Samantha at Coney Island Part 4

He stopped and sez, "She is my wife."

His indifferent mean madded me and I sez, "Well, you good-for-nothin'

snipe you, instead of traipsin' all over the neighborhood tellin' of your wife's state, why hain't you to home buildin' a fire and heatin'

soap stuns and bricks, and steepin' pepper tea?"

"What for?" sez he, amazed like.

"Why, to keep Malviny from freezin'."

"I don't want to stop it," sez he.

Sez I, "Do you want your wife to freeze?"

"Yes," sez he.

Sez I, lookin' up and apostophrizin' the clear sky that looked down like a big calm blue eye overhead, "Are such things goin' on here in a place so good that folks can't git a letter Sundays to save their lives, or embark to see their friends if they're dyin' or dead; is such a place," I groaned, "to condone such wickedness!"

Sez the man, "What harm is there in Malviny's freezin'?"

Sez I, "You heartless wretch, you! if I wuz a man I'd shake some of the wickedness out of you, if I had to be shot up the minute afterwards!"

"What harm is there in freezin' ice-cream?" sez he.

Sez I, astounded, "Is that what Malviny's freezin'?"

"Yes," sez he.

I sunk back weak as a cat.

Sez he, "I bring it round to the cottages every time Malviny freezes; they give me their orders if they want any."

"Well," sez I in a faint voice, "I don't want any." Truly I felt that I had had enough chill and shock for one day.

Well, Whitfield and Tirzah Ann come in pretty soon and she wuz all enthused with the place. They'd been up the steep windin' way to Sunrise Mountain, and gazed on the incomparable view from there.

Looked right down into the wind-kissed tops of the lofty trees and all over 'em onto the broad panaroma of the river, with its innumerable islands stretched out like a grand picture painted by the one Great Artist. They had seen the little artist's studio, perched like a eagle's nest on top of the mountain. Some dretful pretty pictures there, both on the inside of the studio and outside.

And they had stopped at the Indian camp, and Tirzah bought some baskets which they see the Indians make right before their eyes out of the long bright strips of willow. And I spoze, seein' the brown deft fingers weavin' their gay patterns, Tirzah Ann wuz carried back some distance into the land of romance and Cooper's novels, and "Lo the Poor Indian" Stories. She's very romantick.

And she'd gone into the place where they blow gla.s.s right before your eyes and then cut your name on it. I couldn't do it to save my life. I might jest as well give right up if I wuz told that I had got to blow jest a plain bottle out of some sand and stuff. And they blow out the loveliest, queerest things you ever see: s.h.i.+ps in full sail with the ropes and riggin' of the most delicate and twisted strands of brilliancy; tall exquisite vases with flowers twisted all about 'em.

Posies of all kinds, b.u.t.terflies, cups, tumblers, etc. They had been into all the little art and bookstores, full of pictures and needle work, sh.e.l.ls, painted stuns, books, and the thousand and one souvenirs of all kinds of the Thousand Islands. When Josiah come in he said he had interviewed ten or a dozen men about Coney Island--all on 'em had been there--I wuz discouraged, I thought I might jest as well let him loose with Serenus.

Well, Whitfield of course couldn't wait another minute, without seein'

Shadow Island, so the next day we went over there right after dinner.

Josiah proposed enthusiastickly to fish on the way there. Sez he, "Samantha, how I do wish we could git a periouger to go in."

"A what?" sez I.

"A periouger," sez he, "that we could go fis.h.i.+n' in, a very uneek boat."

"Uneek!" sez I, "I should think as much. Where did you ever ever hear on't?"

"In Ga.s.ses Journal, Ga.s.s used to go round in 'em."

Sez I, "That book wuz published before George Was.h.i.+ngton wuz born, or Bunker Hill thought on."

"What of it?" sez he; "that wouldn't hender a periouger from bein' a crackin' good convenience to go round on the water in, and I'm goin'

to try to git one to-day. I bet my hat they have 'em to Coney Island."

