Bakura was horrified. "Who is this?!" he demanded, but the caller had already hung up.
"Was that someone threatening us?" Tea asked worriedly.
Bakura nodded. "I'm afraid so," he sighed.
Joey didn't look impressed. "Well, they'd better watch out if they wanna mess with us," he vowed, "'cause we'll show 'em a thing or two!"
Bakura decided that he needed to tell the others about the strange men he had seen in the cargo hold. He told about the guard's unusual appearance first.
"Not a very responsible guy," Tristan remarked, "to just walk back out like that. He should've gone in to see if everyone was alright."
"Something definitely seems strange," Yugi agreed, his violet eyes narrowing.
Bakura then went on to tell about the other man who had came in. "He seemed to be looking for someone," the boy mused, telling of how he had muttered, "He is near" and then had left.
"Or maybe runnin' from someone," Joey suggested.
"I suppose he might have been," Bakura said slowly, "but he didn't really seem like he was on the run."
"You say both of these men were Egyptian?" Yugi asked suddenly.
Bakura nodded, blinking in confusion. "Yes," he told him.
"Can you describe them to me?" Yugi sounded serious.
Bakura paused, thinking. "Well," he said finally, "I didn't really get a good look at the guard because he just stayed in the doorway, but he seemed to be tall and lean, and he had piercing, dark eyes." He paused. "The second man was wearing Egyptian robes and a turban, and he had earrings and blue eyes."
Yugi seemed to be heavily weighing this information.
"What's on your mind, Yug?" Joey asked.
Yugi didn't answer immediately. After another moment of pondering, he looked back at Bakura. "Was he wearing an ankh around his neck?" he wanted to know.
Bakura blinked. "I . . . I'm afraid I didn't notice," he admitted. "He may have been wearing one under his robes."
"You sound like you know who it was, Yugi," Tea remarked, looking confused.
Yugi shook his head. "I have only a vague idea, but until I can gather more information it won't make sense."
"Nothing makes sense!!" Joey protested, messing up his hair in frustration.
Yugi nodded in agreement. "But the rest of you don't know the person of whom I suspect," he said.
"Well, who is it?" Tea wanted to know.
Before Yugi could answer, Captain Hardy came rushing past, looking preoccupied and agitated.
"Hey, what's up?" Joey asked.
Captain Hardy turned to look at them. "Your friend is awake," he reported, "and his sister says he has some very interesting things to tell me. You all may wish to come along and hear as well."
"We sure as heck would!" Joey declared.
"You all go along," Bakura said. "I really should stay here with my Yami until he's feeling better."
Yugi nodded. "Alright. Make sure to keep your door locked," he instructed.
"I certainly will," Bakura exclaimed with a shudder.
****
After Marik again recounted his experience, Captain Hardy agreed most heartily that the guard should be watched.
"I can't imagine who he was talking to on the phone," the man said, shaking his head.
"Can you think of anyone who may be holding a grudge against you or perhaps a member of your crew?" Yugi asked gently.
Captain Hardy shook his head. "I can't," he admitted. "This is all a terrible disaster! Someone could be seriously injured if this keeps going on!"
"I promise you, Captain, that we will bring the culprits to justice before that happens," Yugi vowed solemnly.
Captain Hardy looked at him, and for the first time all evening he seemed to relax. "Thank you, Yugi," he said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're just like your grandfather—always helping others."
Yugi blushed, looking embarrassed.
"I'm going to start the interactive mystery at breakfast tomorrow," the Captain continued.
"That sounds good," Tea nodded.
Joey slammed his fist into his palm. "And we'll be working undercover to catch these crooks!" he declared.
****
After the meeting in Marik's room the teens said goodnight and all went their separate ways.
Mokuba looked up at his older brother as they walked down the long corridor. "Seto, what kind of business did you come here on?" he asked curiously. "I haven't heard you trying to make appointments with anyone."
Seto sighed and ruffled the younger boy's hair. "Actually, kid, I'm still trying to track down the embezzlers from KaibaCorp," he explained. "I know that a while back I thought Vivalene might have been involved, but now I don't think she was the only one who was. I did some research and found that several of my employees skipped town with more of the money from the company's accounts—and they got on this cruise ship."
Mokuba looked worried. "Then you're already trying to solve a mystery!" he exclaimed.
"I'm afraid so," Seto agreed, "but I should have it wrapped up in a day or two."
Mokuba threw his arms around Seto as they paused in front of their stateroom door. "I know you can teach them a thing or two, big brother," he said fervently, "but please be careful!"
Seto smiled tenderly. "I will be," he promised, hugging Mokuba back and then unlocking the door.
****
As Yugi and his Yami headed for their stateroom, they passed by the wrecked library and both paused to survey the extent of the damage.
