Part 6 (1/2)
”No, no, madam,” the stewardess replied, ”I will return with beef tea, and you will soon feel better.”
Lucille was helped to put on a dark wrapper; and after repeated efforts at a hasty toilet, she took the stewardess's arm and reached an easy chair in the library. Alfonso and Leo, who were both members of a yacht club in New York, came to the library from a short walk on the deck. It required much urging with Lucille before she would attempt an entrance into the dining-room. Several men and a few ladies were present.
”Good morning, Miss Harris, how brave you are,” were words spoken so encouragingly by Captain Morgan that Lucille's face brightened and she responded as best she could.
”Thank you, captain, I believe I should much prefer to face a storm of bullets on the land than a storm at sea; you courageous sailors really deserve all the gold medals.”
Leo, who was fond of the ocean, said to Alfonso, ”Why can't we all be sailors? What say you to this? Let us test who of our party shall lose the fewest meals from New York to Queenstown. You and your mother or Lucille and I?”
”Agreed,” responded Alfonso, thinking it would help to keep the ladies in good spirits.
”But what shall count for a meal?” inquired Alfonso.
”Not less than ten minutes at the table, and at dinner, soup at least.”
Lucille thought Leo's idea a capital one. It was agreed that the contest should commence with the next lunch, and that Alfonso and Leo should act as captains for the two sides.
By this time Lucille had eaten a little toast and had sipped part of her chocolate. A tenderloin steak and sweet omelet with French fried potatoes were being served, when suddenly the color left her face. Another lurch of the steamer sent a gla.s.s of ice water up her loose sleeve, and, utterly discomfited, she begged to be excused and rushed from the table.
”Oh dear, mother, how terribly I feel; let me lie down. Oh dear! I wish I were home with father and Gertrude.”
”If the colonel were only here to help,” murmured Mrs. Harris.
”Stewardess, where are you? Why don't you hurry when I ring? Go for the doctor at once.” It was now blowing a gale and the steamer was rolling badly.
It was a long half-hour before the doctor entered the stateroom of Mrs.
Harris. Dr. Argyle was perfect in physical development and a model of gentlemanly qualities. His education had been received in London and Vienna, and he had joined the service of the ”Majestic” that he might enlarge his experiences as pract.i.tioner and man of the world. He had correctly divined that here he was sure to touch intimately the restless and wandering aristocracy of the globe.
While Dr. Argyle was ostensibly the s.h.i.+p's doctor, he was keenly alert for an opportunity that would help him on to fame and fortune. Of the two he preferred the latter, as he believed that humanity is just as lazy as it dares to be. Therefore stateroom No. ---- was entered both professionally and inquisitively. The doctor was half glad that the Harrises were ill, as he had seen the family at Captain Morgan's table and desired to meet them. Captain Morgan had incidentally mentioned to the doctor the great wealth of the Harris family, and this also had whetted his curiosity. Before him lay mother and daughter, helpless, both in utter misery and the picture of despair.
”Beg pardon, ladies,” said the doctor as he entered, ”you sent for me I believe?”
”Yes, yes,” replied Mrs. Harris, ”we thought you had forgotten us, as the half-hour's delay seemed a full week. My daughter, Lucille, and I are suffering terribly. How awful the storm! Last night, doctor, I thought I should die before morning, and now I greatly fear that the s.h.i.+p will go down.”
”Do not fear, ladies,” the doctor replied, ”the wind is only brisk; most people suffer a little on the ocean, especially on the first voyage.”
”What is the cause of this terrible seasickness, doctor, and what can you do for us?”
”Frankly, Mrs. Harris, no two physicians agree as to the cause. Usually people suffer most from seasickness who come aboard weary from over-work or nervous exhaustion. Most people waste vital forces by too much talking or by over-exertion. Americans, especially, overcheck their deposits of vitality, and as bankrupts they struggle to transact daily duties. Wise management of nerve forces would enable them to accomplish more and enjoy life better.”
”I am a bankrupt then,” said Mrs. Harris, ”but how about my daughter Lucille?”
”Your child, I fear, is the daughter of bankrupts and doubtless inherits their qualities.”
”But, doctor, can't you do something now for us?”
”Oh yes, madam, but first let me feel your pulse, please.”
”Ninety-eight,” he said to himself, but he added to Mrs. Harris, ”you need the very rest this voyage affords and you must not worry the least about the storm or affairs at home. Our vessel is built of steel, and Captain Morgan always outrides the storms. Ladies, I want you to take this preparation of my own. It is a special remedy for seasickness, the result of the study and experience of the medical force of the White Star Line.”
The faces of mother and daughter brightened. They had faith. This was noticed by Dr. Argyle. Faith was the restorative principle upon which the young doctor depended, and without it his medicine was worthless. The White Star panacea prescribed was harmless, as his powders merely inclined the patient to sleep and recovery followed, so faith or nature worked the cure. Soon after the door closed behind the doctor, Lucille was asleep, and Mrs. Harris pa.s.sed into dreamland.