The _ Lusitania _ 0
had been struck by two torpedoes in succession and was sinking rapidly , while the boats 1
were being launched with all possible speed .
The women 2
and children 3
were being lined up awaiting their 4
turn .
Some 4
still clung desperately to husbands 5
and fathers 6
; others clutched closely to their 2
breasts .
One girl 7
stood alone , slightly apart from the rest .
She 7
was quite young , not more than eighteen .
She 7
did not seem afraid , and her 7
grave , steadfast eyes looked straight ahead .
“ I 8
beg your 7
pardon . ”
A man 8
’s voice beside her 7
made her 7
start and turn .
She 7
had noticed the speaker 8
more than once amongst the first-class passengers 9
.
There had been a hint of mystery about him 8
which had appealed to her 7
imagination .
He 8
spoke to no one 10
.
If anyone 11
spoke to him 8
he 8
was quick to rebuff the overture .
Also he 8
had a nervous way of looking over his 8
shoulder with a swift , suspicious glance .
She 7
noticed now that he 8
was greatly agitated .
There were beads of perspiration on his 8
brow .
He 8
was evidently in a state of overmastering fear .
And yet he 8
did not strike her 7
as the kind of man who would be afraid to meet death 12
!
“ Yes ? ”
Her 7
grave eyes met his 8
inquiringly .
He 8
stood looking at her 7
with a kind of desperate irresolution .
“ It must be ! ” he 8
muttered to himself 8
.
“ Yes -- it is the only way . ”
Then aloud he 8
said abruptly : “ You 7
are an American 13
? ”
“ Yes . ”
“ A patriotic one 14
? ”
The girl 7
flushed .
“ I 7
guess you 8
’ve no right to ask such a thing !
Of course I 7
am ! ”
“ Do n’t be offended .
You 7
would n’t be if you 7
knew how much there was at stake .
But I 8
’ve got to trust some one 82
-- and it must be a woman 15
. ”
“ Why ? ”
“ Because of ‘ women 16
and children 17
first .
’” He 8
looked round and lowered his 8
voice .
“ I 8
’m carrying papers -- vitally important papers .
They may make all the difference to the Allies in the war .
You 7
understand ?
These papers have _ got _ to be saved !
They ’ve more chance with you 7
than with me 8
.
Will you 7
take them ? ”
The girl 7
held out her 7
hand .
“ Wait -- I 8
must warn you 7
.
There may be a risk -- if I 8
’ve been followed .
I 8
do n’t think I 8
have , but one never knows .
If so , there will be danger .
Have you 7
the nerve to go through with it ? ”
The girl 7
smiled .
“ I 7
’ll go through with it all right .
And I 7
’m real proud to be chosen !
What am I 7
to do with them afterwards ? ”
“ Watch the newspapers !
I 8
’ll advertise in the personal column of the _ Times _ , beginning ‘ Shipmate 18
. ’
At the end of three days if there ’s nothing -- well , you 7
’ll know I 8
’m down and out .
Then take the packet to the American Embassy 19
, and deliver it into the Ambassador 20
’s own hands .
Is that clear ? ”
“ Quite clear . ”
“ Then be ready -- I 8
’m going to say good-bye . ”
He 8
took her 7
hand in his 8
.
“ Good-bye .
Good luck to you 7
, ” he 8
said in a louder tone .
Her 7
hand closed on the oilskin packet that had lain in his 8
palm .
The _ Lusitania _ 0
settled with a more decided list to starboard .
In answer to a quick command , the girl 7
went forward to take her 7
place in the boat 21
.
CHAPTER I .
THE YOUNG ADVENTURERS 22
, LTD .
“ TOMMY 23
, old thing 23
! ”
“ Tuppence 24
, old bean 24
! ”
The two young people 25
greeted each other affectionately , and momentarily blocked the Dover Street 27
Tube
26 exit in doing so .
The adjective “ old ” was misleading .
Their 25
united ages would certainly not have totalled forty-five .
“ Not seen you 24
for simply centuries , ” continued the young man 23
.
“ Where are you 23
off to ?
Come and chew a bun with me 24
.
We 28
’re getting a bit unpopular here -- blocking the gangway 29
as it were .
Let ’s get out of it . ”
The girl 24
assenting , they 25
started walking down Dover Street 27
towards Piccadilly 30
.
“ Now then , ” said Tommy 23
, “ where shall we 25
go ? ”
The very faint anxiety which underlay his 23
tone did not escape the astute ears of Miss Prudence Cowley 24
, known to her 24
intimate friends
31 for some mysterious reason as “ Tuppence 24
. ”
She 24
pounced at once .
“ Tommy 23
, you 23
’re stony ! ”
“ Not a bit of it , ” declared Tommy 23
unconvincingly .
“ Rolling in cash . ”
“ You 23
always were a shocking liar 83
, ” said Tuppence 24
severely , “ though you 23
did once persuade Sister Greenbank 32
that the doctor 33
had ordered you 23
beer as a tonic , but forgotten to write it on the chart .
Do you 23
remember ? ”
Tommy 23
chuckled .
“ I 23
should think I 23
did !
Was n’t the old cat 32
in a rage when she 32
found out ?
Not that she 32
was a bad sort really , old Mother Greenbank 32
!
Good old hospital 34
-- demobbed like everything else , I 23
suppose ? ”
Tuppence 24
sighed .
“ Yes .
You 23
too ? ”
Tommy 23
nodded .
“ Two months ago . ”
“ Gratuity ? ” hinted Tuppence 24
.
“ Spent . ”
“ Oh , Tommy 23
! ”
“ No , old thing , not in riotous dissipation .
No such luck !
