[Footnote D: They often call these small steamers that ply about harbors tugs, from the fact that they are employed in towing vessels. Sometimes they are called tenders.]
"Beg pardon, sir. Is this Master Holiday?"
"Rollo, do you mean?" said Hilbert. "No. Rollo went ashore last night with the bearer of despatches."
Hilbert knew that this was the arrangement which had been made, and he supposed that it had been carried into effect.
Alfred, who was a very faithful and trustworthy man, and was accustomed to do every thing thoroughly, was not fully satisfied with this information, coming as it did from a boy; but he waited some little time, and made inquiries of other passengers. At last, one gentleman told him that he was sure that Rollo had gone on shore, for he saw him and his sister pass up out of the cabin when the mail tug came. He was sitting up in the cabin reading at the time. Alfred was satisfied with this explanation, and so he called a small boat which was alongside, and engaged the boatman to row him ashore.
Thus the second plan for taking care of Rollo and Jennie, in the landing, failed.
All this time Rollo and Jennie were both asleep-for the chambermaid, thinking that they must be tired from having been up so late the night before, concluded to let them sleep as long as possible. While they were sleeping, the waiters on board the ship were all employed in carrying up trunks, and boxes, and carpet bags, and bundles of canes and umbrellas, from all the state rooms, and spreading them about upon the decks, where the custom-house officers could examine them. The decks soon, of course, presented in every part very bustling and noisy scenes. Passengers were hurrying to and fro. Some were getting their baggage together for examination; some were unstrapping their trunks; and others, having unstrapped theirs, were now fumbling in their pockets, in great distress, to find the keys. It is always an awkward thing to lose a trunk key; but the most unfortunate of all possible times for meeting with this calamity is when a custom-house officer is standing by, waiting to examine what your trunk contains. Those who could not find their keys were obliged to stand aside and let others take their turn. As fast as the trunks were inspected, the lid of each was shut down, and it was marked with chalk; and then, as soon as it was locked and strapped again, a porter conveyed it to the tug, where the owner followed it, ready to go on shore.
In the midst of this scene the captain came on deck, and began to look around for the children whom he had promised to take care of. He made some inquiries for them, and at length was told that they had gone ashore.
"At least, I think they have gone," said his informant. "I saw Mr. Holiday's coachman here, inquiring for them, a short time ago. And he seems to be gone. I presume he has taken them ashore."
"He can't have taken them ashore," said the captain. "There is nothing to go ashore till this tug goes. However, I presume he has got them under his charge somewhere."
So the captain dismissed the subject from his mind; and after remaining a few minutes on deck, and seeing that every thing was going on well, he went below into his state room, in order to write a letter to the owners of the ship, to inform them of the safe termination of the voyage.
It was about this time that the chambermaid waked Rollo and Jennie. They rose immediately, and were soon dressed. On going up upon the deck, they were somewhat surprised to witness the bustling scenes that were enacting there; and they stood for a few minutes surveying the various groups, and watching with great interest the process of examining the baggage. At length, after following the process through in the case of one of the passengers, who was just opening his trunk when they came up, Rollo turned to Jennie, and said,-
"It is nothing at all, Jennie. I can do it as well as any body."
So he looked about till he found his trunk, and, leading Jennie there, he took his station by the side of it, and immediately proceeded to unstrap and unlock it. He took out some of the largest things from the top of the trunk and put them on a settee near, so that the officer could easily examine the rest. By the time he had done this, an officer was ready.
"Is this your trunk, my lad?" said the officer, at the same time lifting up the clothes a little at the corners.
"Yes, sir," said Rollo.
"All right," said the officer; and he shut down the lid, and marked the top with a P.
Rollo opened his trunk again to put the other things in, and then locked and strapped it. A porter then took it and carried it on board the tender. Rollo and Jennie followed him.
In about half an hour the tender put off from the steamer and went to the shore. On the way, Jennie, who could not help feeling some anxiety about the result of these formidable proceedings, said, timidly,-
"I don't see what we are going to do, Rollo, when we get to the shore."
"We will do what the rest do," said Rollo.
As soon as the steamer touched the pier and began to blow off her steam, a terrific scene of noise and confusion ensued. Rollo and Jennie stood near their trunk, overawed and silenced; but yet Rollo was not, after all, much afraid, for he felt confident that it would all come out right in the end. He was right in this supposition; for as soon as some fifty of the most impatient and eager of the passengers had got their baggage, and had gone ashore, the tumult subsided in a great measure. At length, a porter, after taking away a great many trunks near Rollo, asked him if that trunk, pointing to Rollo's, was to go on shore. Rollo said that it was. So the porter took it up and went away, Rollo and Jennie following him.
They made their way through the crowd, and across the plank, to the pier. When they had got upon the pier, the porter turned and said, "Do you want a carriage?" Rollo answered, "Yes;" and then the porter immediately put the trunk upon the top of a small carriage which was standing there in a line with many others. He then opened the door, and Rollo and Jennie got in.
"How much to pay, sir?" said Rollo.
"Sixpence, if you please, sir," said the porter.
Rollo, who had had the precaution to provide himself with silver change, so as to be ready, gave the man a sixpence. Of course, it was an English sixpence.
"Thank you, sir," said the porter. "Where shall he drive?"
"To the hotel," said Rollo.
"To what hotel?" said the porter.
"Why-I don't know," said Rollo. "To-to the best hotel."
"To the Adelphi," said the porter to the coachman. So saying, he shut the door, and the coachman drove away.
When they arrived at the door of the hotel, the landlord, who came out to see who had come, supposed at once that his new guests must be Mr. Holiday's children; so he sent them up immediately to their father's parlor, where the breakfast table had been set, and their father, and mother, and Thanny were waiting for them. The joy of their parents at seeing them was unbounded, and they themselves were almost equally rejoiced in finding their long voyage brought thus to a safe and happy termination.
In respect to Tiger, however, the end of the voyage was unfortunately not so propitious. In the confusion of the landing she was forgotten, and left behind; and Jennie was so excited and overjoyed at meeting her mother, that it was nearly noon before she thought of the kitten at all. Her father then sent Alfred on board the ship to see if he could get her. He came back with the cage, but he said that the kitten was nowhere to be found. He made diligent inquiry, but he could obtain no tidings of her-and no tidings were ever afterward heard. Whether she fell overboard and was drowned; or whether the waiters on the ship took a fancy to her, and hid her away somewhere in the forecastle, in order to keep her for their pet and plaything in future voyages; or whether she walked over the plank to the pier, when the ship came alongside of it, and there got enticed away by the Liverpool cats into the various retreats and recesses which they resort to among the docks and sewers,-could never be known. At all events, neither Jennie nor Rollo ever saw or heard of her again.