“i—er—do you?” he stammered. “i—er—i believe i have met the captain, oh, i mean i knew him quite well. now, er, well really what is remarkable about the face?”
“there is so much remarkable about it, to me,” returned miss katherine. “there is unusual strength in every feature, it seems to me, and the face is a most interesting and attractive one.”
the stranger’s hand crept to his face where it went through the motions of clutching a beard, an adornment which he lacked. he gazed stupidly from the portrait to miss katherine and back again to the portrait. he spoke in a very hesitating and uncertain way.
“did you say—that you—er—found the portrait in a closet—er—and went to the trouble of framing it?”
[20] “yes, that is quite correct. but it was no trouble, only a pleasure and the contemplation of those features has amply repaid me,” replied miss katherine.
“it—er—will naturally be very gratifying to—er—the captain—ah—when he returns—ah—to find his portrait so—er—highly valued,” observed the man.
“i’m sure i couldn’t say about that as the poor captain was drowned, at least he is supposed to have been lost at sea. but i believe him to have been a very modest man, and i doubt whether it would really gratify him to see his portrait there.”
the stranger’s hand again went to his face, and as it was a large hand almost covered the features.
“i hadn’t heard,” he began in a very throaty voice, “i—i—didn’t know that the captain—ah—wasn’t—er—what you just said, you know.”
miss katherine observed the stranger sympathetically. he had evidently been a friend of the captain and felt his loss.
“sit down, sir,” she said kindly, “i see you feel this, and no wonder. of course in cases like this one is never sure just what has happened; but it is believed that captain shannon must have met with some misfortune as he has not been heard from for seven years.”
“oh! seven years!” repeated the man. “ah, i see.”
[21] “it is a pity that such a man as captain shannon should be cut off in his prime,” sighed miss katherine.
“ah, you think that the late captain was—er—a—ah—some good in the world?” inquired the stranger.
“i am very sure he was that and a most charming man besides,” replied miss katherine, her eyes dwelling admiringly and wistfully on the portrait.
“the captain should be hap—ah, i mean—er—it is pleasant—er—i should say, madam, that—ah—in fact i am detaining you,” he lucidly concluded.
“not at all,” returned miss katherine affably. “if you would explain your business i might serve in place of my brother, or i can tell him you called, mr. ——”
“oh—a—murphy,” supplied the stranger hastily. “i knew this place was for rent but didn’t know whether it had been taken or not so i thought i’d see about it. it would suit me splendidly. would you—ah—could you consider a lodger, madam?”
“well, really,” replied miss katherine very pleasantly—the man was very gentlemanly and not at all ordinary—“really, i’m afraid not, although i should very much like to accommodate you.”
“oh, that’s alright,” mr. murphy assured her. [22] “it’s a nice healthy spot and i think i’ll spend a few months here—to—er—recover my health.”
miss katherine looked at his fresh face and vigorous frame in some surprise, whereupon mr. murphy made haste to explain:
“i am feeling very much better now, but not quite right. i—ah—should be able to lift five hundred pounds. well now, i’ll just say good morning and i’ll see if i can get suitable lodgings somewhere near. i feel—er—that our common friendship for the late captain shannon should be—ah—a sort of bond, so to speak, between us, so i shall drop in to see you again.”
miss katherine gave him a very cordial invitation to come and see her brother and herself frequently.
when the door had closed upon mr. murphy, a shade passed over her face and she betook herself again to the library. could it be that this stranger was a spy? had he really known the captain and suspected the existence of the treasure? was he going to stay in the vicinity to keep watch upon them? miss katherine trembled as she thought of what might have become of joseph and herself if she had taken him as a lodger. but here poor miss katherine’s heart suffered a pang, for she thought of the gentlemanly deportment and attractive appearance of her visitor. he had seemed quite impressed with her, too. there was no [23] denying it. she rose from the chair with a sigh and walked about the room.
