Irma in Italy: A Travel Story Page 3

  CHAPTER III

  TOWARD THE CONTINENT

  "Aren't you tired of hearing people wonder when we shall arrive atGibraltar?"

  "They needn't wonder. This is a slow boat, but we have averaged aboutthree hundred and twenty-five miles every day, so we must get in earlyTuesday unless something unusual happens. A high wind may spring up, buteven then we are pretty certain to come in sight of Gibraltar beforenight."

  "Oh, I can hardly wait until then," began Irma. "I hope we can go up ontop of the Rock, and down in the dungeons, and everywhere." Muriel, whowas walking with Irma and Marion, looked surprised at her friend'senthusiasm, and even a trifle bored.

  "Don't talk like a school book," she whispered, and Irma, reddening,glanced up at Marion, to see if he shared Muriel's strange distaste forhistory. But he gave no sign.

  Since leaving the Azores, Muriel's frank friendliness for Irma had addedmuch to the pleasure of the two girls. Though they had been brought upso differently, they had much in common. Muriel's winters were usuallyspent there, but she had also travelled widely. She had been educated bygovernesses, and yet Irma could but notice that she was less wellinformed in history and had less interest in books than many of her ownfriends at home. Irma did not compare her own knowledge with Muriel's,but an impartial critic would probably have decided that, whatever mightbe the real merits of the two systems, Irma had profited the more fromthe education given her. In modern French and German, however, Murielcertainly was proficient, and when she complained of Mademoiselle Potin,Irma would tell her to be thankful that she had so good a chance topractice French.

  Since the day at St. Michael's, Marion had ceased to avoid Irma, andthough he spent little time with her, he was evidently trying to befriendly. He never referred to his misadventure coming on board. AuntCaroline had brought Irma his thanks.

  "He is very nervous, as you must have noticed," she said, "and he may beunable to talk to you about this. For he feels that he has disgracedhimself again; and though he is incorrect in this, still I appreciatehis feelings, and hope you will accept his thanks."

  "Why, there's really nothing to thank me for," began Irma.

  "Oh, yes, my dear, we all think differently. You certainly have greatpresence of mind. Poor Marion."

  In spite of Aunt Caroline's sympathetic tones, Irma did not pity Marion.He was a fine, manly-looking boy, and the sea air had brought color tohis face, while his fretful expression had almost gone.

  After the first day or two at sea Irma had begun to make newacquaintances. Among them was a little girl who greatly reminded her ofTessie as she had been a few years earlier. So one day she called her tolisten to the steamer letter from Tessie, that she had found under herplate that morning.

  "Dear Irma, when you read this--for I hope Uncle Jim will give myletter to you--you will be far out on the ocean, where it is very deep,with no islands or peninsulas in sight, and I hope you will be carefulnot to fall overboard. But please look over the edge of the boat once ina while to see if there are any whales about. Of course, I hope theywon't be large enough to upset your steamboat, but if you see one,please take a photograph and send it to me, for I never saw a photographof a truly, live whale.

  "I can't tell you any news, because I am writing this before you leavehome, so you'll be sure to get it. I would feel too badly to write afteryou get started.

  "From your loving Tessie."

  The letter interested little Jean very much. She had already heard aboutTessie and Nap, and now she rushed to the edge of the deck, and whenIrma followed her, the child upturned to her a disappointed face.

  "I can't see one."

  "One what?"

  "A whale--and Tessie will be so disappointed. I know she wants thatphotograph."

  "No matter, I can take your photograph, only you must smile."

  So Jean smiled, and the photograph was taken with the camera that UncleJim had given Irma.

  "It will be more fun to look for Gibraltar than for whales. To-morrow wemust all have our eyes open."

  "What's Gibraltar?"

  "The great big rock where we are going to land."

  "I don't want to land on a rock," pouted Jean. "I want to go ashore."

  "Oh, we'll go ashore, too."

  That evening there was a dance on the ship. The upper deck was coveredwith canvas, and canvas enclosed the sides. Gay bunting and English andAmerican flags brightened the improvised ballroom, and most of theyounger passengers, as well as not a few of the elder, spent at leastpart of the evening there.

  "Hasn't Marion been here?" asked Aunt Caroline, when she and Uncle Jimappeared on the scene.

  "I haven't seen him," responded Irma.

  "What a goose he is!" exclaimed Uncle Jim.

  "He's very grumpy, isn't he?" commented Muriel, but Irma made no reply.

  On Tuesday Irma was on deck early. In the distance a thin dark lineafter a time took on height and breadth.

  "Cape Trafalgar!" some one exclaimed.

  "Europe at last!" thought Irma.

  "What do you think of Spain?" asked Uncle Jim, standing beside her.

  "It seems to be chiefly brown cliffs. And so few villages! Where are thecities?"

