Produced by David Widger AT SUNWICH PORT BY W. W. JACOBS Drawings by Will Owen Contents CHAPTER I CHAPTER II CHAPTER III CHAPTER IV CHAPTER V CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER IX CHAPTER X CHAPTER XI CHAPTER XII CHAPTER XIII CHAPTER XIV CHAPTER XV CHAPTER XVI CHAPTER XVII CHAPTER XVIII CHAPTER XIX CHAPTER XX CHAPTER XXI CHAPTER XXII CHAPTER XXIII CHAPTER XXIV CHAPTER XXV List of Illustrations âHis Perturbation Attracted the Attention of His Hostess.â âA Welcome Subject of Conversation in Marine Circles.â âThe Suspense Became Painful.â âCaptain Hardy Lit his Pipe Before Replying.â âMr. Wilks Watched It from the Quay.â âMaster Hardy on the Beach Enacting The Part of David.â âMr. Wilks Replied That he Was Biding his Time.â âA Particularly Hard Nut to Crack.â âA Stool in the Local Bank.â âA Diversion Was Created by the Entrance of a New Arrival.â âHe Stepped Across the Road to his Emporium.â â'Most Comfortable Shoulder in Sunwich,' She Murmured.â âThe Most Astounding and Gratifying Instance of The Wonders Effected by Time Was That of Miss Nugent.â âMr. Swann With Growing Astonishment Slowly Mastered The Contents.â âFullalove Alley.â âShe Caught Sight of Hardy.â âUndiluted Wisdom and Advice Flowed from his Lips.â â'What Do You Want?' Inquired Miss Kybird.â âHe Regarded the Wife of his Bosom With a Calculating Glance.â âHe Even Obtained Work Down at the Harbor.â âMiss Kybird Standing in the Doorway of The Shop.â âMe Or 'im--which is It to Be?â âI Wonder What the Governor'll Say.â âA Spirit of Quiet Despair.â âA Return Visit.â âHe Set off Towards the Life and Bustle of The Two Schooners.â âFor the Second Time he Left The Court Without a Stain On His Character.â âThe Proprietor Eyed Him With Furtive Glee As he Passed.â âMiss Nugent's Consternation Was Difficult Of Concealment.â âHe Found his Remaining Guest Holding His Aching Head Beneath the Tap.â âMr. Nathan Smith.â âIt Was Not Until he Had Consumed a Pint Or Two of The Strongest Brew That he Began to Regain Some of his Old Self-esteem.â âThe Man on the Other Side Fell On All Fours Into The Room.â âHe Pushed Open the Small Lattice Window and Peered Out Into the Alley.â âTapping the Steward on The Chest With a Confidential Finger, he Backed Him Into a Corner.â âHe Finished up the Evening at The Chequers.â âThe Meagre Figure of Mrs. Silk.â âIn Search of Mr. Smith.â âI 'ave Heard of 'em Exploding.â âHe Stepped to the Side and Looked Over.â âYou Keep On, Nugent, Don't You Mind 'im.â âHadn't You Better See About Making Yourself Presentable, Hardy?â âIt Was Not Without a Certain Amount of Satisfaction That He Regarded Her Discomfiture.â âMr. Hardy Resigned Himself to his Fate.â âThe Carefully Groomed and Fastidious Murchison.â â'Why Do You Wish to Be on Friendly Terms?' She Asked.â âHe Said That a Bit O' Wedding-cake 'ad Blowed in His Eye.â âMr. Wilks Drank to the Health of Both Of Them.â âA Popular Hero.â âHe Met These Annoyances With a Set Face.â â'Can't You Let Her See That Her Attentions Are Undesirable?'â âHe Took a Glass from the Counter and Smashed It on The Floor.â âThe Great Thing Was to Get Teddy Silk Home.â âCaptain Nugent.â âSniffing at Their Contents.â â'Puppy!' Said the Invalid.â âBella, in a State of Fearsome Glee, Came Down the Garden To Tell the Captain of his Visitor.â â'Get out of My House,' he Roared. âI Do Hope he Has Not Come to Take You Away from Me.â âAre You Goin' to Send Cap'n Nugent an Invite for The Wedding?â âAre There Any Other of My Patients You Are Anxious To Hear About?â âHe Wondered, Gloomily, What She Would Think when She Heard of It.â â'Some People 'ave All the Luck,' he Muttered.â âIf You've Got Anything to Say, Why Don't You Say It Like A Man?â âMrs. Kybird Suddenly Seized Him by the Coat.â âMr. Kybird and his Old Friend Parted.â âHe Took up his Candle and Went off Whistling.â âHe Could Just Make out a Dim Figure Behind the Counter.â â'But Suppose She Asks Me To?' Said the Delighted Mr. Nugent, With Much Gravity.â â'You're a Deceiver,' She Gasped.â â'It Was Teddy Done It,' Said Mr. Kybird, Humbly.â âPausing Occasionally to Answer Anxious Inquiries.â âShe Placed Her Other Arm in That of Hardy.â CHAPTER I The ancient port of Sunwich was basking in the sunshine of a July afternoon. A rattle of cranes and winches sounded from the shipping in the harbour, but the town itself was half asleep. Somnolent shopkeepers in dim back parlours coyly veiled their faces in red handkerchiefs from the too ardent flies, while small boys left in charge noticed listlessly the slow passing of time as recorded by the church clock. It is a fine church, and Sunwich is proud of it. The tall grey tower is a landmark at sea, but from the narrow streets of the little town itself it has a disquieting appearance of rising suddenly above the roofs huddled beneath it for the purpose of displaying a black-faced clock with gilt numerals whose mellow chimes have recorded the passing hours for many generations of Sunwich men. Regardless of the heat, which indeed was mild compared with that which raged in his own bosom, Captain Nugent, fresh from the inquiry of the collision of his ship Conqueror with the German barque Hans Muller, strode rapidly up the High Street in the direction of home. An honest seafaring smell, compounded of tar, rope, and fish, known to the educated of Sunwich as ozone, set his thoughts upon the sea. He longed to be aboard ship again, with the Court of Inquiry to form part of his crew. In all his fifty years of life he had never met such a collection of fools. His hard blue eyes blazed as he thought of them, and the mouth hidden by his well-kept beard was set with anger. Mr. Samson Wilks, his steward, who had been with him to London to give evidence, had had a time upon which he looked back in later years with much satisfaction at his powers of endurance. He