ly last night, yet the thought
of remaining was one I did not really care to face.

"I fear I must," I replied, in a voice which must have revealed
something of what I felt.

"Tiel told me you absolutely refused to listen to him when he wished
you to remain."

"Oh no!" I cried. "That is putting it far too strongly. I offered to
put the case to Commander Wiedermann, and then Tiel at once assumed I
was going to leave him, and told me to say no more about it."

"Really! That is somewhat extraordinary!" she exclaimed in rather a
low voice, as though she were much struck with this. She had been
standing, and she sat as she spoke. I felt that she wished to go
further into this matter, and I sat down again too.

"What is extraordinary about it?" I asked.

"Do you mean to say that Tiel didn't press you?"

"No," I said.

"Mr Belke," she said earnestly, "I know enough of the orders under
which we are acting and the plans that Tiel has got to further, to be
quite certain that you were intended to stay and assist him. It is
_most_ important."

"You are quite sure of this?"

"Absolutely."

"Then why did Tiel give up trying to persuade me so readily? Why
didn't he try to use more authority?"

"I wonder," she said in a musing tone, and yet I could see from her eye
that she had an idea.

"You know!" I exclaimed. "Tell me what is in your mind!"

Already I guessed, but I dared not put it into words.

"It is difficult to guess Tiel's motives--exactly," she said rather
slowly.

I felt I had to say it outright.

"Are you his motive?" I demanded.

She looked at me quickly, but quite candidly.

"I scarcely like to say--or even think such a thing, but----"

She broke off, and I finished her sentence for her.

"But you know he admires you, and is not the man to stick at anything
in order to get what he wants."

"Ah! Don't be unjust to him," she answered; and then in a different
voice added, "But to think of his letting you go like that!"

"So it was to get rid of me, and have you alone here with him?"

"He must have had some motive," she admitted, "for you _ought_ to stay."

"I shall stay!" I said.

She gave me her brightest smile.

"Really? Oh, how good of you! Or rather--how brave of you, for it is
certainly running a risk."

If I had been decided before, I was doubly decided now.

"It is not the German navy's way to fear risks," I said. "It is my
duty to stay--for two reasons--and I am going