eng- 
 land's kings Harry the Eighth, may be ex- 
 pressed his gratitude to a man who discovered a 
 new dish, of which he became very fond, by pre- 
 senting him with an estate. Those were days 
 when people had appreciative appetites, and it 
 seems to me I can understand this better since 
 I came to Cup Island." 
 
 "And I," said Nettie, laughing, "I am actually 
 astonished at myself, I eat so much ; but, let me 
 ask you, are you serious when you use the term 
 ' authentic history' ?" 
 
 " It was a slip of the tongue," said Tom, laugh- 
 ing. " I used it because I have seen it somewhere 
 in print. Of course, it is a contradiction of terms ; 
 but, speaking of gratitude for gastronomic favors, 
 does it not strike you that the divorce-list would 
 amazingly decrease if married women would 
 devote themselves a little more assiduously to 
 cookery?" 
 
 " Yes," said Nettie, " I know it ; and I always 
 said that when I married I should make a study 
 of my husband's epicureanism, and so win untold 
 favors and limitless regard through that important 
 channel." 
 
 "And do you really believe that the highway 
 to a man's heart is through his stomach ?" asked 
 Tom, semi-seriously.
 
 1^2 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 "Never mind what I believe," said Nettie, 
 shocked at the doctor's plain language and not 
 desiring to give him any more satisfaction. 
 
 Mr. Kendall, the clergyman, who by the way 
 possessed a loud voice which he seldom seemed 
 to think it necessary or wise to modulate, had 
 been discussing the subject of card-playing with 
 the professor. The clergyman held that the cus- 
 tom was bad for children on account of the evil 
 associations connected with it. 
 
 " I tell you, sir," said he, in his vociferous way, 
 arresting for a moment the attention of all present, 
 his metallic voice sounding a double echo from 
 the empty wine-glasses near him, " I tell you, 
 sir, that more mischief has been accomplished in 
 the way of bringing young people into bad com- 
 pany through the medium of cards, or card-play- 
 ing, than in almost any other way. It is not so 
 much the actual playing of cards which is so ob- 
 jectionable, but it is what the habit leads to, its 
 results. I never play myself, from principle ; but, 
 of course, I do not seriously object to seeing our 
 good friend Van Dusen and his friends enjoy 
 themselves here occasionally with cards ; they 
 know their own strength. The crying evil is in 
 allowing children to acquire the habit." 
 
 Here he seemed to stop, either because he had 
 just missed a forkful of macaroni on its way to 
 his mouth or because he had abruptly reached
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 the end of his logical lane, and Tom modestly 
 ventured to lift his voice. 
 
 " My parents," said he, gently, " always allowed 
 me to play at cards. I built card-houses when a 
 baby. My father played, my mother played, and 
 their friends often dropped in of an evening for a 
 social game of whist. Cards to me have the 
 dearest associations. A friend of mine, however, 
 was reared differently ; he was taught that cards 
 "were a crying evil ; whenever he ventured to im- 
 port a pack into the family they were immediately 
 confiscated and consumed. The result was that 
 he played cards in his father's barn on the sly. 
 I played openly in my father's house. Boswell 
 once asked Johnson if he did not consider a cer- 
 tain piece of statuary indecent. ' No, sir,' said 
 the doctor ; ' but your remark is.' I know little 
 about gambling, as to how or where it is carried 
 on. How can cards with me have had an evil 
 influence ? I think they never had. It seems to 
 me it is the motive in the individual which makes 
 a habit or an action evil or good." 
 
 " Ah, yes," said Mr. Kendall, not noticing that 
 a long string of macaroni had lodged in his beard, 
 where it was making frantic swinging efforts to 
 escape, "that is it exactly; it is the motive, sir; 
 but a child has no definite motive ; he should be 
 under the surveillance or constant guidance of his 
 parents, who should warn him of the breakers 
 
 12
 
 * SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 ahead, help him over them, and shield him from 
 evils." 
 
 "True," said Tom, becoming at last quite in- 
 terested in the discussion and striving to ignore 
 the macaroni, which he knew by instinct that 
 Belle and Nettie were exchanging glances about, 
 " when there are breakers ahead ; but is it wise, 
 nay, is it just, to teach a child that whist, for in- 
 stance, is an evil and card-playing pernicious, 
 when other games equally innocent are allowable 
 and enjoyed ? Would not the inconsistency of 
 such a statement arouse the child's curiosity and 
 indignation, and would there not be danger of his 
 seeking the barn or privacy to do his playing ? 
 Rather than to so unjustly deceive a child of mine, 
 I would prefer to take him when he is old enough 
 into some gambling den, where I could teach him 
 to appreciate its horrors. I would show him with a 
 shudder the haggard, careworn faces of the players 
 as they stake their last dollar, lose it, and rise with 
 agonized faces to leave the room and return to a 
 comfortless home ; or I would explain to him the 
 avaricious grin of selfish delight which distorts 
 the visages of those who win. He should under- 
 stand how transparent is the delight of such and 
 how heart-rending the despair of their victims. I 
 think there are few children, if any, who, if clearly 
 instructed about the horrors of evil-doing, would 
 fail to profit by it, at least at some period of their
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. j^j 
 
 lives. Such a course, however, necessitates a 
 happy home and perfect behavior in the instructor." 
 
 " Did you ever mould in clay, sir ?" asked the 
 professor of Tom. 
 
 " No ; I never tried it," Tom replied, smiling, 
 and the clergyman shook his head also in the nega- 
 tive, causing the restless macaroni to form a figure 
 Suggestive of the much-observed sea-serpent. 
 
 " Well, it is a most delightful occupation," con- 
 tinued the professor, reflecting the pleasant ex- 
 pression of Tom's face and that of Belle and 
 Nettie, who were both closely observing the antics 
 of the sea-serpent. 
 
 " It is astonishing what marked facial changes 
 one can produce with a very slight alteration in 
 the clay. Suppose you were modelling the head 
 of a man, for instance, you produce features which 
 as they grow are pleasing, the eyes and mouth 
 smile, and as you progress your heart joins your 
 hands in your work, you actually begin to admire 
 the muddy head before you. It shows traits of 
 character which you did not dream that you could 
 produce. You are drawn into a sort of friendly 
 intercourse with it, as with some interesting new- 
 made friend. 
 
 " Now, if your courage be equal to the experi- 
 ment, take your moulding-stick and roughly 
 press it into the corners of the eyes and mouth, 
 just four quick pressures made at random, and
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 behold, your good-natured friend has flown ; while 
 in his stead is a countenance which looks capable 
 of murder, or worse yet, a four hours' harangue in 
 the House on the tariff! Now children, it seems 
 to me, are modelled very much like clay ; if one is 
 careful with every stroke of the instrument he will 
 obtain a child-image which will delight the eye ; 
 but if he shuts his eyes, allows the stick to make 
 random ravages, it will assume some hideous shape. 
 
 " I never see a very bad child but I think that its 
 guardians must have moulded carelessly. There 
 may be exceptions ; if so, I hope they prove the 
 rule, but I am convinced that good example is 
 more effective than good precept. Both are indis- 
 pensable to proper home training." 
 
 This was a long speech for the professor, and it 
 was evident to the girls that he had not discovered 
 the sea-serpent. 
 
 " Of course you do not except the importance 
 of Sunday-school," said Mr. Kendall ; the sea- 
 serpent meantime diving into the very depths of 
 his black beard and reappearing on its lower 
 border. 
 
 " With all due deference, no," said the professor, 
 not referring to the sea-serpent ; " and yet, let me 
 ask you what the impressions made upon a child's 
 mind by the constant changes of doctrine must 
 lead to ? If not to skepticism, or at least to agnos- 
 ticism, or indifference, what then ?"
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 Jack, who had hitherto been fiercely struggling 
 to overcome a great commotion among his risi- 
 bilities, for his eyes had for some time been divided 
 between the antics of the sea-serpent and the faces 
 of the girls, now pricked up his ears. He was in- 
 clined to favor agnosticism, and felt that the con- 
 versation was about to become interesting. The 
 Van Twists had a sleepy look, particularly the 
 * major, who nodded over his wine; Mr. Craik 
 looked bored, while Mr. Van Dusen, who had 
 seen the sea-serpent, wore a most indulgent ex- 
 pression. 
 
 Tom saw Jack's interest, and noticed a look of 
 great concern upon the faces of Nettie and Belle, 
 who had heard the professor's last remark. True, 
 women never like to hear religion attacked. They 
 are its natural champions, having an instinctive 
 feeling that it is their main anchorage. They feel 
 as though it was the keystone in life's frail arch. 
 They know intuitively that, should this prop be 
 taken away, the two sides which complete the 
 arch love and intelligence, or more explicitly, 
 goodness and truth would fall and meet destruc- 
 tion. With such a fall they realize that complete 
 annihilation to matrimony and home would surely 
 follow. They know, de profundis, without thought, 
 that beneath this arch, beneath life's fragile bridge, 
 over which they now so confidently tread, flows 
 the murky, turgid river of destruction, reeking 
 
 12*
 
 138 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 with polygamy, free-love, blasphemy, and perdi- 
 tion. They know full well, as their gaze meets 
 this treacherous flood below, what the overthrow 
 of this bridge would involve ; their dear faces 
 blanch at the thought, and their pure hearts grow 
 faint within them. 
 
 The professor was one of those men who are 
 constantly meddling with the foundations of 
 things. He was very much like the Irishman 
 whose duty it was to saw off a limb from one of 
 New Haven's stately elms. He straddled the 
 limb facing the trunk and deliberately sawed him- 
 self into heaven, for being upon the branch which 
 fell, he fell with it. 
 
 The clergyman not replying immediately, Tom, 
 who had now forgotten the sea-serpent, said, 
 
 " Why should a change of doctrines appear in- 
 consistent when fundamental truths remain un- 
 changed? I was taught at Sunday-school that 
 there was a God, and that He made all things. I 
 have always believed it." 
 
 " Were you taught that there were three Gods 
 and yet one ?" asked the professor, quickly. 
 
 " Yes," replied Tom ; " and the inconsistency of 
 the statement troubled me greatly." 
 
 " We must have faith to believe," said Mr. Ken- 
 dall ; " faith is the foundation of all religion. The 
 Athanasian creed was formulated with this idea." 
 
 " I prefer the Holy Word," said Tom, calmly
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 " In the Old Testament I find mention of one 
 Lord or Jehovah, and the prediction that He will 
 appear in human form on earth. In the New 
 Testament I find mention of His appearance as 
 Divine Humanity, thus fulfilling the prophecy; 
 but I do not find anywhere in the Holy Scripture 
 a concise or definite statement that God is more 
 tjya one person. The Athanasian creed is another 
 matter. It is of human origin and therefore im- 
 perfect and inaccurate. Stating first that the 
 matter it treats of is mysterious, it goes on to ex- 
 plain the mystery, or pretends to, fails ignomin- 
 iously, and finally declares that no one can be 
 saved who does not believe in this explanation, 
 which in itself is a tissue of absurd contradictions. 
 It is worthy of the age in which it was written, 
 and instead of making its author immortal, its very 
 untruthfulness seems more apparent, from the fact 
 that the author is not definitely known." 
 
 " St. Athanasius wrote the creed, I think," said 
 the clergyman, quickly. 
 
 " It is not only quite certain that he did not 
 write it," said Tom, " but there are many who at- 
 tribute its authorship to Virgilius, a bishop from 
 Africa." 
 
 " I never could read it with the slightest degree 
 of patience," said Professor Romney. " It attempts 
 to solve a mystery, fails completely, and then con- 
 demns or damns all who will not accept as infallible
 
 J4O A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 its imperfect explanation. Its texture is grossly 
 human, and savors of the barbarism which tainted 
 the age in which it was written." 
 
 " I admit," said Mr. Kendall, and as he spoke 
 the sea-serpent, seeming to make a desperate effort 
 to escape, disappeared in the ample space between 
 the clergyman's vest and coat, " I admit that the 
 creed is rather ambiguous and, perhaps, perplex- 
 ing ; but there are many clergymen who no longer 
 pin their faith to it." 
 
 This signal retreat we refer to that of the 
 clergyman drew a smile from more faces than 
 one. 
 
 " Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis" whispered Jack 
 to Belle, while Tom, following up his advantage, 
 said, 
 
 " The fact, however, that doctrines change does 
 not alter or affect basal truths. As the world ad- 
 vances in wisdom those doctrines which are no 
 longer useful are thrown aside to be replaced by 
 newer and brighter ones. This is the case with 
 everything; supererogation is not a law of nature. 
 Man's wants, both physical and mental, are sup- 
 plied according to his actual need. This fact 
 emphasizes the nobility and God-likeness of free 
 determination. 
 
 " Physical wants are met according to the need 
 of the hour and age. Invention is the outcome 
 of a want, or, to put it more familiarly, ' Necessity
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. ^j 
 
 is the mother of invention.' The locomotive and 
 the old-fashioned stage-coach represent the neces- 
 sities of two distinct ages. Electric light, gas, 
 lamp, and candle each represents the need of the 
 generation in which it served its greatest use." 
 
 The serpent had disappeared, and Tom waxed 
 eloquent as he continued, 
 
 ^" It is the same with ideas and religious doc- 
 trines; those which lose their use fall back and 
 make room for newer and better. 
 
 "A doctrine flourishes just in proportion to the 
 quality of the soil in which its first seeds are sown. 
 That soil should be rich in love and faith. His- 
 tory and traditions are modified and completely 
 changed by time and repetition. 
 
 " Mythology is the fickle child of antiquity. The 
 myths of the Middle Ages show clearly how le- 
 gends change by repetition and the hand of time. 
 St. George is claimed by nearly every nation on 
 the Eastern hemisphere. In Nabataean mythology 
 he was Tammuz ; in the Phoenician he was Adon ; 
 in Syria, Baal ; in Egypt, Osiris ; in Arabia, El 
 Kouder or Tauz; and in our modern Christian 
 mythology he is the noble St. George who res- 
 cued the fair maiden ; but it is conceded by good 
 authority that he had his real origin in the Shemitic 
 god Adonis, a name which signified the Lord. I 
 mention these facts to show that ancient legends 
 are modified to suit the ages in which they are
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 told, while the basal truths which underlie them 
 remain unchanged." 
 
 " We would soon be stranded upon the shore 
 of skepticism did we not possess faith," said Mr. 
 Kendall, in a determined manner. 
 
 " Granted," said Tom ; " provided faith is 
 grounded in reason." 
 
 " Faith is the ground-work of love," said the 
 parson. 
 
 " I would reverse the proposition," said the 
 doctor, " putting love in the first place ; but they 
 are in one sense inseparable and must work to- 
 gether. To love is to will, inasmuch as what we 
 will we love. If faith produced love and good 
 works, the great majority of professing Christians 
 would be noted for their charity and good deeds. 
 Is it so ? Are not the clergy and great mass of 
 people deficient in this respect ? Lack of charity 
 and love to the neighbor, it seems to me, stand 
 out prominently as defects to be remedied in the 
 church." 
 
 " True faith is inseparable from charity and love; 
 it is grounded in them." 
 
 " Why," asked Jack, whose equilibrium was now 
 restored by the disappearance of the sea-serpent, 
 " why is it necessary for us to believe or have 
 faith in anything supernatural or transcendental ?" 
 
 " Because," said Tom, after waiting in vain for 
 Mr. Kendall, the clergyman, to reply, " the mind
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 is the true instrument of the soul of man, which 
 is in itself transcendental." 
 
 " But how will you prove your statement ?" 
 Jack said. 
 
 " The bare fact," replied Tom, thoughtfully, 
 " that we are capable of a mental conception of a 
 future life is positive proof that such a life exists. 
 Le^-me explain more fully. It is impossible to 
 think of a thing which does not exist. Try it. 
 You may conceive of a centaur, to be sure, which 
 as a centaur does not exist, but the horse's body 
 and the man's head are realities which do exist, 
 therefore the basis of your conception is tangible 
 fact." 
 
 " But," said Jack, rather exultantly, " we get all 
 of our ideas from nature, and not from any spirit- 
 land that I am aware of." 
 
 " That's so," said Craik, laughing loudly, and 
 waking up the major. " I never saw a ghost in 
 my life, and never expect to." 
 
 " Nature," said Tom, slowly, and as if striving 
 to reduce his thoughts to proper shape for the 
 assimilation of moral dyspeptics, " nature, as we 
 see her in matter, is a great study ; every partic- 
 ular thing in her three kingdoms has its substance, 
 form, and use, and in this sense nature is a prefig- 
 uration of man. This law of prefiguration holds 
 good throughout nature, and on it men have based 
 their different theories of evolution. Each object
 
 144 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 in nature prefigures something higher than itself 
 in the scale of perfection, until man is reached. 
 The frost upon the glass window prefigures vege- 
 tation, and the plant or tree, with its circulatory 
 apparatus and fibrous skeleton, prefigures the 
 animal." 
 
 " Yes," said the professor, interrupting ; " I have 
 seen the Ptilota plumbsa remarkably pictured in 
 the frost-work ; and in misty weather I have seen 
 upon the sidewalks frost-tracings which resembled 
 the foot-prints of certain aquatic birds, and upon 
 very thin ice I have noticed almost perfect repre- 
 sentations of some of the larger ferns, such as the 
 Polypodium aureum ; but it never occurred to me 
 that these were prefigurations ; the idea interests 
 me exceedingly. Pray proceed with your remarks, 
 doctor, for they seem to lead one's thoughts into 
 new fields." 
 
 " Yes," said Nettie, with true feeling ; " do con- 
 tinue. The subject is intensely interesting." 
 
 Mr. Kendall politely bowed his desires, and 
 Tom proceeded, 
 
 " I was simply about to state," said he, " that 
 the prefiguration of something higher or better is 
 apparent everywhere. The beautiful snow-flakes 
 show us lovely flowers, and also prefigure the 
 star-fish ; but the most significant and beautiful 
 prefigurations are found in plants and flowers, as 
 the professor will tell you."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said the professor, pleased at the 
 opportunity to ventilate his knowledge ; " there 
 are plants which derive their names from their 
 resemblance to higher forms in nature; and of 
 course you are aware that plants and flowers sleep 
 and eat, and the sensitive plant actually moves." 
 
 " I was about to answer the question as to 
 -how the fact of a higher life and power could be 
 proved," said Tom. " Those prefigurations in the 
 mineral and vegetable kingdoms are continued on 
 a grander and higher scale in the animal kingdom, 
 prefiguring there man's affections and intelligence. 
 People recognize these latter prefigurations in- 
 stinctively, as can be proved by the commonplace 
 methods of speech. They say, for instance, that 
 a man is ' as cross as a bear] ' as greedy as a pig,' 
 ' as obstinate as a mule' ' as gentle as a lamb,' ' as 
 gay as a lark,' ' as harmless as a dove', and so on 
 ad infinitum ; they thus unconsciously, or wisely, 
 if you will, acknowledge the prefigurations among 
 the lower animals which represent the qualities in 
 man. Now, to come directly to the point, all of 
 these kingdoms of nature the mineral, vegetable, 
 and animal prefigure or foretell the existence of 
 a superior being, and we trace them up higher 
 and higher in the wonderful scale until we reach 
 man, the epitome of nature." 
 
 " Yes, that is clear," said the professor. 
 
 " Now," continued Tom, " what reason have we 
 G k 13
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 for stopping here ? We must study men and go 
 higher still. We get our information from a true 
 source that man is made in the image and like- 
 ness of his Creator, but this does not satisfy the 
 skeptic ; he must investigate to see if this state- 
 ment is reasonable. He finds that man possesses 
 a free will, or freedom to act as he pleases ; this 
 suggests something God-like ; it is, in fact, a pre- 
 figuration of God. This quality of freedom is 
 referable to something in one which is apart from 
 matter; it is spiritual ; hence we find the soul or 
 spirit of man, which also prefigures the ' Great 
 Spirit,' God. This spirit being superior to or 
 above nature is transcendental ; it is supernatural ; 
 and as it is destined to a life here on earth of pro- 
 bation or preparation, this life is, therefore, a pre- 
 figuration of a higher and a future existence." 
 
 " Your reasoning is good, sir," said the professor, 
 enthusiastically, "and has more weight with me 
 than all of the arguments on the Trinity and Resur- 
 rection, or treatises upon Redemption and the 
 Atonement, that I have ever investigated. The 
 trouble is they are not based on sound reason." 
 
 " I think," said Tom, " that modern thought is 
 shaping itself to facts in harmony with those I 
 have just stated." 
 
 " May I ask your ideas on the theory of evolu- 
 tion ?" asked Mr. Kendall, graciously. 
 
 " Certainly," said the doctor, looking in Jack's
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 direction to see if he commanded his attention ; 
 " but first let me remark that I claim no originality 
 in what I have stated." 
 
 " Allow me to ask," said Jack, who seemed to 
 have entirely forgotten the sea-serpent, " what 
 absolute proof have we of the existence of a 
 Divine Being?" 
 
 " I was about to speak of that," said Tom ; " but 
 let me answer you in part by asking a question. 
 Is it not reasonable to suppose that all things were 
 in the beginning created ? Or let me put the 
 question differently, Is it rational to believe that 
 anything can be created out of or from nothing ? 
 Is such a supposition reasonable ?" 
 
 " Certainly not," said the professor, answering 
 for Jack. " Everything possesses substance, form, 
 and power or use, and those qualities could not 
 emanate from nothing, which, according to our 
 conception, is void. It would be as reasonable to 
 suppose that a vacuum could produce a hurri- 
 cane." 
 
 "Well, then," said Tom, smiling his approval 
 at the professor, who was becoming an enthusi- 
 astically, " we arrive at the reasonable conclusion 
 that all things were created by some agency or 
 person ; and since the analogies of the lower 
 kingdoms point to man, the grand macrocosm, 
 including man, points to a being capable of pro- 
 ducing it. Such a being must, of course, be om-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 nipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, and such is 
 our conception by natural processes of God, the 
 Creator of the universe." 
 
 " That is a well-worn theory," said Mr. Kendall, 
 cheerfully. "We judge of God by His works just 
 as we judge in the same manner of man. If a 
 carpenter, for instance, does good work we know 
 he is a good carpenter, if we only see his work ; 
 in the same way we judge of God. It is not 
 necessary for us to have ocular demonstration ; 
 we feel and realize His greatness and goodness 
 without, by the wonderful adjustment of all things 
 in nature." 
 
 " But you were about to give us your ideas on 
 the evolution theory," said Mr. Van Dusen, who 
 had been secretly wondering what had become of 
 the minister's sea-serpent 
 
 "In the first place," said Tom, smiling, "it is 
 only fair to tell you all frankly that I differ from 
 the majority of the advocates of continuous evo- 
 lution from Anaximander to Huxley. They all 
 or nearly so, if I am correctly informed, have ad- 
 hered to the belief that changes in what they term 
 the ' chain of nature' occur continuously ; from a 
 state of inferiority to one of superiority. This I 
 claim would be impossible. An inferior thing or 
 being cannot create a thing or being superior to 
 itself." 
 
 " True," said the professor, excitedly, slapping
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 the table with his bony hand ; " that is a grand 
 thought." Then, suddenly becoming serious again, 
 he asked, " But how then, doctor, can a race of 
 beings improve their condition as we, for instance, 
 in this country are improving ? How can we do 
 this without external help ?" 
 
 " We cannot," said Tom, smiling at the profes- 
 pr's enthusiasm. " The same Being who created 
 us is continually improving our spiritual condition. 
 You must have remarked that Christianity and 
 mental improvement always travel together. The 
 chain of nature or, more properly speaking, sys- 
 tem of nature, which evolutionists claim is continu- 
 ous, is in a measure analogous to a musical scale. 
 In music the notes must be discrete to be har- 
 monious or concordant. A continuous scale of 
 music would sound like a shriek or an Indian war- 
 whoop. It is the same with colors, which, by the 
 way, correspond beautifully to the musical scale. 
 A painting would have no character unless the 
 colors were discrete. It would, like the war- 
 whoop, be inharmonious. The same rule holds 
 good in the grand system of nature from the 
 highest (man) to the lowest kingdom. Each kind 
 or species is discrete, and must be so to harmonize 
 with and fit into its distinct or specific place in the 
 universe. If the highest quadrupeds terminated 
 with the monkey, the lion would lose his crown 
 and sceptre. The eagle is on another discrete 
 
 13*
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 plane. He is the acknowledged king of birds, 
 and with him superiority in the feathered tribe 
 ends." 
 
 " I clearly get your idea," said the professor ; 
 " and you have demolished a famous castle in the 
 air which I have been building for years. Your 
 theory leaves one satisfied, while that of continu- 
 ous evolution does not harmonize with Bible 
 teaching or with apparent natural laws." 
 
 " No, indeed," said the clergyman ; " and I am 
 afraid the missing link will never be found." 
 