was with the captain, and yet not with him. When they got out of the train at Sunwich he hesitated as to whether he should follow the captain or leave him. His excuse for following was the bag, his reason for leaving the volcanic condition of its owner's temper, coupled with the fact that he appeared to be sublimely ignorant that the most devoted steward in the world was tagging faithfully along a yard or two in the rear. The few passers-by glanced at the couple with interest. Mr. Wilks had what is called an expressive face, and he had worked his sandy eyebrows, his weak blue eyes, and large, tremulous mouth into such an expression of surprise at the finding of the Court, that he had all the appearance of a beholder of visions. He changed the bag to his other hand as they left the town behind them, and regarded with gratitude the approaching end of his labours. At the garden-gate of a fair-sized house some half-mile along the road the captain stopped, and after an impatient fumbling at the latch strode up the path, followed by Mr. Wilks, and knocked at the door. As he paused on the step he half turned, and for the first time noticed the facial expression of his faithful follower. âWhat the dickens are you looking like that for?â he demanded. âI've been surprised, sir,â conceded Mr. Wilks; âsurprised and astonished.â Wrath blazed again in the captain's eyes and set lines in his forehead. He was being pitied by a steward! âYou've been drinking,â he said, crisply; âput that bag down.â âArsking your pardon, sir,â said the steward, twisting his unusually dry lips into a smile, âbut I've 'ad no opportunity, sir--I've been follerin' you all day, sir.â A servant opened the door. âYou've been soaking in it for a month,â declared the captain as he entered the hall. âWhy the blazes don't you bring that bag in? Are you so drunk you don't know what you are doing?â Mr. Wilks picked the bag up and followed humbly into the house. Then he lost his head altogether, and gave some colour to his superior officer's charges by first cannoning into the servant and then wedging the captain firmly in the doorway of the sitting-room with the bag. âSteward!â rasped the captain. âYessir,â said the unhappy Mr. Wilks. âGo and sit down in the kitchen, and don't leave this house till you're sober.â Mr. Wilks disappeared. He was not in his first lustre, but he was an ardent admirer of the sex, and in an absent-minded way he passed his arm round the handmaiden's waist, and sustained a buffet which made his head ring. âA man o' your age, and drunk, too,â explained the damsel. Mr. Wilks denied both charges. It appeared that he was much younger than he looked, while, as for drink, he had forgotten the taste of it. A question as to the reception Ann would have accorded a boyish teetotaler remained unanswered. In the sitting-room Mrs. Kingdom, the captain's widowed sister, put down her crochet-work as her brother entered, and turned to him expectantly. There was an expression of loving sympathy on her mild and rather foolish face, and the captain stiffened at once. âI was in the wrong,â he said, harshly, as he dropped into a chair; âmy certificate has been suspended for six months, and my first officer has been commended.â âSuspended?â gasped Mrs. Kingdom, pushing back the white streamer to the cap which she wore in memory of the late Mr. Kingdom, and sitting upright. âYou?â âI think that's what I said,â replied her brother. Mrs. Kingdom gazed at him mournfully, and, putting her hand behind her, began a wriggling search in her pocket for a handkerchief, with the idea of paying a wholesome tribute of tears. She was a past-master in the art of grief, and, pending its extraction, a docile tear hung on her eyelid and waited. The captain eyed her preparations with silent anger. âI am not surprised,â said Mrs. Kingdom, dabbing her eyes; âI expected it somehow. I seemed to have a warning of it. Something seemed to tell me; I couldn't explain, but I seemed to know.â She sniffed gently, and, wiping one eye at a time, kept the disengaged one charged with sisterly solicitude upon her brother. The captain, with steadily rising anger, endured this game of one-eyed bo-peep for five minutes; then he rose and, muttering strange things in his beard, stalked upstairs to his room. Mrs. Kingdom, thus forsaken, dried her eyes and resumed her work. The remainder of the family were in the kitchen ministering to the wants of a misunderstood steward, and, in return, extracting information which should render them independent of the captain's version. âWas it very solemn, Sam?â inquired Miss Nugent, aged nine, who was sitting on the kitchen table. Mr. Wilks used his hands and eyebrows to indicate the solemnity of the occasion. âThey even made the cap'n leave off speaking,â he said, in an awed voice. âI should have liked to have been there,â said Master Nugent, dutifully. âAnn,â said Miss Nugent, âgo and draw Sam a jug of beer.â âBeer, Miss?â said Ann. âA jug of beer,â repeated Miss Nugent, peremptorily. Ann took a jug from the dresser, and Mr. Wilks, who was watching her, coughed helplessly. His perturbation attracted the attention of his hostess, and, looking round for the cause, she was just in time to see Ann disappearing into the larder with a cream jug. âThe big jug, Ann,â she said, impatiently; âyou ought to know Sam would like a big one.â Ann changed the jugs, and, ignoring a mild triumph in Mr. Wilks's eye, returned to the larder, whence ensued a musical trickling. Then Miss Nugent, raising the jug with some difficulty, poured out a tumbler for the steward with her own fair hands. âSam likes beer,â she said, speaking generally. âI knew that the first time I see him, Miss,â remarked the vindictive Ann. Mr. Wilks drained his glass and set it down on the table again, making a feeble gesture of repulse as Miss Nugent refilled it. âGo on, Sam,â she said, with kindly encouragement; âhow much does this jug hold, Jack?