"Dragot," Tommy mused. "Speaks with a slight accent, but I can"t make out what!"
"Roumanian, possibly," I suggested, "as he comes from there."
"You rather excel yourself," he smiled. "Registering from Roumania, however, isn"t prima facie evidence that he"s a Roumanian."
"He"s a clever little talker, all the same."
"Right O! Too clever. I"m wondering if we aren"t a pair of chumps to take him."
"Why?"
"He may be a crook, for all we know. Did you notice what he said about holding a commission from Azuria, and then hurrying to explain that Azuria isn"t on the ordinary maps--just a wee bit of a kingdom up in the Carpathians, yet in the confines of Roumania? I call that fishy!"
"Not entirely so, Tommy. When you said it might now be turning into a republic, did you notice how proudly he declared that the descendants of Basil the Wolf couldn"t be humbled?--that, situated in Moldavia, and escaping the ravages of the Bulgarian army, they were stronger today than ever?"
"Sounds like raving, sonny. Who the d.i.c.kens is Basil the Wolf? No, Jack, that doesn"t tell us anything."
"It tells us he couldn"t have been inspired like that unless the place and people were real to him!"
"Well, pirate or priest," Tommy laughed, "he"ll do if he waltzes us up to the big adventure. You"re about fit enough to tackle one now!" During the past forty-eight hours he had openly rejoiced with Gates at my improvement and tried, with the indifferent success of an unbeliever, to play up at top speed that silly idea of an approaching adventure.
We had strolled aft, and now stopped to watch a tall Jamaica negro--or so we thought him to be--asking Gates for a place in the crew. His clothing was too scant to hide the great muscles beneath, and Tommy touched my arm, saying:
"There"s a specimen for you!"
Had he been cast in bronze a critic might have said that the sculptor, by over-idealizing masculine perfection, had made the waist too small, the hips too slender, for the powerful chest and shoulders; the wrists and ankles might have been thought too delicate as terminals for the ma.s.sive sinews leading into them. He smiled continually, and spoke in a soft, almost timid voice.
"I like that big fellow," I said. Perhaps I had been well called a pantheist, having always extravagantly admired the perfect in form or face or the wide outdoors.
Feeling my interests he turned from Gates, looking at me with dog-like pathetic trustfulness. Among the things he told us briefly--for the crew stood ready to cast off--was that he once followed the sea, but in more recent years lived by fishing up sponges and at times supplying shark meat to the poorer quarter of Key West. The carca.s.s of a water fowl tied to his boat, while he occupied himself with sponges, would sometimes attract a shark; then he would strip, take a knife in his teeth, and dive.
I glanced at Gates, but saw no incredulity in his face.
In another hour, at nearly dusk, Key West had grown small and finally sank below the horizon, leaving only its three skeleton-like towers standing against the sky--standing erect with all nerves strained, watch-dogs of the darkening sea; ears c.o.c.ked, to catch a distressed cry from some waif out in the mysterious night.
Looking back along our wake I imagined the big black man standing as we had left him on the dock, gazing after us with patient regret; and I was glad to have given him the handful of coins at parting, little dreaming how many times that loaf upon the water would come floating in to me.
Monsieur Dragot revealed himself more and more to our astonished eyes as we sat that night on deck. He had been a professor in the University of Bucharest, and hinted at an intimate entente with the reigning house of Azuria. Besides being versed in many sciences, including medicine, he spoke seven languages and read several others. But these things were drawn from him by Tommy"s artful questions, rather than being said in boastfulness. Indeed, Monsieur was charmingly, almost touchily, modest.
Of his business in Havana he gave no hint, yet this happened to be the one piece of information that Tommy seemed most possessed to find out.
"You"ll be in Cuba long, Monsieur?" he asked.
"No one can say. A day, a week, a month, a year--it is an elusive search I follow, my young friends. May I call you that?"
We bowed, and I deferentially suggested:
"If we can help you in any way?----"
"It is the beautiful spirit of America," he sighed, "to help those in distress, yet there is nothing to do but watch--watch. For you have not yet been here long enough to see a child in these waters--no?"
Tommy, perhaps because he came from the South and was on more or less friendly terms with superst.i.tions, glanced over the rail as if an infant might be floating around almost anywhere. Our strange guest"s mysterious hints were, indeed, rather conducive to creeps.
Then, without further comment, he arose, tossed his cigar overboard, ran his fingers through his ma.s.s of hair, and went below.
"What d"you suppose he meant?" I asked, in a guarded voice.
"Simple enough," Tommy whispered. "He"s got apartments to let upstairs."
"Get out, man," I laughed. "That chap has more sense than either of us!"
"Then he"d better come across with some of it. You remember the freckled lad at Soissons who got fuzzy-headed from too much concussion? Well, he saw children around everywhere, too! It"s a sure sign, Jack!" But now he laughed, adding: "Oh, I suppose our little Roumanian"s all right, only----"
He was interrupted by Monsieur, himself, who emerged from the companionway door.
"I come again," he smiled apologetically, "because tomorrow our journeys part, and I have shown scant consideration for your kindness."
"It"s we who feel the obligation," Tommy murmured. "Now, if we could only help you find the child--supposing, of course, that"s what you"re watching for!"
Monsieur gave a deep sigh, appearing to be quite overcome by a secret grief; but after a moment he looked at us, asking ingenuously:
"You think my behavior unusual?"
"Well, since you make a point of it," I laughed, and hesitated.
"I see, I see! But, my young friends, you must take my word that I cannot tell you much." He drew us nearer. "This I may say: that, after Roumania dropped out of the war, the new Chancellor of Azuria wired imploringly for me to leave my cla.s.ses at the University and come to him--because for years I have advised with Azurian statesmen, frequently going on special missions. By the recent death of the old Chancellor a certain paper came to light. This was a secret agent"s report sent from Havana in 1914----I may not divulge its contents. But for the war it would have been followed up at once. Whether the same hopes exist now--well, I am here to discover. Ah, my young friends," his voice trembled, "much depends upon this! I must--I must find the child if it lives!"
Tommy"s eyes grew round.
"I can say no more," Monsieur added. "Accept my thanks and grat.i.tude for the help you have given me. And now--_bon soir_."
He bowed, backing himself toward the stairs as though leaving a royal presence, doing it so easily, so naturally, that we did not even smile.
When he had quite disappeared we turned and faced each other.
"What do you think now?" I asked.
"I think he"s a treasure," Tommy cried. His face had lighted with a new excitement. "If we want any fun on this trip, don"t let him get out of our sight! Stick to him! I won"t deny he has a screw loose, but----"
"That makes it all the better," I laughed, adding: "Looks like the Mater"s toast might come true, after all, doesn"t it!"--for I had described our New Year"s Eve to Tommy.
"Sonny, I"ve a hunch we won"t even have to tiptoe over the hill to find adventures with him around! He"s their regular hanging-out place!"
Gates came up, and seemed vastly amused when we told him of our hopes.
"He doesn"t look like much of an adventurer, sir, but he"s certainly a change from the great run of people I"ve met. Still, I carn"t see how we"re going to keep him against his will!"
"Neither can I, Tommy."
"Use a little persuasion."