it was early tuesday morning, and mrs. cliff and willy having just finished their breakfast, were busily engaged in packing the two trunks they proposed taking with them, and the elder lady was stating that although she was perfectly willing to dress in the blue flannel suit which had been ordered, she was not willing to wear a white cap, although willy urged that this was the proper thing, as they had been told by the people where they had bought their yachting suits; and mrs. cliff was still insisting that, although it would do very well for willy to wear a white cap, she would wear a hood,—the same kind of a hood which she had worn on all her other voyages, which was more like a bonnet and more suitable[pg 174] to her on that account than any other kind of head covering, when mr. burke burst—actually burst—without knocking, into the room. his silk hat was on the back of his head, and he wore no overcoat.
"mrs. cliff," he exclaimed, "i've just seen shirley! you remember shirley?"
"indeed, i do," said mrs. cliff. "i remember him very well, and i always thought him to be a remarkably nice man! but where did you see him, and what in the world did he tell you to throw you into such a flurry?"
"he said a lot to me!" replied burke. "and i'll try to make as straight a tale of it as i can! you see, about a week ago shirley got a telegraphic message from captain horn—"
"captain horn!" exclaimed mrs. cliff. "where is he, and what did he say?"
"he's in mexico," said burke; "and the telegram was as long as a letter—that's one advantage in not being obliged to think of what things cost,—and he told shirley a lot—"
"how did they say they were?" asked mrs. cliff, eagerly. "or did he say anything about mrs. horn? are they well?"
"oh, i expect they're all right," said burke; "but i don't think he treated that subject. it was all about that gold, and the part of it that was to go to peru!
"when the business of dividing up the treasure was settled in london in the way we know all about, word was sent to the peruvian government to tell them what had happened, and to see what they said about it. and[pg 175] when they heard the news, they were a good deal more than satisfied,—as they ought to have been, i'm sure,—and they made no bones about the share we took. all they wanted was to have their part sent to them just as soon as could be, and i don't wonder at it; for all those south american countries are as poor as beggars, and if any one of them got a sum of money like that, it could buy up all the others, if it felt like spending the money in that way!
"those peruvians were in such a hurry to get the treasure that they wouldn't agree to have the gold coined into money, or to be sent a part at a time, or to take drafts for it; but they wanted it just as it was as soon as they could get it, and, as it was their own, nobody could hinder them from doing what they pleased with it. shirley and i have made up our minds that most likely the present government thought that they wouldn't be in office when the money arrived if they didn't have it on hand in pretty short order; and, of course, if they got their fingers on that treasure, they could stay in power as long as they pleased.
"it is hard to believe that any government could be such fools,—for they ordered it all shipped on an ordinary merchant vessel, an english steamer, the dunkery beacon, which was pretty nigh ready to sail for lima. now, any other government in this world would have sent a man-of-war for that gold, or some sort of an armed vessel to convoy it, but that wasn't the way with the peruvians! they wanted their money, and they wanted it by the first steamer which could be got ready[pg 176] to sail. they weren't going to wait until they got one of their cruisers over to england,—not they!
"the quickest way, of course, would have been to ship it to aspinwall, and then take it by rail to panama, and from there ship it to lima, but i suppose they were afraid to do that. if that sort of freight had been carried overland, they couldn't have hindered people from finding out what it was, and pretty nearly everybody in central america would have turned train-robber. anyway, the agents over there got the dunkery beacon to sail a little before her regular time.
"now here comes the point! they actually shipped a hundred and sixty million dollars' worth of pure gold on a merchant steamer that was going on a regular voyage, and would actually touch at jamaica and rio janeiro on account of her other freight, instead of buying her outright, or sending her on the straightest cruise she could make for lima! just think of that! more than that, this business was so talked about by the peruvian agents, while they were trying to get the earliest steamer possible for it, that it was heard of in a good many more ports than one!
"well, this steamer with all the gold on board sailed just as soon as it could; and the very next day our london bankers got a telegram from paris from the head of a detective bureau there to tell them that no less than three vessels were fitting out in the biggest kind of hurry to go after that slow merchant steamer with the millions on board!"
mrs. cliff and willy uttered a simultaneous cry of[pg 177] horror. "do you mean they're pirates, and are going to steal the gold?" cried mrs. cliff.
"of course they are!" continued burke. "and i don't wonder at it! why, i don't believe such a cargo of gold ever left a port since the beginning of the world! for such a thing as that is enough to tempt anybody with the smallest streak of rascal blood in him and who could get hold of a ship!
"well, these three vessels were fitting out hard as they could,—two in france, at toulon and marseilles, and one in genoa; and although the detectives were almost positive what their business was, they were not sure that they could get proof enough to stop them. if the dunkery beacon had been going on a straight voyage, even to rio janeiro, she might have got away from them, but, you see, she was goin' to touch at jamaica!
"and now, now,—this very minute,—that slow old steamer and those three pirates are on the atlantic ocean together! why, it makes your blood creep to think of it!"
"indeed it does! it's awful!" cried mrs. cliff. "and what are the london people going to do?"
"they're not going to do anything so far as i know!" said burke. "if they could get through with the red-tape business necessary to send any sort of a cruiser or war-vessel after the dunkery beacon to protect her,—and i'm not sure that they could do it at all,—it would be a precious long time before such a vessel would leave the english channel! but i don't think[pg 178] that they'll try anything of the sort; all i know is, that the london people sent a cable message to captain horn. i suppose that they thought he ought to know what was likely to happen, considerin' that he was the head man in the whole business!"
