slipping and a piece of glass sheared his trouser leg open but only grazed the skin. He never even noticed.
Rogo snatched a glimpse as he went by and said morosely, 'I wouldn't want to die like that.'
His wife added, 'I wish you would!'
The party, with the seaman Pappas and Scott leading, came to a door. The Greek stopped and stared at it dully. The polished steel knob was at a curious level, just above their heads. Scott reached up and swung it open. They were all accustomed to the slightly raised, brass-bound thresholds of the doorways aboard ship, over which on the first day landlubbers were forever stumbling until they got used to them. But here there was one some two feet in height.
Scott warned, 'Careful!' and helped Miss Kinsale climb over it.
'What kind of a door is this?' asked Rosen.
Shelby answered him as he assisted his wife, 'It's upside-down.'
Belle Rosen said, 'I don't understand. Is everything going to be upside-down?'
Scott replied, 'I'm afraid so, Mrs Rosen. But we'll manage somehow.'
They were in a long, narrow corridor, a wall on one side and cabins opposite. The pipes that had run along the ceiling and were now underfoot were of a smaller size and spacing than those in the pantry.
'Where are we?' Martin asked.
'Still on "R" deck, I think,' Scott said. '"D" deck is just above us and "E" would be where Peters said Broadway was. We'd better go slowly. We don't want any turned ankles.'
Jane Shelby took a firmer grasp upon the arm of her husband as the thought flashed through her mind of what a sprained or broken ankle, or any kind of serious injury would mean, since Scott would leave such a person behind. They needed to make all haste but could not afford to do so.
They were helped however, by the emergency illumination spaced at intervals in the flooring, lamps projecting from between the pipelines and lighting up their footing. But they had progressed only some ten yards before these lights went out so suddenly that it left them stunned, in darkness darker than dark shot through with pyrotechnics at the back of their eyeballs from staring down at the now extinct lamps.
From behind them they heard Rogo's voice, 'Jesus Christ!' and then the hysterical scream of his wife, 'Mike, hold on to me! Don't let me go!'
There was another sound then, a rushing and a slapping of heavy footsteps against the steel piping and some of them were struck and bumped in the dark by a heavy body. They smelled the stink of sweat and garlic.
And then as suddenly as they had gone out, the lights came on again. But this time brighter and without the fluctuation that had characterized them before.
Robin whispered to his sister, 'I'll bet the other set of batteries has taken over.'
When their eyes had got used to the brightness, they noticed that Pappas the sailor detailed to lead them was no longer there.
Rogo said succinctly, 'Why, the dirty, yellow, son-of-a- bitch! He's taken a powder!'
CHAPTER VI
Nonnie Joins Up
The implication of that brief darkness came as an aftershock and for a moment the party huddled together. It was muggy in the corridor and the men removed their coats and tied them around their waists by the sleeves.
The front of Hubie Muller's shirt was frilled and pleated. His braces were black with violet flowers. Rogo wanted to say, 'Oh dearie, how lovely you look!' but refrained. He himself was trim and muscular with the thick neck of a steer rising from his open collar. His wife's artificial curls had begun to part from her own. She clawed them off the back of her head and threw them to the floor, where they nestled coiled between two sides of pipes like some small, furry animal.
Susan Shelby thought that Scott with his open collar and sleeves rolled up, axe and rope at his belt, looked like an old-fashioned movie hero. Her father found it hard to remember that he had been embarrassed by seeing the Minister on his knees. He was all man.
Jane Shelby's soft, wavy hair had come down about her
Rogo snatched a glimpse as he went by and said morosely, 'I wouldn't want to die like that.'
His wife added, 'I wish you would!'
The party, with the seaman Pappas and Scott leading, came to a door. The Greek stopped and stared at it dully. The polished steel knob was at a curious level, just above their heads. Scott reached up and swung it open. They were all accustomed to the slightly raised, brass-bound thresholds of the doorways aboard ship, over which on the first day landlubbers were forever stumbling until they got used to them. But here there was one some two feet in height.
Scott warned, 'Careful!' and helped Miss Kinsale climb over it.
'What kind of a door is this?' asked Rosen.
Shelby answered him as he assisted his wife, 'It's upside-down.'
Belle Rosen said, 'I don't understand. Is everything going to be upside-down?'
Scott replied, 'I'm afraid so, Mrs Rosen. But we'll manage somehow.'
They were in a long, narrow corridor, a wall on one side and cabins opposite. The pipes that had run along the ceiling and were now underfoot were of a smaller size and spacing than those in the pantry.
'Where are we?' Martin asked.
'Still on "R" deck, I think,' Scott said. '"D" deck is just above us and "E" would be where Peters said Broadway was. We'd better go slowly. We don't want any turned ankles.'
Jane Shelby took a firmer grasp upon the arm of her husband as the thought flashed through her mind of what a sprained or broken ankle, or any kind of serious injury would mean, since Scott would leave such a person behind. They needed to make all haste but could not afford to do so.
They were helped however, by the emergency illumination spaced at intervals in the flooring, lamps projecting from between the pipelines and lighting up their footing. But they had progressed only some ten yards before these lights went out so suddenly that it left them stunned, in darkness darker than dark shot through with pyrotechnics at the back of their eyeballs from staring down at the now extinct lamps.
From behind them they heard Rogo's voice, 'Jesus Christ!' and then the hysterical scream of his wife, 'Mike, hold on to me! Don't let me go!'
There was another sound then, a rushing and a slapping of heavy footsteps against the steel piping and some of them were struck and bumped in the dark by a heavy body. They smelled the stink of sweat and garlic.
And then as suddenly as they had gone out, the lights came on again. But this time brighter and without the fluctuation that had characterized them before.
Robin whispered to his sister, 'I'll bet the other set of batteries has taken over.'
When their eyes had got used to the brightness, they noticed that Pappas the sailor detailed to lead them was no longer there.
Rogo said succinctly, 'Why, the dirty, yellow, son-of-a- bitch! He's taken a powder!'
CHAPTER VI
Nonnie Joins Up
The implication of that brief darkness came as an aftershock and for a moment the party huddled together. It was muggy in the corridor and the men removed their coats and tied them around their waists by the sleeves.
The front of Hubie Muller's shirt was frilled and pleated. His braces were black with violet flowers. Rogo wanted to say, 'Oh dearie, how lovely you look!' but refrained. He himself was trim and muscular with the thick neck of a steer rising from his open collar. His wife's artificial curls had begun to part from her own. She clawed them off the back of her head and threw them to the floor, where they nestled coiled between two sides of pipes like some small, furry animal.
Susan Shelby thought that Scott with his open collar and sleeves rolled up, axe and rope at his belt, looked like an old-fashioned movie hero. Her father found it hard to remember that he had been embarrassed by seeing the Minister on his knees. He was all man.
Jane Shelby's soft, wavy hair had come down about her
Similar Books
