Then I called for a magnum of champagne, and invited my companion to fill a tumbler.

He did so readily enough, and I gave him the toast,

"To the Emperor who wishes us well!"

Vassileffsky started, and gave me a penetrating look.

He did not venture to put a question to me, however, and contented himself with drinking the toast in silence.

Determined not to say anything as long as the Captain remained sober, I plied him with champagne in increasing quantities, while taking as little as possible myself.

On his side Vassileffsky was equally reserved. He saw, of course, that I had a special object in courting his friendship, and was cunning enough to let me make the first advance.

As soon as I thought the wine had had time to confuse his faculties, I leaned forward and whispered,

"I've got something to say to you about Petrovitch."

The Captain looked at me eagerly.

"Do you know where he is?"

"Not so loud. Yes. He has had to disguise himself."

I spoke in a muffled tone, which Vassileffsky imitated in his response.

"Where is he? I want to see him very badly."

"I know. He wants to see you. He is here in Revel."

"In Revel! Isn't that dangerous?"

"It would be if he weren't so well disguised. You, yourself, wouldn't know him."

Vassileffsky looked incredulous.

"I bet I should."

"Done with you! What in?"

"A dozen magnums."

"Pay for them, then. I'm Petrovitch."

The Captain started, shook himself, and peered drunkenly into my face.

"I don't believe it."

"Read that then."

I drew out the passport, and spread it before him. The Russian spelled his way through it, and nodded solemnly at the end.

"Yes, that's all right. You must be Petrovitch, I suppose. But you don't look like him."

"Didn't I tell you I was disguised. I had to clear out in a hurry. Some one's been denouncing me to Nicholas."

Vassileffsky looked frightened. His eye sought the door, as though he no longer felt at ease in my company.

"You needn't be afraid," I assured him. "No one suspects you."

"Well, what do you want?" he asked sullenly.

"I want you to take me on board your ship."

An angry frown crossed his face.

"You want me to hide you from the police!"

"Nonsense. The police are all right. They want me to get away. They could have put their hands on me long ago if they had wanted to."

"Then why have you come here?"

"I told you. I want to have a talk with you about our plans."

"The plan is all right. But I want to know when we're to sail."

"I'm doing all I can. It's only a question of weeks now."

Vassileffsky looked hard at me again, bent across the table, and whispered a word which I failed to understand.

Something in his face warned me that it was a password. I recovered myself from my momentary confusion and smiled.

"The word's changed," I said with an air of authority. "It's North Sea and Canal."

The Russian seemed satisfied.

"Well," he said, stumbling to his feet, "if we're going on board we'd better go."

"Don't forget the magnums," I put in, as I rose in my turn.

The reckoning was settled, and the champagne ordered to follow us down to the boat.

Vassileffsky nearly lost his footing as we got out into the fresh air, and caught hold of my arm.

"You'll have to lead me," he said, speaking thickly. "Straight along the street, and down the first turning on the quay."

We walked along, arm-in-arm, my companion appearing to become more helpless every minute.

As we emerged from the narrow lane which conducted us to the waterside, the lights of the harbor burst into view. There on the tide lay a long line of stately battleships, cruisers and dark, low-lying torpedo boats, their riding lights flashing and twinkling in a thousand reflections on the waves.

A drunken hail from the Captain was responded to by a respectful hail from a Russian petty officer, who was lounging at the head of some stone steps.

He came forward and assisted his commanding officer down and into the launch which waited below. I followed, and the bottles of champagne were handed in afterward.

Vassileffsky seized the tiller with more energy than he had seemed capable of, and headed the launch for a great battleship, the Beresina.

In a few minutes we were alongside. A smart landing stage and ladder brought us up on to the deck, and as soon as our feet touched it, Captain Vassileffsky, suddenly drawing himself up, said in distinct and sober tones,

"Consider yourself under arrest, if you please——"

I was a prisoner on board a Russian man-of-war!



CHAPTER XXVII

THE BALTIC FLEET

Fortunately I am accustomed to face emergencies without losing my presence of mind.

The manner of Vassileffsky had prepared me for some display of suspicion on his part, though I hardly anticipated his procedure would be so theatrical.

Fixing him with my sternest look, I responded,

"Captain Vassileffsky, I do not think you quite understand what you are doing. I will talk to you in the morning, when you are more yourself."

He drew back, considerably disconcerted.

"Very well, I will listen to what you have to say in the morning. In the meantime you will be under a guard."

I shrugged my shoulders with a disdainful smile.

"Be good enough to let me see my quarters," I said.

More and more abashed, the Captain summoned one of his officers, and gave him some instructions.

"Follow me, sir," said the lieutenant. I walked after him with perfect self-possession.

"I do not wish to make a fuss to-night, as Captain Vassileffsky is not himself," I said haughtily, as we drew out of hearing. "But you will understand that unless I receive an apology in the morning, I shall complain to his majesty the Czar, by whose orders I am here."

The lieutenant looked badly frightened.

"It is not my fault, as you can see, sir. I am only obeying orders. Will you accept my own berth for the night, sir?"

I thanked him and entered a small, comfortably-fitted state-room. With profuse apologies, he turned the key and left me to my own reflections.

I slept soundly, rocked by the tide of the Finland Gulf.

In the morning my jailer came to wake me.

"Captain Vassileffsky presents his compliments, and asks you to breakfast with him in his cabin, in half an hour."

This message was a welcome proof to me that my bluff had produced the desired effect. I accepted the invitation as if it was a matter of course.

I dressed, and went to the cabin where Vassileffsky awaited me.

"Are we friends or foes this morning?" I called out with a good-humored laugh, as I greeted him.

The Russian looked dull and nervous.

"I hope all will be well," he muttered. "Let us have something to eat before we talk."

He might have said, something to drink, for his own breakfast was mainly of champagne. I, myself, made a point of eating heartily, and drank only coffee.

"Now, Vassileffsky," I said in authoritative tones, "to business. First of all, you want some money."

It was a guess, but a fairly safe one. Without waiting for the astonished man to reply, I took out my pocket-book.

"How much can you do with till the fleet sails?" I asked, still in the same matter-of-fact tone.

Fairly nonplussed, the Captain blurted out,

"I should like two thousand."

I shook my head.

"I can let you have only a thousand now, but you shall have the balance this day week." I counted the thousand rubles, and handed them to him. "They are grumbling, rather, in Berlin over the expense."

It was, of course, my object to give Vassileffsky no opening for a cross-examination, but to take it for granted that we were on confidential terms.

At the word "Berlin" he opened his eyes pretty wide.

"Does this money come from Germany?" he exclaimed, half-withdrawing his hand.

I affected surprise in my turn.

"You have not received any information at all, apparently! My message must have miscarried. Didn't the Princess see you?"

Vassileffsky looked still more surprised. His demeanor taught me a good deal. I saw that Petrovitch had not trusted him very far. The financier had evidently kept all the threads of the intrigue in his own hands, as far as possible.

So much the better, I reflected. His removal would disorganize matters even more thoroughly than I had ventured to hope.

"What Princess?" the Captain asked.

"The Princess Y——, of course."

He brightened up a little, as though this name, at all events, was familiar.

"No, she has not been here."

"One can never trust these women," I muttered aloud. "She has not been at all the same since the death of her Englishman."

"Of Sterling, do you mean?"

"Yes. You heard of it, I suppose?"

Vassileffsky grinned.

"Rather sudden, wasn't it?"

I smiled meaningly, as I retorted,

"You remember he fainted rather unexpectedly that night he dined with me."

A look of relief broke out on Vassileffsky's face, as I thus referred to an incident which he naturally supposed could be known only to Petrovitch.

"My dear fellow, I beg a thousand pardons for my stupid conduct last night," he burst out. "But you must admit that your disguise is extraordinary."

"Not a word!" I returned. "It is always better to err on the side of distrust. Besides, I wished to spend a night on your ship in any case. Your crew can be thoroughly depended on, if I am any judge."

"They would bombard the Tower of London, if I gave the word," boasted Vassileffsky.

It is extraordinary how widely the belief prevails on the Continent of Europe that the London Tower is still a fortress, charged with the protection of the British capital.

"At all events, they will not be frightened by the sight of the Union Jack?" I returned.

The Russian officer gave me an alarmed glance.

"You do not mean—you are not asking us to fire on the British fleet?"

"No, no," I reassured him.

"Ah, that is all right. For the moment I confess you frightened me. They say we shall have to pass Admiral Beresford!"

"What are you prepared to do?" I asked, concealing my deep interest in the reply.

Vassileffsky's manner became slightly reproachful.

"You did not bargain with me to attack an armed ship," he said in the tone of one who reminds another of his agreement. "It was understood that we were to attack merchantmen, like the Vladivostockers."

At last I had a direct confirmation of my suspicions.

"And what is the tone of the fleet generally?" I inquired.

"I have done my best to make them all of the same mind. They will do their best, depend on it. I think there will be a few English vessels mysteriously lost at sea during the next two or three months! The prize courts cannot always be depended on."

By an effort I restrained my indignation at these atrocious hints. The Baltic Fleet was about to seek the open sea, secretly intending to miss no chance of sinking a British merchantman that should be unlucky enough to cross its path.

It was with a feeling of chagrin that I perceived it would be useless to send any message to Lord Bedale of what was in preparation. On certain subjects the British people are deaf and blind. They believe that all foreign statesmen are as high-minded as a Gladstone, and all foreign officials as scrupulous and truthful as the Chevalier Bayard himself.

Captain Vassileffsky continued,

"Our men are badly scared by reports of the Japanese plans. It is supposed that they have torpedo boats lurking in the English ports. Hull is said to be full of them."

"Why, Hull?"

Vassileffsky gave me a wink.

"Hull is the great fishing center. Whole fleets of traders come out from there to the fishing banks in the North Sea. We are going to stir them up a bit."

The outlines of the plot became every moment more clear.

"On what pretext?" I asked.

The Russian answered me without noticing that I was not so well informed as himself.

"Oh, we shall find pretexts enough, you bet. For one thing, we shall signal them to clear out of the way, and when they have their trawl nets down and can't move! That will be lively. There will be a collision or two, I shouldn't wonder."

"But isn't that against the rule of the road?"

Though not a seaman, I had always heard that a vessel in motion is bound to avoid one that is at rest. I knew, moreover, that a steamship was bound to make way for a sailing vessel.

Vassileffsky cursed the rule of the road.

"It will be a question of evidence," he exclaimed. "My word against a dirty fisherman's. What do you say?"

I pretended to be thoroughly satisfied. Still, knowing what I did of the Russian character, I had some hope that the Captain was boasting in order to impress me, and that he would not really dare to run down a British vessel within reach of the shores of England.

Our conversation was interrupted by a gun.

As the report died away, a junior officer ran down the companionway, helter-skelter, and burst into the cabin.

"Something's up, sir," he cried to his commander. "They are signaling from the Admiral's ship."

Vassileffsky darted up the steps and on to the bridge, and I followed.

The Baltic fleet presented a striking spectacle. Every vessel was busily reporting the signals from the flag ship, the launches were dashing to and fro, and there was every sign of bustle and activity.

The signal officer read out Admiral Rojestvensky's order:

"The fleet will proceed to Libau to-day en route to the East. Anchors will be weighed at noon. By order of the Czar."

M. Auguste had failed me at last!

With the frightful boasts of Vassileffsky still ringing in my ears, I felt that I must make one effort to stay its departure.

"This news compels me to return to Petersburg immediately," I told the Captain. "Have the goodness to put me ashore at once."

For a moment or two the Russian made no answer. I glanced at him curiously.

His face had gone suddenly livid. His limbs were trembling. He gave me the dull look of a man stupefied by fear.

"The Japanese!" he ejaculated in a thick voice.

I seized him by the arm.

"Are you pretending?" I whispered.

He gave me a savage glance.

"It's true!" he said. "Those devils will be up to something. It's all over with the fleet. No one believes we shall ever see Port Arthur."

Grave and pre-occupied, I went ashore and caught a fast train to Petersburg.

It was late when I got to the little house on the Alexander Quay. The faithful Breuil received me with a serious face.

"Fauchette is here," he announced.

"Fauchette?"

"Yes. She has some news for you."

"Let me see her."

I strode in front to my study, where I was immediately joined by the maid, who appeared not a little alarmed.

I never like to see my assistants agitated.

"Sit down, my good girl," I said soothingly. "Do not be afraid; I know what pains you take to serve me. Now, what is it?"

