In Strange Company: A Story of Chili and the Southern Seas

by Guy Boothby

  CHAPTER I.

  JOHN RAMSAY TAKES UP THE TALE.

  It seems that when I induced my cousin by marriage, Luke Sanctuary, towrite the first part of this history, I pledged myself to continue thework at the point where I became personally interested in it. That time,he tells me, has now arrived, and so it comes to pass that I find myselfsitting before a blank sheet of paper, holding a brand-new pen in myhand, and wondering how on earth I'm going to set down all theextraordinary things I have to tell.

  One assertion I can safely make, and that is that this is the first timeI have ever undertaken such a contract. For writing was always a troubleto me; and now I come to think of it, it was that very hatred ofpenmanship which resulted in my being concerned in what I shall alwayscall that "Chilian Mystery." For, had I proved an apt writer, I shouldin all probability have made a good clerk; and had I turned out a goodclerk, I should never have become a sailor; and to continue the argument_ad infinitum_, had I not become a sailor, I should certainly neverhave known anything of the story my cousin has begun, and which I am nowcalled upon to continue.

  As I am perhaps the chief actor in the latter part of this history, andas in matters of this sort it is always best, according to my way ofthinking, to begin at the very beginning, I may perhaps be excused if Ibriefly narrate the principal events of my life which led up to myconnection with it.

  To begin with, let me remark that I was born in the village of Coombe,near Salisbury, in the county of Wiltshire, where my father was acountry doctor. He, poor man, had the misfortune to be peculiarlydevoted to his profession, so much so, that it was neither more nor lessthan sheer overwork which occasioned his untimely end.

  That sad event occurred within a week of my seventh birthday. And withthe remembrance of his funeral, a peculiarly sombre picture rises beforemy mind's eye. I see a dreary autumnal day; thick mists upon thehill-tops, dripping trees, and a still more dismal procession, windingits way along the high-road, unrelieved by any touch of colour. And,incongruously enough, the whole recollection is heightened by theremembrance of a pair of black cloth breeches worn by me on thatmelancholy occasion for the first time. By such small and seeminglyunimportant things are great events impressed upon our memories.

  Perhaps after my father's death I proved myself a handful to manage;perhaps my mother really thought it the best thing for me. At any rate,a boarding-school was chosen for me at Plymouth, to which she herselfreluctantly conducted me. Being her only child, and having hitherto beenaccustomed to get my own way at all times and seasons, this maternalabandonment was a proceeding I could not appreciate. I evinced, Ibelieve, a decided objection to saying farewell to her, and I know Ifound only inadequate consolation in either the ancient dame who keptthe school (who promised my parent to be a mother to me, and for thatreason perhaps caned me soundly before I had been twenty-four hoursunder her charge), the house, or my school-fellows, who figure in mymemory as the most objectionable set of young ruffians with whom I hadever come into contact.

  For three years I continued a pupil of this "Seminary for the Sons ofGentlemen," and should perhaps have remained longer had I notexperienced the misfortune of being expelled, for laying afellow-scholar's head open with a drawing-board; a precocity at tenyears which was plainly held to foreshadow my certain ultimate arrivalat the condemned cell and the gallows. After that, from the age of tenuntil fifteen, I drifted from school to school, deriving but smallbenefit from any one of them, and every term bringing my dear mother'sgrey hairs (as she would persist in putting it) nearer and nearer to thegrave, by reason of the unsatisfactory nature of my reports.

  At fifteen, being a well-set-up stripling for my years, and like to fallinto all sorts of errors as to my proper importance in life, if allowedto remain any longer with boys younger than myself, I was taken away andcarried to London, in order that my mother might consult with an oldfriend as to my future. How well I remember that journey, and thenovelty of seeing London for the first time!

  Arriving at Waterloo, we drove to Notting Hill, and next morning went byomnibus into the city to discover Sir Benjamin Plowden in the East IndiaAvenue.

  Never, if I live to be a hundred, shall I forget my first impression ofthat office, and the unaccustomed and humiliating feeling which stoleover me as I crossed the threshold behind my mother, to await anaudience with this mysterious Sir Benjamin. It was one thing, Idiscovered, to be the cock of a small country school, and quite anotherto be an applicant for a junior clerkship, at a salary of five shillingsa week, in a London merchant's office.

