THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS
“Are you awake, Miss Kathleen? It’s time to get up.”
Nora opened her eyes, and sat up. For the first moment she could
not remember where she was, and stared about the unfamiliar room in
bewilderment. Then it all came back in a rush of memory, and she
realized that it was morning, and that Sarah, already dressed, was
standing by her bedside.
“What time is it?” she inquired, more for the sake of saying something
than because she really particularly cared.
“Only seven, but you’ve got to get up early this morning. You’re going
somewhere right after breakfast.”
Sarah spoke quite pleasantly; she was even looking a little excited,
but Nora did not notice that.
“I know all about it,” she said, eagerly. “I’m to take Muriel Trevor
for a ride, and I’m to go for her by myself, because her Fräulein
always goes with her.”
Nora felt rather proud of having remembered her lesson so well, but
Sarah smiled rather mysteriously.
“Your bath is ready,” she said, “and please hurry, for breakfast is at
a quarter to eight.”
Nora had no objection to hurrying. Indeed, now that the night was over,
her chief desire was to get home as soon as possible. How she did hope
Kathleen would be ready to leave at once, and would not make a fuss, as
she had done yesterday!
“I managed pretty well for one night,” she told herself, as she plunged
into the warm bath Sarah had prepared for her, “but I couldn’t possibly
keep it up much longer. Kathleen has got to come home this morning,
whether she wants to or not. Anyway, she’s used to getting on without
Mummy, and I’m not.”
Sarah seemed very busy and preoccupied. She kept dashing in and out of
the room, and several times Nora heard her speaking in the hall, as if
giving orders to some one. Nora did not pay much attention, however,
for, after all, the affairs of the Crawford household were no concern
of hers.
“I suppose I shall have to meet that other person Kathleen talked
about,” she said to herself, rather anxiously, as she went down to
breakfast. “Oh, I do hope she won’t find out, but if she doesn’t pay
any more attention to me than Sarah and the butler, it will be all
right.”
Her heart began to beat rather fast, when she entered the
dining-room, and saw an elderly lady in a widow’s cap, already at
the breakfast-table, but the lady merely gave her a nod, and a curt
“Good morning, Kathleen,” and her courage rose again. Brown, the
butler, was standing behind her chair, and she wished him a pleasant
“Good morning,” which seemed to cause him some little surprise. The
housekeeper also looked up from her coffee--looking as if something had
surprised her.
“It’s a lovely morning, isn’t it?” remarked Nora, feeling that it was
incumbent upon her to say something.
“It looks so now,” was the housekeeper’s rather guarded admission, “but
I shouldn’t be surprised if we had rain before night. I have that pain
in my rheumatic joint that I always have before a storm.”
Nora glanced out of the window at the bright Spring sunshine.
“It must be rather interesting to know what the weather is going to
be,” she said. “It doesn’t look a bit like rain this morning, but I
suppose if you were going off anywhere for the day, you’d take an
umbrella. It’s very uncomfortable to get your hat spoiled in the rain,
don’t you think so?”
“It never seems to trouble you very much,” said Mrs. Anderson, dryly,
at which remark Nora blushed, and relapsed into silence.
At home, breakfast usually consisted of cereal and milk, with a cup
of coffee for Mummy, and an egg, as a special treat, on Sunday. But
here there were two kinds of cereal to choose from, bacon and eggs,
broiled kidneys, and griddle-cakes. It was all delicious, but Nora
did not enjoy it quite as much as she had enjoyed her dinner the
evening before. The strain was beginning to tell upon her, and she was
only anxious to get home, and bring her adventure to a satisfactory
conclusion. She wondered how soon it would do to ask some one to send
for the car. But in the meantime she must keep on “playing her part,”
so she made another effort to start a conversation.
“Sarah went to see her mother last night, and Selma started the
victrola. A lady with a beautiful voice sang ‘Home Sweet Home.’ Don’t
you love the victrola?”
“I cannot say that I am very fond of it,” said Mrs. Anderson, with a
sigh. “I have heard too much real music in my life to care for that
sort of thing. But don’t stop to talk now. Hurry and finish your
breakfast; Sarah is waiting for you.”
“What does she want me for?” inquired Nora, in a tone of sudden
apprehension. Kathleen had assured her that there would not be the
slightest difficulty in getting away from Sarah.
Mrs. Anderson smiled mysteriously, and glanced at the clock.
“You will know before long,” she said, not unkindly, and then she took
up the morning paper, and began to read.
But it was impossible to hurry very much over such a wonderful
breakfast, and Nora was just beginning on her second helping of cakes,
when Brown announced respectfully that Sarah was waiting, and would
Miss Kathleen please come at once? With a sigh of regret, Nora laid
down her knife and fork, and rose from the table. Mrs. Anderson put
down her newspaper at the same moment.
