“It begins to look as though I’m not expected,” she told herself. “Of course, Enid and her father may have gone to the station after I left. That would account for their absence. I hope I didn’t miss them.”
She wandered around to the opposite side of the yacht and paused before a door which led down into the dining salon. It was half ajar and as she opened it wider she saw that the salon was empty.
“Not a sign of the cook or anyone,” she reflected. “This is what I call an enthusiastic welcome! And I’m half starved too!”
Passing a stateroom, Madge thought she heard a slight sound from within. She knocked loudly upon the closed door. There was no response.
She turned away, only to pause and retrace her steps. A queer intuitive feeling had taken possession of her—a conviction that all was not as it should be aboard the yacht.
She hesitated before the door, scarcely knowing whether or not it was her business to investigate. Then with sudden decision, she grasped the knob and turned it.
The sight that greeted Madge’s eyes left her startled and dumbfounded.
“Oh,” she gasped. “What dreadful thing has happened?”
CHAPTER III
The Abandoned Yacht
The door had swung back to reveal a wrecked stateroom. Everything was in confusion. Chairs were upset, papers strewn over the floor and a table lamp had toppled to the floor. Obviously, the room had been occupied by Mr. Burnett, for his clothing hung on nails along the wall, but there was no sign of the noted yachtsman. The bed had not been slept in on the previous night.