Wind Raker - Book IV of The Order of the Air by Melissa Scott, Jo Graham Page B

relieved to find his voice steady. “That would never do.”
     

Chapter Five
    T hey were disembarking at noon. Douglas rolled the new word over in his head, enjoying its syllables even though he knew it just meant “getting off the boat.” The suitcases they had had with them in the cabins were all packed again, and Mrs. Sorley said the trunks they’d watched being swung aboard the Matsonia in giant nets back in San Diego would be waiting for them on the dock. He had a couple of books in those trunks that he’d be glad to see again, even though he hadn’t finished the book he’d brought with him because he’d spent too much time exploring the ship.
    “Douglas!” Mrs. Sorley said. “Come here, darling, let me comb your hair.”
    Douglas submitted without complaint, mindful of Jimmy’s eyes on him. Jimmy had yelled at him for scaring everyone, which he hadn’t meant to do, except that he was curious about the engine room and then he’d gotten lost. But the stokers had been really nice, and they’d let him help carry the coal while the engineer told Mr. Sorley where he’d gone, and then Mr. Sorley had climbed down to collect him and apologize. He wasn’t entirely sure what Mr. Sorley was apologizing for, because he’d been really careful about not getting underfoot, and he didn’t think the stokers were mad at him. Jimmy had been mad, though, and that wasn’t fair. He wasn’t really in charge, no matter if he was eleven.
    “Why do we have to get dressed up to disembark?” he asked, and Mrs. Sorley gave his chin a quick rub with her handkerchief.
    “Because we’re coming to a new place, darling, and you always want to make a good impression. Jimmy, go wash your hands, please. Merilee, come here.”
    Douglas parked himself on the padded bench that ran along the cabin wall, swinging his legs. He supposed that made sense. Certainly Jimmy would think so. He gave Jimmy a scowl as he came out of the little bathroom, but Jimmy ignored him. As far as Douglas could figure, Jimmy had nearly talked them out of this trip, and now that he’d been on a real ship — a freightliner, the stokers said it was called — he wouldn’t forgive Jimmy for that, not easily. He remembered Mr. Sorley sitting them down in the room that served as Gilchrist Aviation’s office, with all their licenses framed on the wall like diplomas at the doctor’s. He’d explained that the grown-ups had a job that was going to take them to Hawaii, and that he would like to bring them along.
    “Why?” Jimmy asked, after a moment.
    “A couple of reasons,” Mr. Sorley said. “First, if — when — your father comes back, nothing will have happened that can’t be changed. If you don’t come with us, the sheriff says we have to find someone to take care of you here, or you’ll have to go to the Children’s Home in Denver, and that might be harder to undo. Second — Mrs. Sorley and I like you, and Dora likes you. It would be nice for Dora to have some company on this trip.”
    Douglas had nodded, but Jimmy frowned even more deeply. “What if our dad comes back while we’re gone? He’ll think something awful has happened.”
    “If he does, he’ll go straight to the sheriff himself,” Mr. Sorley said. “And the sheriff can tell him where you are. And he can send us a telegram right away, so you’ll know what’s happened.”
    “But we’ll be on the boat,” Jimmy said.
    “They get telegrams on boats all the time,” Mr. Sorley answered. “I promise, he’ll be able to find you.”
    They did get telegrams on the ship; Douglas had seen them delivered in the dining room, the waiters carrying the envelopes on little silver trays. They’d never gotten one, though — his father was probably still in Denver, still looking for work, or maybe he’d found a job that took him traveling, so he couldn’t write.
    He didn’t like to think about that, so he turned his attention to the essay he’d been composing all the way across the