â âQuart,â replied her brother. âHow many quarts are there in a gallon?â âFour.â Miss Nugent looked troubled. âI heard father say he drinks gallons a day,â she remarked; âyou'd better fill all the jugs, Ann.â âIt was only 'is way o' speaking,â said Mr. Wilks, hurriedly; âthe cap'n is like that sometimes.â âI knew a man once, Miss,â said Ann, âas used to prefer to 'ave it in a wash-hand basin. Odd, ugly-looking man 'e was; like Mr. Wilks in the face, only better-looking.â Mr. Wilks sat upright and, in the mental struggle involved in taking in this insult in all its ramifications, did not notice until too late that Miss Nugent had filled his glass again. âIt must ha' been nice for the captain to 'ave you with 'im to-day,â remarked Ann, carelessly. âIt was,â said Mr. Wilks, pausing with the glass at his lips and eyeing her sternly. âEighteen years I've bin with 'im--ever since 'e 'ad a ship. 'E took a fancy to me the fust time 'e set eyes on me.â âWere you better-looking then, Sam?â inquired Miss Nugent, shuffling closer to him on the table and regarding him affectionately. âMuch as I am now, Miss,â replied Mr. Wilks, setting down his glass and regarding Ann's giggles with a cold eye. Miss Nugent sighed. âI love you, Sam,â she said, simply. âWill you have some more beer?â Mr. Wilks declined gracefully. âEighteen years I've bin with the cap'n,â he remarked, softly; âthrough calms and storms, fair weather and foul, Samson Wilks 'as been by 'is side, always ready in a quiet and 'umble way to do 'is best for 'im, and now--now that 'e is on his beam-ends and lost 'is ship, Samson Wilks'll sit down and starve ashore till he gets another.â At these touching words Miss Nugent was undisguisedly affected, and wiping her bright eyes with her pinafore, gave her small, well-shaped nose a slight touch en passant with the same useful garment, and squeezed his arm affectionately. âIt's a lively look-out for me if father is going to be at home for long,â remarked Master Nugent. âWho'll get his ship, Sam?â âShouldn't wonder if the fust officer, Mr. Hardy, got it,â replied the steward. âHe was going dead-slow in the fog afore he sent down to rouse your father, and as soon as your father came on deck 'e went at 'arfspeed. Mr. Hardy was commended, and your father's certifikit was suspended for six months.â Master Nugent whistled thoughtfully, and quitting the kitchen proceeded upstairs to his room, and first washing himself with unusual care for a boy of thirteen, put on a clean collar and brushed his hair. He was not going to provide a suspended master-mariner with any obvious reasons for fault-finding. While he was thus occupied the sitting-room bell rang, and Ann, answering it, left Mr. Wilks in the kitchen listening with some trepidation to the conversation. âIs that steward of mine still in the kitchen?â demanded the captain, gruffly. âYessir,â said Ann. âWhat's he doing?â Mr. Wilks's ears quivered anxiously, and he eyed with unwonted disfavour the evidences of his late debauch. âSitting down, sir,â replied Ann. âGive him a glass of ale and send him off,â commanded the captain; âand if that was Miss Kate I heard talking, send her in to me.â Ann took the message back to the kitchen and, with the air of a martyr engaged upon an unpleasant task, drew Mr. Wilks another glass of ale and stood over him with well-affected wonder while he drank it. Miss Nugent walked into the sitting-room, and listening in a perfunctory fashion to a shipmaster's platitude on kitchen-company, took a seat on his knee and kissed his ear. CHAPTER II The downfall of Captain Nugent was for some time a welcome subject of conversation in marine circles at Sunwich. At The Goblets, a rambling old inn with paved courtyard and wooden galleries, which almost backed on to the churchyard, brother-captains attributed it to an error of judgment; at the Two Schooners on the quay the profanest of sailormen readily attributed it to an all-seeing Providence with a dislike of over-bearing ship-masters. The captain's cup was filled to the brim by the promotion of his first officer to the command of the Conqueror. It was by far the largest craft which sailed from the port of Sunwich, and its master held a corresponding dignity amongst the captains of lesser vessels. Their allegiance was now transferred to Captain Hardy, and the master of a brig which was in the last stages of senile decay, meeting Nugent in The Goblets, actually showed him by means of two lucifer matches how the collision might have been avoided. A touching feature in the business, and a source of much gratification to Mr. Wilks by the sentimental applause evoked by it, was his renunciation of the post of steward on the ss. Conqueror. Sunwich buzzed with the tidings that after eighteen years' service with Captain Nugent he preferred starvation ashore to serving under another master. Although comfortable in pocket and known to be living with his mother, who kept a small general shop, he was regarded as a man on the brink of starvation. Pints were thrust upon him, and the tale of his nobility increased with much narration. It was considered that the whole race of stewards had acquired fresh lustre from his action. His only unfavourable critic was the erring captain himself. He sent a peremptory summons to Mr. Wilks to attend at Equator Lodge, and the moment he set eyes upon that piece of probity embarked upon such a vilification of his personal defects and character as Mr. Wilks had never even dreamt of. He wound up by ordering him to rejoin the ship forthwith. âArsking your pardon, sir,â said Mr. Wilks, with tender reproach, âbut I couldn't.â âAre you going to live on your mother, you hulking rascal?