"Madame has dismissed me."

I had feared as much.

"On what grounds?"

"She gave none, except that she was leaving home."

I pricked up my ears.

"Did she tell you where she was going?"

"Yes, to her estates in the country."

"It was a lie, I suppose. She had come to suspect you, had she not?"

"Since Monsieur's escape, I fear yes."

"And have you ascertained——?"

"The Princess has left Petersburg by the midday train for——"

"For?" I broke in impatiently.

"For Berlin."

I rang the bell. Breuil appeared.

"Have you got the tickets?" I asked.

"Yes, sir."

"And my dress as a pilot of the Kiel Canal?"

"It is packed."

"And what time does the next train leave?"

"In two hours from now."

"Good. And now, my children, we will have supper."



CHAPTER XXVIII

ON THE TRACK

As the really exciting moment of the protracted struggle drew near, I summoned all my energies to meet it.

I alighted in Berlin armed only with two weapons, the passport made out in the name of Petrovitch, and a fairly accurate knowledge of the schemes, or at all events the hopes, of the German Government.

From the first beginning of my long investigation, all the clues I had picked up had led steadily in one direction.

The great disorganized Empire of the Czar's, with its feeble-willed autocrat, its insubordinate grand dukes, its rival ministers pulling different ways, and its greedy officials whose country was their pocket, had been silently and steadily enfolded in the invisible web of German statecraft.

The brilliant personality of Wilhelm II had magnetized the vacillating, timorous Nicholas. Count Buelow had courted the Russian Foreign Office with the assiduous arts of a lover, and his wooing had been crowned by complete success. Through Petrovitch the grand dukes had been indirectly bribed, and the smaller fry like M. Auguste had been bought outright. Even the Army and Navy had been cajoled, or bought, or terrorized by pretended revelations of Japanese designs.

Russia had become a supple implement in the hands of the German Kaiser, the sovereign who for nearly twenty years had been striving toward one goal by a hundred different crooked paths.

It was evident that the unexplained disappearance of Petrovitch must have struck consternation into his employers. I suspected that the Princess Y—— had been summoned to Berlin to throw light on the event, and possibly to be furnished with instructions which would enable her to take over the dead man's work.

My position was now peculiarly difficult. I wished to get in touch with the principals for whom Petrovitch had acted, but to avoid, if possible, meeting any one who had known him personally.

Above all, I was determined not to risk an encounter with Sophia. She knew that I was still alive, and I feared that her feminine intuition, quickened by love, would penetrate through whatever disguise I might adopt.

Under these circumstances I decided to begin by approaching Herr Finkelstein, the head of the imperial Secret Service in Berlin.

This man was an old crony of mine. While a magnificent organizer of espionage, he was a poor observer himself, and I had already succeeded on one occasion in imposing myself on him under a false identity.

I had brought with me the papers which I had obtained by bribery from the police agent Rostoy, representing me as an inspector in the secret police of the Russian Empire.

Wearing my pilot's dress, but carrying these and other papers in my pocket, I presented myself at Finkelstein's office, and asked to see him.

I was shown in first, as I had expected, to Finkelstein's secretary, who asked me my business.

"I can tell that only to the Herr Superintendent himself," I said.

"If you will let him know that I have just come from Petersburg, I am sure he will receive me."

The secretary seemed to think so too. He went straight into his chief's room and came out immediately to fetch me in.

As soon as I found myself alone with the head of the German service, I said quietly,

"I have brought you a message from M. Petrovitch."

"Petrovitch!" exclaimed the Superintendent, surprised out of his usual caution. "But he is dead!"

"You have been misinformed," I replied in an assured tone.

Finkelstein looked at me searchingly.

"My informant does not often make mistakes," he observed.

"The Princess is deceived this time, however," was my retort.

It was a fresh surprise for the Superintendent.

"The Princess! Then you know?" He broke off short, conscious that he was making an admission.

"The Princess Y—— having left Petersburg, it was natural to suppose that she had come here to consult you," I answered modestly, not wishing to appear too well informed.

Finkelstein frowned.

"You have not yet told me who you are," he reminded me.

I produced the forged papers.

"I am an inspector attached to the Third Section, as you will see. I must inform you, however, that I am not here with the knowledge of my superiors."

The German gave a glance at the papers, which were similar to others which he must have had presented to him from time to time.

"That is all satisfactory," he said, as he returned them to me. "But you say that you have a message from M. Petrovitch?"

"He had no opportunity of giving me any but this," I responded, producing the passport.

This time Finkelstein seemed really satisfied.

"It is clear that you know something about him, at least," he remarked. "I will listen to what you have to say."

"M. Petrovitch is confined in Schluesselburg."

The name of the dreaded fortress, the last home of so many political prisoners, caused Finkelstein a shock.

"Gott im Himmel! You don't say so! How did he get there? Tell me everything."

"He does not know from what quarter the blow came. The only person he can think of who might have denounced him is the Princess herself."

"The Princess Y——?"

"Exactly."

The German looked incredulous.

"But they were hand in glove. The Princess was his best agent."

"True. Unfortunately there is always one source of danger where a woman is concerned—she cannot control her affections. It appears that M. Petrovitch ordered her to remove a certain Englishman, a spy of some kind, who was giving trouble, and Madame Y—— was attached to the fellow. She carried out her orders, but M. Petrovitch fears that she has taken revenge on him."

Finkelstein gave a superior smile.

"I can dispose of that suspicion," he said confidently. "The Princess did not carry out her orders. The man you speak of—who is the most dangerous and unprincipled scoundrel in the world—has escaped, and we have lost all trace of him."

It was my turn to show surprise and alarm.

"What you tell me is appalling! I ought to see the Princess as soon as possible. If what she says is true, it must be the Englishman who has brought about Petrovitch's arrest."

"He is no Englishman," the Superintendent returned. "He is an American, a Pole, a Frenchman, whatever you please. That man has been at the bottom of all the troubles in Europe for the last twenty years. I have employed him myself, sometimes, so I ought to know something about him."

I listened with an interest that was not feigned to this character of myself. It was, all the same, a lie that Finkelstein had ever employed me; on the contrary, I had been called in by his imperial master to check his work.

"Then what is to be done?" I asked, as the German finished speaking. "M. Petrovitch sent me here to warn you against the Princess, and to demand your influence to secure his release."

