Paula's Quest [pp. 211-218]

Overland Monthly
character, and one quite able, as a rule, to
take care of herself.
Being the only lady passenger, she, of
course, attracted much attention; more
probably because women, especially young
and attractive ones, were at that time at a
high premium in San Francisco, if one
may be so ungallant as to compare them
with gilt-edged securities by way of illustration. She clung close by Captain Graham, however, who escorted her to the
Wlmat Cheer House, and returned for her
luggage, which he sent to that hostelry,
with orders to deliver it to Miss Deane.
It was my fortune to know Captain
Graham quite intimately, and as he turned
to go on board, after delivering his order,
he recognized me among the onlookers and
caine to me at once. Taking me by the
arm he led me to one of the returning
boats, and in a few minutes we were seated
in his cabin.
"Lieutenant, you are just the man I
hoped to see. I should have started out
to hunt you up an hour hence, and here I
find you just in the nick of time, and no
trouble about it at all."
"What can I do for you, Captain?"
"Not much for me, except it may be
indirectly. The fact is I don't know that
you can do anything. But I so earnestly
hope that you can, and have thought about
it so much, that I have really come to
believe that you will succeed."
"If you will tell me how I may be of
service to you, Captain, I think I may
promise to do all that lies in my power."
"I knew you would, Lieutenant.-I
knew it; and now here's the tangle. You
saw the young lady I took up to the What
Cheer? Well, she was the only lady passenger on board, and I gave up my cabin
to her and cared for her as if she was nmy
own daughter; and I have taken a great
interest in her affairs. She is not very
communicative but her storv as far as I
have learned it is this: She is the only liv ing child of a prominent merchant of
Boston, lately deceased. Her mother very
shortly followed her father to the grave,
her decease hastened probably by the fact
that instead of being as every one sup posed worth half a million, the husband
and father had died insolvent leaving the
mother and daughter in absolute poverty.
The girl's affianced is here in some one of
the diggings, and knowing that your
duties frequently lead you among the
various placers, I thought that you would
be just the man to get track of him. His
name is Charles Stewart, and the last she
heard of him he was at Jones's Gulch,
wherever that may be; you probably
know."
"Yes, Captain; I know well where
Jones's Gulch is. Sergeant O'Neil and
myself were to start for that place
to-day, and probably will this afternoon.
If I can get a description of Mr. Stewart
I will keep a lookout for him. As we will
be likely to visit several diggings before we
return it is possible we may meet him
somewhere during the trip."
"' Just the thing, Lieutenant,-the very
thing itself! Nothing could turn out
better. Now, we will go ashore, and you
just walk up to the What Cheer with me. I
will introduce you to the young lady, and
you can get a description of her sweetheart
at first hand."
I consented, and in a few minutes I
stood in the presence of Paula Deane, and
was listening to her eager description of
Charles Stewart. Captain Graham, after
giving me a very earnest invitation to dine
with him, which I accepted, as I saw that
he had more to say to me, excused himself
on the plea of duty and returned to the
steamer.
I found Miss Deane to be a very superior young lady. At the same time I found
myself very much inclined to envy Mr.
Stewart the possession of so fair a fiancee.
A half-hour passed very quickly, and as I
rose to take my leave Miss Deane blushingly informed me that she had another
acquaintance somewhere in the gold
regions, a young gentleman by the name
of Danforth-Henry Danforth. I might
possibly meet Mr. Danforth. Should I do
so, would I be so kind as to tell him that 1
had met her in San Francisco? And to
aid me in recognizing Mr. Danforth, she
fortunately could loan me a small daguer reotype which she had in her trunk. She
had always kept it, they were such old
friends and schoolmates. And then I could
not for the life of me tell which I most
envied, Danforth or Stewart. However, I
took the picture, promising to return it in
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