Part 9 (1/2)
”I'm all that,” said Mrs. Ales.h.i.+ne; ”an' on second thoughts, every whip-st.i.tch of his bag and baggage shall be trundled after him as soon as I kin git it away.”
We all now stood upon the piazza, and Mrs. Ales.h.i.+ne, in calmer tones, but with her face still flushed from her recent excitement, turned to us and said: ”Now, isn't this a pretty comin' home? My front gate fastened in my very face; my front door painted red and white; the inside of the house, as like as not, turned upside down by that man jus' as much as the outside; an' where in the world, I'd like to know, is Elizabeth Grootenheimer?”
”Now, don't you be too hard on her,” said Mrs. Lecks, ”after havin'
been away from her so long. I haven't a doubt she's feedin' the pigs; and you know very well she never would leave them as long as she felt they needed her. You needn't mind if your house is upset, for none of us is comin' in, havin' only intended to see you to your door, which I must say is a pretty blazin' one.”
”And now, Mrs. Lecks,” said Mr. Dusante, taking, as he spoke, the ginger-jar from the hand of Jim, ”I think this is a suitable opportunity for me to accomplish the object for which my present journey was undertaken, and to return to you the contents of this jar.”
”Which,” said Mrs. Lecks, in a very decided tone, ”I don't take now no more'n I did before.”
Mr. Dusante looked surprised and troubled. After all the dangers and adventures through which that ginger-jar had gone, I believe that he expected Mrs. Lecks would at last relent and consent to accept it from him.
”Now, look here,” said Mrs. Ales.h.i.+ne, ”don't let us have any more fuss about the ginger-jar, or anything else. Let's put off talkin' about that till we're all settled and fixed. It won't do for you to take the jar to the tavern with you, Mr. Dusante, for like as not Mr. Enderton will git hold of it ag'in, an' I know Mrs. Lecks won't let it come into her house; so, if you like, you may jus' leave it here for the present, and you may make up your minds n.o.body'll touch it while I'm about. An' about I intend to be!”
This arrangement was gladly agreed upon, and the jar being delivered to Mrs. Ales.h.i.+ne, we took our leave of her.
Mrs. Lecks found no difficulty in entering her gate, where she was duly welcomed by a man and his wife she had left in charge, while the Dusantes and myself walked on to the inn, or ”Hotel,” as its sign imported, about which the greater part of the little town cl.u.s.tered.
The three mariners remained behind to await further orders from Mrs.
Ales.h.i.+ne.
By the afternoon of the next day the abodes of those two most energetic and capable housewives, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Ales.h.i.+ne, were fully prepared for the reception of their visitors, and the Dusante family were ensconced beneath the roof of the one, while my wife and I were most warmly welcomed at the gayly adorned door of the other.
Mr. Enderton remained at the inn, where he found very comfortable quarters, an arrangement satisfactory to all parties.
In Mrs. Ales.h.i.+ne's dwelling, where, from the very first, Lucille took her position as a most constant visitor, being equally welcomed by Ruth and the mistress of the house, all was satisfaction and high good humor. The ceaseless activity and cheerful spirits of our hostess seemed to animate us all. At Mrs. Lecks's home the case was different.
There, I could plainly see, there was a certain uneasiness amounting almost to stiffness between Mrs. Lecks and Mr. Dusante. The latter had not accomplished the purpose for which he had made this long journey; and though, if things had turned out as he wished, he would have been very glad to be the guest of Mrs. Lecks, still, under the present circ.u.mstances, the situation did not suit him. Mrs. Lecks, too, possessed an unsettled mind. She did not know when Mr. Dusante would again endeavor to force back upon her the board-money in the ginger-jar, and in this state of uneasy expectancy she was not at her best.
”He's not satisfied,” said she to me, on the morning after the Dusantes had come to her; ”he wants to do somethin', or else to go away. I wish that ginger-jar had dropped into the bottom of the sea while he was bringin' it, or else had smashed itself into a thousand bits while he was slidin' down the mountain, and the money had melted itself into the snow. S'posin' at the end of the week he was to come to me and offer to pay me board for himself and his family, sayin'
that was no more than I'd done to him! Of course the two cases are not a bit alike; for we went to his house strangers, without leave or license, while he comes to mine as a friend, bein' fully invited and pressed. But I don't suppose I could make him see it in that light, and it worries me.”
I was convinced that something ought to be done to end this unpleasant state of affairs, and I took my wife and Miss Lucille into council on the subject. After we had deliberated a little while an idea came to Ruth.
”In my opinion,” said she, ”the best thing we can do with that board-money is to give it to those three sailors. They are poor and will be glad to get it; Mr. Dusante and Mrs. Lecks ought to be fully satisfied, for the one doesn't keep it, and the other doesn't take it back, and I'm sure that this plan will please all the rest of us.”
This proposition was agreed to by the council, and I was appointed to go immediately and lay it before the parties interested.
Mr. Dusante gave his ready consent to this proposal. ”It is not what I intended to do,” said he, ”but it amounts to almost the same thing.
The money is in fact restored to its owners, and they agree to make a certain disposition of it. I am satisfied.”
Mrs. Lecks hesitated a little. ”All right,” said she. ”He takes the money and gives it to who he chooses. I've nothin' to say against it.”
Of course no opposition to the plan was to be expected from anybody else, except Mr. Enderton. But when I mentioned it to him I found, to my surprise, that he was not unwilling to agree to it. Half closing the book he had been reading, he said: ”What I have done was on behalf of principle. I did not believe, and do not believe, that upon an entirely deserted island money should be paid for board. I paid it under protest, and I do not withdraw that protest. According to all the laws of justice and hospitality the man who owned that island should not retain that money, and Mrs. Lecks had no right to insist upon such retention. But if it is proposed to give the sum total to three mariners, who paid no board and to whom the gift is an absolute charity, I am content. To be sure, they interfered with me at a moment when I was about to make a suitable settlement of the matter, but I have no doubt they were told to do so; and I must admit that while they carried out their orders with a certain firmness characteristic of persons accustomed to unreasoning obedience, they treated me with entire respect. If equal respect had been shown to me at the beginning of these disputes, it would have been much better for all concerned.”
And opening his book, he recommenced his reading.
That afternoon all of us, except Mr. Enderton, a.s.sembled on Mrs.
Ales.h.i.+ne's piazza to witness the presentation of the board-money. The three sailors, who had been informed of the nature of the proceedings, stood in line on the second step of the piazza, clad in their best toggery, and with their new tarpaulin hats in their hands. Mrs.
Ales.h.i.+ne went into the house and soon reappeared, carrying the ginger-jar, which she presented to Mr. Dusante. That gentleman took it, and stood holding it for a moment as if he were about to speak; but even if he had intended to say anything he had no further opportunity, for Mrs. Lecks now stepped forward and addressed him: