Latest / Laramie / Make-Believe Man - Richard Harding Davis
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Chapter one of The Make Believe Man. This is a
- 0:03Speaker 1: Liberox recording. All Liberox recordings are in the public domain.
- 0:08Speaker 1: For more information not to volunteer, please visit librevox dot org.
- 0:13Speaker 1: Recording by Carolyne The Make Believe Man by Richard Harding Davis,
- 0:20Speaker 1: Chapter one. I had made up my mind that when
- 0:25Speaker 1: my vacation came, I would spend it seeking adventures. I
- 0:30Speaker 1: have always wished for adventures. But though I am old
- 0:33Speaker 1: enough I was twenty five last October, and have always
- 0:38Speaker 1: gone half way to meet them, adventures avoid me. Kinny
- 0:44Speaker 1: says it is my fault. He holds that if you
- 0:46Speaker 1: want adventures, you must go after them. Kinny sits next
- 0:51Speaker 1: to me at Joyce and Carboys, the Woolen Manufacturers, where
- 0:55Speaker 1: I am a stenographer and Kinney is a clerk, and
- 0:59Speaker 1: we both have rooms at missus Shaw's boarding house. Kinny
- 1:04Speaker 1: is only a year older than myself, but he is
- 1:07Speaker 1: always meeting with adventures. At night. When I have set
- 1:12Speaker 1: up late reading law so that I may fit myself
- 1:15Speaker 1: for court reporting, and in the hope that someday I
- 1:19Speaker 1: may become a member of the bar, he will knock
- 1:22Speaker 1: at my door and tell me some surprising thing that
- 1:26Speaker 1: has just happened to him. Sometimes he has followed a
- 1:31Speaker 1: fire engine and helped people from a fire escape, or
- 1:35Speaker 1: he has pulled the shield of a policeman, or at
- 1:39Speaker 1: the bar of the hotel Nikabooka has made friends with
- 1:43Speaker 1: a stranger who turns out to be no less than
- 1:46Speaker 1: a nobleman or an actor. And women, especially beautiful women,
- 1:52Speaker 1: are always pursuing Kinney in taxicabs and calling upon him
- 1:57Speaker 1: for assistance. Just to look at Kinney, without knowing how
- 2:02Speaker 1: clever he is at getting people out of their difficulties.
- 2:06Speaker 1: He does not appear to be a man to whom
- 2:09Speaker 1: you would turn in time of trouble. You would think
- 2:12Speaker 1: women in distress would appeal to someone bigger and stronger,
- 2:17Speaker 1: would sooner ask a policeman. But on the contrary, it
- 2:22Speaker 1: is to Kinny that women always turn, especially as I
- 2:26Speaker 1: have said, beautiful women. Nothing of the sort ever happens
- 2:32Speaker 1: to me. I suppose, as Kinny says, it is because
- 2:37Speaker 1: he was born and brought up in New York City
- 2:40Speaker 1: and looks and acts like a New york Man, while I,
- 2:44Speaker 1: until a year ago, have always lived at Fairport. Fairport
- 2:49Speaker 1: is a very pretty harbor, but it does not train
- 2:53Speaker 1: one for adventures. We arranged to take our vacations at
- 2:58Speaker 1: the same time and together. At least Kinney so arranged it.
- 3:04Speaker 1: I see a good deal of him, and in looking
- 3:06Speaker 1: forward to my vacation, not the least pleasant feature of
- 3:11Speaker 1: it was that everything connected with Joyce and Carboy and
- 3:16Speaker 1: missus Shaw's boarding house would be left behind me. But
- 3:21Speaker 1: when Kinney proposed we should go together, I could not
- 3:24Speaker 1: see how, without being rude, I could refuse his company.
- 3:29Speaker 1: And when he pointed out that for an expedition in
- 3:32Speaker 1: search of adventure, I could not select a better guide,
- 3:36Speaker 1: I felt that he was right. Sometimes he said, I
- 3:41Speaker 1: can see you don't believe that half the things I
- 3:44Speaker 1: tell you have happened to me really have happened. Now,
- 3:48Speaker 1: isn't that so to find the answer that would not
- 3:53Speaker 1: hurt his feelings, I hesitated, But he did not wait
- 3:56Speaker 1: for my answer. He seldom does well on this trip.
- 4:02Speaker 1: He went on, you will see Kinney on the job.
- 4:05Speaker 1: You won't have to take my word for it. You
- 4:08Speaker 1: will see adventures. Walk up and eat out of my hand.
- 4:13Speaker 1: Our vacation came on the first of September, but we
- 4:16Speaker 1: began to plan for it in April and up to
- 4:19Speaker 1: the night before we left New York. We never ceased planning.
- 4:24Speaker 1: Our difficulty was that, having been brought up at Fairport,
- 4:28Speaker 1: which is on the Sound north of New London, I
- 4:32Speaker 1: was homesick for a smell of salt marshes, and for
- 4:35Speaker 1: the sight of water and ships, though they were only
- 4:39Speaker 1: schooners carrying cement. I wanted to sit in the sun
- 4:43Speaker 1: on the string piece of a wolf and watch them.
- 4:47Speaker 1: I wanted to beat about the harbor in a cat's
- 4:49Speaker 1: boat and feel the target pull off the tiller. Kinney
- 4:55Speaker 1: protested that that was no way to spend a vcation
- 4:58Speaker 1: or to invite adventures. His face was set against Fairport.
- 5:04Speaker 1: The conversation of clam diggers, he said, did not appeal
- 5:08Speaker 1: to him, and he complained that at Fairport our only
- 5:12Speaker 1: chance of adventure would be my capsizing the cat boat
- 5:16Speaker 1: or rubbing a lobster pot. He insists that we should
- 5:20Speaker 1: go to the mountains, where we would meet what he
- 5:23Speaker 1: always calls our best people. In September, he explained, everybody
- 5:30Speaker 1: goes to the mountains to recuperate after the enervating atmosphere
- 5:34Speaker 1: of the seashore. To this, I objected that the little
- 5:38Speaker 1: sea air we had inhaled at Missus Shaw's basement dining room,
- 5:43Speaker 1: and in the subway need calls us no anxiety. And
- 5:48Speaker 1: so along these lines, throughout the sleepless sul Tree nights
- 5:53Speaker 1: of June, July and August, we fought it out. There
- 5:59Speaker 1: was not a summary sort within five hundred miles of
- 6:01Speaker 1: New York City. We did not consider from the information
- 6:05Speaker 1: bureaus and passenger agents of every railroad. Leaving New York,
- 6:11Speaker 1: Kinney procured a library of timetables, maps, folders and pamphlets
- 6:18Speaker 1: illustrated with the most attractive pictures of summer hotels, golf links,
- 6:24Speaker 1: tennis courts and boathouses. For two months he carried on
- 6:29Speaker 1: a correspondence with the proprietors of these hotels, and in
- 6:34Speaker 1: comparing the different prices, they asked him for suits of
- 6:38Speaker 1: rooms and some parlors derived constant satisfaction. The Outlook House
- 6:46Speaker 1: he would announce once twenty four dollars a day for bedroom,
- 6:50Speaker 1: parlor and private bath, while for the same accommodations the
- 6:56Speaker 1: Cartered Arms asks only twenty. But the no tennis court.
- 7:01Speaker 1: And then again the Outerlook has no garage, nor are
- 7:05Speaker 1: dogs allowed in the bedrooms, as Kinny could not play
- 7:11Speaker 1: lawn tennis, and as neither of us owned an automobile
- 7:16Speaker 1: or a dog or twenty four dollars. These details to
- 7:20Speaker 1: me seemed superfluous, but there was no health in pointing
- 7:24Speaker 1: that out to Kinney, because, as he himself says, he
- 7:29Speaker 1: has so vivid an imagination that what he lacks he
- 7:33Speaker 1: can make believe he has, and the pleasure of possession
- 7:37Speaker 1: is his. Kinny gives a great deal of thought to
- 7:42Speaker 1: his clothes, and the question of what he should wear
- 7:46Speaker 1: on his vacation was upon his mind. When I said
- 7:50Speaker 1: I thought it was nothing to worry about, he snorted indignantly.
- 7:55Speaker 1: You wouldn't, he said, if I'd been broad up in
- 8:00Speaker 1: a cat boat and had a tan like a red
- 8:02Speaker 1: Indian and hair like a Broadway blonde, I wouldn't worry either, missus.
- 8:08Speaker 1: Shaw says, you look exactly like a British peer and disguise.
- 8:14Speaker 1: I had never seen a British peer with or without
- 8:17Speaker 1: his disguise, and I admit I was interested. Why are
- 8:23Speaker 1: the girls in this house, demanded Kinney always running to
- 8:28Speaker 1: your room to borrow matches because they admire your clothes.
- 8:33Speaker 1: If they're crazy about clothes. Why don't they come to
- 8:37Speaker 1: me for matches? You are always out at night, I said,
- 8:44Speaker 1: you know that's not the answer, he protested. Why do
- 8:48Speaker 1: the typewriter girls at the office always go to you
- 8:51Speaker 1: to sharpen their pencils and to tell them how to
- 8:54Speaker 1: spell the hard words? Why do the girls in the
- 8:57Speaker 1: lunch rooms serve you first because they're hypnotized by your clothes?
- 9:04Speaker 1: Is that it? Do they? I asked, I hadn't noticed.
- 9:10Speaker 1: Kinney snorted and tossed up his arms. He hadn't noticed,
- 9:16Speaker 1: he kept repeating, he hadn't noticed. For his vacation, Kinny
- 9:21Speaker 1: bought a second hand suit case. It was covered with
- 9:25Speaker 1: labels of hotels in France and Switzerland. Joe, I said,
- 9:31Speaker 1: if you carry that bag, you will be a walking falsehood.
- 9:36Speaker 1: Kinney's name is Joseph Forbes. Kinney he dropped the Joseph
- 9:41Speaker 1: because he said it did not appear often enough in
- 9:44Speaker 1: the social register and could be found only in the
- 9:48Speaker 1: Old Testament. And he has asked me to call him Forbes,
- 9:53Speaker 1: having first known him as Joe, I occasionally forget my
- 9:59Speaker 1: name is not Joe, he said sternly. And I have
- 10:03Speaker 1: as much right to carry a second hand bag as
- 10:06Speaker 1: a new one. The bag says it has been to Europe.