"That will be a difficult matter. I shall have to consult the Minister. In the meantime, where can I find you?"

I mentioned the name of a hotel.

"And the Princess Y——? Where can I see her?"

"I expect that she has left for Kiel," said the Superintendent. "She has volunteered to carry out the plan originally proposed by Petrovitch."

"Then in that case you will not require my services?" I said, with an air of being disappointed. "M. Petrovitch thought you might find me useful in his place."

"I must consult others before I can say anything as to that," was the cautious reply.

He added rather grudgingly,

"I did not know M. Petrovitch myself, you see. It was thought better that he should not come to Berlin."

This statement relieved me of a great anxiety. I now saw my way to take a bolder line.

"So I understood, sir. But I did not venture to approach his majesty except through you."

Finkelstein started again, and gave me a new look of curiosity.

"Who authorized you to mention the Emperor?"

I tried to play the part of a man who has made an unintentional slip.

"I spoke too quickly. Petrovitch informed me—that is to say, I supposed—" I broke down in feigned confusion.

I knew inquisitiveness to be the Superintendent's besetting sin, and, up to a certain point, I had an interest in tempting him on.

"You appear to be more in the confidence of M. Petrovitch than you are willing to admit," he said sagely. "Up to the present you have not explained how he came to make you his messenger."

I leaned back with a faint smile.

"I imagine you are quite astute enough to guess my secret, if you choose, Herr Finkelstein. But you must excuse me if I am a little careful whom I trust, especially after the behavior of Princess Y——."

"You are M. Petrovitch himself! Of course! I thought as much all along," Finkelstein said with a smile of triumph. "Well, you are certainly right to be cautious; but, as you see, it is not easy to deceive an old hand like myself."

"At all events you will be at least equally cautious, I hope. What you tell me about this international spy being still at large has disturbed me a good deal, I confess."

"Make your mind easy," the German returned with a patronizing air. "We are in Berlin here, not in Petersburg. This gentleman will not venture within my reach, I assure you."

I professed every satisfaction with this guarantee, and took my leave.



CHAPTER XXIX

AN IMPERIAL FANATIC

I was now to face Wilhelm II.

It was solely for this purpose that I had come to Berlin. But I knew the great advantage of getting myself vouched for in advance by a third party, and therefore I had been anxious to convince Finkelstein of my identity in the first place, so that his master might accept me without inquiry as to whether I was the man I claimed to be.

I dined quietly in my hotel, a small tavern in a back street. It was getting late, and I was on the point of going to bed, when I heard the noise of a motor rushing up and stopping suddenly outside the little inn.

An aide-de-camp burst in upon me.

"Your name, sir?" he demanded in a whisper.

"Petrovitch," I replied in the same tone.

"Come this way, if you please."

In less than a minute I was seated in the car, which was dashing at a really dangerous pace through the nearly deserted streets.

"I am taking you to Potsdam," was all the explanation my companion thought necessary.

It did not take us long to reach the famous palace of Frederick the Great, which the growth of Berlin has almost turned into a suburban residence.

My conductor brought me past all the sentries and servants, and led me down some steps into what seemed to be a subterranean hall. It was decorated with statues and paintings of the ancestors of Wilhelm II., together with weapons, suits of armor, and banners of the successive periods in which they lived.

But the most striking object in the hall or crypt—for it might have been either—was a trophy erected on a species of altar at one end, exhibiting a variety of crowns.

At the foot were a number of small coronets, representing those worn by the former Margraves of Brandenburg, in whom the Hohenzollern family took its rise. Above were ranged the crowns of the Kings of Prussia, that of Frederick the Great being in the center. Still higher rose the three imperial crowns of Germany, those of William I., Frederick III., and the present Emperor. And then, right on the summit, came a still more gorgeous object, whose like I had never seen before.

It was a colossal miter, somewhat after the fashion of the Papal tiara, wrought out of pure gold, thickly studded with great pearls, and surmounted by a cross.

But I had barely time to notice this singular display. As my guide left me on the threshold of the hall, I was aware that I stood in the presence of the German Emperor.

This extraordinary monarch, whose great and far-reaching views are combined with a type of extravagance which has long made him looked upon as the enfant terrible of Europe, was about to teach me a new side of his character.

He received me seated in a small ivory chair like a throne, and attired in a garment of pontifical design.

"Advance, M. Petrovitch," he commanded in a loud voice.

As I stood in front of him, he said theatrically,

"I receive you in the Hall of the Hohenzollerns. You see around you the sacred memorials of the family which Providence has raised up to be the saviors of Europe, and the future rulers of the world."

In response to this invitation I took a longer and more comprehensive view of the various objects already described. The Kaiser condescended to point some of them out to me with a long two-handed sword which he held.

I began to suspect seriously that the megalomania which has always formed one of Wilhelm's characteristic traits, was overpowering his good sense.

"M. Petrovitch," my august cicerone proceeded, "you see there the crowns which have been won and worn by my illustrious and never-to-be-forgotten ancestors. Can you guess the meaning of the diadem above—which I have designed myself?

"That," declared the last and most remarkable of the Hohenzollerns, "is intended to be worn by that member of my Family who shall be called by the united voice of the other sovereigns to the supreme world monarchy. It is destined to be our Planetary Crown."

I bowed in stupefaction. The Kaiser seemed pleased with the impression he had made.

"And now," he said, "since it is necessary that I should be sure of you before I trust you with my plans, kneel down."

I knelt, feeling as if I were in a dream. Wilhelm II. solemnly held out the hilt of his two-handed sword:—

"You swear to yield faith, loyalty and utter obedience now and henceforth to Almighty God, and the Head of the Hohenzollerns!"

It being impossible to refuse the oath in the circumstances, I kissed the sword, with a mental reservation.

Wilhelm II. surprised me by thereupon laying it across my shoulders.

"I dub thee knight of the Sacred Order of the Hohenzollerns! Arise."

I got up, thoroughly confused. The Emperor invited me to be seated, and proceeded to deliver a harangue—for it was nothing less.

"Bismarck had not sufficient genius to see the destiny of the Hohenzollerns. With the vision of a mere German Junker, he looked on Russia as the enemy.

"It is I who have changed all that. I have taught the Czar to look to me for guidance and protection. Should the present revolutionary movement become dangerous, I shall march at the head of my army to the rescue, and reinstate the Romanoffs as my vassals.