I tried to stop him. I didn't want him to demean himself before the oarsmen and onlookers by tryin' to find boats that hadn't been hearn on in hundreds of years. But I couldn't git the idea out of his head till after dinner. Then he wuz more meller and inclined to listen to reason. It wuz a oncommon good meal, and he felt quite softened down in his mean by the time he finished. And Whitfield's boatman he'd engaged come with a good sizeable boat and we sot sail for Shadow Island.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_I tried to stop him. I didn't want him to demean himself before the oarsmen tryin' to find boats that hadn't been hearn on in hundreds of years._" (_See page 67_)]

When we got there the sun wuz tingin' the tops of the trees with its bright light, but the water on the nigh side, where we landed, wuz cool and green and shadowy. Dretful fresh and restful and comfortable that hot muggy day.

We disembarked on the clean little wharf and walked up to the lot Whitfield had bought. It wuz a pretty place in a kind of a holler between high rocks, but with a full and fair view of the river on the nigh side, on the off side and on the back the tall trees riz up. The site of the house mebby bein' so low down wuz the reason that there wuz good deep earth there. Tirzah Ann spoke of that most the first thing:--

"I can have a good suller, can't I?"

Whitfield spoke first of the view from the river, and little Delight sez, "Oh what soft pretty gra.s.s."

Josiah looked round for a minute on the entrancin' beauty of the water and the islands and up into the green shadders of the trees overhead, and then off into the soft blue haze that wrapped the beautiful sh.o.r.es in the distance. After gazin' silently for a minute he turned to me and sez, "Didn't you bring any nut cakes with you? I'd like one to eat whilst I think of another Island far more beautiful than this, where I yearn to be."

I groaned in spirit but handed him the desired refreshment, and then we talked over the subject of the cottage. Whitfield thought it would be splendid for the health of Tirzah Ann and the children, to say nothin' of their happiness. She and Delight both looked kinder pimpin', and he sez, "Mother, I've got the lot, and now I am going to lay up money just as fast as I can for our house; I hope we can live here in a year or two anyway."

Well, we stayed here for quite a spell, Whitfield and Tirzah Ann buildin' castles higher than Castle Rest, on the foundations of their rosy future, underlaid with youth and glowin' hope--the best-lookin'

underpinnin' you can find anywhere. And little Delight rolled on the green moss and built her rosy castles in the illumined present, as children do. And I looked off onto the fur blue waters some as if I wuz lookin' into the past. And furder off than I could see the water, the meller blue haze lay that seemed to unite earth and heaven, and I looked on it, and way off, way off, and thought of a good many things.

Josiah wuz tryin' to ketch a fish for supper; the boatman had a pole and fish hook, but he couldn't ketch any, he hadn't any nack; it takes nack to ketch fish as well as worms.

CHAPTER FIVE

JOSIAH'S IMAGINATION ABOUT HIS FIs.h.i.+N' EXPLOITS CARRIES HIM TO A PINT WHERE I HAVE TO REBUKE HIM, WHICH MAKES HIM DRETFUL HUFFY

CHAPTER FIVE

JOSIAH'S IMAGINATION ABOUT HIS FIs.h.i.+N' EXPLOITS CARRIES HIM TO A PINT WHERE I HAVE TO REBUKE HIM, WHICH MAKES HIM DRETFUL HUFFY

The next morning we went over to Alexandria Bay on a tower. We walked up to the immense hotels past the gay flower beds that seemed to be growing right out of the ma.s.sive gray boulders, and great willer trees wuz droppin' their delicate green branches where gayly dressed ladies and good-lookin' men wuz settin'. And in front wuz fleets of little boats surroundin' the big white steamboats, jest as contented as big white geese surrounded by a drove of little goslins.

I'd hearn that the great hotel that wuz nighest to us looked by night jest like one of the fairy palaces we read about in Arabian Nights, and one night we see it. From the ground clear up to the high ruff it wuz all ablaze with lines of flas.h.i.+n' light, and I sez instinctively to myself, "Jerusalem the golden!" and "Pan American Electric Tower!"

And I d'no which metafor satisfied me best. 'Tennyrate this had the deep broad river flowin' on in front, reflectin' every glowin' light and buildin' another gleamin' castle down there more beautiful than the one on land. Josiah's only remark wuz "Coney Island!" Everything seems to make him think on't, from a tooth pick to a tower. Ten thousand electric lights wuz the number that lit up that one house, so I hearn.