"See here, young woman, I don"t like your tone; nor do I understand what you mean. Who do you say this is, Ida May?" he added more gently, looking down into Sheila"s face again.
"She--"
"_I"m_ Ida May Bostwick. You know I am!" wailed the visitor.
"Why--why, you must remember me, Tunis Latham. Don"t you call her by my name. I won"t stand it."
"Mad as a hatter! Mad as a hatter!" muttered Cap"n Ira to Prudence.
"There"s something the matter with her, is there?" proceeded Tunis thoughtfully, eying the claimant as though she was indeed an utter stranger. "How did she get here? What does she want?"
"She wants a strait-jacket, I cal"late," said Cap"n Ira. "I don"t know what is best to do about her. Prudence says she won"t have her in the house overnight. "Twould be too bad to have to put her in the town lockup."
"You _dare_ to!" shrieked Ida May, with courage born of desperation.
Tunis put Sheila tenderly aside. He crossed the room to the other girl. He showed no manner of sympathy for her, but he spoke quietly.
"This won"t do, you know. Mr. and Mrs. Ball don"t want you here. You have no claim on them--none at all. Even if you chanced to be a relation, they have not got to take you in if they don"t want to."
"They"ve taken that other girl in!" cried Ida May wildly.
"That is their business. They want her. They don"t want you. You have no more standing here than you would have if you went into the house of the governor of the State and demanded recognition there."
"What a wicked man you are!" gasped Ida May. "And--and I thought you was a simp!"
Tunis did not even change color. He addressed her as though he believed she was not right in her mind. Sheila watched him, not now in fear, but in wonder. She had thought she must battle with this girl for Tunis" name and reputation. But the captain of the _Seamew_ had seized the reins of affairs himself and was likely to do much better in the emergency than Sheila could ever dream of doing.
"Come, now," said Tunis Latham calmly. "I do not know where you belong or where you came from last. But you cannot stay here. Cap"n Ira and Aunt Prue do not want you. If you have any friends near--"
"I"ve got friends all right! You"ll find out that I"ve got "em!"
gasped the girl threateningly.
"You know anybody in Big Wreck Cove?"
"No, I don"t. I"ve just come here. But I mean to stay here till I get my rights. I"ll show you all!"
"You can"t show us anything to-night," interposed Tunis firmly.
"Whatever you mean to try to do cannot be done right now, you know.
You will have to sleep somewhere, and I shall have to do one of two things--no, one of three things."
She looked at him wonderingly, but she was listening.
"I will take you back to the port. You cannot go home--wherever you live--to-night. In the morning you can go over with Ben Craddock on the stage to Paulmouth."
"I won"t!" The girl"s determination was roused. There was a stubborn streak in her character that would make her a bitter antagonist.
Tunis, as well as Sheila, realized this.
"All right," said the captain of the _Seamew_ calmly. "Then I"ll get you a place to stay down in the port. Or I shall have to see the justice of the peace and have you committed for your own safety."
"You don"t dare!" cried Ida May again.
"You tempt me too far, young woman," he said sternly, "and you"ll find just how much I dare. Will you come along with me now and behave yourself?"
"That"s the ticket, Tunis," muttered Cap"n Ira. "Put her where she belongs."
"So my own folks turn me out, do they?" cried Ida May, hatefully, staring at the two old people. "If anybody is crazy it is those two," and she pointed to the b.a.l.l.s. "Take in a drab like that girl and throw _me_ out. Why, I believe I"ve seen her before. Somehow, she looks familiar," she added, her sharp gaze fixed on Sheila again. "Well, wherever it was, she was up to no good, I"ll be bound."
"Are you coming with me willingly, and now?" put in Tunis more harshly. "You are taking a chance, young woman, in talking this way."
"Oh, she"s got _you_ going. That"s plain to be seen! I thought you was a nice fellow. But I guess you"re like other sailors. I always heard they was a bad lot--running after women--"
"Will you come without any more words?" interrupted Tunis grimly.
"I"ll have to go back to the town, I suppose. But remember! This ain"t the end of this," she weakly bl.u.s.tered.
"This your bag?" said Tunis calmly, picking up Ida May"s satchel.
"All right. We"ll go."
He did not attempt to look at Sheila again, nor at Cap"n Ira and Prudence. He walked behind Ida May, but rather hustled her out of the door. She might have cast back some final defiance, but he gave her no chance.
It was almost twilight when they went out at the kitchen door. They left the trio in the sitting room speechless for the moment. But Sheila Macklin"s speechlessness arose through different thoughts from those of the b.a.l.l.s.
The girl left behind realized that this almost unexpected outcome was but the momentary triumph of falsehood.
CHAPTER XXII
A WAY OUT
"Ida May, you"d better sit down. You look like you"d had a stroke,"
declared the captain.
"Why wouldn"t she, the dear child?" cried Prudence. "What do you suppose is the matter with that girl? Is she crazy?"
"Crazy ain"t no name for it," her husband rejoined. "Her top-hamper is all askew, I cal"late. I never see the beat."
But just now Sheila could not endure any discussion of the strange girl. She rose as quickly as she had seated herself.
"I must fix supper," she said briskly. "You sit still, Aunt Prudence. You"re fl.u.s.tered, I can see. There is nothing for you to do."
"That"s right," put in Cap"n Ira. "Get a bite ready against Tunis comes back. He"ll want something fillin" after handling that crazy gal."
He winked at Prudence and nudged her. The outstanding incident for the old man was the unmistakable signs Tunis and Sheila had given that they were in love with each other.
"What did I tell ye when that gal first come here?" whispered Cap"n Ira hoa.r.s.ely, when the girl had left the room. "I knowed that the hull generation here on the Cape hadn"t been struck blind, not by a jugful! And it"s evident to my mind, Prudence, that Tunis Latham has had his eyes pretty wide open from the first."