  "You'll find seaports only where there are harbors. They are notgenerally found on rocky promontories."

  Irma turned about. Yes, the speaker was indeed Marion, whose approachshe had not observed.

  "Oh, Cadiz is not so very far to the north there," interposed Uncle Jim,in an effort to throw oil on the troubled waters, "and we cannot telljust what lies behind those heights. What is there, Marion? You've beenin Spain."

  But Marion had disappeared.

  After passing Trafalgar, the _Ariadne_ kept nearer shore. Now there wasa house in sight, again a little white hamlet lying low at the base ofthe brown, bare cliffs.

  Far ahead the clouds took on new shapes, and did not change. Could thatbe the huge bulk of Gibraltar, seen through a mist?

  Uncle Jim laughed when Irma put the question to him.

  "You are looking in the wrong direction."

  "Then it must be Africa. Oh, I wish we might go nearer."

  "In that case you might miss the Rock altogether, and take the chance,too, of being wrecked on a savage coast."

  But the Spanish shore gained in interest. Here and there small fishingboats pushed out. Sometimes steamboats were in sight, smaller than the_Ariadne_ yet of good size, traders along the coast from London,perhaps, to Spanish or French ports. Muriel and Irma amused themselvesguessing their nationality, with Uncle Jim as referee. Strange birdsflew overhead. Then a town, grayish rather than white, and a lighthouseon the height above.

  "Tarifa," some one explained, and those who knew said that Gibraltarcould not be far away. Soon Irma, who had kept her face toward theAfrican shore, was startled by a voice in her ear. "The Pillars ofHercules are near; people are so busy gathering up their things to goashore that I was afraid you might go to your stateroom for something,and so miss them."

  "You are very kind to think of me," said Irma, turning toward Marion,for it was he who had spoken. "How I wish we were to land at some ofthose strange African places."

  "Tangiers might be worth while, but I love this distant view of themountains."

  "Do you know the name of the African pillar?"

  "Yes--Abyla! and Gibraltar, formerly known as Calpe, was the other. It'sa pity we won't have time to go to the top of the Rock. TheCarthaginians used to go up there to watch for the Roman ships. TheBritish officer on guard at the top of the Rock must have a wonderfulview. Some one told me you can see from the Sierra Nevadas in Spain tothe Atlas in Africa. Just think of being perched up there, fourteenhundred feet above the sea. If only we could have a whole day atGibraltar, we might see something, but now----" and the old expressionof discontent settled on Marion's lips.

  "Oh, well, we can probably go around the fortifications," respondedIrma, trying to console him.

  "The fortifications! Oh, no, there are mi
les of them, and the galleriesare closed at sundown, so that we couldn't get into them, even if we hada pass,--I suppose that's what they call it."

  "Well, at least we'll see the town itself, and we can't help runningupon some of the garrison, for there are several thousand soldiers andofficers."

  "Oh, I dare say, but it isn't the same thing as visiting Gibraltardecently. Uncle Jim ought to have planned a trip through Spain. It wouldbe three times more interesting than Italy."

  Irma, who had visited neither country, did not contradict Marion. Enoughfor her even a short stay at one of the most famous places in the world,the wonderful fortress that the British had defended and held so bravelyduring a four years' siege more than a century ago.

  "Marion is a strange boy," thought Irma. "I wonder why he tries to makehimself miserable."

  After passing the jagged and mysterious Pillars of Hercules, Irma soonsaw the huge bulk of Gibraltar not far off, and then it seemed but ashort run until they had gained the harbor. Her heart sank when shefound they were to anchor some distance from shore, for though the waterwas still and calm, she did not like the small boats. But Uncle Jimlaughed at her fears, assuring her that they would be taken off in acomfortable tender.

  The tender was slow in coming, and during the time of waiting somepassengers fretted and fumed. "If they don't get us in by sunset theymay not let us land at all. There is such a rule."

  When others asserted that there was no such rule, some still fretted,because after five there would be no chance to visit the fortifications.

  "Come, Irma," said Uncle Jim, "these lamentations have some foundationin fact. But Gibraltar's a small town, and we'll improve our two shininghours, which surely shine with much heat, by getting our bearings here."

  "There's plenty to see," responded Irma. "I suppose those are Englishwarships in their gray coats, and there's a German flag on that greatocean liner. It seems to be crowded with men, immigrants, I suppose, forthey are packed on the decks like--like----"

  "Yes, like flies on flypaper." And Irma smiled at the comparison.

  Not far from a great mole that stretched out, hot and bare in the sun,two clumsy colliers were anchored; here and there little sailboatsdarted in and out, and the small steam ferries plied backward andforward to the distant wooded shore, which Uncle Jim said was Algeciras.But it was the gray mass of Gibraltar itself that held Irma's attention.The town side, seen from the harbor, though less steep than the outlineusually seen in pictures, was yet most imposing. Along its greatbreadth, lines of fortifications could be discerned, and barracks,grayish in color, like the rock itself. There were lines of pale brownhouses that some one said were officers' quarters, and an old ruin, theremains of an ancient Moorish castle.

