CHAPTER XVIII
A STARTLING REVELATION
It was a wonderful journey, that one to Jacksonville, and one the girlsnever forgot. At first the weather was unpleasant, cold and blowy, buttoward the afternoon of the second day the gentle winds of the southfanned them with their welcoming breath, and heavy wraps began to feelburdensome.
At first the girls had been afraid that they would become seasick andhad wondered what they would do should such a weakness overtake them.
"I know I'll just lie down and die, if I get sick on this steamer," Besshad declared.
"Oh, no, you won't, Bess," Nan had made reply. "You'll do as everybodyelse has to--grin and bear it."
"But to be sick on a ship that is rolling and pitching all the time----"
"You can keep in your berth, you know."
"There is no fun in that."
"Then go on deck--and make an exhibition of yourself."
"Nan Sherwood, I think that, on occasion, you are utterly heartless."
"So are you."
"Oh, I see. Trying to get square for what I said about Walter Mason."
"Not at all. I am only----"
But there Nan had had to stop, for a sudden lurch of the steamer hadthrown her against the wash-stand. Bess had gone sprawling on the floor.
"I--I didn't think it would be so rough," Bess had gasped out, onarising.
"I--I don't think it is going to be so awful bad," Nan had declared. Andshe had been right. By noon of the second day the sea was quite smooth.Neither of the girls felt a bit of seasickness and both were glad to goon deck and enjoy the sunshine.
"What a change since yesterday," said Bess, as the two girls stood bythe rail looking out over the lazily rolling water. "It seems almostlike magic, doesn't it?"
"It's wonderful," breathed Nan happily. "It seemed so silly to pack allmy summer things when the wind was blowing like mad and it was ten abovezero in Tillbury. But now I'm mighty glad we did. Whew, isn't this coatwarm!"
"Cheer up," cried Bess gaily. "Maybe by to-night it will be so warm wecan put all our winter things in storage and blossom out in silkgeorgette and white flannels like veritable butterflies from acrystal--I mean chrysalis. Nan, are you listening to me?" she demandedseverely, for Nan's eyes had deserted the long line of lazy combers andwere following the figures of two men, one long and one short, who werestrolling slowly down the deck.
"Bess, do you see those men?" asked Nan, with a troubled inflection thatcaused Bess to look at her sharply.
"Yes, my dear," she answered. "My eyes are still in good workingcondition."
"Does there seem anything strange about them?" Nan insisted. "Anythinglike spying?"
Bess jumped and regarded the back of her chum's head reproachfully.
"For goodness' sake, Nan!" she cried, "you are never going to start thatall over again, are you? I thought you had got over that silly notionyou had of being followed."
"I wish it were only a notion, Bess," said the girl, turning such aserious face to her chum that for once even careless Bess was sobered.
"Why, Nan, what do you mean?" she asked. "You can't mean that there isreally somebody spying upon you!"
"That's just what I do mean," said Nan soberly. "I didn't want to worryyou, Bess, so I didn't tell you. But something happened last night----"She stopped suddenly, for the two men were coming back again, apparentlyabsorbed in conversation.
Nan's eyes were following the figures of two menstrolling down the deck. (_See page 140_)]
Presently the tall man and his short companion passed and as they did soNan gave each a searching look. The men did not happen to see the girls,and soon were out of sight around a turn.
"I am almost sure they are the same," murmured Nan and her face was astudy.
"Nan, you talk in riddles!" cried her chum. "What does it mean?"
"I'll tell you, Bess, even though I don't want to frighten you stillmore."
And thereupon Nan related how she had seen two strange men near her homeand at the local drugstore and the railroad station, and how one hadstepped up as if to speak to her and then hurried away.
"I am almost sure they are the same, and, oh, Bess, one of them has suchan awful look in his eyes! I am sure they cannot be at all nice."
"Humph! That is certainly strange," murmured Bess. "I guess those chapswill bear watching. What can they be up to, do you think--watching yourhouse and following you like that?"
"I haven't finished. Last night----"
"Oh, yes, you started to tell about last night. Go ahead--oh, it's soexciting--just like a movies!"
"You remember we went down to the dining-room together," Nan went on ina low tone, "and I suddenly remembered that we had forgotten to lock thedoor. I was a little frightened, for I thought of Mrs. Bragley's papersand our jewelry, and I almost ran back.
"Just as I opened the door," Nan's voice quickened with excitement andBess leaped forward eagerly, "I saw a shadow on the glass of the otherdoor--the one that opens upon the deck."
"Why, Nan! are you sure?" gasped Bess, catching herself up quickly toadd, "Never mind. Don't bother to answer me. What happened next?"
"Well, for a minute I just stood there," said Nan, her eyes searchingnervously for the reappearance of the two men on deck. "I guess I wasjust too surprised or frightened to speak, for the shadow on the doorwas that of a man, and he was trying the door!"
