Daniel made no reply. Leaning from the window, he was staring with all his might. Serena"s impatience got the better of her.
"Well? WELL?" she burst forth. "What does it look like? Do say something!"
The captain drew back into the carriage.
"My--soul!" he exclaimed presently. "Look, Serena."
Serena looked, and her look was a long one. Then, her face flushed and her eyes shining, she turned to her husband.
"Oh! Oh, Daniel!" she gasped. "It"s as good as the Blacks", isn"t it?
I--I do believe it"s better! Get out, quick!"
The caretaker, a middle-aged man with dark hair and mutton-chop whiskers, met them at the top of the stone steps leading to the front door. He bowed low.
"Good afternoon, ma"am," he said. "Good afternoon, sir. Mr. Dott, ain"t it, sir? And Mrs. Dott, ma"am. My name is "Apgood, sir. I was expecting you. Will you be so good as to walk in?"
He threw open the door and, bowing once more, ushered them into the hall, a large, old-fashioned hall with lofty ceiling and a mahogany railed staircase.
"I presume, sir," he said, addressing the captain, "that you and the madam would wish to "ave me show you about a bit. I was Mrs. Dott"s--the late Mrs. Dott"s--butler when she resided "ere, sir, and she was good enough to make me "er caretaker when she went away, sir."
Captain Dan, rather overawed by Mr. Hapgood"s magnificent manner, observed that he wanted to know, adding that he had heard about the caretaking from the lawyers "up to Boston." After an appraising glance at the speaker, Mr. Hapgood addressed his next remark to Serena.
"Shall I show you about the establishment, madam?" he asked.
Serena"s composure was a triumph. An inexperienced observer might have supposed she had been accustomed to butlers and establishments all her life.
"Yes," she said loftily, "you can show us."
Mr. Hapgood was a person of wide experience; however, he merely bowed and led the way. Serena followed him, and Captain Dan followed Serena.
A large drawing-room, a library, a very large dining-room, five large bedrooms--"owners" and guest rooms," Mr. Hapgood grandly termed them, to distinguish from the servants" quarters at the rear--billiard room, bathroom, and back to the hall again.
"You would wish to see the kitchens, I suppose, ma"am," said Mr.
Hapgood. "Doubtless Mr. Dott wouldn"t care for those, sir. Most gentlemen don"t. Perhaps, sir, you"d sit "ere while the lady and I go through the service portion of the "ouse, sir."
Daniel, who was rather curious to see the "service portion," partly because he had never heard of one before, hesitated. His wife, however, settled the question. She was conscious of a certain condescension in the Hapgood tone.
"Of course," she said lightly, "Cap"n Dott will not go to the--er--service portion. Such things never interest him. Sit here, Daniel, and wait. Now--" cutting off just in time the "Mister" that was on the tip of her tongue and remembering how butlers in novels were invariably addressed--"Now--er--Hapgood, you can take me to the--ahem--kitchens."
It was somewhat disappointing to find that the plural was merely a bit of verbal embroidery on the caretaking butler"s part, and that there was but one kitchen, situated in the bas.e.m.e.nt. However, it was of good size and well furnished with closets, the contents of which stirred Serena"s housekeeping curiosity. The inspection of the kitchen and laundry took some time.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the dim front hall, Captain Dan sat upon a most uncomfortable carved teak-wood chair and looked about him. Through the doorway leading to the drawing-room--"front parlor," he would have called it--he could see the ebony grand piano, the ormolu clock, and the bronze statuettes on the marble mantel, the buhl cabinet filled with bric-a-brac, the heavy mahogany-framed and silk-covered sofa. There were oil paintings on the walls, paintings which foreign dealers, recognizing Aunt Lavinia"s art craving as a gift of Providence--to them--had sold her at high prices. They were, for the most part, landscapes, inclining strongly to snow-covered mountains, babbling brooks, and cows; or marines in which one-third of vivid sunset illumined two-thirds of placid sea. Of portraits there were two, Uncle Jim Dott in black broadcloth and dignity and Aunt Lavinia Dott in dignity and black satin.