â quoth the incensed captain. âNo, sir,â said Mr. Wilks. âI've got a little money, sir; enough for my few wants till we sail again.â âWhen I sail again you won't come with me,â said the captain, grimly. âI suppose you want an excuse for a soak ashore for six months!â Mr. Wilks twiddled his cap in his hands and smiled weakly. âI thought p'r'aps as you'd like me to come round and wait at table, and help with the knives and boots and such-like,â he said, softly. âAnn is agreeable.â âGet out of the house,â said the captain in quiet, measured tones. Mr. Wilks went, but on his way to the gate he picked up three pieces of paper which had blown into the garden, weeded two pieces of grass from the path, and carefully removed a dead branch from a laurel facing the window. He would have done more but for an imperative knocking on the glass, and he left the premises sadly, putting his collection of rubbish over the next garden fence as he passed it. But the next day the captain's boots bore such a polish that he was able to view his own startled face in them, and at dinner-time the brightness of the knives was so conspicuous that Mrs. Kingdom called Ann in for the purpose of asking her why she didn't always do them like that. Her brother ate his meal in silence, and going to his room afterwards discovered every pair of boots he possessed, headed by the tall sea-boots, standing in a nicely graduated line by the wall, and all shining their hardest. For two days did Mr. Wilks do good by stealth, leaving Ann to blush to find it fame; but on the third day at dinner, as the captain took up his knife and fork to carve, he became aware of a shadow standing behind his chair. A shadow in a blue coat with metal buttons, which, whipping up the first plate carved, carried it to Mrs. Kingdom, and then leaned against her with the vegetable dishes. The dishes clattered a little on his arm as he helped the captain, but the latter, after an impressive pause and a vain attempt to catch the eye of Mr. Wilks, which was intent upon things afar off, took up the spoon and helped himself. From the unwonted silence of Miss Nugent in the presence of anything unusual it was clear to him that the whole thing had been carefully arranged. He ate in silence, and a resolution to kick Mr. Wilks off the premises vanished before the comfort, to say nothing of the dignity, afforded by his presence. Mr. Wilks, somewhat reassured, favoured Miss Nugent with a wink to which, although she had devoted much time in trying to acquire the art, she endeavoured in vain to respond. It was on the day following this that Jack Nugent, at his sister's instigation, made an attempt to avenge the family honour. Miss Nugent, although she treated him with scant courtesy herself, had a touching faith in his prowess, a faith partly due to her brother occasionally showing her his bicep muscles in moments of exaltation. âThere's that horrid Jem Hardy,â she said, suddenly, as they walked along the road. âSo it is,â said Master Nugent, but without any display of enthusiasm. âHalloa, Jack,â shouted Master Hardy across the road. âThe suspense became painful.â âHalloa,â responded the other. âHe's going to fight you,â shrilled Miss Nugent, who thought these amenities ill-timed; âhe said so.â Master Hardy crossed the road. âWhat for?â he demanded, with surprise. âBecause you're a nasty, horrid boy,â replied Miss Nugent, drawing herself up. âOh,â said Master Hardy, blankly. The two gentlemen stood regarding each other with uneasy grins; the lady stood by in breathless expectation. The suspense became painful. âWho are you staring at?â demanded Master Nugent, at last. âYou,â replied the other; âwho are you staring at?â âYou,â said Master Nugent, defiantly. There was a long interval, both gentlemen experiencing some difficulty in working up sufficient heat for the engagement. âYou hit me and see what you'll get,â said Master Hardy, at length. âYou hit me,â said the other. âCowardy, cowardy custard,â chanted the well-bred Miss Nugent, âate his mother's mustard. Cowardy, cowardy cus--â âWhy don't you send that kid home?â demanded Master Hardy, eyeing the fair songstress with strong disfavour. âYou leave my sister alone,â said the other, giving him a light tap on the shoulder. âThere's your coward's blow.â Master Hardy made a ceremonious return. âThere's yours,â he said. âLet's go behind the church.â His foe assented, and they proceeded in grave silence to a piece of grass screened by trees, which stood between the church and the beach. Here they removed their coats and rolled up their shirt-sleeves. Things look different out of doors, and to Miss Nugent the arms of both gentlemen seemed somewhat stick-like in their proportions. The preliminaries were awful, both combatants prancing round each other with their faces just peering above their bent right arms, while their trusty lefts dealt vicious blows at the air. Miss Nugent turned pale and caught her breath at each blow, then she suddenly reddened with wrath as James Philip Hardy, having paid his tribute to science, began to hammer John Augustus Nugent about the face in a most painful and workmanlike fashion. She hid her face for a moment, and when she looked again Jack was on the ground, and Master Hardy just rising from his prostrate body. Then Jack rose slowly and, crossing over to her, borrowed her handkerchief and applied it with great tenderness to his nose. âDoes it hurt, Jack?