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Page 66
Suddenly a tall, black-bearded man with angry eyes came toward them. It
was the captain.
"What madness is this?" he thundered. "Do you think it is the business
of steamboats to look out for little fools of fishermen? Whose fault
would it have been if you had been run down and drowned?"
But as he looked at the two little dripping, miserable figures, his tone
softened.
"Bring them below and give them something hot to drink," he said to one
of the gaping by-standers. It was a mercy to get them away from all
those staring eyes; they swallowed the steaming contents of the glass
that was given them in the cabin without a word, though it burned their
throats. They did not dare to sit down; they were too wet.
After a while the captain came down and asked where they came from, and
where they were going in that "old fish-box."
Fani told the whole story without reserve. An expression of amusement
passed over the captain's brown face more than once during this
narration, and when he had heard all, he said kindly that they must get
themselves dried off as best they could; he was going to stop at
Cologne, and there they could take the train home again.
To reward him for saving them, Mrs. Stanhope could invite him to visit
her house at the next vintage.
This was their second visit to Cologne; how different it was from the
first one!
The captain's parting advice was that they should in future make their
expeditions by land rather than by water; it was much safer, he said.
It was pretty dark by this time, and they had some trouble in finding
the way to the station. They wandered from street to street inquiring
their way, and at last found themselves again at the steamboat wharf,
just where they had landed. They began to fear that they should lose the
train and have to stay in the city all night. They set out again upon
their search, and at last they came upon a policeman, who took pity upon
them and led them through alleys and by-streets to the station, where
they found that one train had just left, and they must wait two hours
for the next. The little wanderers sat down outside the building to
wait. They were wet and cold and hungry, but they did not complain of
these minor troubles; their anxieties lay far deeper.
"I am dreadfully worried," said Fani, with a deep sigh.
"So am I, but I don't know exactly why," replied Emma.
"Well, I do," said the boy. "I'm perfectly sure that Mrs. Stanhope will
send me home after this, and poor Elsli will have to go too, for she
could never stay without me."
"Oh, that is dreadful!" cried Emma. She was conscience-stricken. It was
a bad scrape, and it was mainly her fault. "Mrs. Stanhope is so kind,"
she went on hopefully, "perhaps she will not be so very angry."
Fani shook his head.
"You don't know about it, Emma. Of course Mrs. Stanhope is the greatest
benefactress in the world. But she is very particular about our minding
exactly what she tells us; and one of her principal rules is that we
must never disturb the regularity of the household, and must keep
punctually to just such hours; and now see what we have done! We shall
not get home till twelve o'clock to-night, midnight! Probably they are
hunting for us everywhere. How will it all turn out? Oh, dear! if she
sends us off, there's an end of drawing and painting for me! That's all
over"; and Fani looked despairing.
Emma felt that he knew Mrs. Stanhope far better than she did, and her
courage began to fail. They sat in silence till the train came along. At
the end of their journey they had a long walk from the station to
Rosemount, and they stumbled along in the dark, frightened and
trembling, and scarcely exchanging a word. Their hearts beat more and
more as they neared the house. As they entered the court-yard, the
watch-dog began to bark, but he stopped when he heard Fani's voice.
The great house-door was opened, and Aunt Clarissa came out to meet
them from the lighted hall.
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