there was a lot of misery—four rooms full of it—when kate trewman announced to the highwood party and her brother that she could never, never, never again face the gossips and the other people at the hotel after the story of her engagement had got about with the infinity of detail which trixy had imparted and the additions which are inevitable when a story is passed from lip to lip. trif had promised to go sailing the very next day with some new friends, fenie had promised several dances for the "ladies' night" at the fort, which would be the next night but one, and harry and fenie had agreed to make a little trip which harry thought would be peculiarly delightful, and fenie agreed with him, although she did not know why.
but kate was obdurate. she admitted to trif that she loved jermyn dearly, strange though it might seem, but for that very reason her self-respect was stronger than ever, and although she could endure anything for her own sake she was not willing that anything should occur, or that anything which had occurred, should make the dear fellow laughed at and [pg 155]talked about. people were so mean! who knew but some one would say that she had tried to catch him, and succeeded? the idea!
"but kate," argued trif, "there's no need of your being seen if you'll consent to remain a day or two longer. you've only to remain in your room while i make my sailing trip with my friends, and harry and fenie have their little outing. you won't be alone; think of the delightful thoughts that will keep you company! the day after my trip i'll make a special luncheon in my room, in honor of the happy couple, and it will be entirely right, as your brother will bring jermyn. you certainly couldn't be so heartless as to depart without seeing him once more, and without letting him see you."
"do you think it would be heartless—do you think it would seem so to him?"
"it certainly would, to him or to any other good man, under the circumstances," trif replied, with extreme new england positiveness.
"then i will remain," said kate; upon which trif kissed her and called her a dear good girl, and fenie kissed her and called her a sensible girl, and harry kissed her and said she was a good sister, and trixy offered to kiss her but was rudely pushed away.
jermyn knew nothing of this conversation. he had done much desperate thinking after receiving kate's note, and one consequence was that he looked across the parade ground, saw that lights were still burning in the adjutant's office and the home of the post commandant, so [pg 156]he hurried over to the adjutant and made an application for leave of absence for a week, on important personal business. the post adjutant looked astonished, for leaves of absence in the army are charged against the month's leave which each officer is allowed once a year in time of peace, and the adjutant knew well that jermyn had been carefully "saving his time" for a month's run to the pacific coast during the coming summer. still, jermyn pleaded urgency, and begged for an immediate decision; and the post commandant, who was a large-hearted gentleman, and also a close observer of the individual members of his command, granted the leave; so the next morning, very early, before any one at the hotel was stirring, jermyn invaded a lighthouse boat which he knew was to go to norfolk very early. his plan was to get upon the steamer which started from norfolk for the train, miles away, touching at old point en route. neither kate nor her brother should know of his proximity until the train started; after that,—well, kate could not be other than the woman he thought her, so she would be glad to see him, and her brother, beside being a gentleman, was himself in love; so he would certainly give the couple some opportunities for conversation during the trip to new york.
while this was going on, the admiral, who had been somewhat upset by his exciting experience of two or three preceding days, and had been restoring himself by a veteran seaman's favorite remedy, rest, got out of his room very early, and sauntered about the beach in search of a proper appetite for breakfast. it did not help him much to meet jermyn and hear the young man's story of disappointment, yet he heartily approved of the fellow's spirit and wished him the happy time which undoubtedly would be his. the excitement caused by the interview gave the old gentleman the appetite for which he longed, so he went in at once to breakfast, at which he lingered long.
as he sat at table, the train-boat from norfolk came in, and the admiral looked through the window toward the pier, hoping for a glimpse of kate. evidently she had escaped him, for she was not with any of the parties which moved down from the hotel; probably she was already in the crowd, which always is an hour in advance of starting time, and he did not like to bid a lady good-bye when there were all sorts of people around to hear what was said.
as the boat cast off and started for cape charles, the southern terminus of the railway, the old gentleman raised his coffee-cup to his lips, and murmured:
"god bless them!"
"who's you a-blessin'?" asked trixy, who had entered the breakfast-room and had been moving by circuitous lines to "s'prise" the admiral.
"why, trixy! good morning! i've not seen you for several days. do sit down and take some breakfast with me. tell me some news."
"there ain't no news," said trixy. "yes there is too; but mamma says i mustn't ever tell any more news until i'm a big woman. and i can't take breakfast just now, 'cause i just was sent down to ask the waiter to send miss trewman's breakfast up to her room, 'specially a cup of coffee."
"miss trewman's breakfast? why—miss trewman has gone to new york."
"oh, no, she hasn't. she changed her mind. mamma made her do it."
"trixy, do you mean to say," asked the admiral, as he arose hastily from the table, "that miss trewman isn't on the boat which started for the train at cape charles?"
