The Lost Mermaid [Zhongyingmei]

Carl put his index finger to his lips, motioning for him to lower his voice not to panic.

The knife and fork in Doris' hand fell into the plate, making a crisp sound.She looked at Mrs. Bucket's table, and they didn't know what happened.Mrs. Bucket gracefully squeezed the thin handle of the ceramic teacup with a gold wire edge, and nodded frequently listening to Earl Rose's words.

Sensing Doris' gaze, Little Edward suddenly turned his head, his gloomy eyes startled Doris.

Doris quickly looked away, and Carl patted the back of her hand comfortingly.

Carl handed the waiter a ten-dollar tip, and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Where are Dawson and Miss Buckett now?"

The waiter swallowed: "They were seen lying together on the well enclosure deck on the main deck of C-floor! Dawson... also pressed on Miss Buckett's body!"

Carl and Doris looked at each other with disbelief in their eyes.

Doris asked: "Maybe they tripped over an obstacle and fell together? Did anyone see Jay-Dawson do anything to Ruth?"

Her questioning made the waiter choke, and beads of sweat slid from his forehead. He said tremblingly, "No, Miss Boardman. But, their actions like that..."

Karl realized something too and glanced at him.

The waiter was gouged out by this menacing look and lost his voice.

"Don't be ostentatious! I'll take care of this." He dropped the knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, "If you let me know that you told someone about this—"

The waiter covered his mouth and shook his head in a panic.

Carl stood up, turned around and planned to leave.

Doris also wanted to catch up, but was persuaded by him: "Doris, I need you to 'cover' for me, this kind of thing can't let more people know, you stay here, don't let them notice. "

He pouted and gestured to the people at the other side of the restaurant who were chatting happily.

Doris is desperate to find out what happened to Jack and Rose, and she believes that Jack is not like that!His affection for Ruth was restrained, if not reserved.

What's more, with his pure character, even if his behavior is sometimes unruly, he will not violate the person he likes.

Before the people at the table realized what happened, Doris looked over again, bit her lip and nodded.

Carl bent down and kissed her gently on the forehead, and comforted in a low voice: "Don't worry, I will take care of everything. If anyone asks where I have been, just say that I smoke in the smoking room on the main deck."

Doris kissed his hand and nodded.

For Carl Hockley, this news is simply unbelievable, even more unbelievable than the sinking of the Titanic in the deep sea.

It's not that he believes in Jack Dawson's character so much. He prefers to believe that with Jack's cleverness and wit, he will never do stupid things that implicate everyone just because of a momentary impulse when the dream ship just set sail.

When Carl came out, he didn’t put on his overcoat so as not to make people suspicious. At this moment, he quickly walked down the stairs to the C floor alone, and walked through the long corridor. The sea breeze blew on his face, which was painful.

While maintaining his demeanor, he strode towards the aft deck while cursing Jack for being unreliable.

Even if he just solved a problem for him.

At night, there was no one outside the cabin, the lonely headlight dimly illuminated the road, and the sound of his hurried footsteps was extremely clear in this empty aisle.

According to the usual practice, in no more than an hour, people will pour out of the cabin after dinner, gather on the deck to drink and chat, or dance to the music.

'This matter must be resolved as soon as possible and return to the restaurant. ' Carl said to himself.

He quickened his pace.

Soon, the eyes lit up.

A few figures faintly appeared on the deck, and Karl's footsteps became faster and faster, almost trotting.

Under the warm yellow headlights at the stern, several people were in a stalemate.

Carl squinted and saw Ruth standing shivering in the captain's uniform.

Beside her, Jack Dawson was wearing only the white shirt underneath, his overcoat fell to the ground, and his pair of shoes were scattered in a mess.His elbows were restrained by two crew members and he could not move.

But Jack didn't struggle either, on the contrary, Ruth's mouth was filled with cold air, and she was talking to the captain emotionally.

Carl felt that this scene was a bit bizarre, and it was not at all what the waiter said just now—if Jack really violated Ruth, then she would have already aimed her guns at Jack by now.

"Captain Smith! I really didn't lie! You don't have to doubt me, a 'victim'? If I was really violated rudely, I will definitely not speak for the murderer!"

As soon as he approached this group of people, Carl heard Ruth's helpless words.

"Miss Bucket, you don't need to worry, we will definitely punish this criminal for you!" Captain Smith said solemnly, "I don't know what your difficulties are, and I want to vouch for him..."

"What if I guarantee him? Captain Smith, are you willing to trust me?" Carl said loudly after taking a breath.

His words made several people look over at the same time.

Captain Smith took off his hat in surprise. "Mr. Hockley?"

"Yes." Carl nodded to him. "This Jack Dawson is my personal servant. I heard that he caused trouble just now. I didn't expect it to be related to Miss Bucket?"

Captain Smith was a little embarrassed, and explained: "Some of the crew saw this Mr. Dawson cheating on Miss Bucket—look, he has even taken off his clothes and shoes, and most of his belt is undone! Mr. Hockley, you There's no need to save him—"

"But even the so-called 'victims' don't think they have been violated! Captain Smith, I think you should give due consideration to the client's statement." Carl interrupted him.