"Oh, Nan, what did you do?" demanded her wide-eyed chum. "I should justhave screamed and run away."
"A lot of good that would have done," said Nan, a little contemptuously."I wanted to scream, but I didn't think of running away."
"Of course you wouldn't," said Bess humbly. "But go on, Nan. What didyou do?"
"I threw a bathrobe over my grip in the first place," said Nan. "I hadleft it standing out in the room. And then I pulled the door open justas the man started to open it from the outside."
"Oh, Nan!" cried Bess again. "Then he really meant to come in?"
"Of course he did--although he said he didn't," said Nan grimly. "When Ipulled the door open suddenly and stood looking at him he acted as if Iwas a ghost or something. He did for a minute, that is. Then hestraightened up and sort of put on a smile--you know, the way you wouldput on a coat to cover up a soiled dress or something----"
"Why, Nan, I never----" Bess began indignantly, then interrupted herselfagain. "Never mind me," she begged. "You've got me so excited that Idon't know just what I'm saying. What happened then, Nan? Didn't you saysomething?"
"Of course I said something," returned Nan. "I asked him what he wasdoing at my stateroom door and what he wanted."
"What did he say?" whispered Bess, her eyes wide in wonder.
"He said that he was very sorry. That he thought this was his stateroom.That he wouldn't have startled me for the world. And then he bowedhimself out and I slammed the door after him."
"But, Nan," Bess had regained her breath again and felt in the mood foran argument, "how do you know that the man really hadn't made a mistake?I suppose it would be easy enough to get mixed up."
"Bess, that man didn't make any mistake," said Nan Sherwood with suchconviction in her voice that once more Bess was startled.
"How do you know?"
"He was the meanest man I ever saw--his looks I mean," said Nan,apparently not noticing her chum's interruption. "If you could have seenhim as I opened the door, you would feel just the way I do. He hadprobably seen us going down to dinner and thought it was a good chanceto get into the stateroom and steal----"
"Steal!" gasped poor Bess, for Nan was getting her pretty thoroughlyfrightened. "You mean he was a thief, Nan?"
"Of course," Nan returned impatiently. "I don't suppose honest men arein the habit of sneaking into empty staterooms."
"But if it was a mistake----" Bess interrupted, grasping at a straw.
"It wasn't any mistake," Nan repeated gravely. "If he had thought it washis own door, he would have opened it quickly. He wouldn't have been soslow an
d cautious about it."
"But, Nan! what could he have wanted to steal from us? It isn't asthough we had one of those handsome staterooms down below that cost afortune to hire even for a night. We haven't anything so very valuable."
"Except Mrs. Bragley's papers," said Nan grimly. "I wonder you didn'tthink of them."
"Oh!" said Bess. "The papers! Yes, of course there were the papers. Why,Nan," she turned upon her chum excitedly, "do you really suppose theycan be as important as that? Why, I never dreamed----"
"I know you didn't. But I did," said Nan decidedly. She then added underher breath as the two men turned a corner and again headed down the decktoward them: "Don't say anything. Wait until these men have passed andthen look at them, the tall, thin one in particular."
Bess was about to exclaim, but Nan silenced her with a look and theywaited quietly while the strangers once more sauntered past them.Evidently they were taking a prolonged constitutional about the deck.
Bess stole a quick glance at them and then turned back to her chum.
"They are the same men who passed us just a little while ago," she saidwith a puzzled frown.
"Yes. And one of them, the tall, thin one with a slit for a mouth, isthe man who tried to enter our stateroom," said Nan earnestly. "I'm justtelling you this so that you will be more careful to lock our stateroomdoor whenever you go in or out."
"Goodness--Gracious--Agnes!" gasped Bess, mimicking ProcrastinationBoggs in her agitation. "You are actually making me nervous, NanSherwood. Lock the door, indeed! As if we were afraid of being murderedin our beds! Why, I sha'n't sleep a wink to-night. I never heard of sucha thing."
"You needn't look at me as if I were to blame," said Nan with spirit. "Ididn't ask that horrid thin thing and his little fat friend to follow usall over and nearly give me heart failure. I'll be glad when this tripis over, I'll tell you that."
"So will I," said Bess morosely. "But I'll be gladder still when you getrid of those old papers of Mrs. Bragley's--if that is what they areafter."
"The one thing that makes me feel good," said Nan thoughtfully, as ifspeaking to herself, "is that the papers must be worth something orthese horrid men wouldn't be so anxious to get them back. Maybe we shallfind that poor Mrs. Bragley is a rich woman yet."
"Either that, or else that we have made a big mistake and the men arenot after the papers at all."
"But if not after the papers, what?"
"I don't know."