by Carol Norton
CHAPTER VIII. WHAT HAPPENED
Gibralter was thoroughly enjoying their suspense. "Wall," he drawled,making the moment as dramatic as possible, "'long about midnight, once,Pa heard a gallopin' horse comin' along the road from the sea. Pa knewthar wan't no one as rode horseback but the old Colonel himself, an',bein' as he'd been gettin' gouty, he hadn't been doin' much ridin' oflate days, Pa said, but thar was somethin' about the way the horse wasgallopin' that made Pa sit right up in bed. He an' Ma'd jest been marriedan' started keepin' house in the store right whar we live now. Pa woke upand they both listened. Then they heard someone hollerin' an' Pa knew'twas the old Colonel's voice, an' Ma said, 'Like's not someone's sickover to the mansion!' Pa got into his clothes fast as greased lightnin',took a lantern and went down to the porch, and thar was the ol' Colonelwi'out any hat on. His gray hair was all rumped up and his eyes waswild-like. Pa said the ol' Colonel was brown as leather most times, butthat night he was white as sheets.
"As soon as the Colonel saw Pa, he hollered, 'Whar kin I get a steamlaunch? I wanta foller my daughter. She an' the woman that takes keer o'her is plumb gone, an', what's more, my yacht's gone too. They've madeoff wi' it. That scalawag of a furriner that's been wantin' to marry herhas kidnapped 'em all. She's only seventeen, my daughter is, an' I'llhave the law on him.'
"Pa said when he got up clost to the horse the Colonel was ridin', hecould see the old man was shakin' like he had the palsy. Pa didn't knowno place at all whar a steam launch could be had, leastwise not near enufto Siquaw to help any, so the old Colonel said he'd take the train an' goup the coast to a town whar he could get a launch an' he'd chase arterthat slow-sailin' yacht an' he'd have the law on whoever was kidnappin'his daughter.
"The ol' Colonel was in an awful state, Pa said. He went into the storepart o' our house and paced up an' down, an' up an' down, an' up an'down, till Pa thought he must be goin' crazy, an' every onct in a whilehe'd mutter, like 'twas just for himself to hear, 'She'll pay fer this,Darlina will!'"
The boy looked up and smiled at his listeners. "Queer name, wasn't it?"he queried. "Most as funny as my name, but I guess likely 'taint quite."
"I suppose they wanted to call her something that meant darling," Doriesbegan, but Nann put in eagerly with, "Oh, Gib, do go on. What happenednext? Did the old Colonel go somewhere and get a fast boat and overtakethe yacht. I do hope that he didn't."
"Wall, than yo' get what yer hopin' fer, all right. About a week arterhe'd took the early mornin' train along back came the ol' Colonel, Pasaid, an' he looked ten year older. He didn't s'plain nothin', but gavePa some money fer takin' keer o' his horse while he'd been gone, an' thenback he came here to his house an' lived shut in all by himself an' hisman-servant for nigh ten year, Pa said. Nobody ever set eyes on him; hisman-servant bein' the only one who came to the store for mail an'supplies, an' he never said nuthin', tho Pa said now an' then he'd ask ifDarlina'd been heard from. He knew when he'd ask, Pa said, as how hewouldn't get any answer, but he couldn't help askin'; he was thatinterested. But arter a time folks around here began to think morne'nlike the Phantom Yacht, as Pa'd called it, had gone to the bottom beforeit reached wherever 'twas they'd been headin' fer, when all of a suddensomethin' happened. Gee, but Pa said he'd never been so excited before inall his days as he was the day that somethin' happened. It was ten yearago an' Pa'd jest had a letter from yer aunt--" the boy leaned over tonod at Dori, "askin' him to go to the Point an' open up her cottage asshe'd built the summer before. Thar was only two cottages on the shorethen; hers an' the Burtons', that's nearest the point. Pa said as how hethought he'd get down thar before sun up, so's he could get back in timeto open up the store, bein' as Ma wan't well, an' so he set off to walkto the beach.
"Pa said he was up on the roof of the front porch takin' the blind offthet little front window in the loft whar yo' girls sleep when the graydawn over to the east sort o' got pink. Pa said 'twas such a purty sighthe turned 'round to watch it a spell when, all of a sudden sailin' rightaround that long, rocky island out thar, _what_ should he see but thePhantom Yacht, her white sails glistening as the sun rose up out o' thewater. Pa said he had to hold on, he was so sure it was a spook boat. Hecouldn't no-how believe 'twas real, but thar came up a spry wind wi' thesun an' that yacht sailed as purty as could be right up to the long dockwhar the sailors tied it. Wall, Pa said he was so flabbergasted that hefergot all about the blind he was to take off an' slid right down theroof and made fer a place as near the long dock as he could an' hidbehind some rocks an' waited. Pa said nothin' happened fer two hours, orseemed that long to him; then out of that yacht stepped the mos'beautiful young woman as Pa'd ever set eyes on. He knew at onct 'twas theol' Colonel's daughter growed up. She was dressed all in white jest likeshe'd used to be, but what was different was the two kids she had holdin'on to her hands. One was a boy, Pa said, about nine year old, dressed inblack velvet wi' a white lace color. Pa said he was a handsome littlefellar, but 'twas the wee girl, Pa said, that looked like a gold andwhite angel wi' long yellow curls. She was younger'n the boy by nigh twoyear, Pa reckoned. Their ma's face was pale and looked like sufferin', Pasaid, as she an' her children walked up to the sea wall and went up overthe stone steps thar was then to climb over it. Pa knew they was goin' onup to the house, but from whar he hid he couldn't see no more, an' sobein' as he had to go on back to open up the store, he didn't see whatthe meetin' between the ol' Colonel an' his daughter was like.How-some-ever it couldn't o' been very pleasant, fer along about noon, Pasaid he recollected as how he had fergot to take off the blind on yeraunt's cottage, an' knowin' how mad she'd be, he locked up the store an'went back down to the beach, an' the first thing he saw was thatglistenin' white yacht a-sailin' away. The wind had been gettin' stifferall the mornin' an' Pa said as he watched the yacht roundin' the island,it looked to him like it was bound to go on the shoals an' be wrecked onthe rocks. Whoever was steerin' Pa said, didn't seem to know nothin'about the reefs. Pa stood starin' till the yacht was out of sight, an'then he heard a hollerin' an' yellin' down the beach, an' thar come theol' man-servant runnin' an' stumblin' an' shoutin' to Pa to come quick.