- 10:09Speaker 1: It does not say that I have been there, but
- 10:14Speaker 1: you probably will, I pointed out. And then someone who
- 10:18Speaker 1: has really visited those places. Listen, commanded Kinney. If you
- 10:24Speaker 1: want adventures, you must be somebody of importance. No one
- 10:28Speaker 1: will go shares in an adventure with Joe Kinney, a
- 10:31Speaker 1: twenty dollars a week clerk, the human adding machine, the
- 10:35Speaker 1: whole room boy. But forbes Kinney esquire with a bag
- 10:41Speaker 1: from Europe and a Harvard ribbon round his hat. Is
- 10:46Speaker 1: that a Harvard ribbon around your hat? I asked, It is,
- 10:51Speaker 1: declared Kinney. And I have a yellow ribbon and a
- 10:55Speaker 1: turf Club ribbon too. They come on hooks and you
- 10:58Speaker 1: hook him on to your clothes or the company you keep.
- 11:03Speaker 1: And what's more, he continued, with some heat, I've borrowed
- 11:07Speaker 1: a tennis racket and a golf bag full of sticks,
- 11:10Speaker 1: and you take care you don't give me away. I see,
- 11:14Speaker 1: I returned, that you are going to get us into
- 11:17Speaker 1: a lot of trouble, I was thinking, said Kinney, looking
- 11:22Speaker 1: at me rather doubtfully. It might help a lot if
- 11:26Speaker 1: for the first week you acted as my secretary, and
- 11:29Speaker 1: during the second week I was your secretary. Sometimes when
- 11:35Speaker 1: mister Joyce goes on a business trip, he takes me
- 11:38Speaker 1: with him as his private stenographer, and the change from
- 11:42Speaker 1: office is very pleasant. But I could not see why
- 11:45Speaker 1: I should spend one week of my holiday writing letters
- 11:48Speaker 1: for Kinney. You wouldn't write any letters, he explained. But
- 11:54Speaker 1: if I could tell people you were my private secretary,
- 11:58Speaker 1: it would naturally give me certain importance. If it will
- 12:03Speaker 1: make you any happier, I said, you can tell people
- 12:07Speaker 1: I am a British peer in disguise. There's no use
- 12:12Speaker 1: in being nasty about it, protested Kinney. I am only
- 12:16Speaker 1: trying to show you a way that would lead to adventure.
- 12:21Speaker 1: It surely would, I assented, it would lead us to jail.
- 12:27Speaker 1: The last week in August came, and as to where
- 12:30Speaker 1: we were to go, we still were undecided. I suggested
- 12:35Speaker 1: we leave it to chance. The first thing, I pointed
- 12:40Speaker 1: out is to get away from this awful city. The
- 12:44Speaker 1: second thing is to get away cheaply. Let us write
- 12:48Speaker 1: down the names of the summer resorts to which we
- 12:50Speaker 1: can travel by rail or by boat for two dollars
- 12:54Speaker 1: and put them in a hat. The name of the
- 12:57Speaker 1: place we draw will be the one for which we
- 12:59Speaker 1: start Saturday afternoon. The idea I urged is in itself
- 13:05Speaker 1: full of adventure. Kinny agreed, but reluctantly. What chiefly disturbed
- 13:12Speaker 1: him was the thought that the places near New York
- 13:15Speaker 1: to which one could travel for so little money were
- 13:19Speaker 1: not likely to be fashionable. I have a terrible fear,
- 13:25Speaker 1: he declared, that with this limit of yours, we will
- 13:29Speaker 1: wake up in Asbury Park. Friday night came and found
- 13:35Speaker 1: us prepared for departure, and at midnight we held our
- 13:39Speaker 1: lottery in a pillowcase. We placed twenty slips of paper,
- 13:44Speaker 1: on each of which was written the name of a
- 13:46Speaker 1: summer resort. Ten of these places were selected by Kinney,
- 13:51Speaker 1: and ten by myself. Kinny dramatically rolled up his sleeve, and,
- 13:57Speaker 1: plunging his bared arm into our grab bag, drew out
- 14:01Speaker 1: a slip of paper and read aloud, New Bedford via
- 14:07Speaker 1: New Bedford steamboat line. The choice was one of mine,
- 14:14Speaker 1: New Bedford, shouted Kinney. His tone expressed the keenest disappointment.
- 14:22Speaker 1: It's a mill town, he exclaimed. It's full of cotton mills.
- 14:29Speaker 1: That may be, I protested, but It's also a most
- 14:32Speaker 1: picturesque old seaport, one of the oldest in America. You
- 14:37Speaker 1: can see whaling vessels at the wharfs there, and wooden
- 14:41Speaker 1: figureheads and harpoons. Is this an expedition to dig up
- 14:47Speaker 1: buried cities, interrupted Kinney, or a pleasure trip? I don't
- 14:52Speaker 1: want to see harpoons. I wouldn't know a harpoon if
- 14:56Speaker 1: you stuck one into me. I prefer to see hat pins.
- 15:01Speaker 1: The patients did not sail until six o'clock, but we
- 15:05Speaker 1: were so anxious to put New York behind us that
- 15:09Speaker 1: at five we were on board. Our cabin was an
- 15:13Speaker 1: outside one with two berths. After placing our suitcases in it,
- 15:19Speaker 1: we collected camp chairs and settled ourselves in a cool
- 15:22Speaker 1: place on the boat deck. Kinny had bought all the
- 15:26Speaker 1: afternoon papers, and as later I had reason to remember,
- 15:31Speaker 1: was greatly interested over the fact that the young Earl
- 15:34Speaker 1: of Ivy had at last arrived in this country. For
- 15:39Speaker 1: some weeks the papers had been giving more space than
- 15:43Speaker 1: seemed necessary to that young irishman and to the young
- 15:47Speaker 1: lady he was coming over to Mary. There had been
- 15:50Speaker 1: pictures of his different country houses, pictures of himself in
- 15:56Speaker 1: uniform in the ropes he wore at the coronation on
- 16:00Speaker 1: Polo Pawony as master of Foxhounds, and there had been
- 16:05Speaker 1: pictures of Miss Aldridge and of her country places at
- 16:09Speaker 1: Newport and on the Hudsend. From the afternoon papers, Kinny
- 16:14Speaker 1: learned that, having sailed under his family name of Niehan,
- 16:18Speaker 1: the young Man and Lady Moya, his sister, had that
- 16:22Speaker 1: morning landed in New York, but before the reporters had
- 16:26Speaker 1: discovered them, had escaped from the wharf and disappeared. Inquiries
- 16:33Speaker 1: at the different hotels read Kinney impressively failed to establish
- 16:38Speaker 1: the whereabouts of his lordship and Lady Moya, and disbelieved
- 16:43Speaker 1: they at once left by train for Newport. With all,
- 16:48Speaker 1: Kinney pointed at the red funnels of the Mauritania. There
- 16:53Speaker 1: is the boat that brought them to America, he said,
- 16:58Speaker 1: I see. He added that in this picture of him
- 17:01Speaker 1: playing golf, he wears one of those knit jackets. The
- 17:04Speaker 1: isle bomb has just marked down to three dollars and
- 17:08Speaker 1: seventy five cents. I wish, he added, regretfully. You can
- 17:14Speaker 1: get one at New Bedford, I suggested, I wish, he continued.
- 17:20Speaker 1: We had gone to Newport all of our best people
- 17:25Speaker 1: will be there for the wedding. It is the most
- 17:28Speaker 1: important social event of the season. He might almost call
- 17:32Speaker 1: it an alliance. I went forward to watch them take
- 17:37Speaker 1: on the fright, and Kinney stationed himself at the rail
- 17:41Speaker 1: above the passenger's gangway, where he could see the other
- 17:45Speaker 1: passengers arrive. He had dressed himself with much care and
- 17:50Speaker 1: was wearing his Yale hat band. But when a very
- 17:53Speaker 1: smart looking youth came up the gang plank wearing a
- 17:57Speaker 1: Harvard ribbon, Kimni Hays retired to our cabin and returned
- 18:03Speaker 1: with one like it. A few minutes later I found
- 18:07Speaker 1: him and the young man seated in camp chairs side
- 18:10Speaker 1: by side, engaged in a conversation in which Kinny seemed
- 18:15Speaker 1: to bear the greater part. Indeed, to what Kinny was saying,
- 18:20Speaker 1: the young man paid not the slightest attention. Instead, his
- 18:25Speaker 1: eyes were fastened on the gangplank below, and when a
- 18:29Speaker 1: young man of his own age, accompanied by a girl
- 18:32Speaker 1: in a dress of rough tweed, appeared upon it, he
- 18:36Speaker 1: leaped from his seat, then, with a conscious look at Kinney,
- 18:41Speaker 1: sank back. The girl in the tweed suit was sufficiently
- 18:47Speaker 1: beautiful to cause any man to rise and to remain standing.
- 18:51Speaker 1: She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
- 18:56Speaker 1: She had gray eyes and hair like golden rod, worn
- 19:00Speaker 1: in a fashion with which I was not familiar, and
- 19:03Speaker 1: her face was so lovely that, in my surprise at
- 19:07Speaker 1: the sight of it, I felt a sudden catch at
- 19:11Speaker 1: my throat, and my heart stopped with awe and wonder
- 19:16Speaker 1: and gratitude. After a brief moment, the young man in
- 19:21Speaker 1: the real Harvard hat band rose restlessly, and with a
- 19:27Speaker 1: nod to Kinney, went below. I also rose and followed him.
- 19:33Speaker 1: I had an uncontrollable desire to again look at the
- 19:37Speaker 1: girl with the golden rod hair. I did not mean
- 19:41Speaker 1: that she should see me. Never before had I done
- 19:44Speaker 1: such a thing. But never before had I seen anyone
- 19:47Speaker 1: who had moved me so strangely. Seeking her, I walked
- 19:52Speaker 1: the length of the main saloon and back again, but
- 19:56Speaker 1: could not find her. The delay gave me time to
- 19:59Speaker 1: see see that my conduct was impertinent. The very fact
- 20:04Speaker 1: that she was so lovely to look upon should have
- 20:07Speaker 1: been her protection. It afforded me no excuse to follow
- 20:11Speaker 1: and spy upon her. With this thought, I hastily returned
- 20:16Speaker 1: to the upper deck to bury myself in my book.
- 20:21Speaker 1: If it did not serve to keep my mind from
- 20:23Speaker 1: the young lady, at least that would prevent my eyes
- 20:27Speaker 1: from causing her annoyance. I was about to take the
- 20:32Speaker 1: chair that the young man had left vacant when Kinny objected.
- 20:36Speaker 1: He was very much interested in our conversation, Kinny said,
- 20:41Speaker 1: and he may return. I had not noticed an eagerness
- 20:46Speaker 1: on the part of the young man talked to Kinny,
- 20:49Speaker 1: or to listen to him, but I did not sit down.
