第16章

“Ican’t，exceptinFrench，andthat’sworsethanEnglish，inGermany，Ihear。”

“Thenyoumustletmebeyourinterpreteruptothelastmoment。Willyou？”

Shedidnotanswer。“Itmustberatherlate，isn’tit？”sheasked。Heletherseehiswatch，andshesaid，“Yes，it’sverylate。”andledthewaywithin。“Imustlookaftermypacking；papa’salwayssoprompt，andImustjustifymyselfformakinghimletmegiveupmymaidwhenwelefthome；weexpecttogetoneinDresden。Good-night！”

Burnamylookedafterherdriftingdowntheircorridor，andwonderedwhetheritwouldhavebeenafitreturnforherexpressionofasenseofnoveltyinhimasaliterarymanifhehadtoldherthatshewasthefirstyoungladyhehadknownwhohadamaid。Thefactawedhim；MissTriscoeherselfdidnotawehimsomuch。

Thenextmorningwasmerelyatransitionalperiod，fullofturmoilanddisorder，betweenthebrokenlifeoftheseaandtheuntriedlifeoftheshore。Nooneattemptedtoresumetheroutineofthevoyage。Peoplewentandcamebetweentheirroomsandthesaloonsandthedecks，andwerenolongercarefultotaketheirownsteamerchairswhentheysatdownforamoment。

Inthecabinstheberthswerenotmadeup，andthosewhoremainedbelowhadtositontheirhardedges，oronthesofas，whichwerecumberedwith，hand-bagsandrollsofshawls。Atanearlyhourafterbreakfastthebedroomstewardsbegantogetthesteamertrunksoutandpiletheminthecorridors；theservantsallbecamemorecaressinglyattentive；andpeoplewhohadleftoffsettlingtheamountofthefeestheyweregoingtogive，anxiouslyconferredtogether。Thequestionwhetheryououghtevertogivetheheadstewardanythingpressedcruciallyattheearlylunch，andKenbybroughtonlyapartialreliefbysayingthathealwaysregardedtheheadstewardasanofficeroftheship。Marchmadetheexperimentofofferinghimsixmarks，andtheheadstewardtookthemquiteasifhewerenotanofficeroftheship。Healsocollectedahandsomefeeforthemusic，whichisthetaxleviedonallGermanshipsbeyondthetollsexactedonthesteamersofothernations。

AfterlunchtheflatshoreatCuxhavenwassonearthatthesummercottagesofthelittlewatering-placeshowedthroughthewarmdrizzlemuchlikethesummercottagesofourownshore，andifithadnotbeenforthestrange，lowsky，theAmericansmighteasilyhavefanciedthemselvesathomeagain。

EveryonewaitedonfootwhilethetendercameoutintothestreamwheretheNorumbiahaddroppedanchor。Peoplewhohadbroughttheirhand-

baggagewiththemfromtheirroomslookedsomuchsaferwithitthatpeoplewhohadlefttheirstotheirstewardshadtogobackandpledgethemafreshnottoforgetit。Thetendercamealongside，andthetransferoftheheavytrunksbegan，butitseemedsuchanendlessworkthateveryonesatdowninsomeother’schair。Atlastthetrunkswereallonthetender，andthebareheadedstewardsbegantorundownthegangwayswiththehand-baggage。“IsthisHoboken？”Marchmurmuredinhiswife’sear，withabewilderedsenseofsomethinginthescenelikethereversedactionofthekinematograph。

Onthedeckofthetendertherewasabriefmomentofreunionamongthecompanionsofthevoyage，themoreintimatefortheirbeingcrowdedtogetherundercoverfromthedrizzlewhichnowturnedintoadashingrain。Burnamy’ssmileappeared，andthenMrs。MarchrecognizedMissTriscoeandherfatherintheirtraveldress；theywerenotfarfromBurnamy’ssmile，butheseemedrathertohavechargeoftheEltwins，whomhewashelpinglookaftertheirbagsandbundles。RoseAddingwastalkingwithKenby，andapparentlyaskinghisopinionofsomething；Mrs。

Addingsatnearthemtranquillyenjoyingherson。

Mrs。Marchmadeherhusbandidentifytheirbaggage，largeandsmall，andafterhehadsatisfiedher，hefurtivelysatisfiedhimselfbyafreshcountthatitwasallthere。Butheneednothavetakenthetrouble；

theirlong，calmbedroom-stewardwaskeepingguardoverit；hiseyesexpressedacontemptuouspityfortheiranxiety，whoselikehemusthavebeenverytiredof。Hebroughttheirhandbagsintothecustoms-roomatthestationwheretheylanded；andtheretookalastleaveandalastfeewithunexpectedcordiality。

Againtheircompanionshipsufferedeclipseinthedistractionwhichthecustomsinspectorsofallcountriesbringtotravellers；andagaintheywereunitedduringthelongdelayinthewaiting-room，whichwasalsotherestaurant。Itwasfullofstrangenoisesandfiguresandodors——theshufflingoffeet，theclashofcrockery，theexplosionofnervousGermanvoices，mixedwiththesmellofbeerandham，andthesmokeofcigars。

