The Mandie Collection (63 page)

“He didn't say anything about it?” Celia asked.

Lily's blonde curls had become tangled and unruly with neglect, as she had been spending all her time caring for her sister. She pushed back the damp ringlets. “No, he just said he heard that Violet was ill, and came down to see if there was anything he could do,” she explained.

“Well, that's surprising!” Mandie exclaimed.

“Do you two know him?” Lily asked. “No one seems to know where he went.”

Mandie shrugged. “Not really.” Then, changing the subject, “Is there anything we can do for you before we go, Lily?” She stood up.

“Oh no, thank you.” Lily smiled. “You have done so much already. I appreciate it more than I can say.”

“I'm so glad you sent that note, letting us know that Violet was sick,” Mandie told her. “You'd better lie down now and get some rest. You'll need your strength when we get to London.”

“I will,” Lily promised.

“We'll see you again before we dock,” Mandie said as the two left the room.

As they walked down the corridor, Mandie had another idea. “Why don't we see if we can find Jonathan?”

“He said he was in an empty cabin, remember?” Celia said. “How will we know which one, with all the doors closed?”

Mandie grabbed Celia's arm. “It's that strange woman,” she whispered loudly, pointing to the cross hall ahead. The two girls hurried to see if they could follow her. When they got to the corner, they saw her heading outside to the deck.

She sat down in a deck chair and pulled a book out of the large bag she carried. Although she seemed oblivious to the girls' presence on the deck, they stopped before they got closer.

“Let's just sit down in a couple of chairs near her and watch her the way she watches us,” Mandie said.

Celia nodded.

Mandie led the way and they found chairs at just enough distance that they could whisper without being heard.

At first the woman seemed to be engrossed in her book, but Mandie kept her eyes on her. A few minutes later, the woman glanced her way. Mandie just stared back.

Without dropping her eyes, Mandie struck up a conversation with Celia. “Two more days and we'll actually be in London!” she said excitedly.

“This sure has been a long trip.” Celia rested her head back on the chair.

“But it has been exciting, too, don't you think?” Mandie asked. “The best part about going home again will be to tell Joe about our adventures.”

Celia shook her head. “It will be a while before we see him again.”

“I suppose Mother and Uncle John will be down at the Pattons in Charleston again when we get back.”

“Mandie!” Celia threw her hands in the air. “We haven't even landed in London, and you're talking about getting back home. Are you homesick already?”

Mandie laughed. “Of course not. I'm anxious to see everything in Europe. I wouldn't even mind if we stayed the rest of the year.”

“But we have to go back to school in September, and as it is, we'll barely make it back in time.”

Mandie was still watching the woman in black, who had resumed reading. “I wonder if April Snow will be back to school in the fall,” she said.

“You know, school would be a lot more pleasant if April Snow would just decide to go to another school,” Celia replied.

Mandie laughed again. “But then we wouldn't have any troublemakers to contend with.”

“I suppose it would take all the excitement out of being at school.” Celia giggled.

Mandie giggled too, forgetting to keep her eyes on the reason they were sitting on the deck in the first place. When she finally looked up, the woman was gone. “Celia, she's disappeared again!”

The girls jumped up and looked around. Mandie shook her head. “I look away for a few seconds and she's gone!”

Celia straightened her skirt. “She's a clever one all right.”

“Come on, let's take a stroll,” Mandie suggested.

Noticing that most of the deck chairs were empty now, Mandie looked at the pendant watch on the chain around her neck. “We have just fifteen minutes before we meet Grandmother for the noon meal,” she said.

They paused near the lifeboat where Jonathan had been staying before all the recent events.

Celia nodded toward the boat. “Do you think Jonathan might possibly be in there?” she asked.

“I don't know why, but it wouldn't hurt to check,” Mandie replied. “Let's see.” Walking over to the lifeboat, she slapped the side of it. “Hey, are you there?” she asked.

To the girls' surprise, Jonathan popped his head out from under the tarpaulin and jumped down to greet them.