"The Captain had no idea who would do such a thing," Yugi remarked, "or what they could've wanted."
Yami Yugi ventured into the room slowly. "Perhaps there are some clues to be found in here," the ancient Pharaoh remarked. "We should investigate before he sends someone to clean things up."
Yugi followed, glancing about for anything that could be important. "But we also can't rearrange things," he said. "We might disturb evidence that way."
Yami Yugi nodded. "I realize that," he assured the boy, stepping carefully over a stack of fallen books and knickknacks. "Hmm? What's this?" He bent down and carefully removed a small satchel from the chaos without disturbing the surrounding volumes.
Yugi gasped. "I don't think that's supposed to be here!" he declared. "The vandal must have dropped it!"
Yami Yugi's eyes narrowed. "In that case, we must be very careful," he said, quickly placing it in his pocket and indicating that no more was to be said about their find until they returned to the safety of their room.
After a thorough scan of the room, the two hadn't uncovered anything else strange and were preparing to head out when Yugi made a discovery of his own.
"Look at this!" he cried, lifting a gold, Egyptian-style earring up to the light.
Yami Yugi stared at it. "That looks familiar," he remarked.
Yugi nodded. "I know of only one person who wears earrings like these," he said slowly, and he could tell that his Yami was thinking the same thing. "He must've been the second person Bakura saw!" The boy paused. "Now we just need to figure out what he was doing in here. I'm sure he wasn't the vandal!"
Yami Yugi nodded and turned to leave. "I'm certain you're right, Yugi," he said. "Tearing a room apart doesn't quite seem his style. Perhaps he encountered the vandal and they had a struggle."
Yugi quickly followed his friend out the door and back down the hall, confused thoughts swirling through his mind.
****
When they arrived back at their room, Yami Yugi checked around to make certain they were alone and then pulled the satchel out of his pocket. "Now we need to see what our vandal was carrying with him," he remarked.
"We'll need to tell the Captain what we found," Yugi reminded the Pharaoh as he began undoing the drawstrings keeping the bag closed.
"We should see what's in here first," Yami Yugi replied, dumping the contents onto Yugi's bed.
"What is it?" Yugi asked, coming over for a better look.
Yami Yugi just looked perplexed. "They seem to be golf balls," he said, picking one up for inspection.
"Golf balls?!" Yugi said in disbelief, but he could definitely see that that's what they were.
Yami Yugi shook his head. "Somehow, I have a hard time picturing either our vandal or the keeper of the Millennium Ankh carrying golf balls," he said with a wry smile.
Yugi had to chuckle.
****
As Joey and Tristan walked down the hall, they met up with the same two girls who had been playing ping-pong earlier.
"Hello!" the first one chirped.
Tristan, girl-crazy as usual, smiled in a Romeo way and walked up to her. "Hello," he said, taking her hand. "I'm Tristan Taylor. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
The girl smiled back at him. "Brittany Carver," she introduced. "My friend here is Jeannette Travis." She looked worried. "I've been hearing about everything that's going on tonight. I hope no one's going to get hurt. . . ."
Joey looked from Brittany to Jeannette. "I don't suppose either of you girls saw anyone suspicious hanging around?" he wanted to know.
"No one," Jeannette said grumpily. "If you asked me, this whole thing is a big prank."
"Well, if it is, it sure is a sick one!" Joey cried, his eyes narrowing. "But I didn't ask you. Why be so testy?"
Jeannette's expression didn't lighten. "You don't like it? Tough." She turned to go.
"Jeannette!" Brittany scolded angrily. "Why do you have to have a bad attitude about everything?!"
Jeannette only shrugged.
****
"I can't believe you're still solving mysteries," Mai said to Tea as they walked down the hall, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I can't believe it either," Tea replied ruefully. "No matter how we try to get away from them, they just seem to keep finding us!" She sighed. "For once I wish we could just have some peace and quiet!"
As they approached a corner, Tea suddenly stopped and motioned for Mai to do the same. Two people were talking just around the bend in hushed tones, and Tea wanted to hear what they were saying.
"Everything will go according to plan," the first one grumped. "Don't worry so much!" He paused. "Now, we can't keep talking here. Go get yourself back to the dining room before someone realizes you're gone!"
"I'm goin', I'm goin'," the second one growled, and footsteps were heard as they each went their separate ways.
Mai turned to look at Tea. "I'm going to say that was probably not a good sign. Am I right?"
"Unfortunately," Tea sighed.
****
Mokuba was having a strange dream. He was standing in a thick mist, waiting for Seto to come. Suddenly he saw a dark form emerging from the shadows and start searching through a chest of drawers that had magically appeared next to him.
"Who are you?" Mokuba cried. "What are you doing here?!"
The man turned to look at the boy and abruptly Mokuba snapped out of his dream—only to discover that it wasn't just a dream. A strange man was bending over his bed!