  At the end of five minutes a liveried servant entered the waiting-room,and informed us that "Sir Benjamin would see us now, if we'd be goodenough to step this way." Thereupon my mother gathered up her_impedimenta_, including a reticule, a small black handbag, an umbrella,a shawl, a paper bag of sponge-cakes, and her spectacle-case, andtoddled down the passage after him, leaving me to follow in her wake, myheart the while thumping like a flail against my ribs.

  Ever since that morning, when I desire to realize a man in every wayembodying my idea of what a merchant prince should be, I recall myfirst impression of Sir Benjamin. At the date of our visit he was on thehither side of fifty, of medium height, stout and bald, with curly whitewhiskers, a shaven chin and upper lip, very rosy as to his complexion,dignified in his bearing, and given to saying "Hum, ha!" on all possibleoccasions.

  He received my mother with cordiality, and even went so far as torecognize my presence with an expressive speech,--"So this is yourboy,--a big fellow,--like his father about the mouth,--too old to beidling about country towns, getting into mischief, and deriving a falseidea of his own importance. Hum, ha!" After which I was left to my ownthoughts, while they entered upon an animated discussion for perhaps thespace of half-an-hour.

  At the end of this time he rose--I think, as a hint to my mother--andrang the bell. It was answered by the same dignified man-servant who hadushered us into his presence; whereupon Sir Benjamin bade us farewell,promising to communicate with my mother on the subject they had beendiscussing at an early date; and we were escorted out. I, for one, wasnot sorry that the interview was over.

  Leaving the Avenue, we visited the British Museum, by way ofcounteracting the two serious impressions forced upon my mind by theordeal we had just undergone, I suppose; and here my mother, in themiddle of the Egyptian Department, surrounded by evidences of an extinctcivilization, gravely prophesied the eminence to which I should someday attain, if only Sir Benjamin could be induced to take an interest inme.

  As if in answer to her words, two days later I was the recipient of aletter signed by Sir Benjamin himself, in which it was stated that aposition had been found for me in his own office, at a salary of tenshillings a week. I must leave you to picture my sensations. Surely nopossessor of an autograph letter from the throne itself could have beenprouder than I that day. As for my mother, she argued confidently thatmy Future (with a capital F) had undoubtedly commenced. And, betweenourselves, I certainly think it had.

  It is not necessary, for the understanding of the story I have to tell,that I should enter upon a recital of my life in the East India Avenue;let it suffice, that it did not come up to the expectations I had formedregarding it. The hours were long, the supervision was constant andirksome, the superiority of the other clerks humiliating, while thepersonal attention and affability which my dear mother had led me toexpect from Sir Benjamin was not only not forthcoming, but showed nosigns of making its appearance at any time within the next half-century.

  However, there were many compensations to balance these pettyannoyances, and chief among them I reckoned that of carrying letters andpapers to the docks, where the ships which brought Sir Benjamin'smerchandise from far countries discharged their cargoes.

  Nothing gave me greater happiness than these little excursions, and whenI had fulfilled my errand, it was my invariable custom to enter upon aninvestigation on my own account, wandering all over the mysteriousvessels, asking questions innumerable about the
strange places theyvisited, and, I have no doubt now, making myself a complete andinsufferable nuisance generally. Perhaps that was why, throughout mysailoring career, I had always a sneaking sympathy with boys who boardedus, and asked permission to look round. At any rate, I am convinced thatthose journeys were what made me believe I had at last hit upon myvocation in life; for I know that every time I passed outwards throughthe dock-gates, I renewed my vow that before many years were over Iwould become a sailor, and the commander of just such another ship asthat I had lately overhauled.

  This sort of life continued with but slight variation until I was on theverge of seventeen, when I made a firm resolve to assert myself, andembark upon the calling I had marked out for my own. My mother wasprepared in some manner for the blow, for she certainly could not havefailed to notice the way my inclinations tended; so when I broached thesubject she offered no objections, only sighed somewhat sadly, and said"she was afraid a time would come when I should repent it." Little didthe poor soul know to what a fatal prophecy she was giving utterance.

  A day later, for the second and last time in her life, she visited SirBenjamin, and the following morning I was summoned to his presence.

  "Your mother tells me you wish to leave my employ to become a sailor,"he began, when I had closed the door behind me and approached his table."Now you know your own business best, but remember it's a hard life,more kicks than halfpence; and what is worse, I can assure you that whenyou have once taken to it, you'll never be fit for anything else again.You have thought it over, I suppose?"

  I modestly replied that I had devoted a good deal of consideration tothe matter, and would have gone on to say that I wished for nothingbetter had he not interrupted me.