- 20:53Speaker 1: I should not be surprised a bit, said Kinney. If
- 20:57Speaker 1: that young man is no end of a swell. He
- 21:00Speaker 1: is a harvard man, and his manner was most polite. That,
- 21:05Speaker 1: explained Kinney, is one way you can always tell a
- 21:09Speaker 1: real swell. They are not high and mighty with you.
- 21:13Speaker 1: Their social position is so secure that they can do
- 21:17Speaker 1: as they like. For instance, did you notice that he
- 21:21Speaker 1: smoked a pipe? I said, I had not noticed it.
- 21:26Speaker 1: For his holiday, Kinny had purchased a box of cigars
- 21:29Speaker 1: of a quality more expensive than those he can usually afford.
- 21:34Speaker 1: He was smoking one of them at the moment, and
- 21:37Speaker 1: as it grew less, had been carefully moving the gold
- 21:41Speaker 1: band with which it was encircled from the lighted end,
- 21:46Speaker 1: but as he spoke he regarded it, apparently with distaste,
- 21:50Speaker 1: and then dropped it overboard. Keep my chair, he said, rising,
- 21:56Speaker 1: I am going to my cabin to get my pipe.
- 21:59Speaker 1: I I sat down and fastened my eyes upon my book,
- 22:03Speaker 1: But neither did I understand what I was reading, nor
- 22:06Speaker 1: see the printed page. Instead, before my eyes, confusing and
- 22:12Speaker 1: blinding me, was the lovely, radiant face of the beautiful lady.
- 22:19Speaker 1: In perplexity, I looked up and found her standing not
- 22:23Speaker 1: two feet from me. Something pulled me out of my chair,
- 22:27Speaker 1: something made me move it toward her. I lifted my
- 22:32Speaker 1: hat and backed away, but the eyes of the lovely
- 22:36Speaker 1: lady halted me to my perplexity. Her face expressed both
- 22:42Speaker 1: surprise and pleasure. It was as though either she thought
- 22:46Speaker 1: she knew me, or that I reminded her of some
- 22:49Speaker 1: man she did know. Were the letter the case, he
- 22:53Speaker 1: must have been a friend, for the way in which
- 22:55Speaker 1: she looked at me was kind, and there was beside
- 23:00Speaker 1: the expression of surprise, and as though something she so
- 23:04Speaker 1: pleased her. Maybe it was the quickness with which I
- 23:08Speaker 1: had offered my chair. Still looking at me, she pointed
- 23:12Speaker 1: to one of the skyscrapers. Could you tell me, she asked,
- 23:18Speaker 1: the name of that building. Had her question not proved it,
- 23:23Speaker 1: her voice would have told me not only that she
- 23:26Speaker 1: was a stranger, but that she was irish. It was
- 23:30Speaker 1: particularly soft, low, and vibrant. It made the commonplace question
- 23:36Speaker 1: she asked sound as though she had sung it. I
- 23:40Speaker 1: told her the name of the building, and that father
- 23:43Speaker 1: of town, as she would see. When we moved into
- 23:46Speaker 1: mid stream there was another, still taller. She listened, regarding
- 23:52Speaker 1: me brightly as though interested, but before her eye was
- 23:57Speaker 1: embarrassed and fearing I intruded, I again made a movement
- 24:01Speaker 1: to go away with another question. She stopped me. I
- 24:06Speaker 1: could see no reason for her doing so, but it
- 24:09Speaker 1: was almost as though she had asked the question only
- 24:13Speaker 1: to detain me. What is that odd boat, she said,
- 24:18Speaker 1: pumping water into the river. I explained that it was
- 24:23Speaker 1: a fireboat testing her hose lines. And then as we
- 24:27Speaker 1: moved into the channel, I gained courage and found myself
- 24:31Speaker 1: pointing out the Statute of Liberty, Governess Island and the
- 24:36Speaker 1: Brooklyn Bridge. The fact that it was a stranger who
- 24:40Speaker 1: was talking did not seem to disturb her. I cannot
- 24:43Speaker 1: tell how she conveyed the idea. But I soon felt
- 24:47Speaker 1: that she felt no matter what unconventional thing she chose
- 24:50Speaker 1: to do, people would not be a road or misunderstand.
- 24:56Speaker 1: I considered telling her my name. At first it seemed
- 25:01Speaker 1: that would be more polite. Then I sought to do
- 25:04Speaker 1: so would be forcing myself upon her that she was
- 25:07Speaker 1: interested in me only as a guide to New York Harbor.
- 25:12Speaker 1: When we passed the Brooklyn Navy Yard, I talked so
- 25:16Speaker 1: much and so eagerly of the battleships at anchor there
- 25:21Speaker 1: that the lady must have thought I had followed the sea,
- 25:24Speaker 1: for she asked, are you a sailor man? It was
- 25:29Speaker 1: the first question that was in any way personal. I
- 25:34Speaker 1: used to sail a cat's boat, I said. My answer
- 25:38Speaker 1: seemed to puzzle her, and she frowned. Then she laughed delightedly,
- 25:44Speaker 1: like one having made a discovery. You don't say sailor man?
- 25:48Speaker 1: She said, what do you ask over here when you
- 25:52Speaker 1: wanted to know if a man is in the navy?
- 25:55Speaker 1: She spoke as though she were talking in a different language.
- 26:00Speaker 1: We ask if he is in the navy? I answered.
- 26:04Speaker 1: She laughed again at that, quite as though I had
- 26:07Speaker 1: said something clever, And are you not? No, I said,
- 26:13Speaker 1: I am in Joic and Cowboy's office. I am a stenographer. Again,
- 26:20Speaker 1: My answer seemed both to puzzle and to surprise her.
- 26:24Speaker 1: She regarded me doubtfully. I could see that she thought,
- 26:28Speaker 1: for some reason I was misleading her in an office,
- 26:33Speaker 1: she repeated. Then, as though she had caught me, she said,
- 26:38Speaker 1: how do you keep so fit? She asked the question directly,
- 26:43Speaker 1: as a man would have asked it, And as she spoke,
- 26:47Speaker 1: I was conscious that her eyes were measuring me and
- 26:50Speaker 1: my shoulders, as though she were wondering to what weight
- 26:54Speaker 1: I could strip. It's only lately I've worked in an office,
- 26:59Speaker 1: I said before that I always worked out of doors,
- 27:03Speaker 1: oystering and clamming, and in the fall scalloping, and in
- 27:08Speaker 1: the summer I played ball on a hotel nine. I
- 27:12Speaker 1: saw that to the beautiful lady my explanation carried no
- 27:16Speaker 1: meaning whatsoever. But before I could explain, the young man
- 27:20Speaker 1: with whom she had come on board walked toward us.
- 27:25Speaker 1: Neither did he appear to find her talking to a
- 27:27Speaker 1: stranger anything embarrassing. He halted and smiled. His smile was pleasant,
- 27:34Speaker 1: but entirely vague in the few minutes I was with him,
- 27:39Speaker 1: I learned that it was no sign that he was
- 27:41Speaker 1: secretly pleased. It was merely his expression. It was as
- 27:47Speaker 1: though a photographer had said, smile please, and he had
- 27:51Speaker 1: smiled when he joined us. Out of deference to the
- 27:55Speaker 1: young lady, I raised my hat. But the youth did
- 27:59Speaker 1: not seem to think that outward show of respect was necessary,
- 28:03Speaker 1: and kept his hands in his pockets. Neither did he
- 28:07Speaker 1: cease smoking. His first remark to the lovely lady somewhat
- 28:12Speaker 1: startled me. Have you got a brass bit in your room?
- 28:17Speaker 1: He asked? The beautiful lady said she had, so have
- 28:23Speaker 1: I said the young man. They do you rather well,
- 28:26Speaker 1: don't they? And it's only three dollars? How much is that?
- 28:32Speaker 1: A four times three would be twelve? Said the lady,
- 28:36Speaker 1: twelve shillings. The young man was smoking a cigarette in
- 28:41Speaker 1: a long amber cigarette holder. I never had seen one
- 28:46Speaker 1: so long. He examined the end of his cigarette holder, and,
- 28:51Speaker 1: apparently surprised and relieved at finding a cigarette there, again,
- 28:56Speaker 1: smiled contentedly. The lovely Lady pointed at the marble shaft
- 29:02Speaker 1: rising above Madison Square. That is the tallest skyscraper. She
- 29:08Speaker 1: said in New York. I had just informed her of
- 29:13Speaker 1: that fact. The young man smiled as though he were
- 29:16Speaker 1: being introduced to the building, but exhibited no interest. Is it,
- 29:22Speaker 1: he remarked. His tone seemed to show that had she
- 29:27Speaker 1: said that as a rabbit, he would have been equally gratified.
- 29:33Speaker 1: Some day, he stated, with the same startling abruptness with
- 29:38Speaker 1: which he had made his first remark, our warships will
- 29:42Speaker 1: lift the roofs of those skyscrapers. The remark struck me
- 29:48Speaker 1: in the wrong place. It was unnecessary. Already I resented
- 29:53Speaker 1: the manner of the young man towards the lovely lady.
- 29:56Speaker 1: It seemed to me lacking in courtesy. I knew her,
- 30:00Speaker 1: and yet traded her with no deference, while I, a stranger,
- 30:06Speaker 1: felt so grateful to her for being what I knew
- 30:09Speaker 1: one with such a face must be that I could
- 30:12Speaker 1: have knelt at her feet. So I rather resented the remark.
- 30:18Speaker 1: If the warships you sent over here, I said, doubtfully
- 30:23Speaker 1: aren't more successful in lifting things than your yachts. You'd
- 30:28Speaker 1: better keep them at home and safe call. Seldom have
- 30:33Speaker 1: I made so long a speech, or so rude a speech,
- 30:36Speaker 1: And as soon as I had spoken on account of
- 30:40Speaker 1: the lovely lady. I was sorry, but after a pause
- 30:44Speaker 1: of half a second, she laughed delightedly. I see, she cried,
- 30:50Speaker 1: as though it were a sort of a game. He means,
- 30:54Speaker 1: lipped in. We can't lift the cup, we can't lift
- 30:57Speaker 1: the roofs. Don't you see starf she urged. In spite
- 31:02Speaker 1: of my reader remark, the young man she called Stunts
- 31:06Speaker 1: had continued to smile happily. Now his expression changed to
- 31:11Speaker 1: one of discomfort and utter gloom, and then broke out
- 31:16Speaker 1: into a radiant smile. I say, he cried, that's sofully good.