â she inquired, anxiously. âNo,â growled her brother. He threw down the handkerchief and turned to his opponent again; Miss Nugent, who was careful about her property, stooped to recover it, and immediately found herself involved in a twisting tangle of legs, from which she escaped by a miracle to see Master Hardy cuddling her brother round the neck with one hand and punching him as hard and as fast as he could with the other. The unfairness of it maddened her, and the next moment Master Hardy's head was drawn forcibly backwards by the hair. The pain was so excruciating that he released his victim at once, and Miss Nugent, emitting a series of terrified yelps, dashed off in the direction of home, her hair bobbing up and down on her shoulders, and her small black legs in an ecstasy of motion. Master Hardy, with no very well-defined ideas of what he was going to do if he caught her, started in pursuit. His scalp was still smarting and his eyes watering with the pain as he pounded behind her. Panting wildly she heard him coming closer and closer, and she was just about to give up when, to her joy, she saw her father coming towards them. Master Hardy, intent on his quarry, saw him just in time, and, swerving into the road, passed in safety as Miss Nugent flung herself with some violence at her father's waistcoat and, clinging to him convulsively, fought for breath. It was some time before she could furnish the astonished captain with full details, and she was pleased to find that his indignation led him to ignore the hair-grabbing episode, on which, to do her justice, she touched but lightly. That evening, for the first time in his life, Captain Nugent, after some deliberation, called upon his late mate. The old servant who, since Mrs. Hardy's death the year before, had looked after the house, was out, and Hardy, unaware of the honour intended him, was scandalized by the manner in which his son received the visitor. The door opened, there was an involuntary grunt from Master Hardy, and the next moment he sped along the narrow passage and darted upstairs. His father, after waiting in vain for his return, went to the door himself. âGood evening, cap'n,â he said, in surprise. Nugent responded gruffly, and followed him into the sitting-room. To an invitation to sit, he responded more gruffly still that he preferred to stand. He then demanded instant and sufficient punishment of Master Hardy for frightening his daughter. Even as he spoke he noticed with strong disfavour the change which had taken place in his late first officer. The change which takes place when a man is promoted from that rank to that of master is subtle, but unmistakable--sometimes, as in the present instance, more unmistakable than subtle. Captain Hardy coiled his long, sinewy form in an arm-chair and, eyeing him calmly, lit his pipe before replying. âBoys will fight,â he said, briefly. âI'm speaking of his running after my daughter,â said Nugent, sternly. Hardy's eyes twinkled. âYoung dog,â he said, genially; âat his age, too.â Captain Nugent's face was suffused with wrath at the pleasantry, and he regarded him with a fixed stare. On board the Conqueror there was a witchery in that glance more potent than the spoken word, but in his own parlour the new captain met it calmly. âI didn't come here to listen to your foolery,â said Nugent; âI came to tell you to punish that boy of yours.â âAnd I sha'n't do it,â replied the other. âI have got something better to do than interfere in children's quarrels. I haven't got your spare time, you know.â Captain Nugent turned purple. Such language from his late first officer was a revelation to him. âI also came to warn you,â he said, furiously, âthat I shall take the law into my own hands if you refuse.â âAye, aye,â said Hardy, with careless contempt; âI'll tell him to keep out of your way. But I should advise you to wait until I have sailed.â Captain Nugent, who was moving towards the door, swung round and confronted him savagely. âWhat do you mean?â he demanded. âWhat I say,â retorted Captain Hardy. âI don't want to indulge Sunwich with the spectacle of two middle-aged ship-masters at fisticuffs, but that's what'll happen if you touch my boy. It would probably please the spectators more than it would us.â âI'll cane him the first time I lay hands on him,â roared Captain Nugent. Captain Hardy's stock of patience was at an end, and there was, moreover, a long and undischarged account between himself and his late skipper. He rose and crossed to the door. âJem,â he cried, âcome downstairs and show Captain Nugent out.â There was a breathless pause. Captain Nugent ground his teeth with fury as he saw the challenge, and realized the ridiculous position into which his temper had led him; and the other, who was also careful of appearances, repented the order the moment he had given it. Matters had now, however, passed out of their hands, and both men cast appraising glances at each other's form. The only one who kept his head was Master Hardy, and it was a source of considerable relief to both of them when, from the top of the stairs, the voice of that youthful Solomon was heard declining in the most positive terms to do anything of the kind. Captain Hardy repeated his command. The only reply was the violent closing of a door at the top of the house, and after waiting a short time he led the way to the front door himself. âYou will regret your insolence before I have done with you,â said his visitor, as he paused on the step. âIt's the old story of a beggar on horseback.â âIt's a good story,â said Captain Hardy, âbut to my mind it doesn't come up to the one about Humpty-Dumpty. Good-night.