  A number of passengers were to land at Gibraltar to make a tour ofSpain, among them little Jean. Irma had turned for a last good-by tothem, when Aunt Caroline, joining her, told her that people were alreadygoing on board the tender.

  "What are your exact sensations, Irma?" whispered Uncle Jim,mischievously, "on touching your foot to the soil of Europe? You knowyou'll wish to be accurate when you record this in your diary. Excuse mefor reminding you."

  "Come, come," remonstrated Aunt Caroline. "Irma may have to record herfeelings on finding that every conveyance into the town has been securedby other passengers, while a frivolous uncle had forgotten his duty."

  But even as she spoke, Marion approached them, walking beside acarriage, to whose driver he was talking.

  "Well done, Marion; so you jumped off ahead, and though it's aqueer-looking outfit, it will probably have to suit your critical aunt."

  "It's much better than most carriages here," replied Marion, a trifleindignantly; "some of them have only one horse."

  "You are very thoughtful, Marion," said Aunt Caroline, as they tooktheir places in the brown, canopied phaeton. "No, not now, not now," shecried, as a tall, dignified Spaniard thrust a basket of flowers towardher. "Orange blossoms and pansies are almost irresistible, but it iswiser to wait until we are on our way back to the boat."

  Marion's face had brightened at Aunt Caroline's praise, and thus, ingood humor, he chatted pleasantly with Irma as they drove on. So longwas the procession of vehicles ahead of them that their own carriagewent slowly through the narrow street. A Moor in flowing white robes andhuge turban attracted Irma's attention, as she observed him seated inthe doorway of a warehouse on the dock. Farther on they saw a boy ofperhaps seventeen, similarly arrayed, pushing a baby carriage.

  "The servant of an English officer," Uncle Jim explained. "Look yourhardest at him, for we shall not see many of his kind after this. It isnow past the hour when the Moorish market closes. After that all Moorsmust be out of the town in their homes outside the gates, except thoseemployed in private families."

  As the carriage turned into the long, crooked thoroughfare that is thechief business street of Gibraltar, the driver pulled up before a smallshop that had a sign "New York Newspapers."

  "He knows what we need; run, Marion, and get us the latest news."

  "Yes, Aunt Caroline." But there was disappointment on Marion's face whenhe returned a few moments later.

  "There was another liner in early this morning, and all the latestpapers are gone. They have only the European editions of New Yorkpapers, and the two I could get are a week old."

  "No matter, son, you did the best you could."

  "These are two or three days later than the last we saw in New York, andas they have no bad news, or I might say no news at all, we may bethankful. But we must move on. In this bustling town there's no time tostand still."

  "What interesting shops!" began Irma.

  "Oh, they're ugly and dingy," said Marion.

  "In Europe we're almost bound to admire the dingy, if not the ugly,"returned Uncle Jim.

  "Where are we going?" asked Aunt Caroline.

  "Out to the jumping-off place," said Marion. "That won't take long.After that we can go shopping, or at least you can."

  "There's a great deal I can enjoy," said Irma pleasantly.

  Then they drove on past a park where boys were romping on a gravelledplayground, while in another portion officers played cricket. Theypassed many soldiers in khaki, and here and there a red coat. A slopingroad led up to a set of officers' quarters, detached houses, shaded bytropical trees. Here they noticed a girl on horseback, a young girl ofabout Irma's age, with her hair hanging in a long braid beneath herbroad, felt hat, and not far from her two or three girls driving.

  At the little Trafalgar burying-ground their driver paused a moment thatthey might read the inscriptions on some of the monuments, marking theburial places of many brave English patriots. They had time for a bareglance at the old Moorish garden across the road.

  "This is the jumping-off place," cried Marion, as they came in sight ofthe water. At one side was a pool where the soldiers bathed, and near bythe officers' bathing-houses.

  "I know that I should be turning back," said Aunt Caroline. "My specialshop is up Gunners' Lane, and when I have been left there, you othersmay inspect the town. At the most there isn't much time."

  Marion, however, insisted on staying with Aunt Caroline.

  "Very well, then. After we have spent all our money on antiques, we'llmeet you in front of the post office. I noticed it as we came along; andyou must surely be there at half past seven."

  "Yes, yes," promised Uncle Jim. "Now, my dear," he said, as he and Irmareturned to the main street, "we can let the carriage go, as we shallprobably spend our time passing in and out of these shops."

  It was now after six, and the street was thronged. Many were evidentlyworking people on their way home from their day's labors, but some wereshoppers with baskets on their arms, and others were evidently tourists,loitering or running in and out of the shops. It was a good-naturedcrowd that pushed and jostled and overflowed into the middle of thestreet. Among the throng were many sailors from the ships of war.

