Beadle's Dime Library No. 230 — page 11: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

—_—2——— — - ee ee eC eee oe want to know it, if there are any more ghosts in it. I’ve seen and heard enough of it.” He smiled in the same supercilious way as that odious Dr. Sam; but he stnoothed it over ‘instantly; for I could see he was very anxious to please grandpa, he said, addressing him: “The legend is that one Captain Philip Van- der Decken, bound from Batavia to Holland, | being kept back by contrary gales at the Cape of Good Hope, and being recommended to try another course, became so enraged that he éwore before God he would keep the course he was then sailing, if he had to keep it till the day of juigment. And _ his punisibment for blasphemy was that he was compelled to do it. ‘You seo why they call this man the Flying Datchman? Simply because he has the same name as the hero of the legend, and L believe claims to be his descendant. That's all,” “But how can he be the man’s descendant?” asked grandp ‘“ Was he a real man?” “T believe he was. Simply, be was a Dutch captain with a hot head and a bad tongue, who was lost at sea, like hundreds of others:*and not being heard of again, this legend was started by the sailors. This one is called by the same Christian name, and I’ve known more than one of the family who was as proud as could be of the family ghost,” ‘“* And reasonable énough, sir,” said dpa, seriously. ‘“‘We Bruces have a family ghaist of our ain, and sae have the Johnstones., e’re not a Seot, sir, or ye wadna fleer at ghaists. May be the time will come,ye’ll find out for, ver- sell that thare’s such. And this Maister Van- derdecken, ye say "Il be at the dinner.” ‘*T believe so. He bas promised to come, and Tli see that you are properly, introduced to him. He’sa peculiar man and may invite you to go with him, if he knows you need his help. But I wouldn’t offer to pay him, for you under- stand his ship is a et _* Eh, sirs, if he'll tak’ us I'll no say a ward about siller,” said grandpa, chuckling. “ Pll promise ye to be unco delicate with the gentle- man, Maister Gilbert; and I thank ye kindly for the help ye’ve given us to-night, sir. Weill see ye at the dinner?” or Gilbert made a grimace. Suppose so. ve to go, you know. There’s a levee after it, and if Vanderdarhop doesn’t come to one he may to the other. Good- jay, Mr. Bruce.” nd off he went. I confess he had raised my curiosity to see this very proud and peculiar Mr. Vanderdecken, and I was on pins and needles till the time came to go to the dinner, when we all went, got up in the most elaborate fashion, for it was a full- dress affair, [ trembled a good deal when the gorgeous footman announced us. CHAPTER III. _. THE STATE DINNER. AFTER all, it was a very stupid, tiresome thing, that state dinner. To. be sure, it was very splendid, and there were some biz people there, whose names sound- ed very grand to my American ears, but that didn’t make it any more interesting after all. There was one real lord, a very handsome man too, with a lovely white beard, though he didn’t look so old except for the color of bis . hair. He had the most beautiful dark eyes I ever saw in a man, and must have been a great lady- killer in his day. He took me in to dinner, and was introduced to me as Lori’ ovat, though I hardly ye Myer aie in my flutter at meeting a real live But he was so kind and gentle in his manner that I soon fonnd him delightful company, and he took away some of the dullness of the din- ner. But the man I had expected to see—the won- derful Mr. Vanderdecken—was not there, and after we ladies bad gone up-stairs, in the odious vlish fashion, I found that the rest were all as much disappointed as I was, for he was an object of great interest to every one, : oy Beriot was introduced to me, up-stairs, by Governor’s lady, and I found her very much hike her husband, with a young face and snow-white hair. She began talking about this same wonderful Vanderdeci en very soon, and told me that she had bever seen him; but that "tnd one had heard of him, all over the Bast In es, for his riches, his qaeer eccentrie ways, and his won- derful yacht, that Was able to sail so fast and was ee to be furnished like a palace. “ The Governor tells me he wil] drop in at the leyee, very ely for he said as much in bis letter excusing his absence from the dinner. then we shall see him for the first time.” wre you are as curious as Lam to see him?” dy Teviot looked a little graveand " ful’ s she said: ; quate r » my dear; not exactly curions. I kave ho sty aie left ef us now, Wenn both seem