The Old Tobacco Shop

"'If any be Old, he shall be Young again: If any Fat, he shall be as Lean as he will.'"

At the word "fat", the Churchwarden gave a questioning grunt, and settled down deeper in his chair.

"'If any be Poor, whether in Purse or in Mind, he shall seek Alms no longer.'"

The Old Codger with the Wooden Leg, who had been resting his wooden leg on the chair opposite, dropped it to the floor and sat up very straight. Toby, who was standing beside him, clapped him heartily on the shoulder.

"'If any be Mean, or Cunning, or Despiteful, he shall be given a new heart.'"

Aunt Amanda looked directly at the Sly Old Codger, who was sitting smiling, with his tall silk hat on his knees; and everyone else in the room, except Mr. Hanlon, looked very intently at him. He noticed it, and glanced around inquiringly, smiling more benevolently than ever.

"How beautiful that would be," he said. "How beautiful! If some of my dear, dear friends could only have a new heart, – how beautiful!"

"Don't interrupt," said Aunt Amanda. "Freddie, listen to this:

"'If any be Little in stature, against his desire, he shall be Great.'"

Freddie opened his eyes very wide. Would it be possible to be big at once, without waiting all that long dreary time? How glorious that would be!

"But this," said Aunt Amanda, "this is the last and the best. I don't know – whether I can – read it right – " her voice broke, and she blew her nose and cleared her throat – "but I will try. Oh! do you suppose it could be true? Would a good Quaker captain, with a sister in New Bedford, say it if it wasn't true? With the sea raging and both masts gone, and the ship filling up with water, and – "

"Aunt Amanda," said Toby, "if you don't read the rest of it this minute – "

"Ah, yes, Toby, I will," said Aunt Amanda. "It must be true, or a good man like that wouldn't have said it. This is the last part, and the best:

"'If any be Prevented unjustly of Beauty or of Children or of Love or of Other like desires, there shall be found for him of these a great Store: So that there shall be an End of repining, and none in that Place shall say, Thus and thus might I have been also, had I been but justly entreated.

"'And so I commit my Body to the sea, and my soul to – '"

"Go on! go on!" cried the company – excepting, of course, Mr. Hanlon.

Aunt Amanda blew her nose again, and laid down the map on the table. "That's all," she said. "I suppose he didn't have time to finish it."

CHAPTER XI

A MIXED COMPANY IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE

After Aunt Amanda had stopped reading, it was a moment or two before anyone spoke. "If all those things," said Mr. Toby thoughtfully, "could be done in that Island, I'd be in favor of going there."

There was a general murmur of assent, and Mr. Hanlon nodded his head.

"Well," went on Mr. Toby, "we'd better make up our minds what we want to do about it. The Churchwarden ain't had his say yet, what with all these interruptions, and I move we give him a chance to have his say, right now. Speak up, Warden; what do you think we ought to do?"

"As I was saying," said the Churchwarden, looking around solemnly, "while I don't hold to my own opinion if anybody else can think up something better, still it seems to me – But maybe you'd ruther hear from the others first."

"No, no!" cried the whole company, – except Mr. Hanlon, who shook his head vigorously.

"Well, then, being as you've asked me so particular, and having thought about it considerable, – as I was saying, it appears to me that the best thing to do would be to – This is only the way it looks to me, you understand, and I ain't speaking for nobody but myself, and I don't pretend that my opinion is worth – "

"By crackey!" cried Mr. Toby, very rudely. "Ain't you the most maddening old feller that ever was in the world? Come on, now, tell us what to do, and be quick about it!"

"Call up the Able Seaman!"

This was so unexpected that nobody spoke for a moment.

"Hurrah!" cried Toby. "Now you've said it. We'll call up Mr. Lemuel Mizzen – is that his name? That's the thing to do! Do you all agree to that?" Everybody approved, and Mr. Toby turned to Freddie. "He's your man, Freddie, and if you've done it once, I reckon it won't be any harm for you to do it again. Wait a minute." And he ran into the shop, and immediately returned with the Chinaman's head and a churchwarden pipe.

"Now, then, Freddie," he said. "Will you do it again?"

"No, sir," said Freddie. "I'd rather not."

"You shouldn't make him do it," said Aunt Amanda.

"Nonsense, Aunt Amanda!" cried Toby. "He's as bad now as he'll ever be, and it ain't a-going to do him no harm. I'll fill the pipe."

"Hit's quite a lark," said Mr. Punch, laughing heartily. "Fancy the little beggar's smoking a pipe!"

"My dear little friend," began the Sly Old Fox, beaming upon Freddie. "You must always remember that your elders know best – "

"Here, Freddie," said Mr. Toby, having filled the pipe, "sit down here." And he pushed Freddie gently down upon his accustomed hassock at Aunt Amanda's feet.

Freddie shook his head, but Mr. Toby put the pipe into his mouth and lit a match. All the others sat in silence, watching Freddie intently.

"Now, then!" said Toby. "Pull away!" And he touched the lighted match to the pipeful of black tobacco.

Freddie gave a pull, and blew out a cloud of smoke. He did not choke this time. He gave another pull, and blew out another cloud. The white smoke lay above the heads of the company in a thick mass; it grew thicker, so that he could not see through it; it began to move, as if in a high wind. He drew on the pipe once more, and blew out another cloud of smoke. He knew what was coming, and in fact the same thing happened that had happened to him before. The white cloud churned about, with its barber-poles and jets of fire, coming down closer and closer upon him, and in a jiffy he was sitting in midair on his hassock, and then he felt himself falling, falling; and as he struck the bottom with a jar, he heard, very distinctly, a knock on the door; and he was sitting again on his hassock at Aunt Amanda's feet in the quiet room, with no sign of a cloud anywhere to be seen.

"Come in!" he heard Mr. Toby cry.

The door opened, and in walked Mr. Lemuel Mizzen, A.B., as cool as a cucumber.

He took off his flat blue cap with the black ribbon, and made a bow to the company.

"Piped me aft again, and good evening to you all!" said he, in his hoarse voice. "Lemuel Mizzen, A.B.! That's me! What'll it be? All ready for orders, skipper! It was just half past by the starboard watch, and the skippers their apples were quietly peeling, when I locked up the last of the lemons and Scotch, and lay on my bed looking up at the ceiling, to snatch forty winks, as I foolishly reckoned; but just as I thinks, 'Thirty-first, thirty-second,' there's a ring at the bell of the big front-door, and the mates come and yell that I'm wanted ashore; so I tucks in my cap the eight points of my nap, and just before stopping to turn down the lights, I runs to the dresser and puts it to rights, and then before giving a last look behind, I goes to the bed and takes off the spread, and lays out to air the three sheets in the wind! And here I be," concluded the Able Seaman, "all ready for orders." And he looked very hard at Freddie.

"Well!" said Aunt Amanda, gasping. "I never in my life heard such a – "

"I'll tell you what it is, Mr. Mizzen," said Toby. "It's about Correction Island, on the Spanish Main."

"Ay, ay, sir!" said Mr. Mizzen. "Would you like to go there?"

"Ah!" said everyone at once, except Mr. Hanlon, who nodded his head.

"No trouble at all," said Mr. Mizzen. "Just step into The Sieve, and we'll be off. A sweet little bark is The Sieve, provided there's plenty of dippers; but we always go well provided. Is the whole party going?"

"One moment, if you please," said the Sly Old Codger. "There is one little point on which I – that is to say – Will there be any expense?"

"Not a penny," said Mr. Mizzen. "Everything's found. Orders from the skipper. What he says goes."