 Van Dusen, who with the rest had been an 
 amused and attentive listener, and at the same 
 time a little anxious, since the sudden and mys- 
 terious disappearance of the sea-serpent, lest the 
 conversation might become tiresome to some of 
 them, here spoke, saying kindly, 
 
 " Doctor, I have known you incidentally for 
 several years ; but I never dreamed that you were 
 the treasure-house of so much good philosophy. 
 One would think that the onerous duties of caring 
 for the sick would be as much as you could pos- 
 sibly attend to." 
 
 " Well," said Tom, laughing, "as for philosophy, 
 I admit that it is good ; but the ideas which I 
 have expressed are by no means original with me ; 
 and as for caring for the sick I must say that I, 
 for the present at least, deny the charge, for I 
 never had the pleasure of sitting at table with
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. l $ l 
 
 more healthy people, and, I desire to add, with 
 more congenial friends." 
 
 Shortly after this, Mr. Van Dusen suggested 
 that they should all adjourn to the deck, where 
 he promised the gentlemen a comforting cigar and 
 the ladies a cool breeze. 
 
 On their way up the narrow companion-way to 
 the deck Jack found time to say to Belle, 
 **" " Your brother has toppled over my house with 
 his radical ideas." 
 
 " I am glad of it," said Belle, pleasantly, " if it 
 was built upon sand;" and Tom, as he assisted 
 Miss Knowles to ascend, saw in her beautiful eyes 
 a look which he had never seen there before, 
 and which thrilled his honest heart with joy. 
 The conviction forced itself upon him, then and 
 there, that his heart was no longer his own, and 
 he felt that supreme gladness which comes to 
 man but once in a lifetime. He pressed the hand 
 he held tenderly, and in a low, earnest voice 
 said, 
 
 " I am afraid I neglected you at dinner. I " 
 
 " Oh, no, indeed," she replied, quickly interrupt- 
 ing him and correctly interpreting his affectionate 
 tone and manner. " You made me proud of you, 
 of knowing you," she added, blushing at the 
 thought of her proprietorship in him and modestly 
 fearing that she might have gone too far. After 
 seating themselves, Tom was called aside for some
 
 ^ SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 purpose by Mr. Van Dusen, and Mr. Craik took 
 the vacated camp-chair at Nettie's side. 
 
 " Is the odor of tobacco offensive to you, Miss 
 Knowles ?" he asked, as he accepted a cigar which 
 was passed to him. 
 
 " No," replied Nettie ; " I do not mind it much 
 in the open air. Tell me, Mr. Craik, why do men 
 smoke ?" 
 
 " That is a question difficult to answer intelli- 
 gently," he replied, laughing. " If I were to tell 
 you because it is a pleasure, you would probably 
 ask, why a pleasure ? if I were to tell you because 
 it is a necessity, you would probably puzzle me by 
 asking, why a necessity ? and my answers to these 
 inquiries might not satisfy you, or you would ac- 
 cuse me of joking. The truth is both reasons are 
 correct. We smoke at first because others whom 
 we admire or respect have done so before us ; their 
 example stimulates us to the trial. There are dis- 
 agreeable reminiscences connected with the first 
 few attempts ; after which we smoke because, as I 
 said before, it becomes a necessity, a habit, which 
 is so fastened upon us that we cannot easily re- 
 nounce it, we are in one sense slaves ; then, as to 
 the pleasure, to be very frank with you, that is the 
 greatest when we have been the longest deprived 
 of indulgence of the habit ; tobacco being a pow- 
 erful narcotic, it quiets the nerves and soothes the 
 mind until it is time to smoke again."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 " Your answer is frank at any rate," Nettie re- 
 plied; "but it seems to me, were I a man, I would 
 allow no habit to so fasten upon me as to involve 
 my freedom." 
 
 " That is a matter about which very wise heads 
 have differed for many years," said Tom, who, 
 having returned and thrown himself at Nettie's 
 feet, now joined in the conversation. " You are 
 ,,and have been a slave to several habits which are a 
 necessity to you, eating, drinking, breathing, etc." 
 
 " But," said Nettie, who was by no means weak 
 in an argument, " I was referring to habits which 
 are acquired, and not the legitimate necessities of 
 life, which of course are indispensable." 
 
 " It is a deep subject," said Tom, puffing his 
 cigar with evident enjoyment. " As babes we live 
 upon the simplest diet; later on we mature, we 
 acquire the habits of digesting solid foods; we 
 also acquire habits of neatness, order, truthfulness, 
 etc., and their opposites." 
 
 " I will not be rude enough to say that smo- 
 king is one of the opposites," said Nettie ; " but 
 these acquired habits which you have mentioned 
 are healthful and in harmony with hygienic laws, 
 whereas it requires a struggle on the part of nature 
 to become accustomed, if she ever does, to the 
 poisonous effects of tobacco." 
 
 Tom, who had been cleverly drawing Nettie 
 out, now changed his tactics.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPOKT HARBOR. 
 
 " You are quite right, Miss Knowles ; there is 
 a great difference between a habit which fulfils a 
 requirement of nature and one which taxes its 
 endurance. I do not desire to become a cham- 
 pion of the habit of using tobacco, or any other 
 poison." 
 
 "Then why are you, who believe example to 
 be of more importance than precept, one of the 
 great army of tobacco-users ?" 
 
 " I could easily desert its ranks," said Tom, 
 throwing his freshly-lighted Havana over the 
 taffrail of the yacht into the water. " There will 
 be a short struggle and a victory." 
 
 " Do you mean to say that you can and will 
 give up using tobacco ?" asked Nettie, now some- 
 what frightened at her own bravery. 
 
 " Yes," said Tom. " Since you have so fairly 
 beaten me, its defender, tobacco shall no longer 
 have charms for me ; but I have long had this 
 move in contemplation, for, as a physician, I know 
 too well its evil effects." 
 
 " I know an old man ninety-five years of age, 
 who is hale and hearty, and who has used tobacco 
 all of his life," said Mr. Craik, with a slight sneer. 
 
 " That may be true, if you are a physician and 
 have examined him," said Tom ; " but the proba- 
 bilities are that he has his ills and ails, and that 
 the vigorous constitution which has been able to 
 stand the effects of the poison so long would have
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 155 
 
 been still more vigorous had he never used the 
 weed. 
 
 " The tobacco-heart is as familiar to men of my 
 profession as the rheumatism. To be sure, we do 
 not know just how the poison affects the action 
 of the heart, except as we conjecture through the 
 pernicious effects upon the blood. Microscopic 
 investigation shows us a decided depletion, by dis- 
 integration of the red corpuscles, and an anaemic 
 heart invariably follows. That is about all we 
 know about it ; but that should be enough to cure 
 a physician of smoking." 
 
 " Some men stand this poison a good many 
 years," said Craik, fondling his cigar. 
 
 " True," said Tom, turning so that he could see 
 Craik fairly; "some men seem to thrive upon the 
 poisons of this world just as some seem to flourish 
 in sin. I have no desire to emulate people who 
 continually defy nature." 
 
 "Well," said Nettie, inwardly delighted at 
 Tom's great strength of character, " Dr. Tillott- 
 son, if you are sure that my influence does not 
 cause you to renounce this pleasure, I am glad to 
 see you give up smoking ; but I should prefer to 
 see you smoke rather than to feel that I was the 
 means of causing you any inconvenience or un- 
 happiness. 
 
 "Why, here comes a boat with a little boy 
 in it!"
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 " Yes," said Craik ; " it is the boy from Oldport 
 with the New York papers. Van Dusen has them 
 sent to him regularly." 
 
 The boy threw the Sunday papers on board, 
 and they were courteously passed to the ladies, 
 who began to read little scraps of information 
 aloud to the gentlemen. Nettie, after reading a 
 variety of little notices, stumbled upon the fol- 
 lowing, which she read to Craik and Tom : 
 
 " Not captured yet. The supposed murderer 
 of Rogers, the wealthy Roman banker, is still at 
 large, and has been traced to this country by able 
 detectives, who are employed by relatives and 
 friends of the deceased. It is hoped they will be 
 successful in their search, as he is a desperate 
 character and an old offender, who, it is said, is 
 wanted in England for several offences of a crim- 
 inal nature, including the Thames Bank robbery, 
 which occurred two years ago. He was known 
 in Rome as Antoinne De Lacey, but claimed to 
 be an Englishman. In England he went by the 
 name of James Bolan, or among his pals as Gen- 
 tleman Jim ; and there he claimed American birth 
 and parentage. It is rumored that he was impli- 
 cated in, if not the author of, the great Capette 
 forgery last year in Paris." 
 
 " What a rascal he must be," said Tom. 
 
 " Yes," said Craik, " but they won't catch him ; 
 they never catch such clever scamps."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 "What dreadful things they put in the papers," 
 said Nettie, sorry that she had read the paragraph. 
 
 Has the reader ever contemplated the vast 
 power which surges behind the daily press? It 
 lies not so much in the many items of news which 
 we find there, as in the mighty influence upon the 
 human mind through the suggestions of myriads 
 of ideas. A newspaper is a bonanza of thought. 
 *T,et us look into one briefly; there seems to be 
 enough food for contemplation. Advertisements 
 which suggest poverty, sin, and suffering. The 
 events of yesterday which occurred, perhaps, upon 
 the other side of the globe. Information of vessels 
 supposed to have been lost at sea ; accidents upon 
 the railroads ; accounts of joyous weddings and 
 sad funerals; cases at law, just and unjust; wants 
 of all descriptions ; noted arrivals and departures ; 
 rumors of wars abroad, and verbatim accounts of 
 the proceedings of our own Congress. How 
 hungry this monster called the " Press" is. Every 
 item of news, no matter how important or insig- 
 nificant, finds ready access to its terrible maw. 
 
 The newspaper is literary bread for the poor 
 man ; cheap mental food which is growing more 
 and more wholesome as the world advances in 
 knowledge and improves in morals. 
 
 Newspapers may be compared to schoolmasters; 
 some are narrow and so ill tempered that the 
 switch is their main dependence ; others are calm, 
 
 14
 
 jeg A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 dignified, and intellectual, winning meritorious 
 success by moral suasion. 
 
 The career of the former class is lively and 
 short-lived; while the latter naturally become 
 the permanent pets of the public. The former 
 overstep legal boundaries, suffer punishment, and 
 perish; while the latter, by justice and conserva- 
 tism, gain power as they distribute knowledge. 
 We think that the newspapers of the future are 
 destined to become the medium by which human 
 interests are united in a common unselfishness. 
 
 During Nettie's reading of the above article, 
 Craik had appeared ill at ease; and had she 
 glanced up at his face as she finished she would 
 have noticed his agitation and have taken alarm 
 at his appearance; but she calmly drifted on to 
 another article. 
 
 It happened also that Tom, who was looking at 
 Nettie, failed to observe his appearance, and 
 shortly afterward Craik, excusing himself, retired to 
 the cabin to write letters as he said, and they saw 
 no more of him that day. Mr. Van Dusen, in his 
 genteel way, made himself very agreeable to the 
 entire party. He was always ready to supply fuel 
 to a lagging conversation, and never intruded his 
 ideas when there was no apparent demand for 
 them. His remarks, too, were so sprinkled with 
 a vein of honest good-humor that his guests were 
 charmed with him. He invited them all for a long
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 ocean sail upon the " Siren," and named the follow- 
 ing Tuesday as the day, thoughtfully extending 
 the invitation to Mrs. Tillottson and her sister. 
 The invitation was gladly accepted by all present, 
 and shortly afterward Tom and his friends took 
 their departure, as it was their intention to call 
 upon his mother before returning to Cup Island. 
 
 "What a delightful man Mr. Van Dusen is," 
 -~said Belle, on their way to Oldport. 
 
 " He is, indeed," said Jack ; " he exercises such 
 excellent taste and judgment in the entertainment 
 of his guests. I shall never forget how delicate 
 he was about asking the price of a picture which 
 he bought of me last fall ; he saw it at the academy 
 exhibition." 
 
 " Yes, I remember it well," said Belle ; " it was 
 Beatrice, was it not ? It was at the academy that 
 I first met Mr. Van Dusen. For a millionaire, he 
 certainly is remarkably considerate and unselfish." 
 
 " I do not exactly understand," said Jack, " how 
 he and Craik became intimate, they are so very 
 different." 
 
 " Van Dusen says he was introduced to Craik 
 at his hotel in New York," said Tom.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Mrs. Tillottson moves to Cup Island Bid as an Angler The 
 Oldport Church Mr. Kendall as a Philanthropist Jack deeply 
 Impressed The Sermon The Serenade. 
 
 MRS. TILLOTTSON received the party with open 
 arms and a beaming countenance. Almost her 
 first remark was, " Girls, we are coming over to 
 the cottage to live ; I am so much better that I 
 feel perfectly able to do so. I have engaged a 
 carpenter to make a few improvements so that we 
 can all be accommodated and comfortable. I can- 
 not endure being here almost alone any longer, 
 and my appetite is getting so ravenous that I 
 should think Mrs. Sandy would be glad to see me 
 go." 
 
 Nettie and Belle were delighted at this piece of 
 news, and the young men showed their pleasure 
 by offering to do all sorts of little favors if Mrs. 
 Tillottson carried out her resolution. 
 
 " We attended church here this morning," she 
 continued, " and heard a Mr. Kendall. He is not 
 their regular pastor; I believe they have none, 
 but he gave a very simple and instructive lesson, 
 and I was much impressed by his sincerity and 
 earnestness ; but you must now tell us all about
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 your day upon the island and your dinner on the 
 yacht." 
 
 This they did at once, informing her that Mr. 
 Kendall was one of the yachting party and was 
 present at the dinner. 
 
 "There is to be a service at the little church 
 again this evening, and he is to preach," said Mrs. 
 Tillottson. 
 
 V. 
 
 " Let us all come over and go," said Nettie. 
 
 This was agreed to, and saying good-by to Mrs. 
 Tillottson they started for home, as it was now 
 late in the afternoon. 
 
 " I wonder how Bid has passed the day ?" said 
 Belle to Nettie, as they were being rowed over the 
 smooth water to Cup Island. 
 
 " I hope she has not tried any more boating ex- 
 periments," said Nettie, laughing. 
 
 41 There is no danger of that," said Jack ; " she 
 is too much in mortal terror of the ' moanin' say.' " 
 
 On arriving at the cottage, however, Bid was 
 nowhere to be seen. They hunted the house over 
 without finding her ; then they went to the sum- 
 mer-house, thinking that perhaps she had been 
 caught there, as they had, by the tide, but no Bid 
 was to be seen. Matters began to look serious. 
 The table was carefully laid for tea, the kettle was 
 cheerily singing in the fireplace, and there was 
 wood crackling on the fire, showing that Bid could 
 not long have been absent from the cottage ; but 
 l 14*
 
 j62 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 the island was small, and they had not succeeded 
 in finding her, so they began to get apprehensive. 
 Jack left them and went on a tour of inspection 
 alone. Soon he was seen returning from the 
 direction of North Rock and at the same time 
 beckoning them to come. Following his lead 
 they at last found Bid sitting on the sea side of 
 North Rock, with a fishing-rod lying beside her, 
 fast asleep. The narrow ledge upon which she 
 was sitting or reclining, with her head resting 
 against the shelving wall, was so precariously situ- 
 ated that Jack had not awakened her, fearing that 
 she would be startled and fall into the water, some 
 fifteen feet below. There was a short consultation 
 as to the best method of arousing her, and it was 
 at last decided that it should be by music. They 
 therefore began singing in very low tones one of 
 their favorite quartettes. Gradually increasing the 
 volume of sound, they were soon singing at the 
 tops of their voices ; but Bid seemed to be charmed 
 by the music into deeper and heavier slumber, 
 until they, reaching the end of their song, looked 
 at each other, puzzled as to how they could accom- 
 plish their design without giving Bid a bath in the 
 briny deep. 
 
 " We must get a rope around her," said Tom ; 
 " for if she should drop into the water she would 
 drown ; it is very deep there." 
 
 Jack rushed back to the cottage and brought a
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 long, new clothes-line ; then the two young men, 
 by tying the end of the clothes-line to a fish-line, 
 dexterously slipping a fish-pole under Bid, then 
 tying a slip-knot in such a way that it formed a 
 noose, soon had poor Bid so secured that they 
 could hold her up by hanging on to the other end 
 of the line. 
 
 N " Now," said Jack, in a low tone, " all take hold 
 of the line, so ; that's it. Now hold tight and I 
 will call her." 
 
 " Bid ! Oh, Bid !" 
 
 Bid opened her eyes quickly, and, seeing her- 
 self between heaven and water, gave a start and 
 slid off of the ledge, just as they had feared and 
 expected ; but the rope tightening, they held her 
 dangling, screaming, and kicking just above the 
 water. Jack roared, and Tom could not help 
 laughing; but the girls were frightened, for the 
 strain upon their arms as Bid's by no means 
 feather weight tightened the rope was not easy 
 for them to endure. 
 
 "Tom, do hurry and pull her up," said Belle. 
 " I can't hold on any longer." 
 
 "All right," said Tom. "Jack and I can hold 
 her ; you two can let go," which they did. 
 
 " Bid," said Tom, shouting over the edge of the 
 rock, " Bid, is that you down there ?" 
 
 " Oh, Misther Tarm ! Misther Tarm !" screamed 
 Bid, at the top of her voice ; " oi thought oi was
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 dead entirely. Sure, an' is it you, your dear self, 
 Misther Tarm, or am oi drameing the wurest 
 drame of me loife ?" 
 
 " What are you doing down there ?" shouted 
 Tom. 
 
 " Sure, it's meeself that don't know," said Bid. 
 " Oh, Misther Tarm, save me, save me from the 
 depths av the moanin' say !" 
 
 " Let's pull her up," said Jack, who was laugh- 
 ing so hard that he feared his strength might sud- 
 denly leave him. 
 
 "All right," said Tom; "pull away." But it 
 was not as easy as they had imagined ; for by the 
 time they had fairly landed Bid on top of North 
 Rock they were both out of breath and nearly 
 exhausted, poor Bid being almost dead with fright 
 and probably bruised in more places than one. 
 The girls delivered her from the embrace of the 
 clothes-line, explanations followed, and they all 
 returned to the cottage. 
 
 "Sure, oi was troing me luck at the fish an' 
 felled ashleep entirely," said Bid. 
 
 In the evening, shortly after tea, they took the 
 little boat again and returned to Oldport, walking 
 to the little church, which stood upon a country 
 road not far from the post-office. It was not an 
 imposing-looking edifice, and, save a long shed 
 for the accommodation of horses, it stood alone. 
 The building was of wood, plain, and square, with
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. jg^ 
 
 a small steeple and belfry on one end of the roof, 
 which, as our friends drew near, was sending forth 
 the doleful notes of a cracked bell, while on the 
 inside of the door-way below a stoop-shouldered 
 young man of cadaverous mien was producing 
 the sounds by vigorous pulls upon a bell-rope. 
 On the wooden steps leading to the church stood 
 and sat, in little groups, a number of the village 
 swains, dressed in clothes to which they evidently 
 were but one-seventh accustomed. 
 
 Tom and Nettie led the way into the building, 
 noticing as they entered a powerful odor of kero- 
 sene, which was given off by the two or three old- 
 fashioned lamps suspended by wires from the ceil- 
 ing; and their steps, as they tramped over the 
 bare boards of the floor, sounded hollow and loud, 
 attracting the curious attention of the few people 
 already assembled. 
 
 After they were fairly seated upon a wooden 
 bench, cushionless, and with a back which touched 
 only at one point near the shoulders, and had be- 
 come somewhat accustomed to the staring match 
 which ensued, they were able to make a few 
 mental notes of their surroundings. The apart- 
 ment was, perhaps, forty feet long from door to 
 pulpit, and thirty feet the other way. In it were 
 two rows of straight-backed wooden benches, 
 while facing the audience, and to the left of the 
 pulpit, which, by the way, consisted of a table
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 somewhat resembling an old-fashioned wash-stand, 
 were two benches upon which sat the choir. The 
 choir consisted of six members. The leader, a 
 man of perhaps fifty-three or fifty-four summers, 
 was immediately recognized by our friends as Mr. 
 Sandy, the postmaster. Beside him, upon the 
 same bench, sat a middle-aged woman dressed in a 
 gown of sage-green color, and ornamented at the 
 neck by a large pink bow. She was of fair com- 
 plexion, puffy cheeks, and tapered rather con- 
 spicuously from her hips to the narrow tip of her 
 conical straw hat. To the observer in front her 
 position was apparently not a secure one, for as 
 her feet failed to reach the church-floor she 
 seemed in imminent danger of sliding off the 
 bench. We will quiet the anxiety of the reader 
 by the assurance that no such calamity occurred. 
 This lady and Mr. Sandy, who were evidently the 
 leading vocalists, were busily engaged in consulta- 
 tion over a hymn-book and in dictating to their 
 companions upon the bench. 
 
 At last notice having been given to sing the one 
 hundred and sixty-third hymn by Mr. Kendall, 
 who had arrived and taken his seat at the wash- 
 stand, the choir arose ; Mr. Sandy fumbled in his 
 vest-pocket awhile, finally producing a tuning-fork, 
 which he tapped sharply against the heel of his 
 boot, and taking the cue from that he began in a 
 harsh voice to lead the choir.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. ify 
 
 We will not attempt to describe the music which 
 followed. The sentiment of the hymn was good. 
 Perhaps the verbiage might have been a little ex- 
 travagant : we remember something about " bleed- 
 ing hearts," " conquering heroes," " golden streets," 
 and " bowels yearning," and the superlatives might 
 have been a trifle numerous; but adjectives are a 
 great resource in the country, particularly in a 
 country church. The music we pass over with a 
 sigh. There are moments in the lives of all which 
 cannot be lived over perfectly in words. Our 
 friends were too much overcome to add their 
 voices to the harmony; besides, they were un- 
 familiar with the air. Not so, however, the 
 vigorous congregation ; they sang as though they 
 thought they never would be allowed that blessed 
 privilege again ; opening their by no means delicate 
 mouths to their fullest extent, they emitted a 
 volume of sound which seemed to almost loosen 
 the rafters of the edifice. 
 
 Jack was visibly affected; the corners of his 
 mouth were restless, twitching spasmodically, and 
 Belle, his neighbor, who noticed the evident emo- 
 tion, was in painful apprehension lest he should 
 audibly give vent to his pent-up feelings, when 
 suddenly the music ceased, the people subsided 
 into their seats, there was the customary rustling 
 of dresses, scuffling of feet, and clearing of 
 throats, until Mr. Kendall rising from his chair,
 
 !68 ^ SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 and thereby commanding silence, quietly began 
 his address. 
 
 The sermon was a friendly talk rather than an 
 elaborate essay, and our listeners gave Mr. Kendall 
 great credit for discretion on this occasion. He 
 tried to show the simple, hard-working people be- 
 fore him the intimate connection between God and 
 His works. He likened the roaring of the sea to 
 the voice of the Almighty warning sinners to re- 
 pent ere it was too late ; quite a novel and practical 
 comparison, and one which was no doubt remem- 
 bered by some of the fishermen present to their 
 advantage. He dwelt upon the generous good- 
 ness of God, as evidenced by the ease with which 
 man may stretch forth his hand and be fed and 
 clothed. " He may drop," said he, " a line into 
 the sea and it will bring forth the nourishing fish, 
 or he may drop a seed into the soil, and it will 
 bring forth the succulent fruit, such is the thought- 
 fulness of divine Providence. God, however, is 
 impatient of the slothful man and will not abide 
 the man who is sinful. He has given us a few 
 laws to govern our conduct toward each other 
 and Himself; if we observe these laws, which you 
 all know are the Ten Commandments, we shall 
 all reach heaven." 
 
 It was a simple discourse, delivered in a frank, 
 brotherly manner, and it was easy to see that it 
 made the right impression. Our friends were
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. ^g 
 
 somewhat surprised at the absence of arrogance, 
 so noticeable at dinner upon the " Siren." Jack was 
 pleased with the minister's way of talking to the 
 Oldport people, and liked him better for the sin- 
 cerity which was so evident in his manner. Mr. 
 Kendall, like all poor mortals, had his faults, but 
 he was a worker. 
 
 ^ Some very worthy people, most valuable too in 
 the busy bustle of the world, make a poor appear- 
 ance at a dinner. Mr. Kendall's mission in the 
 world was to do good. He did it. Among plain 
 folks he was at his ease. Highly educated and 
 reared in refinement, he seldom found it difficult 
 when in intercourse with people below him in 
 mental culture to adopt a manner appropriate to 
 the spirit of his subject and his listener. This he 
 did naturally and without thought, because policy 
 was as foreign to his nature as was the inception 
 and assimilation of some of Tom's radical ideas. 
 He was a man of ruts. Tom's theories fell like seed 
 in a sandy and unfertile soil ; they were not indi- 
 genous, and therefore could not flourish. They 
 produced glimmerings of light in his mental hori- 
 zon for the time being, which were welcomed as the 
 eye greets pyrotechnics, but like the pyrotechnics 
 they fleeted away, and time soon obliterated most 
 of their glory, leaving only a pleasant recollec- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Kendall's apparent arrogance at the dinner 
 H 15
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 was simply the reflex action of an attempt to ap- 
 pear natural. He was nervously anxious upon the 
 subjects which were discussed, feeling in a measure 
 responsible for whatever results might accrue. To 
 battle with pyrrhonism or calmly dissect re- 
 ligious dogmas which had imbued his mind for 
 years was impossible. 
 