"and what did the captain do?" cried mrs. cliff. "what could he do?"
"i don't know," answered burke. "i expect he did everything that could be done in the way of sending messages; and among other things, he sent that telegram, about a thousand words more or less, to shirley. he might have telegraphed to me, perhaps, but he didn't know my address, as i was wandering around. but shirley, you know, is a fixture in his shipyard;—and so he sent it to him!"
"i haven't a doubt," said mrs. cliff, "that he would have telegraphed to you if he had known where you were!"
"i hope so," said burke. "and when he had told shirley all that had happened, he asked him to pull up stakes, and sail by the first steamer he could catch for jamaica. there was a chance that he might get there before the dunkery beacon arrived, or while she was in port, and then he could tell everything to make her captain understand that he needn't be afraid to lose anything on account of his ship stopping in kingston harbor until arrangements could be made for his carrying his gold in safety to lima. captain horn didn't think that the pirates would try to do anything before the dunkery beacon left kingston. they would just follow[pg 179] her until she got into the south atlantic, and then board her, most likely!
"captain horn said that he was going to jamaica too, but as he didn't know how soon he would be able to sail from vera cruz, he wanted shirley to go ahead without losing a minute. and then shirley he telegraphed to me up at plainton,—thinking i was there and that i ought to know all about it, and the women at my house took so long forwarding it that i did not get it until yesterday evening, and then i rushed around to where shirley was staying, and got there just in time to catch him, for the next steamer to jamaica sailed early this morning. but he had plenty of time to tell me everything.
"the minute he got the captain's telegram, he just dropped everything and started for new york. and i can tell you, mrs. cliff, i'd have done the same, for i don't know what i wouldn't do to get the chance to see captain horn again!"
"and you wanted to go with mr. shirley?" said mrs. cliff, with an eager light in her eyes.
"indeed i did!" said burke. "but, of course, i wouldn't think of such a thing as going off and leaving you here with that yacht on your hands, and no knowing what you would do with the people on board, and everything else! so i saw shirley off about seven o'clock this morning, and then i came to report to you."
"that was too much to expect, mr. burke," said mrs. cliff, "but it was just like you, and i shall never forget it! but, now tell me one thing,—is mrs. horn going to jamaica with the captain?"[pg 180]
"i don't know," said burke, "but, of course, she must be—he wouldn't leave her alone in mexico!"
"of course she is!" cried mrs. cliff. "and mr. shirley will see them! and oh, mr. burke, why can't we see them? of all things in the world i want to see edna, and the captain too! and why can't we go straight to jamaica in the summer shelter instead of going anywhere else? we may get there before they all leave; don't you think we could do that?"
the eyes of captain burke fairly blazed. "do it!" he cried, springing to his feet. "i believe we can do it; at any rate we can try! the same to you, madam, i would do anything in the world to see captain horn, and nobody knows when we will have the chance! well, madam, it's all the plainest kind of sailing; we can get off at daylight to-morrow morning, and if that yacht sails as they told me she sails, i believe we may overhaul shirley, and, perhaps, we will get to kingston before any of them! and now i've got to bounce around, for there's a good deal to be done before night-fall!"
"but what about the synod?" asked willy croup.
"bless my soul!" exclaimed mr. burke, stopping suddenly on his way to the door. "i forgot the synod."
mrs. cliff hesitated for a moment. "i don't think it need make any difference! it would be a great shame to disappoint all those good men; why couldn't we take them along all the same? their weight wouldn't make the yacht go any slower, would it, mr. burke?"
"not a bit of it!" said he. "but they may not want to go so far. besides, if we find the captain at kingston,[pg 181] we mayn't feel like going back in a hurry. i'll tell you what we could do, mrs. cliff! we wouldn't lose any time worth speaking of if we touched at nassau,—that's in the bahamas, and a jolly place to go to. then we might discharge our cargo of ministers, and if you paid their board until the next steamer sailed for new york, and their passage home, i should think they would be just as well satisfied as if they came back with us!"
mrs. cliff reflected. "that's true!" said she, presently. "i can explain the case to them, and i don't see why they should not be satisfied. and as for me, nobody could be more willing than i am to give pleasure to these ministers, but i don't believe that i could give up seeing edna and captain horn for the sake of any members of any synod!"
"all right, madam!" cried the impatient burke. "you settle the matter with the parsons, and i haven't a doubt you can make it all right; and i'll be off! everything has got to be on board to-night. i'll come after you early this evening." with this he departed.
when mr. burke had gone, mrs. cliff, very much excited by what she had heard and by the thought of what she was going to do, told willy that she could go on with the packing while she herself went over to the church in brooklyn and explained matters to the members of the synod who intended to go with her, and give them a chance to decide whether or not the plan proposed by mr. burke would suit them.
she carried out this intention and drove to brooklyn in a carriage, but, having been delayed by many things[pg 182] which willy wanted to know about the packing, and having forgotten in what street the church was situated, she lost a good deal of time; and when she reached her destination she found that the synod had adjourned sine die.
mrs. cliff sighed. it was a great pity to have taken so much trouble, especially when time was so precious, but she had done what she could. it would be impossible for her to find the members in their temporary places of abode, and the only thing she could do now was to tell them the change in her plans when they came on board that evening, and then, if they did not care to sail with her, they would have plenty of time to go on shore again.
