"On the ocean?" asked Alice.
"No, on the Great Lakes. I was going to Cleveland, which I learned when I asked one of the officers."
"And didn't you know where you were going before you asked?" Ruth questioned.
"I hadn't the least idea, my dear. I might just as well have been going to Europe. In fact, when I first looked out and saw the water, I thought I was on the ocean."
"But where did you come from, what were you doing there, where were your people?" cried Ruth.
"That's it, my dear. Where were they? I didn't know. No one knew. All I could grasp was the fact that I was there on the boat."
"Alone?"
"Yes, all alone."
"But who bought your ticket—who engaged your stateroom?" questioned Ruth.
"That is the queer part of it. I did it myself. When I first became conscious that I was in a strange place I was so shocked that I wanted to scream—to cry out—to ask all sorts of questions. Then I realized if I did that I might be taken for an insane person and be locked up. So I just shut myself in my stateroom and did some thinking.