then, did he make a choice?”
“Yes …”
“And whom did he choose?”
“Me.”
“You … Horatio?”
“Me.”
Mrs. Patterson recovered without too much difficulty from the surprise that this answer gave her. An intelligent woman, she could imagine the reasons involved in this decision and did not waste time on vain recriminations. In this, she was a worthy companion to Mr. Patterson.
He, however, after having exchanged these few phrases with her, had walked to the window, and with the fingers of his left hand was tapping on one of the panes. Mrs. Patterson soon came to stand next to him:
“You have accepted?” she asked.
“I accepted.”
“I think you did the right thing.”
“I do too, Mrs. Patterson. After our Director showed such confidence in me, I could not refuse.”
“Doing so would be impossible, Mr. Patterson. But I regret only one thing.”
“Which is?”
“That the voyage is not by land but rather by water, and that it will be necessary to cross the sea.”
“Necessary indeed, Mrs. Patterson. All the same, the idea of this two-to three-week sea-crossing does not frighten me. A good ship has been put at our disposal. At this time of the year, between July and September, the sea will be calm, and navigation will be favorable. And moreover, there is also a salary bonus for the head of the expedition, who is to be called the mentor, a title that will be given to me.”
“A bonus?” repeated Mrs. Patterson, who was not at all indifferent to such advantages.
“Yes,” answered Mr. Patterson, “a bonus equal to the one that each scholarship-recipient will receive.”
“Seven hundred pounds?”
“Seven hundred pounds.”
“A worthy sum.”
Mr. Patterson fully agreed.
“And when is the departure?” asked Mrs. Patterson, who had no more objections to offer.
“On June 30, and in five days we must be in Cork where the Alert will await us. So, there is no time to waste. This very day we must begin the preparations.”
“I’ll take care of everything, Horatio,” replied Mrs. Patterson.
“You won’t forget anything.”
“Don’t worry!”
“Light clothing, since we will need to travel in hot regions that roast under the heat of a tropical sun.”
“Light clothing will be packed.”
“In black, however, since it would not suit my charge nor my character to wear any eccentric tourist outfits.”
“Leave it to me, Mr. Patterson, and I will also not forget either the Wergal formula4 against seasickness, or the ingredients that it recommends to take.”
“Oh! Seasickness!” said Mr. Patterson with disdain.
“No matter, we must be prudent,” continued Mrs. Patterson. “So, it has been decided, it’s to be a trip of two and a half months.”
“Two and a half months, that’s ten to eleven weeks, Mrs. Patterson. Indeed, in that period of time, what unforeseen events might ensue! Like the wise man said, we may know when we are leaving, but we don’t know when we will come back.”
“The important thing is that you come back,” emphasized Mrs. Patterson. “You mustn’t frighten me, Horatio. I will resign myself, without untimely recriminations, to a two and a half month absence, to the idea of a voyage by sea. And I know the dangers such a trip might entail. I have reason to believe that you will know how to avoid them with your usual caution. But please do not leave me with this unpleasant impression that the voyage could be prolonged even longer.”
“These are observations that I thought necessary to make,” replied Mr. Patterson, defending himself for having overstepped the boundaries allowed. “These observations are not meant to trouble your soul, Mrs. Patterson. I simply wanted to warn you against any worry in case the return were delayed, without giving cause for serious alarm.”
“Granted, Mr. Patterson, but it is a matter of a two-and-a-half months’ absence, and I want to believe it will not exceed that term.”
“I would like to believe that too,” answered Mr. Patterson. “Besides, what is it really? An excursion in a lovely part of the world, meandering from island to island in the West Indies. And if we happen to come back to Europe two weeks late …”
“No, Horatio,” stated this excellent lady who was being more firm than usual.
And, indeed, without knowing exactly for what reason, here was Mr. Patterson becoming insistent as well—which was not at all usual for him. Was there a reason why he was raising Mrs. Patterson’s apprehensions?
What is certain is that he insisted once again and with force on the dangers that any kind of voyage offers, especially a voyage overseas. And when Mrs. Patterson refused to admit these dangers that he depicted with emphatic pauses and gestures:
“I do not ask you to see them,” he stated, “only to anticipate them, and as a consequence of this prediction, I will take some necessary measures.”
“Which ones, Horatio?”
“In the first place, Mrs. Patterson, I am thinking about making my will.”
“Your will?”
“Yes … Of sound body and mind …”
“But what you want is to let death get a grip on my heart!” exclaimed Mrs. Patterson, who was beginning to envision this voyage from a frightening perspective.
“No, Mrs. Patterson, no! I only want to conduct myself wisely and carefully. I am one of those men who thinks it is reasonable to make his last wishes known before taking the train, and even more so, when it is a matter of venturing onto the liquid plains of the oceans.”
Such was this man, and would he stop with declaring his will? What else might he imagine? Whatever it might be, he had already alarmed Mrs. Patterson to the fullest, who now had the thought that her husband was going to settle these inheritance matters, always so delicate, then the images of the dangers of a trans-Atlantic crossing, colliding, running aground, shipwrecking, then becoming a castaway on some island at the mercy of cannibals.
Mr. Patterson felt that perhaps he had gone too far, and he employed his most soothing phrases to reassure Mrs. Patterson, his better half, or rather one of the halves of this shared life that is called marriage. Finally, he succeeded in showing her that excessive precautions could never lead
