"
The whole complement of first-class passengers was now standing
up, and many of them saw a plate descend from on high and graze
the purser's shoulder. With the celebrity of a sprinter the man
of authority from Durham disappeared from the ground-floor and was
immediately seen in the gallery. Accounts differed, afterwards, as to
the exact order of events; but it is certain that the leader of the
band lost his fiddle, which was broken by the lusty Isabel on the
purser's head. It was known later that Isabel, though not exactly in
irons, was under arrest in her state-room.
"She really ought to have thought of that for herself, if she's as
smart as she thinks she is," said Edward Henry, privately.
VI
Though he was on the way to high success his anxieties and solicitudes
seemed to increase every hour. Immediately after Isabel Joy's arrest
he became more than ever a crony of the Marconi operator, and began
to dispatch vivid and urgent telegrams to London, without counting the
cost. On the next day he began to receive replies. (It was the most
interesting voyage that the Marconi operator had had since the sinking
of the _Catherine of Siena_, in which episode his promptness through
the air had certainly saved two hundred lives.) Edward Henry could
scarcely sleep, so intense was his longing for Sunday night--his
desire to be safe in London with Isabel Joy! Nay, he could not
properly eat! And then the doubt entered his mind whether after all he
would get to London on Sunday night.
Pages:
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351