ion," Alf proclaimed hotly. "If I take myself out,
everybody's satisfied and no harm done?"

"Yes; what you say is true," persisted the puzzled lieutenant. "But you
cannot take yourself out."

"You just watch me," was the retort.

Down went Alf's cap on the office floor. Right and left he kicked off
his low-cut shoes. Trousers and shirt followed.

"Remember," he said in ringing tones, "I, as a citizen of the United
States, shall hold you, the city of Yokohama, and the government of
Japan responsible for those clothes. Good night."

He plunged through the doorway, scattering the astounded boatmen to
either side, and ran out on the pier. But they quickly recovered and ran
after him, shouting with glee at the new phase the situation had taken
on. It was a night long remembered among the water-folk of Yokohama
town. Straight to the end Alf ran, and, without pause, dived off cleanly
and neatly into the water. He struck out with a lusty, single-overhand
stroke till curiosity prompted him to halt for a moment. Out of the
darkness, from where the pier should be, voices were calling to him.

He turned on his back, floated, and listened.

"All right! All right!" he could distinguish from the babel. "No pay
now; pay bime by! Come back! Come back now; pay bime by!"

"No, thank you," he called back. "No pay at all. Good night."

Then he faced about in order to locate the _Annie Mine_. She was fully a
mile away, and in the darkness it was no easy task to get her bearings.
First, he settled upon a blaze of lights which he knew nothing but a
man-of-war could make. That must be the United States war-ship
_Lancaster_. Somewhere to the left and beyond should be the _Annie
Mine_. But to the left he made out three lights close together. That
could not be the schooner. For the moment he was confused. He rolled
over on his back and shut his eyes, striving to construct a mental
picture of the harbor as he had seen it in daytime. With a snort of
satisfaction he rolled back again. The three lights evidently belonged
to the big English tramp steamer. Therefore the schooner must lie
somewhere between the three lights and the _Lancaster_. He gazed long
and steadily, and there, very dim and low, but at the point he expected,
burned a single light--the anchor-light of the _Annie Mine_.

And it was a fine swim under the starshine. The air was warm as the
water, and the water as warm as tepid milk. The good salt taste of it
was in his mouth,