The Sports Deck of the Royal Mermaid was at the ship’s stern. In addition to the infamous rock-climbing wall, there was a basketball court and a miniature golf course. Bull’s-Eye and Highbridge had carried their trays, on which they’d haphazardly gathered cheese, crackers, and grapes, from the Lido buffet, looking for a place to hide and eat. When they discovered the sports area, Highbridge pointed to a miniature red barn hovering over the seventh hole of the golf course. An open-mouthed cow was leaning out the window over the barn door, the gap between its teeth obviously the target for golfers. Once someone hit a ball through the cow’s choppers, the ball would hopefully have enough momentum to roll through the barn, down a crevice, and land in putting distance of the hole.
“Let’s hide behind the barn,” Highbridge suggested. “This is the back of the ship, so no one will see us from the other direction. And the golf course is closed now.”
“My cards!” Bull’s-Eye cried suddenly.
“What?”
“Being around these games made me think of my cards! I left them in that other room.”
“So what?”
“I’ve got to get them back. They’re important!”
The two men could hear the sound of voices coming up the companionway. “Come on!” Highbridge said impatiently.
With swift steps they walked around the fenced-in basketball court and made their way along the intricately designed golf course, until they were safely behind the façade of the barn. They sat with their backs against the barn and glumly wolfed down the cheese.
The night was becoming overcast.
“We’re moving along pretty fast,” Highbridge observed, staring out at the churning white wake cutting through the vast expanse of black water. “But I don’t like that sky.”
“Why not? You want stars and a full moon so that we can’t be missed?”
“I had a yacht until the Feds got nasty. I know this kind of weather. We’re in for a big storm.”