If there was anxiety on board of the Gehenna as to the condition and whereabouts of the House-boat, there was by no means less uneasiness upon that vessel1 itself. Cleopatra’s scheme for ridding herself and her abducted2 sisters of the pirates had worked to a charm, but, having worked thus, a new and hitherto undreamed-of problem, full of perplexities bearing upon their immediate3 safety, now confronted them. The sole representative of a sea-faring family on board was Mrs. Noah, and it did not require much time to see that her knowledge as to navigation was of an extremely primitive4 order, limited indeed to the science of floating.
When the last pirate had disappeared behind the rocks of Holmes Island, and all was in readiness for action, the good old lady, who had hitherto been as calm and unruffled as a child, began to get red in the face and to bustle5 about in a manner which betrayed considerable perturbation of spirit.
“Now, Mrs. Noah,” said Cleopatra, as, peeping out from the billiard-room window, she saw Morgan disappearing in the distance, “the coast is clear, and I resign my position of chairman to you. We place the vessel in your hands, and ourselves subject to your orders. You are in command. What do you wish us to do?”
“Very well,” replied Mrs. Noah, putting down her knitting and starting for the deck. “I’m not certain, but I think the first thing to do is to get her moving. Do you know, I’ve never discovered whether this boat is a steamboat or a sailing-vessel? Does anybody know?”
“I think it has a naphtha tank and a propeller6,” said Elizabeth, “although I don’t know. It seems to me my brother Raleigh told me they’d had a naphtha engine put in last winter after the freshet, when the House-boat was carried ten miles down the river, and had to be towed back at enormous expense. They put it in so that if she were carried away again she could get back of her own power.”
“That’s unfortunate,” said Mrs. Noah, “because I don’t know anything about these new fangled notions. If there’s any one here who knows anything about naphtha engines, I wish they’d speak.”
“I’m of the opinion,” said Portia, “that I can study out the theory of it in a short while.”
“Very well, then,” said Mrs. Noah, “you can do it. I’ll appoint you engineer, and give you all your orders now, right away, in advance. Set her going and keep her going, and don’t stop without a written order signed by me. We might as well be very careful, and have everything done properly, and it might happen that in the excitement of our trip you would misunderstand my spoken orders and make a fatal error. Therefore, pay no attention to unwritten orders. That will do for you for the present. Xanthippe, you may take Ophelia and Madame Récamier, and ten other ladies, and, every morning before breakfast, swab the larboard deck. Cassandra, Tuesdays you will devote to polishing the brasses7 in the dining-room, and the balance of your time I wish you to expend8 in dusting the bric-a-brac. Dido, you always were strong at building fires. I’ll make you chief stoker. You will also assist Lucretia Borgia in the kitchen. Inasmuch as the latter’s maid has neglected to supply her with the usual line of poisons, I think we can safely entrust9 to Lucretia’s hands the responsibilities of the culinary department.”
“I’m perfectly10 willing to do anything I can,” said Lucretia, “but I must confess that I don’t approve of your methods of commanding a ship. A ship’s captain isn’t a domestic martinet11, as you are setting out to be. We didn’t appoint you housekeeper12.”
“Now, my child,” said Mrs. Noah, firmly, “I do not wish any words. If I hear any more impudence13 from you, I’ll put you ashore14 without a reference; and the rest of you I would warn in all kindness that I will not tolerate insubordination. You may, all of you, have one night of the week and alternate Sundays off, but your work must be done. The regimen I am adopting is precisely15 that in vogue16 on the Ark, only I didn’t have the help I have now, and things got into very bad shape. We were out forty days, and, while the food was poor and the service execrable, we never lost a life.”
The boat gave a slight tremor17.
“Hurrah,” cried Elizabeth, clapping her hands with glee, “we are off!”
“I will repair to the deck and get our bearings,” said Mrs. Noah, putting her shawl over her shoulders. “Meantime, Cleopatra, I appoint you first mate. See that things are tidied up a bit here before I return. Have the windows washed, and to-morrow I want all the rugs and carpets taken up and shaken.”
Portia meanwhile had discovered the naphtha engine, and, after experimenting several times with the various levers and stop-cocks, had finally managed to move one of them in such a way as to set the engine going, and the wheel began to revolve18.
“Are we going all right?” she cried, from below.
“I am afraid not,” said the gallant19 commander. “The wheel is roiling20 up the water at a great rate, but we don’t seem to be going ahead very fast—in fact, we’re simply moving round and round as though we were on a pivot21.”
“I’m afraid we’re aground amidships,” said Xanthippe, gazing over the side of the House-boat anxiously. “She certainly acts that way—like a merry-go-round.”
“Well, there’s something wrong,” said Mrs. Noah; “and we’ve got to hurry and find out what it is, or those men will be back and we shall be as badly off as ever.”
“Maybe this has something to do with it,” observed Mrs. Lot, pointing to the anchor rope. “It looks to me as if those horrid22 men had tied us fast.”
“That’s just what it is,” snapped Mrs. Noah. “They guessed our plan, and have fastened us to a pole or something, but I imagine we can untie23 it.”
Portia, who had come on deck, gave a short little laugh.
“Why, of course we don’t move,” she said—“we are anchored!”
“What’s that?” queried24 Mrs. Noah. “We never had an experience like that on the Ark.”
Portia explained the science of the anchor.
“What nonsense!” ejaculated Mrs. Noah. “How can we get away from it?”
“We’ve got to pull it up,” said Portia. “Order all hands on deck and have it pulled up.”
“It can’t be done, and, if it could, I wouldn’t have it!” said Mrs. Noah, indignantly. “The idea! Lifting heavy pieces of iron, my dear Portia, is not a woman’s work. Send for Delilah, and let her cut the rope with her scissors.”
“It would take her a week to cut a hawser25 like that,&rdqu............