The Coming Wave Part 8

The gentlemen looked at Harvey and did not seem to like the appearance of him; and he certainly did not promise to be a very agreeable companion for an excursion. They took no notice of him, and the steward was mortified by their coldness.

"Are you going to leave us, Mr. Barth?" asked the landlord, who was behind the counter.

"Yes; I thought I would be on my way to New York as soon as I could, for I want to find that drummer," drawled Harvey, with his usual hacking cough. "I feel better this morning, and I think I can stand it to move towards home. Those men don't seem to want me to go with them, but I suppose I can wait till to-morrow. If you will give me my bill, I will pay it."

"Never mind that, Mr. Barth."

"But I can pay what I owe."

"You can't pay anything here," laughed the landlord. "We don't charge shipwrecked people anything."

"But I have been here about ten days."

"You can stay ten or twenty more at the same rate, if you will," added Mr. Bennington.

Harvey Barth remonstrated, but the landlord was firm. The physician who had attended him also refused to take a cent from him, and so did all who had done anything for him. He tried to give a dollar apiece to the employes of the hotel who had been kind to him, but not one of them would accept the gift. When Harvey left the room, the two pa.s.sengers for Rockland asked the landlord who he was; and when informed that he was the only survivor of the Waldo, they changed their tone, and desired his company. They sent for him, and politely offered him a pa.s.sage with them.

"I don't want to go where I am not wanted," replied Harvey.

"But we shall be delighted to have you go with us," said one of the gentlemen, and the other heartily indorsed the remark.

"I'll pay my share of the expense, if you are really willing to let me go with you."

"We are glad to have you go with us; and as to the expense, we will arrange that when we get to Rockland."

Shortly after the No-Name departed, manned, by Leopold and Stumpy, with the three pa.s.sengers in the standing-room. On the pa.s.sage, Harvey, at the request of his new friends, told the whole story of the wreck of the Waldo, and then dwelt with particular emotion upon the loss of his diary. One of the gentlemen resided in New York city, and volunteered to a.s.sist him in recovering the cherished volume. When they arrived at their destination, Harvey was not permitted to pay any portion of the expense of the trip; and the gentlemen insisted upon his accompanying them to the best hotel in the city, where from the abundant sympathy of the proprietor, he was not permitted to diminish his funds by a single dollar. Having, a few days after, obtained the fifty copies of the newspaper which contained his account of the loss of the brig, he started in the steamer for Boston, with a free ticket in his pocket.

His first care after he got on board the boat, was to read the narrative he had written. He was sorely grieved to find that the first half of the account had been struck out by the remorseless editor; but it must be added that this portion of the history was wholly irrelevant, being made up of observations on the outward voyage of the Waldo, and remarks upon the geography, climate, people and inst.i.tutions of Cuba. Then, in the description of the wreck, Harvey was indignant when he found that all his finest pa.s.sages had been eliminated from the ma.n.u.script. Adjectives and fine phrases without number had been struck out, and the poor steward felt that he might as well never have been a schoolmaster. The truth was, that the editor had only three columns of his paper to spare, and all he and his readers wanted were the facts in regard to the wreck.

A vivid description of a tempest at sea seemed to be lost upon them. But Harvey felt that he should not realize half the pleasure he had antic.i.p.ated in distributing the fifty copies of the paper among his friends at home.

It was late at night when the No-Name arrived at her moorings in the river at Rockhaven; for on the return trip the wind was contrary and very light. Leopold, after this "job," had reduced his indebtedness to Herr Schlager to about thirty-two dollars. Our s.p.a.ce does not permit us to follow him in the process of extinguishing the debt, but it was all wiped out by the first of October. All the summer visitors had left the place, and it was a "dry time" at the Cliff House. The landlord counted up his profits, and felt rich when he realized that he owned the hotel, did not owe a dollar to any man, and had twenty-five hundred dollars in the bank, or otherwise available for immediate use. He had a plan drawn for the enlargement of the hotel which would give him fifty chambers, besides a large dining-room and parlor. But it would cost eight thousand dollars to complete the building and furnish the house; and being a prudent man, he decided not to carry out the project till his funds were considerably increased.

