The Voyage of Captain Lambounigue.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 13, 23 December 1911, Page 11

The Voyage of Captain Lambounigue.

J By RUDOLPH BRINGER. B—' 0

When it was learned by tbo town ofli rials of Mondragon that Castagnol bai just died at Tangier, and that ho had be queathed his irainenso' fortuno to his ma livo place, so I hat it was absolutely lie cessary fnr somo member of tlio Com moil Council to go nt onco to Morocci to take possession of this unexpected her if .age—ill this state of affairs there wn: no question as to Captain Lambounigut being the man who must go. Bvorythinj seemed to point to him as the proper mai to make the journey. In\tho first place, lm had ampks leisuri being a, man onjoying a modest incomo and wholly unoccupied. Then, ho wa: a bachelor. Finally, he was an old sea dog, who for more tlian thirty years hat knocked about in all the counties o: the world; and so this comparativelj trifling journey could not alarm liim. It was only iwcessary to . see Captair Lambounigue rolling about the streets oi Mondragon to 1)C thoroughly convinced that lie was an eld salt, 'in the first place there was his costume, which h< liad never been able -to .abandon; his trousers With their legs flaring 'at tin lower ends, his waistcoats of ■ navy, blue idoniwl with gold buttons on which an:hors were plainly to ■be seen. ■ And the samo emblem was embroidered in gold upon ' his cap. But even without this diaracteristic costunie, liis swaying gait, liis continual tacking to and fro, bore ivitness that the captain had far more >fton trod the deck of a ship than the lmct ■ dwellings on shore. Kut if you leard him speak, doubt was no longer lossiblo, for the captain never expressed limself but in nautical language, and lis talk was richly embroidered with ill the torms used by seafaring men. Captain Lambounilcno's storv was a imple one, which he gladly told' to every)od.v, and with which the youngest irchins of Mondragon were quite familiar, le had been born at a seaport and was he son of a .captain in the merchant■erviee. • As far back as he could renember he eaw himself upou shipboard. 10 had travelled to every country, sailed ipon every ocean, visited all coasts, enlured air tempests, escaped ..from untold Inpwrecks, ■ • and- ■ he ■ had' always , t0.., die . oil; ..the .-.sea, near i. he had been born;.,but; a iiiwohcal. illness had developed in him. a 1 1 son so hitherto unknown, but terriblo, vhicli- was called salingitis. Yes, the aptain had become salted, like -an orImary piece of fresh pork, by reason of laving BO long lived in the Fca-air. The aiious medical specialists whom ho had onsulted had all assured him that ho rould not live for three months unless 10 succeeded in unsalting himself to a onsidcrahlo extent! That was his rea-son' for settling" at iiondragon, .far from • the sea. And here he hoped that the warm sunshine nd the fresh- breezes and the wholesale ragranee of thyme and marioram which anio from the little .hills would at last rrchen hi in, and so prolong his life. Ho bought a little country.: house on ho banks of the Lez, and he provisioned nd rigged it like a shin. His delight ."as unbounded when, one happy day, lio ook to his service his faithful Figaou, .•lio was a living caricature pf liimself. r igaou was a..native of iiondragon, ."hence, ho had gone away when alwut wehre-vear*- old, ;no.t . having: returned :ntil he was forty, after a. past which ras entirely hidden .in mystery. . . Upon caching his native place, quite pennies, with all his krnsiolk dead, and inapablc of working at any trade, lie had resented himself to Captain LamJjouiffue, seeking employment; as a/hoiisoarvantv ligoou, was , lazy as ( u f leiulacious as a juggler, drunken as ; a ole, untrustworthy as a breeze. In a *oixl, he had all the vieas; but tho cap. iin receiml him joyfully, for I'itfaou. himself, was an old sailor who had isiled all