Happy man, knowing nothing of the thousand allurements of the civilized world, its mad rush after fortune and no less mad lavishing of its gettings upon things of no value. Happy in the coarse shirt and trousers, bare headed and shoeless, but well nourished and healthy, how could he understand the myriad artificial cravings that shut out from the soul all desire for true happiness, or how in his perfect faith in the love of God and His creation could he realize the awful fear of eternal punishment that prompted men into excesses of religiousness in order to escape from what they felt was the inevitable due of their misdeeds. Not knowing how great had been his privileges he was entirely unable to comprehend the difficulties of highly civilized man in matters of religion, and so was an ever fresh source of interest to the crippled man dependent upon him, who felt that he had never had leisure to think upon these things until now.
But gradually and unconsciously, as was his wont, he had endeared himself to all with whom he had come in contact in service at the hotel, so that when the big steamer arrived and the summons came for them to go aboard he had quite an ovation, all the little yellow men and women crowded around him in their gentle courteous fashion to wish him “Sayonara” and to offer him tiny souvenirs of their affection for the big kindly simple man who was so unlike any other stranger they had yet seen. In his modesty and utter absence of self-consciousness he wondered much at his popularity, the real reason of it never occurring to him, for he had formed no friendships, had gone scarcely anywhere, feeling that his duty was always to be within hail of his beloved skipper.
And so in leaving he had no regrets, but cheerfully and hopefully assisted to carry Captain Taber on board of the Golden Gate, where by the influence of the Consul a special cabin had been reserved for the pair and all sorts of privileges arranged for also. She had a great many passengers going eastward to the Pacific Coast, wealthy folks travelling for pleasure, keen business men intent on making money, adventurers, but all apparently flush of money and eager for excitement. Amid this motley throng C. B. secured a good place on deck for his patient’s long chair, a point wherefrom the wonderful panorama unfolded as the ship steered seawards could be fully enjoyed. Here C. B., standing by the skipper’s side, guarded him from inquisitive intrusion and kept him amused by the quaint and original comments he made upon the novel scene.
But very soon, in spite of C. B.’s earnest efforts, the captain’s chair was the centre of a sympathizing and wondering group of Americans, who, having learned the skeleton of his sad story, were keen in their desire to help in any way they could a countryman whom they dimly suspected of being a hero, and that alone is sufficient with the most hero-worshipping people in the world to have made them flock to him. At last their attentions became so importunate and the questions so incessant that Captain Taber, holding up his attenuated hand for silence, said—
“Ladies and gentlemen, as you may see, I am not equal to the strain of satisfying your legitimate curiosity, for I’m weaker than I care to admit even to myself. But if you’ll let my friend here, who, in spite of his dusky complexion, hasn’t got any of the nigger about him, but is a sure enough Englishman of the purest stock, tell you the story just as it happened, I can enjoy it as well as you. An’ I guess that he knows a good deal more about it than I do anyhow.”
The young ladies, who, as most people who have been in the United States know, are the usual arbiters in such cases, guessed “it would be perfectly lovely,” and with national promptitude settled themselves around at once and looked expectantly at C. B. He looked somewhat imploringly at the skipper, who only beamed on him and replied—
“Part o’ your duties ye know, Christmas, an’ I guess I don’t know anybody better qualified to perform ’em.”
That was quite sufficient for C. B., who, having seated himself by the skipper’s side, commenced the story at the point where he had returned to work. He had not been speaking a minute before he had everybody spellbound, for like so many other simple-minded unselfish men he had a natural gift of plain effective speech, not oratorical or rhetorical, but what the Americans call heart to heart talk.
For upwards of an hour he held the company almost breathless, and when at last he ceased with the simple remark “and so through the goodness of God we are thus far on our long journey,” there was a long breath and then an irrepressible burst of applause. Many of the ladies made no attempt to hide the fact that they had to wipe their eyes, and it would have been hard to say which of the two in their estimation was the greater hero, the skipper or C. B. And then the skipper brought matters to a climax by saying—
“You’ve heard the story, ladies and gentleman, beautifully told as I knew it would be, but far too favourable to me, in spots. As soon as I’m fit I’ll tell you the parts ’at he’s left out, and a few more things that you oughter know about him. Meantime let me say before God and this company that I believe the hull earth don’t contain a better man, a better Christian, with all that I’ve learned lately that means, than my dear friend Christmas Bounty Adams.”