“My respects, Judge Breckenridge, and glad to see you aboard again, sir. To get your table seats, sir, if you’ll remember.”
“Thank you, lad, and good enough! Come on, lassies, let’s go down and scramble for best places and first table, when eating time comes.”
All over the deck people were beginning to rise and make their way toward a further door, from which a flight of stairs descended to the dining-room, and these three followed the crowd. The very mention of “eating” had brought back to Dorothy a sensation of terrible hunger. She had eaten nothing since her breakfast at the Academy, and her sail had sharpened her appetite beyond ordinary. During her late experiences in the city and her terror concerning Miss Greatorex she had forgotten this matter, but now it came back with a positive pang. Suddenly Molly, too, remembered the fact and exclaimed:
“Why, you poor girlie! Talk about eating—you can’t have had a bit of dinner! Papa, Dorothy hasn’t had her dinner this livelong day!”
Her tone was so tragic that people behind her smiled, as her abrupt pause upon the stairs arrested their own progress, and she was promptly urged forward again by her father’s hand.
“Heigho! That’s a calamity—nothing less! But one that can be conquered, let us hope. Now, fall into line close behind me and watch this interesting proceeding.”
From the earnestness depicted upon the countenances of the passengers, this securing of good seats at the first table, in a room which would not allow the serving of all at one time, was a vital matter. The purser stood at the entrance of the saloon and assigned a seat to each person upon the examination of a ticket presented. His office was not a pleasant one. There were the usual grumblers and malcontents, but he preserved his good nature amid all the fault-finding and selfishness; and the Judge had the good fortune to secure five places at the Captain’s table, which was significant of “first call to meals.”
This accomplished he led his charges out of line, carefully deposited his “meal tickets” in an innermost pocket, and crossed an ante-room to where there were plates of ship’s biscuits and slices of cheese.
“Take all you want, all you can eat, both of you youngsters. Sorry to say no regular meal will be served, not even for Dorothy’s benefit, till the six o’clock dinner. Unless she choses to get seasick; when she would have tea and toast sent to her and wouldn’t be able to touch it! Enough? Take plenty. There’s no stinting on Captain Murray’s good ship though a lot of cast-iron rules that one must never break. Hark! There’s Melvin’s toot again! There must be a great crowd on board, if all haven’t come to get their seats here yet. Now we’ll interview our women folk and see how they’re faring.”
Munching their crackers and cheese the girls hurried to “Number Thirteen,” the only stateroom on the promenade deck which Miss Rhinelander had been able to secure for her cousin Isobel and Dorothy; and though she had held her peace concerning it Miss Greatorex had inwardly revolted against this “unlucky” number.