Why do you call him the King? Isnt he an Emperor?
Well, Ive always called him the King, but Ive heard people term him the Emperor.
The American papers always call him an Emperor. So you think you could manage it, eh?
I dont know that there would be any difficulty about the matter. Of course you are aware he is merely a savage.
Well, theyre all savages out here, arent they? I dont suppose hes any worse or any better than the Mikado.
Oh, the Mikado belongs to one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. I dont think the two potentates are at all on a par.
Well, thats all right. That just bears out what I was saying, that its the correct thing to begin with the lowest of them. You see I hate to admit Im too old to learn anything, and I think I can learn this King business if I stick long enough at it. But I dont believe in a man trying to make a grand piano before he knows how to handle a saw. So you see, Mr. Tremorne, the position is just this. I want to sail for Corea, and Gertie, she wants to go back to Yokohama and tackle the Mikado again, thinking you can pull it off this time.
I dislike very much to disagree with a lady, I said, but I think your plan is the more feasible of the two. I do not think it would be possible to get the Mikado to come aboard this yacht, but it might be that the King of Corea would accept your invitation.
Whats the name of the capital of that place? asked Mr. Hemster.
It is spelled S-e-o-u-l, and is pronounced Sool.
How far is it from here?
I dont know exactly, but it must be something like four hundred miles, perhaps a little more.
It is on the sea?
No. It lies some twenty-six miles inland by road, and more than double that distance by the winding river Han.
Can I steam up that river with this yacht to the capital?
No, I dont think you could. You could go part way, perhaps, but I imagine your better plan would be to moor at the port of Chemulpo and go to Seoul by road, although the road is none of the best.
Ive got a little naphtha launch on board. I suppose the river is big enough for us to go up to the capital in that?
Yes, I suppose you could do it in a small launch, but the river is so crooked that I doubt if you would gain much time, although you might gain in comfort.
Very well, well make for that port, whatever you call it, said Hemster, rising. Now, if youll just take an armchair on deck, and smoke, Ill give instructions to the captain.
CHAPTER V
We had been a long time together in the little office, longer even than this extended conversation would lead a reader to imagine, and as I went through the saloon I saw that they were laying the table for lunch, a sight by no means ungrateful to me, for I had risen early and enjoyed but a small and frugal breakfast. I surmised from the preparations going forward that I should in the near future have something better than rice. When I reached the deck I saw the captain smoking a pipe and still pacing the bridge with his hands in his pockets. He was a grizzled old sea-dog, who, I found later, had come from the Cape Cod district, and was what he looked, a most capable man. I went aft and sat down, not wishing to go forward and became acquainted with the captain, as I expected every moment that Mr. Hemster would come up and give him his sailing-orders. But time passed on and nothing happened, merely the same state of tension that occurs when every one is ready to move and no move is made. At last the gong sounded for lunch. I saw the captain pause in his promenade, knock the ashes out of his pipe into the palm of his hand, and prepare to go down. So I rose and descended the stairway, giving a nod of recognition to the captain, who followed at my heels. The table was laid for five persons. Mr. Hemster occupied the position at the head of it, and on his right sat his daughter, her head bent down over the tablecloth. On the opposite side, at Mr. Hemsters left, sat the young lady of whom I had had a glimpse the afternoon before. The captain pushed past me with a gruff, How de do, all, which was not responded to. He took the place at the farther end of the table. If I have described the situation on deck as a state of tension, much more so was the atmosphere of the dining-saloon. The silence was painful, and, not knowing what better to do, I approached Miss Hemster and said pleasantly:
Good-morning. I hope you are none the worse for your shopping expedition of yesterday.
The young woman did not look up or reply till her father said in beseeching tones:
Gertie, Mr. Tremorne is speaking to you.
Then she glanced at me with eyes that seemed to sparkle dangerously.
Oh, how do you do? she said rapidly. Your place is over there by Miss Stretton.
There was something so insulting in the tone and inflection that it made the words, simple as they were, seem like a slap in the face. Their purport seemed to be to put me in my proper position in that society, to warn me that, if I had been treated as a friend the day before, conditions were now changed, and I was merely, as she had previously remarked, her fathers hired man. My situation was anything but an enviable one, and as there was nothing to say I merely bowed low to the girl, walked around behind the captain, and took my place beside Miss Stretton, as I had been commanded to do. I confess I was deeply hurt by the studied insolence of look and voice; but a moment later I felt that I was probably making a mountain of a molehill, for the good, bluff captain said, as if nothing unusual had happened:
Thats right, young man; I see you have been correctly brought up. Always do what the women tell you. Obey orders if you break owners. Thats what we do in our country. In our country, sir, we allow the women to rule, and their word is law, even though the men vote.
Such is not the case in the East, I could not help replying.
Why, said the captain, its the East Im talking about. All throughout the Eastern States, yes, and the Western States, too.
Oh, I beg your pardon, I replied, I was referring to the East of Asia. The women dont rule in these countries.
Well, said the staunch captain, then thats the reason they amount to so little. I never knew an Eastern country yet that was worth the powder to blow it up.
Im afraid, said I, that your rule does not prove universally good. Its a woman who reigns in China, and I shouldnt hold that Empire up as an example to others.
The captain laughed heartily.
Young man, youre contradicting yourself. Youre excited, I guess. You said a minute ago that women didnt rule in the East, and now you show that the largest country in the East is ruled by a woman. You cant have it both ways, you know.
I laughed somewhat dismally in sympathy with him, and, lunch now being served, the good man devoted his entire attention to eating. As no one else said a word except the captain and myself, I made a feeble but futile attempt to cause the conversation to become general. I glanced at my fair neighbor to the right, who had not looked up once since I entered. Miss Stretton was not nearly so handsome a girl as Miss Hemster, yet nevertheless in any ordinary company she would be regarded as very good-looking. She had a sweet and sympathetic face, and at the present moment it was rosy red.
Have you been in Nagasaki? I asked, which was a stupid question, for I knew she had not visited the town the day before, and unless she had gone very early there was no time for her to have been ashore before I came aboard.