"But you can't," Laura supplied the information, as she looked at Bess, "You can walk only so far and then there's a gate that separates you from first class."
"Please, forget it!" Nan looked reprovingly at Laura. "Come with me," she invited again. "I know a place where you can stoop under some rigging and come out on a little part of the deck that's almost like a balcony with the ocean below it and nothing but the sky above."
"And I know a place," Rhoda contributed, "where you can get way up front, so that you are at the prow of the boat. When you stand there, you feel as though you yourself are cutting through the water."
"A mermaid at large." Laura laughed. "I know that place, too. I found it right after lunch and thought, until now, that it was my private property."
"But I know a place that's even better than that," Grace boasted. "It's a large room with portholes all along both ends. There are tables in it--"
"And tea and cakes for all who come," Laura finished. "Let's go there."
They went, but neither tea nor cakes could make Bess forget that she had a score to even up with Linda.
"Hello, down there!" Nan stretched her head over the edge of her berth and looked down to the bunk below where Bess was still sleeping. "Hello, I say," she repeated a little louder when the first call brought no response. Then she waited. She could feel the vibration of the great ship as it forged ahead and hear faintly the steady throb of its engines. It was nice to be getting someplace, she thought, even while you were asleep.
Bess rubbed her eyes and leaned out so she could see Nan above. "Of course I am," she declared. "How long have you been awake?"
"Oh, for hours and hours," Nan responded. "I heard the first gong for breakfast and then the second. After that I went back to sleep."
"You didn't either!" Bess was really awake now. "But if you did," she continued half hopefully, "it's too late to get breakfast in the dining-room, so we'll just have to ring that bell over there by the door and ask the stewardess to bring our breakfast to the cabin. Just think of being able to order anything you want and having it brought to you on a big tray!"
Bess stretched luxuriously and then turned over on her side. "You know," she said, "I feel like a movie queen. My pajamas are of satin and fine lace. My robe is long and trailing with marabou around the neck. These bed covers are made of silk and down, and your bunk up there is not really a bunk. It's the canopy of my bed."