After testing the cabin door, she sat down again beside Louise. The girls did not sleep but they fell into a drowsy, half-stupefied state. Then suddenly they were aroused by the sound of low voices just outside the porthole.
“It’s an old man coming,” they heard Wessler mutter. “Must be Noah.”
“What’ll we do with him?” the other demanded.
“Wait and see how he acts,” Wessler advised. “He’s such a simple old coot he may not suspect anything. If he makes trouble we’ll have to lock him up.”
A silence ensued and then the girls heard heavy footsteps on the gangplank.
“Ho, and who has visited my ark while I’ve been away?” muttered Old Noah.
Wessler and his companion, Breneham, stepped from the shadows.
“Good evening, Noah,” the waiter greeted him politely. “Looks like rain, doesn’t it?”
The remark concerning the weather was all that was needed to dull the old man’s perceptions. Forgetting that the ark had been invaded by strangers during his absence, he lowered an armload of groceries to the railing, and peered intently up at the sky.
“No man knoweth the hour, but when the thunder of the Lord strikes, the rain will descend. All creatures of the earth shall perish—yes, all except those who seek refuge here. Therefore, my sons, you do well to seek the shelter of my ark.”