quarters of the globe. Ho •ore the pea-jaekct and tarpaulin hat, ho itched to and fro as he walked, lie chew--1 tobacco, he spoke the choicest nautili lingo, and he needed nothing nioro to lake the captain consider him the pearl r servants. So now it will be readily ■ understood hy Iho Common Council of Mondragon id not hesitate for an instant to comns!sibn. Captain to underike.the delicate business of going to. angler to take possession of tho lierit:o bequeathed by Castagnol. tell the truth, Captain Lambouigiie at first mado a verv wry face, his journey did not at all plea?o him. -e alleged tlie state of his health. His •eatment had begun to operate. -Day. by VI himself becoming' less lit. \\ould not liis malady hecomo. uch worse if he suddenly went hack to reathing the fatal'air of the sea?. But ey. answered him that the voyage was • short that it was scarcely worth talkig about, and, besides that, they would ve him, upon his depavlure, an uple supply of thyme, the frag-' ince of which he could inhale unns his entii\3 journey! Finally iey assured him that there was no ono ec who could go, for all of them were ibject to seasickness, which would not ouble him* in the least; and ho knew angier and Morocco, and would bo able » attend to the whole business. hat could Captain Lambouniguo say i all this. He accepted the commission, it without an}* enthusiasm, and when 1 went home in tho evening he sank ito an armchair, and gavo way to tho ackest melancholy. Ah, poor Captain Lambouniguo was a •ey to the darkest thoughts I Decidedly us journey was not nt nil to his taste, o sat brooding in his armchair for nil's! and it became necessary for igaou to inform him that his supper us ready. The faithful servant was at ice impressed by his master's altered ipearance, and, with his usual familiarv. asked him tho cause of it. "Tjie cause, my poor Figaou." exclaimthe captain, "the cause is that wo ust weigh anchor and get under sail!" ' Get uudf>r sail!" "Yes, for .Tangier, and that at once." Tor Tangier!" Figaou rencated, his ce growing noticeably longer. "But tngier is. far away, on tbo other sido of 0 sea! 'You are quite correct! -It is two CTree days journey from here,, and wo all sail upon the Mediterranean." 1' igaou mado no reply, but lio turned le. This voyago seemed to bo no more iasing to him than it was to tho old l-dog who had sailed over all tho wins. 'We were so nuiet and comfortable re; he said, 'Well, well! Do you supposo that this sincss pleases mc? Still," wo must go, the same. \nd fhreo days afterwards they dcrted very mournfully. At tho railway ition, indeed, in tho presence of the inrnou Council, they boro themselves ht gallantly, for the entire Common uncil escorted them to tho train ~ Tho id • captain eren squeezed tho stationistcr s hand 'so vigorously that tho of•r could not lielii saying that the capit had a heart of oak and a.hand liko ■ice! But what a difference when tliey ind themwlves alono in tlicir compartnt! Leaning against tho window, poor .'ami watched tho disappearance of mdragon, with its little till, its rninchateau and its dark tower, as >ugh ho never expected to wo again native place. Tho captain, buried in corner, shut himself up in a monrnsilonoo—ho who generally could not ■r> Quiet, for mor6 than ha"lf a minute. Vhcn the tower disappeared at a turn tbo railway, Figaou settled himself at ■ 1 other side of tho compartment and >d his gazo upon his master. ITow calm and strong ho is!" ho murred to himself with a deop sigh. "Ah, . is 'easy to . Fee that ho is an old ' lor!" liey were silent, each absorbed in liis ! i thoughts. Presently the train stop- j ■ and a gpard called, 'Tarascon!" jn the captain rose, as if moyed bv a ing; and handed his valise to Figaou. But wo are not at Marseilles!" said ' aou. i All the same, we get out of the train . e." i What? To go to Tangier?" Do not trouble yourself about that," 1 1 tho captain with a confused air. 3 igaou followed his master and with i installed himself in an express train 1 ch was just starting.. Without trying indcrstand, lie noted bow they passed c iy railway stations. At laat ho un- . o

