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"Of course,Henderson was doing nothing of the sort. He was doing his best
however, possibly conscious-stricken, to wakeHurst --miles away in that empty
house!"
"What science would have called it, had he succeeded, heaven knows!"
SOUTHWARD-BOUND
Lightning and rain and the roar of the thunder,
Splash of the prow through the curling sea,
Hiss of the wind 'round the mast and the rigging,
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And a shaggy old ship sailing brave and free.
Pitching and tossing and twisting and turning,
Breasting the storm with a bone in her mouth,
Bravely she bears to the land of all dreaming,
And sweet through the storm is the
smellof the south.
--Edmund Leamy
* * * *
* * * *
"WATSON!"
byCaptain A.E. Dingle
"WATSON, my dear fellow, this inaction is maddening. I amennuied ," drawled a
lanky, cadaverous individual reclining lumpishly in a long deck chair, a black
cigar in his teeth, his brows drawn down, and his fingertips touching in
approved Sherlockian fashion. A ripple of mirth passes around the small circle
of which he formed the centre, and his expression darkened in outward
resentment.
The man addressed as Watson glanced at the amused ones with a faint smile on
his own face and replied indifferently, "Better take a dose of dope, my dear
Holmes. The steward uncorks a rippin' brand of Scotch. Shall I call him?"
Holmes unfolded himself out of the chair without a reply and stalked away in
the direction of the smoking room.
"He's on the scent!"chuckled a fiery-haired youngster.
"That's a scent you all can follow!" replied a merry-eyed girl, seizing the
red one and dragging him off to play shuffleboard. Watson remained in his
chair, and behind lowered lids his eyes glittered shrewdly.
Percy Anstruther's big steam yacht Vagrant never went to sea without a happy,
careless party of youth aboard.
Percy himself was of the type dubbed porcine. Finding himself tremendously
wealthy quite early in life, mainly by dint of ignoring the Golden Rule and
playing up the Rule of Three--which he interpreted to mean, one for the
firm--of which he was head--and two for Percy Anstruther--holding no scruples
which might prevent profits accruing through some such idiocy as consideration
for others, he soon decided, on retiring, that a steam yacht was the thing to
gain him entry into the society of the exclusive set he desired to adorn.
Percy knew enough to refrain from attempting the impossible; he paid high
salaries, not wages, to the best of secretaries, the cunningest of chefs, the
very paragon of stewards, and he possessed that native shrewdness which
prevented him offending by any vulgarity of speech in select company, no
matter how free he might be among his own kind. No amount of shrewdness could
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warn him of the bad taste, or inadvisability, of loading himself with costly,
bizarre jewelry. He saw ladies and gentlemen of the class he envied, each
wearing such gems as they possessed when occasion demanded. In his small mind
there was only one reason for their not wearing more--the lack of possession;
only one reason for limiting the times of wearing what they had--fear of
losing them. And since neither fear of losing them nor limited possession
applied tohimself , Percy Anstruther's fat fingers were ever loaded with
flawless diamonds, his fat neck glowed from the fires within a great single
ruby in his scarf, his fat watch fob scintillated like a cluster of stars
against his fat little paunch.
"I've got 'em, why shouldn't I sport 'em?" he had demanded many times in
answer to suggestions from his friends. "I can afford to wear 'em, and the
crook isn't born who'll take 'em away from your Uncle Percy.No, sir!"
Which all brings us back to Holmes and Watson; for it was the long, lean,
cadaverous Holmes who first expressed entire agreement with Percy's ideas on
the subject of fashion in gems.They had met, and become acquainted, at the
great Casino of Ocean View, off which the Vagrant lay anchored while her owner
and his guests disported in a dance or two, a turn or so at the wheel, or a
little chopping, according to individual taste. Percy, furthermore, strongly
desired to become acquainted with somebody who would accept his hospitality
without making him see and feel that he became a debtor by receiving the honor
of the present company. He was gratified by the celerity with which he
attained his object. There could be no doubt regarding the desirability of Mr.
Holmes or his friend Watson. Those names appeared on the register of their
hotel, and by them they were known and introduced to Percy by the croupier of
the roulette table. There could be no cavilling at friends secured through
such a sponsor. And, best of all, they quite certainly did not seek his [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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