“Run up-stairs and get on your things,” she said, with another glance
at the clock. “The car is waiting at the door.”
Nora’s spirits rose. Getting away was going to be even easier than she
had thought possible. She ran quickly up the two flights of stairs to
the schoolroom floor, but there her feelings underwent a sudden change,
for standing at the head of the stairs, in hat and jacket, was Sarah.
“Come right along, Miss Kathleen,” she said in her quick, decided
voice; “I’ve got your things all ready, and there isn’t any time to
waste.”
“But--but I thought I was to go by myself,” faltered Nora, in
dismay, as Sarah was helping her into a long gray coat, which seemed
unnecessarily heavy for that warm Spring morning. “Are you going, too?”
“Where did you think you were going by yourself?” inquired Sarah,
sharply.
“Why, I thought I was going to take Muriel Trevor for a ride,”
explained Nora, whose heart was rapidly sinking.
Sarah laughed.
“You didn’t suppose you were going for Miss Muriel at this hour of the
morning, did you?” she said. “It’s only just half-past eight.”
In a kind of dream, Nora submitted to the putting on of hat and gloves,
and followed Sarah down-stairs. Some part of Kathleen’s well-laid plan
was evidently going wrong. However, there was nothing to be done but
pull herself together, and try to look cheerful. Mrs. Anderson was
waiting in the front hall.
“Good-bye, Kathleen,” she said, and Nora noticed that she was smiling,
as if she were very much amused about something.
“Good-bye,” said Nora. “It’s a lovely morning for a ride, isn’t it?”
“Very lovely indeed,” said the housekeeper, and she and Sarah exchanged
amused glances. “Good-bye, dear,” she added, kindly; “I hope you will
have a pleasant time.”
“And now I suppose you’d like to know where we’re going,” remarked
Sarah, as the door of the limousine closed, and Michael sprang to his
seat. Nora had noticed with surprise that no direction had been given
to the chauffeur.
“Yes, I should like to know very much,” she said, politely.
“Well, we’re going to the Bermuda steamer. Your aunt and uncle are
sailing this morning, and they want you to see them off.”
Nora gave a great gasp and sank back in her seat. Her aunt and uncle!
Who in the world were they? Oh, why hadn’t Kathleen told her about
them? It would be interesting to go on board a big ocean steamer, but
the thought of meeting more new people was rather terrifying. What if
this uncle and aunt were to discover that she wasn’t Kathleen? The
very thought made her heart beat fast, and she felt suddenly cold and
frightened. But whatever happened, she must “play her part” till the
end. If, through any fault or mistake of hers, she should be the means
of bringing trouble upon her mother, she could never be happy any more.
So, for the second time that morning, she made a desperate effort to
look pleased.
“It will be fun to go on a ship,” she said in a voice that trembled
slightly, “but I hope it won’t take very long. You see, I must go for
Muriel Trevor.”
Sarah did not answer. She seemed interested in looking out of the
window. The car was whirling them rapidly down Fifth Avenue, where
the big shops were just opening. It was a beautiful morning, and the
air and sunshine, combined with the rapid movement of the car, were
beginning to have an exhilarating effect on Nora. After all, it was
not likely that these new people would take very much notice of her,
she reflected. Kathleen had said nobody cared much about her except
her daddy. It was certainly delightful to be bowled along in the big
limousine, for those were the days when motoring was a comparative
novelty, and until yesterday Nora had never been in an automobile in
her life. So she decided to enjoy the present moment to the full.
The ride to the pier was not a very long one, but it was all new and
interesting. Nora had never been in that part of the city before, and
as the car turned from one crowded street into another, she leaned
forward in her seat, her eyes round with excitement.
“I didn’t know there were so many people in New York,” she told Sarah.
“Do you suppose everybody is out in the street this morning?”
But Sarah did not appear particularly interested.
“It’s Saturday morning,” she said, “and none of the children are in
school. That’s why we see so many.”
At last the car drew up at the entrance to a long pier, and they both
got out. There were a great many people on the pier, all apparently
bound for the Bermuda steamer, and Sarah grasped her charge’s arm
firmly.
“Keep tight hold of me,” she commanded. “If we once get separated in
this crowd, we might never get together again. Oh, thank goodness,
there’s Mr. Carew!”
Nora had no idea who Mr. Carew might be, but she followed the direction
of Sarah’s glance and saw a gentleman beckoning to them from the deck
of the steamer. “I wonder if he’s the uncle,” she said to herself, “but
there doesn’t seem to be any aunt with him.”
