“Very well, Mr Grenvile—good name that, by the by—excellent name—name to be lived up to,” he remarked when I had answered him. “Come and dine with me at the Pen to-night. I should like to have a little further talk with you. Seven o’clock sharp.”
Returning on board, I found that during my absence the health officers had been off, and had at first manifested a very decided disposition to make things exceedingly unpleasant for me because I had gone ashore before receiving pratique. However, the explanation afforded by Jack, that I was the bearer of important dispatches for the admiral, coupled with the fact that we had a clean bill of health, had mollified them, and as a matter of fact I heard no more about it.
Having effected a change of clothing, I hailed a shore boat to come alongside, and in her proceeded to Kingston. The Admiral’s Pen is situated some distance up the hill at the back of the town, and as I had no fancy for walking so far I decided that, if possible, I would hire some sort of conveyance to take me there. The question was: Where was I to obtain one? for although there were plenty of vehicles in the streets I could see no sign of the existence of such an establishment as a livery stable anywhere. At length, after I had been searching for nearly half an hour, I decided to enquire, and, looking about me for the most likely and suitable place at which to do so, I saw a large two-story building, the lower portion of which seemed to consist of offices, while, from the mat curtains which sheltered the balcony above, and the tables and chairs which stood therein, I guessed that the upper floor was the private part of the establishment. A glazed door giving access to the ground-floor part of the building bore upon it in gilt letters the words:
“Todd & McGregor, General Merchants.”
I decided to enter. I found myself in a large warehouse-like place reeking of many odours, those of sugar and coffee predominating, while whole tiers of bags containing these commodities were stacked against the side walls, a huge conglomeration of miscellaneous goods and articles lumbering the remainder of the floor. Picking my way through these, I reached the back part of the building, which I found partitioned off to form an office, wherein a number of men, some in gingham coats and some in their shirt sleeves, were busily at work writing letters or inscribing entries in ledgers and day books. At my entrance one of them glanced up and then came forward, asking what he could do for me. I stated my difficulty, upon which he said:
“There certainly are livery stables in Kingston at which you could hire a vehicle to convey you to the Pen; but I think it will be quite unnecessary for you to do so upon the present occasion, for I happen to know that our Mr Todd is engaged to dine with the admiral to-night—indeed I believe he is at this moment dressing, upstairs. And I am sure he will be delighted to give you a seat in his ketureen. If you will be good enough to give me your card I will take it up to him at once.”
“Oh but,” said I, “it is quite impossible that I can thus trespass upon the kindness of a total stranger!”
“Not at all,” answered my interlocutor. “Mr Todd will be only too pleased, I assure you. And as to ‘trespassing upon his kindness’, this must surely be your first visit to this part of the world, or you would not talk like that. Have you been long in?”
“I arrived this afternoon only, with dispatches from the West Coast,” said I.
“And you have never been in the West Indies before? Ah, that accounts for it! Now, if you will kindly take a seat and let me have your card, we can arrange this little matter in very short order.”