The Coming Wave; Or, The Hidden Treasure of High Rock, Oliver Optic [story read aloud TXT] 📗

a few moments he had anchored the sloop at her usual moorings, secured the sails very hastily, and was climbing the steep path to the road. In spite of the pride which had prompted him to refuse it, the pilot's fee was a godsend to him, or, rather, to his father, for he determined to give the money to him immediately. He took the bills from his pocket, and found there were three ten-dollar notes. His heart leaped with emotion when he remembered what his father said—that he had not seen twenty[Pg 222] dollars at one time for a month. The landlord actually needed the money to make purchases for the comfort of his new guests.

Leopold was almost beside himself with joy, and he rushed up the steep, rocky path without regard to the proper expenditure of his breath. Puffing like a grampus, he reached the road, and then ran with all his might, as if the Sea Cliff House was on fire. He rushed into the office, and flew about the house like a madman. His father was nowhere to be seen; but he spent only a moment in looking for him, and then darted out into the wood-shed. Filling a bushel basket with wood, chips, and shavings, he carried it into the big parlor, and lighted a tremendous fire in the Franklin stove. Another was made in the large corner apartment up stairs, with two bed-rooms en suite, which he always called Mr. Hamilton's room. He piled on the wood with no niggardly hand upon these, and four other fires he kindled in as many of the best rooms in the house.

Calling the chambermaid to attend to those up stairs, he returned to the public parlor, where he piled up the wood again.[Pg 223]

"What under the sun are you doing, Leopold?" demanded his father, while he was thus occupied.

"Making fires," replied the son, vigorously. "I have kindled five up stairs."

"But what under—"

"Never mind now, father," interposed Leopold. "Fifteen folks from New York will be here pretty soon, and you must be ready for them."

"Fifteen!" exclaimed the landlord, who had been mourning over the fog, which promised to deprive him of the few guests who might otherwise come over to Rockhaven in the steamer.

"Yes, sir, fifteen; and they are Mr. Hamilton's party."

"Good gracious!" exclaimed the astonished and delighted proprietor of the Sea Cliff House.

"But I must go down to the wharf, and help get them ashore," continued Leopold, so excited that he could hardly speak. "They are cold and wet, and want good fires."

"I'll see to the fires Leopold. But where in the world did they come from in this fog?"

"They came in a yacht. I went off about[Pg 224] two miles from the ledges after cod and haddock, and picked them up there. They had been knocking about in the fog for twenty-four hours. I brought the yacht into the river, and Mr. Hamilton gave me thirty dollars for pilot's fees. Here's the money, father."

"But, Leopold," added the landlord, as he involuntarily took the bills, "this is your money, and—"

"Never mind, father. We mustn't stop to talk about it now," interposed the son, vehemently. "If you will have the house ready, I will go and bring up the folks. Send the wagon down to the wharf as quick as you can."

Leopold waited for nothing more, but ran down to the wharf as fast as his legs would carry him, and arrived almost out of breath. To his astonishment, he found quite a number of people gathered there, for it had just been discovered that a large yacht had anchored in the river. Squire Moses and Ethan Wormbury were there, the latter to look out for the interests of the Island Hotel. Leopold borrowed a skiff belonging to Mr. Bangs, and pulled off to the Orion. Both of her boats had been lowered[Pg 225] from the davits, and hauled up at the accommodation steps, in readiness to convey the ladies and gentlemen to the shore.

"We are all ready for you at the Sea Cliff House, Mr. Hamilton," said Leopold, us he stepped upon the deck.

"Shall we find a good fire in the parlor?" asked the ex-Congressman.

"Yes, sir, and in your rooms, too," replied Leopold. "We call it warm weather down here; but I piled on the wood to suit your case."

"I am so glad to come here again!" said Rosabel, stepping up to Leopold. "I am very much obliged to the fog for sending us to Rockhaven."

"I shall consider the fog one of my best friends after this," laughed Leopold; and he conducted the young lady to the gangway.

"Father says you have a new hotel; and I hope we shall stay here all summer."

"The Sea Cliff House, folks say, is about as good as anything on the coast; and I hope the new hotel will suit you well enough to keep you here a long time," said the gallant young man, as he assisted Rosabel down the steps and into the stern-sheets of the boat.[Pg 226]

"It would be so delightful to stay here all summer, and have the yacht, so that we could sail about the bay!"

Leopold assisted the other ladies—of whom there were not less than seven—to their places in the two quarter-boats of the Orion. The whole party was disposed in both of them, and the landlord's son led the way to the wharf in the skiff, which was reached in a few moments. Leopold was on the landing-steps in time to assist the ladies when the first boat came alongside the platform, and the whole party were soon on the wharf.

"Who are all these people, Leopold?" asked Squire Moses Wormbury, as the young man was ascending the steps.

"Mr. Franklin Hamilton's party from New York," replied the young man hastily.

"Island Hotel, sir?" said Ethan Wormbury, approaching one of the gentlemen, whose wife was leaning upon is arm; "best hotel in the place, sir, and close to the wharf."

"If it is the best hotel in the place, that is where we wish to go," replied the gentlemen, with a slightly foreign accent in his tones.[Pg 227]

"This way, if you please, sir," added Ethan, with enthusiasm, as he began to move up the wharf.

