few miles out to sea in one of their boats.
There he used to stay for an hour or so, for so long as the men with
him would consent to remain, going out as often as they would go with
him. His hope was that he might see some ship, hail her, and get news
from her crew. But no steamer, no fishing boat even, came in sight.

Of all the people on the island, Gorman was the most to be pitied
except perhaps the Queen.

For awhile she was happy enough. The wedding interested and excited
her. The presence of guests in the palace gave her much to think about
and do. She was busy with her school. She still found pleasure in
roaming over the island with Kalliope, but there came a time when she
began to expect the arrival of the _Ida_. She knew how long the voyage
to England took. She made calculations of the time required for
loading the steamer with her new cargo. She fixed a day, the earliest
possible, on which the _Ida_ might reach Salissa again. That day
passed, and many after it. The _Ida_ was overdue, long overdue.

The Queen used to ask questions of every one, seeking comfort and
assurance. She got little. Konrad Karl's conviction that the Emperor
must be victorious was not cheering. Gorman supposed that the _Ida_
might have been taken over by the Admiralty, or might have been
forbidden to sail, or that Captain Wilson might be unwilling to take
risks if enemy cruisers were at large on the high seas. Smith coolly
discussed the possibility of a blockade of the English coasts by
German submarines. Kalliope was the Queen's only comforter. She had no
theories about war or politics, but she had a profound conviction of
the certainty of lovers meeting.

"He will come once more," she said, "sure thing."

That was the Queen's conviction too. But it was weary work waiting.

There is a nook, a little hollow, high up on one of the western cliffs
of the island where it is possible to sit, sheltered among tall ferns,
and gaze out across the sea. There came a time towards the end of
September, when the Queen used to climb up there every morning and sit
for hours watching for the _Ida_. Kalliope went with her. They erected
a little flagstaff. They carried up the blue banner of Salissa. It was
the Queen's plan to signal a welcome to her lover when she saw his
ship. Above the nook in which they sat the two girls laid a beacon
fire, a great pile of dry wood, dragged up the cliff with immense
toil. The Queen thought of leaping flames and