But Mrs. Garman Had Heard That The New Cook Had Something New In
_Filets_, And They Therefore Had To Wait Until After Supper.
Chapter 16 Pg 109
At Length Winter Went Stealing Off To The Northward, Like A Weary
Monster, Leaving Its Long Train Of Dirty White Snow Patches Along The
Hedges, And Its Neutral-Tinted Ice Pitted All Over With Small Holes,
Upon The Pools. The Spring Followed Closely On Its Heels, And Had Work
Enough To Make The Earth Look Green Again, And Deck It Out In all Its
Finery For A Little Time, Until The Monster Came Creeping Southward
Chapter 16 Pg 110
Again With Its Wreaths Of New-Fallen Snow, And Its Dark-Blue Ice Shining
Like Polished Steel.
It Was The 14Th Of May, And Uncle Richard Was Riding On Don Juan Along
The Road From Bratvold. To-Morrow Was The Great Day At Sandsgaard. The
Ship Was To Be Launched In The Morning, And In The Evening Was To Be
Given The Yearly Ball.
The Old Gentleman Was Deep In Thought, And Don Juan Went Pacing Slowly
Along, Turning His Well-Shaped Head On Every Side, While The South Wind
That Came Swelling Up Along The Coast Persisted In Lifting The Locks Of
His Long Mane And Throwing Them On The Wrong Side, And Played With The
Forelock On His Brow.
The Road Led Over Swelling Ground Covered With Heather, Past
Well-Stocked Farms, Over Moors, And Desolate Wastes Thickly Strewn With
Boulders. Not A Tree Was To Be Seen As Far As The Eye Could Reach, And
It Reached Far, Both Out To Sea And Over The Country, Which Sloped
Gradually Up To The Mountains Many A Mile Inland.
What A Wealth Of Life Seemed Bursting From The Thawing Earth! How Many
Balmy Odours Seemed To Rise; How Many Changing Colours; How Many Wreaths
Of Mist Were Gliding Over The Pools, And Hanging In The Rushes, Or
Spreading Themselves Over The Moorland; While The Clear Sunny Air Was
Ringing With The Song Of Larks Singing In emulation! There Were The
Plovers Racing After Each Other, The Sandpipers, The Snipes, Starlings,
And Ducks. A Whole Life Of Joyous Bustle; While Out To The Westward
Could Be Seen The Line Of Bright Yellow Sand Standing Out Against The
Dark-Blue Sea.
Uncle Richard Saw But Little Of All This As He Went Along. Things Had
Not Gone Well With Him During The Winter. While At Home, Madeleine Was
Constantly In His Thoughts; And When He Went To Sandsgaard And Saw Her,
It Did Not Tend To Make Him More Cheerful.
She Had Told Him About Pastor Martens'S Proposal To Her; But There Was
Nothing To Worry Over In That, Thought The _Attache_, Especially As She
Had Refused The Offer. There Must Be Some Other Cause For Her
Depression, And To-Day He Had Made Up His Mind To Talk To Christian
Frederick, Who Always Gave Such Good Advice. He Had Also Determined That
He Would At Length Take Courage, And Ask His Brother How Money Matters
Stood Between Them. It Was Really Too Bad Not To Have A Clear Knowledge
Of One'S Own Affairs.
At Sandsgaard He Found The Whole House In an Uproar. On The Second Floor
The Furniture Was Being Moved, Dusting Was Going On, And Candles Were
Being Put In The Chandeliers. Downstairs The Table Was Already Laid For
Supper; Only The Old Gentlemen'S Bedrooms And The Offices Were
Respected; And In The Window Of The Still-Room He Noticed Jellies And
Blancmanges, Which Had Been Put There To Cool.
"Oh Dear Me! What A Bustle It All Is!" Said Mrs. Garman, Faintly.
She Had Had Her Armchair Moved Into A Room At The Side Of The Kitchen,
Where The Dishing-Up Was Done.
Here She Remained The Whole Day, And Had Samples Of Everything That Was
Chapter 16 Pg 111
Cooked In The Kitchen Brought To Her. The Kitchen-Maids Were As Nervous
As If They Had Been Undergoing An Examination.
Miss Cordsen Was Everywhere, Prim And Noiseless As Usual, And Without
Wasting A Word, She Gave An Eye To The Vast Amount Of Knives And Forks,
Lights And Silver, Glass And China. Everything Was Arranged In Her
Experienced Head, From The Ladies' Cloak-Room To The Supper For The
Musicians.
But If There Was A Busy Stir In The House, It Was Even Greater Down At
The Ship-Yard. Tom Robson Had Kept His Promise, And The Ship Stood Trim
And Ready, "As A Bride," As He Put It. And Now The Whole Staff Of
Workmen Were Occupied In Getting Everything In Order For The Morrow, And
Clearing Out The Yard, So That It Might Look Tidy And Neat When All The
Visitors Came To See The Ship "Go."
"What Time Will It Be High Water, Mr. Robson?" Asked The Young Consul,
As He And Uncle Richard Were Making An Inspection Of The Ship-Yard In
The Afternoon.
"At Half-Past Ten, Sir," Answered The Foreman.
"Very Well, Then, Let Me See That You Have Everything Ready To-Morrow At
Half-Past Ten, On The Stroke, You Understand--At Half-Past Ten On The
Stroke."
"All Right, Sir!" Said Mr. Robson, Touching His Cap.
But Tom Robson Was Not Going To Leave Anything Till The Morning. That
Evening He Had Every Intention Of Making A Night Of It, And Martin Had
Already Got The Money To Make Some Extensive Purchases. There Would Be
Time Enough To Sleep It Off Before Half-Past Ten. He Was Careful To Have
Everything Ready That Evening. The Ways Were Carefully Smeared With
Tallow And Soft Soap, And Put In Their Places; The Props Were All Ready
To Be Removed; And Everything That Might Get In The Way In The Harbour,
Was Hauled Out Of The Way And Secured To Its Moorings.
The Ship Lay With Her Stern Towards The Water, And Her Stem Slightly
Raised Above It. Under Her Bows Lay All The Material For Use The Next
Day. The Spare Pieces Of Timber That Were To Be Put Under Her, And The
Wedges Which Were To Be Driven In To Raise Her Forward, Were Ready To
Hand, As Were The Jacks And Levers. Everything, In Fact, Down To The
Long-Handled Mauls Was In Its Place.
Gabriel Followed At Tom'S Heels All Day. He Wanted To Take In everything
Clearly, And Succeeded Fully In So Doing. Only One Thing, The Ship'S
Name, That He Was So Anxious To Know, Still Remained A Secret, Which Tom
Would Not Betray. And Tom Himself It Was Who, In accordance With The
Consul'S