 The world is full of similar minds. Our theo- 
 logical seminaries are annually turning out hun- 
 dreds of such young men with the college cur- 
 riculum frozen into the very marrow of their 
 ethical bones; wholesale thinking-machines from 
 a common pattern, warranted to turn out other 
 thinking-machines by the simple turning of a 
 lingual crank ; young men who learn surface-logic 
 and mental science by a stencil process, a sort of 
 photographic manual, consisting of a positive 
 college faculty and a negative diploma-seeker. 
 Will the present optional departure ameliorate 
 this machine system ? Let us wait patiently and 
 see. Perhaps it is a step in the right direction ; 
 it is certainly God's method of dealing with His 
 children. Why should not we hold as hallowed 
 the precious will of man ? 
 
 " What is your opinion of the sermon ?" Belle 
 asked of Jack, as they strolled along the moon-lit 
 road in the direction of Oldport. 
 
 " It reminded me," said Jack, between the puffs 
 of a permitted cigar, " it reminded me of a well-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. l ^ l 
 
 drawn study of a sunset at sea in gray. Color 
 was lacking, but the simple outlines were good." 
 
 " But did you notice the rapt attention and 
 respectful deference which Mr. Kendall seemed to 
 command from the Oldport people ?" asked Belle. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," replied Jack, " and no doubt the 
 plain truths sank deeply and for the first time into 
 some of their souls ; but, you see, I am not a native 
 of Oldport, and Mr. Kendall was not aiming his 
 shafts at me. I need color. Now, Tom's remarks 
 to-day at dinner were full of color and brilliancy, 
 and they were so fresh and new that my very soul 
 was stirred and thirsts now for more. He has 
 never forced his opinions upon me, or I might 
 have laughed at them ; but when I saw how 
 thoroughly they harmonized with the naturalistic 
 knowledge of Professor Romney, how they seemed 
 to formulate or open out a new science of ethics, 
 which might justly be called Physico-theology ; 
 how in accepting religion one may cling all the 
 more dutifully to science and art ; my very heart 
 was touched and I loved the dear boy more than 
 ever. You must indeed be proud of such a 
 brother." 
 
 " It is doubly pleasant," said Belle, who felt 
 tears in her eyes, " to hear my brother spoken of 
 so affectionately, and you can rest assured that 
 Tom is equally ardent in his affection for you, for 
 there are no half-way stations in his heart, although
 
 172 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 by nature he is not perhaps quite so demonstra- 
 tive." 
 
 " It is strange," said Jack, after a short pause, 
 during which the stillness of the Sabbath evening 
 was unbroken save by the pattering of their feet 
 upon the roadway and the industrious music of 
 the insect world. " I have been somewhat of a 
 reader, and have partially digested the majority of 
 our modern writers ; but the web of philosophy 
 which I had woven was completely carried away 
 before the little puff of wisdom from Tom's noddle 
 to-day. It is very strange." 
 
 " No, not so very strange," said Belle, feelingly ; 
 " for Tom has also been an industrious reader, and 
 he has imbibed a great many of his ideas from my 
 father, who was a man very much like Tom." 
 
 " What struck me as sublime," Jack replied, 
 "was that idea of prefiguration which he ad- 
 vanced. The figurative language of nature is so 
 very apparent, it so fills and satisfies the desires of 
 the soul, that it is unconsciously acknowledged by 
 the great masses of humanity, both in their speech 
 and actions. I suppose that the very words of 
 language were borrowed by man from nature in 
 some way as a means of expressing his thoughts." 
 
 " Yes," said Tom, who with Nettie was now 
 close behind them and had overheard Jack's last 
 words ; " I have no doubt of it, for the sounds of 
 certain words are identical with those we hear in
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 173 
 
 nature. We speak of the coo of a dove, for in- 
 stance. Here coo is the very sound which the 
 dove makes. It is the same with the mew of a 
 kitten, the twitting of the birds, the caw of a crow, 
 the roar of a lion, the hiss of a serpent, the babble 
 of a brook, and so on ad infinitum. Some birds 
 and animals are named from the sounds which 
 ,they produce, the pee-wee, for instance, or the 
 whippoorwill, humming-bird, etc." 
 
 " If it is a fact," said Jack, " that we borrow all 
 of our ideas from nature " 
 
 " Oh, no," interrupted Tom ; " it is not so ; we 
 no doubt have borrowed sounds from nature to 
 express our thoughts, but it is not so always; 
 with ideas it is different. An idea is spiritual ; it 
 is more subtle ; it is superior to nature ; neverthe- 
 less each particular thing or object in nature has 
 its corresponding spiritual idea." 
 
 " Can you illustrate that statement ?" said Jack, 
 somewhat doubtingly. 
 
 " Certainly," said Tom. " I say that every phe- 
 nomenon or all combined phenomena in nature 
 and the combinations are infinite are but corre- 
 spondences of spiritual ideas ; for instance, animals 
 may be divided into two kinds : those which are 
 gentle and harmless and those which are ferocious 
 and dangerous. The former, we readily see, are 
 correspondences of our ideas (spiritual) of good- 
 ness; the very words gentle and harmless are 
 
 15*
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 ideas. A lamb, we say, is gentle ; a dog reminds 
 us of faithfulness, the dove of innocence or love, 
 and so on. On the other hand, the vicious ani- 
 mals correspond to phases contrary to goodness, 
 or phases of evil. You would hesitate to say that 
 a man was as good as a wolf, or as gentle as a 
 hyena, for these animals both correspond to evil 
 ideas ; you would say instead that he was as gentle 
 as a lamb, or if you did not get your correspond- 
 ence from the animal kingdom in nature, you 
 would choose it from the vegetable or mineral, in 
 which case you would say that the man was as 
 honest or true as steel. Young ladies are said to 
 be sweet as roses." 
 
 " I begin to get your meaning," said Jack. 
 " Man is in a sort of equilibrium between good 
 and evil, and by his freedom of will may choose 
 the one or the other." 
 
 " Exactly," said Tom. " The natural around us 
 is a perfect correspondence but on a lower plane 
 of the spiritual world, and man is in equilibrium 
 between them. This equilibrium is, as you have 
 hinted, his freedom or his free will ; his body is 
 on the natural plane, but his soul is spiritual, on 
 a higher plane. He is constantly surrounded with 
 things evil and good, but, being in equilibrium, he 
 has the power to choose only that which suits his 
 tastes; an evil man chooses evil things, a good 
 man good things."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 1 y$ 
 
 " Why was he not made with power only to 
 choose the good things ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " Animals or the brutes of creation are so made," 
 said Tom ; " but man is made king of them all by 
 virtue of his free will." 
 
 " Then, why is it that he falls ?" said Jack. 
 
 " Because he possesses freedom of choice," said 
 Tom. " He is made after the image of his Maker, 
 with free determination, and therefore he is led, 
 not forced, by the Lord, through conscience, only 
 up to that point where his freedom would be in- 
 terfered with. A horse has no freedom." 
 
 " I think it is clear to me now," said Jack. 
 
 " It was always clear to me," said Nettie. " I 
 was taught to put my trust in divine Providence, 
 but have always known that it was in my power 
 to break the commandments if I so desired." 
 
 " You women are different from men in many 
 respects," said Jack. " Sometimes it will take a 
 man years to master a single thought which a 
 woman will imbibe by intuition in a moment." 
 
 " Perhaps that is so," said Nettie ; " but it is 
 certain, I think, that women cannot so readily put 
 their thoughts or intuitions, as you call them, into 
 words ; of course, I mean on the serious subjects 
 of life." 
 
 " That may be," said Jack, laughing, " because 
 words after all are very superficial, and inade- 
 quately express our ideas."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 We hope the reader will not form a poor opinion 
 of the doctor. He was, like a great many other 
 young men of his day, given to the serious con- 
 templation of subjects about which, perhaps, it 
 were as well if some men did not think at all. 
 His mind was so constituted that it wanted a reason 
 for all things. If an atheist said, "There is no 
 God," Tom would respect his assertion only so far 
 as the atheist could back it up by good reasoning; 
 if an agnostic insisted that men have no right to 
 freely assert a belief in the supernatural and spir- 
 itual, Tom would accuse him of the very posi- 
 tivism which he condemned in others, and by which 
 he claimed a title to the name agnostic. Pessimism 
 shared a like fate under Tom's rigid cross-exami- 
 nation. He believed in a perfect God, as impartial 
 as the sun is with its rays, and as constant ; as the 
 earth turns away from the sun, so Tom believed 
 that men turn away from God, the immutable. 
 
 Perhaps he would have made as good a lawyer 
 as he did a physician, although he applied the 
 same method in the diagnosis of disease, viz., 
 judgment by exclusion. 
 
 There are some who think that this faculty of 
 weighing carefully every logical conclusion is, in 
 a young man, an unpardonable assumption. We 
 know a venerable old gentleman, long and deeply 
 studied in mental science, who will not listen 
 patiently to an argument which does not begin by
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 177 
 
 assuming as true a " fundamental principle" with 
 which he is familiar or in concord. Now, Tom 
 would probably dig away at these fundamental 
 principles or foundations until he had reached the 
 bottom and satisfied himself that there were no 
 flaws there. Can we blame him for this ? On the 
 contrary, we are inclined to indulge the boy in his 
 iiobby ; it may in time lead him into fields of real 
 wisdom, public lands overflowing with the milk 
 and honey of erudition. By timid steps the infant 
 pedestrians first totter upon their mother-earth, yet 
 how indulgent we are with the little darlings in 
 their scamperings ; how well we know that en- 
 couragement is all they want, in order, some day, 
 to become expert upon their feet. Let us indulge 
 Tom ; he will grow in time beyond the feeble 
 efforts which we now see him making. He is 
 tottering in the right direction, and after all, dear 
 reader, are we not all totterers in the great mother- 
 world of ideas? Now let us rejoin our young 
 people. 
 
 The night was perfect, the air redolent with the 
 sweet odor of new-mown hay ; the clear light of 
 the moon, the lively incessant chorus of insect 
 voices, and the anthems of the frogs, all of these 
 things seemed to raise their spirits as they strolled 
 homeward along the winding country road. 
 
 It was equally delightful on the harbor. As 
 they pulled the boat past the " Siren" they sang a
 
 !78 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 beautiful quartette serenade, and were vigorously 
 applauded by the party of yachtsmen. 
 
 Then the gentlemen on the " Siren" endeavored to 
 return the compliment by singing a chorus, igno- 
 miniously failed, but nevertheless were heartily 
 applauded by our young friends in the row-boat. 
 
 Mr. Van Dusen shouted from the yacht, "Ship 
 a-ho-oo-y !" 
 
 " Hello there !" shouted Jack, with his vigorous 
 young voice, in reply. 
 
 " Lay to and show your colors !" said Van Dusen. 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir, lay to she is !" screamed Tom. 
 
 " What ship is that, and where bound ?" some- 
 body shouted from the yacht. 
 
 " This is the ' Pigmy' !" Belle screamed in reply. 
 " From Ancientville, bound for the happy land o' 
 Caanan with a cargo of mammoths ! Who are 
 you ?" 
 
 But the reply came to them so faintly, owing to 
 a puff of wind from a contrary direction, that it 
 was lost upon the waters and they heard it not. 
 As they proceeded, however, on their course to 
 the island, a beautiful rocket, shot over their heads 
 and bursting high in the zenith, sent an expansive 
 spray of colored sparks slowly drifting above 
 them, and mingling a thousand bright reflections 
 with the shimmering moonlight upon the waters 
 below. Then, at a signal from Jack, they gave 
 three rousing cheers for the " Siren," which were
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 heartily returned from the yacht, when stillness 
 once more reigned upon the pretty bay, and Nep- 
 tune's kingdom was allowed to sleep in peace. 
 Thus ended happily their first Sunday upon Cup 
 Island. 
 
 ^ CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mr. Dexter's Condition improves Augustus Campion A Suc- 
 cessful Lawyer Employing a Detective Mr. Bangs sails for 
 Europe Ferris and his Labors Mr. Dexter able to write. 
 
 As time dragged slowly on with Mr. Dexter, his 
 condition gradually but slowly improved ; his phy- 
 sician gave him daily encouragement, holding out 
 hopes of his ultimate recovery, provided he avoided 
 all undue excitement and exertion. He had al- 
 ready quite recovered the use of his hands and 
 arms, but his speech still continued so imperfect 
 that he was obliged to write all of his communi- 
 cations and desires upon a slate. About a week 
 after his affliction his nurse, a young lady of pleas- 
 ing manners and appearance, was reading to him 
 from a newspaper, when she happened upon the 
 same article which we have heard his niece read 
 to Mr. Craik and Tom on board of the " Siren." 
 Mr. Dexter was greatly excited when she finished 
 and motioned for the slate, writing upon it his 
 desire to see his lawyer, Mr. Campion, at once.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 Augustus Campion, LL.D., senior partner of 
 the firm of Campion & Bangs, sat at his desk in- 
 dustriously formulating a brief. Half buried in 
 papers, he seemed to know by instinct just where 
 each one could be found ; some were piled upon 
 his desk in front of him, some were pigeon-holed 
 to the right, some to the left, while a huge collec- 
 tion lay indiscriminately upon the broad window- 
 sill at his elbow. He was a man of enormous 
 stature, square of shoulders, and large-limbed. 
 At first glance he reminded the observer of a 
 huge mastiff of dangerous aspect, but closer scru- 
 tiny revealed a mildness in his deep blue eyes, an 
 amiable expression about his mouth, which per- 
 petually smiled, which soon put such a notion to 
 shameful flight. 
 
 An irresistible agency drew one toward this 
 colossus. His mild eyes carrying in them a gaze 
 of interested inquiry, the cordial grasp of his 
 warm, dry hand, and the assuring welcome which 
 characterized the mellow tones of his voice, were 
 sure to charm his visitor into an unconscious ad- 
 miration of the man. 
 
 Mr. Campion had the reputation of being the 
 best cross-questioner in the State. An obstinate 
 witness, no matter how hostile when first put upon 
 the stand, soon became friendly toward this huge 
 mass of good-nature in spite of himself. His 
 smile was worth a dozen bribes to a jury. It may
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. ig l 
 
 therefore be inferred that Mr. Campion was a suc- 
 cessful man. Yes, Mr. Campion was successful, 
 for in addition to his power as a court lawyer he 
 was a cool and level-headed thinker; but the real, 
 the main reason for his success was his conscien- 
 tiousness. He never hesitated to refuse to defend 
 injustice, cruelty, dishonesty, or crime. Those 
 were qualities which he would not tolerate in a 
 client ; but he was ever ready and eager to enter 
 the lists against them, and thus he acquired a rep- 
 utation for fairness and skill which brought the 
 firm of Campion & Bangs as much business as 
 they could well attend to. 
 
 Such was the man in whom Mr. Dexter had 
 placed his trust. Slow to give advice until he had 
 carefully sifted all the points in evidence, none 
 could be more energetic when action was impera- 
 tive or more prompt in emergencies. Let us ac- 
 company him to the bedside of his friend. 
 
 He found Mr. Dexter much better than he had 
 seemed at his last visit, a few days previous. Mr. 
 Dexter had given him Mr. Wigand's letter on a 
 former occasion, and had instructed him to corre- 
 spond with the attorneys at Rome in whose hands 
 was the settlement of young Dexter's estate ; now 
 he showed him the newspaper article, which the 
 lawyer read through carefully. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I saw the same account in 
 yesterday morning's paper." 
 
 16
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 Mr. Dexter then took his slate and wrote, 
 
 " I want to employ detectives and hunt this 
 rascal down." 
 
 Mr. Campion meditated a moment. " If he has 
 escaped to this country," said he, " I think he will 
 probably be found in New York City, or in some 
 one of our large cities. If that is the case, one 
 good detective will soon find him. There is a 
 Chicago man, a detective, whom I have employed 
 before, by the name of Ferris. He is very careful, 
 and an expert ; if you think best I will employ 
 him at once." 
 
 "I do," wrote Mr. Dexter; "but do you think 
 one man will be sufficient ?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said the lawyer. " You know 
 there are English detectives on his track already. 
 The New York police are also on the lookout for 
 him, and I am informed that Wigand, your son's 
 partner, has offered a large reward for his capture. 
 Ferris has had a long experience in tracking crim- 
 inals, and I think he is just the man for our work." 
 
 " Very well, Camp," wrote Mr. Dexter, " employ 
 him at once. Have you written to Rome ?" 
 
 " Yes," replied Mr. Campion, " and Bangs has 
 sailed to-day for Europe. I decided that it was 
 best for him to go, as foreign interests, particularly 
 of that nature, are more satisfactorily settled upon 
 the spot. He will wire us and write full particu- 
 lars as soon as he arrives in Rome. Do you wish
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 Nettie informed of her recent inheritance, or do 
 you prefer to wait a while ?" 
 
 " I shall improve now rapidly, I think," wrote 
 Mr. Dexter; "so it will be better to wait until I 
 am stronger before writing her anything about it. 
 She will enjoy her visit better if she knows noth- 
 ing. She is not one of the kind to rejoice at her 
 owjn good fortune when she hears of her cousin's 
 death or that her uncle is ill. I know her true, 
 tender heart too well to inflict any sorrow upon 
 her that can possibly be helped." Here Mr. Dex- 
 ter was overcome by his feelings and the exertion 
 of writing and lay back upon his pillow exhausted. 
 
 " I know ; I know," said the attorney, sympa- 
 thetically, after reading the message. " Nettie has 
 a kind heart and an affectionate disposition. She 
 is a dear, good girl and free from guile." 
 
 Then stating that he had much business to at- 
 tend to, and tenderly pressing his friend's hand, 
 he hastily took his departure. A few days after 
 this interview Ferris, the Chicago detective, was 
 in private conference with Augustus Campion in 
 the inner office of Campion & Bangs, and the same 
 evening he hastened to New York, where he began 
 his search for Jim Bolan, alias Gentleman Jim, 
 alias Antoinne DeLacey. 
 
 Ferris did not savor of the detective to the 
 casual observer. He was not a person to attract 
 attention, and would naturally pass for an ordinary
 
 1 84 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR, 
 
 business man. He was of medium height, and, 
 when not disguised, had a round smooth face, with 
 a light-colored moustache. His eyes were brown 
 and wide open, as were his ears. The small, glit- 
 tering black eyes, so commonly associated with 
 the detective, were not his. One of his first acts 
 was to visit the rogues' gallery, where he searched 
 carefully among the pictures for one which might 
 resemble that which he carried in his pocket of 
 Bolan. He then inspected the prisoners in the 
 jails of the city ; unsuccessful here, he visited the 
 hotels, copying off a long list of foreign names 
 which had been registered at about the time when 
 DeLacey would probably have arrived in America. 
 Then began a long search in which he traced the 
 course of some of these foreigners who had re- 
 mained in New York City. He was very indus- 
 trious, writing letters to all parts of the country, 
 giving and asking information. He then visited 
 and made personal investigations in Boston, Phil- 
 adelphia, and Baltimore. He had photographs 
 struck off and sent them to different correspond- 
 ents. Once he thought he had found his man and 
 hastened to Chicago, but his first glance at the 
 person suspected told him that he was on the 
 wrong track. During his stay in New York he 
 stopped at a European hotel, much resorted to by 
 sporting men and situated in the noisy part of the 
 city, well down town. Here, oftentimes during
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. ^ 
 
 his search, day and night, he would drop in and 
 sit or stand about listening to the talk of the vari- 
 ous frequenters of the place. 
 
 One night he returned to the hotel very late, 
 and stepping into the bar-room, which led out of 
 the office, to obtain a light for his cigar, he over- 
 heard the magic words " Gentleman Jim" pro- 
 nounced in low tones by a man who was standing 
 *at the bar eagerly talking with a companion. Here 
 perhaps was a clue. He was all attention, but as 
 he passed them he appeared indifferent and un- 
 conscious ; they immediately changed the subject, 
 however, and in louder voices began discussing 
 a horse-race which had occurred that day. Ferris, 
 after lighting his cigar, strolled leisurely back into 
 the hotel office, where, taking a seat which com- 
 manded a view of the bar-room entrance, he pre- 
 tended to read a newspaper. After some delay 
 the two men came out of the bar-room, and one 
 of them stepping up to the clerk at the desk asked 
 for the key to Room 186; then, as if undecided, 
 consulted his companion a moment, and they both 
 left the hotel, one of them casting a suspicious 
 glance at the detective as they passed him. Ferris 
 followed them carefully until he saw them enter a 
 noted gambling-house. He then hastened back 
 to the hotel and called for the proprietor. 
 
 " He is abed," said the clerk. " Anything par- 
 ticular ?" 
 
 1 6*
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 11 Yes," said Ferris. " It is detective work." 
 " He won't get up for that, I'm afraid," said the 
 clerk. " That's getting stale." 
 
 " My name is Ferris. I am from Chicago." 
 " Oh, yes," said the clerk. " I know. He'll get 
 up for you." 
 
 Ferris explained to the landlord his suspicions, 
 and they both went up to Room 186, which the 
 landlord opened with a pass-key. 
 
 On entering the room they both noticed that the 
 two men had their things all packed and ready, 
 apparently, to move at a moment's notice. This 
 aroused the landlord's suspicions. Something was 
 wrong, and he immediately became more indulgent 
 and agreeable. He told Ferris that the men had 
 engaged the room for two weeks longer that very 
 morning, telling him that they might want to stay 
 a month. Ferris did not attempt to open or dis- 
 turb the trunk and two valises which were in the 
 room, as he did not wish to arouse their suspicions 
 in any way. Upon the table he found some writ- 
 ing materials. One of the blotters he examined 
 carefully and slipped it into his pocket ; then see- 
 ing some bits of torn paper with writing upon them 
 scattered about the floor, he, with the landlord's 
 assistance, carefully picked up every piece, placing 
 them also in his pocket. He remarked that there 
 was a door connecting with the next room, num- 
 ber 184. This room, the landlord informed him,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 was unoccupied, and the door leading to it was 
 bolted on both sides. He immediately engaged 
 the room, and bidding the landlord good-night, he 
 locked himself in Room 184. He then began to 
 occupy himself in rather a singular manner. First 
 he took the blotter out of his pocket and held it up 
 before the mirror; after studying its reflection in 
 t^he glass for a while, he was able to decipher a 
 name and address. The name seemed to satisfy 
 him, for with a smile he nodded his head two or 
 three times knowingly, and then began working at 
 the bits of paper, which he carefully spread out 
 upon a table. He began matching the torn edges, 
 and worked industriously until, after a long time, 
 he succeeded in putting them all together nicely 
 so that the words upon them made sense. The 
 gray streaks of morning were beginning to light 
 up the windows as he finished, and read with eager 
 eyes the letter which had so strangely fallen into 
 his hands. 
 
 Suddenly he heard movements in the next room. 
 The men had evidently returned after an all-night 
 struggle with fate at the gambling house. 
 
 Ferris pressed his ear closely against the crack 
 of the door and listened carefully to hear what 
 they might say to each other; but he was dis- 
 appointed; they only grumbled a little at their 
 losses at gambling and were soon in bed, and, as 
 he knew by their hard breathing, fast asleep.
 
 * SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 He then lit a cigar, sat down near the door con- 
 necting the two rooms, and patiently awaited their 
 awakening. This was a weary task. He heard 
 the clocks in the neighborhood strike hour after 
 hour and the growing hum of humanity inside and 
 out as the morning advanced. 
 
 Once he rang the bell and ordered some break- 
 fast to his room ; once he fell into a little doze 
 hjmself, from which he was startled by the striking 
 of a clock which indicated that it was noon, and 
 shortly after this he began to hear the occupants 
 of number 186 moving about. Again he placed his 
 ear to the door and listened. One of the men 
 finally spoke in a low tone to the other. 
 
 " 'Ere's a go," said he, at once betraying his 
 nationality. " Blow me tight, but hi wouldent gif 
 a bob for luck ha roostin' 'ere hanother night. 
 We're the boys to be jugged sure's me name's 
 honest 'Any." 
 
 " Whoy d'ye t'ink it ?" said the other, who was 
 evidently Irish. The Englishman then went on to 
 say that he had noticed that they were followed 
 out of the hotel the night previous ; he had dropped 
 his glove to get an opportunity to glance quickly 
 behind at Ferris. He didn't know who the " cove" 
 was, but he believed he was a spotter, and that 
 they were watched every minute. The Irishman 
 laughed at his fears, and, as if to prove that they 
 were not watched, suddenly opened the door lead-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 ing into the hallway and looked out The English- 
 man admitted that he was in no condition the night 
 before to cope with detectives and might be mis- 
 taken ; he hoped he was, for they were comfortable 
 where they were and they must stay in New York 
 somewhere until Gentleman Jim obtained all of 
 the points about " the rich duffer's boodle." 
 _" How the divil did Jim tumble on that lay?" 
 asked the Irishman, who evidently did not know 
 as much of Gentleman Jim's arrangements as 
 "honest "Any," who then proceeded in low tones 
 to tell the other how Bolan, on arriving in New 
 York, instead of going to a large hotel, had en- 
 gaged expensive apartments at one of the more 
 secluded and aristocratic houses. Here he had 
 represented himself as an Englishman of wealth, 
 and had gradually formed the acquaintance of a 
 millionaire who made the same house his tempo- 
 rary home, but who resided a few miles out of New 
 York, where he owned a magnificent estate on the 
 Hudson. Bolan's plan was to induce him, if possi- 
 ble, to play high at cards, or, failing in this, to visit 
 his handsome residence by invitation, and while 
 there, help them " crack the crib," as he expressed 
 it. At present he said the millionaire was off 
 yachting on a summer cruise, and Bolan had gone 
 with him. Ferris carefully listened to everything 
 that was said until finally he heard them leave their 
 room and go away ; then he made a memorandum
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 of it all, threw himself upon his bed, and was soon 
 in a sound sleep. 
 
 He had not slumbered long, however, before he 
 was aroused by a violent knocking at his room- 
 door; opening it, he was confronted by two men 
 who inquired if his name was Ferris. On reply- 
 ing in the affirmative, they showed him detective 
 badges and told him that they had orders from the 
 chief of police to arrest two men on suspicion of 
 implication in a daring robbery ; that the landlord, 
 who stood beside them, had informed them that 
 the men who occupied number 186 were out. That 
 they had instructions to bring all of the effects be- 
 longing to the criminals to the central station, but 
 that the landlord objected to their so doing until 
 they had consulted him, as he (Ferris) was watch- 
 ing the thieves. They had telephoned to head- 
 quarters, and were instructed to see Ferris and get 
 information concerning the men if possible. 
 
 Ferris told them that he knew nothing about the 
 men, that he was working them to get at another 
 party. Thanking him, they had the baggage from 
 number 186 quickly transferred to a wagon and con- 
 veyed away. They then took seats in the hotel 
 office with Ferris, who had come down, to await 
 the return of the two criminals. Ferris, thinking 
 it unwise to be seen in company with two New 
 York detectives should the thieves return, and 
 feeling the need of nourishment, soon left them,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. l g l 
 
 and repaired to a restaurant near by for dinner. 
 On his return the detectives had vanished. Sus- 
 pecting something wrong, he at once telephoned 
 to the chief of police at headquarters for informa- 
 tion. The reply came that there were no such 
 men on such a case; that they must be frauds. 
 He then stepped into the bar-room and asked the 
 bar-tender if he knew the two men who were in 
 *tfiere a short time previous, describing them 
 minutely. 
 
 " No, I don't know 'em," replied the dispenser 
 of liquids. " But the feller wid a red top kep' a 
 mill on the Bowery onct, in the Ole Felix House. 
 I forgit his name, but he had a pard named Barney 
 Magee, who runs a dive down on Pearl Street." 
 
 Ferris thanked him, and after changing his attire, 
 disguised as a dissolute street loafer, he went in 
 search of Barney Magee. 
 
 The reader may be curious to know how the 
 bogus detectives knew about Ferris. The Irishman 
 and his friend " honest 'Any," after leaving the 
 hotel, held a sort of council of war at a neighbor- 
 ing saloon, and decided that it was too dangerous 
 to stay there longer. They then planned a method 
 by which they could get away their baggage with- 
 out paying their hotel bill, which was several weeks 
 in arrears. They employed the help of two of 
 their " pals" who were living in another part of the 
 city, and who carried out the plan by acting as
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 detectives, as we have seen. Walking boldly into 
 the hotel, they asked to see the proprietor in pri- 
 vate. In his private office they showed him their 
 badges, and said they were after thieves who were 
 occupying room number 186 in his hotel. 
 
 The landlord, remembering his experience of 
 the night previous, was not surprised at this, but 
 informed them that Ferris, the Chicago detective, 
 was occupying number 184, and keeping watch over 
 the thieves. The make-believe detectives pretended 
 to know all about this, and offered to go up and 
 interview Ferris and capture the thieves. Of 
 course the birds had flown, and the bogus detec- 
 tives took the baggage, as they had intended, 
 placed it in a wagon which they had in waiting, 
 and it soon disappeared in the busy whirl of the 
 New York streets, as they did also soon afterward. 
 Ferris had no difficulty in finding the establish- 
 ment of Barney Magee ; every policeman in that 
 quarter of the city knew it intimately ; in fact, he 
 himself had been there on a previous visit to New 
 York, and Magee had aided him in the capture of 
 a noted Chicago criminal. 
 
 "Dives" strange as it may seem, only flourished 
 by the tolerance and desire of the police authori- 
 ties, because their proprietors were, in a measure, 
 in the secret-service hire. 
 
 For a strange " crook" to enter one of them and 
 make his headquarters was almost as certain detec-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 tion and capture as would be an act of open rob- 
 bery, with police for witnesses. 
 
 Ferris waited around in the neighboring saloons 
 until after dark, knowing that then he would be 
 more sure of finding Magee at home. At about 
 nine o'clock, however, he stumbled down the steep 
 stone steps of Magee's place, and into the bril- 
 liantly lighted room, pretending to be somewhat 
 intoxicated. The apartment was foully laden with 
 the odor of poor tobacco and the fumes of stale 
 liquor. At various tables ranged along the sides 
 of the room sat brutal-looking men, who were try- 
 ing to sap enjoyment out of cards, liquor, and vile 
 cigars. A weazen-looking Italian was painfully 
 twanging what he probably considered music upon 
 a badly-tuned and worse-toned harp, while stand- 
 ing by his side a dirty-looking overgrown urchin 
 was producing nerve-killing sounds from a violin. 
 Ferris, at a glance, took in all the occupants of the 
 room, staggered up to Magee, who was sitting, 
 like a king upon his throne, at a high desk on one 
 end of the bar. 
 
 But it is not our purpose to follow Ferris 
 through all of the disgusting details of his work 
 as a criminal detective. He was persistent in his 
 duty ; was several times baffled, and many another 
 man would have become thoroughly discouraged ; 
 but he always perseveringly surmounted diffi- 
 culties, and without the slightest thought of aban- 
 i n 17
 
 194 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 doning his search. Often he was obliged to change 
 his disguises; once he passed himself off as a 
 thief from Boston, in order the more readily to 
 enable him to enter the company and confidence 
 of those he was watching ; at another time he im- 
 personated a country farmer, and allowed himself 
 to be robbed by the very man whom he desired to 
 get information from; finally, after about three 
 weeks of continuous work, aided by the address 
 which he had discovered upon the blotter at the 
 hotel, he thought he possessed a clew which would 
 enable him to find Gentleman Jim. 
 
 He wrote occasionally to Mr. Campion such 
 matters as he considered of particular importance ; 
 but Ferris was not a man to make known his 
 plans before he carried them out. 
 
 Thus time went on, and Mr. Dexter recovered 
 sufficiently to sit up in a reclining chair. He still 
 kept his illness a secret from Nettie, his niece, 
 although he now wrote to her every week, detail- 
 ing the home news as though nothing had hap- 
 pened to mar the usual serenity of his existence. 
 
 His physician held out to him such sanguine 
 hopes of his ultimate recovery that he complied 
 cheerfully with all directions, and devoted his 
 whole time and mind to the recuperation of his 
 health and strength.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 195 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 High Life on Deck Van Dusen an Epicure His Friends A 
 
 Visit to Smoke Island Craik Overdoes It Alice Van Twist 
 
 as an Artist Rescued from Drowning The Paternal Parkins' 
 
 v Pants A Word for Physiognomy Nettie sails " The Queen." 
 
 THERE was high living on board of the " Siren." 
 Van Dusen enjoyed his three or four kinds of 
 wine at dinner, and anticipated his cigar with 
 cognac and cordial. Not that he was a very in- 
 temperate man ; on the contrary, he was never 
 known to be unduly under the influence of liquor. 
 A large share of his life had been spent abroad. 
 Paris saw him the greater part of every other 
 winter, more because he enjoyed the customs of 
 the French than from any particular affection for 
 the French themselves. His weakness was French 
 cuisine. His French cook accompanied him upon 
 all of his yachting excursions ; and Mr. Van Dusen 
 never avoided trouble or expense to put himself 
 in possession of the dainties of the market. He 
 was one of those (shall we say fortunate ?) indi- 
 viduals who live to eat, but never dream as pos- 
 sible the reversal of such a proposition. 
 
 Wine was to him what in a sense coffee is to
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 many, an established and habitual necessity ; and 
 not having a gouty or apoplectic diathesis, and 
 possessing an enviable digestion and a most ami- 
 cable liver, he never stinted himself in any of these 
 luxuries of life. 
 
 But if Mr. Van Dusen was a man who so thor- 
 oughly enjoyed the eatables and drinkables of life, 
 he could not be accused of selfishness. He was a 
 model of generous hospitality. In fact, he was so 
 free-handed that it is safe to say he would not have 
 enjoyed his many pleasures alone. His guests, 
 too, upon the yacht, were appreciative. Professor 
 Romney was a man who had always been ac- 
 customed to luxury. Belonging to one of the 
 wealthiest families of his State, he had been reared 
 an epicure. Mr. Kendall was by nature aesthetic, 
 particularly fond of those things which brought 
 him gustatory satisfaction ; while Craik was the 
 son (dissolute) of a wealthy clergyman of the 
 Episcopal faith, who for many years was as noted 
 for his fine table as for his lengthy but erudite 
 pulpit discourses. 
 
 In fact, their common liking for the luxuries of 
 the table was one of the main causes which had 
 thrown these four men together. Mentally, they 
 had little in common ; physically, they were born 
 affinities. Van Dusen's mind had been nourished 
 in a moneyed soil. When the newspapers arrived 
 he devoted himself almost exclusively to the finan-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 I 9 7 
 
 cial and commercial news ; the professor selected 
 what was scientific, occasionally reading an edi- 
 torial ; Mr. Kendall seldom read anything but a 
 sectarian organ, which was forwarded to him every 
 week with scrupulous punctuality; Craik was al- 
 ways eager to see the papers as soon as they arrived, 
 but seldom kept them long in his hands, and 
 seemed to skim them through as though search- 
 
 . , 
 
 * ing for some expected piece of information. 
 
 Their bond of sympathy and good-fellowship 
 existed, therefore, by virtue of their good diges- 
 tions and fondness in indulging them. This was 
 the capital which held them together as a firm, 
 and thus far their enterprise seemed a successful 
 one. After the departure of Tom and his party, 
 they had voted Jack a clever fellow, the girls re- 
 markably bright-minded and very handsome, while 
 Tom they spoke of differently. Mr. Van Dusen 
 said he was a good soul, but rather precocious ; 
 Mr. Kendall said he thought he was intelligent, but 
 a slave to liberalism, which, if persisted in, would 
 in time ruin any good mind ; Craik voted Tom a 
 fool, and did not hesitate to say so ; while the pro- 
 fessor grew red in the face as he sounded Tom's 
 praises in eulogistic language, which he ably com- 
 manded. 
 
 Early on the following morning three of the 
 yachting party took the yawl and started off for 
 an all-day fishing excursion, leaving Craik, who 
 
 17*
 
 IO/ 8 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 said he wanted to rest, alone upon the yacht with 
 two of the deck hands. 
 
 Craik did not seem to enjoy the life of a sports- 
 man. His moments of real pleasure seemed to be 
 when he was engaged at cards or over wine at 
 dinner. Van Dusen was somewhat disappointed 
 in him, for he had as yet discovered in him no 
 true powers as a skilful conversationalist ; and, out- 
 side of convivial matters, Craik had proved himself 
 rather poor company for his guests. Therefore, 
 when he refused to accompany them on their fish- 
 ing excursion, Van Dusen was by no means dis- 
 appointed, but rather satisfied. 
 
 The day had passed very slowly for Craik. He 
 was restless and ill at ease. It was three o'clock 
 as he lay snoozing under the deck-awning, his 
 eyes occasionally glancing in the direction of Cup 
 Island. Suddenly he saw the little boat shoot out 
 from the island ; two people were in it, and he cor- 
 rectly surmised that they were Miss Tillottson and 
 her friend. They pulled directly for Smoke Island, 
 where they landed and disappeared in the Van 
 Twist cottage. 
 
 Craik, who was glad of an opportunity to see 
 more of Belle, immediately took advantage of it. 
 Getting quickly into the row-boat, and taking one 
 of the sailors with him, he was pulled to Smoke 
 Island, where, after landing and sending the man 
 back with the boat, he walked leisurely up the
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 gentle slope toward the cottage. This visit of 
 Belle and Nettie to the Van Twist cottage was the 
 result of a courageous effort; it would have suited 
 their inclinations better to have taken one of their 
 exploring expeditions along the coast; but they 
 felt it a kind of duty to notice the only ladies in 
 the vicinity, and as Mrs. Tillottson, who was now 
 living with them upon Cup Island, had mildly 
 'urged them to go, they finally made the effort. 
 
 The Van Twists received them very pleasantly. 
 Mother and daughter were sitting upon a little 
 portico or piazza upon one side of the cottage as 
 the girls arrived, where, after the usual greetings, 
 they all settled. The major was taking his after- 
 noon nap. They were in the shadow, and could 
 enjoy the fine view of the water and the cool 
 breeze which was then blowing. Soon after their 
 arrival, Miss Van Twist, who had been describing 
 their bathing facilities to Belle, asked her to walk 
 to the beach and inspect their bathing-houses. 
 On their way down they met Mr. Craik. 
 
 Miss Van Twist greeted him very cordially, 
 telling him that she thought he was off upon a 
 fishing excursion, as she had seen the yawl start 
 in the morning ; then, seeing no boat, she asked 
 him with some surprise how he had arrived. 
 Craik pointed with a smile to the boat which was 
 then just disappearing around a point of the island 
 in the direction of the yacht.
 
 200 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 " I sent the man back to the vessel," he said, 
 " where he has duties to perform. He will return 
 for me if I signal." 
 
 " How very good of you to come over," said 
 Miss Van Twist, smiling one of her most finished 
 smiles. " It is so stupidly lonesome here some- 
 times." 
 
 " Impossible, in the company you now enjoy," 
 said he, indicating by a glance that he meant 
 'Belle. " I have been alone upon the ' Siren' all 
 day, and thought I would just run over for a mo- 
 ment to see if I could be of service to you in any 
 way." 
 
 " It is very kind, I am sure," Miss Van Twist 
 replied. " Miss Tillottson and I were on our way 
 to the beach. Will you come with us and give us 
 your opinion of our bathing-houses?" 
 
 " With pleasure," said Craik, glad of any chance 
 which threw him in Belle's society. 
 
 They walked to the bathing-houses and sat upon 
 the steps leading to the water below. 
 
 " Do you sketch, Miss Tillottson ?" said Craik, 
 after they had exhausted the subject of bathing. 
 
 " A little," Belle replied ; " that is, I never have 
 taken any instruction in drawing, but I amuse my- 
 self occasionally endeavoring to reproduce some 
 of the odd scenes and sweet views which I see so 
 often about here." 
 
 " Oh, I do think sketching is just delightful,"
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 2 OI 
 
 said Miss Van Twist, who had devoted much time 
 and money to it. " I have been crazy about it for 
 years ; I must show you both some of my draw- 
 ings. I will run up to the house and get my 
 sketch-book. Last year we were in the Alps, and 
 I wish you to see one or two views which I think 
 I succeeded in getting into my book quite suc- 
 ^cessfully. Switzerland is too beautiful for any- 
 thing." 
 
 " Except sketching," said Belle, with a smile. 
 
 " Let me get your book for you," said Craik. 
 
 " Oh, no indeed, thank you ; I will go, for it is 
 locked up in the bottom of my trunk ; but I will 
 soon return ;" saying which Miss Van Twist hast- 
 ened toward the cottage. 
 
 When she had disappeared, Craik, who had 
 been somewhat serious up to this time, turned his 
 handsome face toward Belle and said, cheerfully, 
 
 " It is very beautiful here, Miss Tillottson, and 
 it is hard to realize that such calm peacefulness 
 cannot last forever. Beyond these placid waters 
 men are rudely struggling with each other for 
 supremacy in all things, for life itself and its 
 necessities. Can it be possible that war, grim war, 
 with all of its accompanying horrors, is now in 
 progress in no less than five different nations 
 of the earth ? How serene is this sky, and what 
 a. supreme privilege that we, or more particularly I, 
 should be allowed to peacefully sit here and drink
 
 2O2 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 in all of this intoxicating beauty. Will you pardon 
 me if I congratulate you upon your delicacy of 
 taste in wearing a costume so becoming, and at 
 the same time so perfectly in harmony with these 
 charming surroundings ?" 
 
 The expression of Craik's face was so kindly 
 that Belle could hardly take offence at his personal 
 remarks, though she felt a natural shrinking from 
 the man for taking what she considered an un- 
 warrantable liberty, therefore, although somewhat 
 provoked, she replied, gently, 
 
 " Yes, life here is fascinating, extremely so ; but 
 the chief charm of the locality lies, I think, in its 
 remarkable healthfulness." 
 
 While she was speaking Craik had unpinned 
 from his coat a beautiful pink rose, which he had 
 been wearing ; and deftly throwing it into her lap, 
 as she finished her remark, he said, 
 
 " Pardon me, but there is an Oldport treasure 
 which I am sure you cannot refuse, since you have 
 so fairly won it by wearing a costume only lack- 
 ing this flower to make it perfection." 
 
 Belle was passionately fond of pink roses ; and 
 although her inclination was to return him the 
 flower, she, on second thoughts, decided that to 
 accept it would be more ladylike, therefore she 
 modestly thanked him and pinned the beautiful 
 rose at her throat. 
 
 Craik was correct. With the rose Belle did
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 203 
 
 appear the perfection of loveliness. She wore a 
 close-fitting gown of white material, a kind of 
 flannel, cut and trimmed to show her beautiful 
 figure to advantage. She had reluctantly arrayed 
 herself in this costume to appear well before the 
 Van Twists upon this her first visit to Smoke 
 Island. 
 
 " Roses are by no means plentiful in this 
 vfcinity," said Belle, " and I am afraid that you 
 are robbing yourself by your generosity ; but you 
 are so reckless with the dear flower that I feel in 
 duty bound to act as its zealous protector." 
 
 " It could not possibly have a more charming 
 defender," said Craik, sitting a little closer to 
 Belle ; then noticing her embarrassment and rising 
 indignation, he added, quickly, " but I was aware 
 of this before parting with it, so you can hardly 
 maintain the charge of recklessness. Do see that 
 sea-gull, Miss Tillottson, he has captured a fish, 
 almost too heavy for him to carry. What will he 
 do?" 
 
 Belle had arisen and was making a motion to 
 return to the cottage when Alice Van Twist 
 arrived accompanied by Nettie. 
 
 "Oh, you were just about to come after me, 
 were you ?" she said, as if in half apology for her 
 absence. " I was unable to unlock my trunk easily. 
 Well, we will all return together as soon as we 
 have shown Miss Knowles the bathing-houses."
 
 2O4 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT ff ARBOR, 
 
 Presently, therefore, they strolled back to the 
 cottage, Craik placing himself at Belle's side. 
 
 " I hope I did not offend you by my remarks a 
 few moments ago," he said, in a low, penitent 
 voice, as they walked along. " I spoke impul- 
 sively. Thoughts find words sometimes in spite 
 of us. There are times when one grasps at a 
 friendship as a drowning man seizes a straw. My 
 life has been far from a happy one, Miss Tillottson. 
 May I say that a fair knowledge of human nature 
 leads me to hope that you will be my friend ?" 
 
 " I am sure I have no desire to be an enemy to 
 any one," said Belle, scarcely realizing what she 
 said. 
 
 " I knew that you would not hate me without 
 true cause," said he ; " and yet I feel that I have 
 been indiscreet ; but, with the knowledge of your 
 forgiveness and the assurance of your friendship, I 
 can never regret that my indiscretion has brought 
 about such happy results." 
 
 By this time they had reached the cottage, and 
 Belle, with an inward sigh of relief, attached her- 
 self to Mrs. Van Twist. 
 
 Craik's last remarks had by no means added to 
 her composure. What right had he, an almost 
 total stranger, to assume that she would be his 
 friend or that he had her forgiveness ? Indeed, 
 she was not his friend, and would never forgive 
 him. Had he been truly a gentleman he would
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 2O5 
 
 have passed over the incident of the rose, never 
 referring to it again. She could not understand 
 why, on such a brief acquaintance, he should dare 
 to assume an air of familiarity. Jack never would 
 have done such a thing, although Jack had given 
 her many flowers. Jack was very kind ; but pre- 
 sumptuous, never. She wished Jack could know 
 how intensely she disliked this Mr. Craik. Per- 
 haps Mr. Craik would now seize every favorable 
 opportunity to appear familiar when Jack was pres- 
 ent; if he dared do such a mean thing she would 
 surely be rude toward him. She had a good mind 
 to tell Jack all about it. Thus her thoughts flew ; 
 and she felt tears gathering in her eyes, her throat 
 was uncomfortable, and she wondered if her face 
 was not red. Pshaw ! What was Jack Stratton to 
 her ? Well, he was her friend, at least ; and she 
 smiled involuntarily as she thought to herself that 
 Jack did like her very much. As for Craik, if he 
 was awfully handsome, he was not her friend. 
 How did he dare assume that such was the 
 case ? She would tell Nettie all about it, and ask 
 her advice. 
 
 Now, all of this time Belle was carrying on a 
 desultory conversation with Mrs. Van Twist. The 
 latter, in her characteristic way, had been making 
 some inquiries of her in regard to the quality, 
 methods of construction, and place of purchase 
 of her gown, the impertinence of which inquiries 
 
 18
 
 2o6 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 Belle entirely overlooked in her excitement, good- 
 naturedly vouchsafing all of the desired informa- 
 tion. 
 
 The sketch-book was passed around and more 
 than duly admired. Who dares to criticise the 
 labored productions of an amateur, especially 
 when the artist is a young woman ? They were 
 drawings possessing some merit for accuracy of 
 outline and perspective, evidently hard-won vir- 
 tues, but they lacked that naturalness of expression 
 which is given by a master of chiaroscuro. They 
 were also wanting in the boldness of style which 
 indicates true talent. There was nothing of Cruik- 
 shank or Dore boldness about them : every stroke 
 of the pencil, and there were many, was made as 
 though the designer had a doubt as to its right of 
 place; and this hesitancy in particulars gave to 
 the grand total an appearance of mediocrity, re- 
 flecting seriously upon the skill of the sketcher. 
 
 While they were occupied with these drawings, 
 Jack and the doctor, who had been sent over by 
 Mrs. Tillottson to bring home the girls, arrived 
 upon Smoke Island. The young men were some- 
 what surprised to find Craik there, but politely 
 offered to take him back to the " Siren" in " The 
 Queen" ; which offer, although urged by the Van 
 Twists to stay to tea, he readily accepted. The 
 Van Twists were also profuse in their invitations 
 to the young people, urging them to come over
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 O/ 
 
 often, the major joining his wife and daughter in 
 these overtures. He had a look of sleepiness 
 upon his red face as he appeared upon the porch, 
 and cordially joined in the conversation. 
 
 He said if they would stay to tea he would give 
 them some fish of his own catching, and that 
 ought to be a great inducement ; but they politely 
 declined the invitations, and reminding the Van 
 **Twists that they were all to meet on the morrow 
 on board of the " Siren," they took their depart- 
 ure, and were soon sailing away for the Van 
 Dusen yacht. 
 
 On " The Queen," Craik, as Belle had feared, 
 was obsequious in his attentions. His hand it 
 was which anticipated Jack's in helping her on 
 board, and he hastily, almost rudely, took meas- 
 ures to insure himself a seat by her side ; while 
 he kept up a running conversation during their 
 short sail to the " Siren." 
 
 "Are you ever sea-sick, Miss Tillottson?" he 
 asked, as soon as they were under way. 
 
 " I never have been," replied Belle, civilly. 
 
 " Nor I," said Craik ; " but so many people are 
 that I sometimes feel, when at sea, as though it 
 were almost my duty to be so. Probably, if I once 
 tried it, I should be effectually cured of any such 
 notion. A certain friend of mine, in crossing the 
 Atlantic, never deserts his state-room from the 
 time he leaves America until he reaches Ireland,
 
 2o8 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 where he is glad of an opportunity to land at 
 Queenstown and take a week or so to recuperate 
 before crossing St. George's Channel. It is amus- 
 ing to watch the passengers on board an ocean 
 steamer as soon as the sea begins to get a little 
 rough. They are generally well stocked with 
 remedies, which their friends have recommended 
 as sure preventives of sea-sickness. I remember 
 once meeting an old lady who was enthusiastic in 
 her recommendation of hot water. A glass of 
 hot water whenever one began to feel dizzy, she 
 said, acted like a charm to drive away that bug- 
 bear of the ocean traveller. Since then, I believe 
 that hot-water advocates have become quite nu- 
 merous. I would not mind having a little touch 
 of the complaint, just to test the efficacy of that 
 old lady's prescription. She charged me particu- 
 larly to be careful not to have the water too cool, 
 as water which was simply lukewarm might prove 
 disastrous." 
 