The question was speedily settled by Mr. Carew himself, whose greeting,
as they stepped from the gangplank on to the deck, was a cheery--
“Hello, Kathleen! here you are. You’ll find Aunt Kitty in her cabin;
number seventeen. I’m waiting here to make sure all the luggage is put
on board.”
“He’s got a nice face,” reflected Nora, as she followed Sarah along the
deck, and down the companionway to the saloon. “I’m sure I should like
him, but I don’t suppose I shall ever see him again after this morning.”
The Bermuda boat was not very large, but to Nora--who had never been on
board any vessel larger than a ferry-boat--it seemed almost palatial.
She was rather glad they had come, for it would be so interesting
to tell Mummy all about it. Mummy had been to Europe when she was a
girl, and knew about ocean steamers, but she was always interested in
everything Nora had to tell her.
They were making their way along a narrow passage, with little rooms on
each side, when, somewhere in the distance, a gong sounded. Nora paused
in sudden alarm.
“What’s that for?” she inquired, anxiously.
“To warn the people who aren’t sailing to go on shore,” Sarah answered.
“Then hadn’t we better go?”
Sarah laughed.
“Goodness no,” she said. “Why, you haven’t even seen your aunt yet. You
wouldn’t come all this way for nothing, would you?”
“Oh, no,” said Nora, with forced cheerfulness; “only--only, if we
shouldn’t get off in time----”
At that moment they reached number seventeen, and Sarah tapped at the
door. Some one called “Come in,” and they entered a large, comfortable
stateroom, where a very pretty young lady was unpacking a suit case. At
sight of Nora and Sarah, the young lady looked up, with a smile.
“Well, here you are!” she said. “What do you think of the ship,
Kathleen?”
She had a bright, pleasant manner, but it struck Nora that she was more
interested in the stowing away of her belongings than in the arrival of
her supposed niece.
“It’s lovely,” said Nora, rather hurriedly, “but I think we’d better
say good-bye right away. There’s a gong ringing, and Sarah says it’s to
warn the people who aren’t going to get off.”
“Oh, there’s plenty of time,” said Mrs. Carew, easily; “they always
begin sounding that gong ages too soon. Would you mind helping me a
little, Sarah? I decided at the last moment to leave Celestine at home;
she’s such a wretched sailor. I think I had better get my night things
out at once, for I’m sure to be sick as soon as we pass Sandy Hook.”
Sarah complied, and Nora--still feeling a little anxious and
uncomfortable--sat down on the sofa.
“I’m sorry you don’t feel well,” she said, sympathetically. “Perhaps
you’ll be better after the ship starts.”
Mrs. Carew laughed.
“No such luck,” she said. “The last time I went abroad I scarcely
lifted my head from my pillow during the entire voyage.”
“How dreadful!” exclaimed Nora. “I shouldn’t think you’d ever want to
go on a ship again, if it makes you so ill. There’s that gong again.
Don’t you really think Sarah and I had better go?”
“Don’t worry about that gong,” said Mrs. Carew a little impatiently.
“Come here and help me fold some of these things.”
Nora did not like to refuse, but she was not at all easy in her mind,
especially as neither Mrs. Carew nor Sarah appeared to be particularly
in a hurry.
“Here’s some candy,” said Mrs. Carew, producing a large box of
Maillard’s from her suit case. “You may have it if you want it. A
friend sent it to me. Imagine any one being so foolish as to send such
a wretched sailor as I am candy to eat on a sea voyage.”
“Oh, thank you!” cried Nora, her face brightening. “I love chocolates,
and I hardly ever----” She was going to say, “hardly ever have any,”
but stopped herself just in time.
At that moment the sound of a long, shrill whistle fell upon their
ears. Nora gave a violent start.
“What’s that?” she demanded in sudden terror.
“Only the siren. We’re just---- Ah, here’s Uncle Stephen; he’ll
explain.”
“Well, we’re off,” remarked a cheerful voice, and Mr. Carew came into
the cabin, looking as calm and unperturbed as if the bottom hadn’t
suddenly fallen out of Nora’s world.
“Off!” shrieked Nora, with a sudden rush towards the door; “but we
mustn’t--oh, Sarah, come quick! The steamer’s going to start!”
She tried to dash past Mr. Carew, who was blocking the doorway, but
he caught her and held her fast. Both he and his wife were laughing
heartily.
“Why, Kathleen, you little goose!” cried Mrs. Carew, “don’t look so
frightened. Don’t you understand? It’s a surprise. Your daddy planned
it, and we all thought you would love it. You are not to get off at
all. You and Sarah are going to Bermuda with us.”
[Illustration: “OH, SARAH, COME QUICK! THE STEAMER’S GOING TO START!”
_Page 106._]