Shifting Winds: A Tough Yarn by R. M. Ballantyne (best free ebook reader txt) đ
- Author: R. M. Ballantyne
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âAh! is Haco alive still?â interrupted Gaff.
âAlive, I should think so. Nothinâ âll kill that man. I donât believe buryinâ him alive would do it. Heâs up at the Sailorsâ Home just now. But Iâm not done yet. Hereâs a portrait oâ Lord Nelson, as can look all round the room. See, now, git into that corner. Now, anât he lookinâ at ye?â
âThat he is, anâ no mistake,â replied Gaff.
âWell, git into this other corner; now, anât he lookinâ at ye still?â
âTo be sure he is!â
âWell, well, donât go for to puzzle yer brains over it. That picturâ has nearly druv all the thinkinâ men oâ Cove mad, so weâll let it alone just now. Hereâs a man-oâ-war, ye see; anâ this is the steps for mountinâ into the four-poster. It serves for aâaâsome sort oâ man, I forgetâTot, you knowââ
âAn ottoman,â said Tottie.
âAy, a ottyman by day, anâ steps-anâ-stairs at night. Look there!â
Mrs Gaff opened up the steps and said, âWhat dâye think oâ that?â
Gaff said, âWonderful!â and Billy exclaimed, âHallo!â
âYes, Stephen,â resumed Mrs Gaff, going to the cupboard and fetching the tea-caddy, from which she extracted her bankerâs book, âall them things was bought for you with your own fortinâ, which is ten thousand pound, (anâ more, for Iâve not lived up to the interest by no manner oâ means); anâ that there bookâll show ye itâs all true.â
Having reached this point, Mrs Gaff was seized with a fit of laughter, which she stifled on her husbandâs breast, and then, flinging herself into the four-poster, she burst into a flood of tears.
This was the first time in her life that she had given way to such weakness, and she afterwards said to Tottie, in reference to it, that she couldnât help it, and had made up her mind to have a good cry once for all, and be done with it.
Gaff and his son examined the bank-book, and listened with wonder to Tottieâs account of the manner in which their wealth had come to them. Before the recital was completed, Mrs Gaff had had her cry out, and dried her eyes.
âWhat think ye of that, Stephen?â she said, pointing to the book.
Gaff shook his head slowly, and looked very grave.
âI donât much like it, Jess.â
âWhat, donât like money?â
âToo much of it is dangerous. I hope it wonât harm us, lass.â
âItâs done no harm to me yet, as I knows of,â said Mrs Gaff firmly.
âWhat says the Bible, Tot, about that?â asked Gaff. âMoneyâs the root oâ all evil, anât it?â
âNo, daddy, itâs the love oâ money thatâs the root of all evil.â
âAh, to be sure. Well, thereâs a difference there. Howsâever, we canât help it, so we must larn to bear it. Come along now, Jess, and let us have supper.â
To supper they sat down, and long they sat over it, and a hearty one they ate. It was not till they began to think of retiring for the night that it was remembered that there was no possibility of putting up Billy in the cottage, for Tottie occupied the closet of the âboodwar.â The Buâster relieved his parents from their difficulty, however, by asserting that he had taken a wild desire to see Mad Haco that night; so, declining the offer of a shake-down made up under the four-poster, he started for Wreckumoft, and took up his quarters in the Sailorsâ Home.
Great changes had taken place in the Sailorsâ Home at Wreckumoft since Billy Gaff last saw it. A new wing had been added to it, and the original building had been altered and repaired, while every convenience in the way of ventilating and heating had been introduced, so that the sailors who frequented this admirable Home found themselves surrounded by comforts and luxuries such as, in former days, they had never dreamed of.
Fortunately for this valuable institution, Sir Richard Doles, Bart, had not been made a director, consequently the business of the Home was not impeded.
Fortunately, also, the secretary who had been recently appointed to the Home was a man of ability and energy, being none other than our friend Kenneth Stuart.
That incorrigible young man had ventured one day to say to his father that he could not make up his mind to give up the âportionless girl,â Lizzie Gordon; that he considered her anything but portionless, seeing that she possessed an earnest, loving, Christian heart, and a wise thoughtful mind; qualities which wealth could not purchase, and compared with which a fortune was not worth a straw.
Mr Stuart, senior, thereupon dismissed Mr Stuart, junior, from his presence for ever, and told him to go and beg his bread where he chose!
Curiously enough, Mr Stuart, senior, happened to dine that day with Colonel Crusty at the club where the latter put up when in town, and the valiant colonel told him that he had that morning dismissed his daughter from his presence for ever, she having returned to the parental home as Mrs Bowels. The two, therefore, felt a peculiar sort of sympathy, being, as it were, in the same boat, and cracked an additional bottle of claret on the strength of the coincidence. When they had finished the extra bottle, they ordered another, and became exceedingly jocose, insomuch that one vowed he would leave his fortune to the Church, but the other preferred to leave his to a Lunatic Asylum.
On receiving his dismissal, Kenneth left his fatherâs house with words of regret and good-will on his lips, and then went to tell Lizzie, and seek his fortune.