  "Very good; I've promised your mother to do the best I can for you, soyou'll be apprenticed to the Yellow Diamond Line as soon as I can seeabout it. You'll probably be surprised to hear that I think you're afool, but I suppose in this world there must be a proportion of fools tobalance the wise men, or we'd all come to grief. Hum, ha!"

  He was true to his promise, for the following week I received anotification to attend at the head office of the Yellow Diamond Line ofclipper ships. Here I complied with the formalities, signed thenecessary papers, and had the satisfaction of leaving the Company'soffice to all intents and purposes a member of the nautical profession.It was arranged that I should desert Sir Benjamin's employment at theend of the month, and after that I was confident my real career wouldcommence. It is, I think, one of the most wonderful things in our poorhuman nature, that we should always look forward to the future with somuch confidence, PROportionately the more when we have perhaps theleast justification for it. For my own part, when I left the Company'soffice I would not have changed places with the Prime Minister himself;yet such is the perversity of fate that, not six hours from the time ofmy signing the papers, I would have given anything I possessed to havebeen allowed to forfeit my premium and to remain ashore. This is how itcame about.

  Sir Benjamin was laid up with an attack of gout, and it became necessaryto obtain his signature to some important letters. About four o'clock inthe afternoon, therefore, the chief clerk sent for me, and giving intomy care a small despatch-bag, bade me take a cab, and drive with it toSir Benjamin's residence in Holland Park. Nothing loth, off I set.

  The East India merchant's home was a most imposing place, and it waswith some little awe that I rang the great front-door bell, andrequested the dignified butler to inform me if I could see his master.Saying he would find out, he ushered me into a small room off the hall,to which he presently returned with the request that I would accompanyhim up-stairs.

  I found my employer propped up in a chair near the fire, nursing hisswaddled leg. Beside him was seated a young lady I had never seenbefore, but of whom I had often heard my mother speak,--his daughterMaud.

  When I entered she was for leaving us, but this Sir Benjamin would notpermit. Having received the papers from my hands, he turned to her andsaid (and I regarded it as a mark of unusual condescension)--

  "My dear, let me introduce Mr. John Ramsay to you; a young gentleman whois forsaking the East India Avenue to distinguish himself by falling offthe topsail-yard. Mr. Ramsay, my daughter!"

  Then he settled himself down to the papers I had brought, and I was leftfree for conversation with his daughter.

  As a rule I am considered bashful with strangers, but such was MaudPlowden's wonderful knack of setting people at their ease, that I woulddefy any man to remain shy very long in her company. I do not mean toinfer by this that she was an extraordinarily beautiful girl, for thoughI have heard people go into ecstasies about that, her charm lay not somuch in her face as in her voice and manner. Of one thing at least I amquite certain, had I a secret I was desirous of obtaining from a man, Iwould rather trust Maud to coax it from him than the most beautiful ordangerous woman in existence.

  When ten minutes later I re-took my seat in the cab, I was in love forthe first time in my life. And then it was that I began to regret nothaving been content to remain quietly in Sir Benjamin's office, where Imight have found other opportunities of improving my acquaintance withhis charming daughter. It was certainly the irony of fate, that when Iwanted to embrace the nautical profession, no opportunity was vouchsafedme; but when I did not want to take to it, I had no option but to do so.

  It is not my intention, even had I the space, to narrate all thatbefell me before my departure on my first voyage, but will contentmyself by remarking that not only did my uniform almost satisfy me, butthat on my first day of wearing it (and you may be sure, like mostyouths, I seized the opportunity as soon as it presented itself), whoshould drive up to our door but Maud Plowden herself. I had forgottenuntil then that my mother and she had developed a sudden but intimateacquaintanceship.

  What she said to me or what I said to her during the space that sheremained under our roof I cannot recall, but I remember that when shewent away, it seemed as if all the sunshine had gone out of the house.

  What a strange and indeed weird experience that first falling in loveis, and, as a rule, how signally we fail to estimate its true importancein the building up of a life's character! Is it not a time of highambitions, of pure intentions, of great resolves,--when not to succeedis a thing impossible? A period of our lives when women are all pure andnoble, and men all brave and honest! Oh, the pity, for humanity's sake,that there should ever come an awakening!

  On the Thursday following that tea-drinking, I joined my ship, the_Beretania_, then lying in the East India Docks. My mother came to seeme off, and her tears and parting blessing opened my eyes to my conducttowards herself, showing me my position in a new and exceedinglyunpleasant light.

