Beadle's Dime Library No. 230 — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

| ' 7 a ae - must e ’ from my discontented reverie by the faint, dis- lenee. Then I arranged matters with him, and we all ag: eed to swear we were still in Singa- pore at first, till we found whether she knew she was in Batavia. I tried to question Bruce as to what hed hap- pened on board the ship, but, to my surprise— no, not surprise, after what had happened to myself—be was dumb as an oyster, and would only say: * The lassie’s sick, doctor. She's bad a fever. I dinna ken the cause, Ye'll please not ask me.” And then I glanced at old Dundoo, and that confounded thief was grinning at me again, as much as to say: “Try again, my friend. He’s just where you are,” I saw there was only one way to get rid of Duudoo. Into Mamie Bruce’s chamber he never went, under his orders, That was the only sa- cred place in the house. To question Bruce I must get him there, and this I could not do without the chance of killing my poor little pa- tieut with agitation. At last Bister Angela sent out Inez Diaz, whom I had permitted to help, to tell me the child was awake and beginning to talk. She couldn’t stop her. was up there in no time, you may be sure, and fo Mamie Bruce flushed with a fever, and looking round the room, excitedly crying: “I won’t be quiet. Where’s grandpa/— wbane's my grandfather? I want to talk to ney 1 I went up to her, and said, sharply: ‘Now, you must be quiet! I’m your doctor. Ask me any questions you want to know, and I'll arewer.” I saw that I must satisfy her somehow, ‘* Where am I?” asked she, suspiciously. ‘We're in the Hotel D’Europe, at Singa- pore,” said I. She looked at Sister Angela, and asked: ** Who’s that cross old thing?’ ‘* What cross old thing? You mean the good Sister who bas been nursing you for weeks. That’s Sister Angela.” She pouted out ber pretty lips and made a grimace at me, like a regular spoiled baby. “T don’t care. BShe’s a cross old thing. Where’s grandpa?” ** He’s down-stairs asleep, tired out with watch- ing you. Do you want to seehim? I'l] wake him up,” For a minute she was silent, and then said, gon: ‘No, no; poor grandpa. Let him ey I felt satisfied she was mending, She had ac- quired the strength of self-control, though I could see that her nerves were all on edge yet, and she was hovering on the line between im- provement and a relapse. I thought I would calm her down, so I said: “ Wili you take some medicine for me, like a good childf You have been very ill, and if you excite yourself you will probably die.” I was watching her while I spoke, and saw the color fading away, showing that the fever was breaking and the remission coming. She looked wearily at me, and said, sleepily: ‘*T don’t care.. I want to die,” That was a bad sign of weakness, and I began to wish for Hassim very much, The gir] wanted blood, That confounded fever bad come back ain, er saw her dropping off into a doze, and I went out of the room and found old Dundoo lis- tening at the door, “Look here,” I said to bim, ‘‘I want Mr. Hassim at once. Can you get bim for me?’ Dundoo shook his head, and drawing out a be gee from his sash, pointed to seven o’clock De. mean he won't be here till seven?” I 8 ; He nodded again. ‘Very well,” said I; ‘I must have him in an hour, or that girl will die, and I'll tell your master that you wouldn’t send for bim.” Dundoo’s face looked the P gies of sublime coldness, and he looked at the wall. I was so much incensed at him that I caught the old scoundrel by the throat and shook bim, mutter- ing under my breath as I shook: Confound your old selfish carcass, will you send for Hassim or won't you?” He allowed me to shake, as limp asa rag, and t ashamed of myself in a moment, dropped him and strode away to the end of the upper corridor to a broad window facing the north and commanding a view of the sea be- yond Batavia. I was raging all through, and felt sure that ndoo sould send for Hassim if he would, but I bad no way of helping myself. I didn’t know where the man was, and I staid by the window and thinking over how many hours pee before he came, when I was roused tant bdom of a gun, and saw a little white cloud float away, out at sea. It was about seven miles off, and everything of course looked very small, but it served to dis- tract my thoughts, so I turned to old Dundoo determined to make him do something. ere he stood beside me, impassive as ever, with the same larking swile on his face. “Get me