Miss Benson's Beetle

This summary section includes the chapters entitled: “Stowaway”; “So Much Vomit”; “Something Fishy”; “The Truth About Enid Petty”; and “Father Spotting and the Natural History Museum.”

Mundic follows Margery on board her ship, stowing away in the boiler room. Margery has difficulty adjusting to life at sea. After her first dinner, she becomes violently seasick and spends weeks in her cabin, throwing up. During this time, Enid cheerily tends to her and babbles on about how much she loves babies. Eventually, Margery finds her sea legs and regains her appetite.

Mundic spends his days spying on Margery and her assistant. He becomes suspicious of Enid after he follows her ashore at various ports. He finds Enid perusing newspapers from overseas as if she’s afraid of finding bad news. She also buys a radio to listen to broadcasts from England on board. When Mundic returns to his lower deck hideout, he is discovered by two crewmembers. One of them realizes that Mundic must have been a prisoner of war during WWII from his gaunt condition and fragile mental state. When one crewman suggests turning Mundic in, the other says that he’s endured enough. The kindly crewman finds an empty cabin for Mundic and sneaks him food, so Mundic is content with the arrangement.