  And now as my doings for the term of my apprenticeship would form butpoor reading, let me skip a few years, and come to the time when Ireturned to England to a certain extent tired of Father Ocean, but veryproud of my position as third mate. I was then, to all intents andpurposes, a man, six feet in height, broad of shoulder, and, if mydoting mother could be believed, not altogether deficient in good looks.On that point, however, I must be mute.

  As we had just hailed from China, it was only natural that I should havebrought with me a whole cargo of curios. These I intended for familypresents, and on the day following my arrival I sorted them out,retaining those I most admired for my mother herself, and setting apartthose I did not care very much about for transmission to any relativesand acquaintances she might think worthy of the notice. Among theprettiest of the things was an exquisitely inlaid tortoiseshell andivory card-case, which, in my own mind, I had destined for Maud, if Icould but find an opportunity of giving it to her.

  This came sooner than I expected, for on the afternoon following myarrival she dropped in to five o'clock tea, and as she intended to walkback, I had the delight, not only of presenting her with my gift, butalso of escorting her, at my mother's desire, a little way upon herhomeward road. Now I'm not vain enough to think that she was already inlove with me (the s
in of conceit cannot at least be laid to my charge),but I'm certain, and even she herself admits it now, that after thatnight she was not altogether indifferent to me. However, be that as itmay, I saw her no more during my leave ashore, and it must have beentwo full years before I looked into her face again.

  When I reached England the next time, I had not only been twice roundthe world, visiting China, Australia, and both North and South Americain so doing, but had passed my examination for chief officer, though Ionly held a second officer's position.

  It was close upon Christmas when we arrived, the Serpentine was frozen,and skating parties were in full swing. Now skating is an amusement ofwhich I have always been fond, though naturally in my profession I didnot get many opportunities of indulging in it. For this reason, when Idid I made the most of them, and that season was a notable instance.

  One morning, on the Serpentine, I had the good fortune to catch a younglady just as she was about to fall in such a manner that the consequencecould only have been a nasty sprain. She thanked me prettily, and a fewmoments later her protector on the ice crossed over to where I sattaking off my skates, and added an expression of his gratitude. Somehowhis face seemed strangely familiar to me, and it was not long before Irecognized in him a nephew of Sir Benjamin Plowden, with whom I had beenslightly acquainted in by-gone days. Making myself known, I was takenacross and formally introduced to the lady, who turned out to be hiswife. We strolled part of the way back together, and next day, to mysurprise, I received a card for an "At Home" at their residence thefollowing night.

  Now though I am not particularly fond of "At Homes," I suppose mydestiny ordained that I should accept this invitation. It was altogethera brilliant affair, and as there was dancing, and Captain Plowden (forthat was my host's name) was kind enough to see that I did not want forpartners, I enjoyed myself hugely.

  Towards the middle of the evening I happened to be standing near thedoor of the ball-room, when, to my astonishment and delight, who shouldenter but Maud, leaning on her father's arm. To make myself known to SirBenjamin (for I had altered so much since my last interview with himthat I doubt very much if he would have known me else) was the work ofan instant, and before a spectator could have counted a hundred I hadcompleted the necessary preliminaries, and was waltzing up the room, myarm round Maud's waist, and my whole being intoxicated with thefragrance of her presence.

  Whether I danced well or ill, whether my step suited hers, what themusic was, or why we did not collide with every other couple on thefloor, I do not know. I was only conscious that I was dancing with Maud,that I held her in my arms, that I was looking into her face andlistening to her voice. When the music ceased I led her through thedrawing-room into the conservatory, and finding two vacant seats settledmyself beside her.

  How can I describe all the delights of that evening! It would beimpossible, for beyond the fact that just before supper I blurted out aquestion which had been on the tip of my tongue for years, it is allone mist of rose-coloured light.

  When I left the house I trod on air, I was the happiest man in England,for I had proposed to Maud, _and she had accepted me_! Though it wasconsiderably past two o'clock when I reached home, what must I do butwake the mother up to tell her my glorious tidings; and I know hercongratulations were genuine, though, in her confused state, the dearold soul could hardly make head or tail of what I said to her.

  As early next morning as my conscience would permit, I set off to callupon Sir Benjamin, hoping to catch him and get my interview over beforehe should leave for the city. Arriving at the house, I was shown intothe morning-room, and I had not been there two minutes before Maudentered. If she had appeared adorable the night before, she was doublyso now, and the pretty little air of embarrassment which possessed herdid not, I promise you, detract from her beauty in my eyes.

