“Even in the best-regulated families,” finished Lucile, gaily.
Her father laughed, and pinched the tip of one pink ear fondly. “I suppose there is no use trying to make any of you serious at such a time,” he said, with the resigned air of one giving up all hope; “but there is one little phrase that it will be well for you to remember, and that is, ‘Safety first.’”
And with that fatherly admonition he left them, bidding them wait where they were until he could rejoin them. In a few minutes he returned, bringing his wife and Phil, declaring that nothing now remained to be done but walk off the ship when the time came.
The great “Mauretania” was very near her destination now, and was nosing her way carefully through the traffic, convoyed by two snorting and puffing tugs. The raucous shouts and cries of sailors and watermen came to their ears, with now and then a snatch of song from the decks of some tall, four-masted freighter. There were shouts of 108 “aye, aye, sir” and “ship, ahoy,” mingled with the rasping of cables and the clatter of cargo cranes—and behind all this noise and confusion lay the quaint, historic streets of Liverpool, and later, London, filled with the glory of ancient times.
The girls’ eyes were large and dark with wonder and excitement as they lowered their glasses and looked at each other.
“Yes, you are awake,” said Mrs. Payton, with a laugh, interpreting the look.
“Jessie looks as though she had just seen a ghost,” said Phil.
A few minutes later the great liner was warped securely alongside the great landing stage, while the whistle shrieked a noisy greeting. Passengers hurried from one group to another, shaking hands in a final farewell with shipboard acquaintances whom they had come to know so well in so short a time. Porters hurried past, laden with luggage, and groups of eager passengers formed about the entrance to the gangways.
“I feel as though my hand had been shaken off,” said Evelyn, regarding that very necessary appendage ruefully.
“Oh, there’s Mrs. Applegate and Puss,” said Lucile, and darted off through the crowd so suddenly that the girls could only follow her with their eyes.