- 31:23Speaker 1: If your warships aren't any better at lifting things? Oh,
- 31:26Speaker 1: I say, really, he protested, that's awfully good. He seemed
- 31:33Speaker 1: to be afraid I would not appreciate the rare excellence
- 31:36Speaker 1: of my speech. You know, really, he pleaded, it is
- 31:42Speaker 1: awfully good. We were interrupted by the sudden appearance in
- 31:47Speaker 1: opposite directions of Kinney and the young man with the
- 31:52Speaker 1: real hat band. Both were excited and disturbed. At the
- 31:56Speaker 1: sight of the young man, some s turned appealingly to
- 32:00Speaker 1: the goldenrod girl. He groaned aloud, and his expression was
- 32:05Speaker 1: that of a boy who had been caught playing Trent.
- 32:10Speaker 1: Oh lord, he exclaimed, what's the huffy about? Now? He
- 32:15Speaker 1: told me I could come on deck. As soon as
- 32:18Speaker 1: we started. The girl turned upon me a sweet and
- 32:22Speaker 1: lovely smile and nodded. Then, with stumps at her side,
- 32:28Speaker 1: she moved to meet the young man. When he saw
- 32:31Speaker 1: them coming, he halted, and when they joined him, began
- 32:36Speaker 1: talking earnestly, almost angrily. As he did so much to
- 32:42Speaker 1: my bewilderment, he glared at me. At the same moment,
- 32:47Speaker 1: Kinney grabbed me by the arm. Come below, he commanded.
- 32:52Speaker 1: His tone was hoarse and thrilling with excitement. Our adventures,
- 32:58Speaker 1: he whispered, have begun. End of chapter one, Chapter two,
- 33:15Speaker 1: Part one of The Make Believe Man by Richard Harding Davis.
- 33:19Speaker 1: This libovox according is in the public domain recording by
- 33:23Speaker 1: Carolyn Chapter two, Part one. I felt for me at
- 33:31Speaker 1: VENTUREZ had already begun. For my meeting with the beautiful
- 33:35Speaker 1: lady was the event of my life, And though Kinny
- 33:39Speaker 1: and I had agreed to share our adventures of this one,
- 33:44Speaker 1: I knew I could not even speak to him. I
- 33:47Speaker 1: wanted to be alone, where I could delight in it,
- 33:50Speaker 1: where I could go over what she had said what
- 33:53Speaker 1: I had said, I would share it with no one.
- 33:57Speaker 1: It was too wonderful to sake her. But Kinny would
- 34:01Speaker 1: not be denied. He led me to our cabinet and
- 34:04Speaker 1: locked the door. I am sorry, he began, but this
- 34:10Speaker 1: adventure is one I cannot share with you. The remark
- 34:13Speaker 1: was so in keeping with my own thoughts that, with sudden,
- 34:17Speaker 1: unhappy doubt, I wondered if Kinney too had felt the
- 34:22Speaker 1: charm of the beautiful lady. But he quickly undeceived me.
- 34:28Speaker 1: I have been doing a little detective work, he said,
- 34:32Speaker 1: his voice was low and supulchrel and I have come
- 34:36Speaker 1: upon a real adventure. There are reasons why I cannot
- 34:40Speaker 1: share it with you, but as it develops, you can
- 34:42Speaker 1: follow it. About half an hour ago, he explained, I
- 34:47Speaker 1: came here to get my pipe. The window was open,
- 34:50Speaker 1: the latte was only partly closed. Outside was that young
- 34:54Speaker 1: man from Harvard who tried to make my acquaintance, and
- 35:00Speaker 1: young englishman who came on board with that blond. Kinney
- 35:04Speaker 1: suddenly interrupted himself. You were talking to her, just now,
- 35:08Speaker 1: he said. I hated to hear him speak of the
- 35:12Speaker 1: Irish lady as that blond. I hated to hear him
- 35:16Speaker 1: speak of her at all, So to shut him off,
- 35:18Speaker 1: I answered bravely. She asked me about the Singer building
- 35:24Speaker 1: I see, said Kinney. Well, these two men were just
- 35:28Speaker 1: outside my window, and while I was searching for my pipe,
- 35:32Speaker 1: I heard the American speaking. He was very excited and angry,
- 35:38Speaker 1: I tell you, he said, every boat and railroad station
- 35:42Speaker 1: is watched. You won't be safe till we get away
- 35:45Speaker 1: from New York. You must go to your cabin and
- 35:48Speaker 1: stay there. And the other one answered, I am sick
- 35:53Speaker 1: of hiding and dodging. Kinney paused dramatically and frowned. Well,
- 36:01Speaker 1: I asked, what of it? What of it? He cried,
- 36:06Speaker 1: he exclaimed aloud, with pity and impatience. No wonder, he cried,
- 36:11Speaker 1: you never have adventures. Why, it's as plain as print.
- 36:16Speaker 1: They are criminals escaping. The Englishman certainly is escaping. I
- 36:23Speaker 1: was concerned only for the lovely lady. But I asked,
- 36:27Speaker 1: you mean the irishman called Stumps. Stumps, exclaimed Kinney, What
- 36:33Speaker 1: a strange name, too strange to be true. It's an alias.
- 36:39Speaker 1: I was incensed that Kinny should charge the friends of
- 36:43Speaker 1: the lovely lady with being criminals. Had it been any
- 36:47Speaker 1: one else, I would have at once resented it, But
- 36:50Speaker 1: to be angry with Kinney as difficult. I could not
- 36:54Speaker 1: help but remember that he is the slave of his
- 36:57Speaker 1: own imagination. It placed and runs away with him. And
- 37:02Speaker 1: if it leads him to believe innocent people are criminals,
- 37:06Speaker 1: it also leads him to believe that every woman in
- 37:08Speaker 1: the subway to whom he gives his seat is a
- 37:11Speaker 1: great lady, a leader of society, on her way to
- 37:15Speaker 1: work in the slums. Joe, I protested, those men aren't criminals.
- 37:22Speaker 1: I talked to that irishman, and he hasn't sense enough
- 37:25Speaker 1: to be a criminal. The railroads are watched, repeated Kinney.
- 37:31Speaker 1: Do honest men care at darn whether a railroad is
- 37:35Speaker 1: watched or not? Do you care? Do I care? And
- 37:39Speaker 1: did you notice how angry the American got when he
- 37:42Speaker 1: found Stumps talking with you? I had noticed it, and
- 37:47Speaker 1: I also recalled the fact that Stumps had said to
- 37:50Speaker 1: the lovely lady. He told me I could come on
- 37:53Speaker 1: deck as soon as we started. The words seemed to
- 37:58Speaker 1: bear out what k claimed he had overheard, but not
- 38:02Speaker 1: wishing to encourage him of what I had heard, I
- 38:06Speaker 1: said nothing. He may be dodging a summons. I suggested
- 38:12Speaker 1: he is wanted, probably only as a witness. It might
- 38:16Speaker 1: be a civil suit, or his chauffeur might have hit somebody.
- 38:21Speaker 1: Kinney shook his head sadly. Excuse me, he said, but
- 38:26Speaker 1: I fear you lack imagination. Those men are rascals, dangerous rascals,
- 38:32Speaker 1: and the woman is their accomplice. What they have done
- 38:35Speaker 1: I don't know, but I have already learned enough to
- 38:37Speaker 1: arrest them as suspicious character. As listen, each of them
- 38:42Speaker 1: has a separate stateroom. Forward, the window of the Americans
- 38:46Speaker 1: room was open, and his suit case was on the
- 38:49Speaker 1: bed on it where the initials h PA. The State
- 38:53Speaker 1: room is number twenty four. But when I examined the
- 38:55Speaker 1: purse's list, pretending I wished to find out if a
- 38:59Speaker 1: friend of mine was on board, I found that the
- 39:02Speaker 1: man in twenty four had given his name as James Preston. Now,
- 39:06Speaker 1: he demanded, why should one of them hide under an
- 39:09Speaker 1: alias and the other be afraid to show himself until
- 39:13Speaker 1: we leave the wolf. He did not wait for my answer.
- 39:17Speaker 1: I have been talking to mister h p A alias Preston,
- 39:21Speaker 1: he continued. I pretended I was a person of some importance,
- 39:26Speaker 1: I hinted, I was rich. My object, Kiny added hastily,
- 39:31Speaker 1: was to encourage him to try some of his tricks
- 39:33Speaker 1: on me, to try to rob me, so that I
- 39:36Speaker 1: could obtain evidence. I also, he went on, with some embarrassment,
- 39:43Speaker 1: told him that you too were wealthy and of some importance.
- 39:48Speaker 1: I thought of the lovely lady, and I felt myself
- 39:51Speaker 1: blushing indignantly. You did very wrong, I cried. You had
- 39:57Speaker 1: no right. You may involve us both mos unpleasantly, you
- 40:02Speaker 1: are not involved in any way, protested Kinney. As soon
- 40:06Speaker 1: as we reach New Bedford, you can slip on shore
- 40:09Speaker 1: and wait for me at the hotel. When I've finished
- 40:12Speaker 1: with these gentlemen, i'll join you. Finished with them, I exclaimed,
- 40:18Speaker 1: What do you mean to do to them? Arrest them?
- 40:23Speaker 1: Cried Kinney sternly. As soon as they step upon the wharf.
- 40:29Speaker 1: You can't do it, I gasped. I have done it,
- 40:35Speaker 1: answered Kinney, it's good as done. I have notified the
- 40:39Speaker 1: chief of police at New Bedford, he declared, proudly. To
- 40:43Speaker 1: meet me at the wharf. I used the wireless. Here
- 40:47Speaker 1: is my message. From his pocket, he produced a paper,
- 40:52Speaker 1: and with great importance, read aloud. Meet me at wharf
- 40:56Speaker 1: on arrival steamer patients. Two well known criminals on board
- 41:00Speaker 1: escaping New York Police will personally lay charges against them,
- 41:06Speaker 1: falb Skinney. As soon as I could recover from my surprise,
- 41:11Speaker 1: I made violent protest. I pointed out to Kinny that
- 41:15Speaker 1: his conduct was outrageous, that in making such serious charges
- 41:20Speaker 1: on such evidence, he would lay himself open to punishment.
- 41:25Speaker 1: He was not in the least dismayed. I take it. Then,
- 41:29Speaker 1: he said importantly that you do not wish to appear
- 41:32Speaker 1: against them. I do not wish to appear in it
- 41:35Speaker 1: at all, I cried. You have no right to annoy
- 41:39Speaker 1: that young lady. You must wire the police. You are mistaken.
- 41:44Speaker 1: I have no desire to arrest the woman, said Kinney stiffly.
- 41:48Speaker 1: In my message, I did not mention her. If you
- 41:51Speaker 1: want an adventure of your own, you might help her
- 41:54Speaker 1: to escape while I arrest her accomplices. I object, I
- 41:59Speaker 1: cried to your applying the word accomplice to that young lady.