“i must hide the book, anyway,” she exclaimed aloud. “there’s no telling what that man was after and i’d better put it in a safe place.”
she took the treasured volume—capt. shannon’s diary—and, after glancing out of the window to make sure she was not watched, she stole cautiously from the room as if the house were full of spies. when she reached the floor above she stood still, wondering what hiding places the house afforded. there were not many, she knew, but now she could think of none. downstairs was out of the question. anyone could come in there at night and carry it off. the second floor was little better for the windows were all open and anyone could enter them by means of a ladder. the attic! yes, that was the only place and miss katherine flew up the steep stairs to the attic.
there was a very little light admitted through a small window, and when her eyes became accustomed to the dim light, she saw a trap door in the ceiling. of all places in the world this was the most desirable. as luck would have it she found an old ladder among the rubbish. one end of this she placed against the trap door, then, pushing with all her might at the other end, she succeeded in raising the door and liberating clouds of dust, spiders, dead flies and cob-webs. though half [24] choked and blinded she proceeded to execute her scheme. placing an end of the ladder in the opening she endeavored to make it secure from slipping. of its strength she was fairly satisfied, but she could not feel confident of its equilibrium. she did the best she could and then began the perilous ascent. she held the book in one hand and with the other clung fearfully to the rickety ladder. she stood in need of another prehensile member for the rungs of the ladder were worn smooth as glass and every upward step was fraught with danger. the ladder creaked ominously beneath a weight that was far from trifling. however, she made a steady progress, and when she had climbed as far as she dared, she very cautiously reached upward and placed the book upon the rafters. in her relief at having placed the book in safety she forgot caution and gave the ladder the excuse it was looking for. she felt the ladder going and frantically grabbed the side of the trap door. it was well her arms were not slender ones for they had to support her entire weight. the very ceiling creaked. a severe fall was to be preferred to bringing the roof down upon her, so she suddenly let go her hold and came crashing down upon the floor that quivered to receive its burden. but it was only a moment before miss katherine was sufficiently recovered to assure herself that, as the [25] book was securely hidden nothing else was of consequence.
poor miss katherine was bruised all over and had considerable difficulty in hiding her physical sufferings from mrs. white, who was a native of ocean view, and therefore it would never do to arouse her suspicions. when that lady asked miss katherine how she got such a bruise on her arm, she replied that her flesh bruised at a touch and she must have struck it against something. but when mrs. white inadvertently touched miss katherine upon quite another part of her body and she flinched before she recollected caution, the aforementioned lady began to wonder, and when a woman begins to wonder she soon has something to tell.
when joseph returned his sister related all that had occurred during his absence.
his evident uneasiness concerning mr. murphy’s motives was quite comforting. it is so gloomy to be the only anxious one in the house.
“he can’t set foot on the property if we forbid him,” said joseph with a determined countenance.
“but we can’t do that, at least it wouldn’t be wise,” remonstrated his sister gently. it was soothing to her bruises to note joseph’s anxiety. “he is a perfect gentleman, a man we couldn’t treat rudely. he mightn’t be spying at all and then we’d look ridiculous, or we might arouse [26] suspicions in him by over caution. now my plan is to let him call if he cares to, but never to leave him alone and to watch all his movements very carefully. he might unconsciously give us a clew if he has any exact knowledge of the whereabouts of the treasure. now don’t you think that’s the wisest course to pursue?”
joseph had no wile in his makeup, so would have preferred a pugilistic encounter at the gate, as the best way of dealing with a spy, but his sister was undeniably the leader in this affair, so he agreed to remain passive while she matured her plan.
it was well that they made their decision concerning the stranger when they did for the next day, in the afternoon, as joseph was digging among the flowers in the front garden, mr. murphy appeared at the gate. joseph’s interest in his work had driven all thoughts of treasure and treasure seekers out of his mind. he supposed it to be one of his neighbors and merely looked up and nodded to the caller to enter.
“good afternoon neighbor,” said joseph with what breath his unwonted exertions allowed him, “could you tell me whether it’s too late to separate these roots and transplant them? i think they’re too thick, but i don’t want to spoil ’em for blossoming this year. i think a piny is as pretty a flower as grows.”
