第59部分(第1/7 頁)

e　said　to　abound；　it　was　necessary　to　be　very　careful　in　gathering　these　floral　treasures。　With　much　difficulty　I　succeeded　in　bringing　a　sackload　of　roots　to　England；　and　in　the　greenhouses　here　still　survive　some　of　the　plants　I　collected　in　Mexico；　though　certain　of　the　ferns　grew　so　enormous　that　they　had　to　be　given　away。　I　lost　that　sack　on　an　American　train；　and　was　told　by　the　conductor　to　go　and　look　for　it　in　a　very　insufficiently　lighted　van；　where　presently　I　came　to　grief　over　some　hard　object。　It　proved　to　be　a　coffined　corpse　which　was　being　“mailed”　from　one　part　of　the　States　to　another。

Our　return　journey　to　Frontera　was　quite　as　arduous　as　that　of　which　I　have　spoken；　but　in　the　end　we　arrived　without　having　contracted　fever　or　met　with　any　serious　mishap。　Here；　however；　we　fell　victims　to　Mexican　guile。　The　American　steamer；　with　our　wives　and　luggage　on　board；　was　due　to　call　on　the　following　day；　but　some　rascal　at　Frontera　who　was　agent　for　the　line；　and　also　owned　a　tub　that　plied　between　that　port　and　Vera　Cruz；　informed　us　that　this　she　would　not　do　because　of　a　“norther”　that　was　ing　up。　Now　a　“norther”　is　a　very　terrible　gale　which　blows　for　days　at　a　time　in　the　Gulf　of　Mexico；　making　it　impossible　for　even　the　finest　ship　to　approach　certain　of　the　ports；　and　the　agent　swore　that　his　telegraphic　information　as　to　its　arrival　was　correct。　This；　of　course；　meant　that　we　might　look　forward　to；　I　think；　another　fortnight　of　the　pleasures　of　Frontera。

However；　the　agent　was　ready　with　a　remedy。　The　tub　I　have　mentioned　was　sailing　for　Vera　Cruz　at　once。　It　would；　he　said；　get　there　before　the　liner　left；　or；　if　not；　it　would　signal　to　the　liner　to　stop　and　take　us　aboard。　Only　we　must　make　up　our　minds　instantly　—　within　five　m