â CHAPTER III If anything was wanted to convince Captain Nugent that his action had been foolish and his language intemperate it was borne in upon him by the subsequent behaviour of Master Hardy. Generosity is seldom an attribute of youth, while egotism, on the other hand, is seldom absent. So far from realizing that the captain would have scorned such lowly game, Master Hardy believed that he lived for little else, and his Jack-in-the-box ubiquity was a constant marvel and discomfort to that irritable mariner. Did he approach a seat on the beach, it was Master Hardy who rose (at the last moment) to make room for him. Did he stroll down to the harbour, it was in the wake of a small boy looking coyly at him over his shoulder. Every small alley as he passed seemed to contain a Jem Hardy, who whizzed out like a human firework in front of him, and then followed dancing on his toes a pace or two in his rear. This was on week-days; on the Sabbath Master Hardy's daring ingenuity led him to still further flights. All the seats at the parish church were free, but Captain Nugent, whose admirable practice it was to take his entire family to church, never thoroughly realized how free they were until Master Hardy squeezed his way in and, taking a seat next to him, prayed with unwonted fervour into the interior of a new hat, and then sitting back watched with polite composure the efforts of Miss Nugent's family to restrain her growing excitement. Charmed with the experiment, he repeated it the following Sunday. This time he boarded the seat from the other end, and seeing no place by the captain, took one, or more correctly speaking made one, between Miss Nugent and Jack, and despite the former's elbow began to feel almost like one of the family. Hostile feelings vanished, and with an amiable smile at the half-frantic Miss Nugent he placed a âbull's-eyeâ of great strength in his cheek, and leaning forward for a hymn-book left one on the ledge in front of Jack. A double-distilled perfume at once assailed the atmosphere. Miss Nugent sat dazed at his impudence, and for the first time in her life doubts as to her father's capacity stirred within her. She attempted the poor consolation of an âacid tablet,â and it was at once impounded by the watchful Mrs. Kingdom. Mean-time the reek of âbull's-eyesâ was insufferable. The service seemed interminable, and all that time the indignant damsel, wedged in between her aunt and the openly exultant enemy of her House, was compelled to endure in silence. She did indeed attempt one remark, and Master Hardy, with a horrified expression of outraged piety, said âH'sh,â and shook his head at her. It was almost more than flesh and blood could bear, and when the unobservant Mrs. Kingdom asked her for the text on the way home her reply nearly cost her the loss of her dinner. The Conqueror, under its new commander, sailed on the day following. Mr. Wilks watched it from the quay, and the new steward observing him came to the side, and holding aloft an old pantry-cloth between his finger and thumb until he had attracted his attention, dropped it overboard with every circumstance of exaggerated horror. By the time a suitable retort had occurred to the ex-steward the steamer was half a mile distant, and the extraordinary and unnatural pantomime in which he indulged on the edge of the quay was grievously misinterpreted by a nervous man in a sailing boat. Master Hardy had also seen the ship out, and, perched on the extreme end of the breakwater, he remained watching until she was hull down on the horizon. Then he made his way back to the town and the nearest confectioner, and started for home just as Miss Nugent, who was about to pay a call with her aunt, waited, beautifully dressed, in the front garden while that lady completed her preparations. Feeling very spic and span, and still a trifle uncomfortable from the vigorous attentions of Ann, who cleansed her as though she had been a doorstep, she paced slowly up and down the path. Upon these occasions of high dress a spirit of Sabbath calm was wont to descend upon her and save her from escapades to which in a less severe garb she was somewhat prone. She stopped at the gate and looked up the road. Then her face flushed, and she cast her eyes behind her to make sure that the hall-door stood open. The hated scion of the house of Hardy was coming down the road, and, in view of that fact, she forgot all else--even her manners. The boy, still fresh from the loss of his natural protector, kept a wary eye on the house as he approached. Then all expression died out of his face, and he passed the gate, blankly ignoring the small girl who was leaning over it and apparently suffering from elephantiasis of the tongue. He went by quietly, and Miss Nugent, raging inwardly that she had misbehaved to no purpose, withdrew her tongue for more legitimate uses. âBoo,â she cried; âwho had his hair pulled?â Master Hardy pursued the even tenor of his way. âWho's afraid to answer me for fear my father will thrash him?â cried the disappointed lady, raising her voice. This was too much. The enemy retraced his steps and came up to the gate. âYou're a rude little girl,â he said, with an insufferably grown-up air. âWho had his hair pulled?â demanded Miss Nugent, capering wildly; âwho had his hair pulled?â âDon't be silly,â said Master Hardy. âHere.â He put his hand in his pocket, and producing some nuts offered them over the gate. At this Miss Nugent ceased her capering, and wrath possessed her that the enemy should thus misunderstand the gravity of the situation. âWell, give 'em to Jack, then,â pursued the boy; âhe won't say no.â This was a distinct reflection on Jack's loyalty, and her indignation was not lessened by the fact that she knew it was true. âGo away from our gate,â she stormed. âIf my father catches you, you'll suffer.â âPooh!â said the dare-devil. He looked up at the house and then, opening the gate, strode boldly into the front garden. Before this intrusion Miss Nugent retreated in alarm, and gaining the door-step gazed at him in dismay. Then her face cleared suddenly, and Master Hardy looking over his shoulder saw that his retreat was cut off by Mr. Wilks. âDon't let him hurt me, Sam,â entreated Miss Nugent, piteously. Mr. Wilks came into the garden and closed the gate behind him. âI wasn't going to hurt her,â cried Master Hardy, anxiously; âas if I should hurt a girl! âWot are you doing in our front garden, then?