Captain Dan felt strangely out of place alone amid this oppressive grandeur. Again, as on the memorable occasion of his first visit to the house, he was conscious of his hands and feet. Aunt Lavinia"s likeness, staring stonily and paintily from the wall, seemed to regard him with disapproval, almost as if she were reading his thoughts. If the portrait could have spoken he might have expected it to say: "Here is the person upon whom all these, my worldly possessions, have been bestowed, and he does not appreciate them. There he sits, upon the teakwood chair which I myself bought in Cairo, and, so far from being grateful for the gifts which my generosity has poured into his lap, he is wondering what in the world to do with them, and wishing himself back in Trumet."
Mrs. Dott and the caretaker reentered the hall.
"Thank you, Mr.--er--Thank you, Hapgood," said the lady. "That will be all for to-day, I think. We will go now. Come, Daniel."
Hapgood bowed. "You would wish me to stay "ere as I"ve done, ma"am?" he asked.
"Yes. You may stay, for the present. Cap"n Dott and I will pay your regular wages as long as we need you."
"Thank you kindly, ma"am. And might I take the liberty of saying that if you decide to stay "ere permanently, ma"am, and need a butler or a manservant about the place, I should be glad to "ave you consider me for the position. I"m sure it would "ave pleased the late Mrs. Dott to "ave you do so, ma"am."
"Well," said the captain, with surprising promptness for him, "you see, Mr. Hapgood, as far as that goes we ain"t intendin" to--"
"Hush, Daniel. We don"t know what we intend. You know that our plans are not settled as yet. We will consider the matter, Hapgood. Good day."
"Good day, ma"am," said Hapgood. "Good day, sir."
He opened the big front door, bowed them out, and stood respectfully waiting as they descended the steps. The taxi driver, whom the captain had neglected to discharge or pay, was still there at the curb with his vehicle. Serena addressed him.
"The Palatine Hotel," she said, with great distinctness. "Come, Daniel."
They entered the cab. Captain Dan closed the door. The driver, looking up at Mr. Hapgood, grinned broadly. The latter gentleman glanced at the cab window to make sure that his visitors were not watching him, then he winked.
As the cab whizzed through the streets Serena gloated over the splendors of their new possessions. The house was finer than she expected, the furniture was so rich and high-toned, the pictures--did Daniel notice the pictures?
"And the location!" she cried ecstatically. "Right on the very best street in town, and yet, so the Hapgood man said, convenient to the theaters and the clubs and the halls. We saw the Ladies of Honor hall on the way up, Daniel, you remember."
Daniel nodded. "Yes," he admitted, "it"s fine and convenient and all.
We"--with a sidelong glance at his wife"s face--"we ought to get a good rent for it if we decide not to sell; hey, Serena?"
Serena did not answer. When they reached the hotel she left her husband to settle with the driver and took the elevator to their room. A few minutes later the captain joined her. He looked as if suffering from shock.
"My heavens and earth, Serena!" he exclaimed, "what do you suppose that tax hack feller had the cheek to--"
"Sshh! shh!" interrupted the lady, who was reclining upon the couch.
"Don"t bother me now, Daniel. I don"t want to be bothered with common every-day things now; I want to think."
"Common! Everyday! My soul and body! if what that pirate charged me was everyday, I"d be in the poorhouse in a fortni"t. Why--"
"Oh, don"t! Please don"t! Can"t you see I am trying to realize that it"s true and not a dream. That it has really happened--to ME. Please don"t talk. Do go away, can"t you? Just go out and take a walk, or something; just for a little while. I want to be alone."
Captain Dan slowly descended the stairs. The elevator, of course, would have been quicker, but he was in no hurry. If he must walk, and it seemed that he must, he might as well begin at once. He descended the stairs to the ground floor of the hotel and wandered aimlessly about through the lobby into the billiard room, and finally to a plate gla.s.s door upon which was lettered the word "Rathskeller."
What a Rathskeller might be he did not know, but, as there was another set of letters on the door and those spelled "Push," he pushed.
The Rathskeller was a large room, with a bar at one end and many little tables scattered about. At these tables men were eating, drinking and smoking. A violin, harp and piano, played by a trio of Italians, were doing their worst with a popular melody.
The captain looked about him, selected one of three chairs at an unoccupied table, and sat down. A waiter drifted alongside.
"What"ll you have, sir?" inquired the waiter.
"Hey? Oh, I don"t know. Give me a cup of coffee."
"Coffee? Yes, sir. Anything to eat?"