"Doctor," called Mr. Hamilton, "where are you going?"

"To the hotel. Thin man says he keeps the best one in this place."

"We are all going to the Sea Cliff House," added the chief of the party.

Ethan gnashed his teeth with rage, and so did the squire, his father. It was really horrible to see the whole party going to the Sea Cliff.

"How do you do, Mr. Hamilton?" said Squire Moses, extending his withered hand to the New York merchant. "Glad to see you come down to the old place once in a while."

"Ah, how do you do, Squire Wormbury?" replied Mr. Hamilton, taking the offered hand. "I mean to come down here every year."

"My son keeps the Island Hotel," insinuated the squire. "He don't make quite so much show as Bennington, but he will take good care of you, and feed you better. Folks that know say he keeps the best house. And Bennington[Pg 228] has raised his price to three dollars a day; the Island Hotel is only two."

Moses Wormbury considered the last argument as by far the most powerful one he could present. How any man could help wishing to save a dollar a day on his board, was more than the squire was able to comprehend.

"I have already spoken for rooms at the Sea Cliff House, and they have made fires in them for us," replied Mr. Hamilton, unmoved by the old man's powerful appeal.

"Ethan will give you a fire, and not charge you anything extra for it, as they do at Bennington's," added the squire. "He can accommodate the whole party if you will sleep two in a bed. You will save at least fifteen dollars a day by going to the Island Hotel."

"As we have spoken for rooms at the Sea Cliff House, I think we ought to go there," answered the New Yorker, rather coldly, unmoved by the economical considerations of the squire.

"Stage all ready, Mr. Hamilton," interposed Leopold, who had listened with painful anxiety to a portion of the old man's arguments.[Pg 229]

The "stage" was a long wagon, like an omnibus, but with no top; and Ethan saw, with an aching and an angry heart, the entire party of fifteen crowd into this vehicle. Squire Moses was not only vexed, he was downright mad. At any time it would have annoyed him, as well as Ethan, to see fifteen "arrivals" go to the "other house," and not a single one to the Island Hotel. To the old man it was doubly grievous at the present time, for every day the party staid at the Sea Cliff House would put at least forty-five dollars into the pocket of its landlord; and he was afraid Mr. Bennington would be able to pay his interest money on the day it was due. He wanted the new hotel for his son, if he could get it cheap enough, that is, for one third or one half of its value. This dawning of prosperity upon the Sea Cliff was, therefore, very unwelcome to the squire and his son.

Leopold leaped upon the box with the driver as soon as the passengers were all seated, and the two horses tugged up the steep hill from the wharf with the heavy load. On the level road above, the excited teamster put the whip upon his horses, and dashed up to the hotel at[Pg 230] full gallop. Fifteen arrivals at once, at this time in the year, was very unusual, and everybody about the hotel was thrown into a fever of excitement. The landlord stood upon the piazza, with no hat on his head, bowed and scraped, and helped the ladies out of the wagon. The party were shown to the parlor, which the roaring fire had heated to a fever temperature, so that the perspiration stood upon the landlord's brow when he entered it. In the mean time Leopold had hastened to his room to change his clothes, and make himself presentable to the party.

"This is delicious—isn't it?" said one of the ladies, when she felt the warm air of the parlor.

"It feels like a new world," added another.

"What a blessing it will be to be warm and dry once more!" put in a third.

"We have made fires in your rooms, ladies," interposed the polite landlord, doubly courteous under the avalanche of good fortune which had fallen upon him. "I will show you your rooms as soon as you wish."

"Let us get warm before we do anything,"[Pg 231] said Mr. Hamilton, removing his heavy coat. "You have a very nice house, Mr. Bennington."

"We think it is pretty fair down here," replied the modest landlord. "We have a parlor up one flight, with a bed-room on each side, which Leopold always calls 'Mr. Hamilton's rooms.' I think they will suit you; at any rate, I fitted them on purpose for your use."

"That was very considerate," laughed the merchant.

"The three rooms will just accommodate your family. I have four other parlors, not quite so large, with one bed-room to each," continued the landlord, looking around at the New Yorkers, as if to ascertain their wants. "Of course you needn't have private parlors, if you don't want them. I have plenty of nice single rooms."

"We want the private parlors," replied Mr. Hamilton. "I did not expect to find such accommodations in Rockhaven."

"I think I know what a hotel ought to be," added the landlord. "By and by, if our guests don't want private parlors, we shall put beds in them."[Pg 232]

"Squire Moses says you have raised the price," laughed the rich merchant.

"Yes, sir: I couldn't afford to keep such a house as I mean to keep at two dollars a day in these times."

"You have done quite right, and the price is very reasonable."

"I shall have to charge five dollars a day for the parlors, if anybody wants them."

"Certainly; that is also proper; and we want five of them. Now I will go to the office, and enter the names on the register," said Mr. Hamilton.

Their were five gentlemen with their wives, two single gentlemen, two young ladies, and one young gentleman of sixteen. Rooms were assigned to them according to their several needs, and all the party expressed themselves as delighted with their accommodations. The furniture was not costly, but it was neat and comfortable. The beds were clean, and everything was in good order. The baggage, which the