Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark Page B

Gephardt thought, for the Commodore to have risked having someone on board who was so sick. He glanced over at the table where he knew Crater was sitting and saw the old man getting out of his chair. The children on either side of Crater jumped up eagerly.
    Crater was about to go out of his mind. The kids had driven him crazy all during dinner and their parents’ conversation was mind-numbing. At least the outburst from that woman had provided a much-needed jolt to his system.
    â€œMr. Crater, I must get a picture of you with the girls,” Eldona insisted. “We’ll make a scrapbook ofthe cruise and send it to you. We’ll have to get your address. Please sit back down.”
    Crater begrudgingly agreed and began his descent. Eldona’s eyes widened in horror as she realized Gwendolyn had pulled Crater’s chair away from the table, just as she had been taught in the Assisting Senior Citizens etiquette class. Eldona watched as the expression on Crater’s face turned to bewilderment and then panic when he realized there was no chair to catch him. A loud thump sounded as Crater disappeared below the table.
    Gasps from surrounding diners interrupted the Commodore’s tale of the happy years he had spent at sailing camp on Cape Cod.
    Cursing under his breath, sprawled flat on his back, and momentarily shocked, Crater knew that he’d thrown out his back again. Fredericka leaned over, having dunked her napkin in her water glass, and began wiping his face. “There, there,” she cooed. “It was Mommy’s fault. Ewww, what’s this gray stuff on your face?”
    Crater grabbed the napkin from her hand. “My medicine causes that,” he growled. “Get your hands off me.”
    By now Dr. Gephardt was squatting beside him, thrilled that he had a reason to flee the Commodore’s table. Gephardt held up a finger. “Mr. Crater can you see my finger?”
    Crater slapped the doctor’s hand away and attempted to get up. But the pain in his back made it impossible to move.
    Gephardt frowned. “We’re getting a stretcher. We can’t take any chances with a man in your condition. What exactly is wrong with you?”
    â€œAt the moment, everything!”
    â€œCan you move your legs?”
    â€œI have a bad back. I twisted it. It’s happened before. I’ll be fine. Just help me up.”
    Gephardt shook his head solemnly. “No, no. That was a hard fall, and we can’t be sure that you haven’t injured yourself seriously. As a trained medical practitioner, I insist that you spend the night in the infirmary. If necessary, we will summon your helicopter.”
    â€œNo!” Crater exploded as he pushed himself on one elbow, wincing as he felt the old familiar spasms in his back send shooting pain throughout his body. “I don’t want to leave this Santa Cruise. I earned this trip by giving loads of money to charity.”
    Fredericka and Gwendolyn jumped up and down, clapping their hands. “Yayyyyyyyyyy. We’ll visit you in the ship’s hospital.”
    Two infirmary attendants arrived with a stretcher. Crater felt himself being carefully lifted onto it and then felt straps being tied around hisarms to secure him to it. As they started to carry him out of the dining room, he heard the doctor say to one of the medics, “I have the number of his helicopter. Perhaps I should call and warn them that they might have to come pick up Mr. Crater at any time.”

18
    T he 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