y.

"Sir Alfred's in there, waiting for you," his friend told him,
indicating the door,--"he has been sitting at the window watching for
you, in fact. So long!"

The two men passed out and Granet was ushered into the smoking-room.
Sir Alfred came back from his reverie and was greeted by his nephew
cordially. The two men sat by the window for a few moments in silence.

"An aperitif?" Sir Alfred suggested. "Capital!"

They drank mixed vermouth. Sir Alfred picked up an evening paper from
his side.

"Any news?" he asked.

"Nothing fresh," Granet replied. "The whole worlds excited about
this submarine affair. Looks as though we'd got the measure of those
Johnnies, doesn't it?"

"It does indeed," Sir Alfred agreed. "Two submarines, one after the
other, two of the latest class, too, destroyed within a few miles and
without a word of explanation. No wonder every one's excited about it!"

"They're fearfully bucked at the Admiralty, I believe," Granet remarked.
"Of course, they'll pretend that they had this new dodge or whatever it
may be, up their sleeves all the time."

Sir Alfred nodded.

"Well," he said, "come in to dinner, young fellow. You shall entertain
me with tales of your adventures whilst you compare our cuisine here
with your own commissariat."

They passed on into the strangers' dining-room, a small but cheerful
apartment opening out of the general dining-room. The head-waiter
ushered them unctuously to a small table set in the far corner of the
room.

"I have obeyed your wishes, Sir Alfred," he announced, as they seated
themselves. "No one else will be dining anywhere near you."

Sir Alfred nodded.

"Knowing how modest you soldiers are in talking of your exploits,"
he remarked to Granet, "I have pleaded for seclusion. Here, in the
intervals of our being served with dinner, you can spin me yarns of the
Front. The whole thing fascinates me. I want to hear the story of your
escape."

They seated themselves, and Sir Alfred studied the menu for a moment
through his eyeglass. After the service of the soup they were alone. He
leaned a little across the table.

"Ronnie," he said, "I thought it was better to ask you here than to have
you down at the city."

Granet nodded.

"This seems all right," he admitted, glancing around. "Well, one part of
the great work is finished. I have lived for eleven days not quite sure
when I wasn't going to be stood up with my back to the light at the
Tower. Now it's