"I have," says I, "in the harbor, and isn"t the harbor all water?"
"Yes," says she, "that is true."
"Then, isn"t it dangerous to bathe in that water, and don"t that flag give us warning not to do it?"
"Cousin," says she; "as I said before, you know too much for common ideas to make an impression. Now do try to understand. There is one ship in the harbor that has yellow-fever on board--that is all. It will not be allowed to spread from that one ship."
"Oh," says I, drawing a deep breath, "then it has not poisoned the water."
"Not at all."
"But the yellow flag?"
"That means good bathing, and plenty of it. Come along. Don"t you see people crowding down to the sh.o.r.e?"
CHAPTER XCI.
THE MAN THAT SAVED ME.
I ran into my room, and came out with a bundle in one hand and a coa.r.s.e straw hat in the other. That group of gentlemen was just dropping down the bank out of sight, and after them went a crowd of girls, with their parasols flaming in the sun like a bed of poppies.
"Come," says I, all joyful animation, "I am dying to begin."
E. E. spread her parasol, and off we marched.
We came to the steep bank, and went down a flight of wooden stairs to the sandy sh.o.r.e. Right under the bank was a long row of cubby-houses, made of boards.
"This is ours," says E. E., "come in."
I went in. Sisters, what happened in the privacy of that board sanctuary, is not for the public--let this satisfy the curious.
Two ladies went into that little retreat, with bunched-up skirts, beehive bonnets, and a general a.s.sortment of dry-goods, such as weighs down the ladies of the present generation to an extent that approaches martyrdom.
Two persons came out skimped down into nothingness. They had grown tall and slim, not to say spooky. There was a deficiency of glossy ringlets under the two hats that squared off in front and behind, and were flapped down over each ear.
E. E."s plumpt.i.tudinous figure was mostly lost and gone, and I--well, I felt like a church steeple on a very high hill. I say nothing, the subject being one of great delicacy; but from my experience in those Turkish--well, pantalettes--the female that begrudges her husband that cla.s.s of garments, must hanker after change more than I do. When I came out of the little house, Dempster stood on the sand with a pair--well, of garments like mine, only more so, on, and a flaming red upper garment, bright enough to set the waves on fire, covering his broad bosom.
Another gentleman stood near him--blue and brown in his sea-outfit, youngish, and with eyes that made me wilt like a poppy the moment they fell upon me.
My goodness, how I did feel in that dress! It was all I could do to keep from kind of scrouching down to hide my bare feet; but it was of no use, so I dug them deep into the sand, and felt myself blushing all over, while that gentleman in blue fixed his eyes upon them.
Anyway, there was nothing to be so mightily timorous about, for, according to my calculation, two smaller or whiter feet didn"t leave their prints in the sand that day, though I do make that a.s.sertion with my own lips, that ought to be mute.
Cousin Dempster came forward, took both E. E. and my trembling self by the hand, and led us to the water.
I took one glance: a swarm of straw hats, a crowd of men, women, and children were floundering, swimming, screaming, laughing, tumbling through the waves, that lifted them up, flung them down, pitched them forward, and behaved in a way that no well-bred ocean would have thought of doing.
I shrank--I shivered--the heart seemed to die in my agitated bosom when the first wave kissed my feet; I gave a little scream, but checked myself bravely. The waves were full of men, some of them were looking at me.
I determined to act bravely, and be the heroine of the occasion. I let go of Dempster"s hand. A wave struck me, my head went down and my feet went up. In my fright and anguish I remembered their size and whiteness, and found consolation in the thought while I strove to right myself.
It was in vain; while I staggered with one big wave, another took me unawares, like a thief in the night, and dragged me under, like a wild beast growling over some poor helpless lamb--it tore me away. I shrieked--I plunged--I fought madly for my life. Up through the vivid green of the waters the sunshine came toward me like light upon beaming emeralds. I clutched at it. I tried to scream; but my mouth filled with water, green flashes shot through and through my eyes. I began to pray.
The Green Mountains, the farm, and all my life there shot through my brain; things I had forgotten came uppermost, and those thoughts grew pleasant while the waters seemed roaring me to sleep.
Something came toward me, bluish. Was it a monster of the deep hungry for the life that was so fast dying out?
It seized me. I was born upward on a great wave, and swept off into the light. The claws of some monster, or the arms of some friend, held me close. Which was it?
Some power of good or evil, beastly or human, had dragged me into the sand, where white foam curled around me, and the sun struck down upon my eyes like fire.
Some man was thanking another for a great favor; a crowd of people came swarming around me. I attempted to open my eyes, but the water dripping down from my hair came into them sharp and salt.
"Is she sick? Is she afraid? Do tell who it is?"
These questions came from women who had rushed up from the waters, and flocked around me like mermaids. I did not care about them, but by and by it came to me that men might be there as well. I lifted my hand, swept the wet hair back from my face, and, with a smarting pain in my eyes, saw my deliverer.
His blue garments were black with dripping water, the thick hair streamed over his forehead, his bare feet looked hard and powerful on the sand. It was the man under whose admiring eyes I had blushed and trembled.
"My preserver!" said I, clasping my wet fingers in an ecstasy of grat.i.tude; "shall I ever live to thank you for the poor life you have saved?"
He smiled, he shook his head; I am afraid he laughed, such was his joy and exultation; yet the modesty of true greatness possessed him still.
"It is nothing," he said. "A wave knocked you head-foremost--that was all."
I knew better. It was the inherent greatness of a n.o.ble soul that impelled him to make nothing of his own heroic act. He must have supported me miles on miles in those stalwart arms. No protest of his could lessen the bravery of his action or the force of my grat.i.tude. If woman"s grat.i.tude and woman"s love are anything, his reward shall be great.
They bore me into that weather-beaten cubby-house, and there, with the help of E. E., my dripping garments were taken off, my wet hair done up snugly under the braids that had been left behind, and, filled with tender grat.i.tude, I walked up to my hero in blue before going to my apartment in the hotel.
"Let me see you to-morrow," said I, pressing the hand of that heroic man. "Then I may find language to express my life-long grat.i.tude."
He bowed; he drew his hand, with evident reluctance, from my clasp, and retreated.
Ah, sisters, my destiny has come! I feel it in every breath I draw, in every sweet thought that haunts my brain. To-morrow I shall see him again. To-morrow!
Oh, sisters, he has just left me. Alas! alas! for human aspirations. I had written thus far when he came.
I received him in my room, looking pale, and, I think, interesting, for the sweet romance of my feelings left its imprint on my features. He came in with hesitation, and sat down on the edge of his chair, looking ill at ease, as if wishing to escape a mention of his own heroism. I felt a glow of admiration, a thrill of tender grat.i.tude.
"You have saved my life," I said, clasping my two hands, "and from this hour I devote that life to your happiness. Tell me how I can begin to repay you."
He sat uneasily; he shifted in his chair. Then he murmured: