Belle Newberry nodded breathlessly. “... Lord, what a scare!... Yes... He’s sitting in his stateroom... Where’s Dad, Moms? ”
Her mother said, “He’ll be along any minute, Belle.”
The captain and the purser pushed past Della Street and into the cabin.
“I’m sorry,” the captain said, “I’m Performing an unpleasant duty. You people know why we’ve turned around, don’t you?”
“We’d heard there was a man overboard, ” Mrs. Newberry said.
“Yes,” the captain said. “When did you last see your husband, Mrs. Newberry?”
“Why, I left him right after dinner.”
“Where?”
“He came to the stateroom with me, then left almost immediately. Why, Captain? Tell me, you don’t... Have you... That is...”
The captain said grimly, “We think your husband’s missing. Do you know anything about it?”