A few persons had commenced to walk briskly up and down the full length of the promenade deck. This was the customary prelude to a meal, for they were taking exercise in order to stir up a sharper appetite. Even the ship’s doctor had a woman patient in tow, and was making her almost run along by him, chatting at the same time to divert her mind.
Tom saw his chum advancing toward him again. As before Jack looked bothered, so that the other immediately became interested. Remembering what Jack had told him with reference to Bessie Gleason, he wondered whether his comrade could have met the girl again by accident. This might have happened on the companionway or down in one of the passages leading to the various staterooms. And perhaps Jack had heard further particulars concerning her plotting guardian’s desire that she should coax the boys into confiding their secret to her ears.
Jack dropped down into his seat with a grunt, after that cautious look around which had become a part of his nature lately. Then Tom heard him say grumblingly:
“After all they were too smart for us, Tom, for they’ve been searching your luggage while we played like a couple of sillies at deck quoits!”
CHAPTER VIII
PERILS WITHIN AND WITHOUT
Tom did not seem to be very much astonished when his chum made that statement.
“Well, do you know, I rather half expected that was what you were going to tell me,” he observed coolly. “I wondered whether such a smart chap as Adolph Tuessig, if he is aboard this steamer, would let a chance get past him to have my trunk broken open and looked over. That was what happened, was it, Jack?”
“While one fellow watched us another must have been busy in our stateroom,” explained the discoverer of the latest outrage. “These rascals seem to incline toward the burglary business, all right.”
“Why not, when spying is always associated with thievery?” Tom told him plainly enough. “Did they do much damage? I purposely left the trunk unlocked so as to save them from smashing it.”
“Oh! did you?” exclaimed his chum, elevating his eyebrows. “Then I warrant you they found nothing for their pains.”