The idea made me frantic; I thought of the women,
of Elsa Lee, and I was ready to kill.
"Where is the light switch?" I demanded of Singleton, who was still
on the companion steps, swaying.
"I don't know," he said, and collapsed, sitting huddled just above
the captain's body, with his face in his hands.
I saw I need not look to him for help, and I succeeded in turning
on the light in the swinging lamp in the center of the cabin. There
was no sign of any struggle, and the cabin was empty. I went back
to the captain's body, and threw a rug over it. Then I reached over
and shook Singleton by the arm.
"Do something!" I raved. "Call the crew. Get somebody here, you
drunken fool!"
He rose and staggered up the companionway, and I ran to Miss Lee's
door. It was closed and locked, as were all the others except
Vail's and the one I had broken open. I reached Mr. Turner's door
last. It was locked, and I got no response to my knock. I
remembered that his room and Vail's connected through a bath, and,
still holding my revolver leveled, I ran into Vail's room again,
this time turning on the light.
A night light was burning in the bath-room, and the door beyond was
unlocked. I flung it open and stepped in. Turner was lying on his
bed, fully dressed, and at first I thought he too had been murdered.
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