  "Oh, Jack," she began--for somehow every one calls me Jack--"how good ofyou to come so early!"

  I thought it was rather a matter for shame, but didn't say so.

  "I have come to see your father, Maud," I answered, making, I do notdoubt, a rueful face; "and though I know him so well, I feel for all theworld like a criminal going to execution. Have you said anything to himabout it?"

  "Yes," she whispered, nestling her head on my shoulder, "I could nothelp it, Jack; you see I have no mother to advise me, and I felt that Imust tell somebody. You don't mind?"

  "Mind, my darling, as if I should mind anything you might do. And whatdid he say to it?" I asked this rather anxiously. "I know he won'taltogether approve, but does he dislike the idea so very much?"

  Maud made what is, I believe, correctly termed a little _moue_ beforeshe replied.

  "Well, to tell you the truth, Jack, I'm afraid he's not overjoyed aboutit; but then perhaps it's quite natural; you see, I'm his only child,and--well, he's not seen as much of you as I have, so he doesn't knowall your good qualities."

  The proper answer to such a speech cannot be put on paper, and, even ifit could, I doubt whether it would prove of very much interest here. Itwas accomplished only just in time, for next moment Sir Benjaminentered, and Maud with an encouraging glance at me withdrew.

  Though he had aged a good deal since I had left his employ, he was briskenough this morning, and to my sorrow I could see not best pleased. Icannot, however, conscientiously say that his greeting was any the lesssincere, but his tone was a little more curt, and his demeanourdecidedly stiffer, than when I had met him on the previous evening. Heseated himself opposite me, and came to business at once.

  "I suppose you're aware, Mr. Ramsay, that my daughter has told me of theoffer you made her last night?"

  When I had signified that I was, he continued--

  "Now I'll be bound you don't know what a shock a piece of informationlike that gives to a man of my years. I was, of course, quite aware thatMaud would be likely to marry sooner or later, but somehow I had neverbrought myself face to face with the actual situation before. Do youknow that she is a very considerable heiress?"

  I ventured to remark that I had been so informed, and started to try andconvince him that my offer had nothing whatever to do with such acircumstance. But he stopped me.

  "I know exactly what you're going to say. If I mistake not, I said itmyself once upon a time. But tell me, John Ramsay, what would you say ofa young man, five-and-twenty years of age, mate of a sailing ship, withnothing but his pay to depend upon, who proposed to a rich merchant'sdaughter with an income of something like six thousand a year. Reflectfor a minute, and then tell me what you would think of him?"

  This was a poser, but I made shift to answer it.

  "I should say that it couldn't matter how much money she had if hereally loved her, and thought he could make her happy."

  He sniffed scornfully.

  "Exactly what I thought. Now that's all very pretty. But to look at itin another light. We'll suppose that I give my consent to your marriage,what are your intentions then? Are you going to remain at sea, andleave your wife unprotected ashore, or are you going to abandon yourprofession, and live a life of idle luxury on her money? For, as Iwarned you years ago, you're fit for no other calling now."

  I could not answer either way, and I think he saw my difficulty, for herose and came over to me. Putting his hand on my shoulder, and speakingin a kinder tone than he had adopted yet, he said--

  "Jack Ramsay, you understand what a problem it is. I like you, my boy,and I like your family; I think you're a steady, honest young fellow,and a credit to your calling; what is more, I know you love my girl, andI'm certain that she loves you. For these reasons I shall not definitelyforbid your engagement."

  "Oh, Sir Benjamin," I hastened to say, "how can I express my gratitude!"

  "Hold on, sir, hear me out. Though, as I say, I shall not definitelyforbid your engagement, yet remember, I do not sanction it. I shall notdo so until I see how you behave. If I know that you work hard, and doyour best to advance in your profession, it will be something for me togo upon, and I may eventually
find sufficient reason to allow yourmarriage. Now, good-morning. Maud, I don't doubt, is awaiting you in thedrawing-room. You had better tell her what I've told you."

  So saying, the worthy merchant shook me by the hand, and hobbled fromthe room, leaving me a good deal more relieved than I had expected to beby the nature of his communication.

  Over the bliss of the succeeding fortnight I must draw a curtain. Ofcourse I saw Maud every day; and equally, of course, each twenty-fourhours convinced me more and more of the wisdom of my choice. But, likethe school-boy's Black Monday, the fatal day of parting had to come;and, accordingly, one miserable Wednesday night I bade my darlingfarewell, and next morning, with a heavy heart, rejoined my ship and putback to sea.