A Gentleman Vagabond and Some Others Part 7

Just before he died he opened his eyes, rested them on his daughter, half raised his head as if in search of the dog, and then fell back on his bed, that same sweet, clear smile about his mouth.

"John Sanders," said Adams, "how in h--- could a sensible man like you throw his life away for a d.a.m.ned yellow dog?"

"Don't, Billy," he said. "I couldn't help it. He was a cripple."

BaADER

I was sitting in the shadow of Mme. Poulard's delightful inn at St. Michel when I first saw Baader. Dinner had been served, and I had helped to pay for my portion by tacking a sketch on the wall behind the chair of the hostess. This high valuation was not intended as a special compliment to me, the wall being already covered with similar souvenirs from the sketch-books of half the painters in Europe.

Baader, he p.r.o.nounced it Bayder, had at that moment arrived in answer to a telegram from the governor, who the night before, in a moment of desperation, had telegraphed the proprietor of his hotel in Paris, "Send me a courier at once who knows Normandy and speaks English." The bare-headed man who, hat in hand, was at this moment bowing so obsequiously to the governor, was the person who had arrived in response.

He was short and thick-set, and perfectly bald on the top of his head in a small spot, friar-fas.h.i.+on. He glistened with perspiration that collected near the hat-line, and escaped in two streams, drowning locks of black hair covering each temple, stranding them like wet gra.s.s on his cheek-bones below. His full face was clean-shaven, smug, and persuasive, and framed two shoe-b.u.t.ton eyes that, while sharp and alert, lacked neither humor nor tenderness.

He wore a pair of new green kid gloves, was dressed in a brown cloth coat bound with a braid of several different shades, showing different dates of repair, and surmounted by a velvet collar of the same date as the coat.

His trousers were of a nondescript gray, and flapped about a pair of brand-new gaiters, evidently purchased for the occasion, and, from the numerous positions a.s.sumed while he talked, evidently one size too small.

His hat--the judicious use of which added such warmth, color, and picturesqueness to his style of delivery, now pressed to his chest, now raised aloft, now debased to the cobbles--had once had some dignity and proportions. Continual maltreatment had long since taken all the gay and frolicsome curl out of its brim, while the crown had so often collapsed that the scars of ill-usage were visible upon it. And yet at a distance this relic of a former fas.h.i.+on, as handled by Baader,--it was so continually in his grasp and so seldom on his head, that you could never say it was worn,--this hat, brushed, polished, and finally slicked by its owner to a state slightly confusing as to whether it were made of polished iron or silk, was really a very gay and attractive affair.

It was easy to see that the person before me had spared neither skill, time, nor expense to make as favorable an impression on his possible employers as lay in his power.

"At the moment of the arrival of ze depeche telegraphique," Baader continued, "I was in ze office of monsieur ze proprietaire. It was at ze conclusion of some arrangement commercial, when mon ami ze proprietaire say to me: 'Baader, it is ze abandoned season in Paris. Why not arrange for ze gentlemen in Normandy? The number of francs a day will be at least'"--here Baader scrutinized carefully the governor's face--'"at least to ze amount of ten'--is it not so, messieurs? Of course," noting a slight contraction of the eyebrows, "if ze service was of long time, and to ze most far-away point, some abatement could be posseeble. If, par exemple, it was to St. Malo, St. Servan, Parame, Cancale speciale, Dieppe pet.i.te, Dinard, and ze others, the sum of nine francs would be quite sufficient."

The governor had never heard Dieppe called "pet.i.te" nor Cancale "speciale," and said so, lifting his eyebrows inquiringly. Baader did not waver. "But if messieurs pretend a much smaller route and of few days, say to St. Michel, Parame, and Cancale,"--here the governor's brow relaxed again,--"then it was imposseeble,--if messieurs will pardon,--quite imposseeble for less zan ten francs."

So the price was agreed upon, and the hat, now with a decided metallic sheen, once more swept the cobblestones of the courtyard. The ceremony being over, its owner then drew off the green kid gloves, folded them flat on his knee, guided them into the inside pocket of the brown coat with the a.s.sorted bindings as carefully as if they had been his letter of credit, and declared himself at our service.

It was when he had been installed as custodian not only of our hand luggage, but to a certain extent of our bank accounts and persons for some days, that he urged upon the governor the advisability of our at once proceeding to Cancale, or Cancale speciale, as he insisted on calling it.

