He presented himself
before the magnate of the yacht, and indicated that he was ready to
take his further orders.
"You will see that the pilot is paid his full fee for taking the vessel
to a wharf," continued Captain Passford.
The captain bowed, and started towards the companionway; but the owner
called him back.
"I see what looks like a tug to the westward of us. You will set the
signal to bring her alongside," the magnate proceeded.
This order was even more strange than that under which the vessel had
come to anchor so near home after her long cruise; but the captain asked
no questions, and made no sign. Calling Beeks, he went aft with the
pilot, and paid him his fees.
When the American flag was displayed in the fore-rigging for the tug,
Captain Passford, with his gaze fixed on the planks of the deck, walked
slowly to the place where his wife was seated, and halted in front of
her without speaking a word. But there was a quivering of the lip which
assured the lady and her son that he was still struggling to suppress
his agitation.
"What is the matter, Horatio?" asked the wife, in the tenderest of
tones, while her expression assured those who saw her face that the
anxiety of the husband had been communicated to the wife.
"I need hardly tell you, Julia, that I am disturbed as I never was
before in all my life," replied he, maintaining his calmness only with
a struggle.
"I can see that something momentous has happened in our country," she
added, hardly able to contain herself, for she felt that she was in the
presence of an unexplained calamity.
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