第34章 How the Captain made Christmas(6)

He told me the first thing that he did was to kiss her, and then he went and filed his reports, and then they went home together, `And if you'll come and dine with me,' he said to me, `I'll give you the best dinner you ever had -- real old Virginia cooking;Nick's wife is our only servant, and she is an excellent cook.'

I promised him to go one day, though I could not go the first day.

Well, the meeting between the old fellow and his wife was worth the trip to New Orleans to see.I had formed a picture in my mind of a queenly looking woman, a Southern matron -- you know how you do?

And when we drew into the station I looked around for her.

As I did not see her, I watched the Captain.He got off, and I missed him in the crowd.Presently, though, I saw him and I asked him, `Captain, is she here?' `Yes, sir, she is, she never misses;that's the sort of a wife to have, sir; come here and let me introduce you.'

He pulled me up and introduced me to a sweet little old lady, in an old, threadbare dress and wrap, and a little, faded bonnet, whom I had seen as we came up, watching eagerly for someone, but whom I had not thought of as being possibly the Captain's grand-dame.The Captain's manner, however, was beautiful.`My dear, this is my friend, Mr.Lesponts, and he has promised to come and dine with us,' he said, with the air of a lord, and then he leaned over and whispered something to her.

`Why, she's coming to dine with us to-day,' she said with a very cheery laugh;and then she turned and gave me a look that swept me from top to toe, as if she were weighing me to see if I'd do.I seemed to pass, for she came forward and greeted me with a charming cordiality, and invited me to dine with them, saying that her husband had told her I knew Miss So-and-So, and she was coming that day, and if I had no other engagement they would be very glad if I would come that day, too.

Then she turned to the Captain and said, `I saved Christmas dinner for you;for when you didn't come I knew the calendar and all the rest of the world were wrong; so to-day is our Christmas.'

-- "Well, that's all," said Lesponts; "I did not mean to talk so much, but the old Captain is such a character, I wish you could know him.

You'd better believe I went, and I never had a nicer time.

They were just as poor as they could be, in one way, but in another they were rich.He had a sweet little home in their three rooms.

I found that my friend always dined with them one day in the Christmas-week, and I happened to hit that day." He leaned back.

"That was the beginning of my good fortune," he said, slowly, and then stopped.Most of the party knew Lesponts's charming wife, so no further explanation was needed.One of them said presently, however, "Lesponts, why didn't you fellows get him some better place?""He was offered a place," said Lesponts."The fellow who had made the row about the lower berth turned out to be a great friend of the head of the Pullman Company, and he got him the offer of a place at three times the salary he got, but after consideration, he declined it.

He would have had to come North, and he said that he could not do that:

his wife's health was not very robust and he did not know how she could stand the cold climate; then, she had made her friends, and she was too old to try to make a new set; and finally, their little girl was buried there, and they did not want to leave her; so he declined.When she died, he said, or whichever one of them died first, the other would come back home to the old place in Virginia, and bring the other two with him, so they could all be at home together again.Meantime, they were very comfortable and well satisfied."There was a pause after Lesponts ended, and then one of the fellows rang the bell and said, "Let's drink the old Captain's health,"which was unanimously agreed to.Newton walked over to a table and wrote a note, and then slipped out of the club; and when next day I inquired after him of the boy at the door, he said he had left word to tell anyone who asked for him, that he would not be back till after Christmas; that he had gone home to Virginia.

Several of the other fellows went off home too, myself among them, and I was glad I did, for I heard one of the men say he never knew the club so deserted as it was that Christmas-day.