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Page 8
Madge had received a letter from the boy cousin who was at school in
Baltimore. He had given her several addresses in Baltimore where there
was just a bare chance that she might find a ready-to-use houseboat.
He assured her, however, that houseboats were usually made to order,
and that she might find some difficulty in securing what she wished,
and must, therefore, not become easily discouraged.
Just before noon the four young women arrived in Baltimore on their
quest for a house-boat. Lillian and Eleanor demanded their luncheon at
once, but Phil and Madge protested against eating luncheon so early.
"You can't be hungry already," argued Madge. "As for me, I shall never
be able to eat until we find our boat."
For two hours the girls tramped about the boat yards in search of their
treasure. They saw canoes and motor boats of every size and kind, and
models of private yachts, but not a trace of a houseboat could they
find. The representatives of the various boat companies whom they
interviewed suggested the building of a houseboat at a cost of anywhere
from six hundred to a thousand dollars.
Lillian and Eleanor were the first to complain of being tired. Then
Phil, who was usually the sweetest-tempered of the four girls, began to
show signs of irritability. Madge, however, undaunted and determined,
would not think of giving up the search.
"Just one more place, girls," she begged; "then we can rest and have
our luncheon somewhere. This is a very large ship-building yard we are
going to. I am sure we can find our boat there."
Half an hour later the four chums turned wearily away from another
fruitless quest. They were now in a part of Baltimore which none of
them had ever seen before. A few blocks farther down the street they
could see the line of the water and the masts of several sailing
vessels that were lying near the shore.
"I tell you, Madge Morton," declared Phyllis Alden firmly, "whether or
not we ever find a houseboat, there is one thing certain: I positively
must have something to eat. I am half starved. What good would
finding the boat do me if I were to die of hunger before I have even
seen it?"
"Please don't be cross, Phil," soothed Madge. "I am sure we are all as
hungry as you are. I am awfully sorry. We ought to have eaten
luncheon before we came here. There isn't a restaurant in sight."
"I am sure I saw the sign of a funny little restaurant as we came by
the corner," broke in Lillian. "It did look queer, but I suppose it
would not be any harm for us to go in there."
"We don't care if it does look queer," declared Phyllis stoutly.
Turning, the girls retraced their steps to the corner.
Outside the swinging door of the small restaurant they hesitated. "I
don't think we ought to go in there," argued Eleanor, "it is such a
dreadfully rough-looking place."
It was indeed a very common eating house, where the men who worked on
the wharves, the fishermen and sailors, were in the habit of getting
their meals. The one dirty window showed half a dozen live crabs
crawling about inside among the pieces of sea-weed. A row of old pies
formed the background.
A moment later they had marched bravely up to the door. Dainty Eleanor
shuddered as they crossed the threshold, and even Phil and Madge
hesitated as a man's coarse laugh greeted them once they were fairly
inside the restaurant room.
"Come on, children," said Madge, with a pretence of bravery she was far
from feeling. "We are going into this restaurant to get something to
eat. Don't look as if you thought you were going to be eaten. It is
rather horrid, but perhaps they will let us have some bread and milk."
The quartette seated themselves at the first table they saw vacant.
Just across from it were a number of men with rough, hard faces. They
were evidently sailors from the nearby boats. The girls kept their
eyes on the table, and Madge gave their order for tea and sandwiches in
a low tone to the German boy who came forward to wait on them.
When the boy had departed with their order a silence settled upon the
little group of girls. In each girl's mind was the thought that it had
been unwise to enter the restaurant. By this time they had come to a
realization of the fact that they were the only women in the room.
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