 Belle could not repress a wee smile. 
 
 " Have you ever taken an ocean voyage?" he said, 
 encouraged to continue his exertions to please. 
 
 " I never have crossed the ocean ; but I once 
 sailed from New York to Savannah, and was the 
 only lady out of over fifty who did not miss a 
 meal during the trip. The captain said I was a 
 good sailor." 
 
 " And so you would be," said Craik, delighted
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 209 
 
 at this little effort on Belle's part to keep up the 
 conversation. " It is certainly very tiresome, not 
 to say discouraging, to start with a party on a 
 voyage, and before you have been a whole day 
 upon the ocean have them disappear, one by one, 
 into their state-rooms, leaving you alone to enjoy 
 yourself as you can." 
 
 At this juncture Tom, who had the helm, was 
 obliged, or thought it best, to put about, and re- 
 quested them to change their seats. In doing this 
 Jack, who was on the lookout for just such a 
 manoeuvre, managed to quietly slip down alongside 
 of Belle, leaving Craik to sit alone. 
 
 This movement amused Jack immensely, and 
 put him quickly in good spirits. 
 
 " Boots," said Tom, gayly, " what do you sup- 
 pose Jack and I have been doing all day?" 
 
 " You can have three good square guesses," said 
 Jack ; " and if you hit upon the right thing I will 
 forfeit a box of caramels, which, by the way, are 
 to be had almost instanter, or as soon as we arrive 
 upon the hospitable shores of Cup Island." 
 
 " Breathing !" said Belle, delighted to get beside 
 Jack again, and responding to his gayety in like 
 mood. " There ! I have fairly won the caramels, 
 haven't I, Nettie ?" 
 
 " Yes," said Nettie, clapping her hands. " That 
 was a true guess, and I don't see how he can get 
 around it." 
 
 o 18*
 
 2IQ A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 " Well," said Jack, pretending to be crestfallen, 
 "trust a woman to edge her way out of a diffi- 
 culty. When I get into trouble I shall know where 
 to apply for a first-class pilot. The caramels are 
 yours sure enough, Miss Tillottson, but Tom and 
 I have been doing something besides breathing." 
 
 " Yes," said Tom, eager to tell their experience. 
 " We started this morning for the long shoals, just 
 south of the Millville light-house, expecting to 
 have a good day at fishing ; but, when opposite the 
 point, we saw a row-boat just ahead of us capsize, 
 throwing two children a boy and a girl into the 
 water. I headed 'The Queen' for them at once, 
 and in a twinkling we were alongside, when I 
 rounded her up to the wind and brought her to a 
 dead standstill. The sail flapped so for a moment 
 that I could see nothing ; but I heard a splash, and 
 as soon as I could see, there was Jack close along- 
 side buffeting the waves with one arm and holding 
 the little girl in the other. I threw him the painter 
 and soon had them both on deck." 
 
 " But the boy !" said both of the girls, excitedly. 
 " What became of the boy ?" 
 
 " Oh, he could swim," said Tom. " He was sit- 
 ting on top of the upturned boat and we yanked 
 him aboard in a jiffy, looking like a drowned rat; 
 but Jack saved the little girl, and she is a perfect 
 little beauty, by the way." 
 
 " Well," said Jack, with a comical look upon his
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 II 
 
 handsome face, " we took the youngsters ashore 
 and found that they were the children of the man 
 who keeps the Millville light-house, who in agony 
 had witnessed the catastrophe from the beach." 
 
 " Call it rather a fortunate rescue," said Belle. 
 
 " He was a pleasant man, and invited us up to 
 his house, where we have been for the greater part 
 'of the day playing the part of forlorn shipwrecked 
 sailors." 
 
 " He was a delightful old party, I can assure 
 you. Boots, you must sketch his jolly weather- 
 beaten face," said Tom. 
 
 " He showed us the great light which is his con- 
 stant care," said Jack, " made us stay to dinner 
 although we had lunch with us, and it seemed as 
 though the old fellow could not do enough for us." 
 
 " His wife, too," said Tom, " was as kind and as 
 attentive as himself, so, altogether, we had a very 
 pleasant day, and left them at last after promising 
 that we would return, and bring all of our friends." 
 
 " You must have been uncomfortably wet," said 
 Belle to Jack. 
 
 " Yes," said Tom. " Boots, if you could have 
 seen Jack rigged out in the duds of that old salt 
 you would have laughed. The old chap is only 
 about five feet high, and as round as a barrel ; why, 
 he must weigh over two hundred." 
 
 " Yes," said Jack, his eyes twinkling with fun. 
 " I have a picture of myself in my mind's eye.
 
 212 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 Captain Parkins that was his name loaned me his 
 Sunday habiliments, and his wife kindly hung up 
 my clothes to dry before the kitchen fire. The 
 pants were airy, and only reached to my knees ; 
 with a little gathering they might have passed for 
 the correct thing in knickerbockers. By the way, 
 Doc, did you ever eat such huckleberry-pie as that 
 which Mrs. Parkins set before us ? It was deli- 
 cious." 
 
 " So it was," said Tom, smacking his lips. 
 
 By this time they had reached the " Siren," where 
 they parted with Mr. Craik, who had not said 
 much since his separation from Belle. They re- 
 mained only long enough to give Craik a chance 
 to step on board of the yacht ; and as they turned 
 to sail away Van Dusen, who had been sitting on 
 deck with his friends, reminded them of their 
 prospective ocean sail on the morrow ; and stepping 
 to the side of the " Siren" requested them to be sure 
 to come aboard as early as nine in the morning, as 
 they wanted to take advantage of the tide-favor. 
 
 " Well, young ladies," said Tom, as soon as they 
 were out of hearing, " is the dreadful ice broken 
 at last, and were the Van Twists cordial ?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed," Nettie replied ; " but we saw little 
 of them alone, for Mr. Craik arrived shortly after 
 we did. He tried to make himself very agreeable, 
 didn't he, Belle ?" 
 
 " I think the Van Twists are rather lonely there
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 on Smoke Island, and are glad to be relieved 
 occasionally by a little company," said Belle, 
 avoiding an answer to Nettie's question about 
 Craik. 
 
 But for some reason Nettie did not use her 
 usual good judgment, and again asked, perhaps 
 with a little shrewd intention, though not pro- 
 yokingly 
 
 " You had an excellent opportunity to cultivate 
 a friendship with Mr. Craik, I noticed. Is he not 
 very entertaining ?" 
 
 Jack's ears were wide open, and Belle thought 
 she noticed that he was not pleased at what Nettie 
 had intimated, while Tom looked anxiously at 
 her. 
 
 " Mr. Craik," said Belle, desperately, " tried to 
 make himself agreeable. He has some ways 
 which appear rather strange to me, but perhaps 
 he has acquired them abroad." 
 
 It was not Belle's intention to expose Mr. Craik's 
 rudeness to the young men. She knew too well 
 their indignation would know no bounds, and 
 probably take a form of resentment which would 
 result in violence, and she wished to avoid all 
 discord during their stay upon Cup Island. She 
 had made up her mind to tell Nettie all about 
 Craik's strange language and behavior when they 
 were alone, therefore she gave her one of those 
 looks, the interpretation of which is known only
 
 214 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 to women, and effectually silenced her upon the 
 subject of Craik during the rest of the sail. 
 
 Craik was provoked with himself for having 
 been so precipitate. Why, thought he to himself, 
 did I not put a curb upon my devilish tongue? 
 He was angry with himself that he should have 
 allowed his feelings to so master his reason and 
 good judgment. He was delighted, however, at 
 the prospect of seeing Belle again in the morning, 
 and amused himself by planning various ways of 
 amusing her when they should meet. 
 
 Craik was the son of an American clergyman. 
 He had been brought up in a most refined circle, 
 had received a liberal education, graduating from 
 one of the leading colleges ; but he early evinced a 
 strong taste for low company and for the gaming- 
 table. This latter taste led him to procure funds 
 by dishonest methods. He confiscated and sold 
 for a pittance the little valuables about his father's 
 house, such as his mother's jewelry, the family 
 plate, and his father's valuable books ; these he 
 would pawn or sell at a ridiculous discount upon 
 their actual worth. 
 
 Thus matters went with him from bad to worse 
 until one day he was arrested for theft, and the 
 evidence being conclusive against him, he was sent 
 to jail. 
 
 As there were no extenuating circumstances 
 connected with this last act, it was a blow to his
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 215 
 
 injured father's pride which he could not endure, 
 and shortly after this evidences of the boy's other- 
 wise dastardly conduct coming to the father's ears, 
 Craik was denounced before the world, and they 
 were separated forever. This action on the part 
 of the reverend gentleman was not wholly unex- 
 pected by people who knew Craik. It came after 
 many and repeated offences ; numerous sins which 
 had brought disgrace to the family had been con- 
 doned in the vain hope that some day the son 
 would change his habits, as he had so often 
 promised to do. In vain had the loving father 
 pleaded with and appealed to the better nature of 
 the boy, sometimes using strong measures to 
 restrain his wicked tastes. What more could he 
 do ? The son was at times repentant, promising 
 with tears in his eyes to amend his evil ways. 
 Alas ! for the poor parents ; even the mother's 
 tender love, gentle persuasiveness, and willing for- 
 giveness were lost upon this child of Satan, and 
 he wandered away from home an outcast and a 
 fugitive from justice. For some years he roamed 
 about the Western country associating with a 
 miserable class of beings, with whom his tastes 
 were congenial ; later he drifted over to England, 
 where his career became notorious, and his bold- 
 ness, aided by his beauty of face and manner, 
 enabled him to profitably carry out his vicious 
 schemes. He was the more dangerous because
 
 2i6 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 possessed of those physical gifts which win their 
 way so irresistibly among average mankind. The 
 world is fortunate not to harbor many such men ; 
 and if people were better physiognomists they 
 could not flourish at all. 
 
 Jack did not admire Craik. He saw the cruel 
 line of his mouth when at rest, which the thick 
 black moustache failed to entirely conceal. This 
 mouth-line formed an oval opening, slightly ex- 
 posing his front teeth near the median line. He 
 saw the tendency to straight lines of the lower 
 eyelids, and the deceptive look in the outer 
 corners of the eyes. He saw also the want of 
 definiteness in the contour lines about the chin 
 and the lack of frontal development in the other- 
 wise well-rounded cranium ; all of which indica- 
 tions of his true character would not be noticed 
 by the casual observer. Physiognomy is as yet 
 an almost unknown science. People are judged 
 now more by what they say and do than by their 
 physical characteristics. Of course, to the unin- 
 itiated this is the safest method, but not always 
 the surest. It is difficult to become so familiar 
 with the complex lines of human nature that a 
 character may be read by them at sight. In fol- 
 lowing the fascinating study of physiognomy, 
 obstacles and complications meet the student at 
 every step, making advance in knowledge more 
 and more difficult. The vocabulary of the science
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 I/ 
 
 is unlimited ; types even have but an approximate 
 definiteness, and the same infinite variety may be 
 traced in the features of man that we meet in the 
 multitudinous forms of nature. This fact, how- 
 ever, should not discourage the beginner. The 
 infinite stares at us in any line of study in which 
 nature is a factor. The fact that no two trees, nay 
 leaves, are alike argues not that we should renounce 
 botany; the multifarious varieties and species in 
 the animal kingdom do not render zoology use- 
 less; and for the same reasons physiognomy, 
 although an occult and complex study, should not 
 be relegated to the ranks of useless research, nor 
 considered in any sense an obsolete science. In 
 fact, it is quite the reverse. Did we but realize it, 
 we might be able to understand how intimately 
 it is connected with the study of God. Surely as 
 man is monarch of the created universe, so physi- 
 ognomy or the study of physical man should take 
 the leading place in that king of studies, physico- 
 theology. By and through the phenomena of the 
 natural world alone are we, as far as we are 
 capable of knowing, enabled to form our concep- 
 tions of the true nature of God. We are told 
 that we are made in His image and likeness ; 
 granting this, how can we more clearly arrive at a 
 satisfying realization of His greatness and good- 
 ness than by familiarizing ourselves with the 
 human economy? Although at present in the 
 K 19
 
 2i8 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 swaddling clothes of investigation, we are steadily 
 working our way up to a proper knowledge of 
 man by unravelling the mysteries of nature. 
 Geology, botany, zoology, and physics are the 
 stepping-stones toward the treasure-house in which 
 lie hidden the arcana of human greatness; but 
 the. mysteries which veil the great Unknown can 
 only be revealed by a careful and persevering 
 study of man himself. A man's face is a reflection 
 of his soul, and reflex action stamps the external 
 with a likeness of the internal man. More men 
 know this than will acknowledge it, yet they un- 
 consciously admit it by striving to wear a facial 
 mask to hide their true character. It is the delight 
 of the enthusiastic student of physiognomy to 
 penetrate these masks, exposing the true man be- 
 neath. This faculty is uncommon, but is oftenest 
 found among professional men. Physicians are 
 made the confidants of humanity, and thus have 
 uncommon facilities for comparing notes in the 
 study of physiognomy. 
 
 The proverbial intuitive perception of woman is 
 due, no doubt, in a great measure, to her ability as 
 a natural physiognomist. 
 
 Artists or portrait-painters are generally good 
 judges of character, because they make a par- 
 ticular study of features. Thus by long practice 
 and experience they have connected certain types 
 of character with their corresponding outlines of
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 l$ 
 
 features. The caricaturist is in some degree a natu- 
 ral physiognomist. He illustrates the striking or 
 prominent characteristics of a face by exagger- 
 ating those features which he believes represent 
 them. 
 
 Jack, as we have before stated, had this peculiar 
 power. His opinion of Craik was unfavorable, 
 aftd, besides, it disturbed him greatly that he should 
 have paid Miss Tillottson so much marked atten- 
 tion. Y 
 
 He did not believe that Belle liked the man ; 
 but it interfered with the peace of his mind that 
 she should be bothered by such a person, and he 
 resolved that in future, if it were in his power, he 
 would prevent it. He was therefore quite silent 
 and thoughtful during the short sail homeward, 
 and Belle, who noticed this, felt that she could 
 guess the reason. 
 
 Tom gave Nettie the tiller, and, standing near, 
 instructed her in the management of the boat; 
 while she, following his directions to the letter, 
 proved herself capable of some day becoming an 
 efficient sailor by guiding " The Queen" safely over 
 the placid waters of the harbor and rounding her 
 up neatly at the little pier at Cup Island, where 
 Mrs. Tillottson stood awaiting their arrival with a 
 motherly smile upon her handsome face.
 
 22O A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Nettie's Letter to her Uncle A few Lines from Jonathan Ferris 
 Is Mr. Craik Jim Bolan? Comparing Pictures Uncle Camp 
 decides to go to Oldport A Letter from Mr. Bangs Nettie an 
 Heiress. 
 
 ADAM DEXTER, as we have seen, was a man 
 capable of strong emotions, a man of powerful 
 feelings. It had always been a struggle with him 
 to substitute good judgment and cool decisive- 
 ness for inclination. He longed during the first 
 part of his illness for the affectionate care and 
 loving presence of his niece, and his impulse was 
 to send for her at once, but his better nature con- 
 quered, and, as we know, he kept her in total 
 ignorance of his misfortune. Now, therefore, as 
 he sat on a beautiful August morning near the 
 open window, and felt the glow of health return- 
 ing to his pallid cheeks, his heart filled with 
 gratitude at the thought of what he had saved his 
 dear Nettie. He knew that she would be some- 
 what grieved when she was informed of Roger's 
 death ; but she was so young when the boy left 
 home that her grief would be more from her con- 
 cern for his own sorrow than for the loss of her 
 almost forgotten cousin. He was doubly anxious,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 2l 
 
 therefore, to appear as well as possible when she 
 returned home, and to this end he now devoted 
 his entire mind and activities. He desired, there- 
 fore, to postpone her return for the present, or 
 until he should be greatly improved in health. 
 
 He had just received and read a letter from 
 Nettie, in which she had given a graphic descrip- 
 tion of their yachting trip upon the " Siren ;" and it 
 was over this letter that Mr. Dexter sat ruminating 
 and listening to the songs of the birds as their 
 blithesome notes were wafted in through the open 
 windows by the balmy midsummer breezes, when 
 a servant entered and announced his lawyer and 
 friend, Mr. Campion. 
 
 " Well, well," said the attorney, shaking him 
 cordially by the hand ; " it is jolly to find you sit- 
 ting up in such fine feathers and looking so hearty. 
 Why, you will be a better man than I am in six 
 weeks. Bless my soul, you are a marvel, indeed, 
 to recuperate so rapidly." 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. Dexter, slowly, for he could 
 now enunciate though not without some effort, " I 
 am getting stronger. I have taken quite a little 
 walk this morning up and down the room here ; 
 and I feel that horrible prickly numbness slowly 
 leaving me ; for which I am truly thankful. Any 
 news this morning, Camp ?" 
 
 " Nothing of any importance, I fear," he replied. 
 " Ferris writes me that he is slowly but surely 
 
 19*
 
 222 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 getting nearer his man; but I brought you his 
 letter, which you can read for yourself if you 
 wish." 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Dexter, eagerly, " let me have 
 it ; and here is a letter from Nettie which I know 
 you will be pleased to read while I am going 
 over this. There is a message in that for you 
 too." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said the lawyer, taking Nettie's 
 letter and passing the one from Ferris ; " I am 
 always glad to hear from the little witch. Hello, 
 she is still at Cup Island with the Tillottsons. 
 Nice people those Tillottsons. I knew the father, 
 Thomas Tillottson, well in my younger days. 
 We were at college together, and always kept up a 
 sort of intimacy afterward." 
 
 Mr. Dexter ran his eyes over the following: 
 
 " MESSRS. CAMPION & BANGS : 
 
 " Gentlemen, There is not much for me to write 
 this week except that I am correct in thinking 
 that I have a clew to my man. He is at present 
 planning to rob a man of wealth with whom he is 
 now on a yachting trip. Who this wealthy gentle- 
 man is I have not yet discovered, but I know that 
 he first met him at some hotel in this city, and I 
 think that I can soon get his name ; but I must 
 first bag the confederates in the scheme, who are 
 at present awaiting Bolan's return to New York.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 I am on their track, and have possession of a letter 
 which they thought destroyed implicating them 
 in the great Chicago robbery. I have also the 
 address of a co-operator of theirs in Chicago, 
 whom I know well, and for whose capture the 
 authorities have offered a large reward. By the 
 time you receive this I shall have this man in 
 limbo, as I start for Chicago in half an hour. If 
 we, can induce this rogue to turn state's evidence, 
 and I think we can when I whisper certain facts in 
 his ear, he may give us the present hiding-place 
 of the rest of the gang, who are, I think, somewhere 
 in the Eastern States. I can through them proba- 
 bly get at Gentleman Jim. There are so many 
 yachts in and around New York, and they change 
 location and ownership so often, that it would be 
 very slow work getting him in that way, and I do 
 not advise it ; therefore I have decided to adopt 
 the other course, and kill two birds (or perhaps 
 half a dozen) with one stone. 
 
 " Send information as usual to headquarters in 
 Chicago for a week or two. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 "JONATHAN FERRIS." 
 
 During Mr. Dexter's perusal of this letter the 
 lawyer was plodding with a half-amused smile 
 and an occasional laugh through the following 
 from Nettie :
 
 224 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 " CUP ISLAND, August , 18 . 
 
 " MY OWN PRECIOUS UNCLE, Just think ! it is a 
 whole week since I have written to you. It is too 
 bad, and I am real sorry, but I have been so much 
 occupied, and there are so many things to do here, 
 that it is difficult to find opportunity to write. I 
 can never rely upon being uninterrupted for five 
 minutes. Even now, as I write, Belle, her brother, 
 and Mr. Stratton are singing a lovely trio down- 
 stairs, and I am tempted to rush down and join 
 them in their song. I am so glad, dear uncle, that 
 I came here with Belle and her mother. Dr. 
 Tillottson is so kind, and is such a splendid man 
 to have on such an expedition, that it would be 
 hard to get along without him. He knows how 
 to do almost everything, and his friend, whom he 
 calls ' Jack,' keeps us laughing nearly all the time 
 with his jokes and oddities. I never felt so well 
 and strong in all my life, and am getting so stout 
 that I am afraid of extravagant dressmakers' bills 
 in the fall. Sometimes I feel much as though 
 you needed me with you ; you must be so dread- 
 fully lonesome. Now, if you do need me, I will 
 come home at once, for I could not be happy here 
 if I thought you were not comfortable. I began 
 to tell you in my last letter about our yachting 
 trip with Mr. Van Dusen, but was interrupted. 
 An ocean sail he called it. His yacht is called 
 the ' Siren,' and is furnished magnificently.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 2 2$ 
 
 " Mr. Stratton says that Mr. Van Dusen is a 
 millionaire. I should certainly think so from his 
 luxurious way of living. His three friends are 
 nice, that is, two of them are: Professor Romney, 
 who is an intensely interesting conversationalist, 
 and Mr. Kendall, a clergyman, who is a very 
 earnest man. The other is a Mr. Craik. His 
 claims to distinction seem to lie solely in his 
 bpauty of person. He is the finnicky pink of per- 
 fection in manner and appearance ; but we none of 
 us like him very well. 
 
 " Mr. Stratton drew a picture of him, a sort of 
 caricature, which is so good that I enclose it for 
 you to see. Mr. Craik is very dark, almost like a 
 Spaniard, and extremely good-looking; but his 
 tastes do not seem to harmonize with ours, and he 
 is restless and preoccupied, and at all times ill at 
 ease about something. 
 
 " I think he has fallen in love with Belle. Poor 
 Belle, it is just her luck. You remember how it 
 was at home last winter. Mr. Craik sends her 
 beautiful flowers almost every day and comes 
 here to Cup Island nearly every evening. 
 
 "Belle dislikes him, but, not wishing to be rude, 
 treats him civilly. He has been abroad a great 
 deal, and seems familiar with French and Italian 
 life. I think from his speech that he has been 
 much in England. The day we went yachting we 
 sailed over fifty miles, and went ashore at a place 
 P
 
 226 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 on the end of Long Island called Oyster Point. 
 We built a large bonfire upon the beach in which 
 we roasted oysters, clams, fish, and green corn. 
 Oh, uncle, they did taste so good ! Then after 
 hunting for shells and sea-mosses for awhile we 
 went on board the ' Siren' again and sailed out 
 upon the ocean. It was lovely until it began to 
 get so rough that I was afraid Belle would be sea- 
 sick. Mrs. Tillottson and her sister went with us, 
 and I never saw anybody enjoy anything as she 
 did that sail. She is improving so much in health 
 and appearance that it is a delight to see her. Her 
 sister, Miss Tremane, or Aunt Deborah, as Belle 
 calls her, is too funny for anything, not a bit like 
 Mrs. Tillottson. She is what we call countryfied ; 
 but she is awfully funny. I must tell you some- 
 thing she said to me to-day which made me laugh. 
 She was speaking of her health here by the sea, 
 
 " ' Oh, I'm right peart 'nufT that's the way she 
 talks ' so fur as health goes,' said she, ' if I could 
 only walk spruce. Yer see, I've a bunion on me left 
 foot and the rheumatiz in me right hip, so I don't 
 git around as lively as a cricket ; but, thank good- 
 ness, I don't limp, for the bunion balances the 
 rheumatiz and the rheumatiz balances the bunion, 
 so I'm glad I've got 'em both at the same time.' 
 
 " Mr. Craik was very attentive to Belle during 
 the sail, and I was much amused watching them, 
 for you see Jack (that is what we all call Mr.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 2 2/ 
 
 Stratton) has been perfectly devoted to Belle ever 
 since we have been here, and I know that she 
 likes him immensely; so Mr. Craik's attentions 
 were somewhat ill-timed. Of course, Jack and 
 Mr. Craik were brought much together with Belle, 
 and it was very funny. I felt real sorry for Jack, 
 who seems to be such a good -hearted fellow, and 
 the soul of honor. I am afraid that Belle did not 
 erfjoy herself very well, although she insists that 
 she had a delightful time. I am sure I did. 
 
 " Why, uncle darling, I actually learned how to 
 sail the yacht. Mr. Van Dusen allowed me to 
 take the wheel, and he and Dr. Tillottson, who 
 manages a boat splendidly, kindly gave me lessons 
 in navigation. This was on our way home, and it 
 is too funny for anything what happened. I had 
 been steering the ' Siren' for perhaps twenty min- 
 utes, obeying instructions to the letter, when all 
 of a sudden there was not a breath of wind ; we 
 were in a dead calm. Of course, we did not budge 
 an inch for over an hour, and thus ingloriously 
 ended my first real experience as a skipper. You 
 must know, dear uncle, that skipper means captain. 
 