He had not to seek long or far. Being a director of the Sailorsâ Home, I chanced to be in search of a secretary. A better man than Kenneth could not be found, so I proposed him, and he was at once appointed.
The salary being a good one, he was enabled to retain Dan Horsey and Bucephalus. He also obtained permission to remove Emmie to his house, having told his father who the child was, and having been told in return that he, (the father), had become aware of the fact long ago, and that he was welcome to her! Kenneth then set himself earnestly to work to promote the interests of the Sailorsâ Home, and to prepare his house for the reception of Lizzie, who had agreed to marry him whenever he felt himself in a position to ask her.
Lizzie was a peculiar girl. She had, indeed, permitted Kenneth to visit her as a lover; but she resolutely refused to accept him as long as his father continued adverse to the union. The moment, however, that she heard of his being cast off and disinherited, she agreed, with tears in her eyes, to marry him whenever he pleased.
But to return from this digression: the new secretary of the Sailorsâ Home of Wreckumoft became the guardian spirit of the place. He advised all the arrangements which the Board made. He drew up all the rules that the Board fixed.
An âAddressâ which he issued to officers and seamen frequenting the port of Wreckumoft, wound up with the following words:
âThe Directors of the Sailorsâ Home are anxious that seamen should clearly understand that the institution was designed for their sole benefit, and established with the view of protecting them from the systematic extortion of crimps and other snares, to which their circumstances and calling render them peculiarly liable; and, above all, to promote their moral elevation, social improvement, and religious instruction. The rules by which the institution is governed are, as far as practicable, adapted to meet the habits of all who participate in its benefits, and to further their best interests. It is conducted on principles of order, comfort, and liberality; and no restraint is exercised beyond that which common prudence and mutual interest require. In the âHomeâ thus provided; which embraces security, freedom of action, and social enjoyment, the Directors desire to create and sustain mutual sympathy, trust, and good-will, and to employ those agencies which tend most to mature habits of frugality, self-respect, and the love of God.â
Immediately after the appearance of this address, seamen flocked to the âHomeâ for lodgings, and those who did so found the place so uncommonly pleasant that they brought their messmates, so that for months afterwards not only was every bed taken, but the very stairs and landings of the building were occupied by men who preferred to sleep there, and enjoy the advantages of the Institution, rather than go back to the dens which they had frequented in former days.
On the night when Billy went to the Home it was very full, and he stumbled over more than one recumbent seaman on the landings before he reached the hall, where, late though it was, a number of men were playing chess, draughts, and bagatelle, or reading books and papers. Here he found Haco Barepoles, as rugged as ever, seated by the fire and deeply engaged in a copy of the âPilgrimâs Progress.â
âWonderful book; wonderful book!â exclaimed Haco, laying the volume on the table and scratching his head, as if to stir up the brain inside. Just then Billy came up.
âHallo, Haco!â
âHallo, stranger! Youâve the advantage of me, lad, for I donât know ye.â
âYes, ye do.â
âEh! do I? Let me see.â
Here the mad skipper scrutinised the ladâs face earnestly.
âWell, I have seen ye afore now, but youâve âscaped from me, youngster.â
âIâm Billy, alias the Buâster, alias the Cork, alias Gaffââ
âWhat, Billy Gaff? Dead and come alive again!â cried Haco, springing up and seizing the youngsterâs hand.
Having wrung Billyâs arm almost off his shoulder, Haco took him up to his berth, where he made him sit down on the bed and recount all his and his fatherâs adventures from beginning to end.
When Billy had concluded the narrative, which of course he gave only in brief outline, Haco saidâ
âNow, lad, you and I shall go have a pipe outside, and then weâll turn in.â
âVery good; but I have not yet asked you about your daughter Susan. Is she still with Captain Bingley?â
âAy, still with him, and well,â replied Haco, with a look that did not convey the idea of satisfaction.
âNot goinâ to get married?â inquired Billy with caution.
Haco snorted, then he grunted, and then he saidâ
âYes, she was goinâ to get married, and he wished she wasnât, that was all.â
âWho to?â inquired the other.
âWhy, to that Irish scoundrel Dan Horsey, to be sure,â said Haco with a huge sigh of resignation, which, coming from any other man, would have been regarded as a groan. âThe fact is, lad, that poor Susanâs heart is set upon that fellow, anâ so itâs no use resistinâ them no longer. Besides, the blackguard is well spoken of by his master, whoâs a trump. Moreover, I made a kind oâ half promise long ago that Iâd not oppose them, to that scapegrace young Lieutenant Bingley, whoâs on his way home from China just now. Anâ so itâs a-goinâ to be; anâ theyâve set their hearts on havinâ the weddinâ same week as the weddinâ oâ Master Kenneth and Lizzie Gordon; so the fact is they may all marry each other, through other, down the middle and up again, for all I care, âcause Iâm a-goinâ on a whalinâ voyage to Novy Zembly or Kumskatchkieâanywheres to git peace oâ mindâthere!â
Saying this Haco dashed the ashes
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