Chapter IV:
Oliver and Eva Sail for West Africa
A FORTNIGHT afterwards, Oliver had made ready for his departure. Lord Montroy accompanied him to Dubley castle in an effort to obtain the paternal blessing. The Earl of Dubley refused to grant an interview and permitted his son to go away without a word.
At Euston station Lord Montroy assisted Eva to enter the first class carriage of the 10 A.M. express for Liverpool and accompanied them to the Elder Dempster steamship Farquar.
At the Liverpool docks the party was supplemented by Mr. Servier, who also boarded the West African steamer. As the signal bell rung, Lord Montroy pleaded for the abandonment of the proposed journey. When the liner steamed from the dock, Lord Montroy stood waving as he watched the two figures disappear in the misty fog. An audible sigh escaped him and aroused his companion's attention, who noticed Lord Montroy's pensive mood.
Mr. Servier slapped him upon the back, saying, "Cheer up, Monty. You are not at a funeral. Do not think of Sierra Leone as the African jungle. Why, think of the cable communication and remember that you will always be in touch with Oliver."
Passing down the Mersey Oliver and Eva proceeded along the Channel watching the sceneries of the Devonshire and French coasts. Two days afterwards they passed through the Bay of Biscay and only by a change of luck and a capable captain they emerged out of one of the roughest passages the steamer had ever had.
The first stop was at Funchal, Madeira, one of the Portuguese islands off the African coast. A party consisting of Oliver, Eva, and Captain Griffith and a few other passengers, went up by rail to the Catholic establishment on Mount Carmel and lunched. The sceneries of the way are multifarious tropical fruits: bananas, plantains, oranges, mangoes, pineapples, star apples, sugar cane, grapes and sweet plums, as well as a rich abundance of variegated flowers of the sweetest fragrance.
They decided to try the thrills of the human locomotive power down the steep incline. Seating themselves in basket sledges, holding a couple of passengers each and drawn by two strong Portuguese coolies, they began their exciting toboggan ride down a snowless landslide. Running pell-mell at breakneck pace, the coolies refused to heed the loud and excited cries of "Stop, mad men! Oh, help!" and numerous other complaints, threats and pleas, but continued as they shouted in reply: "No stop, no stop, unless we get vino bibo."
The party finally acquiesced to their debauching demands, when they immediately halted on the ledge in front of a public house. The publican, who was well up in the graft, immediately appeared with a large tray of sparkling quart bottles of red Madeira and glasses. The coolies did not allow the wine to be served in the customary goblet, but emptied several bottles in the quickest possible moment.
They also had a little grafting business in view, for Dr. Barnes, one of the passengers, who understood Portuguese, heard the head carrier say to the publican: "These are rich people, you must charge them twice as much for the wine and split the profit equally with us when we return."
When Senor Publican presented his extortionate bill in accordance with the tip, he was most disagreeably surprised to understand that Dr. Barnes had already cooked his goose when he repeated for his information Senor Coolie's tip in El Senor's own tongue. Standing dumbfounded for a moment, he finally recovered himself and sighingly cut down his bill 60 per cent., as he offered a sort of shame-faced apology.
Once more the party resumed their journey to the wharf at a less perilous pace. Boarding a rowboat they returned to the ship.
Eva stood on the upper deck viewing the picturesque sceneries of the high eminence of the Madeira mountains until the country vanished in the distant horizon. Oliver called Eva's attention to the snow-capped peaks of Tenerife towering in the distance. Looking through the telescope they viewed the fine docks of Las Palmas Island, and the numerous ships and warships in the harbor, as they steamed away in a southeast by east course.