About the middle of October the steamer brought to Rockhaven a woman, apparently about forty years of age, who registered her name at the Cliff House as Miss Sarah Liverage. Though it was certain, from her own confession, that she had never been there before, she seemed to know all about the hotel, and all the persons connected with it. She was a plain-looking woman, well, but not richly, dressed, and her speech indicated that she was not a cultivated person. There was nothing remarkable about her, except her knowledge of the hotel, and a certain excitement in her manner, which indicated that she had come to Rockhaven for a special purpose, which, however, she was not forward in revealing.

She followed the landlord into the office, though he insisted upon showing her into the parlor. She wrote her name in the register, and then astonished Mr. Bennington and Leopold by asking to have the room which had formerly been occupied by Harvey Barth a.s.signed to her.

"That is not one of the rooms we usually give to ladies, and we can do better for you," replied the landlord.

"I'd rather have that room, if it don't make any difference to you,"

replied Miss Liverage.

"Certainly you can have it, if you want it, for it is not occupied."

"I shall be much obliged to you if you will let me have it."

"You knew Harvey Barth, I suppose," said the landlord, as Leopold, who often conducted guests to their rooms, picked up the small valise, which was her only baggage.

"Well, yes; I ought to know him. I took care of him in the hospital three weeks before he died," replied Miss Liverage, confidently.

"Is he dead?" asked Mr. Bennington, startled by the announcement.

"Yes, sir; he died about a fortnight ago."

"It is only six weeks since he left here," added Leopold, who was even more shocked than his father at the news.

"We didn't hear a word from him after he left Rockland," continued Mr.

Bennington. "I'm sure I didn't think he was so near his end, though I saw that he couldn't live very long."

"I thought he would be able to get out again, till the very day he died.

He ate a hearty dinner, for a sick man, and then was taken with bleeding at the lungs, and died right off. I went with his body to the place he was brought up, and he was buried a week ago last Thursday, from the house of his uncle. He had good care while he lived, if he was in the hospital; and I believe everybody in the town turned out to go to his funeral. But I guess I'll go to my room now."

Leopold conducted her to the chamber, placed her valise in a chair, and saw that the wash-stand was provided with water and towels.

"Are you sure this is the room that Harvey Barth had?" asked Miss Liverage, as Leopold was about to retire.

"Sure as I am of anything," replied the young man. "I used to stay with him a good deal, when I wasn't busy. Was Harvey Barth a relation of yours?"

"Well, no, not exactly; but I was a good deal interested in him. You are Leopold, I suppose," added Miss Liverage, who appeared to be anxious to change the direction the conversation had taken.

"That's my name."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ARRIVAL OF MISS SARAH LIVERAGE. Page 121.]

"And this was Harvey's room," continued the woman glancing around the chamber, and then bestowing especial attention upon the fireplace.

"This was his room," replied Leopold, as he moved towards the door. "Can I do anything more for you?"

"No, nothing now. You are the boatman, I believe; and you have bought a new boat."

"I bought one just before Harvey Barth left the house. Did he tell you about her?"

"Well, nothing in particular, only he said you were a great boatman, and a very good boy."

As the woman did not seem inclined to say anything more, Leopold left the room, and returned to the office.

"Can you make out what she is, Leopold?" asked his father.

"No; she says she is no relation to Harvey, but she was a good deal interested in him. She seems to know all about me; but I suppose Harvey Barth told her."

"I wonder what she is driving at?" added the landlord, whose curiosity, as well as that of his son, was raised to the highest pitch.

"I haven't any idea. If she is not a relation of Harvey, what is she, and why did she want his room?"

"I can't tell."

"How old do you think she is, father?"

"About forty, I should say."

"Harvey couldn't have been engaged to her, or anything of that sort--could he?" suggested Leopold.