The Green Dolphin
right here and will know exactly what to do.” She sped to the door.
“Eric!”
“Now ain’t that lucky, Lemmy? There’s a live surgeon right here on the
premises an’ he can operate on you. Will he need ether, Miss, or will
it be painless?”
“Oh, do shut up, Asaph,” pleaded Lemmy.
“Don’t you s’pose I feel a big enough fool as ’tis without you jokin’
an’ jibin’ at me?”
But for once his colleague was deaf to his appeal.
“Won’t this be a yarn to tell Althea when she gets back?” he went on.
“She’ll laugh her head off to hear the mess her Dolphin got you into,
Lemmy.”
“Oh--h! Then the tea-room isn’t your own venture,” said Peggy, quickly
glancing up.
“Did you think it was?” grinned Asaph. “Do I look like I could run a
tea-shop?”
“Well--” she hesitated.
“No, I ain’t so stuck on teacups as my friend Captain Gill is.” He
nudged Lemuel in the ribs. “’Twas my wife started the Dolphin. She was
kinder lonesome an’ wanted company.”
“But where is she?”
“Gone to Abington to haul her sister out of an unlooked-for dilemma.
’Twas a pity, too, she had to go just now for she’s been weeks gettin’
this place ready for the openin’.”
“And you?”
“Well, tea-shops ain’t in my line,” was the simple answer. “Still, I
promised her I’d do the best I could till she got back. To be honest
I warn’t bankin’ on much trade. When you folks hove in sight my knees
most crumpled up under me.”
A peal of musical laughter came from Peggy.
“I don’t wonder,” she answered, instantly sympathetic. “And then you
couldn’t find the tea! Oh, it was a shame! And now we’ve eaten up all
the chowder you had made for your supper.”
“I ain’t doin’ no kickin’,” smiled Asaph.
“But I am. I think we’ve been horrid. Oh, here comes the doctor. What
on earth have you been doing, Eric?”
“I went out to the car to rummage for my instruments--gauze an’ stuff.
What’s the matter?”
“Cap’n Gill’s kinder laid up,” explained Asaph. “Had he got the noose
round his neck he has round his finger he’d be a dead man by now.”
“Don’t laugh at him any more,” implored Peggy, who saw rage again
gleaming in Lemuel’s eye.
But mirth already convulsed young Hollingsworth.
“You don’t think there’s danger of this provin’ fatal, do you, Doctor?”
Asaph inquired. “I’m afraid Lemmy ain’t drawed up his will.”
“If I had an’ had left you anythin’ in it I’d revoke it,” snapped the
little man.
Professional skill speedily proved its ascendency over amateur methods
and it did not take long for the surgeon to remove the Dolphin’s
insignia from the luckless Captain. And no sooner was complete release
effected than Hollingsworth Senior called from the lawn:
“All aboard, youngsters! Come, Eric, and start your engine. Come,
Peggy! Now, how much do we owe you, Mr. Holmes?”
“Eh?” repeated Asaph. “Oh, the food, you mean? I don’t see as you owe
me anything. You had no tea an’ that was what we contracted to give
you.”
“But we had something better--the chowder.”
“That? I’d be a nice cuss to charge you for chowder me an’ Lemmy were
goin’ to have anyway. The clams didn’t cost us a cent; an’ fur’s the
potatoes an’ onions go I raised ’em myself.”
“But you had the trouble of doing it,” laughed the stranger.
“Furthermore, the chowder was to have been your supper and we’ve
devoured every smitch of it.”
“’Tain’t all gone,” was the prompt protest. “There’s dredgin’s in the
bottom of the kettle yet.”
“You’ve forgotten the cake, cookies, and preserves.”
“Now, see here,” interrupted Miss Davidson, sweeping them aside with
a pretty gesture of authority, “I’m going to make out this bill. I go
round to tea-rooms much oftener than you men do and therefore know
more about them. Will you trust me to square the account for you, Mr.
Holmes?”
“I’d trust you to do anything on earth,” was the fervent response. “But
don’t you see it ain’t money I’m after? We’ve had the pleasantest kind
of an afternoon talkin’ gardens an’ operatin’ on Lemmy. Let’s call it
quits.”