The cost of living -- ordinary plain , or garden living nowadays is , I 23
assure you 24
, if you 24
do not know ---- ” “ , ” interrupted Tuppence 24
, “ there is nothing I 24
do _ not _ know about the cost of living .
Here 35
we 25
are at Lyons ’ 35
, and we 25
will each of us 25
pay for our 25
own .
That ’s it ! ”
And Tuppence 24
led the way upstairs 36
.
The place 35
was full , and they 25
wandered about looking for a table , catching odds and ends of conversation as they 25
did so .
“ And -- do you 37
know , she 38
sat down and _ cried _ when I 39
told her 38
she 38
could n’t have the flat 40
after all . ”
“ It was simply a _ bargain _ , !
Just like the one Mabel Lewis 43
brought from Paris 44
---- ” “ Funny scraps one does overhear , ” murmured Tommy 23
.
“ I 23
passed two Johnnies 45
in the street 46
to-day talking about some one 47
called Jane Finn 47
.
Did you 24
ever hear such a name ? ”
But at that moment two elderly ladies 48
rose and collected parcels , and Tuppence 24
deftly ensconced herself 24
in one of the vacant seats .
Tommy 23
ordered tea and buns .
Tuppence 24
ordered tea and buttered toast .
“ And mind the tea comes in separate teapots , ” she 24
added severely .
Tommy 23
sat down opposite her 24
.
His 23
bared head revealed a shock of exquisitely slicked-back red hair .
His 23
face was pleasantly ugly -- nondescript , yet unmistakably the face of a gentleman 49
and a sportsman 50
.
His 23
brown suit was well cut , but perilously near the end of its tether .
They 25
were an essentially modern-looking couple 84
as they 25
sat there .
Tuppence 24
had no claim to beauty , but there was character and charm in the elfin lines of her 24
little face , with its determined chin and large , wide-apart grey eyes that looked mistily out from under straight , black brows .
She 24
wore a small bright green toque over her 24
black bobbed hair , and her 24
extremely short and rather shabby skirt revealed a pair of uncommonly dainty ankles .
Her 24
appearance presented a valiant attempt at smartness .
The tea came at last , and Tuppence 24
, rousing herself 24
from a fit of meditation , poured it out .
“ Now then , ” said Tommy 23
, taking a large bite of bun , “ let ’s get up-to-date .
Remember , I 23
have n’t seen you 24
since that time in hospital 51
in 1916 . ”
“ Very well . ”
Tuppence 24
helped herself 24
liberally to buttered toast .
“ Abridged biography of Miss Prudence Cowley 24
, fifth daughter of
Archdeacon Cowley of
Little Missendell 53
,
Suffolk 54
52 85 .
Miss Cowley 24
left the delights ( and drudgeries ) of her 24
home 55
life early in the war and came up to London 56
, where she 24
entered an officers ’ hospital 57
.
First month : Washed up six hundred and forty-eight plates every day .
Second month : Promoted to drying aforesaid plates .
Third month : Promoted to peeling potatoes .
Fourth month : Promoted to cutting bread and butter .
Fifth month : Promoted one floor up to duties of wardmaid 58
with mop and pail .
Sixth month : Promoted to waiting at table .
Seventh month : Pleasing appearance and nice manners so striking that am promoted to waiting on the Sisters 59
!
Eighth month : Slight check in career .
Sister Bond 60
ate Sister Westhaven 61
’s egg !
Grand row !
Wardmaid 24
clearly to blame !
Inattention in such important matters can not be too highly censured .
Mop and pail again !
How are the mighty fallen !
Ninth month : Promoted to sweeping out wards , where I 24
found a friend of
my 24
childhood
62 in Lieutenant Thomas Beresford 23
( bow , Tommy 23
! )
, whom I 24
had not seen for five long years .
The meeting was affecting !
Tenth month : Reproved by matron 63
for visiting the pictures in company with one of
the patients 64
23 , namely : the aforementioned Lieutenant 23
Thomas Beresford 23
.
Eleventh and twelfth months : Parlourmaid duties resumed with entire success .
At the end of the year left hospital 57
in a blaze of glory .
After that , the talented Miss Cowley 24
drove successively a trade delivery van 65
, a motor-lorry 66
and a general 67
!
The last was the pleasantest .
He 67
was quite a young general 86
! ”
“ What blighter was that ? ” inquired Tommy 23
.
“ Perfectly sickening the way those brass hats 68
drove from the War Office 69
to the _ Savoy _ 70
, and from the _ Savoy _ 70
to the War Office 69
! ”
“ I 24
’ve forgotten his 67
name now , ” confessed Tuppence 24
.
“ To resume , that was in a way the apex of my 24
career .
I 24
next entered a Government office .
We 71
had several very enjoyable tea parties .
I 24
had intended to become a land girl 72
, a postwoman 73
, and by way of rounding off my 24
career -- but the Armistice intervened !
I 24
clung to the office with the true limpet touch for many long months , but , alas , I 24
was combed out at last .
Since then I 24
’ve been looking for a job .
Now then -- your 23
turn . ”
“ There ’s not so much promotion in mine , ” said Tommy 23
regretfully , “ and a great deal less variety .
I 23
went out to France 76
again , as you 24
know .
Then they 77
sent me 23
to Mesopotamia 78
, and I 23
got wounded for the second time , and went into hospital 79
out there .
Then I 23
got stuck in Egypt 80
till the Armistice happened , kicked my 23
heels there 80
some time longer , and , as I 23
told you 24
, finally got demobbed .
And , for ten long , weary months I 23
’ve been job hunting !
There are n’t any jobs !
And , if there were , they 81
would n’t give ‘ em to me 23
.
What good am I 23
?
What do I 23
know about business ?
Nothing . ”