- 42:04Speaker 1: And suppose they are criminals, I demanded, how will arresting
- 42:09Speaker 1: them help you? Kinney's eyes flashed with excitement. Think of
- 42:16Speaker 1: the newspapers, he cried, they'll be full of it already
- 42:21Speaker 1: in imagination. He saw the headlines a clever haul. He quoted,
- 42:27Speaker 1: noted a band of crooks elude New York police but
- 42:30Speaker 1: are captured by Forbes Kinney, he sighed contentedly. And they'll
- 42:36Speaker 1: probably print my picture too, he added. I knew I
- 42:42Speaker 1: should be angry with him, but instead I could only
- 42:45Speaker 1: feel sorry. I have known Kinney for a year, and
- 42:48Speaker 1: I have learned that his make believer is always innocent.
- 42:51Speaker 1: I suppose that he is what is called a snob,
- 42:55Speaker 1: but with him, snobbishness is not an unpleasant weakness. In
- 42:59Speaker 1: his case, the form of thinking that people who have
- 43:02Speaker 1: certain things he does not possess are better than himself,
- 43:06Speaker 1: and that therefore they must be worth a knowing, And
- 43:10Speaker 1: he tries to make their acquaintance. But he does not
- 43:13Speaker 1: think that he himself is better than anyone. His life
- 43:17Speaker 1: is very bare and narrow. In consequence. On many things
- 43:21Speaker 1: he plays false values, as for example, his desire to
- 43:27Speaker 1: see his name in the newspapers, even as an amateur detective.
- 43:31Speaker 1: So while I was indignant, I was also sorry. Joe.
- 43:37Speaker 1: I said, you're going to get yourself into an awful
- 43:40Speaker 1: lot of trouble, and though I am not in this adventure,
- 43:44Speaker 1: you know if I can help you, I will. He
- 43:48Speaker 1: thanked me, and we went to the dining saloon. There,
- 43:52Speaker 1: at a table near ours, we saw the lovely lady
- 43:55Speaker 1: and Stumps and the American. She again smiled at me,
- 43:59Speaker 1: but this time so it seemed a little doubtfully. In
- 44:04Speaker 1: the mind of the American. On the contrary, there was
- 44:07Speaker 1: no doubt. He glared both at Kinni and myself as
- 44:12Speaker 1: though he would like to boil us in oil. After dinner,
- 44:16Speaker 1: in spite of my protests, Kinni set forth to interview him, and,
- 44:21Speaker 1: as he described it, to lead him on to commit himself.
- 44:26Speaker 1: I feared Kinny was much more likely to commit himself
- 44:30Speaker 1: than the other, and when I saw them seated together,
- 44:33Speaker 1: I watched from a distance with much anxiety. An hour later,
- 44:38Speaker 1: while I was alone, as Steward told me the purser
- 44:42Speaker 1: I would like to see me, I went to his
- 44:45Speaker 1: office and found together there Stumps, his American friend, the
- 44:49Speaker 1: night watchman off the boat, and the Purser. As though
- 44:53Speaker 1: inviting him to speak, the person nodded to the American.
- 44:59Speaker 1: That gentleman addressed to me in an excited and belligerent manner.
- 45:05Speaker 1: My name is Aldridge, he said. I wanted to know
- 45:09Speaker 1: what your name is. I did not quite like his tone,
- 45:14Speaker 1: nor did I like being summoned to the purser's office
- 45:17Speaker 1: to be questioned by a stranger. Why, I asked, because,
- 45:24Speaker 1: said Aldridge, it seems you have several names, as one
- 45:29Speaker 1: of them belongs to this gentleman. He pointed at Stumps.
- 45:33Speaker 1: He wants to know why you are using it. I
- 45:37Speaker 1: looked at Stumps, and he greeted me with the vague
- 45:39Speaker 1: and genial smile that was habitual to him. But on
- 45:43Speaker 1: being called in the act by Aldridge, he hurriedly frowned.
- 45:48Speaker 1: I have never used any name but my own, I said,
- 45:52Speaker 1: and I added pleasantly, if I were choosing a name,
- 45:56Speaker 1: I wouldn't choose Stumps. Oldridge fairly gasped. His name is
- 46:03Speaker 1: not Stumps, he cried, indignantly. He is the Earl of Ivy.
- 46:10Speaker 1: He evidently expected me to be surprised at this, and
- 46:14Speaker 1: I was surprised. I stared at the much advertised young
- 46:19Speaker 1: irishman with interest. Oldridge misunderstood my silence, and, in a
- 46:24Speaker 1: triumphant tone which was far from pleasant, continued, so you see,
- 46:30Speaker 1: he sneered, when you choose to pass yourself off as Ivy,
- 46:34Speaker 1: you should have picked out another bout. The thing was
- 46:39Speaker 1: too upset for me to be angry, and I demanded
- 46:42Speaker 1: with patience, But why should I pass myself off as
- 46:46Speaker 1: Lord Ivy? That's what we intend to find out, snapped Oldridge. Anyway,
- 46:54Speaker 1: we stopped your game for tonight and tomorrow you can
- 46:57Speaker 1: explain to the police. Your pal, he taunted, has told
- 47:02Speaker 1: everyone on this boat that you are Lord Ivy, and
- 47:05Speaker 1: he has told me lies enough about himself to prove
- 47:09Speaker 1: he's an impostor too. I saw what had happened, and
- 47:14Speaker 1: that if I were to protect poor Kinney, I must not,
- 47:17Speaker 1: as I felt inclined use my fists but my head.
- 47:23Speaker 1: I laughed with apparentium concern and turned to the purser.
- 47:28Speaker 1: Oh that's it, is it, I cried. I might have
- 47:32Speaker 1: known it was Kinny. He's always playing practical jokes on me.
- 47:37Speaker 1: I turned to Aldredge. My friend has been playing a
- 47:41Speaker 1: joke on you, too, I said. He didn't know who
- 47:44Speaker 1: you were, but he saw you were an Anglo maniac,
- 47:47Speaker 1: and he's been having fun with you, has he roared Aldredge.
- 47:53Speaker 1: He raged down to his pocket and pulled out a
- 47:56Speaker 1: piece of paper. This, he cried, shaking yet at me,
- 48:01Speaker 1: is a copy of a wireless that I've just sent
- 48:04Speaker 1: to the Chief of Police at New Bedford with great satisfaction.
- 48:09Speaker 1: He read it in a loud and threatening voice. Two
- 48:13Speaker 1: impostors on this boat, representing themselves to be Lord Ivy,
- 48:18Speaker 1: my future brother in law, and his secretary. Lord Ivy
- 48:22Speaker 1: himself on board, sent police to meet boat. We will
- 48:26Speaker 1: make charges, Henry Philip Aldridge. It occurred to me that
- 48:32Speaker 1: after receiving two such sensational telegrams and getting out of
- 48:37Speaker 1: bed to meet the boat at six in the morning,
- 48:40Speaker 1: the chief of Police would be in a state of
- 48:43Speaker 1: mind to arrest almost anybody, and that his choice would
- 48:47Speaker 1: certainly fall on Kinney and myself. It was ridiculous, but
- 48:52Speaker 1: it was also likely to prove extremely humiliating. So I said,
- 48:58Speaker 1: speaking to Lord Ivy, there's been a mistake all round,
- 49:02Speaker 1: sent for mister Kinney, and I will explain it to you.
- 49:07Speaker 1: Lord Ivy, who was looking extremely bored, smiled and nodded,
- 49:12Speaker 1: but young Aldridge laughed ironically. Mister Kinney is in his
- 49:17Speaker 1: state room, he said, with his steward guarding the door
- 49:21Speaker 1: and window. You can explain to morrow to the police.
- 49:26Speaker 1: I rounded indignantly upon the purser. Are you keeping mister
- 49:32Speaker 1: Kinney a prisoner in his stateroom? I demanded, If you are,
- 49:37Speaker 1: he doesn't have to stay there, protested the purser sulkily.
- 49:42Speaker 1: When he found the stewards were following him, he went
- 49:45Speaker 1: to his cabin. I will see him at once, I said,
- 49:50Speaker 1: And if I catch any one of your stewards following me,
- 49:53Speaker 1: I'll drop them overboard. No one tried to stop me, indeed,
- 49:59Speaker 1: knowing a kidna escape, they seemed pleased at my departure,
- 50:03Speaker 1: and I went to my cabin and of Chapter two,
- 50:08Speaker 1: Part one, Chapter two, Part two of The Make Believe
- 50:18Speaker 1: Man by Richard Harding Davis. This LibriVox recording is in
- 50:23Speaker 1: the public domain. Recording by Carolyn Chapter two, Part two. Kinney,
- 50:31Speaker 1: seated on the edge of the berth, greeted me with
- 50:34Speaker 1: a hollow groan. His expression was one of utsa misery,
- 50:39Speaker 1: as though begging me not to be angry. He threw
- 50:43Speaker 1: out his arms appealingly. How the devil he began? Was
- 50:50Speaker 1: I to know that a little red headed shrimp like
- 50:52Speaker 1: that was the Earl of Ivy, and that that tall
- 50:57Speaker 1: blonde girl, he added indignantly, that I thought was an accomplice,
- 51:03Speaker 1: is lady Moya his sister. What happened? I asked? Kinney
- 51:10Speaker 1: was wearing his hat. He took it off and hurled
- 51:13Speaker 1: it to the floor. It was that damned hat, he cried.
- 51:20Speaker 1: It's a Harvard Ridder, all right, but only men on
- 51:23Speaker 1: the crow can wear it. How was I to know that?
- 51:27Speaker 1: I saw Oldridge looking at it in a puzzled way,
- 51:31Speaker 1: And when he said I see you are on the crow,
- 51:35Speaker 1: I guessed what it meant, and I said I was
- 51:38Speaker 1: on last year's crow. Unfortunately, he was on last year's crow.
- 51:44Speaker 1: That's what made him suspect me. And after dinner he
- 51:47Speaker 1: put me through a third degree. I must have given
- 51:51Speaker 1: the wrong incess, for suddenly he jumped up and called
- 51:55Speaker 1: me a swindler and an imposta. I got back by
- 51:59Speaker 1: telling him he was a crook and that I was
- 52:02Speaker 1: a detective, and that I had sent a wireless to
- 52:05Speaker 1: have him arrested at New Bedford. He challenged me to
- 52:09Speaker 1: prove I was a detective, and of course I couldn't,
- 52:13Speaker 1: and he called up two stewards and told them to
- 52:16Speaker 1: watch me while he went after the purser. I didn't
- 52:20Speaker 1: fancy being watched, so I came here. When did you
- 52:25Speaker 1: tell him I was the Earl of Ivy. Kinney ran
- 52:30Speaker 1: his fingers through his hair and groaned dismally. That was
- 52:35Speaker 1: before the boat started. He said it was only a joke.
