aphs of
the exterior of Blockhouse Fort and the Southsea Fort, a more or less
accurate ground-plan drawing of the interior of the Portsmouth
Dockyard, together with certain secret information relative to
supplies and to the proposed armament of cruisers now undergoing
alteration and reequipment.

The wrath and amazement engendered by that discovery, however, were
as nothing compared with the one which so swiftly followed.

Brought up before the Admiral Superintendent and the Board, John
Beachman, the dock master--who alone knew these things outside of the
Admiralty--was obliged to admit that one person, and one only--his
eldest son--was in a position to obtain admission to the safe in
which he kept his private papers, and that son was engaged to a young
lady whom he had met during a holiday tour on the Continent.

"English or foreign?" he was asked; to which he replied that she
was English--or, at least, English by birth, although her late
father was a German. He had become naturalized before his death,
and was wholly in sympathy with the country of his adoption. He
did not die in it, however. Circumstances had caused him to visit
the United States, and he had been killed in one of the horrible
railway disasters for which that country was famous. It was because
the daughter was thus left orphaned, and was so soon to become
the wife of their son, that he and Mrs. Beachman had taken her
into their home in advance of the marriage. They did not think
it right that she should be left to live alone and unprotected,
considering what she was so soon to become to them; so they had
taken her into the home, and their son had arranged to sleep at an
hotel in Portsmouth pending the date of the wedding. The lady's
name was Hilmann--Miss Greta Hilmann. She was of extremely good
family, and quite well-to-do in her own right. She had never been
to Germany since the date of the engagement. She had relatives
there, however; one in particular--a Baron von Ziegelmundt and
his son Axel. The son had visited England twice--once many months
back, and the last time some seven or eight weeks ago. They liked
him very much--the bridegroom-elect especially so. They had become
very great friends indeed. No, Axel von Ziegelmundt was no longer in
England. He had left it something like a month ago. He was on a
pleasure trip round the world, he had heard, but had no idea where
he had gone when he left Portsmouth.

Two hours after this statement was