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Captain Zeb, who had been inspecting the anchored vessel through the spyglass, lowered the latter and seemed puzzled. "Not much," he answered. "Blessed if she don't look abandoned to me. Can't see a sign of life aboard her." "We couldn't neither," said Thoph. "We was just cal'latin' to go off to her when Charlie come and told us about the longboat.
His impulse was to leap up those steps, rush across that deck, spring into the dory and row, anywhere to get away from the horror of that forecastle. "Come up!" called Burgess. "Hurry! It's the smallpox! The darned hooker's rotten with it. For God sakes, come quick!" He ran to the rail, yelling order to Bill and Thoph, who were frantically busy with the dory. Ellery began to climb the ladder.
"Where's Charlie?" asked Thoph. "Gone back to the cabin," was the answer. "Thought likely he might find some of her papers or somethin' to put us on the track. I told him to heave ahead; I didn't want no part of it. Too much like that yeller-jack schooner to suit me. What's become of the parson?" Thoph pointed to the open hatch. "Down yonder, explorin' the fo'castle," he replied.
The minister was tempted. The sea always had a fascination for him and the mystery of the strange ship was appealing. "Sure I won't be in the way?" "No, no! 'course you won't," said Burgess. "Come right along. You set in the bow, if you don't mind gettin' sprinkled once in a while. I'll steer and Thoph and Bill'll row. That'll be enough for one dory. If we need more, we'll signal. Heave ahead."
"I never said he waited on the cooks. I said he waited on them on the family. And there's a coachman " "Why do they call them kind of fellers coachmen?" put in Thoph. "There ain't any coach. I see the carriages when they come two freight cars full of 'em. There was a open two-seater, and a buckboard, and that high-wheeled thing they called a dog-cart." Beriah Doane laughed uproariously.
I saw Lute, proudly conscious of his new lavender trousers, in conversation with Matilda Dean, and I wondered who was the winner in that wordy race. Captain Jedediah strutted arm in arm with the minister. Thoph Newcomb and Alvin Baker were there with their wives. Simeon Eldredge had not yet put in an appearance but I knew that he would as soon as the evening mail was sorted.
"Thoph Newcomb and Cap'n Jed Dean and the rest of us was havin' a talk on politics last night up there and 'twas mighty interestin'. Old Dean had Thoph pretty well out of the race when I hauled alongside, but when I got into the argument 'twas different. 'What's goin' to become of the laborin' men of this country if you have free trade? I says. Dean had to give in that he didn't know.
Burgess had, that very winter, pulled a skiff through broken ice in the face of a wicked no'theaster to rescue an old neighbor whose dory had been capsized in the bay while he was hauling lobster pots. But now Burgess was as scared as the rest. Thoph and Bill sprang over the rail into the boat. Burgess turned and beckoned to Ellery. "Come on!" he called. "What are you waitin' for?"
We'll send the doctor and somebody else some one that's had it, maybe, or ain't afraid. I am and I'm goin'. Don't be a fool." Thoph, from the dory, shouted to know what was the matter. Ellery climbed the ladder to the deck and walked over to the rail. As he approached, Burgess fell back a few feet.
You're livin' right next door to 'em, as you might say! My soul! If I was you I cal'late I'd know afore this time." "No doubt you would, Thoph. But I don't. I didn't know the Coltons had arrived until I came by just now. They have arrived, I take it." Arrived! There was no question of the arrival, nor of its being witnessed by everyone present, myself and the South Denboro delegates excepted.