a telescope,” I said shortly. ‘ You can do that, I suppose, can’t you?” He nodded to me and clapped his hands when a Malay, armed with a long Kreese* in his sash, came out of a side door with a suddenness that showed he must have been close by when I shook Dundoo and made me fee] rather uncom- fortable, Dundoo made him some signs, and the man went away and soon returned with a telescope of the best English make, which he banded to the Hindoo, who gave it to me, I noticed a meaning glance exchanged be- tween the men, as if both felt as if they would like to give me a few inches of cold steel, but didn’t dare to, and I treated them with deliber- ate contempt on purpose to provoke them, Then I fitted the glass to the proper focus and swept the offing where everything appeared as plain as if it wereless than half a mile cff to the naked eye. I saw two ships, steamers, flying the British flag, standing off from shore, apparently to meet a third, coming in toward the harbor. This third ship was coming very rapidly and seemed to be a full rigged clipper with a fair wind, going like the mischief. [I saw that she would get into the barber abead of them, for they appeared to be slow- goers, and I judged one at least to be an iron- oes from her gloomy black hull and short masts. I could not sec the clipper’s flag, for she was coming bead on, with a steady breeze from the north and white-caps all round her, And then, almost as soon as I had got them fairly into the field of vision, I saw each of the Bri ships fire a gun at the clipper—shotted guns too, Neither hit her, though they were wickedly aimed, for I could see the lines of spray as they passed the ship ahead of her. And then, all of a sudden, came a great burst of jet-black smoke from theclipper,in which she completely vanished, and all I could see was a smoke-cloud driving over the sea. It grew thioner every now and then, when the white sails would shine through it in a ghostly surt of way, but every time this hap pened came a fresh jet of smoke and.she van- hed again, , I was very much interested in the sight, es- pecially when I noticed how efficacious was this simple stratagem. Whoever the fellow was, he was burning Japanese day fire-works and biding himself as completely as if be were in a fog. The two British ships kept on firing, but I could see the spray-lines of their shot, and they missed him every time. They were shooting at & venture at a moving mark, and the mark was getting more out of reach every minute. I could see this plainly from where I stood; and saw something else too, , The forts at the entrance of the harbor were all astir with men, and the Dutchmen were going to take a hand in the game, for the Brit- ons had ventured in their eagerness inside the magic line of a nautical league from shore. ng! went a beavy gun from Fort Arte- velde as I looked, and a shot went skipping over the waves at the iron-clad, as much as to say: ‘“Confound your impudence! You can get all you want of that from this shop.” e dull boom shook the window in front of me slightly, and I beard a faint scream from Mamie Bruce's room, Throwing the glass to Dundoo, I ran to my patient, and found her rolling her head from side to side, and moaning: “Oh, my God, Mungo—Mungo—why have you come again? Don’t look at me so!” The report bad startled her, and she was out of her head again, so that I wasunable to soothe her for some minutes, till she recognized our voices, and said to me in a weary, woetul sort of way: | _ Ob, doctor, I’ve had such a horrid dream!” ‘Never mind, my dear,” I said; ‘it’s only a ship firing a salute in the harbor. Try and go to sleep. Here, take this and be quiet.” I gave her some chloral, for I saw it was ne- cessary to quiet her somehow, and off she went into a heavy sleep with muttering delirium that showed intense weakness, I went out again to look at the offing anid wonder what next to do, The time had come when that girl must have more blood or go off again. “Mechanicalty I went to the window. Dundoe was there, serene as ever, holding the spy glass, 2 Wl i te cnet th e r 0 ott nodded with a erie as if he was proud AR _rronder who she is?’ said I. ‘ Do you ww Dondoo nodded again, and waved bis band to the floors and walls of the corridor meaningly. ‘What? said I, "Do you mean that the same man ewns this bouse and her?” Dundoo nodded emphatically. ‘Then that is the Phantom,” said I to myself, and I ferthwith leveled the glass again. * Kreese. A Malay dagger with a wavy edge. gen- erally pokemed. The Flying Dutchman of 1 880. 