CHAPTER XVI

THE HUNCH-BACK AGAIN

"But this isn't where our cabin is!" Nan exclaimed the next morning as Bess and Rhoda, one on each side of her, walked her slowly from the hospital back to the stateroom.

"Yes, it is, Nan," Rhoda maintained.

"But ours was number 648. It was an outside cabin." Nan continued to protest. "Or have I gone completely batty?"

"I wouldn't say that," Rhoda teased, "though you do do some pretty strange things sometimes. However, this is your cabin now and it's not an outside one. There just wasn't another outside one free."

"But why did I need another? What was wrong with the one I had? What happened? Please tell me," she pleaded. The questions tumbled one after another out of Nan's mouth, for she was impatient, still somewhat shaken after her frightening experience during the storm.

"Oh, Nan, it's nothing at all," Bess comforted. "That is, I hope it isn't, because it's all my fault," she added very contritely. "It was so warm here the night of the storm that I opened the porthole when I came down to leave my heavy coat. Amelia called me and told me to hurry and, rattle-brained as I am, I ran after her completely forgetting about the storm and the porthole. You can guess what happened. One of those big waves that nearly did away with you plopped in and made a miniature lake."

"Was anything ruined?" Nan asked.

"Nothing, except my own silk dress. Remember, I threw it down in disgust that afternoon because the snaps had been pulled off the sleeves. Well, you should see it now. It's a complete wreck. Serves me right to have to get along without it. I only hope you don't feel too disappointed in the new cabin." Bess looked genuinely troubled.

"Don't worry," Nan reassured her friend. "I don't care what kind of a cabin I have," she said lightly, for such things really didn't matter to her.

But the words were hardly out of her mouth when Bess pushed the door open and revealed to Nan a big stateroom with twin beds, a chaise longue, two big easy chairs, dainty dressing tables, a large wardrobe, and a little private sitting room!

Nan gasped. "This isn't ours," she exclaimed incredulously.

Rhoda and Bess looked from Nan to the stateroom and back again to Nan. "It is," they cried. "It's yours."

Nan stepped into the room and looked around. The sitting room had big windows overlooking the deck and the sea. There were books and magazines, a victrola, comfortable chairs and a rug. Over it all the morning sun was streaming.

"But why?" Nan's eyes were wide open in amazement.

"Captain's orders," Rhoda answered.

"Why?" Nan persisted.

"I told you why," Bess smiled. "It's because our cabin was inundated by the recent flood."

"I still don't believe that's the truth," Nan asserted. "But I love this place just the same."

"Do we walk right in?" It was Laura at the door. "Or do we have to send cards first?"

"Oh, Laura!" Nan exclaimed. "Come here. Have you seen this?" She moved the dial of a small radio.

"Have I seen that? Why, darling, I moved your things in," Laura laughed. "And what's more, I was here when the Captain came."

"The Captain!" They all exclaimed at once.

"Yes, he came down in all his glory. He has a stern looking face complete with a Vandyke beard, and he wore a uniform with epaulettes and much fancy braid. He carried a cap in his hand. He came 'to see if Miss Sherwood's stateroom was satisfactory.'" Laura tried to clip the sentence off as the Captain had.

"You should hear his accent!" she exclaimed. "It's Oxford or Cambridge or something equally as exclusive, I'm sure. I'm quite in love with the man! He's perfectly darling!" she finished.

"I beg your pardon." The girls jumped and looked up, startled, for it was a man's voice. They recognized at once the uniform, the cap, and the Vandyke beard. It was the Captain! He must have heard them!

He looked sternly down on their confusion. "Miss Sherwood?"

"Yes, Captain." Nan answered meekly and started to get up.

"No, no," he motioned her to remain seated.

Nan sat down again. The voice was one that was accustomed to being obeyed.

"I merely wanted to make certain that everything was satisfactory." He looked critically about the room.

"Oh, it is! It is!" Nan exclaimed. "It's just perfect!" Not even her confusion could keep the note of sincerity out of her voice.

The Captain seemed preoccupied with his inspection of the stateroom. "Your baggage has been moved." It was more a statement than a question. "You are feeling--well."

"Yes, thank you, sir," Nan hastened to reply. Had she felt otherwise she wouldn't have dared to admit it in the face of his assurance.

"You want for nothing?"

"No--no, sir. Nothing at all." Nan was annoyed at her own inability to be at ease. If only he had come at another time!

Then his glance seemed to take in Laura for the first time.

"And Miss Polk, I trust that you are comfortable too." Again, it was a statement and Laura gulped, not knowing whether she was supposed to answer or not.

"I thank you, ladies." With this he turned and went out.

Even before his measured tread was entirely out of earshot, Laura was lamenting. "If only I had kept my mouth shut!" she exclaimed. "'Oxford or Cambridge accent.'" She sounded completely disgusted. "'I'm in love with the man! He's perfectly darling.' And then he walks in on me! What can I do? You can't walk up to a man and apologize for anything like that." She looked hopelessly at her friends.

