strike him. “You don’t tell me there’s anybody there now, do you? Come on, young man; you don’t seriously think you see anybody there now, do you?”
He backed away a little, his eyes on Warren.
“Barnacle,” said Captain Valvick violently, “dere iss no yoke. Ay tell you he iss right! Ay saw her—ay have my fingers on her head. Ay carry her in here. She wass—” Words failed him. He strode over, seized the pillow out of the berth and shook it. He peered under the berth, and then into the one above. “Coroosh! You don’t t’ink we are in de wrong place, do you?”
Peggy, who had been stretching her arms out of Warren’s loose blue coat to push the hair from her eyes, seized the captain’s arm.
“It’s true, Captain. Oh, can’t you see it’s true? Do you think we could have been mistaken about a thing like that? There’s my compact, see? I left it on the couch. She was here. I saw her. I touched her. Maybe she just woke up and left. She had on a yellow crêpe de chine frock, a dark green coat with—”
Captain Whistler inspected each one of them with his good eye and then shut it up. Then he passed the back of his hand across his forehead.
“I don’t know what to make of you,” he said. “So help me Harry! I don’t. Forty years I’ve been at sea, thirteen in sail and seventeen in steam, and I never saw the beat of it. Mr. Baldwin!”
“Sir!” answered the second officer, who had been standing outside the door with a blank expression on his face. “Yes, sir?”
“Mr. Baldwin, what do you make of all this?”
“Well, sir,” replied Mr. Baldwin doubtfully, “it’s all these elephants and bears that bothers me, sir. Not knowing, can’t say; but I’d got a bit of a notion we were trying to round up a bleeding Zoo.”
“I don’t want to hear anything about elephants and bears, Mr. Baldwin. W ILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT ELEPHANTS AND BEARS ? I asked you a plain question and I want a plain answer. What do you think of this story about the woman?”
Mr. Baldwin hesitated. “Well, sir, they can’t all be loonies, now, can they?”
“I don’t know,” said the captain, inspecting them. “My God! I think I must be going mad, if they’re not. I know all of them—I don’t think they’re crooks—I know they wouldn’t steal fifty thousand pounds’ worth of emeralds. And yet look here.” He reached over and touched the berth. “Nobody’s lain on that, I’ll swear, if there was the blood they say. Where’s the towel they say they used, hey? Where’s the blood they say was outside the door? The woman didn’t change the linen on that bed and walk off with the towel, did she?”
“No,” said Morgan, looking straight at him. “But somebody else might have. I’m not joking, Captain. Somebody else might have.”
“You, too, eh?” said Whistler, with the air of one whom nothing surprises now. “You, too?”
“The whole bed was changed, Captain, that’s all. And I’m just wondering why. Look here—it won’t take a second. Lift off that bedding and look underneath at the mattress.”
This, allied with Morgan’s absent expression as he blinked at the bed, was too much for the captain’s grim-faced attempt to listen to everybody’s side of the case. He picked up the pillow and slammed it down on the berth.
“I’ll do no such damn fool thing, sir!” he said in what started to be a bellow but trailed off as he remembered where he was. “I’ve had about enough of this. You may be right or you may not. I won’t argue, but I’ve got more important things to attend to. To-night I’m going to call a conference and start one of the finest-toothed-comb searches that you ever heard of on sea or land. That elephant’s aboard, and strike me blind, I’ll find it if I have to take this tub apart one plate from another. That’s what I’m going to do. And to-morrow morning every passenger will come under my personal observation. I’m master here, and I can search the cabin
He backed away a little, his eyes on Warren.
“Barnacle,” said Captain Valvick violently, “dere iss no yoke. Ay tell you he iss right! Ay saw her—ay have my fingers on her head. Ay carry her in here. She wass—” Words failed him. He strode over, seized the pillow out of the berth and shook it. He peered under the berth, and then into the one above. “Coroosh! You don’t t’ink we are in de wrong place, do you?”
Peggy, who had been stretching her arms out of Warren’s loose blue coat to push the hair from her eyes, seized the captain’s arm.
“It’s true, Captain. Oh, can’t you see it’s true? Do you think we could have been mistaken about a thing like that? There’s my compact, see? I left it on the couch. She was here. I saw her. I touched her. Maybe she just woke up and left. She had on a yellow crêpe de chine frock, a dark green coat with—”
Captain Whistler inspected each one of them with his good eye and then shut it up. Then he passed the back of his hand across his forehead.
“I don’t know what to make of you,” he said. “So help me Harry! I don’t. Forty years I’ve been at sea, thirteen in sail and seventeen in steam, and I never saw the beat of it. Mr. Baldwin!”
“Sir!” answered the second officer, who had been standing outside the door with a blank expression on his face. “Yes, sir?”
“Mr. Baldwin, what do you make of all this?”
“Well, sir,” replied Mr. Baldwin doubtfully, “it’s all these elephants and bears that bothers me, sir. Not knowing, can’t say; but I’d got a bit of a notion we were trying to round up a bleeding Zoo.”
“I don’t want to hear anything about elephants and bears, Mr. Baldwin. W ILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT ELEPHANTS AND BEARS ? I asked you a plain question and I want a plain answer. What do you think of this story about the woman?”
Mr. Baldwin hesitated. “Well, sir, they can’t all be loonies, now, can they?”
“I don’t know,” said the captain, inspecting them. “My God! I think I must be going mad, if they’re not. I know all of them—I don’t think they’re crooks—I know they wouldn’t steal fifty thousand pounds’ worth of emeralds. And yet look here.” He reached over and touched the berth. “Nobody’s lain on that, I’ll swear, if there was the blood they say. Where’s the towel they say they used, hey? Where’s the blood they say was outside the door? The woman didn’t change the linen on that bed and walk off with the towel, did she?”
“No,” said Morgan, looking straight at him. “But somebody else might have. I’m not joking, Captain. Somebody else might have.”
“You, too, eh?” said Whistler, with the air of one whom nothing surprises now. “You, too?”
“The whole bed was changed, Captain, that’s all. And I’m just wondering why. Look here—it won’t take a second. Lift off that bedding and look underneath at the mattress.”
This, allied with Morgan’s absent expression as he blinked at the bed, was too much for the captain’s grim-faced attempt to listen to everybody’s side of the case. He picked up the pillow and slammed it down on the berth.
“I’ll do no such damn fool thing, sir!” he said in what started to be a bellow but trailed off as he remembered where he was. “I’ve had about enough of this. You may be right or you may not. I won’t argue, but I’ve got more important things to attend to. To-night I’m going to call a conference and start one of the finest-toothed-comb searches that you ever heard of on sea or land. That elephant’s aboard, and strike me blind, I’ll find it if I have to take this tub apart one plate from another. That’s what I’m going to do. And to-morrow morning every passenger will come under my personal observation. I’m master here, and I can search the cabin
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