foolish action."

"Thank you, Jimmy," said Browne. "I know you mean well by me; but, at
the same time, you must not let your liking for me make you unjust to
other people. Maas has proved himself my friend, and I should be mean
indeed if I ventured to doubt him."

"All right," replied Jimmy; "go your way. I'll say no more."

That evening Browne realized his long-felt wish. He and Katherine
promenaded the deck together, as the yacht sped on its way, across the
seas, towards their goal, and talked for hours together of their hopes
and aspirations. When at last she and Madame Bernstein bade the
gentlemen good-night, the latter adjourned to the smoking-room to
discuss their plan of action. Maas had been evidently thinking the
matter over, for he was prepared with one or two new suggestions, which
struck the company as being eminently satisfactory. So sincere was he,
and so anxious to be of service, that when at last they bade each other
good-night, and he had retired below, Jimmy turned to Browne, who was
standing beside the bulwark, and said:--

"Jack, old boy, I believe, after all, that I've done that man an
injustice. I _do_ think now that he is really anxious to do what he
can."

"I'm glad indeed to hear you say so," Browne rejoined; "for I'm sure he
is most anxious to be of use. Forgive me if I was a bit sharp to you
this afternoon. I cannot tell you how grateful I feel to you for all
your kindness."

"Fiddlesticks!" muttered Jimmy. "There's no talk of kindness between
us."

Fourteen days after leaving Yokohama, and a little before sunset, those
on board the yacht caught their first glimpse of the Russian island, of
which they had come in search. At first it was scarcely discernible;
then, little by little, it grew larger, until its steep and abrupt
rocks could be distinctly seen, with a far-away line of distant
mountain-peaks, stretching to the northward.

Katharine, Madame Bernstein, and the three young men were upon the
bridge at the time. Browne, who held his sweetheart's hand, could feel
her trembling. Madame Bernstein appeared by far the most excited of
the group. Advanced though the time of year was, the air was bitterly
cold. But, for once in a way, the Yezo Strait, usually so foggy, was
now devoid even of a vestige of vapour. The season was a late one, and
for some hours they had been passing packs of drift ice; but as they
closed up on the land it could be seen lying in thick stacks