21 Tsaw her just running into the harbor be- tween the forts, clewing up her sails as she came, with the Dutch tri-color flaunting from ber mainmast head, while the two Britons had hauled up in the offing and lay still on the sea with the bleck ¢ Jumns of smoke from their fun- nels streeming out like comets’ tails, And that was the Phantom, I yom egg | devoured ber wi b the glass and I must say she was a beauty. I learned consider- able about ships on the Spindrift and take as much pleasure as a sailor in looking at a pretty vessel. The Phantom was a perfect picture. I should judge her about eight bundred tons but her interior was finisbed off like a crack New York or Cowes club yacht, as I could see even at that distance, while her sailors wore brilliant patches of color in their gorgeous Ma- lay dress. I could not of course yet make out persons but 1 could see the colors. I saw ber glide into the harbor and then I saié to Dundoo as he stood by me: “ Can’t you signal ber?” He nodded and I immediately answered: ae. Very well. Do it, Tell them I want Has- -_ He went away, and pretty soon came back and pointed to half past two on his watch. It was then just a quarter to two. ‘ ‘“‘Do you mean Hassim will be here then?” I Dundoo nodded and smiled more genially than he hed done and I began to feel sorry I had shaken him, ‘Look here,” I said, ‘I'm sorry I shook you just now; you have your orders to obey, and I was wrong. Please excuse me. I was hasty.” The old man looked at me in a curious sort of way and his white mustache curled ever so me tes en be drew himself up and salaamed so low at the end of the gesture, that I thought he was going ere himself at my feet. But after that he remained as he had re- mained before, impassive as a bronge statue, be- side me, I turned the glass on the Phantom and saw that she had come to ancher and that a boat was leaving her. I watched the boet reach the dock and saw that two mounted men, were coming full speed up the street in my direction. At first I could ng see them as two dots moving more repidly than others, but as soon as they left the street and gained the high-road ] distinguished that they were horsemen and from the way in which ee came on it wa. clear that they were riding hard. I took ent my own watch and timed them as they came on. They left the port of Batavia at five minutes to two and at twenty-nine minutes after I saw that it was Vanderdecken and Hassim, riding full speed on horses white with foam, into the rk before the house. Immediately I hurried down-stairs to meet them, and they pulled up before the doorway and lea off. | Mr. Vanderdecken was ae calm and impassive after bis ride as if he Lad come by rail, but Hessim,’s dark face was bathed in sw 1d be étsggered a little as he followed his chief whose first question was: ‘‘ Well, is she worse? Dur doo signaled us,” ~ No,” I said, watching Hassim, *‘ but I need ou. I saw the Malay’s fece assume a look of great relief, but Vanderdecken frowned slightly and said: “Dr. Peters, I promised to be here before midnight and Tam ten hours before my promise “ee to thatsignal. You had no right to make _‘*Tam the judge of that,” I said raag) gf wished to see Mr. Hassim, to ascertain if he is able to lose more blood. If he is, I need it now, a8 quickly as possible,” “T repeat, sir,” said Vanderdecken, sternly ‘that you have signalei me unnecessarily and disturbed my aff Now get through with isp at once for you cannot have him again. ‘Very well,” I said, “let him follow me and don’t you come with him, if you dont want to kill my patient.” | The man uttered an impatient “‘ Pshaw,” and turned away, but he permitted me to teke Has- sim up-steirs with me to the sick-ehamber, where I found my patient sleeping in the same maeny muttering way and I w to Has- “ Are you ready?!” He nodded, with his eyes on the bed. “Bit down then,” said I, and I told Sister Angela to get ready and send Inez n way, for the girl had n to tremble at the preparations and I saw she was no use to me, but ratber the reverse. To cut the matter short, I performed a pees pte eee: mete aR yee. Oy Picnge pleasure of seeing ber deliriam v ike magic while a ae sataral sleep replaced it, Then I turned te look at Hassim and found that the maw I themgbt se stout and streng had cS Gomicboo second transfusion of about four ounces of goodheabhy | cor : = ) anager Pag. ar ser eupesaeae ] f} ie ' { i - ‘ ag Fe ee ae SS