I immediately added my own voice to his pleadings, arguing that Cancale must certainly be on the sea. That, from my recollection of numerous water-colors and black-and-whites labeled in the catalogue, "Coast near Cancale," and the like, I was sure there must be the customary fish-girls, with shrimp-nets carried gracefully over one shoulder, to say nothing of brawny-chested fishermen with flat, rimless caps, having the usual little round b.u.t.ton on top.

The governor, however, was obdurate. He had a way of being obdurate when anything irritated him, and Baader began to be one of these things.

Cancale might be all very well for me, but how about the hotel for him, who had nothing to do, no pictures to paint? He had pa.s.sed that time in his life when he could sleep under a boat with water pouring down the back of his neck through a tarpaulin full of holes.

"The hotel, messieurs! Imagine! Is it posseeble that monsieur imagine for one moment that Baader would arrange such annoyances? I remember ze hotel quite easily. It is not like, of course, ze Grand Hotel of Paris, but it is simple, clean, ze cuisine superb, and ze apartment fine and hospitable.

Remembare it is Baader."

"And the baths?" broke out the governor savagely.

Baader's face was a study; a pained, deprecating expression pa.s.sed over it as he uncovered his head, his glazed headpiece glistening in the sun.

"Baths, monsieur--and ze water of ze sea everywhere?"

These a.s.surances of future comfort were not overburdened with details, but they served to satisfy and calm the governor, I pleading, meanwhile, that Baader had always proved himself a man of resource, quite ready when required with either a meal or an answer.

So we started for Cancale.

On the way our courier grew more and more enthusiastic. We were traveling in a four-seated carriage, Baader on the box, pointing out to us in English, after furtive conversations with the driver in French, the princ.i.p.al points of interest. With many flourishes he led us to Parame, one of those Normandy cities which consist of a huge hotel with enormous piazzas, a beach ten miles from the sea, and a small so-called fis.h.i.+ng-village as a sort of marine attachment. To give a realistic touch, a lone boat is always being tarred somewhere down at the end of one of its toy streets, two or three donkey-carts and donkeys add an air of picturesqueness, and the usual number of children with red pails and shovels dig in the sand of the roadside. All the fish that are sold come from the next town. It was too early in the season when we reached there for girls in sabots and white caps, the tide from Paris not having set in.

The governor hailed it with delight. "Why the devil didn't you tell me about this place before? Here we have been fooling away our time."

"But it is only Parame, monsieur," with an accent on the "only" and a lifting of the hands. "Cancale speciale will charm you; ze coast it is so immediately flat, and ze life of ze sea charmante. Nevare at Parame, always at Cancale." So we drove on. The governor pacified but anxious--only succ.u.mbing at my argument that Baader knew all Normandy thoroughly, and that an old courier like him certainly could be trusted to select a hotel.

You all know the sudden dip from the rich, flat country of Normandy down the steep cliffs to the sea. Cancale is like the rest of it. The town itself stands on the brink of a swoop to the sands; the fis.h.i.+ng-village proper, where the sea packs it solid in a great half-moon, with a light burning on one end that on clear nights can be seen as far as Mme.

Poulard's cozy dining-room at St. Michel.

One glimpse of this sea-burst tumbled me out of the carriage, sketch-trap in hand. Baader and the governor kept on. If the latter noticed the discrepancy between Baader's description of the country and the actual topography, no word fell from him at the moment of departure.

From my aerie, as I worked under my white umbrella below the cliff, I could distinctly make out our traveling-carriage several hundred feet below and a mile away, crawling along a road of white tape with a green selvage of trees, the governor's glazed trunk flas.h.i.+ng behind, Baader's silk hat burning in front. Then the little insect stopped at a white spot backed by dots of green; a small speck broke away, and was swallowed up for a few minutes in the white dot,--doubtless Baader to parley for rooms,--and then to my astonishment the whole insect turned and began crawling back again, growing larger every minute. All this occurred before I had half finished my outline or opened my color-box. Instantly the truth dawned upon me,--the governor was going back to Parame. An hour, perhaps, had elapsed when Baader, with uncovered head and beaded with perspiration, the two locks of hair hanging limp and straight, stood before me.

"What was the matter with the governor, Baader? No hotel after all?"

"On the contraire, pardonnez-moi, monsieur, a most excellent hotel, simple and quite of ze people, and with many patrons. Even at ze moment of arrival a most distinguished artist, a painter of ze Salon, was with his cognac upon a table at ze entrance."

"No bath, perhaps," I remarked casually, still absorbed in my work, and with my mind at rest, now that Baader remained with me.

