The Voyage of the Hoppergrass

rs. Yet they were posting advertisements, and asking everybody in Lanesport to come to the island tomorrow. They would hardly do that if there was anything

rted up the hill,-"wonderful man! How future generations will bless his name! That is it,-that is all that induced me to become connected with this great enterprise,-the blessedness of it! I would never have anything to do wi

he prof

f Von Bieberstein will be blessed by generations yet unborn. And how devoutly happy am I that the name of Snide

at his

s. And mine is Snider. ... Jam

turn me into anything like Mr. Snider when I

e tobacco, I

N

iminals and blacklegs in the city of New York, murderers, and thieves, and men l

e, and Mr. Snider led the

uppose that many of the world's great discoveries were made in places humble and obscure like this. ... Suppose we split a little wood, James, and bring some water from the well. Then we can have supper ready, when the Professor come

. Mr. Snider handed me a hatchet, and I split some wood, while he stoo

d successful, and RICH. Did you ever

is richer,-but it isn't true. No; it isn't true. The last time I saw A. P. Fillmore, I said to him: 'Brother Fillmore,' I said, 'how do you account for it? How did you do it? How did you GET it?'

im. I had seen pictures of Fillmore in the newspapers ever since I could remember,-people were always talking about him. "You must think I am as rich as A. P. Fillmore!"-how many times I

was the only room they used downstairs,-it contained a cook-stove, two tables, a couple of broken-down chairs, and some boxes set on end, for seats. An

supper would be ready, and suggested that we have some sausages in addition to what Mr. Snider was preparing to cook. They sent me out

friend how many scoundrels he had known who had come to their downfall through using tobacco. When the cigar was nearly gone, the Professor said he would wash the dishes, if I would help him

shu

t outside, and walked slowly up and down the driveway, with his hands behind his back. When the dishes were finis

hymns, and Foxe's "Book of Martyrs." I was about to take the latter to the kitchen with me, and curdle my blood again with its ghastly pictures, when I found another book under an old, yellow newspaper. It was "The Rifle Rangers; or Adventures in Southern Mexico by Captain Mayne Reid." The frontispiece, which was protected by a torn and stained leaf of tissue paper, showed a soldier in a tropical forest, being startled by a skeleton w

In a few seconds I was following the adventures of the hero,-a hero whose foot, it seemed "had pressed the summits of the And

met across the stream,-parrots screamed, monkeys chattered, and scampered from one tree to another. The kitchen, the Professor, vanished fr

ees of the Platte, and ostriches upon the Pampas of the Plata; I had eaten raw meat with the trappers of the Rocky Mountains, and roa

s, you're not going to read all night, are you?" Then I came back to Rogers's Island with a bump, and saw the obno

James? Something i

ine book,

r, making a clicking sound o

of useful information, or something with a MORAL! Such a book a

old Fillmore and his ninety million dollars. Fillmore, so everybody said, was so stingy that he cut his own hair, and went around looking like a fright, rather than pay a barber. Worse than that, he was hated like fu

floors were all bare, but the rooms had some furniture,-four-post beds, wash-stands, and one or two hair-cloth chairs. The bed in my room had a mattress and b

ed with the Professor. Just as I was dropping off to sleep the voices gre

essor say, "but they'd ne

omething,-I could not

e Professor, "what

. Snider

the first. But just to be perfectly safe. We want to keep him till the first crow

ider; the Professor la

ll those hayseeds hypnotised. That's where you come in

me upstairs. I jumped out of bed, and locked the door of my room. It was fairly plain to me that I was in the house with a couple

they took off their shoes, and threw them on the floor, so I judged they were goin

s Harbor, or on the other yacht. Then I recalled Rogers's Island, Mr. Snider and the Professor. I got up and listened for them, and looked out of the window, but I neither heard nor saw anybody. I dressed, unl

s the matter? Is that you,

ling, and my d

. It does that sometimes. An old house, you know, all out of repair. You m

s as fast as I could without running. I felt much safer with the Professor,-per

nished eating, I got "The Rifle Rangers" and went outside with it to read, and wait for the people who were coming on the steamboat. I felt more comfortable outdoors than in. With M

stay, I could not tell. Captain Bannister had said, according to the men at the Eagle House, that he was coming to Rogers's Island, so it might be that the Professor's story was true. On the other hand, it might have been made up out of whole cloth in order to keep me there over night

and Mr. Snider had been out in the barn most of the time, or bringing chairs and putting them up on the platform in the side yard. When the smoke of the steamboat appeared they both came aro