  For some time Uncle Jim with Irma gazed in the wind
ows, and wandered inand out of the most promising shops. In his shopping he had oneinvariable method. No matter what the object, or its cost, he alwaysoffered half the price asked.

  "Is it fair," asked Irma timidly, "to beat them down?"

  "It's fair to me," he replied. "In this way I stand a chance of gettingthings at something near their value."

  "How much is that?"

  "Usually one half the asking price. Listen."

  So Irma listened while a lady near by was bargaining with the Hindusalesman.

  "Never in my life has such a price been known," he protested, as thelady held up for inspection a spangled Egyptian scarf. The lady advancedreasons for her price.

  "I cannot make my bread," cried the man, "if I throw my goods away." Yethe thrust the scarf into the lady's hand, and then sold her a second atthe same price, without a word of argument.

  "These men are Orientals," explained Uncle Jim, "and this is their wayof doing business. They mark a thing double or treble what they expectto get, and would be surprised if you should buy without bargaining.This man probably goes through this process a dozen times a day after anocean liner has come into port, and doubtless congratulates himself onthe extent of his trade."

  Uncle Jim further explained that things made in India and Egypt werebrought to Gibraltar at small expense, and could be sold for much lessthan in America or France or even Spain. So he bought spangled scarfsand silver belt buckles, and a number of other little things that hesaid would exactly suit Aunt Caroline. But Irma bought nothing, temptingthough many things were. Realizing that all Italy lay before her, shedid not care to draw yet on the little hoard that she was saving forpresents for those at home. After they had visited a number of shops,Irma remembered that she had several letters to post.

  "You can't buy stamps at the post office," said Uncle Jim. "That's oneof the peculiarities of Europe. Stamps are sold where you least expectto find them, usually in a tobacconist's. I will go to the shop overthere and get some."

  A moment later, when Uncle Jim returned with the stamps, a gentlemanwhom Irma did not know was with him.

  "This is my old friend, Gregory," he said, presenting him to Irma. "Ifwe had not that appointment to meet your aunt and Marion here, I wouldtake you to the hotel to see Mrs. Gregory. It is impossible for her tocome out, and I am sorry to miss her."

  "Yes, and she will be disappointed at not seeing you. But she isextremely tired, as we arrived on the German liner this morning, andto-morrow we start on a fatiguing trip through Spain."

  "If it would not take more than a quarter of an hour, there is no reasonwhy you should not go back to the hotel, Uncle Jim. I can wait here, forAunt Caroline and Marion may come along at any minute."

  After a little thought, Uncle Jim decided that Irma's plan waspracticable. But he wished her to wait in a phaeton, to whose driver hegave explicit directions not to go more than a block from thepost-office door.

  But when after a quarter of an hour neither Uncle Jim nor Aunt Carolinehad appeared, Irma was greatly disturbed.

  "I wouldn't make a good Casabianca," she thought.

  Some of her friends from the _Ariadne_ passed her, and one or twostopped to advise her. "They would have been here ten minutes ago, hadthey expected to meet you here." "No, they are probably waiting for youat the landing." Even the driver shared this view, and at a quarter ofeight Irma drove down to the boat escorted by the carriage in which satMuriel and her mother and governess.

  "You must stay with us," said Muriel, "until you find your aunt. She'sprobably on the tender."

  But just at this moment a hand was laid on Irma's arm. Turning about,she saw that the little old gentleman was beside her.

  "Excuse me," he said, "but your aunt is over there. She has not yet goneaboard the tender." As he pointed to the left, Irma saw Aunt Carolineand Marion under the electric light near the waiting-room. When she hadreached them the old gentleman was nowhere in sight.

  "We forgot that we had agreed on the post office," explained AuntCaroline, "at least I thought it was the landing. Then we were afraid togo back, for fear of making matters worse. But what has become of youruncle?"

  Irma's explanation was not particularly soothing to her aunt.

  "If he isn't here soon, he will lose his passage on the _Ariadne_. Wemust go on, even without him. Some other boat for Naples will come soon.We can better spend extra time at Naples than wait here."

  "But suppose something has happened to him!" suggested Marion.

  "I am not afraid. This isn't the first time he has missed boats--butstill----" Aunt Caroline seemed to waver. The last whistle had beenblown when a figure was seen making flying leaps towards the boat. Itwas Uncle Jim, who later explained that he had forgotten to look at hiswatch until his friend suddenly reminded him that he had but fiveminutes in which to reach the boat. Thereupon he had decided that hisonly way was to run as if for his life. Almost exhausted, he wasevidently not a fit subject for reproof, and Aunt Caroline merelyexpressed her thankfulness that he had not been detained at Gibraltar.