 " The sun poured down upon us, but we were 
 all very jolly, and the gentlemen pretended that 
 they could raise a breeze by whistling. They 
 whistled and whistled, but not a puff of wind 
 came to our poor loose sails, except what they 
 produced from their lungs. We had our supper
 
 228 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 on board of the yacht, and were all as hungry as 
 wolves. There are a hundred things that I would 
 like to write about to-day, but they are beginning 
 to call me from below, and are getting impatient 
 for me to join them, so I will be obliged to close 
 this rambling sort of chat. I shall have all the 
 more to tell though if I don't write about every- 
 thing now. Rest assured that I am very, very 
 happy, and perfectly well, as my enormous appe- 
 tite will amply testify; and I am, dear uncle, just 
 the same as ever, with an old-fashioned hug and 
 kiss, 
 
 " Your bouncing big girl, 
 
 " NETTIE." 
 
 " P.S. Please tell Susan not to forget to give 
 ' Dickie' his chickweed, and I hope she gives 
 him his bath every morning during this hot 
 weather. I am glad he sings so beautifully and 
 has finished moulting. I carry your letters about 
 with me, uncle dear, and read them over and over 
 again. It is so good of you to write all of the 
 news. 
 
 " Give my love to dear Uncle Camp, and all who 
 ask after me. N." 
 
 Mr. Campion, after reading carefully every word 
 of the letter, turned quickly to his friend, and 
 asked for the drawing of Craik which had been 
 enclosed. Mr. Dexter said he had not seen it,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 2g 
 
 but after a little search among the papers upon his 
 table he found it. 
 
 The lawyer examined it carefully, and producing 
 a photograph from his pocket compared the two. 
 
 " Just as I suspected," said he, " when I began 
 to read Nettie's letter. I believe that this Mr. 
 Craik and James Bolan or Gentleman Jim, alias 
 Antoinne DeLacy, alias Peter Worden, son of the 
 Reverend Elias Worden, are one and the same 
 person. 
 
 " The pictures, though very different in some re- 
 spects, are nevertheless strikingly alike. Here in 
 the photograph he has long hair and a full beard, 
 while in the drawing he has on a broad-brimmed 
 hat, his beard is shaved, and his hair is cut short ; 
 but the resemblance is striking, particularly about 
 the eyes." 
 
 Mr. Dexter took the pictures, and, after examin- 
 ing them carefully, said that he could see no re- 
 semblance between them whatever ; that the pencil 
 drawing represented a much younger man than 
 the photograph. 
 
 " Well, I think that they both represent one and 
 the same individual," said the lawyer; " at any rate, 
 if you will permit me, I will send the drawing to 
 Ferris. He has one of the photographs in his 
 possession. He can judge better than we." 
 
 " Certainly, by all means," said Mr. Dexter. 
 " The clew is a faint one, but, after all, it may be 
 
 20
 
 230 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 good. The man is certainly on a yacht and with 
 a millionaire." 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Campion ; " and I believe we 
 have discovered our man in this Craik. Now if 
 the yachting party only stay where they are long 
 enough, we will soon be able to have him in 
 custody. Ferris will jump at this clew, and as 
 soon as he can finish his Chicago business will 
 probably think best to go to Oldport at once." 
 
 " If this man Craik is such a rascal," said Mr. 
 Dexter, very seriously, " I don't like the idea of 
 his being so near my Nettie. I shall be much 
 troubled until I know that he is attended to." 
 
 " I have been thinking of that, too," said the 
 lawyer, quickly. " I'll tell you what I think had 
 best be done, Dexter." 
 
 "Well, what is it?" 
 
 " I think," said Mr. Campion, " that I had better 
 go to the dear child at once, or in a few days. 
 My legal business is not driving me at present, 
 and Sniffen can easily attend to whatever turns up 
 during my absence ; besides, I need a sniff of salt 
 air myself, and a few weeks more or less at the 
 sea-shore will do me a power of good. I am ac- 
 quainted, you know, with Mrs. Tillottson ; her hus- 
 band was a noble soul. I remember once I went 
 with him in November, some years ago, for a week 
 or ten days, duck-shooting, on this very Cup 
 Island, as he called it, where he had a cosey little
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 23! 
 
 cottage. It was fine sport, and the air there was 
 marvellously invigorating. I know I shall greatly 
 enjoy a trip there again. I can find some board- 
 ing-place at Oldport, you know, and I can keep 
 Nettie in sight most of the time and watch Craik 
 for Ferris. I don't want Ferris to hurry away 
 from Chicago until he has captured those rascals 
 there." 
 
 *" N My dear Camp," said Mr. Dexter, "your offer 
 is generous and characteristic; but are you quite 
 certain that out of the kindness of your heart you 
 are not offering to do this greatly against your 
 own best interests ? Will you not be putting your- 
 self to great inconvenience by thus leaving your 
 affairs in the hands of a clerk, especially when 
 Bangs is away ?" 
 
 " Oh, Sniffen is all right," said Campion : " he 
 has been with us so long that we place the most 
 implicit confidence in him; and as for my action 
 being generous, that's all nonsense, Dexter. I 
 must go somewhere this summer. You don't 
 want a fellow to work himself to death, do you ? 
 I shall go; and I shall have a jolly good time, for 
 I love that little lass of yours almost as though 
 she were my own child." 
 
 " Well, if you are determined to go, and feel that 
 it will be a pleasure to you, Camp, I am sure I 
 think it an excellent plan," said Mr. Dexter, who 
 was inwardly delighted to have his stalwart friend
 
 232 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 volunteer as Nettie's protector; "but I do not 
 wish Nettie to know of my illness, or of Roger's 
 death, just yet. She would immediately come 
 home to me, and it would make the dear child 
 very miserable to see me in this condition." 
 
 " She shall know nothing about it, if I can pre- 
 vent it," said the lawyer, decisively, " until you 
 have a few more weeks to recuperate." 
 
 " My physician says that I may be strong enough 
 to walk in the garden next week," said Mr. Dexter ; 
 " and he advises me to drive out by the last of this 
 week, and if there are no bad effects from it to 
 drive after that as often and as much as I desire." 
 
 " That is good news, indeed, my dear fellow," 
 said the lawyer, joyfully, making a merry pretence 
 of slapping his invalid friend upon the back, while 
 the glittering evidences of sympathetic weakness 
 hung suspended for a moment in the corners of 
 his eyes. 
 
 " Perhaps you had better write Nettie a line tell- 
 ing her that I am coming, and will be there on, 
 let me see, well, say Thursday ; that will give me 
 three days to get my affairs into good shape here. 
 My daughter, Josie, is with my brother's family 
 at Long Branch, where she will remain for the 
 present." 
 
 Augustus Campion was not a man to do things 
 by halves. After leaving his friend he began im- 
 mediately to make his preparations for departure.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 233 
 
 Entering his office he informed Sniffen, the clerk, 
 of his intention, and forthwith began to instruct 
 him in those details which would need attention 
 during his absence, carefully making notes of 
 everything with his usual system. His mail was 
 to be forwarded to the Oldport post-office, and 
 Sniffen was to keep him informed daily by letter 
 or, if necessary, by wire, of those important busi- 
 ness events which might transpire. The adjust- 
 ment of his office and other business was by no 
 means a small undertaking for a man with so many 
 irons in the fire, and naturally it took him several 
 days to accomplish it ; but he kept perseveringly 
 at work, not omitting the smallest item, and at last 
 felt that he could comfortably leave for a few weeks, 
 or even longer, if necessary. The day before his 
 departure he received a letter from Mr. Bangs, his 
 partner, written at Rome, which read as follows : 
 
 " ROME, ITALY, July , 18 . 
 
 " MY DEAR CAMPION, I have arrived here but a 
 few hours since, but have already seen the legal 
 representatives of the deceased, and also have in- 
 terviewed Mr. Moses Wigand, the partner of afore- 
 said. To be brief, I find the estate standing about 
 as follows : 
 
 " A one-third interest in banking firm, which is 
 represented by stock and other collateral, and 
 which will have to be settled by sale of joint se- 
 
 20*
 
 234 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 curities and withdrawal of such capital. Roger 
 Dexter, or, as he was known here, Dexter Rogers, 
 was also the owner of a handsome villa, at present 
 closed up. It is situated in the outskirts of Rome. 
 This property is rapidly increasing in value, and, 
 being very desirable, can be easily turned into cash, 
 should I get your instructions to that effect. The 
 balance of the estate consists of personal property, 
 in the shape of government, railroad, and manu- 
 facturing securities, which, of course, I will inves- 
 tigate and keep in the most desirable shape. I 
 enclose detailed list with affidavit. . . . 
 
 " I feel tip top. This Italian air is fine. Rome 
 has changed but little since you and I were here 
 together. 
 
 " Wigand is a fine man. He was very much at- 
 tached to Roger, says he loved him as a brother. 
 Have written to Sarah, my wife, by same mail. 
 Please drop around to the house as soon as con- 
 venient, and see that she and the children are all 
 right. Will write again in a day or two. In re- 
 gard to the villa, it would seem to me wise to hold 
 it for a rise, particularly as it will always bring an 
 excellent rent. 
 
 " In haste, yours, 
 
 " BANGS." 
 
 Mr. Campion hastened with this letter to Mr. 
 Dexter, stopping at the residence of Mr. Bangs
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 235 
 
 on the way to see Mrs. Bangs and have a few 
 cheering words with the children. 
 
 " Now," said the lawyer to Mr. Dexter, after the 
 latter had carefully read Mr. Bangs's letter, " what 
 had we better do about the villa ? Bangs writes 
 that it is a good investment." 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Dexter, " what do you think ?" 
 
 "A great deal depends upon what would be 
 Nettie's desire in the matter," replied Mr. Cam- 
 pion. 
 
 " I don't think she would care much one way or 
 the other," Mr. Dexter replied. " If she married she 
 might choose to enjoy a winter there occasionally, 
 and her ample means would warrant such an en- 
 joyment; if she continued single, however, she 
 would not have much use for a Roman villa." 
 
 " I am inclined to think," said Mr. Campion, 
 "that we had better act for Nettie just the same 
 as we would for ourselves. If the property is an 
 excellent investment, and, as Bangs writes, will 
 bring a profitable income, it might be the wisest 
 plan to hold it for her. Bangs's judgment is very 
 good in these matters, and I infer from the way he 
 writes that he thinks we would probably decide to 
 keep it." 
 
 " I am inclined to think as you do," said Mr. 
 Dexter ; " it is evident that Mr. Bangs thinks the 
 property will appreciate in value." 
 
 " Well, then, I will wire Bangs to wait for letter,
 
 236 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 and will write him to place the villa in proper 
 hands for rent, and to convert the other securities 
 into cash according to his best judgment." 
 
 Thus unknown to Nettie, she became the sole 
 owner of a beautiful Roman villa. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mrs. Tillottson remembers an Old Friend Mr. Campion pro- 
 vided for The Van Twists visit Cup Island Plans for an 
 Open-air Tea-party Jack to deliver an Address. 
 
 " WHY, Mr. Campion is coming to Oldport," said 
 Nettie to the others, as they sat in the summer- 
 house one pleasant afternoon ; " and he is coming 
 on Thursday," she continued, then again looking 
 at a letter from her uncle which she had just re- 
 ceived, she read aloud as follows : 
 
 "I think, Nettie, that Camp" "Uncle always 
 calls him Camp," she explained "has missed you 
 almost as much as I, at any rate he says he is 
 going to Oldport for a few days for his health. 
 He will give you the latest news from home, and 
 be with you on Thursday next. Take good care 
 of the dear old elephant, and see that he is not 
 attacked with home-sickness."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 237 
 
 " Who is Mr. Campion ?" asked Tom, a curious 
 feeling shooting keenly through him. 
 
 " Mr. Campion is uncle's dearest friend," said 
 Nettie. 
 
 " Is his name Augustus Campion ?" Mrs. Tillott- 
 son asked. 
 
 " Why, yes ; but how did you know ?" said 
 Nettie, smiling. 
 
 '^He was a classmate of your father's, my dear," 
 said Mrs. Tillottson, addressing her daughter, then 
 turning to Nettie she said, pleasantly, " I shall 
 always remember Augustus Campion with respect 
 and admiration. My husband was very fond of 
 him. I think he was the most unselfish or rather 
 the most thoughtful man for others that I ever 
 met. I am very glad that we shall so soon have 
 the pleasure of seeing him ; but how is his wife ?" 
 
 " Mrs. Campion died at least five years ago," 
 said Nettie ; " and he has but one child, a daughter 
 about my own age, and one of my very dear 
 friends. Belle knows her. I wish he would bring 
 Josephine with him, but uncle writes that she is 
 now at Long Branch with her uncle's family. I 
 suppose she will spend the summer there at their 
 cottage." 
 
 "Yes," said Mrs. Tillottson; "that is Charles 
 Campion, who married Josephine Brooks, one of 
 my New York friends. Mr. Campion has been 
 quite a successful lawyer, has he not ?"
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed," said Nettie ; " uncle says he 
 has the best practice in our part of the State, and 
 that he is one of our wealthiest citizens ; but no one 
 would ever suspect it, for he is a very modest man, 
 and attends closely to his legal business. By the 
 way, Uncle Adam advises me to look for a place 
 where Mr. Campion can have a room." 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Tillottson, " that is advisable ; 
 but, of course, he must eat his meals with us, if 
 possible. Thomas, I think you had better go over 
 at once and ask Mrs. Sandy if she will accommo- 
 date him. I think that she will probably let him 
 have the room that we vacated, which is very 
 comfortable." 
 
 "All right," said the doctor, rising, and glad 
 enough to be of service to Nettie ; " I will go at 
 once, as Sandy will also be pretty sure to be at 
 home at this time." 
 
 " And I will go with you," said Nettie, spring- 
 ing to her feet and wrapping her shawl about her; 
 " for I feel very anxious to be certain about accom- 
 modations for Uncle Camp, and, besides, I desire to 
 write an answer to my letter about it this evening 
 if possible." 
 
 " Don't be away long," said Mrs. Tillottson ; 
 " for Bid will ring the tea-bell in a few moments." 
 
 " Tell her to blow the horn," said Tom ; " and if 
 we hear it we will hurry back." 
 
 "Very well," said his mother, smiling.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 239 
 
 " How old is your friend, Mr. Campion ?" asked 
 Tom of Nettie, as he was pulling the boat across 
 the water. 
 
 " Give a guess," said Nettie, mischievously. 
 
 " Well, I will guess ninety-seven years." 
 
 " Too old by far," she replied. " Did you think 
 that because I call him uncle, and because he is a 
 widower, he must be a Methuselah ?" 
 * rc *Sixty," said Tom. 
 
 " Too old again," said Nettie, decisively. " Why, 
 he is as active and energetic as you are." 
 
 " Thirty-five," said Tom, in despair. 
 
 " Wrong again ;" and Nettie could no longer re- 
 strain her mirth. " Mr. Campion, or Uncle Camp, 
 as I have always called him ever since I was a 
 child and sat upon his knee and listened to the 
 delightful stories he used to tell, Uncle Camp is 
 just uncle's age, and Uncle Adam was fifty-seven 
 last May." 
 
 Tom felt relieved, and showed his improved con- 
 dition by an attempt to change the subject. 
 
 " Well, we must contrive to get pleasant rooms 
 for him if possible," he said, cheerfully. " Do you 
 know I have a strong liking already for your 
 Uncle Camp ? Is he a little man ?" 
 
 This question brought another hearty laugh 
 from Nettie. 
 
 " Oh, Dr. Tillottson," she said, pathetically, 
 "you will be careful with him, won't you, he is so
 
 240 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 very tiny and delicate. Why, when I stand up so" 
 here she stood up in the boat, at the imminent 
 risk of capsizing them both "and hold out my 
 arm so" more risk and a " look out" from Tom 
 " he can easily walk right under it without touch- 
 ing a hair of his head." 
 
 Mr. Campion was several inches over six feet in 
 height, and in weight was probably as heavy as 
 Tom and Nettie combined. Of course, Nettie 
 meant that he could pass under her arm by 
 stooping ; besides, Mr. Campion's head on the 
 top was as smooth and free from hair as a new 
 billiard-ball. 
 
 " I like little men," said Tom, roguishly ; " there 
 is something so pathetic, so appealing, about them ; 
 you always feel as though being bankrupt in avoir- 
 dupois, they should be indulged and treated with 
 kindness." 
 
 " Well, I hope you will be kind to dear little 
 Uncle Camp," said Nettie ; " although I must say 
 there is nothing very pathetic about him." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sandy were both at home, and 
 freely expressed their perfect willingness to accom- 
 modate another boarder. 
 
 " Bless my soul, I remember Mr. Campion well," 
 said Sandy, who seemed delighted ; " an' a jolly 
 Dick he was, too. He kem here twelve years ago 
 next November, with yer daddy, Dorkter ; an' a 
 cleaner shot never drawed a bead on a duck. I'll
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 241 
 
 be mighty glad ter see him." So Nettie and Tom 
 left the Sandy cottage with the pleasing conviction 
 that Mr. Campion would receive a hearty welcome 
 there at any rate. 
 
 " I suppose I saw your Uncle Camp when he 
 was here before, if Sandy is right," said Tom; 
 " but I cannot recall his appearance. If I remem- 
 ber right, all of my father's friends on those duck- 
 ing parties were large men ; but, of course, a boy 
 will not form correct ideas of size." 
 
 Nettie smiled. " If it is easy to remember large 
 men," said she, " it is probably difficult to recollect 
 small ones ; but you will not easily forget Uncle 
 Camp again when you see him, he is so very 
 jolly." 
 
 It was evident that Nettie liked to tease. 
 
 One afternoon, not long after this, Mrs. Van 
 Twist and her daughter were rowed over to Cup 
 Island, to return the visit which Belle and Nettie 
 had made them. 
 
 The ladies all received them cordially, the gen- 
 tlemen being absent on some sailing-trip. After 
 highly praising the coziness of their cottage Mrs. 
 Van Twist, in the course of her conversation, 
 said, 
 
 " My cousin, Mr. Van Dusen, has been very 
 kind to us all." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said Mrs. Tillottson ; " we feel 
 very grateful to him for his hospitality, and for the
 
 242 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 many little courtesies which he has extended to us. 
 I sincerely wish it was in our power to return some 
 of his kindness." 
 
 " How would it do for us to give a lawn-party ?" 
 said Belle. " It seems to me it would be delightful 
 on some moonlight evening." 
 
 " Unfortunately, we have no lawn," said her 
 mother, " and it would be impossible to entertain 
 many in our small cottage." 
 
 " I have it," said Alice Van Twist, with emphasis. 
 " We will give an open-air tea-party upon Smoke 
 Island, sending each gentleman a written invitation, 
 worded something like this : ' The ladies of Cup 
 and Smoke Islands request the pleasure of your 
 presence at an open-air tea-party upon Smoke 
 Island on Saturday next, if pleasant, at five P.M.' " 
 
 " That is a very good idea," said Mrs. Van 
 Twist. " I think we will be able to give them en- 
 joyment." 
 
 The others assented to this plan, each one agree- 
 ing to do something toward making it a success. 
 The refreshments were to be furnished by the 
 ladies of both islands. Belle volunteered to deco- 
 rate some cake ; Nettie was to look after the tea ; 
 Miss Van Twist said she would have some lobster 
 salad, and invited the girls to come over early on 
 Saturday to assist in decorating their cottage. It 
 was also planned that after the tea there should be 
 a musical performance upon the water, which was
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 243 
 
 to consist of a vocal quartette by Tom, Jack, Belle, 
 and Nettie ; a solo by Miss Van Twist to banjo 
 accompaniment, and a duet to banjo accompani- 
 ment by Belle and Jack, after which they were all 
 to visit Cup Island, where Mr. Stratton would 
 deliver an address. 
 
 " Oh, he will do it," said Belle, in reply to a 
 question from her mother as to whether Jack 
 \Vtruld consent ; " he can do anything that he sets 
 his mind to." 
 
 " I have no doubt but that it will be done well 
 if he does it at all," said Mrs. Tillottson. " We will 
 also ask Mr. Campion to make us a speech; he is a 
 splendid speaker, and one of the most humorous 
 and original men that I ever met." 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Nettie ; " that will be splendid ; 
 Uncle Camp is so very funny when he is having a 
 good time." 
 
 These and some other plans were made and 
 agreed to by all of the ladies, after which the Van 
 Twists left, much pleased at the result of their visit, 
 and resolved to do all in their power to make the 
 tea-party a success.
 
 244 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Sail to Millville Light Blue-fishing Captain and Mrs. 
 Parkins entertain Jack talks with a Parrot Jack opens his 
 Heart Belle's Tongue is loosened Mr. Campion arrives 
 He makes a Confidante of Mrs. Tillottson. 
 
 IT happened that Mr. Van Dusen had invited 
 the Cup Island party and the Van Twists to visit 
 Captain Parkins at the Millville light-house, on 
 the very day when Mr. Campion was to arrive at 
 Oldport. On this account Nettie hesitated some 
 about going, but was finally persuaded, after in- 
 structing Sandy to meet him at the station with 
 the wagon. Mrs. Tillottson concluded to stay at 
 home, which also somewhat eased Nettie's mind. 
 
 The sail on the " Siren" was delightful. They 
 left Oldport Harbor about eight o'clock, on one 
 of those mornings which, in the heat of summer, 
 are so charming upon the water. The air was 
 cool and full of invigorating freshness. On their 
 way they threw over several blue-fish lines, troll- 
 ing for blue-fish. The fish that morning seemed 
 particularly voracious, for hardly had the first line, 
 which was Belle's, been out a moment, before a 
 six-pound fish was pulling vigorously at the other 
 end. Belle shouted for assistance, for the strain
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 245 
 
 upon the stout line was too much for her delicate 
 feminine hands. Jack and Mr. Craik, who were 
 usually at hand whenever she needed anything, 
 both responded, and the fish was soon landed 
 struggling and gasping upon the clean white deck 
 of the yacht, where it was turned over to the 
 charge of a sailor. Nettie's line had by this time 
 
 been thrown out, and in a moment or two all were 
 
 f 
 
 eagerly holding their lines in the exciting expecta- 
 tion of a struggle with fish. 
 
 Trolling is by no means tame sport, when the 
 fish are punctual to bite and of lusty size ; and as 
 the boat sails swiftly through the water under a 
 stiff breeze, there is plenty of excitement in having 
 a struggling, vigorous six- or eight-pounder pulling 
 at the far end of sixty or eighty feet of line; now 
 rushing toward the boat with surprising speed, 
 the fish will slacken the line for a moment, giving 
 one the impression that it has parted and the fish 
 has escaped, till suddenly, with a quick jerk, he is 
 felt travelling in another direction, and the taut 
 line threatens to cut through the heavy leather or 
 canvas mittens, which it is always policy to wear 
 upon these occasions. But, when, after slowly and 
 surely pulling him in " hand over hand" until he 
 can be seen, a long flash of pale blue light darting, 
 now to one side, now to the other, and then, per- 
 haps, jumping in frantic efforts several feet out 
 of the water, until finally with a steady quick pull 
 
 21*
 
 246 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 he is landed safely on deck, one feels that the effort 
 is well repaid. 
 
 When Belle had landed the first fish, Mr. Van 
 Dusen had the yacht put about, and they sailed 
 through the school several times, consuming con- 
 siderable time, but catching altogether fifteen good- 
 sized beauties. 
 
 Later they dined upon the yacht, and had the 
 pleasure of eating some of the fish which they had 
 caught. During the excitement, and after Belle's 
 good fortune, Tom found opportunity to ask Nettie 
 if she did not think she could hasten her luck by 
 again transforming him into a fish. 
 
 " No," said Nettie ; " for you would be sure to 
 be too loquacious, and, of course, could not bite 
 and talk at the same time ; besides, I mean soon 
 to catch a large fish." The words were scarcely 
 uttered before, sure enough, she was surprised by 
 a rude jerk at the line, pulling her arms out straight, 
 and reminding her that it requires strength to hold 
 a good-sized, angry blue-fish. Tom laughingly 
 helped her pull in the line, advising her now and 
 then how to handle it, until the fish was close 
 under the stern of the yacht, when she, knowing 
 herself incapable of landing such a monster, re- 
 linquished it, and he, with a strong lift, brought 
 safely to the deck a noble specimen weighing in 
 the scales just eight pounds and five ounces, and 
 the largest capture, so it proved, of the day.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 247 
 
 When the yacht arrived off the Millville light- 
 house, Mr. Van Dusen ordered the sailors to load 
 and fire the little brass cannon, which brought into 
 sight Captain Parkins, who waved his hat from the 
 beach in acknowledgment of the salute. 
 
 They then went ashore in the yawl, and were all 
 introduced by Jack and Tom to the captain and his 
 good wife. Mrs. Parkins invited them into the 
 ht>use, which was a -neat little cottage, built at the 
 rear of and adjoining the light-house proper. This 
 latter was a round monumental structure of great 
 height, built of brick, and painted white. 
 
