Authors: Helen Wells

Cherry Ames 09 Cruise Nurse (23 page)

BOOK: Cherry Ames 09 Cruise Nurse

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218
CHERRY

AMES,

CRUISE

NURSE

Then Cherry took the sweaters out of the gift box and put Fuzzy-Wuzzy in their place. A moment later, when she stepped into the Crane suite everything was quiet. Timmy, still surrounded by his new toys and their wrappings, had fallen asleep. Mrs. Crane had not returned.

Trembling in her haste, Cherry took Fuzzy-Wuzzy out of the box. Then opening the toy drawer she pushed him back among Timmy’s abandoned toys.

With a deep sigh of relief she sank quietly into a chair by the bedside of the little boy.

Timmy opened one sleepy eye. Seeing Cherry there, the cardboard gift box in her arms, he was awake and sitting up instantly.

“Cherry,” he piped, “what do you think Henry got for Christmas?”

“What did Henry get?” she asked with more curiosity than she dared show.

Timmy shouted at the top of his lungs: “Yo, ho, ho, a bottle of bay rum! It’s made from bayberry leaves and
they
grow in the West Indies, Cherry.
Also,
tomorrow we’re going to be in the West Indies.
And
Henry’s going to take me ashore and show me where that Peter man’s leg is ’posed to be buried.” He stopped suddenly and then fi nished with:

“Aren’t you, Henry?”

Cherry jumped and whirled in the direction toward which Timmy was looking. Standing just inside the open French doors, a bland mask on his strong, tanned face, was Henry Landgraf. But to Cherry he might just
CHRISTMAS

JUGGLERY

219

as well have had a bandanna tied around his head and gold rings dangling from his ears.

“Merry Christmas, Miss Cherry,” he boomed in that deep, rather harsh voice of his. “Was Santa good to you?” he continued, eying the box on Cherry’s lap.

“Very good, thank you,” Cherry said with more emphasis perhaps than was necessary. Something fl ickered in his bright blue eyes, and Cherry
knew
that he knew who had substituted the bath salts for the stolen ambergris.

Both hands were in his pockets as he swaggered into the room. For one wild moment Cherry felt like screaming. Would a pistol suddenly emerge from one of those pockets?

“Don’t be a complete fool, Ames,” she scolded herself. “He doesn’t play the game that way. And he would never in this world do anything to frighten Timmy.” A clenched brown fi st came out of one pocket. Then something small and hard dropped into Cherry’s lap beside the sweater box. She looked down and saw a tiny bottle of fabulously expensive, imported perfume.

“A little souvenir of the—er joke we’ve enjoyed together,” he said easily. “I leave the ship at Curaçao tomorrow.” Before Cherry could utter a word, he had strolled out of the room. From the deck came his mocking farewell: “There’s not much ambergris in that. But enough so you’ll remember me for a while.” Timmy struggled out of the bedclothes. “Don’t forget tomorrow, Henry,” he piped. But Henry did not answer.

220
CHERRY

AMES,

CRUISE

NURSE

Cherry stared down at the gilt crown stopper on the tiny, amber bottle. He had dropped it in her lap as a token of his respect for the part she had played in their duel of wits. It was the gallant and perhaps mocking gesture of one who could be a good loser when he had to be.

It occurred to Cherry that Henry Landgraf had not sent Jan that bottle of bath salts altogether as a cruel joke. It was also a cryptic but unmistakable message to Cherry herself—telling her he knew she had the ambergris and also knew she would restore it to its rightful owner. What was more, he was counting on Cherry to keep the secret—in order to protect the purser and the steward. There was nerve for you!

Henry, eavesdropping outside the Paulding suite the afternoon before, must have heard Cherry beg Jan not to report the matter to the captain for Ziggy’s and Waidler’s sake. So now he coolly was depending on Cherry’s loyalty to her friends to enable him to get off scot free.

The door into the corridor opened. Mrs. Crane had returned from her breakfast. Cherry arose, bidding goodbye to Timmy and his mother, and started down the corridor. She walked slowly for once, feeling curiously exhausted.

Could it be possible that this still was Christmas morning? So much had happened! And the end was not yet. Tomorrow they would dock at Willemstad.

There would be airmail letters awaiting her. Midge
CHRISTMAS

JUGGLERY

221

had hinted that there would be so many Cherry would need a truck. She could hardly wait to hear the latest news of her family and friends.

She looked forward to a sightseeing and shopping tour with Brownie—a swim at Piscadera Bay— perhaps a visit with Jan to the property she had inherited from her uncle which was to launch the young girl on her chosen career. . .

“Why so pensive this morning, Cherry?” Kirk Monroe’s voice broke into her thoughts as the young doctor fell in step with her down the corridor.

Startled, Cherry smiled up at him.

“I’m not, really, Kirk,” she replied, “at least, I don’t think so—but I have lots of things to tell you.”

“Come on, let’s go up to the grill,” Dr. Monroe suggested, taking Cherry’s arm. “We can both use another cup of coffee.”

In the nearly deserted grill Cherry related everything that had happened since the night before.

“Of course, I’m delighted that Jan’s ambergris is safe at last,” she fi nished, “but, somehow, Kirk, when anyone is such a good loser . . .”

