第9章

Thedinnerwasuncommonlygood，asthefirstdinneroutisapttobe；anditwentgaylyonfromsouptofruit，whichwasoftheAmericanabundanceandvariety，andasyetnotoftheveteranfreshnessimpartedbytheice-

closet。Everybodywaseatingit，whenbyacommonconsciousnesstheywereawareofalienwitnesses。Theylookedupasbyasingleimpulse，andsawattheportthegauntfaceofasteeragepassengerstaringdownupontheirluxury；heheldonhisarmachildthatsharedhisregardwithyethungriereyes。Aboy’snoseshoweditselfasiftiptoedtotheheightoftheman’selbow；ayounggirlpeeredoverhisotherarm。

Thepassengersglancedatoneanother；thetwotable-stewards，withtheirnapkinsintheirhands，smiledvaguely，andmadesomeindefinitemovements。

Thebachelorattheheadofthetablebrokethespell。“I’mgladitdidn’tbeginwiththeLittleNeckclams！”

“Probablytheyonlyletthosepeoplecomeforthedessert。”Marchsuggested。

Thewidownowfollowedthedirectionoftheothereyes；andlookedupoverhershoulder；shegavealittlecry，andshrankdown。Theyoungbridemadeherpettedmouth，inappealtothecompany；herhusbandlookedsevere，asifheweregoingtodosomething，butrefrained，nottomakeascene。Thereticentfatherthrewoneofhisstaccatoglancesattheport，andMrs。MarchwassurethatshesawthedaughterstealalookatBurnamy。

Theyoungfellowlaughed。“Idon’tsupposethere’sanythingtobedoneaboutit，unlesswepassoutaplate。”

Mr。Kenbyshookhishead。“Itwouldn’tdo。Wemightsendforthecaptain。Orthechiefsteward。”

Thefacesattheportvanished。Atotherportsprofilespassedandrepassed，asifthesteeragepassengershadtheirpromenadeunderthem，buttheypausednomore。

TheMarcheswentuptotheirsteamerchairs，andfromherexasperatednervesMrs。Marchdenouncedthearrangementoftheshipwhichhadmadesuchacruelthingpossible。

“Oh。”hemocked，“theyhadprobablyhadagoodsubstantialmealoftheirown，andthesceneofourbanquetwasofthequalityofapicture，apurelyaesthetictreat。Butsupposingitwasn’t，we’redoingsomethinglikeiteverydayandeverymomentofourlives。TheNorumbiaisapieceofthewholeworld’scivilizationsetafloat，andpassingfromshoretoshorewithunchangedclasses，andconditions。Aship’smerelyasmallstage，wherewe’rebroughttoclosequarterswiththedailydramaofhumanity。”

“Well，then。”sheprotested，“Idon’tlikebeingbroughttoclosequarterswiththedailydramaofhumanity，asyoucallit。AndIdon’tbelievethatthelargeEnglishshipsarebuiltsothatthesteeragepassengerscanstareinatthesaloonwindowswhileoneiseating；andI’msorrywecameontheNorumbia。”

“Ah，youthinktheNorumbiadoesn’thideanything。”hebegan，andhewasgoingtospeakofthemeninthefurnacepitsofthesteamer，howtheyfedthefiresinaweldingheat，andasiftheyhadperishedinitcreptoutontheforecastlelikeblanchedphantasmsoftoil；butsheinterposedintime。

“Ifthere’sanythingworse，forpity’ssakedon’ttellme。”sheentreated，andheforebore。

Hesatthinkinghowoncetheworldhadnotseemedtohaveevendeathinit，andthenhowashehadgrownolderdeathhadcomeintoitmoreandmore，andsufferingwaslurkingeverywhere，andcouldhardlybekeptoutofsight。HewonderedifthatyoungBurnamynowsawtheworldasheusedtoseeit，aplaceformakingverseandmakinglove，andfullofbeautyofallkindswaitingtobefittedwithphrases。Hehadlivedahappylife；Burnamywouldbeluckyifheshouldliveonehalfashappy；andyetifhecouldshowhimhiswholehappylife，justasithadtrulybeen，mustnottheyoungmanshrinkfromsuchapictureofhisfuture？

“Saysomething。”saidhiswife。“Whatareyouthinkingabout？”

“Oh，Burnamy。”heanswered，honestlyenough。

“Iwasthinkingaboutthechildren。”shesaid。“IamgladBelladidn’ttrytocomefromChicagotoseeusoff；itwouldhavebeentoosilly；sheisgettingtobeverysensible。IhopeTomwon’ttakethecoversoffthefurniturewhenhehasthefellowsintoseehim。”

“Well，Iwanthimtogetallthecomforthecanoutoftheplace，evenifthemothseatupeverystickoffurniture。”

“Yes，sodoI。Andofcourseyou’rewishingthatyouweretherewithhim！”Marchlaughedguiltily。“Well，perhapsitwasacrazythingforustostartoffaloneforEurope，atourage。”

“Nothingofthekind。”heretortedinthenecessityheperceivedforstayingherdroopingspirits。“Iwouldn’tbeanywhereelseonanyaccount。Isn’titperfectlydelicious？ItputsmeinmindofthatnightontheLakeOntarioboat，whenwewerestartingforMontreal。Therewasthesamesortofredsunset，andtheairwasn’tabitsofterthanthis。”