E- derstood, for, with all his dcfects, Figaou ad was by no means- an imbecile. Instead ,0. ot going to langier by water the oaptain meant to go there by laud! No. doubt Ix'Kiuso of the salmgitis from which lie "'"ci'ed; And in proi»orlion us tlioy drew n- nearer to the trontier, and, oonsequently, CO were farther. removed from . >r- gafel y U 5 recovered ita'..would ns . It was a long journey, a very lonir no 30«mey! All Spain to cross) - 'But at lg ai™ ■° no in Ule -V orrived at ln Vciras. To tell the truth, Fi gao u mado a \ery ugly fa:e when he saw the ocean in front of Algoriras, racing and ro foaming. Wc must cross!" ho said to o, nis master. as At the port the captain.of. a fishing a " vi'flnti- 'Tr-i u u ' ic ' . ni - "Coss tho id °tian3 of Gibraltar, 'a .tTilling distance, of !. or f rather exorbitant price. Captain jy iiamltouniguc, however, made, a very seriOils_ mistake; he paid (l, e captain of the ; n ishing smack in advance and fully an of hour before the time when they woro to ,j set sail. A hour is a .Miort time, but it st was quite long eno.igh for the fisherman io the sailors who formed liis crew to is " n £, tllGlr «!i»y to a. tavern and to get w 10 ««trageous y drunk that, as soon as the ie vcsse started, the three men rolled uixin j, tlio deck and liecamo insensible, i« . Captain lanibouniguo', that liardy. mard lncr, was already boginning 'to feel the is approach of ; a frightful attack-of. sent, wetnessi lint, the sight 'of tlie clew, , 0 quite incapable. of tho. slishtMt .effort '0 l'im .as if by magic. 10 r y .V„n !il ' e Figaou 1" lift u ,'nV "T*#t arc \«o to do?"" ' ir . .-Thero is nothing left for you, Cap. d f ,° t;ik ? command! . You under. d sUnd that perfectly,' answered Fipiou, h "-'"'een hvo distressing hiccoughs. But .aptam Lambohiifguo grew pale. \t a that moment the wind freshened, and the trail fishing-boat began' to roll and tx, it T,m t'le most alarming way. Captain Lambouuiguo went close to his valet. 5 an ,? T f a . ld '">*"low..confusod voicoj turpiw!. on (U- Vt? ou ! ' llav «: something ». Leu l blo to tell .you, lam 110 more a | captain-than is the Great Turk! All j illy life I'have been only a simple cov- « ernment functionary, tho chief of an of--11 ami lv ill l X I 1 , of ' « iiouVof I Tliat is what induced me to a h ] y 11, c an old sailor! You are I . W, , UI n,O? ]Iraw » knows that > bul-.-foi tho dangerous sitTiatibn iii Which " tllis'" 1 em P f W V ' 11CVCt ,laVO " m()o f 1 v fin ? m i yo, i ""dcrstand » r- 5 il. at Marseilles 1 Mv rt K;, ""'r A "' l tr<? i"'ile! While f • lived in Paris I was never able to travel upon one of the little boats on the Rdne i L? to sea-sickness! So do "hL°° un T ,no for ,anything Rbout.a t you!'"- ■ .opminand!.. I will obey. ! ' "Alas. Captainl 1, ' too, have ried!" -:„l\ ia - t '^ do say?" ' i All my Ijfo j bavo Wn nothing but a bottle-washer in a pharmacV on Rue T feimr. for the time to-day! In ordeFto get >ou to -hire me I mado'believe that 1 wag a sailor; but I am leally no mo.-e > ofa sador thah a lead soldier •" . Lamfeigue" 6 ,os t' ! " d'H Captain ; Ij !! c ! n l'j,wind drove the disabled ' craft on the coast for which it had start--1 m' an i somo rescued three nan who More dead-drunk, and ' two tionP m m ° aS dflploraWfl a condi " Laml»unigue and Figaou,'having re. from their fright, W ro able to proceed to langier; but neither of them was, ever willing to go back to Jtnndrapon on account of tho voyage. Tlie lii- '" 1 tio house on the; banks of'"the Ix-z was i t k nn j. , settled • lm ni J{ IS lfft iu Morocco, where ,l l f i VOS ' 4lla PP'cst man imagin- ' )c ; f or lie and Figaou continue to po«e ' as stalwart old mariners who have drop- , I )e " anclior in every port in the world.