- 52:40Speaker 1: He didn't seem to be interested in my conversation, so
- 52:44Speaker 1: I thought i'd live in it up a bit by
- 52:46Speaker 1: saying I was a friend of Lord Ivy's, and you
- 52:50Speaker 1: happened to pass, and I happened to remember missus Shaw
- 52:54Speaker 1: saying you looked like a British peer, so I said,
- 52:57Speaker 1: that is my friend Lord Ivy's. I said I was
- 53:01Speaker 1: your secretary, and he seemed greatly interested, and Kinney added dismally,
- 53:08Speaker 1: I talked too much. I'm so sorry, He begged, it's
- 53:13Speaker 1: going to be awful for you. His eyes suddenly lit
- 53:18Speaker 1: with hope, unless he whispered, we can escape. The same
- 53:25Speaker 1: thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd
- 53:28Speaker 1: and impracticable. I knew there was no escape. I knew
- 53:32Speaker 1: we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and
- 53:36Speaker 1: disgraceful experience. The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord
- 53:42Speaker 1: Ivy as news. In my turn, I also saw the
- 53:46Speaker 1: hideous headlines. What would my father and mother at Fairport think?
- 53:52Speaker 1: What would my old friends there think? And what was
- 53:56Speaker 1: of even greater importance, How would Joyce and Carboy act?
- 54:01Speaker 1: What chance was there left me after I had been
- 54:04Speaker 1: arrested as an impostor, to become a stenographer in the
- 54:08Speaker 1: law courts, in time a member of the bar. But
- 54:13Speaker 1: I found that what, for the moment distressed me most
- 54:18Speaker 1: was that the lovely lady would consider me a knave
- 54:21Speaker 1: or a fool. The thought made me exclaim with exasperation.
- 54:27Speaker 1: Had it been possible to abandon Kinney, I would have
- 54:30Speaker 1: dropped overboard and made for sure. The night was warm
- 54:34Speaker 1: and foggy, and the short journey to land to one
- 54:38Speaker 1: who had been brought up like a duck, meant nothing
- 54:42Speaker 1: more than a wetting. But I did not see how
- 54:45Speaker 1: I could desert Kinney. Can you swim? I asked? Of
- 54:51Speaker 1: course not, he answered gloomily. And besides, he added, our
- 54:57Speaker 1: names are on the suitcases. We could and take them
- 55:00Speaker 1: with us, and they'd find out who we are if
- 55:04Speaker 1: we could only steal about he exclaimed, eagerly. One of
- 55:08Speaker 1: those on the davids, he urged, we could put our
- 55:12Speaker 1: suitcases in it, and then after everyone is asleep, we
- 55:16Speaker 1: could lower it into the water. The smallest boat on
- 55:21Speaker 1: board was certified to hold twenty five persons, and without
- 55:26Speaker 1: waking the entire ship's company, we could as easily have
- 55:30Speaker 1: moved the charter on on this, I pointed out. Don't
- 55:35Speaker 1: make objections, Kinney cried petulantly. He was rapidly recovering his spirits.
- 55:43Speaker 1: The imminence of danger seemed to inspire him think. He commanded,
- 55:49Speaker 1: think of some way by which we can get off
- 55:52Speaker 1: this boat before she reaches New Bedford. We must we
- 55:57Speaker 1: must not be arrested. It would be too awful. He
- 56:01Speaker 1: interrupted himself with an excited exclamation. I have it, he
- 56:06Speaker 1: whispered hoarsely. I will ring in the fire alarm, the
- 56:10Speaker 1: crew will run to quarters, the boats will be lowered.
- 56:14Speaker 1: We will cut one of them adrift. In the confusion
- 56:19Speaker 1: what was to happen In the confusion that his imagination
- 56:22Speaker 1: had conjured up, I was not to know, For what
- 56:26Speaker 1: actually happened was so confused that of nothing am I
- 56:31Speaker 1: quite certain? First from the water of the sound that
- 56:36Speaker 1: was lapping pleasantly against the side. I heard the voice
- 56:40Speaker 1: of a man raised in terror. Then came a rush
- 56:44Speaker 1: of feet, oaths, and yells. Then a shock that threw
- 56:49Speaker 1: us to our knees, and a crunching, ripping and tearing
- 56:55Speaker 1: roar like that made by the roof of a burning
- 56:58Speaker 1: building when it plunges to the cellar. And the next instant,
- 57:03Speaker 1: a large bow spirit entered our cabin window. There was
- 57:09Speaker 1: left me just space enough to wrench the door open,
- 57:13Speaker 1: and grabbing Kinney, who was still on his knees, I
- 57:17Speaker 1: dragged him into the alleyway. He scrambled upright and clasped
- 57:22Speaker 1: his hands to his head. Where is my hat? He cried.
- 57:27Speaker 1: I could hear the water pouring into the lower deck
- 57:30Speaker 1: and sweeping the frightened trunks before it. A horse in
- 57:35Speaker 1: a box stall was squealing like a human being, and
- 57:40Speaker 1: many human beings were screaming and shrieking like animals. My
- 57:45Speaker 1: first intelligent thought was of the lovely lady. I shook
- 57:49Speaker 1: Kinney by the arm. The uproar was so great that
- 57:54Speaker 1: to make him hear, I was forced to shout, where
- 57:58Speaker 1: is Lord Ivy's cabin? I cried, you said, it's next
- 58:03Speaker 1: to his sisters, take me there. Kinny nodded and ran
- 58:08Speaker 1: down the corridor and into an alleyway, on which opened
- 58:12Speaker 1: three cabins. The doors were ajar, and as I looked
- 58:16Speaker 1: into each, I saw that the beds had not been touched,
- 58:19Speaker 1: and that the cabins were empty. I knew then that
- 58:23Speaker 1: she was still on deck. I felt that I must
- 58:27Speaker 1: find her. We ran towards the companion way. Women and
- 58:32Speaker 1: children first. Kinny was yelling women and children first. As
- 58:38Speaker 1: we raced down the slanting floor of the saloon. He
- 58:41Speaker 1: kept repeating this mechanically. At that moment, the electric lights
- 58:47Speaker 1: went out, and except for the oil lamps, the ship
- 58:51Speaker 1: was in darkness. Many of the passengers had already gone
- 58:55Speaker 1: to bed. These now burst from the state rooms and
- 58:59Speaker 1: strange guards, mens carrying life preservers, hand bags, their arms
- 59:05Speaker 1: full of clothing. One man in one hand clutched a
- 59:09Speaker 1: sponge in the other an umbrella. With this, he beat
- 59:13Speaker 1: at those who blocked his flight. He hit a woman
- 59:17Speaker 1: over the head, and I hit him, and he went down,
- 59:21Speaker 1: finding himself on his knees. He began to pray volubly.
- 59:27Speaker 1: When we reached the upper deck, we pushed out of
- 59:30Speaker 1: the crush at the gangway, and to keep our footing,
- 59:33Speaker 1: for there was a strong list to port. Clung to
- 59:37Speaker 1: the big flagstaff at the stern. At each rail, the
- 59:41Speaker 1: crew were swinging the boats over the side and around
- 59:45Speaker 1: each boat. Was a crazy fighting mob. Above our starboard
- 59:51Speaker 1: rail towered the foremast of a schooner. She had rammed
- 59:55Speaker 1: us fair amid ships, and in her bows was a
- 59:59Speaker 1: hole through it. She could have rowed a boat into this.
- 1:00:02Speaker 1: The water was rushing and sucking her down. She was
- 1:00:06Speaker 1: already settling at the stand by the light of a
- 1:00:10Speaker 1: swinging lantern. I saw three of her crew lift a
- 1:00:13Speaker 1: yawl from her deck and lower it into the water.
- 1:00:17Speaker 1: Into it they hurled oars and a sail, and one
- 1:00:20Speaker 1: of them had already started to slide down the painter
- 1:00:24Speaker 1: when the schooner lurched drunkenly and in a panic. All
- 1:00:28Speaker 1: three of the men ran forward and leaped to our
- 1:00:32Speaker 1: lower deck. The yawl abandoned swung idly between the patients
- 1:00:38Speaker 1: and the schooner. Kinney, seeing what I saw, grabbed me
- 1:00:43Speaker 1: by the arm. There, he whispered, pointing, there's our chance.
- 1:00:50Speaker 1: I saw that with safety the yawl could hold a
- 1:00:54Speaker 1: third person, and as to who the third passenger would be,
- 1:00:58Speaker 1: I had already made up my mind. Wait Here, I said,
- 1:01:03Speaker 1: on the patients. There were many immigrants only that afternoon,
- 1:01:08Speaker 1: released from Ellice Island. They had swarmed into the lifeboats
- 1:01:12Speaker 1: even before they were swung clear, and when the ship's
- 1:01:16Speaker 1: officers drove them off, the poor souls, not being able
- 1:01:21Speaker 1: to understand, believed they were being sacrificed for the safety
- 1:01:25Speaker 1: of the other passengers. So each was fighting, as he thought,
- 1:01:30Speaker 1: for his life and for the lives of his wife
- 1:01:33Speaker 1: and children. At the edge of the scrimmage, I dragged
- 1:01:37Speaker 1: out two women who had been knocked off their feet
- 1:01:40Speaker 1: and who were in danger of being trampled. But neither
- 1:01:44Speaker 1: was the woman I sawt In the half darkness, I
- 1:01:47Speaker 1: saw one of the immigrants, a girl with a kerchief
- 1:01:51Speaker 1: on her head, struggling with her life belt as Stoker,
- 1:01:56Speaker 1: as he raced past, seized it and made for the rail.
- 1:02:00Speaker 1: In my turn, I took it from him, and he
- 1:02:02Speaker 1: fought for it, shouting, it's every man for himself, now,
- 1:02:07Speaker 1: all right, I said, for I was excited and angry.
- 1:02:11Speaker 1: Look out for yourself. Then I hit him on the
- 1:02:15Speaker 1: chin and he let go. Of the life belt and dropped.
- 1:02:19Speaker 1: I heard at my elbow a low, excited laugh, and
- 1:02:22Speaker 1: a voice said, well, bold, you never learned that in
- 1:02:26Speaker 1: an office. I turned and saw the lovely lady. I
- 1:02:31Speaker 1: tossed the immigrant girl her life belt, and as though
- 1:02:34Speaker 1: I had known Lady Moya all my life, I took
- 1:02:38Speaker 1: her by the hand and dragged her after me down
- 1:02:40Speaker 1: the deck. You come with me, I commanded. I found
- 1:02:45Speaker 1: that I was trembling, and that a weight of anxiety
- 1:02:49Speaker 1: of which I had not been conscious had been lifted.
