The caller was young Pearson, the captain"s acquaintance of the previous forenoon. They shook hands heartily.
"Perhaps you didn"t think I should accept that invitation of yours, Captain Warren," observed Pearson. "I told you I meant it when I said yes. And calling within thirty-six hours is pretty good proof, isn"t it?"
"Suits me fust-rate. I"m mighty glad you came. Set right down. Lonesome at the boardin" house, was it?"
Pearson made a grimace. "Lonesome!" he repeated. "Ugh! Let"s talk of something else. Were you in time for your appointment yesterday noon?"
"Why, yes; I was and I wasn"t. Say, won"t you have a cigar? That"s right. And I s"pose, bein" as this is New York, I"d ought to ask you to take somethin" to lay the dust, hey? I ain"t made any inquiries myself, but I shouldn"t wonder if the Commodore--the feller that let you in--could find somethin" in the spare room closet or somewheres, if I ask him."
The young man laughed. "If you mean a drink," he said, "I don"t care for it, thank you."
"What? You ain"t a teetotaler, are you?"
"No, not exactly. But--"
"But you can get along without it, hey? So can I; generally do, fur"s that goes. But _I"m_ from South Denboro. I thought here in New York--"
"Oh, there are many people, even here in New York, who are not convinced that alcohol is a food."
"You don"t tell me! Well, I"m livin" and learnin" every day. Judgin"
from stories and the yarns in the Boston newspapers, folks up our way have the idea that this town is a sort of annex to the bad place. All right, then we won"t trouble the Commodore. I notice you"re lookin" over my quarters. What do you think of "em?"
Pearson had, in spite of himself, been glancing about the room. Its luxury and the evident signs of taste and wealth surprised him greatly.
"Astonish you to find me livin" in a place like this, hey?"
"Why, why, yes, it does, somewhat. I didn"t realize you were such an aristocrat, Captain Warren. If I had, I might have been a little more careful of my dress in making my first call."
"Dress? Oh, you mean you"d have put on your Sunday clothes. Well, I"m glad you didn"t. You see, _I_ haven"t got on my regimentals, and if you"d been on dress parade I might have felt bashful. Ho, ho! I don"t wonder you are surprised. This is a pretty swell neighborhood, ain"t it?"
"Yes, it is."
"These--er--apartments, now. "Bout as good as any in town, are they?"
"Pretty nearly. There are few better--much better."
"I thought so. You wouldn"t call livin" in "em economizin" to any consider"ble extent, would you?"
"No," with a laugh; "no, _I_ shouldn"t, but my ideas of economy are--well, different. They have to be. Are you ecomomizing, Captain?"
Captain Elisha laughed and rubbed his knee.
"No," he chuckled, "_I_ ain"t, but my nephew and niece are. These are their rooms."
"Oh, you"re visiting?"
"No, I don"t know"s you"d call it visitin". I don"t know what you would call it. I"m here, that"s about all you can say."
He paused and remained silent. His friend was silent, also, not knowing exactly what remark to make.
"How"s the novel comin" on?" asked the captain, a minute later.
"Oh, slowly. I"m not at all sure it will ever be finished. I get discouraged sometimes."
"No use in doin" that. What sort of a yarn is it goin" to be? Give me a gen"ral idea of the course you"re tryin" to steer. That is, if it ain"t a secret."
"It isn"t. But there"s mighty little worth telling. When I began I thought I had a good scheme, but it seems pretty weak and dish-watery now."
"Most things do while their bein" done, if you really care about doin"
"em well. Heave ahead! You said "twas a sea yarn, and I"m a sort of specialist when it comes to salt water. Maybe I might prescribe just the right tonic, though "tain"t very likely."
Pearson began to outline the plot of his novel, speaking slowly at first, but becoming more interested as he continued. Captain Elisha listened meditatively, puffing solemnly at his cigar, and interrupting but seldom.
"I think that"s a pretty good idea," he observed, at length. "Yes, sir, that sounds promisin", to me. This cap"n of yours now, he"s a good feller. Don"t get him too good, though; that wouldn"t be natural. And don"t get him too bad, neither. I know it"s the fashion, judgin" by the sea yarns I"ve read lately, to have a Yankee skipper sort of a cross between a prize fighter and a murderer. Fust day out of port he begins by pickin" out the most sickly fo"mast hand aboard, mashes him up, and then takes the next invalid. I got a book about that kind of a skipper out of our library down home a spell ago, and the librarian said "twas awful popular. A strong story, she said, and true to life. Well, "twas strong--you could pretty nigh smell it--but as for bein" true to life, I had my doubts. I"ve been to sea, command of a vessel, for a good many years, and sometimes I"d go weeks, whole weeks, without jumpin" up and down on a single sailor. Fact! Got my exercise other ways, I presume likely.
"I tell you," he went on, "the main trouble with that tale of yours, as I see it, is that you"re talkin" about things you ain"t ever seen. Now there"s plenty you have seen, I wouldn"t wonder. Let"s see, you was born in Belfast, you said. Live there long, did you?"
"Yes, until I went away to school."
"Your father, he went to sea, did he?"
"Yes. But his ship was lost, with all hands, when I was a baby."
"But your Uncle Jim wa"n"t lost. You remember him well; you said so.
Tell me something you remember."
Before the young man was aware of it, he was telling of his Uncle Jim, of the latter"s return from voyages, of his own home life, of his mother, and of the village where he spent his boyhood. Then, led on by the captain"s questioning, he continued with his years at college, his experiences as reporter and city editor. Without being conscious that he was doing so, he gave his host a pretty full sketch of himself, his story, and his ambitions.
"Mr. Pearson," said Captain Elisha, earnestly, "don"t you worry about that yarn of yours. If you"ll take the advice of an old feller who knows absolutely nothin" about such things, keep on rememberin" about your Uncle Jim. He was a man, every inch of him, and a seaman, too. Put lots of him into this hero of yours, and you won"t go fur wrong. And when it comes to handlin" a ship, why--well, if you _want_ to come to me, I"ll try and help you out best I can."
Pearson was delighted.
"You _will_?" he cried. "Splendid! It"s mighty good of you. May I spring some of my stuff on you as I write it?"
"Sartin you may. Any time, I"ll be tickled to death. I"ll be tickled to have you call, too; that is, if callin" on an old salt like me won"t be too tirin"."
The answer was emphatic and rea.s.suring.
"Thank you," said Captain Elisha. "I"m much obliged. Come often, do.
I--well, the fact is, I"m likely to get sort of lonesome myself, I"m afraid. Yes, I shouldn"t wonder if I did."
He sighed, tossed away the stump of his cigar, and added,
"Now, I want to ask you somethin". You newspaper fellers are supposed to know about all there is to know of everything under the sun. Do you know much about the Stock Exchange?"
Pearson smiled.
"All I can afford to know," he said.