"i mean to say she's up in her room," trixy replied, "for i just came from there and i saw her. she said she wanted that coffee awfully, too, so i mustn't wait any longer to see the waiter; but i'll come back in a minute and take some breakfast with you, if you like."
"ah—er," stammered the admiral, who had been thinking rapidly and looking at the lighthouse tug, which was already steaming back from norfolk, "suppose we hold the engagement over until to-morrow morning? the truth is, i've practically finished my own breakfast, so i wouldn't be proper company. besides, i've just thought of something which ought to be attended to this instant."
"all right," said trixy. "i'm goin' to have one comp'ny meal to-day anyway, cause mamma's goin' to give a splendid little dinner in her room to miss trewman and mr. jermyn."
"indeed! excuse me, my dear, but i must hurry."
the admiral hurried out of the room, and, despite his years and his dignity, ran toward "the hole," a sheltered portion of the harbor where small craft usually anchored. he got as near as possible to the lighthouse tug, and waved his handkerchief violently. just as the anchor of the tug dropped, a sailor reported to the officer in charge:
"signal from the shore, sir!"
"don't notice it," was the reply, made gruffly. "hang the impertinence of some of these spring visitors."
"yes, sir. i think it's admiral allison a-signallin', sir."
"ah, that's different! lower away! i'll go ashore for him."
the tug's boat had scarcely touched the beach when the admiral gave the prow a mighty shove and shouted, "shove off! give way!" first wetting his feet thoroughly. then he sprang like a cat from thwart to thwart until he got aft and dropped beside the astonished officer, whispering:
"charley, you were at the naval academy while i was on duty there!"
"yes, admiral, and you were the best friend i ever had there. i couldn't have pulled through if it hadn't been for you, as you well know!"
"i'm glad you think so, my dear boy, for i want some special help from you to-day. up anchor, and let me catch that train for new york."
"why, admiral, you know what a slow old tub this is, and we've been blowing off steam."
"never mind. help me to catch that train. burn out a boiler, if necessary, and charge it to me. i'll stand a court-martial rather than lose that train."
within five minutes the tug was rounding the pier in front of the hotel and the admiral was compounding a prescription which is highly esteemed at sea by elderly gentlemen who are suffering from great excitement and wet feet. black smoke poured so densely from the boat's single funnel that a naval officer who was enjoying a brief outing at the hotel and had got out of bed early to enjoy as much as possible of it, told his wife that probably a buoy had strayed from its moorings somewhere and some sea-captain had been complaining by telegraph to the authorities at washington.
the chase was a hard one; the train-boat had fully ten minutes the start of the tug, but the admiral, who stood forward ready to hurry ashore, remarked that it usually took fully ten minutes to get all the passengers, luggage and freight from the boat to the train. when finally he went over the side he said:
"charley, keep your eye on the rear platform. if i wave my handkerchief you'll know i'm safely aboard. then wait as long as the train does; if it starts at once, steam along up the bay until you see it stop. i'll get the conductor to pull up and let us off."
"us?"
"yes; jermyn and me."
it was none of the young officer's business, as he told himself, but he could not help wondering what was up between the admiral and jermyn. he saw the old gentleman scramble upon the rear platform of the last car, and at that very instant the train started, so the tug's nose was put up chesapeake bay, while her commander told himself that the chasing of a big ferry boat by a small tug was a sort of service for which boats of the lighthouse service were not designed, and that the next time the admiral wanted anything of the sort done, and wanted a locomotive chased afterward, he hoped there would be a torpedo boat in the harbor.
meanwhile the admiral was making his way through the train in search of jermyn, while the latter, moving from front to rear, was looking for kate. the two men met suddenly in the vestibule between two cars.
"admiral!" exclaimed jermyn. "are you too going to new york?"
"not this time, dear boy. neither are you. she's changed her mind—miss trewman—she's still at the hotel. where's the conductor? hang it, charley will never be able to catch us if we go on at this rate. where's the bell-rope?"
the old gentleman, who was quite short, sprang lightly upward, blew two long blasts, and the train began to slow. the admiral opened the vestibule door and said:
"come on! we'll have to jump."
jump they did, and into some eastern shore mud which did not harmonize with the attire of either gentleman. as they floundered out of it, screened from the train by some scrubby bushes, the tug, which had heard the locomotive's stopping signal, blew three long blasts of her own whistle. long before she steamed abreast of the part of the beach which the runaways had reached, the admiral was waving his handkerchief so wildly that jermyn insisted upon relieving him to spare him the pangs of a stiff shoulder and the danger of apoplexy.