"'Colonel Wadbury's took a stroke!' was what he was hollerin', an' so Pafollered arter him as fast as he could an' when they got into the biglibrary-room, whar all the books an' pictures was, Pa saw the ol' Colonelon the floor an' his face was all drawed up somethin' awful. Pa helpedthe man-servant get him to bed, and fer onct the man-servant was willin'to talk. He told Pa all that had happened. He said how Darlina's furrinhusband had died an' how she wanted to come back to America to live. Shedidn't ask to live wi' her Pa, but she did want him to give her the deedto a country place near Boston. It 'pears her ma had left it for her tohave when she got to be eighteen, but the ol' Colonel wouldn't give herthe papers, though they was hers by rights, an' he wouldn't even look atthe two children; he jest turned 'em all right out, and then as soon asthey was gone, he tuk a stroke. 'Twan't likely, so Pa said, he'd ever beable to speak again. The man-servant said as the last words the ol'Colonel spoke was to call a curse down on his daughter's head.
"Wall, the curse come all right," Gibralter nodded in the direction ofthe crumbling ruin, "but 'twas himself as it hit.
"You'll recollect awhile back I was mentionin' that folks in SiquawCenter had warned ol' Colonel Wadbury not to build a hefty house onshiftin' sand that was lower'n the sea. Thar was nothin' keepin' thewater back but a wall o' rocks. But the Colonel sort o' dared Fate to doits worst, and Fate tuk the dare.
"When November set in, Pa says, folks in town began to take in reefs, soto speak; shuttin' the blinds over their windows and boltin' 'em on tothe inside. Gettin' ready for the nor'easter that usually came at thattime o' year, sort o' headin' the procession o' winter storms. Wall, itcame all right; an' though 'twas allays purty lively, Pa says that onebeat all former records, and was a howlin' hurricane. Folks didn't puttheir heads out o' doors, day or night, while it lasted, an' som
e of 'emcamped in their cellars. That thar storm had all the accompaniments. Tharwas hail beatin' down as big and hard as marbles, but the windows, havin'blinds on 'em, didn't get smashed. Then it warmed up some, and how itrained! Pa says Noah's flood was a dribble beside it, he's sure sartin.Then the wind tuk a turn, and how it howled and blustered. All theoutbuildin's toppled right over; but the houses in Siquaw Center wasbuilt to stand, and they stood. Then on the third night, Pa says, 'longabout midnight, thar was a roarin' noise, louder'n wind or rain. It waskinder far off at first, but seemed like 'twas comin' nearer. 'That tharstone wall's broke down,' Pa told Ma, 'an' the sea's coverin' thelowland.'
"Wall, Pa was right. The tide had never risen so high in the memory ofOl' Timer as had been around these parts nigh a hundred years. The waveshad banged agin that wall till it went down; then they swirled around thehouse till they dug the sand out an' the walls fell jest like yo' see 'emnow.
"The next mornin' the sky was clear an' smilin', as though nothin' hadhappened, or else as though 'twas pleased with its work. Pa and GusPilsley an' some other Siquaw men made for the coast to see what thedamage had been, but they couldn't get within half a mile, bein' as theroad was under water. How-some-ever, 'bout a week later, the road, bein'higher, dried; but the water never left the lowlands, an' that's how theswamp come all about the old ruin--reeds and things grew up, just like'tis today.
"Pa and Gus come up to this here point an' looked down at what was leftof the fine stone house. ''Pears like it served him right,' was what thetwo of 'em said. Then they went away, and the ol' place was left alone.Folks never tried to get to the ruin, sayin' as the marsh around it wasoozy, and would draw a body right in."
"But what became of old Colonel Wadbury and the man-servant?" Doriesinquired.
"Dunno," the boy replied, laconically. "Some thar be as guess one thing,and some another. Ol' Timer said as how he'd seen two men board the trainthat passes through Siquaw Center 'long 'bout two in the mornin', but Pasays the storm was fiercest then, and no trains went through for threedays; and who'd be out to see, if it had? Pa thinks they tried to getaway an' was washed out to sea an' drowned, an' I guess likely that'swhat happened, all right."
Dories rose. "We ought to be getting back." She glanced at the sun as shespoke. "Aunt Jane may be needing us." The other two stood up and for amoment Nann gazed down at the ruin; then she called to it: "Some day I amcoming to visit you, old house, and find out the secret that you hold."
Dories shuddered and seemed glad to climb down on the side of the rockswhere the sun was shining so brightly and from where one could not seethe dismal swamp and the crumbling old ruin.