so much and suffered so much. But ‘. The Flying Dutchman of 1880. a - 2. | a A A ee ee we have a reason for wishing to see Mr. Van- | There was a hard, pitiless line about ber mouth derdecken.” ‘So have we,” said I. “‘We want to go to Batavia, and I’m so frightened at sailing ships, I’m pon to beg him for a passage in his steam- er, if he looks at all good-natured.” Lady Teviot looked at me as if she was very much shecked at something—l suppose my Yankee freedom of manner, so different to the stiff English ways—and she said, very cold- ly, indeed: ‘* Ah, exactly. [I suppose you’ve not heard anything about Mr. Vanderdecken’s character?” ‘Character? No. Except that they call him the Flying Dutchman, so | suppose he must be very delightfully wicked and romantic.” Lady Teviot looked still more shocked, and an- ‘tered sharply: ‘Wicked? Yes. I don’t call it either ro- mantic or delightful. In the first place, he’s not a pure blood at all, only a Eurasian, I’m told.” ** What is that?” I asked. ‘IT mean that his mother was a Malay or Hindoo, or some of these black or yellow crea- tures. They are all bad, every one of them. My dear, you’re new to the East, and I’ve lived bere along time. Take my advice and don’t you have anything to say to Mr. Vanderdecken, if you see him,” “But you want to see him?” said J, for I don’t like to be put down by any one, even if she be a lady of rank and title. ‘‘I do,” she answered quietly, but not to speak tc him. I havoan idea Teviot or I may recog- nize him—that’s all.” ** Recognize bim as what?” I asked, Lady Teviot gave a slight shudder as she an- swered: “Never mind, my dear. Don’t ask now. 1 can only tell you this. It relates to a time when my hair turned white in one night, and yet I was only a girl of seventeen, like you.” “And did your husband’s turn at the same time?” I couldn’t help asking, for I had re- marked how strange it was that they should beth have such white hair and young She bowed her head gravely. ‘‘Yes. Poor Douglas! And he was only twenty-two! Wehad been married but three months. Don’t ask any more, mydear. It was during the mutiny. It’s one of those memories we would like to blot out, but cannot do it. Ab, here come the tlemen.” And that broke our talk, but left me won- dering what she meant about the mutiny. What mutiny? Where wasit? What had she to do witk it? : I had not got through thinking over this when grandpa joined me, and I[ asked him, at which he seemed amazed, saying: ‘* Eh, my bairn, dinna ye ken about the Great Bepoy Mutiny? "Twas Lord Teviot that blew sae mony men frae the mouth of the cannon, when he was joost Sir Douglas Teviot. I’m tauld he was a raging demon after his hair turned white.” “But what turned it white?’ I asked him, ea- rly. _ aaa? Tat, tut, my bairn!” be said; “ye mustn’t speer too mony questions, Young lassies must learn there are some things they mustn’t seek to know about. “Iwas a sair trial to the mon that could whiten his hair; but he took a sair, sair revenge. Noo, Mamie, ye’ll joost keep my ain lassie as we gang into the levee. I'll no trust ye where ye Can go speering questions of ilka body Steet . . ” randpa had a many old-country preju- dices; and the older he got, the stronger they got. He seemed to think that girls ht to be kept as if they were in a nunnery all the time and never have a chance to learn anything of the world like boys, So we fell into the procession with the rest of the guests to go tothe great hall, where they held the levee; and very soon the place was full, and I was too busy watching the people to think of anything else. Such funny creatures as they were’ | in with bare feet, with their dresses all cove with jewels and gold. There were rajahs, and princes, and sultans, glittering with diamonds and emeralds. ‘ | There was Mr. Whampoa, a rich Chinese mer- chant, who had on a brocade dress, stiff enough to stand alone, with a diamond button in his cap that must have co ta fortune, and a Japan- ese gentleman, Mr. Hieraskuro, who was said to be richer even than Mr. Whampoa, though he didn’t dress so fine. And in the midst of the levee [ heard the ushers call out: “MR. VANDERDECKEN!” and then I knew he was coming. I believe we all stretched our necks to look when we heard the name, and I looked round to see where Lord and Lady Teviot were. Isaw them close together, looking out: over the crowd, for they were both tall people, with a singular, intent, bungry gaze. ‘The face of Lord Teviot, usually so mild, gentle, and hand- some, had changed. His dark eyes were flash- ing, and his mouth was set in a grim look that made me