Throughitallpiercedthewailofapostmanstandingatthedoorwithaletterinhishandandcallingoutatregularintervals，“Krahnay，Krahnay！“WhenMarchcouldbearitnolongerhewentuptohimandshouted，“Crane！Crane！”andthemanbowedgratefully，andbegantocry，“Kren！Kren！”ButwhetherMr。Cranegothisletterornot，heneverknew。

Peoplewereswarmingatthewindowofthetelegraph-office，andsendinghomecablegramstoannouncetheirsafearrival；Marchcouldnotforbearcablingtohisson，thoughhefeltitabsurd。Therewasagreatdealoftalking，butnolaughing，exceptamongtheAmericans，andthegirlsbehindthebarwhotriedtounderstand，whattheywanted，andthenservedthemwithwhattheychoseforthem。OtherwisetheGermans，thoughvoluble，wereunsmiling，andhereonthethresholdoftheirempirethetravellershadtheirfirsthintoftheanxiousmoodwhichseemshabitualwiththeseamiablepeople。

Mrs。AddingcamescreamingwithgleetoMarchwherehesatwithhiswife，andleanedoverhersontoask，“Doyouknowwhatlese-majestyis？RoseisafraidI’vecommittedit！”

“No，Idon’t。”saidMarch。“Butit’stheunpardonablesin。Whathaveyoubeendoing？”

“Iaskedtheofficialatthedoorwhenourtrainwouldstart，andwhenhesaidathalfpastthree，Isaid，’Howtiresome！’Rosesaystherailroadsbelongtothestatehere，andthatifIfindfaultwiththetime-table，it’sconstructivecensureoftheEmperor，andthat’slese-majesty。”Shegavewaytohermirth，whiletheboystudiedMarch’sfacewithanappealingsmile。

“Well，Idon’tthinkyou’llbearrestedthistime，Mrs。Adding；butI

hopeitwillbeawarningtoMrs。March。She’sbeencomplainingofthecoffee。”

“IndeedIshallsaywhatIlike。”saidMrs。March。“I’manAmerican。”

“Well，you’llfindyou’reaGerman，ifyouliketosayanythingdisagreeableaboutthecoffeeintherestaurantoftheEmperor’srailroadstation；thefirstthingyouknowIshallbegiventhreemonthsonyouraccount。”

Mrs。Addingasked：“Thentheywon’tpunishladies？There，Rose！I’msafe，yousee；andyou’restillaminor，thoughyouaresowiseforyouryears。”

Shewentbacktohertable，whereKenbycameandsatdownbyher。

“Idon’tknowthatIquitelikeherplayingonthatsensitivechild。”，saidMrs。March。“Andyou’vejoinedwithherinherjoking。Goandspeak，tohim！”

Theboywasslowlyfollowinghismother，withhisheadfallen。Marchovertookhim，andhestartednervouslyatthetouchofahandonhisshoulder，andthenlookedgratefullyupintotheman’sface。Marchtriedtotellhimwhatthecrimeoflese-majestywas，andhesaid：“Oh，yes。

Iunderstoodthat。ButIgottothinking；andIdon’twantmymothertotakeanyrisks。”

“Idon’tbelieveshewill，really，Rose。ButI’llspeaktoher，andtellhershecan’tbetoocautious。”

“Notnow，please！”theboyentreated。

“Well，I’llfindanotherchance。”Marchassented。HelookedroundandcaughtasmilingnodfromBurnamy，whowasstillwiththeEltwins；theTriscoeswereatatablebythemselves；MissTriseoenoddedtoo，butherfatherappearednottoseeMarch。“It’sallright，withRose。”hesaid，whenhesatdownagainbyhiswife；“butIguessit’salloverwithBurnamy。”andhetoldherwhathehadseen。“Doyouthinkitcametoanydispleasurebetweenthemlastnight？Doyousupposeheofferedhimself，andshe——“

“Whatnonsense！“saidMrs。March，butshewasnotatpeace。“It’sherfatherwho’skeepingherawayfromhim。”

“Ishouldn’tmindthat。He’skeepingherawayfromus，too。”ButatthatmomentMissTriscoeasifshehadfollowedhisreturnfromafar，cameovertospeaktohiswife。ShesaidtheyweregoingontoDresdenthatevening，andshewasafraidtheymighthavenochancetoseeeachotheronthetrainorinHamburg。March，atthisadvance，wenttospeakwithherfather；hefoundhimnomorereconciledtoEuropethanAmerica。

“They’reGoths。”hesaidoftheGermans。“Icouldhardlygetthatstupidbruteinthetelegraph-officetotakemydespatch。”

OnhiswaybacktohiswifeMarchmetMissTriscoe；hewasnotaltogethersurprisedtomeetBurnamywithher，now。Theyoungfellowaskedifhecouldbeofanyusetohim，andthenhesaidhewouldlookhimupinthetrain。Heseemedinahurry，butwhenhewalkedawaywithMissTriscoehedidnotseeminahurry。

Marchremarkeduponthechangetohiswife，andshesighed，“Yes，youcanseethatasfarasthey’reconcerned。”

“It’sagreatpitythatthereshouldbeparentstocomplicatetheseaffairs。”hesaid。“Howsimpleitwouldbeiftherewerenopartiestothembutthelovers！Butnatureisalwaysinsistinguponfathersandmothers，andfamiliesonbothsides。”