"The only obstacle in the path of the Hohenzollerns is an island which two of my Army Corps could subdue in a fortnight. But in order to invade it with safety, I must have France on my side.

"It is for this end that I have been working. France cherishes a grudge against me because of the glorious exploits of my immortal grandfather. Moreover, my uncle, Edward VII., has contrived to win the friendship of the Republicans.

"But France is the ally of Russia, and if Russia is attacked, France must draw the sword on her behalf.

"You understand?—with the first shot which is fired by a British warship on the Russian flag, I shall be able to invade England."

I understood indeed. Briefly and plainly Wilhelm II. had summed up the result of my own inquiries and reasonings.

"It is you," the Emperor proceeded, "who have undertaken to secure this result."

I bowed, intensely desirous to know exactly what it was that Petrovitch had pledged himself to do.

"I have just rewarded you for the services you have already rendered, by admitting you to my Family Order, an order which I intend shall take precedence of the Golden Fleece, and even the Garter. Should you carry out your present task to my satisfaction I shall consider no reward too great for you."

I trembled as I listened to this wild vaporing. If such were the private thoughts of the Kaiser, no wonder some of his public utterances smacked of the visionary.

I could not doubt that he was thoroughly in earnest. Long brooding on the greatness of his ancestors, and his own importance as the sole European ruler who has kings for his satellites, had filled him with the fanatical spirit of a Mohammed or a Hildebrand. He believed, firmly and sincerely believed, that Providence had called him to the sovereignty of the globe, and authorized him to sweep every rival out of his path.

"Your majesty overwhelms me," I murmured. "Consider, sire, that to be your servant is in itself an honor so great that no other reward is necessary."

The Kaiser smiled graciously.

"Well, now, M. de Petrovitch——" his majesty emphasized the particle by way of reminding me that I was now a knight of the important Order of Hohenzollern—"let us discuss your next step."

I seized the opportunity to obtain the information I was so anxious to secure.

"I should feel it presumptuous to enter into anything like a discussion with you, sire. If your majesty will be gracious enough to impart your criticism on my proposal?"

Wilhelm II. looked at me as though he found me to be a person of much good sense.

"Your idea, my dear de Petrovitch, as I understand it, is to provoke the British to reprisals by some outrage on the part of the Baltic Fleet during its passage to the Far East.

"Unfortunately, as you must see, the British are determined not to be provoked. Remember what has been done already. You have captured and sunk their ships, in violation of international law; you have sent out volunteer cruisers from the Black Sea in defiance of treaties, and turned back their mail steamers with government stores on board.

"What has been the result? The English Government has complained to yours; the Czar has ordered explanations to be given, and the thing has blown over.

"This time there must be something more than that. There must be something which cannot be explained away. We must if possible place Nicholas II., as well as Great Britain, in a position from which neither can retreat without loss of honor.

"To this end it is necessary that the Baltic Fleet should commit an act of war, and that the Czar should be convinced that the provocation has come from the English side. Do you understand?"

I recalled the hints dropped by Captain Vassileffsky at Revel.

"Your majesty has been informed perhaps that I have caused the officers and men of the Fleet to believe that they will find Japanese torpedo boats lying in wait for them among the English fishing vessels in the North Sea. In consequence, they will be ready to fire without waiting to see if the torpedo boats are really there, especially if the fishermen fail to retire as the Fleet approaches."

The Kaiser shook his head.

"All that is leaving too much to chance, my good de Petrovitch. What is required is something more positive. In short, the torpedo boats must really be there."

I lifted my eyes to his.

"There is not a Japanese torpedo boat within ten thousand miles of the North Sea, unfortunately."

Wilhelm II. smiled a meaning smile.

"If that is all, we must so far forget the duties of neutrality as to allow the friends of Japan to procure a craft suitable for the purpose from our dockyard at Kiel."



CHAPTER XXX

THE STOLEN SUBMARINE

As the full extent of this audacious plot was laid bare before my eyes I had a difficulty in believing in its reality.

I was obliged to remind myself of some of the maneuvres which have marked German statecraft in the recent past, of the forgeries and "reinsurance" treaties of Bismarck, of the patronage extended to Abdul Hamid, of the secret intrigue that brought about the disasters of Greece.

If I had had any scepticism left, the Emperor would have dispelled it by the clear and business-like explanations which followed.

His majesty produced a chart of the North Sea, showing the coasts of Great Britain and Germany, with the Kiel Canal and so forth. Half-way between the opposite shores a dotted outline marked the situation of the great shoals which attract the fish, and from which the harvests of the sea are gathered by the brave and industrious toilers of Grimsby, Hull, and many another port.

From the northern point of Denmark, two lines in red ink were drawn right down the map to where the North Sea narrows into the Straits of Dover.

The first of these lines was fairly direct, passing about thirty miles to the eastward of the great fishing grounds.

The second line took a wide curve to the west, and crossed right over the center of a shoal marked "Dogger Bank."

The Kaiser proceeded to explain.

"This is a duplicate of the charts used by the pilots of the North Sea. I have offered my brother Nicholas as a special favor the services of German pilots, and they will board the vessels of the Baltic Fleet as soon as it leaves Danish waters.

"As you see, the right course would take the fleet a long way off the English fishing-boats. But the pilots who go on board will receive secret orders at the last moment to take the Russian ships over the Dogger Bank, and, if possible, into the very midst of any fishing fleet that may be there.

"Then all that is required is that you should be on the spot, and should fire the first shot from the midst of the fishing-boats."

I endeavored to preserve a calm demeanor.

"May I suggest to your majesty that the presence of a torpedo boat among them is likely to arouse suspicion beforehand. The English sailors have keen eyes."

"I have thought of that. It will be necessary for you to have a submarine."

"A submarine, sire!"

"Certainly. I have had six submarine torpedo boats built by my own designs at Kiel since this war broke out, for use in defending the approaches to the Canal.

"These boats are now lying in the inner harbor, all fitted out and ready for sea.

"You will take one, with a crew of your own, whom you must enlist secretly, and slip out through the Canal into the North Sea.

"You will proceed, keeping under the surface, till you reach the Dogger Bank, and find yourself among the trawl nets of the English fishermen.

"There you will wait till such time as the Russian ships come up.

