The question was definitely settled, though not till Mrs. Belgrave had been consulted; but the name was referred to Louis. The Salihé was purchased at once, and paid for on the spot. Chickworth went away a happy man. Later in the day a meeting of the big four was called to organize the ship's company.
CHAPTER XVII
THE SHIP'S COMPANY OF THE STEAMER MAUD
Louis Belgrave did not take kindly to the suggestion of Uncle Moses to call the little steamer, which had now come into the possession of the party, the Don Quixote. He had read Don Quichotte, as the book is called in French, twice with Professor Seveignien, his instructor at Von Blonk Park, in that language. He was therefore quite familiar with the career of the knight of La Mancha, which Cervantes wrote as a sort of burlesque on knight-errantry.
The young millionaire's alleged fondness for adventure had been the reason why Uncle Moses had playfully given him the name of "Sir Louis;" but of the four young Americans afloat on the present cruise, he was no more inclined to erratic enterprises than the others. The average boy delights in adventure, at least in the contemplation and narration; and he was no exception to the rule, though he had always been devoted to his studies.
But the average boy had not the ingenuity, pluck, and enterprise of Louis; and perhaps he made his adventures more exciting than another might have done. The nearest approach to him in the big four appeared to be Scott, who had fully developed himself in the recapture of the Salihé, though his intended cruise in the Seahound in the West Indies stamped the metal of which he was made.
Louis did not like the name of Don Quixote, a crack-brained and absurd adventurer, whose career Cervantes had written and made as ridiculous as possible for the purpose of bringing knight-errantry into disrepute; and he succeeded admirably. In dubbing his ward a knight, Uncle Moses simply intended to ridicule adventures in general.
"I don't like the name of Don Quixote, which my trustee suggests, and that is the only name that has been mentioned," said Louis, when the big four had assembled to talk over the organization of the ship's company, after he had informed them of the purchase of the little steamer.
The young millionaire had explained to them the use to which it was intended to apply her, with some enlargement of the idea to suit his own fancy, and had reported some of the conversation between the captain, Uncle Moses, and the magnate of the Fifth Avenue.
"Don Quixote isn't a bad name for a boat," added Scott. "I don't know much about the fellow who bore it, and I am not competent to give an opinion as to its fitness."