Lucile Triumphant Part 16

"Our friends won't have a minute to look at our staterooms."

"We had to wait for the young folks, my dear," suggested Mr. Payton, mildly, and then, as Lucile and Jack joined them, he hurried them before him with scant ceremony. "We don't want to lose you," he explained, when they laughingly protested.

And then, at last, they were on deck, where a steward relieved them of their light luggage.

The girls tried to take in everything at once as they followed their guide along the deck and down the cabin stairs, but they had at last to give it up as a bad job.

"I feel as if I must be home in Burleigh, dreaming all this," said Jessie. "I'm getting dizzy trying to take in all the new impressions."

"Stick close to me, then," Phil invited. "I'll be on deck when you faint."

"Much good that will do Jessie when she is in the cabin," remarked Evelyn, with scathing sarcasm.

"Oh-h!" groaned the boys in unison, and Jessie clapped her hands delightedly, crying, "That's right, Evelyn; give it to them whenever you can."

And then all nonsense stopped suddenly as the steward paused and, fitting the key in the lock, disclosed the stateroom engaged for Mr. and Mrs.

Payton. They crowded into the room and the girls set about examining everything without more ado.

"Oh, isn't it splendid?" cried Lucile. "You would never dream from the looks of this room that we were on board s.h.i.+p. Why, it's just as complete and comfortable as our rooms at home!"

"Pretty nifty," Phil agreed, as his glance traveled from the neat bra.s.s bed to the dresser and the large, inviting chair.

"I hate to hurry you," said Mr. Payton, as he pulled out his watch, "but as time waits for no man, we will have to hustle considerably if we expect to see the other two rooms."

So, reluctant to leave secrets still to be discovered, yet anxious to see their own room, the girls filed out, talking and laughing all at once, till they reached a door a little further down the corridor, which Mr.

Payton designated as belonging to their stateroom.

While they waited it seemed to them that never before had simple tasks, such as fitting a key into the lock, been performed with such exasperating slowness, and the girls fairly danced with impatience. The older folks smiled indulgently, and Mr. Sanderson chuckled as he pulled Evelyn's ear and inquired inanely, "if she were having a good time."

He was crushed a moment later by the withering scorn from three pairs of merry eyes, and Mrs. Payton exclaimed, laughingly, "Such a question! All you have to do is just look at them."

Then, at last, the door flew open and they gazed on what was to be their own domain for five days at least; and it is safe to say that, in her heart, each of the girls wished it were to be twice as long.

"Oh, isn't it perfectly, beautiful, wonderfully lovely?" cried Jessie, getting more excited with each adjective, and when the others laughed merrily at the extravagance of her description, she added, defiantly, "I don't care; it is! I'll leave it to any one."

"You are right as far as you went, Jessie," Lucile backed her up, "only you didn't say half enough."

"And there's a full bed and a cot, just as we thought," Evelyn went on with the inventory, "and a bea-utiful dresser, and three darling chairs, and--and----" she finished incoherently.

"I'm sorry you all seem so dissatisfied," said Mr. Payton, with so droll an attempt to look gloomy that Lucile then and there threw her arms about his neck and gave him an ecstatic kiss, crying joyfully, "Oh, you are the most wonderful father in all the world!"

"Lucile!" exclaimed her mother warningly, whereupon Lucile, who was far too happy to consider consequences, promptly kissed the astonished lady.

"To say nothing of Mother!" she cried.

Much to every one's surprise, far from being displeased, Mrs. Payton seemed rather to enjoy her daughter's impulsive outburst, merely cautioning her not to overheat and overexcite herself too much, as the day gave promise of being a very hot one.

"The big portholes make it so nice and light, too," said Jessie, again referring to the stateroom. "Why, one wouldn't even mind being seasick here!"

"Oh, Jessie!" cried Lucile and Evelyn, in dismay, and Lucile added, "I guess it doesn't make much difference where you are when you're seasick.

From all I have heard, you just about wish you could die."

Mr. Payton laughed, and said, rea.s.suringly, "The probability is that none of us will be sick, but we needn't worry about it till the time comes, anyway. And now," he added, "I guess, if you young people can tear yourselves away, we had better go on deck."

"But we haven't seen Phil's room yet." Lucile began, when that young gentleman, interrupted with a superior, "Don't let that worry you. I wouldn't have a lot of girls making a fuss over my quarters."

"We probably wouldn't anyway," said Jessie, and pa.s.sed out with her nose in the air.

"I've heard that lemons and salt herring are good for seasickness," Jack teased, as they stepped on deck.

"Oh, don't!" Lucile pleaded, puckering her mouth at the thought of the lemon. "There is only one comfort," she added, triumphantly, "and that is, if I am seasick, you won't be here to know it."

"That's cruel," he laughed back; then added, quickly, "But you are going to write to me, any way, and tell me all about your experiences, aren't you?"

"I don't--know," she answered, doubtfully. "You see, even if Mother were willing, I wouldn't stay in one place very long--and----"

They were standing near the rail, Jack bending toward her very earnestly and she, gazing out over the crowded wharf, a little confused and very uncertain what to do; and yet, in her girl's heart, she knew what she _wanted_ to do!

"If you don't want to get left, Turnbull, you'd better hustle," sang out Phil. "Everybody's off that's going."

Jack leaned forward and took Lucile's hand. "Please," he urged. "Just a little short letter--anything, as long as you write. Won't you please?"

Then Lucile's last little barrier gave way and, with a quick, half-whispered "All right," she ran to join her father and mother, who had caught the little inter-change and had regarded each other with troubled eyes. "Perhaps it's just as well we are going to Europe," Mrs.

Payton had said, and Mr. Payton had nodded an unusually grave consent.

Jessie and Evelyn were engrossed in taking leave of their folks, who were half laughing, half crying at the thought of parting with them for so long.

Again the warning cry, "All ash.o.r.e that are going ash.o.r.e!" and, with a last hug and kiss and cry of "Take care of yourselves and be good," the ladies, a.s.sisted by their impatient escorts, hurried down the gangplank and were instantly lost to sight among the jostling mob down below.

"Phil, run and get the spy-gla.s.ses--quick!" directed Mrs. Payton. "They are in the grip in my stateroom. Here's the key--hurry!"

So Phil raced off as directed and the rest were pushed up against the rail by the crowd that pressed four deep behind them, all striving eagerly for a last sight of the dear ones on the wharf.

"Where are they?" cried Jessie, frantically. "I can't see a soul----Oh, yes; there's Dad's hat, I know--look, he's waving it----"

"And there's your mother, too, Evelyn," Lucile broke in. "See, she's waving her handkerchief----"

"Oh, I can see them all now," said Evelyn, dancing up and down excitedly.

"They're all there, oh--oh-h----"

"Here's Phil," said Lucile, making room for him, as he wormed his way through. "He didn't waste much time."

"Bet your life I didn't," said Phil. "How I found the place I don't know--must have been a sort of instinct, I guess. Here you are, Mother."

Then there was a great noise and rattle as the gangplank was pulled up, and a moment later the great s.h.i.+p began to draw away ever so slowly and majestically, and the great whistle shrieked a blatant blast of farewell to the shouting, cheering, handkerchief-waving crowd on the wharf.

"Lucy," whispered Evelyn, squeezing her friend's arm so tightly that it hurt, "did you ever see anything like it?"