it was late in the summer, and mrs. cliff dwelt happy and serene in her native town of plainton, maine. she had been there during the whole warm season, for plainton was a place to which people came to be cool and comfortable in summer-time, and if she left her home at all, it would not be in the months of foliage and flowers. it might well be believed by any one who would look out of one of the tall windows of her drawing-room that mrs. cliff did not need to leave home for the mere sake[pg 299] of rural beauty. on the other side of the street, where once stretched a block of poor little houses and shops, now lay a beautiful park, the grove of the incas.
the zeal of mr. burke and the money of mrs. cliff had had a powerful influence upon the minds of the contractors and landscape-gardeners who had this great work in hand, and the park, which really covered a very large space in the village, now appeared from certain points of view to extend for miles, so artfully had been arranged its masses of obstructing foliage, and its open vistas of uninterrupted view. the surface of the ground, which had been a little rolling, had been made more unequal and diversified, and over all the little hills and dells, and upon the wide, smooth stretches there was a covering of bright green turf. it had been a season of genial rains, and there had been a special corps of workmen to attend to the grass of the new park.
great trees were scattered here and there, and many people wondered when they saw them, but these trees, oaks and chestnuts, tall hickories and bright cheerful maples, had been growing where they stood since they were little saplings. the people of plainton had always been fond of trees, and they had them in their side yards, and in their back yards, and at the front of their houses; and when, within the limits of the new park, all these yards, and houses, and sheds, and fences had been cleared away, there stood the trees. hundreds of other trees, evergreens and deciduous, many of them of good size, had been brought from the adjacent coun[pg 300]try on great wheels, which had excited the amazement of the people in the town, and planted in the park.
through the middle of the grounds ran a wide and turbulent brook, whirling around its rocks and spreading out into its deep and beautiful pools, and where once stood the widow casey's little house,—which was built on the side of a bank, so that the caseys went into the second story when they entered by the front,—now leaped a beautiful cataract over that very bank, scattering its spray upon the trunks of the two big chestnuts, one of which used to stand by the side of mrs. casey's house, and the other at the front.
in the shade of the four great oak trees which had stood in william hamilton's back yard, and which he intended to cut down as soon as he had money enough to build a long cow-stable,—for it was his desire to go into the dairy business,—now spread a wide, transparent pool, half surrounded at its upper end by marble terraces, on the edges of which stood tall statues with their white reflections stretching far down into the depths beneath. here were marble benches, and steps down to the water, and sometimes the bright gleams of sunshine came flittering through the leaves, and sometimes the leaves themselves came fluttering down and floated on the surface of the pool. and when the young people had stood upon the terraces, or had sat together upon the wide marble steps, they could walk away, if they chose, through masses of evergreen shrubbery, whose quiet paths seemed to shut them out from the world.
on a little hill which had once led up to parson's barn,[pg 301] but now ended quite abruptly in a little precipice with a broad railing on its edge and a summer-house a little back, one could sit and look out over the stretch of bright green lawns, between two clumps of hemlocks, and over a hedge which concealed the ground beyond, along the whole length of the vista made by becker street, which obligingly descended slightly from the edge of the park so that its houses were concealed by the hemlocks, and then out upon the country beyond, and to the beautiful hills against the sky; and such a one might well imagine, should he be a stranger, that all he saw was in the grove of the incas. upon all the outer edges of this park there were masses of shrubbery, or little lines of hedge, irregularly disposed, with bits of grass opening upon the street, and here and there a line of slender iron railing with a group of statuary back of it, and so the people when they walked that way scarcely knew when they entered the park, or when they left it.
the home of mrs. cliff, itself, had seemed to her to be casting off its newness and ripening into the matured home. much of this was due to work which had been done upon the garden and surrounding grounds, but much more was due to the imperceptible influence of the misses thorpedyke. these ladies had not only taken with them to the house so many of the time-honored objects which they had saved from their old home, but they had brought to bear upon everything around them the courtly tastes of the olden time.
willy croup had declared, as she stood in the hall gazing up at the staircase, that it often seemed to her,[pg 302] since she came back, as if her grandfather had been in the habit of coming down those stairs. "i never saw him," she said, "and i don't know what sort of stairs he used to come down, but there's something about all this which makes me think of things far back and grand, and i know from what i've heard of him that he would have liked to come down such stairs."
mrs. horn and her husband had made a long visit to mrs. cliff, and they had departed early in the summer for a great property they had bought in the west, which included mountains, valleys, a ca?on, and such far extending groves of golden fruit that edna already called the captain "the prince of orange."