"As soon as the right moment has arrived, you will rise to the surface and discharge a torpedo. As soon as you have drawn the fire of the Russians, and have seen an English fishing-boat struck, you can go beneath the surface again, and make the best of your way back to Kiel."

"Your plan is perfection itself, sire!" I exclaimed with an admiration which was not wholly pretended, since the idea really was not lacking in cleverness.

The Kaiser nodded good-humoredly.

"The Russians will never be persuaded they were not attacked first, and the English will never pass over such an outrage in their own waters," his majesty remarked complacently. "Lord Charles Beresford will do the rest."

"I am ready to carry out your orders, sire. All I require is an authority to take the submarine from Kiel."

The Kaiser frowned.

"Have you had any authority from me for anything you have done up to the present, sir?" he demanded harshly.

As an answer in the negative was clearly expected, I gave it.

"Understand me, M. de Petrovitch, I repose every confidence in you; but I should not have held this conversation with any man, even my Chancellor, if I thought it could ever be used against me. If I gave you the authority you ask for, I should not be able to deny that I had ever employed you, in case of trouble."

"Then you propose, sire——?"

"I intend you to take this vessel secretly, without authority from me or from any one else."

"And if I am caught in the act of taking it? If any of the naval authorities question my movements?"

"You will not be caught. Your movements will not be questioned. I can assure you of so much."

"I thank you, sire. That is quite sufficient."

I retired from the imperial presence, though not, as I have had some reason to suspect, from the imperial observation. In other words, I felt pretty well convinced that there would be a watch on my movements till my task was over.

The same aide-de-camp awaited me outside the Hall of the Hohenzollerns, and carried me back to my obscure hotel with the same speed and silence as he had brought me.

The next morning I arose to find the papers filled with the news of the departure of the Baltic Fleet from Libau.

The Russian Admiral, as if in obedience to the secret promptings of Berlin, was reported as having issued a preposterous and illegal warning that he should fire on any ship of any nation that presumed to venture within reach of his guns. I could not help wondering what would be thought of this proclamation in the British Admiralty.

There being no more for me to do in Berlin, I took the first train to Kiel, the Portsmouth of Germany. Kiel itself, it will be remembered, stands at the Baltic end of the famous canal which the present Kaiser has had constructed for his warships to pass out to the North Sea without going around Denmark.

It was late when I arrived, but I determined to lose no time in seeing how far the secret orders of the Kaiser extended.

Accordingly, as soon as I had dined, I went out and took my way toward the government dockyard.

The entrance to the dockyard was guarded by a sentry with fixed bayonet. Behind him I saw a large iron gate which appeared to be heavily barred, with a small postern at one side, which was also closed.

I advanced toward the sentry, expecting every moment to hear a challenge ring out. To my genuine astonishment, nothing of the kind occurred. The sentry did not pay the slightest attention to me, but went on pacing to and fro as though I had been wearing a cap of invisibility.

I went up to the postern door, and tried the handle. It opened at a touch, and I found myself alone in the deserted dockyard.

For some time I groped my way forward by the light of the few scattered electric lights, till I reached the edge of a large basin which appeared to communicate with the outer harbor of Kiel.

Turning the opposite way, I went along the edge of the wharf, picking my way among timber balks, stacks of iron sheeting, chains, ropes, and all the other things that are found scattered about a naval dockyard.

At the head of the great basin I found a lock giving access to a small inner dock, in which a number of vessels were moored.

I made my way around, searching everywhere for the vessels I had been told I should find.

At last, in the farthest and most secluded corner, I perceived a row of small craft, shaped much like a shark, with a long narrow tube or funnel rising up from the center of each.

They lay low in the water, without being submerged. Alone among the shipping they carried no riding-lights. They appeared dark, silent, and deserted.

Almost unconsciously I ran my eye along them, counting them as they lay. Suddenly I was aroused to keen attention.

One—two—three—four—five. The Kaiser had assured me that I should find six submarines to choose from!

I counted once more with straining eyes.

One—two—three—four—five.

One of the mysterious craft had been taken away!



CHAPTER XXXI

THE KIEL CANAL

It was impossible to resist the conclusion suggested by the absence of the sixth submarine.

I was not the only person who had been authorized, or rather instructed, to carry out the design against the Baltic Fleet. My august employer had thought it better to have two strings to his bow.

Who, then, was the person by whom I had been anticipated?

To this question an answer suggested itself which I was tempted to reject, but which haunted me, and would not be dismissed.

The Princess Y—— had arrived in Berlin twelve hours before me. She had come, fully believing that Petrovitch was dead, and prepared to take his place.

She had interviewed Finkelstein, as I knew. Was it not possible that she, also, had been received in the crypt at Potsdam, had been shown the chart of the North Sea, with its ominous red lines, and had accepted the task of launching one of the submarines on its fatal errand?

In spite of all the stories which had been told me of Sophia's daring and resource, in spite of my own experiences of her adventures and reckless proceedings, I did not go so far as to credit her with having proceeded to sea in the missing craft.

But it struck me as altogether in keeping with her character that she should have arranged for the withdrawal of the boat, provided it with a crew, and despatched it fully instructed as to the work to be done.

But whether these suspicions were well founded or otherwise, of one thing there could be no doubt. A submarine had been taken by some one, and was now on its way to the North Sea, to lie in wait for the ships of Admiral Rojestvensky.

This discovery entirely changed the position for me.

I had come down to Kiel intending to take a submarine out to sea, to watch for the approach of the Russian fleet, and to take whatever steps proved practicable to avert any collision between it and the fishing-boats on the Dogger Bank.

I now saw that the chance of my preventing a catastrophe depended entirely on the movements of the boat which had left already. This boat had become my objective, to use a strategical phrase.

Somewhere in the North Sea was a submarine boat, charged with the mission of provoking a world-wide war. And that boat I had to find.

There was no time to be lost. I hastened back by the most direct way I could find, to the dockyard gates. The little postern was still unlocked, and I passed out, the sentry again taking no notice of my passage.

But at the first street corner I saw a man in seafaring dress who fixed a very keen gaze on me as I came up, and saluted me by touching his cap.

"Good-night," I said in a friendly voice, slowing down in my walk.

"Good-night, sir. Beg pardon, Captain,"—he came and moved along beside me—"but you don't happen to know of a job for a seafaring man, I suppose?"