[27] “why, now, i’d think this was about the right time to separate the roots, but you want to do it right. now, if you’d just give me the spade i’ll show you how to handle it and not cut the roots and i’ll separate them, too,” replied joseph’s neighbor, throwing off his coat and seizing the spade.
joseph stood by and watched for a few moments and then trotted off to get himself a spade. the two men spaded and puffed until all the peony roots lay on the fresh earth. then the work of separation began. the supposed neighbor acted as teacher and joseph was an interested pupil.
“bless my soul!” exclaimed miss katherine, as she looked out of the window. “mr. murphy!”
for almost the first time in her life she experienced a pang of jealousy and pique. when she had advocated tolerancy towards the suspect, it must be confessed that miss katherine was influenced by more than one consideration. she had been inclined to think that if the stranger came again, she would be the magnet and not the treasure. and now here he was pottering around with joseph!
she didn’t stay vexed long, for soon she thought he might have been coming to see her and joseph in his stupid way had stopped him with questions about his flowers. and then he very likely was fond of flowers and gardening. all nice men were. the captain had been passionately fond of them.
[28] finally miss katherine sallied out with her most engaging countenance.
“so you have pressed mr. murphy into service, joseph?” she asked brightly.
“eh?” returned joseph. how did kate know this neighbor’s name?
“i haven’t even introduced myself to your brother, miss boulby,” explained mr. murphy. “we have been working so hard i clear forgot.”
“i mentioned mr. murphy’s calling, if you remember,” said miss katherine to her brother, nudging him sharply.
“oh, mr. murphy,” repeated joseph. he recollected it all now, and being no actor, dared do nothing but stare.
“you must come in to tea,” said miss katherine to mr. murphy, who accepted promptly.
when his sister became leader in this scene, joseph retired to the background and subsequently to the back yard. miss katherine conducted her guest to the library. supper would soon be ready.
“you remind me somewhat of captain shannon,” remarked miss katherine.
mr. murphy looked rather startled.
“i mean that you are fond of gardening. i have been told that it was a passion with the captain,” explained miss katherine.
“i heard something like that, too, about the [29] captain,” returned mr. murphy, who seemed more fluent than upon his first visit.
“how are you feeling to-day, mr. murphy?” inquired miss katherine kindly.
“feeling,—feeling?” repeated her guest in a puzzled way.
“do you think ocean view will completely restore your health?” explained miss katherine.
“oh! ah, yes!” hastily began mr. murphy. “to tell you the truth i have been so hearty lately that i forget i came here for my health.”
“isn’t that lovely!” exclaimed miss katherine delightedly.
“ah—er—yes, it is,” replied her guest helplessly. he was unaccustomed to feminine effusiveness.
“i—ah—really i find that captain shannon interests me. would you tell me something more about him?” asked mr. murphy.
“i suppose it is some years since you knew him?” interrogated miss katherine, and, as her guest made a rather unintelligible reply, she continued:
“i have gathered very little from others concerning captain shannon, but i have deduced a great deal. i don’t think there is any class of people so interesting as sailors, and especially captains. they are daring, picturesque, romantic, don’t you think?”—mr. murphy scratched his [30] head as if he would make an inlet for these new ideas.—“paul jones, long tom and even captain kidd were such captivating characters.”—mr. murphy changed off to the other hand.—“on this account i was disposed to admire captain shannon, and when i noticed the books he had read and loved i admired him much more. i have always told my brother that a man is charming in proportion to his love of tales of daring and chivalry and romance.”
here the tide of miss katherine’s eloquence was interrupted by an eager gesture from her listener.
“if captain shannon set such store by those books, i believe i’ll have a try at them,” he said.
miss katherine’s face glowed. here was a man! she went to the shelves and read over the names. seeing mr. murphy’s lips moving as if he were committing them to memory she offered to make a list for him. this was too great a kindness! how much he would value it!
