“What a pity it could not have been done the hour he was lost.”
“The battle was still on, then came the fog. After that we were far away and this great convoy hung on our shoulders like a crushing weight.” The Skipper sounded old and very tired. “It’s war, Sally. War! God grant that it may soon be at an end.”
As she returned to her cabin after this talk she had with the Captain she ran upon Danny’s mother. She had seen her several times of late, but they had never spoken of Danny. Now she had something cheery to tell.
“Come in, Mrs. Duke,” she invited. “I’ll make a cup of hot chocolate on my electric plate, and we’ll have a talk.”
When the cocoa had been poured steaming hot, she said: “I had a talk with the Captain.”
“Was it about Danny?” Mrs. Duke smiled knowingly.
“Yes, who else?” Sally smiled back.
“Danny’s all right, that is, up to now.”
Sally did not ask how she knew. That would have been questioning a mother’s faith.
“And he’s going to be all right,” Sally replied cheerfully. “The Captain says we are to turn right back the moment we reach England, and that we’ll have a look for Danny.”