Part 25 (1/2)
”I wonder what's keeping Mr. Parmalee this morning,” she observed.
”He's even more of a sleepy head than you are.”
”Tired out, I guess,” conjectured the captain. ”This storm has used us all up pretty well.”
Ruth summoned Namco and told him to knock on Mr. Parmalee's door. The j.a.panese was back in a minute.
”Honorable gent no ansler,” he reported.
”That's queer,” remarked the captain. ”I'll step there myself.”
He returned promptly, looking very grave. ”He isn't there,” he announced.
”Perhaps he's gone on deck to get an appet.i.te for breakfast,” suggested Drew lightly.
”It's not alone that he's absent,” said the captain in a worried tone.
”His bed hasn't been slept in!”
There was a chorus of startled exclamations. Drew and Tyke jumped to their feet and Ruth lost her color.
”Oh, Daddy!” she cried, ”it can't be that anything's happened to him?”
”Don't get excited, Ruth,” said her father soothingly. ”There may be some explanation. I'll have the s.h.i.+p searched at once.”
They all hurried on deck, and the captain summoned the mate and Mr.
Rogers. He told them what he feared and ordered that the s.h.i.+p be searched thoroughly.
Rogers turned to obey, but the one-eyed mate, Cal Ditty, stopped him with a gesture.
”No use,” he said. ”Mr. Parmalee ain't here.”
”How do you know?” cried the captain.
”Because he was thrown overboard last night,” was the sudden grim answer.
Ruth gave a smothered shriek and the others gasped in amazement and horror.
”What do you mean?” shouted the captain.
”Just what I said.”
”Who threw him overboard?”
”He did,” declared Ditty, pointing to Drew.
There was a moment of terrible silence as the others looked in the direction of the mate's pointing finger.
Drew stood as though he were turned to stone. His tongue was paralyzed. He saw consternation in the faces of Tyke and the captain.