â demanded Mr. Wilks. He sprang forward suddenly and, catching the boy by the collar with one huge hand, dragged him, struggling violently, down the side-entrance into the back garden. Miss Nugent, following close behind, sought to improve the occasion. âSee what you get by coming into our garden,â she said. The victim made no reply. He was writhing strenuously in order to frustrate Mr. Wilks's evident desire to arrange him comfortably for the administration of the stick he was carrying. Satisfied at last, the ex-steward raised his weapon, and for some seconds plied it briskly. Miss Nugent trembled, but sternly repressing sympathy for the sufferer, was pleased that the long arm of justice had at last over-taken him. âLet him go now, Sam,â she said; âhe's crying.â âI'm not,â yelled Master Hardy, frantically. âI can see the tears,â declared Miss Nugent, bending. Mr. Wilks plied the rod again until his victim, with a sudden turn, fetched him a violent kick on the shin and broke loose. The ex-steward set off in pursuit, somewhat handicapped by the fact that he dare not go over flower-beds, whilst Master Hardy was singularly free from such prejudices. Miss Nugent ran to the side-entrance to cut off his retreat. She was willing for him to be released, but not to escape, and so it fell out that the boy, dodging beneath Mr. Wilks's outspread arms, charged blindly up the side-entrance and bowled the young lady over. There was a shrill squeal, a flutter of white, and a neat pair of button boots waving in the air. Then Miss Nugent, sobbing piteously, rose from the puddle into which she had fallen and surveyed her garments. Mr. Wilks surveyed them, too, and a very cursory glance was sufficient to show him that the case was beyond his powers. He took the outraged damsel by the hand, and led her, howling lustily, in to the horrified Ann. âMy word,â said she, gasping. âLook at your gloves! Look at your frock!â But Miss Nugent was looking at her knees. There was only a slight redness about the left, but from the right a piece of skin was indubitably missing. This knee she gave Ann instructions to foment with fair water of a comfortable temperature, indulging in satisfied prognostications as to the fate of Master Hardy when her father should see the damage. The news, when the captain came home, was broken to him by degrees. He was first shown the flower-beds by Ann, then Mrs. Kingdom brought in various soiled garments, and at the psychological moment his daughter bared her knees. âWhat will you do to him, father?â she inquired. The captain ignored the question in favour of a few remarks on the subject of his daughter's behaviour, coupled with stern inquiries as to where she learnt such tricks. In reply Miss Nugent sheltered herself behind a list which contained the names of all the young gentlemen who attended her kindergarten class and many of the young ladies, and again inquired as to the fate of her assailant. Jack came in soon after, and the indefatigable Miss Nugent produced her knees again. She had to describe the injury to the left, but the right spoke for itself. Jack gazed at it with indignation, and then, without waiting for his tea, put on his cap and sallied out again. He returned an hour later, and instead of entering the sitting-room went straight upstairs to bed, from whence he sent down word by the sympathetic Ann that he was suffering from a bad headache, which he proposed to treat with raw meat applied to the left eye. His nose, which was apparently suffering from sympathetic inflammation, he left to take care of itself, that organ bitterly resenting any treatment whatsoever. He described the battle to Kate and Ann the next day, darkly ascribing his defeat to a mysterious compound which Jem Hardy was believed to rub into his arms; to a foolish error of judgment at the beginning of the fray, and to the sun which shone persistently in his eyes all the time. His audience received the explanations in chilly silence. âAnd he said it was an accident he knocked you down,â he concluded; âhe said he hoped you weren't hurt, and he gave me some toffee for you.â âWhat did you do with it?â demanded Miss Nugent. âI knew you wouldn't have it,â replied her brother, inconsequently, âand there wasn't much of it.â His sister regarded him sharply. âYou don't mean to say you ate it?â she screamed. âWhy not?â demanded her brother. âI wanted comforting, I can tell you.â âI wonder you were not too--too proud,â said Miss Nugent, bitterly. âI'm never too proud to eat toffee,â retorted Jack, simply. He stalked off in dudgeon at the lack of sympathy displayed by his audience, and being still in need of comforting sought it amid the raspberry-canes. His father noted his son's honourable scars, but made no comment. As to any action on his own part, he realized to the full the impotence of a law-abiding and dignified citizen when confronted by lawless youth. But Master Hardy came to church no more. Indeed, the following Sunday he was fully occupied on the beach, enacting the part of David, after first impressing the raving Mr. Wilks into that of Goliath. CHAPTER IV For the next month or two Master Hardy's existence was brightened by the efforts of an elderly steward who made no secret of his intentions of putting an end to it. Mr. Wilks at first placed great reliance on the saw that âit is the early bird that catches the worm,â but lost faith in it when he found that it made no provision for cases in which the worm leaning from its bedroom window addressed spirited remonstrances to the bird on the subject of its personal appearance. To the anxious inquiries of Miss Nugent, Mr. Wilks replied that he was biding his time. Every delay, he hinted, made it worse for Master Hardy when the day of retribution should dawn, and although she