“You shall do nothing of the sort,” Peggy asserted. “What would
Al--your wife say to such an arrangement?”
“Oh, Althea ain’t in it for money; she said so at the outset.”
“That’s fortunate, if you are to have the handling of the finances,”
chuckled the Westerner.
“Well, Peggy, you and I will just have to settle the charges ourselves.
I can see that. Good-bye, Mr. Holmes, and we thank you for your
hospitality. Some day you’ll see us driving back for another chowder.
Come, Peggy!”
Amid hurried adieux the visitors rolled away, the two men silently
watching them out of sight.
Then as if reflecting aloud, Asaph murmured:
“Mebbe, after all, it’s goin’ to be as Althea said.”
“What is?”
“The Dolphin. P’raps it will kinder shake us up an’ give us somethin’
to think of. Spite of the mess the kitchen’s in an’ the bother ’twill
be to clean it up, the afternoon’s been worth it.”
“Worth it! I should say it had!” announced Lemmy, holding before his
companion’s gaze a crisp ten-dollar bill.
Dully Asaph stared at it.
“Where’d you find that, Lemmy?” interrogated he.
“They left it under a stone on the gate-post.”
“My soul an’ body! Why, they must ’a’ made a mistake. ’Tain’t right.
The very notion of anybody payin’ ten dollars for that chowder, cake,
an’ stuff. It’s ridiculous. Take it, Lemmy. It’s yours. ’Twas you made
the chowder an’ you who got disabled in the Dolphin cause. You can
consider it a sort of veteran’s pension.”
But Lemuel shook his head.
“When you see me takin’ money from this Green Dolphin, Asaph Holmes,
you’ll see me nearer poverty than I am now,” returned he with dignity.
“Why, ’twas worth every cent of that greenback to meet that girl.”
“So ’twas, Lemmy--so ’twas!” agreed the other man heartily.
CHAPTER IX
“Say, Lemmy, do you know I’ve been mullin’ this Dolphin business over
in my mind since sunrise,” announced his friend after the two had
exchanged greetings the next morning. “I woke up an’ couldn’t get to
sleep again for thinkin’ of it. I’m beginnin’ to feel panicky. I don’t
for the life of me see how we’re goin’ to swing the thing till Althea
gets home. We squeaked through alive yesterday, to be sure, but that
was chiefly ’cause the folks was reasonable; but s’pose today a load of
those nose-in-the-air city boarders should loom up in the offin’? We
couldn’t hope to fool ’em with the chowder game. To begin with it’s et
up; an’ if ’twarn’t they mightn’t hanker for it. To advertise tea an’
hand out chowder instead is much like givin’ a man a pair of overalls
when what he wants is a collar. It makes the Dolphin sail under false
colors.”
“Humph! You made ten dollars yesterday, didn’t you?” grunted Lemuel
comfortably. “If you can contrive to mint money at that rate what do
you care what colors the Dolphin sails under? They could be Zulu well’s
Irish fur’s I was concerned.”
“Irish?”
“It’s a green Dolphin, ain’t it?”
“That’s got nothin’ to do with its nationality,” objected the literal
Asaph.
“It ain’t?” scoffed Lemuel. “Did you ever see anything green sailin’
under another flag?”
“Quit your nonsense, Lemmy,” broke in his comrade impatiently. “I ain’t
in no mood for it. What I’m tryin’ to tell you is that I mean to set
sail today on a different tack. I’m goin’ to be prepared to ration
folks properly on bread an’ tea.”
“You ain’t layin’ for another crowd this afternoon!”
“I ain’t a-goin’ to be caught nappin’ like I was yesterday,” was the
grim retort. “Already I’ve got tables out on the porch spread with the
green china. No automobiles are comin’ tootin’ into the driveway this
afternoon an’ have me rushin’ hither an’ yon till I don’t know which
way my head’s aimin’.”
“’Tain’t likely anybody’ll come.”
“That’s their hunt. I shall have the kettle bilin’ an’ my part done.”