- 1:02:52Speaker 1: I found I was still holding her hand and pressing
- 1:02:56Speaker 1: it in my own. Thank God, I said, I thought
- 1:03:00Speaker 1: I had lost You lost me, repeated Lady Moyer, but
- 1:03:06Speaker 1: she made no comment. I must find my brother, she said,
- 1:03:11Speaker 1: you must come with me. I ordered, go with mister
- 1:03:15Speaker 1: Kinney to the lower deck. I will bring that row
- 1:03:18Speaker 1: boat under the stern. You will jump into it. I
- 1:03:22Speaker 1: cannot leave my brother, said Lady Moyer. Upon the word,
- 1:03:27Speaker 1: as though shot from a cannon, the human whirlpool that
- 1:03:31Speaker 1: was sweeping the deck amidships cast out Stumps and hurled
- 1:03:35Speaker 1: him toward us. His sister gave little cry of relief.
- 1:03:40Speaker 1: Stumps recovered his balance and shook himself like a dog
- 1:03:44Speaker 1: that has been in the water. I thought I'd never
- 1:03:47Speaker 1: get out of it alive, he remarked complacently. In the darkness,
- 1:03:52Speaker 1: I could not see his face, but I was sure
- 1:03:55Speaker 1: he was still vaguely smiling. Worse than a football night,
- 1:04:00Speaker 1: he exclaimed, worse than meifkin knight. His sister pointed to
- 1:04:05Speaker 1: the yawl. This gentleman is going to bring that boat
- 1:04:09Speaker 1: he and take us away in it. She told him
- 1:04:12Speaker 1: we had better go when we can ride. Oh, assented
- 1:04:17Speaker 1: stumps cheerfully. How about Phil, He's just behind me. As
- 1:04:23Speaker 1: he spoke, only a few yards from us, a peevish
- 1:04:26Speaker 1: voice pierced the tumult. I tell you, it cried, you
- 1:04:31Speaker 1: must find Lord Ivy. If Lord Ivy, a voice with
- 1:04:36Speaker 1: a strong and brutal American accent yelled in answer to
- 1:04:41Speaker 1: hell with Lord Ivy, Lady Moyad chuckled. Get to the
- 1:04:46Speaker 1: lower deck, I commanded, I am going for the yawl.
- 1:04:51Speaker 1: As I slipped my leg over the rail, I heard
- 1:04:53Speaker 1: Lord Ivy say I'll find Phil and meet you. I
- 1:04:58Speaker 1: dropped and caught the rail the deck below, and hanging
- 1:05:02Speaker 1: from it, shoved with my knees and fell into the water.
- 1:05:06Speaker 1: Two strokes brought me to the yawl, and scrambling into
- 1:05:10Speaker 1: her and casting her off, I paddled back to the steamer.
- 1:05:15Speaker 1: As I lay under the stan, I heard from the
- 1:05:17Speaker 1: lower deck the voice of Kinney raised importently, ladies fast,
- 1:05:23Speaker 1: he cried her, ladyship first, I mean, he corrected, even
- 1:05:28Speaker 1: on leaving what he believed to be a sinking ship.
- 1:05:31Speaker 1: Kinny could not forget his manners, but mister Aldridge had
- 1:05:35Speaker 1: evidently forgotten his. Heard him shout indignantly, I'll be damned
- 1:05:41Speaker 1: if I do. The voice of Lady Moya laughed, You'll
- 1:05:45Speaker 1: be drowned if you don't. She answered, I saw a
- 1:05:49Speaker 1: black shadow poised upon the rail steady below there, her
- 1:05:53Speaker 1: voice called, and the next moment, as lightly as a squirrel,
- 1:05:58Speaker 1: she dropped to the thwart and stop umbled into my arms.
- 1:06:02Speaker 1: The voice of Aldridge was again raised in anger. I'd
- 1:06:05Speaker 1: rather drown, he cried. Lord Ivy responded with unexpected spirit. Oh, well,
- 1:06:13Speaker 1: then drown. The water is warm, and it's a pleasing death.
- 1:06:17Speaker 1: After that, with a bump, he fell in a heap
- 1:06:20Speaker 1: at my feet. Easy, Kinney, I shouted, don't swamp us,
- 1:06:26Speaker 1: I'll be careful, he called, and the next instance hid
- 1:06:29Speaker 1: my shoulders and I shook him off on top of
- 1:06:32Speaker 1: Lord Ivy, get off my head, shouted his Lordship. Kinney
- 1:06:37Speaker 1: apologized to every one profusely. Lady Moya raised her voice
- 1:06:43Speaker 1: for the last time. Phil, She called, are you coming
- 1:06:46Speaker 1: or are you not? Not with those swindlers? I'n not,
- 1:06:51Speaker 1: he shouted. I think you too are mad. I'd prefer
- 1:06:55Speaker 1: to drown. There was an uncomfortable silence. My posses was
- 1:07:00Speaker 1: a difficult one, and not knowing what to say, I
- 1:07:03Speaker 1: said nothing. If one must drown, exclaimed Lady Moya briskly.
- 1:07:09Speaker 1: I can't see it matters who one drowns with. In
- 1:07:13Speaker 1: his strangely explosive manner, Lord Ivy shouted, suddenly, Phil, you're
- 1:07:20Speaker 1: a silly ass. Push off, commanded Lady Moya. I think
- 1:07:27Speaker 1: from her tone the order was given more for the
- 1:07:30Speaker 1: benefit of Aldridge than for myself. Certainly it was effective,
- 1:07:35Speaker 1: for on the instant there was a heavy splash. Lord
- 1:07:39Speaker 1: Ivy sniffed scornfully and manifested no interest. Ah, he exclaimed,
- 1:07:46Speaker 1: he prefers to drown Sputtering and gasping, Aldridge arose out
- 1:07:53Speaker 1: of the water and while we balanced the boat climbed
- 1:07:57Speaker 1: over the side underst and he cried, even while he
- 1:08:02Speaker 1: was still gasping. I am here under protest. I am
- 1:08:06Speaker 1: here to protect you and stumps. I am under obligation
- 1:08:10Speaker 1: to no one. I am Can you row? I asked,
- 1:08:14Speaker 1: Why don't you ask your pal? He demanded savagely. Here
- 1:08:19Speaker 1: rode on last year's crow, Phil cried Lady Moya. Her
- 1:08:25Speaker 1: voice suggested a temper had not suspected. You will row,
- 1:08:29Speaker 1: or you can get out and walk. Take the oars,
- 1:08:33Speaker 1: she commanded, and be civil. Lady Moya, with the tilla
- 1:08:38Speaker 1: in her hand, sat in the stan stumps, with Kinney
- 1:08:42Speaker 1: huddled at his knees, was stout away forward. I took
- 1:08:47Speaker 1: the stroke and Aldrich the bow oars. We will make
- 1:08:52Speaker 1: for the Connecticut shawl, I said, and pulled from under
- 1:08:56Speaker 1: the stern of the patients. In a few moments, we
- 1:09:00Speaker 1: had lost all sight, and except for her whistle, all
- 1:09:03Speaker 1: sound of her and we ourselves were lost in the fog.
- 1:09:07Speaker 1: There was another eloquent and embarrassing silence, unless in the
- 1:09:12Speaker 1: panic they trembled upon each other. I had no real
- 1:09:15Speaker 1: fear for the safety of those on board the steamer.
- 1:09:19Speaker 1: Before we had abandoned her. I had heard the wireless
- 1:09:22Speaker 1: frantically sputtering the stand by call, and I was certain
- 1:09:26Speaker 1: that already the big boats of the full River Providence,
- 1:09:30Speaker 1: and joy lines and launches from every wireless station between
- 1:09:35Speaker 1: Bridgeport and Newport were making toward her. But the margin
- 1:09:40Speaker 1: of safety, which to my thinking was broad enough for
- 1:09:44Speaker 1: all the other passengers for the lovely Lady, was in
- 1:09:48Speaker 1: no way sufficient. That mob swept deck was no place
- 1:09:52Speaker 1: for her. I was happy that, on her account, I
- 1:09:56Speaker 1: had not waited for a possible rescue in the yawl.
- 1:10:00Speaker 1: She was safe, The water was smooth, and the Connecticut
- 1:10:04Speaker 1: shore was I judged, no more than three miles distant
- 1:10:09Speaker 1: in an hour. Unless the fog confused us. I felt
- 1:10:13Speaker 1: sure the Lovely Lady would again walk safely upon dry
- 1:10:16Speaker 1: land selfishly, on Kinney's account and my own. I was
- 1:10:21Speaker 1: delighted to find myself free of the steamer and from
- 1:10:25Speaker 1: any chance of her landing us, where police waited with
- 1:10:28Speaker 1: open arms. The avenging Angel, in the person of Aldridge,
- 1:10:33Speaker 1: was still near us, so near that I could hear
- 1:10:37Speaker 1: the water dripping from his clothes, but his power to
- 1:10:40Speaker 1: harm was gone. I was congratulating myself on this when
- 1:10:45Speaker 1: suddenly he undeceived me. Apparently he had been considering his
- 1:10:49Speaker 1: position to what Kinney and myself, and having arrived at
- 1:10:53Speaker 1: the conclusion, was anxious to announce it. I wish to repeat,
- 1:10:59Speaker 1: he exclaimed suddenly, that I'm under obligations to nobody, just
- 1:11:04Speaker 1: because my friends, he went on, defiantly, chose to trust
- 1:11:08Speaker 1: themselves with persons who ought to be in jail. I
- 1:11:13Speaker 1: can't desert them. It's all the more reason why I
- 1:11:16Speaker 1: shouldn't desert them. That's why I'm here, and I wanted understood.
- 1:11:21Speaker 1: As soon as I get on shore, I'm going to
- 1:11:23Speaker 1: a police station and have those persons arrested. Rising out
- 1:11:29Speaker 1: of the fog that had rendered each of us invisible
- 1:11:32Speaker 1: to the other, his words sounded fantastic and unreal in
- 1:11:37Speaker 1: the dripping silence, broken only by horse warnings that came
- 1:11:41Speaker 1: from no direction, and within the mind of each the
- 1:11:44Speaker 1: conviction that we were lost police stations did not immediately
- 1:11:49Speaker 1: concern us, so no one spoke, and in the fog
- 1:11:53Speaker 1: the words died away and were drowned. But I was
- 1:11:57Speaker 1: glad he had spoken, at least a forewarned. I now
- 1:12:02Speaker 1: knew that I had not escaped that Kimmy and I
- 1:12:05Speaker 1: were still in danger. I determined that, so far as
- 1:12:09Speaker 1: it lay with me, our yawl would be beached at
- 1:12:12Speaker 1: that point on the coast of Connecticut, farthest removed not
- 1:12:17Speaker 1: only from police stations, but from all human habitation. As
- 1:12:23Speaker 1: soon as we were out of hearing of the patients
- 1:12:25Speaker 1: and her whistle, we completely lost our bearings. It may
- 1:12:30Speaker 1: be that Lady Moya was not a skilled cock's swain,
- 1:12:34Speaker 1: or it may be that all dredge understands a raising
- 1:12:37Speaker 1: skull better than yawl and pulled too heavily on his right.