"I wish I could stay

to receive them, an

to the side and help me with the chairs,-wo

nd the corner of the house,

us. Any lengths. We are determined that these men-these wicked men, I regret to say-shall not steal from the Professor the fruit of his brain. The workings of this-er-this precious secret will be displayed today, when the good folk arrive from Lanesport. We have the recommendation, as you must have seen, of two of the most respectable men in the town,-their names alone are proof

st be kept secret. Moreover, there may have seemed something suspicious about the way in which I had come. I had bungled in giving that false name, and made them think that I was simply

e. You may be able to help, and thereby you can work off some of your debt to us for the two meals you have had at our expense. Though we would not

ers. A brass band, in red coats, sat in the bow playing "Sweet Marie." As the boat came nearer I was surprised to see how few people, aside from the band, were on it. I had expecte

elt hat, with a great flourish, and put on his ghastly sm

dred and fifty pounds, and all his movements were slow and majestic. He took off his hat, faced toward

rs for Brot

tall hat in slow circles, he gave the three che

, together with another who had a gray beard,-Deacon Chick, as I found out later. They shook hands with M

heard the big man say; "th

loud blasts. Then came Mr. Snider, accompanied by the big man (he was the Hon. J. Harvey Bowditch) and by Deacon Chick. Behind him were the people from Lanespo

he said. So I decided to go up to the house, hear what was going to happen, and then go back to Lanesport on the steamboat. It would leave, so the man told me, at twelve o'

teetered about, the Hon. J. Harvey Bowditch's stentorian bellowings, and Deacon Chick's confidential whispers were all drowned out by the music. Some of the men wanted to inspect the barn, and the premises generally, and one or two of the women had shown a desire to look into the kitchen. They had to be headed

the band seized upon that moment to burst into mu

sy!

my answe

ward them and tried to maintain his smile, while the Hon. Mr. Bow

lead, and instead of waving a wand, played a cornet. This he moved about in the air, swaying his head and the upper part of his body in time with the music. His face was d

something was wrong by giving him a prod in the stomach with the slide of his trombone. The leader hesitated, stoppe

them once more on "Razzle Dazzle." He had thought that Mr. Snider preferred that to "Daisy Bell," and wanted it repeated. Then they had to begin the hand- wavings and gesticulations all over again. Nothing could stop them this time until Deacon Chick descended from the stand, went over to the

ear," said a man who was standing beside me, "and you

an thirty-five years old. He had bright black eyes, which

en." He told how sorry he was because the Professor had been called away by the illness of a relative. Then he told what a great inventor

he began to speak on doing good and being good. The

he said under his breath, "and I thought

old in sea-water. It is in tiny particles, not so big as the point of a needle. There it is,-but how shall it be got together? How shall it be extracted from the water? Aristotle tried to discover a method. He failed. Diogenes Laerti

lan received support, the gold taken every month from Broad Bay would be worth three hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Snider licked his lips. "Think of that, friends,-three hundred thousand dollars a month!" Shares in this Company were

rust his right hand into the lapel of his coat, and

"I shall detain you her

n in words which must be forever immortal,

leep, one man pitched forward out of his chair while asleep, and some of those in the back began to get up and tip-toe

gold which the Professor and Mr. Snider had extracted from the water, right there at Rogers's Island, by their secret, chemical process. It had been in tiny particles then, like dust, but they had sent it somewhere, and had it made into these nuggets,-plump and pleasing! They had a letter from someone in th

eacon Chick, the men looked at the gold nug

the real s

it to ME,

good-natured. They smiled and joked over the gold

rries me. If we go ahead and perdoose gold at this rate, we're goin' to flood the market! Yessir!

o discuss it. One of them thought they had better hold back mos

iends, if you please, we will go down