"Was that someone threatening us?" Tea asked worriedly.
Bakura nodded. "I'm afraid so," he sighed.
Joey didn't look impressed. "Well, they'd better watch out if they wanna mess with us," he vowed, "'cause we'll show 'em a thing or two!"
Bakura decided that he needed to tell the others about the strange men he had seen in the cargo hold. He told about the guard's unusual appearance first.
"Not a very responsible guy," Tristan remarked, "to just walk back out like that. He should've gone in to see if everyone was alright."
"Something definitely seems strange," Yugi agreed, his violet eyes narrowing.
Bakura then went on to tell about the other man who had came in. "He seemed to be looking for someone," the boy mused, telling of how he had muttered, "He is near" and then had left.
"Or maybe runnin' from someone," Joey suggested.
"I suppose he might have been," Bakura said slowly, "but he didn't really seem like he was on the run."
"You say both of these men were Egyptian?" Yugi asked suddenly.
Bakura nodded, blinking in confusion. "Yes," he told him.
"Can you describe them to me?" Yugi sounded serious.
Bakura paused, thinking. "Well," he said finally, "I didn't really get a good look at the guard because he just stayed in the doorway, but he seemed to be tall and lean, and he had piercing, dark eyes." He paused. "The second man was wearing Egyptian robes and a turban, and he had earrings and blue eyes."
Yugi seemed to be heavily weighing this information.
"What's on your mind, Yug?" Joey asked.
Yugi didn't answer immediately. After another moment of pondering, he looked back at Bakura. "Was he wearing an ankh around his neck?" he wanted to know.
Bakura blinked. "I . . . I'm afraid I didn't notice," he admitted. "He may have been wearing one under his robes."
"You sound like you know who it was, Yugi," Tea remarked, looking confused.
Yugi shook his head. "I have only a vague idea, but until I can gather more information it won't make sense."
"Nothing makes sense!!" Joey protested, messing up his hair in frustration.
Yugi nodded in agreement. "But the rest of you don't know the person of whom I suspect," he said.
"Well, who is it?" Tea wanted to know.
Before Yugi could answer, Captain Hardy came rushing past, looking preoccupied and agitated.
"Hey, what's up?" Joey asked.
Captain Hardy turned to look at them. "Your friend is awake," he reported, "and his sister says he has some very interesting things to tell me. You all may wish to come along and hear as well."
"We sure as heck would!" Joey declared.
"You all go along," Bakura said. "I really should stay here with my Yami until he's feeling better."
Yugi nodded. "Alright. Make sure to keep your door locked," he instructed.
"I certainly will," Bakura exclaimed with a shudder.
****
After Marik again recounted his experience, Captain Hardy agreed most heartily that the guard should be watched.
"I can't imagine who he was talking to on the phone," the man said, shaking his head.
"Can you think of anyone who may be holding a grudge against you or perhaps a member of your crew?" Yugi asked gently.
Captain Hardy shook his head. "I can't," he admitted. "This is all a terrible disaster! Someone could be seriously injured if this keeps going on!"
"I promise you, Captain, that we will bring the culprits to justice before that happens," Yugi vowed solemnly.
Captain Hardy looked at him, and for the first time all evening he seemed to relax. "Thank you, Yugi," he said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're just like your grandfather—always helping others."
Yugi blushed, looking embarrassed.
"I'm going to start the interactive mystery at breakfast tomorrow," the Captain continued.
"That sounds good," Tea nodded.
Joey slammed his fist into his palm. "And we'll be working undercover to catch these crooks!" he declared.
****
After the meeting in Marik's room the teens said goodnight and all went their separate ways.
Mokuba looked up at his older brother as they walked down the long corridor. "Seto, what kind of business did you come here on?" he asked curiously. "I haven't heard you trying to make appointments with anyone."
Seto sighed and ruffled the younger boy's hair. "Actually, kid, I'm still trying to track down the embezzlers from KaibaCorp," he explained. "I know that a while back I thought Vivalene might have been involved, but now I don't think she was the only one who was. I did some research and found that several of my employees skipped town with more of the money from the company's accounts—and they got on this cruise ship."
Mokuba looked worried. "Then you're already trying to solve a mystery!" he exclaimed.
"I'm afraid so," Seto agreed, "but I should have it wrapped up in a day or two."
Mokuba threw his arms around Seto as they paused in front of their stateroom door. "I know you can teach them a thing or two, big brother," he said fervently, "but please be careful!"
Seto smiled tenderly. "I will be," he promised, hugging Mokuba back and then unlocking the door.
****
As Yugi and his Yami headed for their stateroom, they passed by the wrecked library and both paused to survey the extent of the damage.
"The Captain had no idea who would do such a thing," Yugi remarked, "or what they could've wanted."