Nan was laughing so hard she was holding both her sides and so was Bess. Rhoda was stuffing a handkerchief into her mouth. "Oh, I never saw anything so funny in my life," she said.

"Funny!" Laura was indignant. "I'd like to know what was funny about that! Funny!" she muttered.

"Oh, Laura," Nan was wiping the tears out of her eyes. "If you could have seen the expression on your face when he asked whether you were comfortable, you would laugh too."

Laura grinned with them at this. "The old meany," she said. "He heard every word of what I said, and he was just rubbing it in. And I thought he was a chivalrous old duck! I wish he would come back now. I'd tell him what was what."

"Don't, don't say that." Rhoda raised a protesting hand. "You'll meet him soon enough as it is."

"Oh, no, I won't," Laura denied. "I'm not going to stir out of my cabin from now until the time the boat docks. I just couldn't face that man again." She turned as though to leave, but stopped as Grace came into the room.

"What man?" Grace asked. "Did you see him too?" Her face was pale and scared looking.

"What are you talking about?" Rhoda rushed over and closed the door behind Grace.

"That man, that red-headed hunchback. Oh, the one that went through Nan's bags. Surely, you haven't forgotten him. Did you see him, too?" She directed the question at Laura again.

"Why, Gracie, no, I haven't seen him." Laura was very serious now. "Have you?"

"Oh, yes." Grace was pale and frightened. "He's out there. I think he followed me down the hall." She was almost hysterical.

Laura moved toward the door and reached out as if to open it.

"Don't do that!" Grace's voice was a command. "He followed me. I tell you he followed me!" She almost shrieked the last.

Nan got up, went over to the girl, and put a reassuring arm around her. "Grace, please," she begged. "Get hold of yourself. You'll be making us all panicky. There, now, calm down." She wiped the girl's eyes.

"Oh, you're treating me like a baby!" Grace shook herself out of Nan's arms. "I tell you--" She paused and, for a second, the room was in complete silence.

Through it came the sound of a knock at the door. The girls looked questioningly at one another, but no one moved. Then, they heard it again, faintly.

Laura stirred. "I'm going to open it," she whispered. Nan nodded her head. But before Laura could, they heard Amelia's voice. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Nan herself walked to the door and threw it wide open. "Come in, Amelia," she said, and then closed the door after her friend.

"What's up?" Amelia sensed the tenseness in the room right away.

"Did you see anyone at all in the corridor?"

Nan answered the question with another.

"Why, no." Amelia looked puzzled. "No one, that is, except the stewardess. She's sitting out there on a stool, knitting."

"You didn't see the red-headed hunchback?" Grace couldn't believe it. "You didn't see him standing right out there watching this room?"

"Are you sure, Amelia," Nan asked the question, "that you didn't see anyone besides the stewardess?"

"Positive," she answered. "I know, because as I came down the corridor I looked for people."

"Why?" Nan questioned her again.

"Say, what is this?" Amelia asked. "The third degree or something? I looked simply because I've been wondering what kind of people lived down in this end of heaven. Evidently they are all queer." She looked significantly at the people around her.

"Well, you'd be queer, too," Grace asserted, "if you'd seen and heard what I did. I was coming down the corridor alone thinking of Nan and the new cabin when I heard someone say in a mean rasping voice, 'Well, you find out the answer pretty soon, or you'll never live to see Scotland again.'

"I was scared and would have run, but the cabin door opened. As it did, I ducked into another and waited. Oh, it seemed as though I was there for hours in some strange person's cabin, afraid to stay and afraid to go. Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer, so I opened the door quietly and looked out. There was no one in sight. I tiptoed down the corridor, and was just about to come in here, when I saw that awful looking hunchback standing out there.

"I'm sure he was watching this cabin. I would have turned and run or gone right past him, but I saw his eyes." Grace shuddered.

"They're terrible eyes. I couldn't go on. I had to come in here." Grace looked up at Nan as though asking for approval for what she had done.

"Of course you did, Grace," Nan said quietly and soothingly. "Of course, you had to come in. But tell me," she questioned further. "Why did you say he followed you?"

"Did I say that?" Grace looked puzzled.

They all nodded.

"Oh, I don't know," Grace shook herself as though she had difficulty in remembering clearly. "I guess I was just afraid he was, and I knew that his eyes were on me. Why should he watch this cabin?" She looked up at Nan. The others followed her glance. They too felt, somehow, that Nan knew the answer.

Nan sat silently considering.

Should she tell them what she knew or shouldn't she? Could she trust them? She looked around at their faces, at Rhoda's and Amelia's, and was tempted to tell. Both of these girls seemed to be calm in all the excitement. "They might be able to offer some help if needed," Nan thought. Then she heard Grace stifle a sob and saw again how frightened and worried the girl looked. She hesitated. She looked up at Bess, her closest friend, and was tempted again.

There was a noise outside. Bess jumped nervously. She was scared, too. Then Laura spoke, and Nan gave up all thought of revealing, at the present at least, what little she knew about the things that were happening.