edna's brother, ralph, had also been in plainton. he had come there to see his sister and captain horn, and that splendid old woman, mrs. cliff, but soon after he reached the town it might well be supposed it was mr. burke whom he came to visit. this worthy mariner and builder still lived in plainton. his passion for an inland residence had again grown upon him, and he seemed to have given up all thoughts of the sea. he and ralph had royal times together, and if the boy had not felt that he must go with captain horn and his sister to view the wonders of the far west, he and burke would have concocted some grand expedition intended for some sort of an effect upon the civilization of the world.
but although mrs. cliff, for many reasons, had no present desire to leave her home, she did not relinquish the enterprise for which the summer shelter had been designed. when captain hagar had gone to london and[pg 303] had reported to his owners the details of his dire and disastrous misfortune, he had been made the subject of censure and severe criticism; but while no reason could be found why he should be legally punished for what had happened, he was made to understand that there was no ship for him in the gift of the house he had so long served.
when mrs. cliff heard of this,—and she heard of it very soon, through captain horn,—she immediately offered captain hagar the command of the summer shelter, assuring him that her designs included cruises of charity in the north in summer and in tropical waters in the winter-time, and that of all men she knew of, he was the captain who should command her yacht. he was, indeed, admirably adapted to this service, for he was of a kind and gentle nature, and loved children, and he had such an observing mind that it frequently happened when he had looked over a new set of passengers, and had observed their physical tendencies, that he did not take a trip to sea at all, but cruised up the smooth quiet waters of the hudson.
as soon as it could possibly be done, captain horn caused messages to be sent to many ports on the french and spanish coast and along the mediterranean, in order that if the vittorio arrived in any of these harbors, her officers and men might be seized and held; but it was a long time before there was any news of the pirate ship, and then she was heard of at mogador, a port on the western coast of morocco, where she had been sold under very peculiar circumstances and for a very small price[pg 304] by the men who had come there in her, and who had departed north at different times on trading-vessels which were bound for marseilles and gibraltar.
more definite information was received of the third of the pirate vessels which had been fitted out to capture the peruvians' treasure, for, as this vessel approached the west indies, she was overhauled by a spanish cruiser, who, finding her manned by a suspicious crew and well supplied with firearms, had seized her as a filibuster, and had taken her into a cuban port, where she still remained, with her crew in prison awaiting trial or a tardy release, in case it became inconvenient to detain them longer.
the other pirate vessel, on which captain hagar and his men had been placed when they were forced to leave the dunkery beacon, finally reached georgetown, british guiana, where, after a long course of legal action, it was condemned and sold, and as much of the price as was left after costs had been paid, was handed over to the owners of the dunkery beacon.
among the reasons which made mrs. cliff very glad to remain at plainton was one of paramount importance. she was now engaged in a great work which satisfied all her aspirations and desires to make herself able to worthily and conscientiously cope with her income.
when, after the party on the summer shelter had separated at new york, and the ex-members of the synod had gone to their homes, mrs. cliff and her party, which included shirley as well as captain horn and his wife, had reached plainton, their minds were greatly[pg 305] occupied with the subject of the loss of the peruvians' share of the incas' treasures. it was delightful for mrs. cliff and willy to reach again their charming home, and their friends were filled with a pleasure which they could scarcely express to see and enjoy the beauties and the comforts with which mrs. cliff had surrounded herself; but there was still upon them all the shadow of that great misfortune which had happened off the eastern coast of south america.
news came to them of what had been said and done in london, and of what had been said and done, not only in peru, but in other states of south america in regard to the loss of the treasure, but nothing was said of done in any quarter which tended to invalidate their right to the share of the gold which had been adjudged to them. the portion of the treasure allotted to the peruvian government had been duly delivered to its agents, and it was the fault of those agents, acting under the feverish orders of their superiors, which had been the reason of its injudicious and hasty transportation and consequent loss.
but although the ownership of the treasure which was now in the safe possession of those to whom it had been adjudged was not considered a matter to be questioned or discussed, mrs. cliff was not satisfied with the case as it stood, and her dissatisfaction rapidly spread to the other members of the party. it pained her to think that the native peruvians, those who might be considered the descendants of the incas, would now derive no benefit from the discovery of the treasure of their ancestors, and[pg 306] she announced her intention to devote a portion of her wealth to the interests and advantage of these natives.
captain horn was much impressed with this idea, and agreed that if mrs. cliff would take the management of the enterprise into her own hands, he would contribute largely to any plan which she might adopt for the benefit of the peruvians. edna, who now held a large portion of the treasure in her own right, insisted upon being allowed to contribute her share to this object, and burke and shirley declared that they would become partners, according to their means, in the good work.
