"She"s all right," said Mitch.e.l.l; "she"ll soon reach the cold burnt toast stage and when she reaches the stage we"ll all welcome her into any chorus. Here"s to choruses in general and one chorus girl in particular. I haven"t met her yet, but I shall know her when I do, for she will look at me. Up to now they"ve all looked elsewhere and at other men. If my fortune was only in my face it might draw some interest, but-"
"Lady Belle" careened violently and Clover went over backwards for the second time with much in his wake.
"Oh, I say," said Mitch.e.l.l, rising in disgust, "if you want everything on the table at once why take it. Only I"m going on deck. After you"ve bathed in the gravy you can have it. Ditto the other liquids. Jack and I are going up to dance a hornpipe and sing for Burnett. He looked rather ennuyed to me when we came down."
Along toward eight o"clock that night "Lady Belle" anch.o.r.ed somewhere in the Sound and tugged vigorously at her cables all night.
With the dawn she headed back towards New York.
"As a success my entertainment has been a failure," said Mitch.e.l.l to Jack as they walked up and down the deck after breakfast; "but into each life some rain must fall, and I offer myself as a sacrificial background to Aunt Mary"s glowing, living pictures of New York."
"I wish you hadn"t, though," said Jack; "she"ll never want a yacht of her own now. And how under Scorpion are we ever going to land her?"
"In a sheet, my able-bodied young friend, in a sheet," said Mitch.e.l.l clapping him on the back. "Don"t you know the "Weigh the Baby" game? It may double her up a bit, but the redoubtable Janice will straighten her out again. Here"s to the sheet, be it a wet sheet, a main sheet, or a sheet with your Aunt Mary tied up in it."
Mitch.e.l.l was as good as his word and they landed Aunt Mary in a sheet. The very harbor-tugs stopped puffing and stood open-mouthed to stare at the performance, but it was an unalloyed success, and Aunt Mary was gotten onto dry land at last.
"I don"t want to do nothin" for a day or two," she said, as they drove to the house.
Janice had the bed open, and a hot-water bottle down where Aunt Mary"s feet might be expected, and all sorts of comfort ready to hand.
"I"m so glad to see you safe back," she said, almost weeping.
"I don"t believe it"s broke," said Aunt Mary, "but you might look and see.
Oh, Granite-I-" she stopped and looked an unutterable meaning.
"It stormed, didn"t it?" said the maid.
"Stormed!" said Aunt Mary. "I guess it did storm. I guess it hurricaned. I know it did. I"m sure of it."
"But you"re safe now," said the girl, tucking her up as snugly as if she had been an infant in arms.
"Yes, I"m safe now," said Aunt Mary, "but-" she looked very earnest-"but, oh, my Granite, how I did need that white fuzzy stuff to drink this morning. I never wanted nothin" so bad in all my life afore."
Janice stood by the bed, her face full of regret that Aunt Mary had known any aching void.
Aunt Mary grew yet more earnest.
"Granite," she said, "you mind what I tell you. That ought to be advertised. I sh"d think you could patent it. Folks ought to know about it."
Then she laid herself out in bed. "My heavens alive!" she sighed sweetly, "there"s nothin" like home. Not anywhere-not nowhere!"
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - A REPOSEFUL INTERVAL
The next date upon the little gold and ivory memorandum card which hung beside Aunt Mary"s watch was that set for Burnett"s picnic, but its dawning found both host and guest too much attached to their beds to desire any fetes champetre just then.
Burnett was in that very weak state which follows in the immediate wake of only too many yachts,-and Aunt Mary was sleeping one of her long drawn out and utterly restorative sleeps.
Jack went in and looked at her.
"It did storm awfully," he said to Janice, who was sitting by the window.
The maid just smiled, nodded, and laid her finger on her lip. She never encouraged conversation when her charge was reposing.
Jack went softly out and turned his steps toward the room of the other wreck.
"Well, how are stocks to-day?" he asked cheerfully on entering.
Burnett was stretched out pillowless and looked black under his hollow eyes. But he appeared to be on the road to recovery.
"Jack," he said seriously, "what in thunder makes me always so ready to go on the water? I should think after a while I"d learn a thing or two."
Jack leaned his elbows on the high carved footboard and returned his friend"s look with one of equal seriousness.
"What makes all of us do lots of things?" he asked. "Why don"t we all learn?"
Burnett sighed.
"That"s a fact; why don"t we?" he said weakly. And then he shut his eyes again and turned his back to his caller.
Jack went down to lunch. Clover and Mitch.e.l.l were playing cards in the library.
"Well, how is the hospital?" Clover asked, looking up while he shuffled the pack.
"Never mind about Burnett," said Mitch.e.l.l, "but do relieve my mind about Aunt Mary. Is the one sheet still taking effect, or has she begun to rally on a diet of two?"
"She"s asleep," said the nephew.
"G.o.d bless her slumber," declared Clover piously. "I very much approve of Aunt Mary asleep. When our dearly beloved aunt sleeps we know we"ve got her and we don"t have to yell. Shall I deal for three?"
"They are bringing up lunch," said the latest arrival,-"no time to begin a hand. Better stack guns for the present."
"So say I," said Mitch.e.l.l, "with me everything goes down when lunch comes up. It"s quite the reverse with Burnett, isn"t it?" He laughed brutally at his own wit.
"To think how enthusiastic Burr was," said Clover, evening the cards preparatory to slipping them into their holder on the side of the table.
"He"s always so enthusiastic and he"s always so sick. In his place I should feel that, if a buoyant nature is a virtue, I didn"t get much reward."
The gong sounded just then, and they all went down to lunch, not at all saddened by the sight of their comrade"s empty chair.
"Now, what are we going to do next?" Clover demanded as they finished the bouillon.
"Have a meat course, I suppose," said Mitch.e.l.l.
"I don"t mean that; I mean, what are we going to do next with Aunt Mary?"