“Maybe Henry Landgraf is a good loser, Cherry, and
maybe
he’s a good actor,” Kirk Monroe pointed out grimly. “You know now that the man’s a thief; but you can only hope that he has admitted defeat.” The young doctor stood up abruptly. “We have to think of the other passengers, Cherry. We have no choice now. I’ll have to report this whole thing to the captain.”

c h a p t e r x i x

Happy Ending

it was snowing that wednesday after new year’s when the
Julita
steamed into New York harbor. The big white fl akes seemed to be drifting horizontally instead of falling vertically. To Cherry Ames and Kirk Monroe, standing at the rail waiting to catch a glimpse of the city’s towers through the snowstorm, it did not seem possible that only a few days ago the skies had been blue and the air soft and all of the passengers and crew in their summer whites.

And now Cherry found herself shivering slightly in her chocolate-brown suit and her poinsettia-red hat as she leaned against the icy rail.

“I’m crazy about that perfume you’re wearing,” Kirk was saying. “What is it?”

“It was a present from a pirate,” Cherry replied. “He hoped it would make me remember him.” She smiled 222

HAPPY

ENDING

223

up at Kirk. “Oh, I’ll remember him all right, down to the last drop of his farewell present.”

Kirk grinned. “I’m jealous. Timmy’s pirate was in many ways a likable dog, if he’d only had more respect for other people’s property.”

Cherry seemed to be lost in thought for several moments. “I’ll never forget that morning at Curaçao.

Timmy and I were at the rail watching the pontoon bridge swing open at Willemstad. Suddenly there was a step behind us. We both turned. It was Henry Landgraf.

He was in shirt sleeves and wearing sneakers. I never was as surprised in my life—especially after the captain’s telling us the night before that Henry would be kept in the brig until he could be turned over to the port offi cer at Curaçao.”

“No brig ever was built that could hold that one,” the doctor replied.

“He didn’t look at me, not once. But when Timmy let out a squeal of delight, he stopped, reached into his pocket, pulled out an old Spanish coin, and handed it to Tim. ‘Something to remember our days on the Spanish Main, Tim,’ he said—”

“A pirate to the end,” murmured Kirk. “That was probably a Spanish piece of eight.”

“A moment later,” continued Cherry, “he had climbed over the rail and dived into the canal. Timmy screamed like a banshee. Everybody rushed to the rail to see Henry swimming for the nearest dock. I doubt whether the
Julita
ever made a more exciting entrance.” 224
CHERRY

AMES,

CRUISE

NURSE

A few hours later, Cherry and Kirk were sitting in a Village restaurant only a few blocks from No. 9.

Over a bowl of hot soup Cherry said thoughtfully,

“I keep thinking about Timmy’s pirate. I know that he picked locks and broke and entered and took something that didn’t belong to him. But I can’t help hoping that—that he got away. Prison would kill something in a man like that. After all, Jan got her inheritance—” Kirk grinned. “Criminals are going to be in clover when you ladies take over the law courts,” he said.

“Well, it all came out all right, didn’t it? Ziggy and Waidler are still in the captain’s good graces. And wasn’t that Mr. Camelot a funny little fussbudget? How do you suppose a crusty old man like Jan’s uncle could have put such trust in that dry little man?” Kirk shook his head.

“I missed Jan on the trip back,” Cherry said softly.

“I’m going to miss that little Timmy, too. Who knows but I may fi nd myself missing you, too, Kirk, even though you did scare me half to death that fi rst day out.”

Cherry knew that her cheeks matched her perky little red hat. She liked this serious young doctor and hoped that he wouldn’t go out of her life forever when the
Julita
sailed again on Friday. She said with a trace of shyness, “Maybe you’ll have time while you’re in port to have dinner some evening at the Spencer Club.

Bertha Larsen is a wonderful cook.”

Kirk’s gray eyes widened in mock horror. “You couldn’t lure me to dinner with six nurses no matter how good
HAPPY

ENDING

225

a cook Bertha is.” Then he sobered. “Besides, Cherry, I want you all to myself. I’ve got only two days. Have dinner with me tonight and tomorrow. Please.” Cherry laughed. “One would think we hadn’t had breakfast, lunch, and dinner together nearly every day for the past twelve days!” Then she added, “Dinner tonight and tomorrow night would be fun, but you must meet the girls. They’d never forgive me. And besides, you’ll like them and they’ll like you.”

“Compromise,” Kirk said quickly. “I’ll brave your den, but you’ll have to go dancing with me both nights.

Think of all those evenings at sea when we had to watch the passengers from the sidelines.” Cherry’s eyes twinkled. “All right. But sometime let’s go for a swim in one of the hotel pools.” She told him then for the fi rst time about her illegal dip on the
Julita.

Kirk threw back his head and roared with laughter.

“Cherry Ames,” he chuckled, “you’ve got more spunk than any girl I ever knew! I’ve a good mind to give up my ship’s surgeon job just to stay on shore near you.

As a matter of fact,” he added seriously, “I’m going to do just that in a month or so. One of the big New York children’s hospitals has offered me a residency. I’ve just about decided to specialize in pediatrics.”

“And you should,” Cherry said with a smile. “The way you handled that imp, Timmy, was something to see.”

He looked as pleased as though she had told him he was the best children’s doctor in the world. “Maybe 226
CHERRY

AMES,

CRUISE

NURSE

someday we’ll end up in the same hospital,” he said.

“I’d like that. Would you, Cherry?”

Cherry nodded. “I’d like it very much.”

And somehow she knew that although the cruise had come to a happy ending, her friendship with young Dr. Monroe had only just begun.

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