pleaded earnestly for a little on account he was unable to meet her wishes. Before that day came, however, Captain Nugent heard of the proceedings, and after a painful interview with the steward, during which the latter's failings by no means escaped attention, confined him to the house. An excellent reason for absenting himself from school was thus denied to Master Hardy; but it has been well said that when one door closes another opens, and to his great satisfaction the old servant, who had been in poor health for some time, suddenly took to her bed and required his undivided attention. He treated her at first with patent medicines purchased at the chemist's, a doctor being regarded by both of them as a piece of unnecessary extravagance; but in spite of four infallible remedies she got steadily worse. Then a doctor was called in, and by the time Captain Hardy returned home she had made a partial recovery, but was clearly incapable of further work. She left in a cab to accept a home with a niece, leaving the captain confronted with a problem which he had seen growing for some time past. âI can't make up my mind what to do with you,â he observed, regarding his son. âI'm very comfortable,â was the reply. âYou're too comfortable,â said his father. âYou're running wild. It's just as well poor old Martha has gone; it has brought things to a head.â âWe could have somebody else,â suggested his son. The captain shook his head. âI'll give up the house and send you to London to your Aunt Mary,â he said, slowly; âshe doesn't know you, and once I'm at sea and the house given up, she won't be able to send you back.â Master Hardy, who was much averse to leaving Sunwich and had heard accounts of the lady in question which referred principally to her strength of mind, made tender inquiries concerning his father's comfort while ashore. âI'll take rooms,â was the reply, âand I shall spend as much time as I can with you in London. You want looking after, my son; I've heard all about you.â His son, without inquiring as to the nature of the information, denied it at once upon principle; he also alluded darkly to his education, and shook his head over the effects of a change at such a critical period of his existence. âAnd you talk too much for your age,â was his father's comment when he had finished. âA year or two with your aunt ought to make a nice boy of you; there's plenty of room for improvement.â He put his plans in hand at once, and a week before he sailed again had disposed of the house. Some of the furniture he kept for himself; but the bulk of it went to his sister as conscience-money. Master Hardy, in very low spirits, watched it taken away. Big men in hob-nailed boots ran noisily up the bare stairs, and came down slowly, steering large pieces of furniture through narrow passages, and using much vain repetition when they found their hands acting as fenders. The wardrobe, a piece of furniture which had been built for larger premises, was a particularly hard nut to crack, but they succeeded at last--in three places. A few of his intimates came down to see the last of him, and Miss Nugent, who in some feminine fashion regarded the move as a triumph for her family, passed by several times. It might have been chance, it might have been design, but the boy could not help noticing that when the piano, the wardrobe, and other fine pieces were being placed in the van, she was at the other end of the road a position from which such curios as a broken washstand or a two-legged chair never failed to entice her. It was over at last. The second van had disappeared, and nothing was left but a litter of straw and paper. The front door stood open and revealed desolation. Miss Nugent came to the gate and stared in superciliously. âI'm glad you're going,â she said, frankly. Master Hardy scarcely noticed her. One of his friends who concealed strong business instincts beneath a sentimental exterior had suggested souvenirs and given him a spectacle-glass said to have belonged to Henry VIII., and he was busy searching his pockets for an adequate return. Then Captain Hardy came up, and first going over the empty house, came out and bade his son accompany him to the station. A minute or two later and they were out of sight; the sentimentalist stood on the curb gloating over a newly acquired penknife, and Miss Nugent, after being strongly reproved by him for curiosity, paced slowly home with her head in the air. Sunwich made no stir over the departure of one of its youthful citizens. Indeed, it lacked not those who would have cheerfully parted with two or three hundred more. The boy was quite chilled by the tameness of his exit, and for years afterwards the desolate appearance of the platform as the train steamed out occurred to him with an odd sense of discomfort. In all Sunwich there was only one person who grieved over his departure, and he, after keeping his memory green for two years, wrote off fivepence as a bad debt and dismissed him from his thoughts. Two months after the Conqueror had sailed again Captain Nugent obtained command of a steamer sailing between London and the Chinese ports. From the gratified lips of Mr. Wilks, Sunwich heard of this new craft, the particular glory of which appeared to be the luxurious appointments of the steward's quarters. Language indeed failed Mr. Wilks in describing it, and, pressed for details, he could only murmur disjointedly of satin-wood, polished brass, and crimson velvet. Jack Nugent hailed his father's departure with joy. They had seen a great deal of each other during the latter's prolonged stay ashore, and neither had risen in the other's estimation in consequence. He became enthusiastic over the sea as a profession for
{'title': 'At Sunwich Port, Complete by W. W. Jacobs', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}