It seems to me my brother Raleigh told me they'd had a
naphtha engine put in last winter after the freshet, when the House-boat
was carried ten miles down the river, and had to be towed back at enormous
expense. They put it in so that if she were carried away again she could
get back of her own power."
"That's unfortunate," said Mrs. Noah, "because I don't know anything about
these new fangled notions. If there's any one here who knows anything
about naphtha engines, I wish they'd speak."
"I'm of the opinion," said Portia, "that I can study out the theory of it
in a short while."
"Very well, then," said Mrs. Noah, "you can do it. I'll appoint you
engineer, and give you all your orders now, right away, in advance. Set
her going and keep her going, and don't stop without a written order
signed by me. We might as well be very careful, and have everything done
properly, and it might happen that in the excitement of our trip you would
misunderstand my spoken orders and make a fatal error. Therefore, pay no
attention to unwritten orders. That will do for you for the present.
Xanthippe, you may take Ophelia and Madame Recamier, and ten other ladies,
and, every morning before breakfast, swab the larboard deck. Cassandra,
Tuesdays you will devote to polishing the brasses in the dining-room, and
the balance of your time I wish you to expend in dusting the bric-a-brac.
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