fferent reply.

Mr. Dunster turned to another part of the paper and pointed to the great
black head-lines.

"Seems a queer thing for a young fellow like you to be worrying about
games," he remarked. "I haven't been in this country more than a few
hours, but I expected to find all the young men getting ready."

"Getting ready for what?"

"Why, to fight, of course," Mr. Dunster replied. "Seems pretty clear
that there's an expeditionary force being fitted out, according to this
evening's paper, somewhere up in the North Sea. The only Englishman
I've spoken to on this side was willing to lay me odds that war would be
declared within a week."

The young man's lack of interest was curious.

"I am not in the army," he said. "It really doesn't affect me."

Mr. Dunster stared at him.

"You'll forgive my curiosity," he said, "but say, is there nothing you
could get into and fight if this thing came along?"

"Nothing at all, that I know of," the youth replied coolly. "War is an
affair which concerns only the military and naval part of two countries.
The civil population--"

"Plays golf, I suppose," Mr. Dunster interrupted. "Young man, I haven't
been in England for some years, and you rather take my breath away. All
the same, you can come along with me as far as Harwich."

The young man showed signs of some satisfaction. "I am very much obliged
to you, sir," he declared. "I promise you I won't be in the way."

The station-master, who had been looking through a little pile of
telegrams brought to him by a clerk from his office, now turned towards
them. His expression was a little grave.

"Your special will be backing down directly, sir," he announced, "but
I am sorry to say that we hear very bad accounts of the line. They say
that this is only the fag-end of the storm that we are getting here, and
that it's been raging for nearly twenty-four hours on the east coast. I
doubt whether the Harwich boat will be able to put off."

"We must take our chance about that," Dunster remarked. "If the
mail boat doesn't run, I presume there will be something else we can
charter."

The station-master looked the curiosity which he did not actually
express in words.

"Money will buy most things, nowadays, sir," he observed, "but if it
isn't fit for our mail boat, it certainly isn't fit for anything else
that can come into Harwich Harbour. However, you'll hear what they say
when you get there."

Mr. Dunster nodded and relapsed in