there was, of course, a great deal of talk and discussion in regard to the best way of using the very large amount of money which had been contributed by the various members of the party, but before captain horn and his wife left plainton everything was arranged, and mrs. cliff found herself at the head of an important and well-endowed private mission to the native inhabitants of peru. she did not make immediately a definite plan of action, but her first steps in the direction of her great object showed that she was a woman well qualified to organize and carry on the great work in the cause of civilization and enlightenment which she had undertaken. she engaged the reverend mr. hodgson and the reverend mr. litchfield, both young men whose dispositions led them to prefer earnest work in new and foreign lands to the ordinary labors of a domestic parish, to go to peru to survey the scene of the proposed work, and to report what, in their opinion, ought to be done and how it should be undertaken.[pg 307]
mrs. cliff, now in the very maturity of her mental and physical powers, felt that this great work was the most congenial task that she could possibly have undertaken, and her future life now seemed open before her in a series of worthy endeavors in which her conscientious feelings in regard to her responsibilities, and her desire to benefit her fellow-beings should be fully satisfied. as to her fellow-workers and those of her friends who thoroughly comprehended the nature of the case, there was a general belief that those inhabitants of peru who were rightfully entitled to the benefits of the discovered treasure, would, under her management and direction of the funds in her hands, receive far more good and advantage than they could possibly have expected had the treasure gone to the peruvian government. in fact, there were those who said that had the dunkery beacon safely arrived in the port of callao, the whole of the continent of south america might have been disturbed and disrupted by the immense over-balance of wealth thrown into the treasury of one of its states.
it is true that mrs. cliff's plans and purposes did not entirely pass without criticism. "it's all very well," said miss nancy shott to mrs. ferguson one morning when the latter had called upon her with a little basket of cake and preserves, "for mrs. cliff to be sending her money to the colored poor of south america, but a person who has lived as she has lived in days gone by ought to remember that there are poor people who are not colored, and who live a great deal nearer than south america." miss shott was at work as she said this,[pg 308] but she could always talk when she was working. she was busy packing the california blankets, which mrs. cliff had given her, in a box for the summer, putting pieces of camphor rolled up in paper between their folds. "if she wanted to find people to give money to, she needn't hire ministers to go out and hunt for them. there are plenty of them here, right under her nose, and if she doesn't see them, it's because she shuts her eyes wilfully, and won't look."
"but it seems to me, miss shott," said mrs. ferguson, "that mrs. cliff has done ever so much for the people of plainton. for instance, there are those blankets. what perfectly splendid things they are,—so soft and light, and yet so thick and warm! they're all wool, every thread of them, i have no doubt."
"all wool!" said miss shott. "of course they are, and that's the trouble with them. some of these days they'll have to be washed, and then they'll shrink up so short that i suppose i'll have to freeze either my chin or my toes. and as to her giving them to me, 'turn about's fair play.' i once joined in to give her a pair."
"oh," said mrs. ferguson.
mr. george burke was now the only member of our little party of friends who did not seem entirely satisfied with his condition and prospects. he made no complaints, but he was restless and discontented. he did not want to go to sea, for he vowed he had had enough of it, and he did not seem to find any satisfaction in a life on shore. he paid a visit to his mother, but he did not stay with her very long, for plainton seemed to suit[pg 309] him better. but when he returned to his house in that town, he soon left it to go and spend a few days with shirley.
when he came back, mrs. cliff, who believed that his uneasy state of mind was the result of want of occupation and the monotonous life of a small town, advised him to go out west and visit captain horn. there was so much in that grand country to interest him and to occupy him, body and mind; but to this advice mr. burke stoutly objected.
"i'm not going out there," he said. "i've seen enough of captain horn and his wife. to tell you the truth, mrs. cliff, that's what's the matter with me."
"i don't understand you," said she.
"it's simply this," said burke. "since i've seen so much of the captain and his wife, and the happiness they get out of each other, i've found out that the kind of happiness they've got is exactly the kind of happiness i want, and there isn't anything else—money, or land, or orange groves, or steamships—that can take the place of it."
"in other words," said mrs. cliff, with a smile, "you want to get married."
"you've hit it exactly," said he. "i want a wife. of course i don't expect to get exactly such a wife as captain horn has—they're about as scarce as buried treasure, i take it—but i want one who will suit me and who is suited to me. that's what i want, and i shall never be happy until i get her."
"i should think it would be easy enough for you to[pg 310] get a wife, mr. burke," said mrs. cliff. "you are in the prime of life, you have plenty of money, and i don't believe it would be at all hard to find a good woman who would be glad to have you."
"that's what my mother said," said he. "when i was there she bored me from morning until night by telling me i ought to get married, and mentioning girls on cape cod who would be glad to have me. but there isn't any girl on cape cod that i want. to get rid of them, i came away sooner than i intended."