think what a wretch he might be if he had the power. é Lady Teviot looked even worse than he did, ¢ gan tone that reminded me of a picture I once saw of Herodias, when ber daughter brought her the head of John the Baptist in a charger. She looked as if she could have been just such an- otber as Herodias. Then 1 saw husband and wife turn away and whisper to each other, and when I locked their faces were calm and indifferent, as if they had not found what they sought. | And just then Mr. Vanderdecken came up to pay his respects to the Governor, and I saw him plainly and heard his voice. | I must say I was disappointed. I had expett- ed to see a prince in gold and jewels, but he was just dressed in simple black, with a white neck- tie and kids, for all the world as if he were in New York at a party. ~ He had not even a diamond stud in his_shirt- ay and his watch-chain was quite thin and light. “He was rather tall, cnd not too stout, but face was the thing about him that made forget bis dress. (3 -~ e had great, solemn, dark eyes, that suited well with bis hair. His complexion was v dark compared to mine, but looked white bes the Malays and Hindoos, while he was clean- shaven except for a small black mustache’ that did not hide bis teeth when he smiled. And such lovely teeth I hardly ever saw before.” And this was Mr. Vanderdecken, iff CHAPTER TV.) 0), 0 hy) (iw MR, VANDERDECKEN, r S07 Tue Governor was vary civil to Mr. Vander- decken, and expressed his regrets not to have seen bim at dinner. I listened for his : for I wanted to hear him speak, which be did a soft, deep voice, that reminded me of an’ “Twas detained by a ease of di . You know we Hollanders are compelled to keep néar each other when you men of Albion are | us, or you might capture all our goods. One’of a countrymen appealed to me, and I had take my choice of missing your feast or him suffer, your excellency.” Dem “But you’re here now, and we are very eae to.see you,” said the Governor, blandly. ““*. s00n as the Oa ee is over there are several le very anxious to be introduced tothe Fly- tchmian.” Msi 5, And the Governor smiled, as did Mr. Vander- decken, who replied, in his organ tones; ‘“I cannot pretend to emulate my distin- guished ancestor in qualities of sailing into the wind’s eye, but I believe I am like bim and the Wandering Jew in one thing—I am . rest. LI fear I must disappoint your Siena te night, Governor, for I am about to sail f ns As. eet aimee re to the levee your excellency adieu.” « a, ae Governor bowed and Mr. Vanderdéck fell back inte the crowd, where our consul, Mir Gilbert, in his forward way, so like a polit glided up to him, took his hand, and begar talk to him so that Mr. Vanderdecken coulc n't get in a word edgeways to stop him. Anc the thing I knew Mr. Gilbert was introduce- ing Mr. Vanderdecken to grandpa and me, andl found every one staring at us in a way that looked as if they were all envious and didn’t know how to bide it. | ae As for Mr. Vanderdecken, his pale, dark face was like a piece of marble in its coldness, only gave us the most ay as of bows in re for the introduction Mr. Gilbert had forced on usso adroitly. I believe, had any other cro than our consul been there, we shouldn tte known what to say to Mr. Vanderdecken; but. Mr. Gilbert was one of those le who are bound to have what they set out to get; = > He bad taken a fancy to ts, and ‘was ‘deter- mined to us a passage to Batavia on , A asic abe th Kai rsh anipl : 0 bring us together, in ich | assisted him in bis shrewd pokine way — a 2 “ A for me, =, cori PM oe cat ye from even ng up my eyes to Mr. Vanderdecken till Mr. Gilbert aa: p ng OK YI oe ‘* And: here’s Miss’ Brue EA a gb ag ck the hercine of that ate” with w ‘all the town is ringing, the woman who has seen distinguished ancestor—or is ready to swé has—out at sea. FA yh ee ry git € sengers in the Spindrift, sir.” Then, for the first time. Mr. Vanderdecken looked interested, for Be bali hastily: 660 “In the Spind »: My OU not mistaken? She lies in the harbor now.” nie & “Oh, you mean the Aberdeen @ippi drift,” said Gilbert laughing: “the brought in the Teviots from Calcutta. © this is afiother ship altegether, a trne Yankee, Mr, Vanderdecken, and her people have séén the ing’ Dutchman, or think the have.” — I stole a 106k up at the ¢ p ahey and caught his dark eyes bent on ft i such a singular regard that I could not: - draw my Own glance. He seemed to stare into my very soul, and I trembled without knowing why, as Mr. Vanderdecken said, in his low deep voy nes: ‘“‘In that case they are persons in whom L Gomicbooks Coir