Voyage of the Dreadnaught: Four Stella Madison Capers by Lilly Maytree

it.”
    “Me, either. It will definitely be a load
off my mind to get on solid ground, again.”
    “I thought you liked living on the
boat.”
    “I do. It's got all kinds of ambiance. And
that galley is heaven to cook in. It's the ocean I'm scared stiff
of. Don't think I ever will get used to it.” She set her cup down
and picked up her knitting, again.
    Stella was about to take another sip of her
tea when she realized her friend's project was a sock with such an
enormous tube it would go way past a person's knee, already.
“Millie, who on earth is that for?”
    “This? Oh, it isn't for anybody. I just knit
to settle my nerves. The only thing I ever learned to do was socks.
Way back when I was ten. Took me half the trip even to remember how
to do it because it's been that long since I practiced.” As if to
prove the point, she began to unravel it, again.
    Stella gasped at seeing the thing disappear
into a heap of wrinkly gray yarn right before her eyes. “But all
that work—wouldn't you rather have something to show for it? Give
them away for Christmas, maybe.”
    “They're not good enough for that. They
always turn out crooked, or something. But a person has to resort
to some form of therapy when they're scared half out of their mind
most of the time. Wouldn't you say?”
    “I guess it depends on what you're scared
of. The colonel says if it's something evil, you just tell it to
buzz off, because you don't want anything to do with the dark side
of supernatural. But if it's something legitimate, like the ocean,
I don't blame you. I was scared stiff, myself during that storm we
had. And I don't like it when it gets rough and choppy, either. But
it must at least make you feel better that we're almost there.”
    “The truth is, Stel, I'm even more scared
about getting there. Because of the bears. Mason says just make a
lot of noise and stay in groups. On account of they don't want
anything to do with us, either.”
    “Well, that sounds reasonable, don't you
think?”
    “Not as reasonable as having a loaded gun on
my belt.”
    Stella wasn't sure if she would be more
afraid of Millie walking around with a loaded gun than a bear, but
she didn't mention it.
    “Bears you can shoot. But the ocean...” She
got to the end of unraveling her sock and started casting on new
stitches, again. “The ocean is so unpredictable and... big. I
really don't know how Stuart even finds his way around in it.
Especially without radar.”
    “We don't have radar?”
    “Too expensive, and he never had the
funds.”
    “For heaven sake, I didn't know that.” She
felt a twinge of apprehension at the very thought. “He's so
confident about everything, I just assumed.”
    “Used to be confident. Which is really why I
asked you to come out here, Stel.” Millie stopped working, and
looked her right in the eye. “Something is wrong with Stuart. He
hasn't been himself, the last couple of weeks.”
    “Well, he does have a lot more to worry
about than the rest of us. The Dreadful being his boat, and
all.”
    “It's the Dreadnaught , not the Dreadful . Sometimes I think you enjoy calling it that.”
    “I do. It's such a monstrosity of a thing.
Although I have to admit it has its charm. I'll probably be won
over by the time we finally get there.” She took another sip of her
tea, and noticed Millie had dropped two stitches by the time she
went back to her knitting. “But Captain Stuart has such peculiar
ways, I don't see how you can tell if he's his normal self, or not.
He's one of the most abnormal people I've ever known.”
    “I can tell, all right. He only ate half his
linguine and clams, the other night, and that's one of his favorite
meals. He never used to miss when I made it back home.”
    “Maybe he's just not used to all our
home-cooked meals. Didn't Mason say he lived mostly off boiled
eggs, crackers, and sardines?”
    “That and junk food. Which is why I decided
to make hamburgers and fries for our celebration, tonight.