Wait one moment, and you will see me
again."
Launce opened the store-room door, and discovered, not the steward, but
his wife, who occupied the situation of stewardess on board the vessel.
The accident was, in this case, a lucky one. Having stolen several
kisses at sea, and having been discovered (in every case) either by the
steward or his wife, Launce felt no difficulty in prefacing his request
to be allowed the use of the room by the plainest allusion to
his relations with Natalie. He could count on the silence of the
sympathizing authorities in this region of the vessel, having wisely
secured them as accomplices by the usual persuasion of the pecuniary
sort. Of the two, however, the stewardess, as a woman, was the more
likely to lend a ready ear to Launce's entreaties in his present
emergency. After a faint show of resistance, she consented, not only to
leave the room, but to keep her husband out of it, on the understanding
that it was not to be occupied for more than ten minutes. Launce made
the signal to Natalie at one door, while the stewardess went out by the
other.
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