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Finally, I made a compromise with myself. I wouldn’t ask. No, I definitely wouldn’t. But I could mention it to him, and if per chance he happened to tell me something of his own accord - well, then everybody would be happy, wouldn’t they? And I would keep my sanity!
So the next morning, when Mr Ambrose had taken up his usual position on the command deck, glaring at sailors in a way that made them work very, very efficiently, I carefully sneaked up behind him and insinuated myself beside his hard, unmoving figure, appearing calm and natural. Or at least I hoped so.
‘Nice weather today, don’t you think so?’ I observed.
‘No.’
Oh… well, to each their own opinion.
‘But the sea looks nice in the sunlight, doesn’t it?’
‘No.’
All right, the conversation was started. It wasn’t the most promising start, true, but you couldn’t have everything. I cleared my throat.
‘By the way… do you per chance happen to have the key to those suitcases in my cabin?’
‘Yes.’
I waited for more. Maybe for an offer to give me the key. It didn’t come.
‘Well… maybe we could have a look inside, some day.’
That wasn’t a question! It wasn’t! I was not going to ask!
His dark eyes didn’t even glance at me. ‘You don’t need the contents yet, Mr Linton.’
‘Indeed?’
‘You’ll need it only when we arrive.’
‘This… contents sounds mysterious, Sir.’
I waited again.
‘Does it, Mr Linton?’
Blast, blast, blast!
‘Well, even if I don’t need the contents, Sir…’
I let the sentence trail off suggestively. There was nothing but silence in answer. Apparently, Mr Ambrose was immune to suggestively trailed-off sentences. So I started again.
‘Even if I don’t need the contents now, there is a possibility, you know, that a hypothetical person, who is most certainly not me, might be slightly interested in knowing what it is right away.’
‘Indeed?’
‘Yes, Sir.’ I turned my head away, trying to avoid his eyes. ‘You see, if this hypothetical person were trapped on a hypothetical ship, and had nothing to do all day but to think about the hypothetical contents of these hypothetical cases, this might result in a certain lack of indifference in this hypothetical person towards knowing what might be in these hypothetical cases.’
‘Mr Linton?’
‘Yes, Sir?’
‘Are you curious about what is in the cases in your cabin?’
‘What? Me? Oh, no, no, no, Sir!’
‘I see.’ His broad shoulders did another one of those almost imperceptible shrugs. ‘If that’s the case, I suppose I do not need to tell you.’
