A Rock in the Baltic

a flat that suited them, of which they were to take possession on the first of October. Then there were the lawyers to see; a great many business details to settle, and an architect to

therine remarked, were "wafted to the skies on flowery beds of ease," which she explained to her shocked companion wa

I understand we are three thousand feet higher than we were in New Y

as the eye could see, shimmering in the thin, bluish veil of a summer even

one corner of the huge caravansary, a large parlor occupying the angle, with windows on one side looking into the forest, and on the other giving an extended view across the valley. The front room adjoining the parlor was to be Dorothy's very own, and the end room belonged to Katherine, he said, as long as s

ure twenty degrees lower, and the altitude very much higher than was the case in his busy office in the city. Katherine revelled in this round of excitement, and indeed, so, in a milder way, did Dorothy. After the f

rney during an afternoon in the middle of the week, and, as a consequence, arrive late at his office next morning, Dorothy began to wonder if a concrete formation, associated with the name of Prince Ivan Lermontoff of Russia, was strong enough to stand an energetic assault of this nature, suppo

this has been the most enjo

sure?" inquir

. Shouldn'

ces wel

uisi

than Jac

him I must confess Jack

you might have fo

otten him, but-I do think h

t? Did he ask your p

ed sandstone, rather, was our topic of conversation.

to him in return for the

it was. I hadn't

ing to young ladies may differ from ours, or he m

possibilities," murmu

Henderson should have time to come

rk bound down to office hours. He's an official high up in one of

talk as well as

reater sense of humor. When I told him that the oath of an insurance man should be 'bet your life!' he laughed. Now, Jack would never

h stamps. She locked the door, tore open the envelope, and found many sh

ded in suppressing all signs of my own perturbation, but we have in the Navy now a man who does not hesitate to overturn a court martial, and so I feared a re-opening of the Rock in the Baltic question, which might have meant the wrecking of my career. I had quite made up my mind, if the worst came to the worst, to go out West and become a cow-boy, but a passenger

unable to learn what was wanted of me. Of course, I could have gone to my Uncle, who is in the government, and perhaps he might have enlightened me, although he has nothing to do with the Navy, but I ra

ed reading f

he said to herself. "Su

e electric button, and unlocked the

biographical book of reference relating to Gr

which proved to be an English "Who's Who" dated two

hat the son and heir was Marquis of Thaxted, and belonged to the Diplomatic Service, that Lord Metgurne was H. M. Secreta

m to steer clear of his father in London. So I sat in my club, and read the papers. Dear me, this is evidently going to be

court-martial I had previously encountered. Four of the men I did not know, but the fifth I recognized at once, having often seen his portrait. He is Admiral Sir John Pendergest, popularly known in the service as 'Old Grouch,' a blue terror who knows absolutely nothing of mercy. The lads in the service say he looks so disagreeable because he is sorry he wasn't born a hanging judge. Picture a face as cleanly cut as that of some severe old Roman Senator; a face as hard as marble, quite as cold, and nearly as white, rescued from the appearance of a death mask by a pair of piercing eyes that glitter like steel. When looking at him it is quite impossible to believe that such a personage has ever been a boy who played pranks

new gun from the "Conste

ust speedily have recognized the fact, but here let me boast for a line or two of my one accomplishment, which is mathematical acc

n seconds past ten, A.M., on May th

the two stenographers seemed somewhat taken by surprise, an

John Pendergest, in a voice that

ighted

did,

the regular gu

k observations, and raised th

inaccurate, then

mmunition, and found it short by t

nswer to a dot every query put to me. At the finish one of the judges asked me to give in my own words my opinion of the gun. Admiral Sir John glared at him as he put this question, for of course to any expert the answers I had

in his deep voice, as if he were pronouncing sente

n overtook me, and then he called himself to my

'you have done yourself p

sked, shaking

hat the rest of the Committee would rather like to go against him if they dared, but you have put a spoke in their wheel. Why, Sir John never said "thank you" to a human being since he was born until twenty-seven minutes and fifteen seconds after eleven this morning, as you would have put it,' and at the tim

g all the previous long days, the sudden reaction urges me to go out into Pall Mall, fling my cap in the air, and whoop, which action is quite evidently a remnant of my former cow-boy aspirations. Truth to tell, the Russian business seems already forgotten, except by my stout old Captain on the 'Consternation,' or my Uncle. The strenuous Sir John has had me haled across the ocean merely to give testimony, lasting about thir

ck's cooking me some weird but tasteful Russian dishes when we reach his blacksmith's shop in St. Petersburg. If I get on in Russia as I hope and expect, I shall spend the rest of my leave over in the States. I saw very little indeed of that great country, and am extremely anxious t

the great electrical power plant at Niagara Falls. And then he is interested in the educational system of the United States. While we were going to the station early that morning he told me that the United States educational system must be the most wonderful in the world, because he found that your friend, Miss Katherine Kempt, knew more about electricity, metallurgy, natural phil

t none has yet been received by the Admiralty, who, when they get on