“You’ll have to tote out somethin’ for ’em besides tea, an’ where are
you goin’ to lay hands on it? As I remember it there warn’t no twelve
baskets full of fragments gathered up after last night’s spree.”
“Somethin’ was salvaged from the wreck. Miss Davidson told me, though,
I made a mistake to give em’ the cake an’ let ’em hack what they
pleased off the loaf. She said I should ’a’ sliced it, allowin’ half a
slab to each person.”
“It certainly would ’a’ gone farther.”
“But it’s such a durn stingy way to do. Besides, s’pose they were
minded to have more?”
“That’s what these folks were, I guess,” grinned Lemuel drily.
“Well, I’m thankful they liked what we gave ’em well enough to want a
second helpin’. ’Twill please Althea. She’s mighty proud of her cake
makin’.”
Captain Gill did not reply immediately. To judge from the frown
puckering his brows the conversation was not taking the turn he had
anticipated.
“I kinder hoped,” ventured he at last, “you’d got your fill of tea
parties an’ would be ready to shut up shop today. You see I hauled two
of the handsomest lobsters you ever clapped eyes on out of the traps
this mornin’ an’ I was calculatin’ we’d turn the key on the Dolphin, go
over to my house, bile, an’ eat ’em.”
A reckless light blazed up in Asaph’s eyes; then flickered and went out
as he answered dully:
“But I can’t, Lemmy. The tea-shop--”
“Leave it to itself.”
“It wouldn’t do.”
“Shucks! What would be the harm? Drinkin’ tea ain’t a matter of life
an’ death, is it? ’Twouldn’t hurt those city swells to go without tea
one afternoon, I reckon. Like as not it keeps ’em awake, anyhow,” urged
the tempter.
“But Althea--”
“Huh! Don’t you s’pose she’d a sight rather have her Dolphin quit
swimmin’ altogether than waller amid the high seas it foundered through
yesterday?”
“I--I dunno.”
“Well, I bet you dollars to doughnuts she would. What she’s after is to
make a name for herself an’ build up trade. That bedlam of yesterday
ain’t a-goin’ to add to her reputation. She promised folks tea an’ a
quiet hour. What they got was clam chowder an’ a hullabaloo side of
which a typhoon in the Indian Ocean would be peace itself.”
“It was kinder noisy an’ confused; but I warn’t rigged for visitors,”
argued Asaph. “They come on me unawares, you know that. Besides,
we weren’t the ones made all the clatter. They made some racket
themselves.”
“That’s just the point!” cried Captain Gill, triumphantly. “They made
the devil of a noise. They didn’t want a quiet hour. So why give it to
’em?”
“I promised Althea I’d--”
“Oh, Lord! Well, go ahead then. Have it your own way since you’re bound
to. I can eat my lobsters myself,” and turning on his heel Lemuel
sailed out of the yard.
“There!” ejaculated he, gazing after his crony in dismay, “now he’s
miffed an’ gone whifflin’ off in a rage. I wonder if I oughtn’t to run
after him. When he’s mad there’s no knowin’ what he may do. Lemmy!” he
bawled. “Lemmy! Hold on a minute.”
As if expecting an olive branch to be extended, the Captain slackened
his pace.
“Say, Lemmy,” cautioned his anxious comrade, “don’t you go eatin’ both
those lobsters just out of spite. They’ll make you sick.”
“Hope they do,” piped the little man with evident disappointment. “Hope
they kill me.”
For a second Asaph stood watching the departing figure as it moved
unrelentingly down the lane. Then with a sigh he came back into the
kitchen.
“Well, I can’t help it,” he murmured. “If he’s determined to put an end
to himself he’ll have to do it. Tore as I am ’twixt him an’ Althea an’
this blamed Dolphin, it’s a marvel I ain’t dead myself. Most likely,
too, spite of tryin’ to do the right thing my trouble will go for
nothin’ an’ I’ll not only miss the lobsters but find I’ve riled Lemmy
all to no purpose.”
Asaph’s preparations, however, proved not to be futile, for at five
o’clock a motor car containing an old gentleman and his two daughters