She did not stop to ask
herself why she wept; being a woman, she yielded to the gust, and when
it had ended, with the suddenness of a summer shower, she smiled
through the vanishing tears. Her first concern was that none should be
aware of her weakness.
"How stupid of me," she murmured. "What would the men think if they
knew I broke down in this fashion."
She looked in a mirror. In the clear light without, any one could see
she had been crying, and there was so much work to be done that she did
not wish to remain in her stateroom until all tokens of the storm had
passed. She searched for a powder-puff, and was at a loss to discover
its whereabouts until she recollected that the doctor had borrowed it
for the use of a man slightly scalded when his own supply of antiseptic
powder was exhausted. So she went into Isobel's room, entering it for
the first time since the _Kansas_ struck on the shoal. The two cabins
communicated, as Mr. Baring had gone to the expense of having a door
broken through the partition for the girls' use during the voyage. If
Elsie had not already given way to tears she must have faltered now at
the sight of her friend's belongings strewed in confusion over the
floor, chairs, dressing-table, and bed.
Pages:
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244