 After enjoying and praising the excellence of 
 some cider and " doughnuts," which were fur- 
 nished by Mrs. Parkins, they were escorted up 
 into the tall, white tower adjoining, where the cap- 
 tain uncovered the immense crystals which refract 
 and radiate the powerful light, explaining to them 
 the accurate adjustment of clock-work by which 
 the beacon is shut off or exposed at regular inter- 
 vals, and giving them varied information in regard 
 to the light-house service. 
 
 They did not stay up in the tower long, how- 
 ever, for the intense heat of the sun made doubly 
 powerful by the reflection of the heavy plate- 
 glass windows, which surround the circular apart- 
 ment, and the strong odor of oil, did not help to 
 rivet attention to the captain's words, particularly 
 that of the young ladies; so after enduring it as long
 
 248 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 as they could, they cut short the captain's enthu- 
 siastic eulogium upon lights and light-houses in 
 general by leading the way to terra-firma. 
 
 Separating into groups they strolled about the 
 neighborhood, if such it could be called, for it was 
 simply a cape or point, with a long, sloping sandy 
 beach, and here or there a cluster of immense 
 black rocks, against which the waves were beating 
 with a persistent roar. The Van Twists, Mr. Van 
 Dusen, and Craik followed Mrs. Parkins. Mr. 
 Kendall and the professor went with the captain 
 to the east side of the point, where he promised to 
 show them the remains of a large schooner which 
 had been driven upon the rocks early in the season. 
 Tom and Nettie were, as usual, after shells and 
 mosses along the shore; Aunt Deb had squatted 
 herself upon the beach under an umbrella, de- 
 claring that she would not budge another step, 
 while Jack and Belle sat in the shadow of the 
 cottage and amused themselves by talking and 
 listening to a beautiful parrot, which the captain 
 had brought from the Indies a number of years 
 previous. Jack opened quite a sociable conversa- 
 tion with the bird, who, however, insisted upon 
 talking in Spanish the greater part of the time. 
 Here is a sample of their conversation : 
 
 Jack : " Hello, Polly." 
 
 Polly : " Ha, ha, ha," followed by a prolonged 
 whistle.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 249 
 
 Jack : " Ha, ha, ha," and a prolonged whistle. 
 
 Polly : " Ha. Que hora es ? Pretty bird." 
 
 Jack: "Yes, pretty bird. What did you say, 
 Polly?" 
 
 Polly, trying to bite Jack's finger : " Mai tempo 
 muy malo muchacho." 
 
 Jack : " Ha, ha ! Why Poll, that isn't English." 
 
 Polly: "Get out! Hurry up! Oh-h-h-h ! 
 OhVh-h-h!" A whistle. "Que quiere usted?" 
 and so on, Polly always getting the upper hand 
 in the argument, for Jack's Spanish was none of 
 the best. 
 
 Then leaving the bird they strolled down upon 
 the sandy beach, where they sat in the shadow of 
 a huge rock listening to the roar of the waters, 
 and watching the graceful sea-gulls sailing about 
 them in the air. They were both very happy. 
 Belle knew that Jack adored her, for since their 
 first meeting he had told her so by a thousand 
 little spontaneous demonstrations, which were as 
 plain to her as so many words. Thus they sat 
 loving and silent, when suddenly Jack's manner 
 changed. He became very communicative and 
 nervous in his actions one moment, and the next 
 would be absent-minded, and apparently ill at 
 ease. Belle, with accurate feminine wisdom, knew 
 that he was having an inward struggle with him- 
 self, and would soon tell her of his love. She 
 pitied him, and something in the expression of
 
 250 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 her beautiful face encouraged him to stammer 
 out, 
 
 " Miss Tillottson, Isabel, you must know by this 
 time that I love you, that I worship the very 
 ground beneath your feet." 
 
 Jack hesitated a moment from sheer excitement, 
 and Belle felt her hot brows throbbing with every 
 heart-beat. 
 
 " I have thought," he continued, " sometimes 
 that perhaps it would be unfair for me to speak 
 of this during our stay at Cup Island, but since 
 the arrival of your dear mother I have been en- 
 couraged to tell you my secret. In fact, I can no 
 longer hold it; I must speak." Then seeing that 
 Belle's face bore an expression of great joy, he 
 said, taking her hand between both of his own, 
 " Belle, my darling, tell me that my love is re- 
 turned." 
 
 Belle's hand remained where it was, but she 
 could not speak ; the blood, which at first had left 
 her cheeks ashy pale, now came crowding in rich 
 color into her beautiful face ; her whole soul was 
 overcome with emotion, and two great tears of 
 joy stealing out from the downcast lids, dropped 
 upon Jack's hand. 
 
 " Quick, my darling," he said, "tell me that you 
 love me." 
 
 Belle's head, which had been bending lower and 
 lower, gave a little involuntary nod of assent, and
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 251 
 
 the next moment it was lying upon his breast, 
 while he clasped her lovingly to him. 
 
 The waves kept on their sorrowful song, and 
 the gulls continued to circle about them in the 
 air, but these two lovers knew it not A new 
 world had thrown wide its portals to them. Life 
 was just beginning. 
 
 Belle's tongue was now loosened, indeed it was 
 renfarkably glib. She told Jack how dearly she 
 had loved him from the first, and he kissed her for 
 that ; she told him how she feared and had tried 
 to avoid Craik, and he kissed her for that ; prob- 
 ably, if she had told him that his moustache was 
 on fire, he would have sealed the information in 
 the same ardent manner. 
 
 He told her, in return, of his hopes and fears ; 
 how he had passed many of the long nights in 
 wakefulness, sometimes sitting in the cool star- 
 light under her window, sometimes lying in his 
 bunk at the cottage, but always with his thoughts 
 fixed upon her, his angel ; and then he kissed her 
 for being his angel. 
 
 It was agreed between them that until he had 
 spoken with her mother, and for the present, their 
 engagement was to be kept a secret. They were 
 very happy as they returned to the cottage where 
 the others were awaiting them, and a pang shot 
 through the breast of Craik as he saw them ap- 
 proaching side by side, for he could not help
 
 252 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 realizing in a measure how matters stood with 
 them. He was very attentive, however, to Belle 
 during the return sail, striving in every manner to 
 win her regard. It was well for Belle that she was 
 strong, for Craik had a most winning way with 
 women, which, aided by his remarkably handsome 
 face and figure, had scored for him many a victory. 
 But we know Belle too well to even for a moment 
 think that she could waver from the noble instincts 
 of her nature. 
 
 She was truly a woman, not a coquette. Like 
 most women, she had an eye for beauty and a taste 
 for refinement, and at first she had greatly admired 
 those qualities in Craik ; but in the accurate scales 
 of her feminine judgment they never weighed a 
 feather's weight against Jack, with his honest out- 
 spoken ways and joyous disposition. She seemed 
 to read the inner man in Craik as she was thrown 
 more and more in his society, aided by little re- 
 marks which he would make from time to time 
 when temporarily off his guard. 
 
 The following is a sample of the manner in 
 which he would expose himself to her inspection. 
 As they sailed homeward the sea, which was a 
 trifle rough, occasionally broke across the bow of 
 the yacht, throwing a spray over the whole deck. 
 The first time that this happened Jack, who had 
 found a shawl belonging to Belle, threw it with a 
 knowing smile into her lap, and she placed it about
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 253 
 
 her thinly-clad shoulders to protect her from future 
 showers. Craik, who sat close beside her, made a 
 motion to assist her in adjusting the shawl, but she 
 declined his assistance, saying, as she did so, that 
 she was accustomed to waiting upon herself. 
 
 " But you would not object, I suppose, to having 
 a handy dressing-maid ?" said Craik. 
 
 " Yes, I should most decidedly," said Belle. 
 " 5f course, if I was unable to arrange my own 
 toilet the case might be different, but while I have 
 health and strength I prefer to wait upon myself. 
 Still, I do not object to the employment of a maid 
 by others ; tastes differ greatly, and it would be 
 wrong to lay down a rule for all." 
 
 " I thought all women delighted in being waited 
 upon," said Craik. 
 
 " Not all," said Belle ; " some delight in waiting 
 upon others." 
 
 " Oh, yes, when they are married, of course," 
 said Craik, laughing. 
 
 Belle understood the drift of his remark, but she 
 could not laugh. She had spoken honestly, un- 
 selfishly, and had meant that many good women 
 love to be of use to their fellow-creatures ; but the 
 beauty of this thought had been entirely lost upon 
 Craik, whose idea of feminine usefulness was con- 
 fined to that of a wife to her husband. It was in 
 this way and many others that Craik had betrayed 
 the selfishness of his nature, and Belle could see
 
 254 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 the cruelty that lurked beneath a pleasing ex- 
 terior. 
 
 Jack was in ecstasy, and it did Belle's heart 
 good to see how happy she had made him. He 
 told funny stories to Mrs. Van Twist, smoked a 
 cigar with Van Dusen, made the major laugh until 
 he had the hiccoughs, started up lively songs in 
 which they all joined, and helped the sailors in 
 the management of the yacht, all the time keeping 
 a wary eye of affectionate regard upon Belle. It 
 seemed impossible for him to sit still a moment. 
 Belle, who was talking with Craik, would occasion- 
 ally find her attention attracted by a general laugh, 
 and on investigating the cause would invariably 
 find that it was Jack. He sprawled himself out 
 upon the narrow bowsprit at the imminent risk 
 of a ducking in the sound, singing meantime at 
 the top of his voice snatches from the popular 
 operas of the day. He climbed the rigging until 
 the ladies, with fear depicted upon their faces, im- 
 plored him to come down ; he walked the deck 
 pretending to be "half seas over," begging charity 
 from the others, and stating in the spluttering 
 language of a drunken wretch that he was an 
 honest sailor walking from San Francisco to 
 Boston to see his wife and children, who " God 
 bless them are dyin' to see their daddy." 
 
 He imitated every variety of animal known to 
 Barnum, and some that neither Barnum nor any
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 mortal ever saw or heard. He borrowed Aunt 
 Deb's " specs" and, mounting a stool, preached a 
 sermon upon the " frailty of human expectations," 
 which greatly amused Belle, and somewhat dis- 
 concerted Craik. It was evident to all that Jack 
 was happy. There were but two people on board, 
 however, who really suspected the cause ; and 
 these were Tom and Nettie. Miss Van Twist was 
 enjoying the excursion also, for Mr. Kendall had 
 been very attentive to her during the day. 
 
 Mr. Kendall had surprised himself by discover- 
 ing many hidden virtues in Miss Van Twist; and, 
 strange as it may seem, this young woman possessed 
 in a corner of her nature an innate taste for Sunday- 
 school, church, and missionary work; it seemed 
 to develop in her, under his encouragement, like a 
 weed in the sun. It was remarkable ; and her fond 
 mother gazed with a feeling of maternal pride and 
 admiration, well mixed with amazement, as she 
 heard her draw the reverend young gentleman 
 out upon these important topics. It was phe- 
 nomenal. Mr. Kendall considered himself a man 
 of unusual penetration, and it proved that he was 
 right, especially when the object of his favor was 
 so clever a lady as Alice Van Twist, and withal so 
 extremely pleasing to his masculine vanity. 
 
 So they thoroughly enjoyed the day together, 
 these two young people ; and when Miss Van Twist 
 tried to sleep that night she found that her eyes
 
 256 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 would pop open, and that, open or shut, they always 
 brought her visions of Mr. Kendall's handsome 
 beard, and Mr. Kendall's fine eyes. 
 
 Meantime Mr. Campion arrived in Oldport; 
 was met by Mr. Sandy, and conveyed with his 
 baggage to Sandy's house. After taking dinner 
 and smoking his customary cigar, he went with 
 Sandy to Cup Island, where he was welcomed by 
 Mrs. Tillottson, who was expecting him. As we 
 have before intimated, Mrs. Tillottson was one of 
 his ardent admirers. He had been a true friend 
 of her husband's, and in the early days of her 
 married life they had seen much of each other. 
 
 It was now over fifteen years since they had met, 
 and each had some curiosity to know how time 
 had treated the other. 
 
 " Well, well, Mary," said Mr. Campion, " is it 
 indeed you ? Why, you look as though your life 
 had been spent among rose-leaves and infant 
 angels." 
 
 " Among roses and infants, perhaps," said Mrs. 
 Tillottson, laughing, as they seated themselves 
 under the shade of the chestnut-trees, in front of 
 the little cottage ; " but I am looking better than I 
 was a few weeks ago at home. I was actually 
 driven from home by my physician, who insisted 
 that I needed salt air ; and it proves he was right, 
 for I feel so remarkably well here, and we are 
 having such pleasant times, that I am inclined to
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 stay forever. Has your health been good all of 
 these long years ? But I need not ask ; I can see 
 for myself that you are as well and strong as ever. 
 How is your daughter, Josephine ?" 
 
 " Well, quite well," he replied, " when last I 
 heard from her a few days ago. This is the same 
 old fascinating spot, Mary, and it seems but yester- 
 d^y* since we were here, your dear husband, Tom, 
 bless his memory, the life of the party, and all in- 
 tent upon the capture of fish and the slaughter 
 of ducks." 
 
 Thus they continued to talk of old times until 
 the conversation gradually drifted upon the events 
 of the present ; then he told her about the death 
 of Roger Dexter, about Mr. Dexter's serious ill- 
 ness, and the object of his visit to Oldport, about 
 his suspicions of Craik, in fact everything ; for as 
 he proceeded he felt that same inclination to make 
 a confidante of her, which people generally felt who 
 once thoroughly knew her. She listened patiently, 
 the tears coming and going in her beautiful eyes, 
 as he touched upon the pathetic portions of his 
 story, and, finally, when he had informed her of 
 Mr. Dexter's desire to keep Nettie in ignorance 
 for awhile of these events, especially that of his 
 illness, she said, feelingly, 
 
 " I think your friend is a noble man. Nettie has 
 a large and tender heart, and it will save her much 
 pain to keep these unfortunate facts from her for a
 
 258 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 time, especially as her uncle is improving so 
 rapidly. As to this man Craik, I have struggled 
 against an overwhelming antipathy against him 
 ever since he came. I am sure he is the man you 
 seek, for I have frequently noticed the very de- 
 formity of the little finger which you have men- 
 tioned. But what will you do now? Arrest 
 him?" 
 
 " No, I think not," said Mr. Campion, " at least 
 not immediately ; he is connected with a regular 
 organized band of thieves, some of whom are 
 working in this country at present. The authori- 
 ties with whom I am in correspondence are anxious 
 to unearth as many of these rascals as possible, 
 and have already woven the net which will capture 
 them, but a little time is necessary, and meantime 
 I have made up my mind to stay here as a sort of 
 protection to you and the girls, and at the same 
 time to watch this crafty outlaw. Of course, 
 Mary, you understand in fact, it is unnecessary 
 for me to tell you that these facts which I have 
 mentioned are secrets, and to be kept in strict 
 confidence from every one for the present."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 $() 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Craik Outwitted Tom and Nettie become Cupid's Unconscious 
 Victims A Touching Scene in the Summer-house The Tea- 
 party Jack's Address, and Aunt Deb's Suggestions A Silent 
 
 Declaration. 4 
 
 f 
 
 MR. CAMPION spent the greater part of his time 
 after this upon Cup Island. He would breakfast 
 at the Sandy cottage, then leisurely read his mail, 
 smoke a cigar, and peruse the daily papers, when, 
 it being by this time about nine or ten o'clock, he 
 would take a boat and row himself over to the 
 Tillottson cottage. 
 
 The addition of Augustus Campion to their 
 family circle was a happy circumstance for them 
 all : he was as full of animal spirits as Jack : 
 genial, fond of anecdote, as generous of impulse 
 as a child, he gave himself up wholly to the en- 
 joyment of this invigorating life by the sea. 
 
 He was presented to Van Dusen and his guests 
 shortly after his arrival, and by his gentlemanly 
 bearing, genial disposition, and sensible remarks 
 soon won their respect and admiration. Van 
 Dusen already knew him by reputation, and was 
 proud to invite him to the yacht as often as 
 possible. Fishing parties were planned and car-
 
 2 6o A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 ried out, in which he participated, and he was the 
 central figure of most of the merry-makings ; but 
 it might have been noticed, had any one been so 
 disposed, that he always went wherever Craik did. 
 If Craik stayed at home, upon the " Siren," Mr. 
 Campion was not far away upon Cup Island. On 
 no occasion, when he could possibly avoid it, did 
 Mr. Campion allow Craik to interview any of the 
 Cup Island ladies alone, and he was constantly 
 aided in this good work by Mrs. Tillottson, who 
 used all of her woman's tact to assist him in 
 carrying out his plans. 
 
 She was often of great service to him in thus 
 closely watching Craik's movements. If he came 
 to Cup Island, and Mr. Campion was at Oldport, 
 she had a signal by which she could notify him of 
 the fact, when he would immediately take his boat 
 and row over. If, when the men were going on a 
 fishing excursion, Craik, at the last moment, de- 
 cided to stay at home, Mrs. Tillottson would plan 
 some excuse for Mr. Campion to remain also. 
 Thus matters went along for a week or so. The 
 lawyer had taken the first opportunity which 
 offered to compare Craik with the picture he car- 
 ried in his pocket ; he had also noticed the de- 
 formity of the little finger, and was now thoroughly 
 convinced that he was no other than Bolan, or 
 Gentleman Jim. As soon as he was satisfied about 
 this, he had written to Ferris telling him all of the
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 6l 
 
 particulars, and advising him not to hurry Craik's 
 arrest, but to capture, if possible, all of the gang 
 he could discover, and informing him that it was 
 Van Dusen's intention to stay in the vicinity of 
 Oldport for several weeks. It was a great relief 
 to Belle that Mr. Campion kept in the constant 
 society of Craik, for Jack was often away upon 
 soqie excursion with the gentlemen, and Craik 
 tned to make these occasions opportunities for 
 him to press his attentions upon her. Mr. Campion 
 saw all of this planning on Craik's part, and, aided 
 by Mrs. Tillottson, always succeeded in foiling his 
 intentions. Craik was puzzled and much put out. 
 At first he had been inclined to fancy the lawyer, 
 whose easy manners, jolly stories and jokes went 
 far to relieve what seemed to him a slow, monoto- 
 nous life ; but as he found his efforts to throw him- 
 self into the good graces of Miss Tillottson all 
 cleverly thwarted, and always by this good-natured 
 man, he began to suspect him, and dislike was 
 soon added to suspicion in his estimate of the 
 lawyer. Why should he always be in the way ? 
 He was too old to be considered much of a rival, 
 but he was nevertheless an intolerable nuisance. 
 If he could only get this Campion interested in 
 the Van Twists, he would then have a better chance 
 with the girls. He would try. Perhaps Mrs. Van 
 Twist would bite at the bait if he could but think 
 of some way to get her to do it. Campion was a
 
 2 62 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 very wealthy man. He would tell Mrs. Van Twist 
 this, and hint that he had noticed that Campion 
 greatly admired her daughter Alice. That might 
 do it. Campion was a widower, and the Van Twists 
 would probably jump at the chance of having a 
 man of his wealth and reputation for a son-in-law. 
 They would invite him over to Smoke Island and 
 treat him so nicely that he would probably spend a 
 good part of his time there ; this would leave him 
 a chance to see more of Miss Tillottson alone. 
 
 But this plot of Craik's was not a success. Mrs. 
 Van Twist was very cordial with the lawyer, and 
 did, indeed, press him to come to Smoke Island 
 often, even going so far as to plot for the accom- 
 plishment of her designs ; but Mr. Campion did 
 not in the least relax his vigilance over the two 
 girls : wherever they went, if Craik was on hand, 
 he went also, unless Jack and Tom accompanied 
 them. 
 
 Jack had taken the first opportunity to inform 
 Mrs. Tillottson of his love for her daughter, and 
 she had willingly given her consent, for she was 
 not taken by surprise ; her mother's watchful eye 
 had long since noticed Jack's partiality for her 
 daughter, and, besides, she had formed a strong 
 friendship for Jack. He was her boy's best friend. 
 Indeed, to her it seemed a fortunate event that one 
 so well beloved by them all as Jack should offer 
 himself. Besides, she had a dread of Mr. Craik ;
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 2 6$ 
 
 not that she was afraid that Belle was in danger 
 of being influenced by Craik, still he was so per- 
 sistent in his attentions that she feared him. She 
 also felt that, as the affianced wife of Mr. Stratton, 
 her daughter was safer from such a villain ; for, 
 thanks to Mr. Campion, such she now knew Craik 
 to be. 
 
 Tarn was let into the secret of the engagement, 
 Belle confided it to Nettie, and naturally Mrs. 
 Tillottson informed Mr. Campion, for she felt that 
 it might be unfair or unwise to keep him in igno- 
 rance, particularly when he had taken her so fully 
 into his confidence. Between Tom and Nettie, 
 therefore, the subject of the engagement became a 
 matter of frequent discussion. Tom was delighted 
 that his sister had fallen into such good hands, 
 and was profuse in his praises to Nettie. Nettie, 
 too, was pleased that Belle had found so much 
 happiness, and her pleasure increased as she 
 learned from Tom Jack's true character. Natu- 
 rally these confidences brought them into a closer 
 and more friendly intimacy. It became a matter 
 of custom or habit with Tom to consult Nettie 
 about the little questions which were constantly 
 cropping up in their rustic life. If there was a 
 doubt about the wisdom of doing this thing or 
 that, on their daily expeditions by boat or land, 
 Tom and Nettie were sure to have their heads 
 close together in friendly exchange of opinions.
 
 264 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 It was readily seen what this was leading to, 
 and our wise reader has, no doubt, already inferred 
 that Tom and Nettie were to make a match ; and 
 so it was in fact ; but they were doing it as thou- 
 sands of the most felicitous matches are made 
 nowadays in America. Unconsciously and in an 
 innocent spirit, as free from guile as the wooing 
 of a pair of turtle-doves, they were deeply in love. 
 The genuineness of their love made their court- 
 ship instinctive. There were no formal passes of 
 etiquette between these two natures. We might 
 almost truly say that they became affianced by 
 slips of the tongue, prompted by the natural action 
 of their loving hearts. Neither was there any 
 secrecy in their wooing ; it was as evident to out- 
 siders as is the love-song of a canary. Of course, 
 there were a thousand little love-passages between 
 them which were unnoticed by the outside world, 
 but there was no effort to conceal even these, in 
 fact the lovers were in a measure unconscious that 
 they were happening. Tom's first question on his 
 return from a fishing-trip was, " Where is Nettie ?" 
 and Nettie's first look in the morning, and last at 
 night, were for Tom. They had long since ad- 
 dressed each other as Tom and Nettie, and it 
 seemed to be understood by all except, perhaps, 
 themselves, that they were lovers. 
 
 The preparations for the party upon Smoke 
 Island had all been made, and at the appointed
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 6$ 
 
 time the guests were assembled at three hand- 
 somely-decorated tables, which were placed in the 
 shade of the Van Twist cottage. It was about six 
 o'clock when they sat down to enjoy the dainties 
 which the ingenuity and skill of the ladies had 
 prepared. Mr. Campion was as usual in high 
 spirits, as was also Jack. Mr. Van Dusen was 
 delighted, and all seemed to really enjoy the fes- 
 tivity save Craik, who, deprived of a seat by Belle, 
 made no effort to entertain his next neighbor, who 
 happened to be Mrs. Van Twist. Mr. Kendall, 
 aware that the bright eyes of Alice Van Twist 
 were upon him, outshone himself in gallantry and 
 good-nature, while the professor chatted with Mrs. 
 Tillottson in a most social manner, each moment 
 discovering in her new beauties of mind and soul. 
 Bid was brought into requisition to assist the Van 
 Twist domestics in waiting upon the tables, and 
 the ladies were well satisfied to see everything 
 run so smoothly. 
 
 Of course, Tom and Nettie sat together, he in- 
 dulging in the usual jokes with which lovers 
 delight to entertain the objects of their devotion. 
 
 Jack, as usual, was brimming over with fun ; he 
 made temporary visits to the different tables, con- 
 vulsing the guests with laughter wherever he went. 
 
 They lingered for two hours over the repast; 
 the gentlemen finally lighting their cigars, after 
 which they all adjourned to the shore to hear the 
 M 23
 
 2 66 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 vocal quartette, which was creditably performed 
 by our four young people from Cup Island. They 
 embarked in one of the small boats, and, rowing 
 out on the still waters, now just beginning to be 
 lighted up by the new moon, sang " Sweet and 
 Low" so admirably that they received a hearty 
 encore from the audience upon the beach. Jack 
 then sang a merry air to a banjo accompaniment ; 
 Miss Van Twist displayed some taste and a fair 
 voice by singing a very sweet solo, after which 
 the whole party went over to Cup Island to hear 
 the addresses. 
 
 Jack was fully equal to the occasion. He 
 mounted a chair, and amused the guests for at 
 least a half-hour. Occasional interruptions by 
 Aunt Deborah added zest to the amusement, and 
 were enjoyed by Jack as much as the others. 
 
 He began his speech by assuming the role of a 
 stump-speaker on politics. 
 
