Part 23 (1/2)

CHAPTER XIX

AN ATTEMPTED THEFT

That night the girls were very careful to lock both doors and Bess even went to the length of suggesting that they pile some furniture against them.

”It might be a good idea,” Nan had replied, laughing at her, ”if there were only some furniture to pile. What are you doing, Bess? You aren't stuffing cotton in the keyhole?”

”You needn't laugh, Miss Smarty,” Bess had retorted, straightening up defiantly with a large wad of the cotton still in her hand and a telltale tuft of it protruding from the keyhole. ”I'm not going to have any skinny old man with a funny mouth looking in at me while I sleep, I can tell you! Nan Sherwood,” she added threateningly, as Nan went off into a gale of uncontrollable mirth, ”if you don't stop laughing, I'll stuff the rest of this cotton down your throat, and I just hope you'll choke.”

”Oh, Bess! Elizabeth Harley!” gasped Nan. ”You look so foolish standing there with that wad of cotton in your hand. And the keyholes look as if they had the earache. Oh, oh!” and she went off again into half hysterical laughter.

Bess, after staring at her a minute, gave up all attempt at being dignified and joined in merrily.

”Goodness! you would make an Egyptian mummy laugh, Nan Sherwood,” said Bess, as she wiped away the tears of mirth. ”Who ever heard of keyholes having the earache! Just the same,” she added more soberly, as she started to unfasten her dress, ”you have got me terribly worried about those men. I know I'll dream of them all night.”

”Oh, no, you won't,” said Nan serenely, as she set about the business of undressing. Then she added, with a chuckle: ”I feel perfectly safe now that the keyholes are stuffed!”

It was not long after this that the two girls laid down to sleep. But Nan was restless and could hardly close her eyes.

”Those old papers,” she murmured to herself. ”I should have turned them over to Mr. Mason, or put them in the s.h.i.+p's safe. I don't see why I make myself keep them, unless it is that I want to prove to myself that I have _some_ backbone.”

Presently she heard Bess breathing heavily, showing her chum was in the land of slumber, and then gradually she dozed off.

Nan had been asleep about an hour when she awoke with a start.

She had heard a noise, of that she felt certain--a noise out of the ordinary and not connected with the running of the s.h.i.+p.

What was it? Was somebody trying the door?

She turned over and, feeling for the push b.u.t.ton, turned on the electric light. This move awakened Bess.

”What's the matter, are you sick?” asked the latter.

”No. I--I heard something--it woke me up,” Nan replied and got to her feet.

”Maybe those men----”

”Hus.h.!.+ If they are outside the door they may hear you, Bess.”

With caution the two girls tiptoed to first one door and then the other and peered out.

In the cabin only a porter sleeping in an armchair was to be seen, while out on the deck not a soul was in sight.

”You must have been dreaming, Nan,” said Bess, yawning. ”Come, let us try to get some more rest before morning.”

Nan was not satisfied and looked all around the stateroom, thinking a mouse might be wandering around. But no mouse was found, and at last both girls retired again. But Nan did not sleep very well and was glad when the rising sun proclaimed another day at hand.

Nan, swinging one bare foot experimentally over the edge of her berth, felt it caught and held tight by an invisible hand. She peered over the edge of the berth at the imminent risk of falling over herself and breaking her neck, and found, as she had expected, that Bess was her captor. The latter was holding on to her foot with one hand and rubbing her eyes sleepily with the other.