I stopped dead, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"How many men do you estimate are required to navigate a submarine?" I asked.

"Fifteen," was the prompt answer.

"How soon can you have them here?" was my next question.

The fellow glanced at his watch.

"It's half-past eleven now, Captain. I could collect them and bring them here by half-past one."

"Do it, then," I returned and walked swiftly away.

The whole thing, it was evident, had been prearranged, and I did not choose to waste time in mock negotiations.

I went back to my inn to wait, but there was nothing for me to do, except examine the cartridges in my revolver. I was not quite sure how much my crew had been told, and I thought it just possible that I might have some trouble with them when they found out the nature of my proceedings.

Punctually at the hour fixed I returned to the street outside the dockyard, where I found fifteen men assembled.

Glancing over them, I formed the opinion that they were picked men, on whom I could have relied thoroughly for the work I had been ordered to do, but who might be all the more likely to mutiny if they suspected that I was playing false.

I stood in front of them in the silence of the street.

"Now, my men, if there is any one of you who is not prepared to obey me, even if I order him to scuttle the ship, let him fall out before we start."

Not a man stirred. Not an eyelash quivered. The German discipline had done its work.

"I give you notice that the first man who hesitates to carry out my orders will be shot."

The threat was received with perfect resignation.

"Follow me."

I turned on my heel, and led the way to the dockyard gates, the men marching after me with a regular tramp which could only have been acquired on the deck of a man-of-war.

The sentry was, if possible, more indifferent to our approach than he had been when I had been alone. I threw open the wicket, and bade the last man close it.

Then we marched in the same order to the place where the five submarines were moored.

"I am going on board one of these boats," I announced. "Find something to take us off."

The man whom I had engaged originally, taking on himself the part of mate, repeated my directions. A large whale-boat was found tied up in a convenient spot beside the wharf.

We all got in, and I took the tiller. The mate, who answered to the Russian name of Orloff, though the only language I heard him speak was German, said nothing till I brought the whale-boat alongside of the nearest submarine.

"I beg pardon, Captain, but I have a fancy that the boat at the far end is in better trim, if you have no choice."

"Why didn't you tell me so at once?" I returned sharply, not too well pleased to find him so well informed.

We boarded the submarine pointed out, and found it, of course, provided with everything necessary for an immediate departure, including provisions for a week.

"You understand the navigation of the Canal, I suppose?" I inquired of Orloff.

"I do, sir."

"Very good. Take the boat through. And ascertain all that you can about another submarine which must have passed through yesterday. Wake me if you hear or see anything."

I lay down in the captain's berth and tried to sleep. But the excitement and, I may say, the romantic interest of the adventure proved too strong for me.

I rose again, and came to where my deputy was seated, carefully conning the boat out of the dockyard basin into the Baltic end of the great Canal.

We were already submerged, only the tip of our conning staff being out of the water. But by an ingenious system of tiny mirrors the steersman was able to see his way as plainly as if he had been on deck above the surface.

On approaching the lock by which the basin opened into the Canal, no signal appeared to be given. Silently, as if of their own accord, the huge sluices opened and shut, and we glided out into the great waterway which has made the German Navy independent of Danish good-will.

The voyage along the Kiel Canal in the silence of the night was deeply interesting, and were I not obliged to restrict myself severely to the naked outline of such facts as bear directly on the catastrophe, I should like to attempt a description of the weird and picturesque scene.

Keeping steadily just under the surface, we proceeded swiftly past ports and villages and lonely wharves, till the stars paled and disappeared and a faint flush overspreading the sky in front warned us that day was breaking behind us.

I searched the banks for anything resembling the craft of which I was in search, but in vain. We passed many other ships, chiefly merchantmen bound for Lubeck and Dantzig and other Baltic ports, but of course without being perceived ourselves.

When we reached the mouth of the Canal, I ordered Orloff to stop.

"I must go ashore here, and inquire about the other boat," I explained.

I saw from the expression of his face that this step was not quite to his liking, but he did not venture on any remonstrance.

He brought the boat alongside the bank, and raised her gently to the surface, to enable me to step on shore.

But my quest proved useless, as perhaps I ought to have foreseen.

The harbor-master, or port captain, to whom I addressed myself, affected the most entire ignorance of the exit of any submarine within the last week or more.

"What you suggest is impossible," he assured me. "Every submarine is well known and carefully guarded, and if one had been permitted to leave Kiel by way of the Canal, I should have been notified in advance. No such notification has reached me, and therefore, as you will see, no such boat can possibly have left."

I suspected that he was lying, but I thought it unsafe to persist.

It occurred to me too late that I had been guilty of some imprudence in showing so much anxiety on the subject. It was only too probable that my inquiries would be reported to the Kaiser, who would draw his own inferences in the event of anything going wrong.

I returned on board my own boat, saying nothing to Orloff, and gave the order to proceed.

Orloff had handed over the wheel to one of his subordinates, who steered the submarine out into the blue waters of the North Sea.

As soon as we were well out of reach of the Slesvig shore, I said to the steersman,

"Now I will take the helm."

Instead of promptly relinquishing it to me, the man turned his head in search of Orloff, saying at the same time,

"Do you understand the course, sir?"

I saw that if I meant to be master of the vessel, I must prove that my words of the night before were spoken in earnest. I drew my revolver, and put a bullet through the mutineer's head.



CHAPTER XXXII

THE DOGGER BANK

The sound of the explosion reverberated through the little craft like thunder. Orloff and half a dozen more men came rushing up.

"This man disobeyed me," I said, quietly, slipping a fresh cartridge into the smoking chamber of my revolver. "Throw the body overboard, and return to your duties."

What instructions Orloff and his men had received it was impossible for me to guess. But they clearly did not authorize any breach of discipline at this stage of the voyage.

Without the slightest demur they lifted up the body, and carried it off. I had learned the way to manage the submarine by watching Orloff during the night, and I now pressed a lever which brought us swiftly to the surface. There was a sound of trampling feet overhead, followed by a splash, and I saw the mutineer's body drift past.

It would be idle to seek for words in which to describe the overpowering anxiety which racked my nerves as we tore through the water. The peace of Europe, the safety of Japan and Great Britain, perhaps the future of the world, might be at stake.

Everything depended on my finding the other submarine before it had launched its bolt against the great war fleet which was even now steaming through the Danish Belts, officered by men, some of whom I knew to be ready to take advantage of any pretext for outraging the peace of the seas.