Carl turned his head, looked at Ruth's unbelievable eyes, and said, "Are you right, Miss Buckett?"

Ruth stepped forward and nodded impatiently.

Carl saw Ruth's face clearly.Her hair was disheveled, and her sweaty hair was tightly pressed against her cheeks. She looked very embarrassed. No wonder she would be considered...

Captain Smith stopped talking. He looked at the three people in front of him, wondering what he was thinking.

Carl added: "Captain Smith, what are you worried about? Although Dawson is my servant, I don't intend to defend him unconditionally. If you have evidence to prove that he has indeed cheated on Miss Bucket, then I will definitely not shelter!"

Captain Smith looked distressed. He glanced at Ruth, and saw her eyes widened and nodded in agreement. He could only say, "I didn't see it with my own eyes. It's just that Mr. Dawson's current situation requires an explanation. .”

He approached Carl, lowered his voice, and said in a volume that only two people could hear: "Miss Bucket is about to be engaged to Mr. Little Rose, if she is wronged, I really can't explain to Earl Rose! "

"What!?" Carl was so shocked by the news that he couldn't control his voice and almost cried out.

He looked at Ruth, only to see that her face was humiliated, and her face paled instantly and lost all blood.

Only then did Karl know why Captain Smith refused to let Jack go.

Even if it is not rape/violence, people will inevitably consider it as adultery at this moment.It would be fine if Ruth was just an ordinary woman, but she was, would she be the "fiancée" of that damned little Edward?

Isn't she the one who pursues "freedom" the most?Even because of this, he raised his eyebrows coldly at himself?

Of course Carl was not humiliated by this, but intensely unbelievable.

In just a few days after boarding the ship, her identity changed drastically, and she got involved with the most unlikely person!

"I, I just wanted to take a look..." Ruth explained in a panic, forgetting the nouns for a while.

"—Propeller!" Jack reminded.

"Yes! The propeller!" Ruth hurriedly picked it up, "I wanted to see better, so I stood on the railing, sorry, I didn't think so much at the time... I almost fell, it was Dawson who happened to pass by, He saved me!"

It's hard to be convincing. The clothes and scattered shoes on the ground can't be taken off in a hurry to save people.

Captain Smith obviously wouldn't believe it either. He wanted to continue talking when he heard a serious female voice behind him: "Captain Smith, my daughter just told me that she was going out to have a shower, but she hasn't returned for a long time. I didn't expect you to here too?"

It was Mrs. Bukett who came. She had no expression on her face, and looked at Ruth with a pair of cold eyes: "Ruth, why don't you go back with me soon? Mr. Rose, you can wait, the dance is about to start gone."

Ruth shivered all over, took off the uniform she was wearing and handed it to the captain, revealing the black strapless long dress, and stood behind her mother.

Captain Smith saluted Mrs. Bucket and explained, "Sorry, we just..."

"It's all a misunderstanding!" Ruth shook her head at the captain, "Captain Smith, thank you for insisting on 'justice' for me, but I haven't encountered any grievances."

As she spoke, she curtseyed, but without a reply from the captain, she followed Mrs. Bucket's footsteps and left in a hurry.

In the distance, you can still hear the rhythmic sound of their leather shoes on the iron floor.

Captain Smith was speechless for a moment, he shrugged, not knowing what to do.

Karl fumbled in his pockets and saw that he had not put on his coat, and that he had not brought any money or checks with him.

He stepped forward, patted the captain on the shoulder, and said meaningfully: "There are some things, just go to the end. Captain Smith, I believe in your integrity, but there are some things that haven't happened, and there is no need to get to the bottom of them. All are well."

The captain put on his coat wordlessly, pulled down his hat, and nodded.

Doris waited impatiently at the table.

The restaurant's door opened and closed, and many people came and went, but she did not see the figure she was expecting.

She watched Mrs. Bucket go out, intending to follow, but saw little Edward also looking towards the door, and decided to stay to see the situation.

Within 5 minutes, Doris saw Ruth coming back with Mrs. Bucket.

Doris looked over there from the corner of her eye. As soon as they sat down, Mrs. Bucket chatted with the ladies again, while Ruth kept a blank expression, mechanically eating the ice cream in the bowl.

Doris finally couldn't bear to call the waiter, and when she was going to see what happened, Carl's figure finally appeared in the restaurant.

Carl walked towards Doris and said loudly: "Honey, it's a pity you didn't go for a walk on the deck with me just now! Guess what, I saw a madman on the deck trying to Go fishing in the sea!"

His words caught everyone's attention.

"Fishing? That's really a madman. The Titanic is traveling so fast, any fish that get close to the propeller will be crushed, right?" The lady at the table next to Doris giggled and agreed.

"Yeah! It's so stupid!" Carl sat down in front of Doris again, "Maybe he was born a clown! He wants to use his clumsy acting skills to trick stupid fish into taking the bait, Doris, you What do you think?"

Doris nodded in confusion—of course she knew what Karl meant, but she didn't understand what he was referring to.

On the other side, little Edward took a deep breath, and a dark purple bruise was pinched out on the palm of his hand.