“Here we've been looking all over the ship for you, and you've gone back to the lifeboat,” Mandie fussed.

Jonathan smiled. “Why were you looking for me?”

“We own a part of you, remember?” Mandie teased. “If we lose track of you completely, we won't be able to collect that reward!”

Jonathan laughed. “So, you're really after my money, after all, huh?”

Celia frowned. “You're not very funny,” she said.

“No, you're not,” Mandie agreed. “It was
your
idea. If we turned you in to the captain, we wouldn't bother collecting the reward, but you promised it to us for the Cherokee school. I must say, you certainly have a short memory.”

“I haven't forgotten,” Jonathan assured them. “I was only teasing you. If we don't see each other again before we get into port, then I'll find you when the ship docks.”

“You'd better,” Mandie said. “Say, in case you are interested, Violet is much better now. Her fever has broken, and she was eating some broth this morning.” She straightened her bonnet. “By the way, why didn't you tell Lily that you were the one who rescued Violet?”

Jonathan looked down, suddenly shy. “Why should I? It doesn't matter who rescued the little girl. What matters is that she is alive and well.”

“You're right.” Mandie smiled.

“Why did you leave that empty cabin you were staying in?” Celia asked.

Jonathan grinned. “I almost got caught when the maids cleaned the rooms this morning,” he replied. “Fortunately, there happened to be a connecting door to the next cabin, and it was unlocked, so I slipped out that way.”

“I'll bet you're glad that we only have two more days on this ship,” Mandie remarked.

He nodded.

Celia ran her hand along the ship's railing. “We'll sure be glad to get away from that strange woman who keeps snooping around us,” she said.

Jonathan raised his eyebrows. “Strange woman? Who's that?”

“You know, the one who tried to point you out when you rescued the little girl,” Celia explained.

“I heard someone say something, but I really didn't see her,” Jonathan replied. “There were so many people around, I ducked out real fast. What does she look like?”

“She's old and scrawny looking, and she wears black all the time,” Celia answered.

“She's real short—shorter than I am. And she has lots of diamond rings on her fingers, and she wears an enormous brooch on her blouse,” Mandie added. “Her bonnet completely covers her hair, but one day when the wind was blowing, I noticed some wisps of gray.”

“Hmm!” Jonathan mused. “You say she's been spying on you? Like how, exactly?”

“Well, I know she must be the one who sent an anonymous note to my grandmother, telling her that we weren't behaving like young ladies should,” Mandie said. “And she always seems to be hovering around our hallway and cabin. Today she watched us from a deck chair.”

“But we've never seen her in the dining room, so she must eat at another seating,” Celia told him.

Jonathan frowned. “I don't think I've ever seen her.”

Mandie glanced at her watch again. “We've got to go, now, Jonathan. Is this where you're going to be staying then?”

“Looks like it,” he said with a sigh. “I left my valise in a hall closet near your room.”

Mandie gasped. “Someone will find it!”

“No, I don't think so,” he said. “I put it inside the wall where the water trap opens.”

“I hope it's there when you go back,” Mandie said, shaking her head. She turned to go and waved. “We'll see you later.”

Jonathan climbed back into the boat and pulled the tarpaulin over his head, and the girls headed back to their cabin.

At the noon meal the girls visited with Mandie's grandmother and Senator Morton while waiting to be served. Mrs. Taft leaned forward. “I know you girls will enjoy hearing this,” she said barely above a whisper. “They say there's a real lady detective on this ship. Can you imagine? A
woman
detective?”

Celia gasped. “Really? What does she look like?”

Mandie was sure Celia was thinking what she was thinking—the strange woman just may have an identity after all.

“I have no idea, dear,” Mrs. Taft replied. She turned to the senator. “Have you seen her?”

“No, I don't believe so,” he replied. “They say she's just ordinary looking, though. You wouldn't know she was a detective. But then, who would know what a lady detective should look like?” He smiled.

“Well, if y'all find out, I'd sure like to know,” Mandie said. “That is, I think it would be real interesting to meet a lady detective.” She didn't want to sound too worried. Jonathan could be in for some real trouble if that woman found out about him.