Hespokeofanightontheirwedding-journeywhentheyweresillnewenoughfromEuropetobecomparingeverythingathomewiththingsthere。

“Well，perhapsweshallgetintothespiritofitagain。”shesaid，andtheytalkedalongtimeofthepast。

Allthemechanicalnoisesweremuffledinthedullair，andthewashoftheship’scoursethroughthewavelessseamadeitselfpleasantlyheard。

Intheoffingasteamerhomewardboundswamsmoothlyby，soclosethatherlightsoutlinedhertotheeye；shesentupsomesignalrocketsthatsoaredagainstthepurpleheaveningreenandcrimson，andspoketotheNorumbiainthemysteriousmutephrasesofshipsthatmeetinthedark。

Mrs。MarchwonderedwhathadbecomeofBurnamy；thepromenadesweremuchfreernowthantheyhadbeensincetheshipsailed；whensherosetogobelow，shecaughtsightofBurnamywalkingthedecktransverselywithsomelady。Sheclutchedherhusband’sarmandstayedhiminrichconjecture。

“Doyousupposehecanhavegothertowalkingwithhimalready？”

TheywaitedtillBurnamyandhiscompanioncameinsightagain。Shewastiltingforward，andturningfromthewaist，nowtohimandnowfromhim。

“No；it’sthatpivotalgirl。”saidMarch；andhiswifesaid，“Well，I’mgladhewon’tbeputdownbythem。”

Inthemusic-roomsatthepeopleshemeant，andattheinstantshepassedondownthestairs，thedaughterwassayingtothefather，“Idon’tseewhyyoudidn’ttellmesooner，papa。”

“ItwassuchanunimportantmatterthatIdidn’tthinktomentionit。

Heofferedit，andItookit；thatwasall。Whatdifferencecouldithavemadetoyou？”

“None。Butonedoesn’tliketodoanyoneaninjustice。”

“Ididn’tknowyouwerethinkinganythingaboutit。”

“No，ofcoursenot。”

ThevoyageoftheNorumbiawasoneofthosewhichpassengerssaytheyhaveneverseenanythinglike，thoughforthefirsttwoorthreedaysoutneitherthedoctornorthedeck-stewardcouldbegot，toprophesywhentheshipwouldbein。Therewasonlyadayortwowhenitcouldreallybecalledrough，andthesea-sicknesswasconfinedtothosewhoseemedwilfulsufferers；theylayonthecushionedbenchingaroundthestairs-

landing，andsubsistedonbiscuitandbeefteawithoutqualifyingthemonotonouswell-beingoftheotherpassengers，whopassedwithoutnoticingthem。

Thesecondmorningtherewasrain，andtheairfreshened，buttheleadensealaylevelasbefore。Thesunshoneintheafternoon；withthesunsetthefogcamethickandwhite；theshiploweddismallythroughthenight；

fromthedensefoldsofthemistansweringnoisescalledbacktoher。

Justbeforedarktwomeninadoryshouteduptohercloseunderherbows，andthenmeltedoutofsight；whenthedarkfellthelightsoffishing-schoonerswereseen，andtheirbellspealed；onceloudcriesfromavesselnearathandmadethemselvesheard。Somepeopleinthedining-

saloonsanghymns；thesmoking-roomwasdensewithcigarfumes，andthecard-playersdealttheirhandsinanatmosphereemulousofthefogwithout。

TheNorumbiawasofftheBanks，andtheseconddayoffogwascoldasificebergswerehauntingtheopaquepalloraroundher。Intheranksofsteamerchairspeoplelaylikemummiesintheirdensewrappings；inthemusic-roomthelittlechildrenoftraveldiscussedthedifferentlinesofsteamersonwhichtheyhadcrossed，andbabesoffiveandsevendisputedaboutthemotionontheCunardersandWhiteStars；theirnursestriedinvaintostilltheminbehalfofolderpassengerstryingtowritelettersthere。

Bythenextmorningtheshiphadrunoutofthefog；andpeoplewhocouldkeeptheirfeetsaidtheyweregladofthegreatermotionwhichtheyfoundbeyondtheBanks。Theynowtalkedoftheheatofthefirstdaysout，andhowmuchtheyhadsuffered；somewhohadpassedthenightonboardbeforesailingtriedtoimpartasenseoftheirmiseryintryingtosleep。

Adayortwolaterastormstrucktheship，andthesailorsstretchedcanvasalongtheweatherpromenadeandputupasheathingofboardsacrossthebowendtokeepofftherain。Yetadayortwomoreandtheseahadfallenagainandtherewasdancingonthewidestspaceoftheleepromenade。

Thelittleeventsoftheseaoutsidethesteamerofferedthemselvesintheirpoorvariety。Onceashipintheoffing，withallitssquaresailsset，liftedthemlikethreewhitetowersfromthedeep。Ontherimoftheoceanthelengthofsomewestwardlinerblockeditselfoutagainstthehorizon，andswiftlytraileditssmokeoutofsight。Afewtrampsteamers，loungingandlungingthroughthetroughofthesea，wereovertakenandleftbehind；anoldbrigantinepassedsoclosethatherrustyironsidesshowedplain，andonecoulddiscernthefacesofthepeopleonboard。