Page:Quartette - Kipling (1885).djvu/55

 under my hand. There was a little rustle of her night-gown, a scramble of tiny pink feet, and then the saucy eyes were mocking me from the upper berth.

"I shall catch you now," I thought, but even as I stretched cut my arm she slipped over the side, reached the floor safely, rather to my surprise, and went into the saloon. A minute later I drew aside the curtain and looked after her. The saloon was dark, and though I listened for some time I heard no sound of voices or of a door opening to receive the little wanderer.

"There is really something uncanny in the way that child slips about," I thought.

Next day I happened to be walking on deck with a young girl, when the child flitted across just in front of us.

"Look at that child," I said quickly. "Who is she?"

"Which child? Where?"

"By the funnel; with a blue sash on."

"I can't see a child there at all."

"No; she has just run away. Do come this direction. I want you to see her."

She good-naturedly came. The child was standing looking at the cow, but as soon as I spoke she passed behind the sheep-pen.

"I believe you are making fun of me," said my companion. "I don't think there is a child at all."

"Indeed, indeed there is," I said earnestly; "and I very much want to know her name. Do come with me to look for her."

For nearly half an hour we watched and followed the strange child about the deck. I say "we" but in reality I only saw the object of our search. My friend was by some odd chance always looking another way when the little one appeared.

She was like a will o' the wisp, and no corner or shelter seemed too small to bide her. I felt almost as if I were suffering from an optical delusion, but Robbie had seen her, so that this explanation did not satisfy me.

We were having singularly calm weather. The Mediterranean was like a great blue lake; there was hardly a breath of wind to ruffle its smooth surface, and we found the afternoons exceedingly hot. The steamer was high in the water, so the ports in all the cabins were opened wide, and I had an anxious time of it cautioning my Robbie not to lean out of ours.