Celia shot her a knowing glance.

Mandie and Celia commented about Violet's recovery, and Mrs. Taft smiled happily.

“I am delighted to hear that the little girl is better,” she said. “I'll have to see to it that she and her sister are allowed to stay in the sick bay until we get to London. That place downstairs is horribly overcrowded. In fact, I think I shall do something about it.”

“Like what, Grandmother?” Mandie didn't want to give away the fact that she knew who owned the ship.

“The captain of a ship is supposed to be responsible for such things,” she said indignantly. “The ship's order and condition is given to his charge. He should have certain rules and regulations to protect all passengers, whether they pay first-class fares or not.”

“But isn't the shipping line that owns the ship the one that sets the fares and the number of passengers allowed and all that?” Mandie observed her grandmother's reaction.

“Sometimes the owner may not know exactly what goes on, Mandie. Employees are paid to run the business for the owner,” Mrs. Taft replied.

“I'm sure if the owner of this ship knew what things were like down there, conditions would improve,” Mandie said with a smile.

“You're absolutely right,” Mrs. Taft agreed.

Just then the waiter brought their food, and the conversation switched to other topics.

About halfway through their meal, Mr. Holtzclaw, the newspaper man, came by the table and the senator invited him to join them.

“Yes, please do,” Mrs. Taft insisted.

Mr. Holtzclaw pulled over a chair from another table and sat next to the senator. “This could wait, but I just wanted to bring you up-to-date on that kidnapping in New York—you know, Lindall Guyer's son,” he said.

The senator nodded and continued eating.

“I was able to contact my New York office on the wireless this morning,” Mr. Holtzclaw continued, “and the latest news is that the reward has been doubled.”

Mandie and Celia looked at each other and tried to hide their surprise.

“I sure hope Lindall finds the boy,” Senator Morton replied. “It must be very difficult for him.”

“Well, in a way it's the man's own fault. He has really neglected the boy,” Mr. Holtzclaw explained. “He keeps him in private schools
all the time, not giving the boy a chance to get to know his father very well.” He scratched his forehead, thinking for a moment. “You know, I've never even met the boy. He's been away at school whenever I've been at their house. But I understand he gets high marks in school.”

Mandie bit her lip to keep from saying anything.

Senator Morton wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I believe his mother is dead, isn't she?”

“That's right. She died when he was a baby,” Mr. Holtzclaw replied.

Mrs. Taft set down her fork and looked from the senator to Mr. Holtzclaw and back again. “Is he the multimillionaire in New York who tries to buy out everybody's businesses?” she asked coldly.

Mr. Holtzclaw laughed. “You've got him pegged right. He tries to buy anything he thinks will make money for him, and he usually succeeds because he's got the money to pay for it.”

“Well, money doesn't buy everything,” Mrs. Taft commented. “I am sure there are those people who want to keep their business because it has been in the family a long time. Others don't need the money and won't sell no matter what is offered.”

“That's true,” Mr. Holtzclaw said, standing. “But I must be going now. Have a good afternoon.”

Senator Morton nodded to him. “Let me know if you hear anything further,” he said.

“I will do that,” Mr. Holtzclaw promised.

Mrs. Taft laid her hand on Senator Morton's arm. “Do you suppose someone kidnapped Mr. Guyer's son for the money, or to settle the score on a sour business deal?” she asked.

“The paper said they
assume
he's been kidnapped,” the senator emphasized. “It wouldn't surprise me if he's run away.”

Mrs. Taft gasped. “Oh, dear! I hadn't thought of that.”

Mandie felt guilty, knowing about Jonathan and not reporting his whereabouts to Mr. Holtzclaw. The news could be gotten to Jonathan's father in minutes via the wireless.

Her face felt hot as she debated what to do. Finally she decided to talk to Jonathan again and tell him that she felt she should let his father know where he was. As soon as she and Celia could get away, she would try to see him at the lifeboat.