"On the contraire, monsieur, les bains are most excellent--primitive, of course, simple, and quite of ze people. But, monsieur le gouverneur is no more young. When one is no more young,"--with a deprecating shrug,--"parbleu, it is imposseeble to enjoy everything. Monsieur le gouverneur, I do a.s.sure you, make ze conclusion most regretfully to return to Parame."

I learned the next morning that he evinced every desire to drown Baader in the surf for bringing him to such an inn, and was restrained only by the knowledge that I should miss his protection during my one night in Cancale.

"Moreover, it is ze grande fete to-night--ze fete of ze Republique. Zare are fireworks and illumination and music by ze munic.i.p.ality. It is simple, but quite of ze people. It is for zis reason that I made ze effort special with monsieur le gouverneur to remain with you. Ah! it is you, monsieur, who are so robust, so enthusiastic, so appreciative."

Here Baader put on his hat, and I closed my sketch-trap.

"But monsieur has not yet dined," he said as we walked, "nor even at his hotel arrived. Ze inn of Mme. Flamand is so very far away, and ze ascent up ze cliffs difficile. If monsieur will be so good, zare is a cafe near by where it is quite posseeble to dine."

Relieved of the governor's constant watchfulness Baader became himself. He bustled about the restaurant, called for "Cancale speciale," a variety of oysters apparently entirely unknown to the landlord, and interviewed the _chef_ himself. In a few moments a table was spread in a corner of the porch overlooking a garden gay with hollyhocks, and a dinner was ordered of broiled chicken, French rolls, some radishes, half a dozen apricots, and a fragment of cheese. When it was over,--Baader had been served in an adjoining apartment,--there remained not the amount mentioned in a former out-of-door feast, but sufficient to pack at least one basket,--in this case a paper box,--the drumsticks being stowed below, dunnaged by two rolls, and battened down with fragments of cheese and three apricots.

"What's this for, Baader? Have you not had enough to eat?"

Baader's face wore its blandest smile. "On ze contraire, I have made for myself a most excellent repast; but if monsieur will consider--ze dinner is a prix fixe, and monsieur can eat it all, or it shall remain for ze proprietaire. Zis, if monsieur will for one moment attend, will be stupid extraordinaire. I have made ze investigation, and discover zat ze post depart from Cancale in one hour. How simple zen to affeex ze stamps,--only five sous,--and in ze morning, even before Mme. Baader is out of ze bed, it is in Paris--a souvenir from Cancale. How charmante ze surprise!"

I discovered afterward that since he had joined us Baader's own domestic larder had been almost daily enriched with crumbs like these from Dives's table.

The _fete,_ despite Baader's a.s.surances, lacked one necessary feature.

There was no music. The band was away with the boats, the triangle probably cooking, the French horn and clarinet hauling seines.

But Baader, not to be outdone by any _contretemps_, started off to find an old blind fellow who played an accordeon, collecting five francs of me in advance for his pay, under the plea that it was quite horrible that the young people could not dance. "While one is young, monsieur, music is ze life of ze heart."

He brought the old man back, and with a certain care and tenderness set him down on a stone bench, the sightless eyes of the poor peasant turning up to the stars as he swayed the primitive instrument back and forth. The young girls clung to Baader's arm, and blessed him for his goodness. I forgave him his duplicity, his delight in their happiness was so genuine.

Perhaps it was even better than a _fete_.

When, later in the evening, we arrived at Mme. Flamand's, we found her in the doorway, her brown face smiling, her white cap and ap.r.o.n in full relief under the glare of an old-fas.h.i.+oned s.h.i.+p's light, which hung from a rafter of the porch. Baader inscribed my name in a much-thumbed, ink--stained register, which looked like a neglected s.h.i.+p's log, and then added his own. This, by the by, Baader never neglected. Neither did he neglect a certain little ceremony always connected with it.

After it was all over and "Moritz Baader Courrier et Interprete" was duly inscribed,--and in justice it must be confessed it was always clearly written with a flourish at the end that lent it additional dignity,--Baader would pause for a moment, carefully balance the pen, trying it first on his thumb-nail, and then place two little dots of ink over the first _a_, saying, with a certain wave of his hand, as he did so, "For ze honor of my families, monsieur." This peculiarity gained for him from the governor the sobriquet of "old fly-specks."

The inn of Mme. Flamand, although less pretentious than many others that had sheltered us, was clean and comfortable, the lower deck and companionway were freshly sanded,--the whole house had a decidedly nautical air about it,--and the captain's state-room on the upper deck, a second-floor room, was large and well-lighted, although the ceiling might have been a trifle too low for the governor, and the bed a few inches too short.