“I have no doubt of that,” said my cousin.
“Let me proceed directly to the object of my visit, then, which is to learn how soon you expect to return to England.”
“That is good,” said he, turning toward me. “The sooner the better. In the meantime it will be my duty to keep a sharp eye upon you; I have been near you all day. You need not feel any alarm--only do not be surprised if you meet me often. I am responsible for your safety, that is all.”
“My dear sir,” said he, rising to go, “men in my line of business must not talk too much. Good night.”
After he had gone we asked Rayel to tell us more about this mysterious visitor, but he was unable to do so.
When we started away Hester put on her wraps and walked with us to the cab. As we alighted at our own door I saw a man standing by the street lamp on the corner, some distance away, whom I recognized as Mr. Murmurtot. I found a letter from Mr. Earl awaiting me at home, in which he urged us to hasten back to England as soon as possible after my recovery.
“You and Rayel,” he said, “will, I trust, make your home at my house.”
Next day we began our preparations for the voyage.
It was on a bleak and windy night in December that we were driven through a pelting rain to one of the docks on the North River, which our steamer was to leave at high tide in the early morning. When we alighted Mr. Murmurtot stood shivering in a greatcoat and muffler close by the passengers' entrance.
“This is a good place for a warm greeting,” said he, taking Hester's hand. “I've stood here so long that my teeth are chattering from the cold.”
“Won't you come aboard with us?” I asked.
“Not yet,” he replied; “but I expect to sail with you in the morning.”
“'Sa rough night, sir,” said the porter who carried our luggage, “but we'll find it a bit rougher outside, I'm feered, afore anither night.”
Fatigued by a long day of arduous work, we went at once to our staterooms. I was soon asleep after getting into my berth, but was awakened by the tramp of feet on the upper decks and the shouting of the crew long before the ship left her moorings. They reminded me of the first night I had ever spent on an ocean steamer--the night I left Liverpool on that journey fraught with danger I had not then dreamed of. I had grown old very fast under the influences that had come into my life since then. Indeed, I was now a man, whereas I had been only a boy when I left England. But Rayel was with me now, and that repaid me for all I had suffered. What would he have done in that lonely mansion after his father's death? For hours my mind was occupied with these reflections, and at length I determined to dress myself and go on deck. Rayel awoke while I was dressing and decided to go with me.