- 1:12:41Speaker 1: But whatever the cause, we soon were hopelessly lost in
- 1:12:46Speaker 1: this predicament. We were not alone. The night was filled
- 1:12:50Speaker 1: with folk horns, whistles, bells, and the throbe of engines,
- 1:12:56Speaker 1: but we never were near enough to hell the vessels
- 1:12:59Speaker 1: from which the suns came, and when we rowed toward them,
- 1:13:03Speaker 1: they invariably sank into silence. After two hours, Stumps and
- 1:13:09Speaker 1: Kinney insisted on taking a turn at the oars, and
- 1:13:13Speaker 1: Lady Moya moved to the bow. We gave her our coats,
- 1:13:17Speaker 1: and making cushions of these, She announced that she was
- 1:13:21Speaker 1: going to sleep, whether she slept or not, I do
- 1:13:25Speaker 1: not know, but she remained silent for three more dreary hours.
- 1:13:30Speaker 1: We took turns at the oars or dozed at the
- 1:13:34Speaker 1: bottom of the boat, while we continued aimlessly to drift
- 1:13:38Speaker 1: upon the face of the waters. It was now five
- 1:13:41Speaker 1: o'clock and the fog had so far lighted that we
- 1:13:44Speaker 1: could see each other and a stretch of open water
- 1:13:49Speaker 1: at intervals. The foghorns of vessels passing us but hidden
- 1:13:53Speaker 1: from us, tormented Aldridge to a state of extreme exasperation.
- 1:14:00Speaker 1: He held them with frantic shrieks and shouts and stumps,
- 1:14:04Speaker 1: and the Lady Moya shouted with him. I fear kinny,
- 1:14:08Speaker 1: and myself did not contribute any great volume of sound
- 1:14:12Speaker 1: to the general chorus. To be rescued was the last
- 1:14:16Speaker 1: thing we desired. The yacht or tug that would receive
- 1:14:21Speaker 1: us on board would also put us on shore, where
- 1:14:24Speaker 1: the vindictive Oldridge would have us at his mercy. We
- 1:14:28Speaker 1: preferred the freedom of our yole and the shelter of
- 1:14:32Speaker 1: the fog. Our silence was not lost upon Aldridge. For
- 1:14:36Speaker 1: some time he had been crouching in the bow, whispering
- 1:14:40Speaker 1: indignantly to Lady Moya, now, he exclaimed aloud. What did
- 1:14:45Speaker 1: I tell you? He cried contemptuously. They got away in
- 1:14:49Speaker 1: this boat because they were afraid of me, not because
- 1:14:52Speaker 1: they were afraid of being drowned. If they've nothing to
- 1:14:56Speaker 1: be afraid of, why are they so anxious to keep
- 1:14:59Speaker 1: us drifting around all night in this fog? Why don't
- 1:15:03Speaker 1: they help us stop one of those tugs? Lord Ivy
- 1:15:08Speaker 1: exploded suddenly, rod He exclaimed, If they're afraid of you,
- 1:15:14Speaker 1: why did they ask you to go with them? They didn't,
- 1:15:18Speaker 1: cried Aldridge, truthfully and triumphantly. They kidnapped you and Moya
- 1:15:24Speaker 1: because they thought they could square themselves with you, But
- 1:15:28Speaker 1: they didn't want me. The issue had been fairly stated,
- 1:15:33Speaker 1: and no longer with self respect could I remain silent.
- 1:15:38Speaker 1: We don't want you now, I said, Can't you understand?
- 1:15:42Speaker 1: I went on, with as much self restraint as I
- 1:15:45Speaker 1: could muster. We are willing and anxious to explain ourselves
- 1:15:49Speaker 1: to Lord Ivy or even to you, but we don't
- 1:15:52Speaker 1: want to explain to the police. My friend thought you
- 1:15:55Speaker 1: and Lord Ivy were crooks escaping You think we are
- 1:15:59Speaker 1: crook escaping you both. Aldridge snorted contemptuously. That's a likely story.
- 1:16:08Speaker 1: He cried, no, wonder, you don't want to tell that
- 1:16:11Speaker 1: to the police. From the bow came an exclamation, and
- 1:16:17Speaker 1: Lady Moya rose to her feet. Phil She said, you
- 1:16:21Speaker 1: bore me. She picked her away across the thwart to
- 1:16:25Speaker 1: where Kinney sat at the stroke oar. My brother and
- 1:16:29Speaker 1: I often rode together. She said, I will take your place.
- 1:16:35Speaker 1: When she had seated herself, we were so near that
- 1:16:37Speaker 1: her eyes looked directly into mine. Drawing in the oars,
- 1:16:42Speaker 1: she leaned upon them and smiled. Now then she commanded,
- 1:16:47Speaker 1: tell us all about it. Before I could speak, they
- 1:16:51Speaker 1: came from behind her a sudden radiance, and as though
- 1:16:55Speaker 1: a curtain had been snatched aside, the fog flew apart,
- 1:16:59Speaker 1: and the son dripping crimson and gorges sprang from the waters.
- 1:17:06Speaker 1: From the others there was a cry of one dent delight,
- 1:17:09Speaker 1: and from Lord Ivy a shriek of incredulous laughter. Lady
- 1:17:15Speaker 1: Moya clapped her hands joyfully and pointed past me. I
- 1:17:20Speaker 1: turned and looked directly behind me. Not fifty feet from
- 1:17:24Speaker 1: us was a shelving beach and a stone wharf, and
- 1:17:29Speaker 1: above it a vine covered cottage. From the chimney off,
- 1:17:33Speaker 1: which smoke curled cheerily. Had the yawl while Lady Moya
- 1:17:38Speaker 1: was taking the oars not swung in a circle, and
- 1:17:42Speaker 1: had the sun not arisen in three minutes more, we
- 1:17:46Speaker 1: would have bumped ourselves into the state of Connecticut. The
- 1:17:49Speaker 1: cottage stood on one horn of a tiny harbor. Beyond it,
- 1:17:54Speaker 1: water beaten, shingled houses, sail lofts, and wharves stretched cozily
- 1:18:01Speaker 1: in a half circle. Back of them rose splendid elms
- 1:18:06Speaker 1: and the delicate spire of a church, and from the
- 1:18:09Speaker 1: unruffled surface of the harbor the masts of many fishing boats.
- 1:18:15Speaker 1: Across the water. On a grass grown point, a whitewashed
- 1:18:20Speaker 1: lighthouse blushed in the crimson glory of the sun. Except
- 1:18:25Speaker 1: for an oyster man in his boat at the end
- 1:18:27Speaker 1: of the wharf, and the smoke from the chimney of
- 1:18:30Speaker 1: his cottage. The little village slept, the harbor slept. It
- 1:18:36Speaker 1: was a picture of perfect content, confidence and peace. Oh,
- 1:18:43Speaker 1: cried the Lady Moya. How pretty, How pretty? Lord Ivy
- 1:18:50Speaker 1: swung the bow about and raced toward the wharf. The
- 1:18:54Speaker 1: others stood up and cheered hysterically at the sound, and
- 1:18:59Speaker 1: at the side of a emerging so mysteriously from the fog.
- 1:19:03Speaker 1: The man in the fishing boat raised himself to his
- 1:19:05Speaker 1: full height and stared as incredulously as though he beheld
- 1:19:10Speaker 1: a mermaid. He was an old man, but straight and tall,
- 1:19:15Speaker 1: and the oysterman's boots stretching to his hips, made him
- 1:19:19Speaker 1: appear even taller than he was. He had a bristling
- 1:19:23Speaker 1: white bed, and his face was tanned to a fierce
- 1:19:27Speaker 1: copper color. But his eyes were blue and young and gentle.
- 1:19:31Speaker 1: They lit suddenly with excitement and sympathy. Are you from
- 1:19:36Speaker 1: the patience? He shouted in a chorus. We answered that
- 1:19:40Speaker 1: we were, And Ivy pulled the yowl alongside the fisherman's boat.
- 1:19:45Speaker 1: But already the old man had turned and, making a
- 1:19:49Speaker 1: megaphone off his hand, was shouting to the cottage mother.
- 1:19:55Speaker 1: He cried, mother, here are folks from the wreck. Get
- 1:19:59Speaker 1: coffee and blankets, and and bacon and eggs. May the
- 1:20:05Speaker 1: Lord bless him, exclaimed the lady Moya devoutly. But Aldridge,
- 1:20:10Speaker 1: excited and eager, pulled out a roll of bills and
- 1:20:14Speaker 1: shook them at the man. Do you want to earn
- 1:20:17Speaker 1: ten dollars? He demanded, Then Chase yourself to the village
- 1:20:21Speaker 1: and to bring the constable. Lady Moya exclaimed bitterly. Lord
- 1:20:26Speaker 1: Ivy swore. Kinney, in despair, uttered a dismal howl and
- 1:20:31Speaker 1: dropped his head in his hands. It's no use, mister Aldridge,
- 1:20:37Speaker 1: I said. Seated in the stand, the others had hidden
- 1:20:41Speaker 1: me from the fisherman. Now I stood up, and he
- 1:20:44Speaker 1: saw me. I laid one hand on his and pointed
- 1:20:48Speaker 1: to the tin badge on his suspender. He is the
- 1:20:53Speaker 1: village constable himself, I explained. I turned to the lovely
- 1:20:58Speaker 1: lady Moya. I said, I want to introduce you to
- 1:21:03Speaker 1: my father. I pointed to the vine covered cottage. That's
- 1:21:08Speaker 1: my home, I said. I pointed to the sleeping town
- 1:21:13Speaker 1: that I told her is the village of Fairport. Most
- 1:21:18Speaker 1: of it belongs to my father. You are all very welcome.
- 1:21:25Speaker 1: End of Chapter two and of The Make Believe Man
- 1:21:30Speaker 1: by Richard Harding Davis read by Carolyne one evening in
- 1:21:35Speaker 1: June in the middle of elegy season in Hanover, Germany,