g, hard fight, indeed, from revenue
officer to minister plenipotentiary, but it was ambition's war.

And Hugh? As the days went by, his jealousy of Veath became almost
intolerable. He dared not speak to Grace about it, for something told
him she was not to be censured. Even in his blind rage he remembered
that she was good and true, and was daring all for his sake. In calmer
moments he could not blame Veath, who believed the young lady to be
sister, and not sweetheart.

In view of his misery, Mr. Ridgeway was growing thin, morose, and
subject to long fits of despondency which Grace alone could comprehend.
Both were dissatisfied with the trip. That they could not be together
constantly, as they had expected, caused them hours of misery. They were
praying for the twenty-third of May to come, praying with all their
hearts. Beside whom did Hugh walk during the deck strolls and at Port
Said? With his sister? No, indeed; that would have been unnatural. Who
was Grace's natural companion? Henry Veath or any one of a dozen
attractive young officers. How could it have been otherwise?

She was popular and in constant demand. There were not many young women
aboard and certainly but two or three attractive ones. From morning till
far in the night she was besieged by men--always men. They ignored Hugh
with all the indifference that falls to the lot of a brother. Time after
time they actually pounced upon the couple and dragged her away without
so much as "By your leave." They danced with her, sang with her, walked
with her and openly tried to make love to her, all before the blazing
eyes of one Hugh Ridgeway. On more than one occasion he had gone without
his dinner because some presumptuous officer unceremoniously usurped his
seat at table, grinning amiably when Hugh appeared.

The sweet, dear little moments of privacy that Hugh and Grace obtained,
however, were morsels of joy which were now becoming more precious than
the fondest dreams of the wedded state to come. They coveted these
moments with a greediness that was almost sinful.

On many nights Grace would whisper to Hugh at the dinner table and would
creep quietly on deck, meal half finished, where he would join her like
a thief. Then they would hide from interruption as long as possible.

One night they enjoyed themselves more unrestrainedly than ever before
in their lives. They were walking self-consciously and almost guiltily
near the forward end of the deck-house when