 " Why is it," said he, after the usual introductory 
 remarks, " that our glorious country can hold her 
 head higher than the proudest nations of the 
 world ? Why is it every native-born American 
 citizen can sit around his hearthstone or can 
 milk his cow in peaceful confidence fearing no 
 interruption ?" 
 
 " No more can he allus," said Aunt Deborah ; 
 " fur some cows kick like fury, an' a pail o' milk is 
 no heavier to them than a than a "
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 2 6/ 
 
 " Than a foot-ball to a Yale student," interrupted 
 Jack. " I referred though, more particularly, to 
 foreign interruptions." Jack was delighted that 
 Aunt Deborah showed a disposition to be merry, 
 as it gave him time to think. 
 
 " Now here are the women of the country," he 
 continued, changing his tactics, " trying to smuggle 
 themselves into politics, and to control the destiny 
 of this glorious republic. Why is it?" here he 
 looked hard at Aunt Deb. "Why are they so 
 anxious to deprive the weaker masculine element 
 of its acquired rights ?" 
 
 "Whew! guess you're a little mixed about that, 
 Mr. Speaker," said Aunt Deb ; " fur in all my life- 
 long experience I never saw a woman try to vote. 
 Why, they'd be skeered to death at meetin' a lot o' 
 men folks at the polls." 
 
 " It is conceded," continued Jack, very seriously, 
 " that the proper sphere for woman is the mission- 
 ary field ; they are our natural teachers, and it is a 
 matter of profound congratulation that so many 
 noble-hearted maidens are enlisting in this com- 
 mendable service." 
 
 " Well, well," said Aunt Deb ; " 'xcuse me, but 
 I must put in a word right here. Missionary 
 service may be a very good thing for them as 
 can't get a bite o' bread or a roof to cover their 
 heads in their own country; but, deary me, to 
 think of a respectably raised female leavin' her
 
 2 68 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 own kith an' kin an' rushin' off to Afriky or 
 Chiny, is 'nough to make one ashamed of her own 
 sex. Why, there was Mandy Jinks of our town ; 
 she took the missionary fever bad a few years ago, 
 when one o' them slick an' slippery talkers was 
 there, an' the very next year she toted off to the 
 East Indies. We ladies of the church helped fit 
 her out nice, I tell you, leastwise what we could 
 do by sewin', an' she went off as proud as a young 
 kitten with a dead mouse ; but bless ye, she hadn't 
 ben gone over a year when we began to get the 
 pitifulest letters from her beggin' to come home, 
 an', the next thing, home she came, an' a shabby- 
 lookin' mortal she was. Deliver me from mis- 
 sionary service ; but I'm afeered I'm a-interruptin' 
 of ye, Mr. Stratton." 
 
 Jack continued his speech, causing much amuse- 
 ment, and, after he had finished, Mr. Campion was 
 asked to make a short address. This he did very 
 gracefully and cordially. He thanked the ladies 
 for the delightful manner in which they had made 
 time pleasant for them all, and as Aunt Deborah 
 expressed it afterwards, " He was jest the slickest 
 speechifier" she ever heard. 
 
 One morning, some weeks after this occurrence, 
 Nettie was pressing mosses out in the summer- 
 house upon Bogus Island, where Tom had rigged 
 up for her a crude but effective press, consisting 
 of two heavy pine boards and a large flat stone,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 269 
 
 which he always adjusted upon them for her when 
 she had any mosses to press. 
 
 This time, however, she was alone; she had 
 placed her mosses between the leaves of an old 
 book, and not seeing Tom, who had not returned 
 from a trip to Oldport, she attempted to lift the 
 stone upon the boards herself; it was while she 
 wagjn the act of doing this that Tom entered the 
 summer-house and hastened to her assistance ; but 
 before he had reached her the rock in some manner 
 slipped, falling heavily against her foot. She gave 
 a little cry of distress, and hearing his approach 
 attempted to rise to her feet, but the agony which 
 she experienced from the bruised foot was too 
 much for her, and she would have fallen to the 
 floor had not Tom sprang forward and caught her 
 in his arms. The injury to her foot was not at all 
 serious, and the pain was but momentary, so that 
 she was quickly herself again, and in a laughing 
 tone said, " What a goose I was, Tom, to attempt 
 to lift that heavy stone. There, thank you, I am 
 all right now," then glancing up into his face, for 
 his strong arms were still about her, she saw tears 
 of true sympathy glittering in his eyes. Tom 
 could not reply; his heart was overflowing with 
 affection for her, and the expression of love and 
 sympathy which she saw in his handsome eyes 
 could not be mistaken. She hid her face in his 
 breast. Not a word was spoken. There they 
 
 23*
 
 270 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 stood, these nature's children, heart throbbing 
 against heart, affianced by a hand mightier than 
 man's ; and when at last Tom said, gently stroking 
 her soft black hair, " Nettie, my darling," she drew 
 even closer to him and whispered, " Don't talk, 
 Tom, dear." 
 
 Let us no longer intrude upon the sacredness 
 of such a scene. Words are powerless to describe 
 the beauties of such innocent affection; they 
 convey but a faint idea, and generally an imperfect 
 and misleading one. 
 
 An author whom we all have learned to love 
 has said, 
 
 " I have made a book or two in my time, and I 
 am making another that perhaps will see the light 
 one of these days. But, if I had my life to live 
 over again, I think I should go in for silence, and 
 get as near to Nirvana as I could. This language 
 is such a paltry tool. The handle of it cuts, and 
 the blade doesn't. You muddle yourself by not 
 knowing what you mean by a word, and send out 
 your unanswered riddles and rebuses to clear up 
 other people's difficulties. It always seems to me 
 that talk is a ripple, and thought a ground swell. 
 A string of words that mean pretty much any- 
 thing helps you in a certain sense to get hold of 
 a thought, just as a string of syllables that mean 
 nothing helps you to a word; but it is a poor 
 business, it's a poor business, and the more you
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 study definition the more you find out how poor 
 it is." 
 
 So instead of dwelling upon the ecstatic bliss 
 radiating between those two loving souls, we will 
 leave them to the tender mercies of our gentle 
 readers, knowing that a clearer conception of their 
 heavenly condition will be reached by them in 
 dreaming over the resources and experiences of 
 their own diverse natures ; in some, sweet visions 
 of the past, in others, delights of the present, and 
 in still others, ideal capacities which anticipate 
 future fulfilments. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Night on Oldport Harbor A Desperate Struggle and a Capture 
 Mr. Campion utilizes his Muscle Mr. Van Dusen Indig- 
 nant An Explanation Ferris Happy Cup Island becomes 
 deserted. 
 
 IT was night. All was darkness upon Oldport 
 Harbor. Even the stars were hidden behind a 
 veil of sombre-looking clouds; and as the eye 
 tried to penetrate the distance in the direction of 
 Cup Island, it was met by a black wall of pitchy 
 gloom, through which nothing could be seen. 
 One solitary light was visible upon the Harbor; 
 this sent its feeble ray from the little lantern
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 which hung upon the "Siren." It was two 
 o'clock in the morning. Sandy's cottage looked 
 dark and uninviting, the outside blinds were 
 tightly closed for the night. But all was not 
 darkness inside. Let us look in. There are five 
 men sitting in the little front room. We recog- 
 nize Mr. Sandy, the tall dignified form of Mr. 
 Campion, and Ferris, the Chicago detective. The 
 other two are unknown to us. They are employed 
 by Ferris. After a short consultation, four of 
 these five men leave the Sandy cottage, and, led by 
 Mr. Campion, make their way through the dark- 
 ness to the wharf, where they silently embark in a 
 row-boat, and as quietly pull in the direction of 
 the little beacon which seems to beckon them to 
 the "Siren." Van Dusen and his guests are all 
 sound asleep upon the yacht, the watch upon 
 deck only being partly conscious of time and 
 worldly affairs, as the little boat draws gently 
 alongside. 
 
 " Who's there ?" said the sailor, quickly, in 
 alarm at such an unusual occurrence. 
 
 " Hush," said Ferris, springing upon the deck ; 
 " we are officers of the law," then in a louder voice 
 he told the sailor to call Van Dusen up. 
 
 " Stand there at the head of the companion- 
 way," he said to his deputies, "and arrest any 
 one who tries to pass." 
 
 Then he went below himself, and waited near
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 273 
 
 the entrance of the little cabin for Van Dusen to 
 appear. 
 
 " What is all this disturbance ?" said Van 
 Dusen, coming quickly into the cabin. 
 
 " I am here to arrest a man named Craik," said 
 Mr. Ferris. 
 
 "Arrest Craik !" said Van Dusen, surprised and 
 angry ; " no, sir, Mr. Craik is my guest, and I will 
 not allow him to be disturbed. Mr. Craik is an 
 Englishman and under my protection. What is 
 the charge against him ?" 
 
 The unusual noise had by this time aroused the 
 three guests of Van Dusen, who came quickly 
 into the little cabin, Craik wholly dressed, and 
 with a look of fierce determination upon his face. 
 
 "What is it, Van Dusen?" he said, as he came 
 forward. " Did I not hear my name called ?" 
 
 " Yes," said Ferris, stepping up to him ; " I 
 arrest you in the name of the law." 
 
 " Stand back," said Craik, fiercely, at the same 
 time drawing and cocking a pistol, and retreating 
 toward the companion-way, up which he then ran. 
 quickly. 
 
 " It is no use," said Ferris, coolly ; " he will be 
 stopped on deck by my men. He is a rascal, and 
 although I am very sorry to disturb you and your 
 guests, Mr. Van Dusen, he must go with me to- 
 night." 
 
 Craik had hardly appeared upon the deck, when
 
 2/4 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 he was seized on both sides by the two deputies ; 
 he shook them desperately off, however, and dis- 
 charged his pistol, wounding one of the men in 
 the arm ; he then rushed quickly to the forward 
 end of the deck, probably with the intention of 
 jumping overboard, but here he was met by Mr. 
 Campion, who, seizing him by the pistol arm, held 
 him as in a vise. There was a short struggle, 
 but Craik was no match for the giant strength of 
 the lawyer, who soon threw him flat upon his back, 
 where he firmly held him until assistance came. 
 
 " Put the bangles on him," said Ferris, who had 
 now appeared upon the deck followed by the 
 others ; " he is a desperate villain." 
 
 Van Dusen was about to protest again when he 
 saw Mr. Campion. 
 
 " Why, Mr. Campion, my^ dear sir, what does all 
 this mean ?" he said, excitedly. 
 
 " It means," said Mr. Campion, " that you and I 
 have been harboring and associating with one of 
 the blackest villains that ever breathed air foreign 
 to a penitentiary. You have had a narrow escape, 
 sir, from I know not what perfidy. This wretch, 
 under the guise of friendship, was deliberately 
 plotting to rob you, as he has frequently robbed 
 others. He will be tried for burglaries in New 
 Jersey and London, England, for forgery in Paris, 
 for murder in Italy, and other offences too nu- 
 merous to mention."
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 2/5 
 
 Here Craik, made desperate again by the lawyer's 
 words, sprang toward him with uplifted hands, 
 but was stopped by the deputy detectives ; break- 
 ing away from them, however, he sprang toward 
 the side of the yacht, evidently meaning to jump 
 overboard, but Ferris dexterously tripped him up, 
 and he was again secured. 
 
 Explanations followed, and Van Dusen grate- 
 fully thanked Campion, and apologized to Ferris, 
 who then ordered Craik put into the boat. He 
 was then taken away; all was quiet again, and 
 after talking the matter over for awhile, Van 
 Dusen and his guests retired for the night. 
 
 This adventure happening under the friendly 
 cover of night, no one heard, no one saw, and no 
 one knew of, except those who were directly 
 interested; for when the bright purifying rays of 
 the morning sun began to illuminate and glorify 
 the scene of the disturbance and its beautiful sur- 
 roundings, there was no visible evidence of the 
 night's work, or that so foul a conspirator against 
 morality and good living had been annihilated 
 and swept away. . 
 
 He was gone, that was all ; nobody knew why. 
 Van Dusen had enjoined strict secrecy from his 
 men and his guests ; and when the Van Twists 
 and the people upon Cup Island inquired for 
 Craik, the reply was that he had gone to New 
 York and would probably not soon return. The
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 injury which the sailor received upon his arm 
 proved to be but a flesh wound, and not serious. 
 
 " I never took to that man Craik, or Crick, or 
 whatever his name was," said Aunt Deb to her 
 sister, when told that he had left Oldport. " He 
 was allus a lickin' of a person all over, and a 
 plasterin' on compliments, just as a snake will 
 lick a bird afore he gobbles him down whole. 
 Sich kind o' people is dangerous, an' I'm glad he 
 likes New York company better'n he does ours. I 
 shan't miss him a bit." 
 
 Thus Craik passed out of their little circle, and 
 was not seriously missed by any member of it. 
 
 The day following his capture, Mr. Van Dusen 
 sailed away on the " Siren" with his friends ; and a 
 few days later Nettie, accompanied by Mr. Campion, 
 at her uncle's request, left for home ; and it was 
 not long after that the whole party, including the 
 Van Twists, were on their way home ; Tom and 
 Jack to their respective duties in New York, 
 cheered in mind and heart by bright and loving 
 prospects for the future ; Mrs. Tillottson, Belle, 
 and Aunt Deborah to their home in Massachu- 
 setts, and the Van Twists to Florida, where they 
 owned winter-quarters. The empty cottages were 
 as usual left to the care of Sandy, and Cup Island 
 once more resumed its appearance of peaceful 
 seclusion.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Ten Years elapse Rome Nettie at her Villa Aunt Deborah 
 writes from America She contemplates Marriage Bid's last 
 Venture Alice Van Twist a Widow Matrimony in the Air. 
 
 /,*"" 
 
 THE passage of ten years brings many changes. 
 Steps that were quick and vigorous become meas- 
 ured and deliberate; hair that was rich with the 
 color of youth becomes gray and lifeless ; loves 
 that were ardent with the fires of youthful vitality 
 are mellowed into a comfortable, satisfied routine 
 of domestic felicity; cities rise up and decline, 
 and nations gain ascendency and power, or lose 
 prestige. So works that wizard Time. 
 
 It is March, and if the reader will accompany 
 us to Rome, we will demonstrate how little ten 
 years have accomplished in damaging the disposi- 
 tions or appearance of our principal characters. 
 
 A little to the east of the Quirinal, and over by 
 the church of S. Maria Maggiore, upon a beauti- 
 fully shaded knoll near the road which connects 
 with the Via Tiburtina, nestling among cypress- 
 trees and shrubbery, is the villa which was for- 
 merly owned by Roger Dexter. Beautiful foun- 
 tains send their spray into the warm Italian air, 
 ornamenting picturesque lawns and flowery slopes. 
 
 24
 
 278 
 
 A SUMMER AY OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 The villa is alive with the joyous music of laughter 
 and conversation. It is the season of health, and 
 our friends Dr. Tillottson and Nettie, his loving 
 wife, with their three children, having spent the 
 winter in England, are now, after an absence of 
 four years, once more enjoying their beautiful 
 Roman home. They will make but a brief stay 
 of perhaps three months, as they do not deem it 
 safe to brave the malaria which comes after July, 
 and has been, during the summer months, the 
 curse of Rome for centuries. 
 
 Let us ascend the broad stone steps of this 
 miniature palace before us, and as we do so, rest- 
 ing for a moment against the stately pillars of the 
 portico, gaze back at the beautiful Italian land- 
 scape. 
 
 In the dim northern distance are the hazy out- 
 lines of the Sabine Mountains, towering Monte 
 Gennaro and lower Montecelli ; nearer we see the 
 church Sant' Agnese, with charming cypress foli- 
 age and beautiful art- works in the foreground. 
 We are indeed in Rome, the city of profound an- 
 tiquity. We walk reverentially to the other end 
 of the portico to catch, if we can, a glimpse of St. 
 Peter's dome, and as we hear from within the 
 American clock strike the hour of four, we enter 
 the house, crossing the handsomely-paved vesti- 
 bule, and look into the dining-hall beyond. 
 
 The faces which meet us here are familiar.
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 Seated at the head of a long table is Tom Tillott- 
 son, stouter but little older looking than when we 
 last saw him upon Cup Island. Nettie, his wife, 
 sits opposite, and seems so youthful and fresh 
 that we can with difficulty realize the passage of 
 so much time. Mr. Campion sits by the side of 
 his good wife, whom we immediately recognize as 
 Tom's mother. They are a handsome elderly 
 c*buple, giving substantial proof to the theory that 
 matrimonial felicities smooth out the wrinkles of 
 time and bring health's bloom to the cheeks. By 
 her mother's side is Belle, now Mrs. Stratton, but 
 the chair next to her is vacant ; it belongs to Jack. 
 On the opposite side of the table sit a few invited 
 guests, among whom we recognize Moses Wigand 
 and Professor Romney. At another table, near an 
 open window, which looks out upon the beautiful 
 scene we have just described, sit five rosy-cheeked, 
 healthy-looking children, in charge of a motherly- 
 looking nurse. 
 
 The conversation was animated and full of joy- 
 ful exclamations, for the mail from America had 
 just arrived, and this was always a cause for great 
 rejoicing. 
 
 " Where is Jack ?" said Mrs. Campion ; " I want 
 him to hear me read Aunt Deborah's letter." 
 
 " I left him down at the Borghese gallery on the 
 Corso studying Cupids," said Belle, laughing. " He 
 will be here soon ; he has found four pictures there
 
 2 8o A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 
 
 by Albani, called ' The Seasons/ which, I believe, 
 have completely charmed his senses." 
 
 Just at this moment Jack entered ; tall as ever, 
 and with the same twinkle of fun radiating from 
 the corners of his handsome eyes. 
 
 " These are the Cupids which have so completely 
 charmed my senses," said Jack, with a loving look 
 at his wife, and pointing at two of the five children 
 at the other table. 
 
 As Jack took his seat with the rest, Mrs. Cam- 
 pion began to read Aunt Deb's letter : 
 
 " MY DEAR MARY, Don't you think it's most 
 time you folks was comin' home? I'm awfully 
 lonesome here, an' it don't seem natural-like in 
 this strange place. Seems to me two long years 
 is a pretty good stretch for a weddin' trip. I go 
 pokin' about the house a tellin' the girls what to 
 do, and what not to do, an' try to pass away the 
 time, but it drags dreadfully, an' it's no use, I'm 
 lonesome. 
 
 " I s'pose Josie Campion is Josephine Evans by 
 this time, judgin' from all you write an' what I 
 hear. Well, I hope they'll be happy, an' never 
 know what it is to want good bread an* sweet 
 butter. 
 
 " There's something on my conscience to tell 
 you, sister, but somehow it is pretty hard for me 
 to get at it. Of course, you remember Mr. Sandy,
 
 A SUMMER IN OLDPORT HARBOR. 2 8l 
 
 or Samuel Sandy as his name is, and of course 
 you remember how he lost his beloved wife some 
 five years ago when we was there a summerin', 
 an' was left a widower. Well, Mr. Sandy an' me 
 has kind o' struck up a match. He was out here 
 to see me, an' asked me to marry him, and it took 
 more courage than I had to say no. 
 
 "-He said he took to me immense after his wife 
 died, an' he tho't I would make him a useful 
 wife an' good companion. I allus liked Sam 
 Sandy ; there was nothin' lazy about him ; he was 
 allus smart as a whip. Well, to make a long story 
 short, I told him I was a poor, good-for-nothin' 
 old maid, and had 'the rumatiz fearful, but if he 
 liked me, an' tho't I could make his life any happier, 
 I'd have him. 
 
 " Sam wanted to have the knot tied right away, 
 but I sent him home and told him I'd not get 
 married anyway 'till you came back to Ameriky. 
 So you see Mary, after all these years of pashent 
 waitin' I am to get my reward. I hope he won't 
 make me postmaster of Oldport, for I never was 
 quick at readin' and writin', an', besides, I should 
 be dyin' to read all the letters an' postal cards. I 
 don't mind tendin' store, though, occasionally, for 
 you can get to see folks that way without goin' to 
 call on 'em. 
 
 "Tell Augustus that Sniffin, his head man, is 
 engaged to marry Eleanor Bangs. Everybody is 
 
 24*
 
 2 82 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 gettin' married, an' I* tho't it a good time to try it 
 on myself. 
 
 "Sam said that the Van Twists were on Smoke 
 Island last summer. The daughter, Mrs. Kendall, 
 who married that preacher, you know, is a widder. 
 Sam says that Mr. Kendall worked himself to 
 death in New York, a lookin' after poor folks, 
 startin' up missions and revivals, and such, an' 
 that Mrs. Kendall was as crazy about it as he was. 
 She has a little boy, an' Sam says he looks like 
 the major. I s'pose it's all right for a preacher to 
 do just as Mr. Kendall did, but for my part I 
 never could chime in among them dirty folks we 
 saw when we was in New York, an' talk natural- 
 like to them. I should allus be thinkin' I was 
 gettin' something on me, or a ketchin' some fever. 
 Sam said the major looked old, an' I told Sam I 
 tho't any man would look old if he was henpecked 
 as that poor major was by that Van Twist woman. 
 You see, I wanted Sam Sandy to destinctly under- 
 stand that if I was an old maid there was no 
 danger of his bein' henpecked an' hocus-pocussed 
 as that poor old Major Van Twist was. 
 
 " Tell Augustus that I am tired of York State ; 
 and as soon as you both get back I'm off for old 
 Massachusetts, for I'm goin' to be married from 
 the old home at W . 
 
 " Sandy isn't a very stylish name, but it's better 
 than Muddy, an' I'm goin' to try it anyhow. Deb-
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 283 
 
 orah Tremane Sandy don't sound bad enough to 
 skeer anybody. Come home as soon as you can, 
 and give my love to all, babies and everybody. 
 " Your affectionate sister, 
 
 " DEBORAH TREMANE." 
 
 " Well, well," said Jack, after the amusement 
 c/eated by Aunt Deb's letter had somewhat sub- 
 sided, " this will make Sandy our Uncle Sam. 
 Quite appropriate for a postmaster; but how is it, 
 Governor," Jack had always addressed Mr. Cam- 
 pion by that title, since he had married Mrs. Cam- 
 pion, " how is it about Josephine and Bob Evans ? 
 I knew that Bob was awfully gone in that direction 
 and thought a great deal of Josie, but I had no 
 idea they would make a match of it." 
 
 Mr. Campion, who, like the others, had been 
 looking over his mail, glanced up with a roguish 
 smile and quietly remarked, " I always fancied 
 Bob. He is a whole-souled, industrious sort of a 
 Bohemian, and will make Jo a good husband ; and 
 I always gave her credit for taking care of herself; 
 but it seems she, like all other frail women," a sly 
 glance at Mrs. Campion, " must have a protector. 
 There's sister Deborah now ; for years and years 
 she has paddled her own canoe, and now at last 
 she bows to the inevitable and links her fortunes 
 with an Oldporter." 
 
 " I'm sure I don't know what to think of Deb-
 
 284 
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 orah," said Mrs. Campion, looking strangely 
 puzzled. 
 
 " As Aunt Deb says, there's matrimony in the 
 air," said Tom, laughing ; " there's Sniffin and 
 Eleanor Bangs, too, wonders never cease." 
 
 At this moment, when they were all full of that 
 kindly feeling which is always begotten by the 
 announcement of happy engagements, another old 
 acquaintance quietly enters the room with an open 
 letter in her hand ; stepping up close to Mrs. Cam- 
 pion she says, in a whisper which is audible all 
 over the room, 
 
 " Shure ma'am, an' it's a hard duty oi have to 
 tell ye. Oi must lave your sarvice intirely." 
 
 " Why, Bid," said Mrs. Campion, in great sur- 
 prise at such a piece of news, " what is the 
 matter ?" 
 
 "Well, ma'am, ye see oi've jist been afther 
 havin' a lether from me coozin in Oireland, an' 
 shure it's him oi'm goin' to marry so long, an' 
 now he writes that his poor father is dead an' lift 
 him his property ; an' Tim, that's his name, God 
 bless him, says oi must come roight home, for he 
 has divil a soul, poor man, to boil a potato for 
 him, or look after his bedmakin' and the loikes o' 
 that." 
 
 "Another county heard from," shouted Jack. 
 " Bid, I congratulate you. May you live long 
 and prosper, and may Mr. Tim's hearthstone
 
 A SUMMER IN OLD PORT HARBOR. 
 
 285 
 
 never grow cold for the want of a stick, or a 
 youngster to add it to the fire." 
 
 " Oh, la, Misther Jack," said Bid ; " shure it's 
 pate we burn in ould Oireland and not sticks, an' 
 it's the loikes of you wid childer of your own 
 would not begrudge a bairn or two to a poor old 
 Oirish woman." 
 
 I.t was evident that Bid was happy as she re- 
 tired amid the congratulations and good wishes 
 which were showered upon her. 
 
 The people at the table were all happy, and, 
 glad to see them thus, we quietly withdraw, trust- 
 ing that Fate will deal gently with them in this 
 foreign land. 
 
 THE END.
 
 .. 
 
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