“I am perfectly all right,” she assured him.
“Good,” he gave a little sigh of relief then snapped again: “Slim.”
“Coming,” shouted Slim.
“Take Miss Langwell out and walk with her along the beach. The fog isn’t so bad now and the fresh air will help her recover quickly. Are the rest of the men on the job?”
“Yes, sir, everyone.”
“Let me walk with Mr. Slim too,” Natell begged as she bobbed up from somewhere.
“If your mother doesn’t need you,” Wat smiled at the little girl. “You’ve been a great kid tonight, and the next boat that comes in is going to bring something mighty nice for you.”
“You bet,” Slim added with a grin. “That boat will have two nice things for you. I’ll get my sister to buy you something dandy.”
“Good,” Nomie nodded, so Natell joined the pair as they made their way out onto the beach. A bucket brigade was already marching toward the door with brimming pails of water to “swab deck.”
“Did Natell go for you?” Roberta asked. She was thinking of how the little girl had disappeared among the draperies just before the arrival of the boatmen.