The Pursuit of the House-Boat

possibly remember, had been torn from its moorings and navigated out into unknown seas by that ve

ts had they made off with the happy floating club-house of their betters; and worst of all, with them, by force of circumstances over which they had no control, had sailed

y Stygian stream, at the point where the missing boat had been moored. "Think of it, gentlemen, Elizabeth of England, Calpurnia of Rome, Ophelia of Denmar

, and should eschew that luxury. Xanthippe is with them, and I'll warrant you that when that cherished spouse of mine has recov

oah, sadly. "That was my delight. It re

hippe abroad I do not need a club to go to; I can stay at home and take my hemlock in peace and str

with the situation. I, for one, quite agree with Sir Walter that something must be done, and qu

d. All things considered, he is welcome to Marie Louise, but the id

t to do something if it is only for the sake of appeara

nimous upon the necessity for immediate action, for when the assembled spirits called for their various favorite beverages it was found that there were none to be had, it being Sunday,

at must be recovered whether Xanthippe comes with it or not. Sir Walter, I am for immed

eafter, will you, please? When you attempt English you have a beastly way of w

may speak and spell like Chaucer if he pleases; he may even part his infiniti

ried Socrates, "until we find

" growled Murray. "Dr

to know

e expense of the purist, in which even Hamlet, who had grown more an

leigh; "something must be don

ave a way of finding

r of being found by th

at we send out a numb

n lead an expedition

y have North

ingstone, that Captain Kidd has put wheels on this House-boat of ou

ever entered my head,

is engaged in the pleasurable pastime of taking the ladi

ask?" queried the Afri

nonsense. This search is the work of sea-dogs, not of landlubbers. You might as well ask Confucius to look for it in the heart of China. What earthly use there is in ransacking the earth I fail to see. What we need is a navel expedition to scour the s

ike all well-ordered shades, I aspire to the distinction, and I hold myself and my talents at the disposal of this club. I fancy it will not take us long to establish our initial point, which is that the gross person who has so foully appropriated your property to his own base uses does not contemplate removing it from its keel and placing it somewhere inland. All the evidence in hand points to a radically

ter, impressed by the stranger's manner as well as

f pursuit. Ascertain whither the House-boat has sailed, for what port, and start

e architect's plans, how

of the House Committee, rising, "but they are gone with th

e came into the fa

important part of my plan that we should

sarcasm. "If you'll take Xanthippe's word for i

eturned the stranger, quietly. "The question o

ixing his eyes upon Sir Christopher Wren. "It is possib

d. What we do want is to get our wives back. The Captain hasn't taken more than half of mine along with him, but I am interested none the less. The Queen of Sheba is on board, and I am somewhat interested in her fate. So I ask you what e

mon," said Johnson, dryly, "but I must say th

e agreed with you. That ought to make him i

wn friend seems to have a grasp on the situation by which we are confronted, and he's going at the matter in hand in a very comprehensive fashion. I move,

econded, was duly carried

ing in pursuit of the stolen vessel we must select a craft of some sort for the purpose, and that in selecting the pursuer it is quite essential that we should choose a vessel of greater speed than the one we d

r!" ejacul

tranger, bowing courteously to Solomon. "Now, if Sir Christopher Wren can give me her measurements,

emed to require. "As long as we are discussing the question I will take the liberty of stating what I have never mentioned before, that the d

ly the two vessels were built on the same lines, but with modifications which would enable my boat to sail twenty miles to windward and back in six days

ery inch of her reeked with ivory and peanuts, and she'd outfoot you on every leg, in a cyclone or a zephyr. Give me the Ark and a breeze, and your

emen cannot be made to confine themselves to the subject that is agitating this bo

as going to say that as the Ark was probably a hundred times faster than Sir Christopher Wren's-tub, which he hims

r!" cried Si

d by a launch or any other craft with a speed of thirty k

s to get to Mount A

stop

weeks sooner, I'll admit," retorted Noah,

ide in the issue between the two gentlemen, but merely for the sake of argument- -I wish to ask the stranger who has been good

dher gost, if an

approbation gre

d Sir Walter, indignantly, addressing the

laying his palms, and showing by that a

that is a simple matter. Capt

eral members at once.

anger, holding up the t

ed Solomon. "What c

ay; it is fact. That cigar end was thrown aside here on the whar

aleigh. "And granting the truth of

the stranger. And he at