"well then," said mrs. cliff, "perhaps there is some one in particular that you would like to have."
"that's it exactly," said burke, "there is some one in particular."
"and do you mind telling me who it is?" she asked.
"since you ask me, i don't mind a bit," said he. "it's miss croup."
mrs. cliff started back astonished. "willy croup!" she exclaimed. "you amaze me! i don't think she would suit you."
"i'd like to know why not?" he asked quickly.
"in the first place," said she, "it's a long time since willy was a girl."
"that's the kind i want," he answered. "i don't want to adopt a daughter. i want to marry a grown woman."
"well," said mrs. cliff, "willy is certainly grown. but then, it doesn't seem to me that she would be adapted to a married life. i am sure she has made up her mind to live single, and she hasn't been accustomed to manage[pg 311] a house and conduct domestic affairs. she has always had some one to depend upon."
"that's what i like," said he. "let her depend on me. and as to management, you needn't say anything to me about that, mrs. cliff. i saw her bouncing to the galley of the summer shelter, and if she manages other things as well as she managed the cooking business there, she'll suit me."
"it seems so strange to me, mr. burke," said mrs. cliff, after a few moments' silence. "i never imagined that you would care for willy croup."
mr. burke drew himself forward to the edge of the chair on which he was sitting, he put one hand on each of his outspread knees, and he leaned forward, with a very earnest and animated expression on his countenance. "now, look here, mrs. cliff," he said, "i want to say something to you. when i see a young woman, brought up in the very bosom of the sunday school, and on the quarter deck of respectability, and who never, perhaps, had a cross word said to her in all her life, or said one to anybody, judging from her appearance, and whose mind is more like a clean pocket-handkerchief in regard to hard words and rough language than anything i can think of;—when i see that young woman with a snow-white disposition that would naturally lead her to hymns whenever she wanted to raise her voice above common conversation,—when i see that young woman, i say, in a moment of life or death to her and every one about her, dash to the door of that engine room, and shout my orders down to that muddled engineer,—knowing i[pg 312] couldn't leave the wheel to give them myself,—ramming them into him as if with the point of a handspike, yelling out everything that i said, word for word, without picking or choosing, trusting in me that i knew what ought to be said in such a moment, and saying it after me, word for word, cursing, swearing, slamming down oaths on him just as i did, trusting in me all the time as to what words ought to be used, and just warming up that blasted engineer until sense enough came to him to make him put out his hand and back her,—then, mrs. cliff, i know that a woman who stands by me at a time like that will stand by me at any time, and that's the woman i want to stand by. and now, what have you got to say?"
willy sat and looked at him willy sat and looked at him
"all i have to say," answered mrs. cliff, who had been listening intently to mr. burke's extraordinary flow of words, "all i have to say is, if that's the way you think about her, you ought to speak to her."
"madam," said burke, springing to his feet, "that suits me. i would have spoken to her before, but i had my doubts about what you'd think of it. but now that i see you're willing to sign the papers, what i want to know is, where will i be likely to find miss croup?"
mrs. cliff laughed. "you are very prompt," said she, "and i think you will find willy in the little parlor. she was sewing there when i saw her last."
in less than a minute mr. burke stood before willy croup in the little parlor. "miss croup," said he, "i want to ask you something."
[pg 313]
"what is it?" said willy, letting her work drop in her lap.
"miss croup," said he, "i heard you swear once, and i never heard anybody swear better, and with more conscience. you did that swearing for me, and now i want to ask you if you will be willing to swear for me again?"
"no," said willy, her cheeks flushing as she spoke, "no, i won't! it was all very well for you to tell me that i didn't do anything wrong when i talked in that dreadful way to mr. maxwell, and for you to get the ministers to tell me that as i didn't understand what i was saying, of course there was no sin in it; but although i don't feel as badly about it as i did, i sometimes wake up in the night and fairly shiver when i think of the words i used that day. and i've made up my mind, no matter whether ships are to be sunk or what is to happen, i will never do that thing again, and i don't want you ever to expect it of me."
"but, william croup," exclaimed mr. burke, forgetting in his excitement that the full form of her christian name was not likely to be masculine, "that isn't the way i want you to swear this time. what i want you to do is, to stand up alongside of me in front of a minister and swear you'll take me for your loving husband to love, honor, and protect, and all the rest of it, till death do us part. now, what do you say to that?"
willy sat and looked at him. the flush went out of her cheeks, and then came again, but it was a different[pg 314] kind of a flush this time, and the brightness went out of her eyes, and another light, a softer and a different light, came into them. "oh! is that what you want?" she said, presently. "i wouldn't mind that."