Yami Yugi ventured into the room slowly. "Perhaps there are some clues to be found in here," the ancient Pharaoh remarked. "We should investigate before he sends someone to clean things up."
Yugi followed, glancing about for anything that could be important. "But we also can't rearrange things," he said. "We might disturb evidence that way."
Yami Yugi nodded. "I realize that," he assured the boy, stepping carefully over a stack of fallen books and knickknacks. "Hmm? What's this?" He bent down and carefully removed a small satchel from the chaos without disturbing the surrounding volumes.
Yugi gasped. "I don't think that's supposed to be here!" he declared. "The vandal must have dropped it!"
Yami Yugi's eyes narrowed. "In that case, we must be very careful," he said, quickly placing it in his pocket and indicating that no more was to be said about their find until they returned to the safety of their room.
After a thorough scan of the room, the two hadn't uncovered anything else strange and were preparing to head out when Yugi made a discovery of his own.
"Look at this!" he cried, lifting a gold, Egyptian-style earring up to the light.
Yami Yugi stared at it. "That looks familiar," he remarked.
Yugi nodded. "I know of only one person who wears earrings like these," he said slowly, and he could tell that his Yami was thinking the same thing. "He must've been the second person Bakura saw!" The boy paused. "Now we just need to figure out what he was doing in here. I'm sure he wasn't the vandal!"
Yami Yugi nodded and turned to leave. "I'm certain you're right, Yugi," he said. "Tearing a room apart doesn't quite seem his style. Perhaps he encountered the vandal and they had a struggle."
Yugi quickly followed his friend out the door and back down the hall, confused thoughts swirling through his mind.
****
When they arrived back at their room, Yami Yugi checked around to make certain they were alone and then pulled the satchel out of his pocket. "Now we need to see what our vandal was carrying with him," he remarked.
"We'll need to tell the Captain what we found," Yugi reminded the Pharaoh as he began undoing the drawstrings keeping the bag closed.
"We should see what's in here first," Yami Yugi replied, dumping the contents onto Yugi's bed.
"What is it?" Yugi asked, coming over for a better look.
Yami Yugi just looked perplexed. "They seem to be golf balls," he said, picking one up for inspection.
"Golf balls?!" Yugi said in disbelief, but he could definitely see that that's what they were.
Yami Yugi shook his head. "Somehow, I have a hard time picturing either our vandal or the keeper of the Millennium Ankh carrying golf balls," he said with a wry smile.
Yugi had to chuckle.
****
As Joey and Tristan walked down the hall, they met up with the same two girls who had been playing ping-pong earlier.
"Hello!" the first one chirped.
Tristan, girl-crazy as usual, smiled in a Romeo way and walked up to her. "Hello," he said, taking her hand. "I'm Tristan Taylor. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
The girl smiled back at him. "Brittany Carver," she introduced. "My friend here is Jeannette Travis." She looked worried. "I've been hearing about everything that's going on tonight. I hope no one's going to get hurt. . . ."
Joey looked from Brittany to Jeannette. "I don't suppose either of you girls saw anyone suspicious hanging around?" he wanted to know.
"No one," Jeannette said grumpily. "If you asked me, this whole thing is a big prank."
"Well, if it is, it sure is a sick one!" Joey cried, his eyes narrowing. "But I didn't ask you. Why be so testy?"
Jeannette's expression didn't lighten. "You don't like it? Tough." She turned to go.
"Jeannette!" Brittany scolded angrily. "Why do you have to have a bad attitude about everything?!"
Jeannette only shrugged.
****
"I can't believe you're still solving mysteries," Mai said to Tea as they walked down the hall, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I can't believe it either," Tea replied ruefully. "No matter how we try to get away from them, they just seem to keep finding us!" She sighed. "For once I wish we could just have some peace and quiet!"
As they approached a corner, Tea suddenly stopped and motioned for Mai to do the same. Two people were talking just around the bend in hushed tones, and Tea wanted to hear what they were saying.
"Everything will go according to plan," the first one grumped. "Don't worry so much!" He paused. "Now, we can't keep talking here. Go get yourself back to the dining room before someone realizes you're gone!"
"I'm goin', I'm goin'," the second one growled, and footsteps were heard as they each went their separate ways.
Mai turned to look at Tea. "I'm going to say that was probably not a good sign. Am I right?"
"Unfortunately," Tea sighed.
****
Mokuba was having a strange dream. He was standing in a thick mist, waiting for Seto to come. Suddenly he saw a dark form emerging from the shadows and start searching through a chest of drawers that had magically appeared next to him.
"Who are you?" Mokuba cried. "What are you doing here?!"
The man turned to look at the boy and abruptly Mokuba snapped out of his dream—only to discover that it wasn't just a dream. A strange man was bending over his bed!