"I don"t mean to deny or affirm anything in relation to the matter,"
replied the young woman, "and you will oblige me very much if you will never recur to this subject again."
And so the young man betook himself once more to the smoking-room.
On this trip Edith had seen a good deal of American society. People over there had made it very pleasant for her, and, although the weather was somewhat trying, she had greatly enjoyed the sleigh-rides and the different festivities which winter brings to the citizen of Northern America. Her father and her cousin had gone to America to see numerous breweries that were situated in different parts of the country, and which it was proposed to combine into one large company. They had made a Western city their headquarters, and while Edith was enjoying herself with her newly-found friends, the two men had visited the breweries in different sections of the country--all, however, near the city where Edith was staying. The breweries seemed to be in a very prosperous condition, although the young man declared the beer they brewed was the vilest he had ever tasted, and he said he wouldn"t like to have anything to do with the production of it, even if it did turn in money. His uncle had not tried the beer, but confined himself solely to the good old bottled English ale, which had increased in price, if not in excellence, by its transportation. But there was something about the combination that did not please him; and, from the few words he dropped on the subject, his nephew saw that Longworth was not going to be a member of the big Beer Syndicate. The intention had been to take a trip to Canada, and Edith had some hopes of seeing the city of Montreal in its winter dress; but that visit had been abandoned, as so much time had been consumed in the Western States. So they began their homeward voyage, with the elder Longworth sitting a good deal in his deck-chair, and young Longworth spending much of his time in the smoking-room, while Edith walked the deck alone. And this was the lady whom Fate threw into the arms of John Kenyon.
CHAPTER V.
Steamer friendships ripen quickly. It is true that, as a general thing, they perish with equal suddenness. The moment a man sets his foot on solid land the glamour of the sea seems to leave him, and the friend to whom he was ready to swear eternal fealty while treading the deck, is speedily forgotten on sh.o.r.e. Edith Longworth gave no thought to the subject of the innocent nature of steamer friendships when she reviewed in her own mind her pleasant walk along the deck with Kenyon. She had met many interesting people during her numerous voyages, but they had all proved to be steamer acquaintances, whose names she had now considerable difficulty in remembering. Perhaps she would not have given a second thought to Mr. Kenyon that night if it had not been for some ill-considered remarks her cousin saw fit to make at the dinner-table.
"Who was that fellow you were walking with today?" young Longworth asked.
Edith smiled upon him pleasantly, and answered:
"Mr. Kenyon you mean, I suppose?"
"Oh, you know his name, do you?" he answered gruffly.
"Certainly," she replied; "I would not walk with a gentleman whose name I did not know."
"Really?" sneered her cousin. "And pray were you introduced to him?"
"I do not think," answered Edith quietly, "any person has a right to ask me that question except my father. He has not asked it, and, as you have, I will merely answer that I _was_ introduced to Mr. Kenyon."
"I did not know you had any mutual acquaintance on board who could make you known to each other."
"Well, the ceremony was a little informal. We were introduced by our mutual friend, old Father Neptune. Father Neptune, being, as you know, a little boisterous this morning, took the liberty of flinging me upon Mr.
Kenyon. I weigh something more than a feather, and the result was--although Mr. Kenyon was good enough to say he was uninjured--that the chair on which he sat had not the same consideration for my feelings, and it went down with a crash. I thought Mr. Kenyon should take my chair in exchange for the one I had the misfortune to break, but Mr. Kenyon thought otherwise. He said he was a mining engineer, and that he could not claim to be a very good one if he found any difficulty in mending a deck-chair. It seems he succeeded in doing so, and that is the whole history of my introduction to, and my intercourse with, Mr. Kenyon, Mining Engineer."
"Most interesting and romantic," replied the young man; "and do you think that your father approves of your picking up indiscriminate acquaintances in this way?"
Edith, flushing a little at this, said:
"I would not willingly do what my father disapproved of;" then in a lower voice she added: "except, perhaps, one thing."
Her father, who had caught s.n.a.t.c.hes of the conversation, now leaned across towards his nephew, and said warningly:
"I think Edith is quite capable of judging for herself. This is my seventh voyage with her, and I have always found such to be the case.
This happens to be your first, and so, were I you, I would not pursue the subject further."
The young man was silent, and Edith gave her father a grateful glance.
Thus it was that, while she might not have given a thought to Kenyon, the remarks which her cousin had made, brought to her mind, when she was alone, the two young men, and the contrast between them was not at all to the advantage of her cousin.
The scrubbing-brushes on the deck above him woke Kenyon early next morning. For a few moments after getting on deck he thought he had the ship to himself. One side of the deck was clean and wet; on the other side the men were slowly moving the scrubbing-brushes backward and forward, with a drowsy swish-swish. As he walked up the deck, he saw there was one pa.s.senger who had been earlier than himself.
Edith Longworth turned round as she heard his step, and her face brightened into a smile when she saw who it was.
Kenyon gravely raised his steamer cap and bade her "Good-morning."
"You are an early riser, Mr. Kenyon."
"Not so early as you are, I see."
"I think I am an exceptional pa.s.senger in that way," replied the girl. "I always enjoy the early morning at sea. I like to get as far forward on the steamer as possible, so that there is nothing between me and the boundless anywhere. Then it seems as if the world belongs to myself, with n.o.body else in it."
"Isn"t that a rather selfish view?" put in Kenyon.
"Oh, I don"t think so. There is certainly nothing selfish in my enjoyment of it; but, you know, there are times when one wishes to be alone, and to forget everybody."
"I hope I have not stumbled upon one of those times."
"Oh, not at all, Mr. Kenyon," replied his companion, laughing. "There was nothing personal in the remark. If I wished to be alone, I would have no hesitation in walking off. I am not given to hinting; I speak plainly--some of my friends think a little too plainly. Have you ever been on the Pacific Ocean?"
"Never."
"Ah, there the mornings are delicious. It is very beautiful here now, but in summer on the Pacific some of the mornings are so calm and peaceful and fresh, that it would seem as if the world had been newly made."
"You have travelled a great deal, Miss Longworth. I envy you."
"I often think I am a person to be envied, but there may come a shipwreck one day, and then I shall not be in so enviable a position."
"I sincerely hope you may never have such an experience."
"Have you ever been shipwrecked, Mr. Kenyon?"
"Oh no; my travelling experiences are very limited. But to read of a shipwreck is bad enough."
"We have had a most delightful voyage so far. Quite like summer. One can scarcely believe that we left America in the depth of winter, with snow everywhere and the thermometer ever so far below zero. Have you mended your deck-chair yet, sufficiently well to trust yourself upon it again?"
"Oh!" said Kenyon, with a laugh, "you really must not make fun of my amateur carpentering like that. As I told you, I am a mining engineer, and if I cannot mend a deck-chair, what would you expect me to do with a mine?"
"Have you had much to do with mines?" asked the young woman.
"I am just beginning," replied Kenyon; "this, in fact, is one of my first commissions. I have been sent with my friend Wentworth to examine certain mines on the Ottawa River."
"The Ottawa River!" cried Edith. "Are you one of those who were sent out by the London Syndicate?"
"Yes," answered Kenyon with astonishment. "What do you know about it?"
"Oh, I know everything about it. Everything, except what the mining expert"s report is to be, and that information, I suppose, you have; so, between the two of us, we know a great deal about the fortunes of the London Syndicate."
"Really! I am astonished to meet a young lady who knows anything about the matter. I understood it was rather a secret combination up to the present."
"Ah! but, you see, I am one of the syndicate."