As yet scarcely believing, he stripped back the sheet; turned over the mattress; searched every crevice of the berth. But the pendant had disappeared. It rather dazed him. Stolen. Once more a mysterious hand had reached out and spirited away the oval. One thing it proved: that there were two elements at work, lurking elements. But how swiftly! He was gone only a few minutes!... Why in thundering hades hadn't he looked inside before he went on deck? What a monumental fool!
Which verifies for the millionth time the truth of a certain fable about an Equus caballus and a stable.
4
The next morning in the dining-salon Trent saw Dana Charteris, merely a glimpse—a smile and a nod. She was at a table across the room. However, later, as he was moving toward the purser's office, he came upon her aft on the promenade deck, elbows upon the rail, eyes upon the steerage. She turned as his step sounded behind her.
"Isn't it glorious?" was her greeting, motioning toward the sea where the sun had painted a glittering dragon on the intense blue.
"Quite," he agreed, having forgotten the purser in the eternal wonder of her eyes. "I hope you weren't ill last night?"
"Not physically. I was doing penance."
"I shouldn't think that would require all evening."
A smile. "Would you like to become father-confessor?"
"Perhaps."