It did not take me long to decide that the neighborhood of the Dogger Bank was the most likely place, in fact the only place, for my search.

I am not wholly unskilled in navigation, having given up a good deal of my spare time to yachting. With the aid of a chart which was on board, I had little difficulty in keeping a fairly straight course for the famous fishing ground.

On the way I did not neglect the opportunity of acquiring a complete command over the movements of the submarine.

It was driven by electricity, and so designed that by means of various knobs, one man could control it entirely, steering it, raising or lowering it in the water, increasing or slackening speed, stopping, backing, and even discharging the torpedo which was its only weapon of attack—with the exception of a small sharp ram at the bow.

Having asserted my authority, and acquired the practical knowledge I needed, I at last called Orloff to me, and gave him the wheel.

"Take me to the Dogger Bank. Warn me as soon as we get near any fishing-boats, and above all keep a careful lookout for our consort."

It was by this name that I thought it most prudent to refer to the object of my search.

Orloff took the wheel, and said immediately with an air of great respect,

"You have laid a marvelously straight course, Captain. I was not aware that you were familiar with these waters. The Dogger Bank is right ahead, and we shall reach it in less than an hour."

An hour later I was conscious of a light shock as the submarine stopped.

We had grounded on the sandy shoal of the Dogger, in twenty fathoms of water, and overhead I could see great black shadows sweeping slowly past.

They were cast by the trawlers of the Gamecock fleet.

It being still daylight I did not venture to let the submarine show itself on the surface of the sea.

Hugging the bottom, I steered in and out among the great trailing nets of the fisher fleet.

At the same time I ordered my crew to keep a sharp watch for the first submarine, promising fifty marks[B] to the man who sighted her.

[Footnote B: A silver mark is about twenty cents of our money.]

The rest of that day passed without anything happening.

As soon as darkness fell I brought my boat up to the surface, partly in order to renew the air supply, and partly to scan the horizon in search of the oncoming Russian fleet.

But thanks to the promptness with which I had gone out to sea I had anticipated Rojestvensky by twenty-four hours. The Baltic Fleet was still in Danish waters, waiting to pick up the German pilots who were to lure it from its course.

Finding there were no signs of the Russians, I submerged the submarine, all except the little conning tube, which was invisible in the darkness, and ran in among the English smacks.

As I heard the brave, hardy fishermen talking to one another, the temptation was a strong one to disclose myself, and warn them of the coming peril.

Only my experience of the uselessness of such warnings restrained me. I knew that these simple, law-abiding citizens would laugh me in the face if I told them that they were in danger from the warships of a foreign Power.

As my unseen vessel glided softly past the side of one fishing-boat, whose name I could just make as the Crane, I overheard a few scraps of conversation, which threw a pathetic light on the situation.

"We shall have the Rooshians coming along presently," said one voice.

"No," answered another, "they won't come anywhere near us. 'Tis out of their course."

"They do say the Rooshians don't know much about seamanship," a third voice spoke out. "Like as not we'll see their search-lights going by."

"Well, if they come near enough, we'll give the beggars a cheer; what d'ye say?"

"Aye, let's. Fair play's what I wishes 'em, and let the best man win."

The words died away along the water, as I drew off and let my craft sink under once again.

That night I slept soundly, making up for the vigil of the night before. The submarine rested on the sea floor, in a hollow of the undulating Bank, and one of the crew kept watch in case a "trawl" should come too close.

But there was no sign of the mysterious companion which had come out of Kiel Harbor in front of me, and was even now prowling somewhere in the dark depths around.



CHAPTER XXXIII

TRAFALGAR DAY

In the morning I was conscious of a certain stir and display on board some of the fishing boats among which I continued to lurk.

At first I supposed that the Baltic Fleet must have been sighted. But in the course of the day I gathered from various cries and shouts which were borne across the water, that the fishermen were keeping the anniversary of the most glorious day in the history of England, the day on which the immortal Nelson annihilated the united fleets of France and Spain, and shattered the dream of the great Napoleon that he could tame the haughty Island Power.

As long as daylight lasted I scoured the sea for a distance of five miles all around the devoted fishing fleet, without coming on the slightest trace of the other submarine.

A delusive hope assailed me that some accident might have overtaken it. But I did not relax my vigilance, and when night fell I took up a station about a mile in front of the English smacks, in the direction from which I had reason to expect the approach of Rojestvensky.

A few hours elapsed, then my watchfulness was rewarded.

Away down on the horizon toward the northeast, there glittered out a row of twinkling lights, one behind the other, as though a lamp-lit thoroughfare had got afloat and drifted out to sea.

The sinuous streak of lights, shifting as they approached like the coils of some great water-snake, glided toward us at what seemed a fearful speed, and as they drew near the white lights were interspread with green and crimson points, like rubies and emeralds set between rows of diamonds. And ever and anon the swift electric tongues of the search-lights spat forth and licked the dark face of the waters like hungry things.

Keeping my upper deck just awash, I lay still and beheld at last the great black sides of the battleships tower up, pierced with illuminated windows.

My heart began to throb wildly. If only the other submarine failed to appear; if only the English fishermen would realize their danger and flee in time, disaster might be averted.

The hope had scarcely formed itself in my mind when Orloff, who had come to repose confidence in me, respectfully touched my arm and pointed ahead.

Not two hundred yards from me, stealing along about a mile in advance of the Russian fleet, I perceived a small dark object, showing hardly a foot above the surface of the waves.

It was the rival submarine!

Instead of proceeding direct to the Dogger Bank, as I had done, the other boat must have joined Admiral Rojestvensky's squadron, and come on before it like a jackal pointing out the lion's prey.

"Go forward," I commanded the German mate. "Let no one disturb me till this business is over."

Orloff gave me a wondering look, but obeyed without an instant's hesitation.

As soon as his back was turned, I swung the wheel around, put on the full power of the engines, and went after the craft I had been searching for during the last forty-eight hours.

Had the commander of the other submarine noticed mine, and did he suspect my intention to frustrate his design? It almost seemed so. His boat, scarcely visible in the gloom, fled in front of me to where the foremost fishing boats were riding lazily over the shoals, dragging their nets along the bottom.

It was a weird chase. Neither of us showed a glint of light, or made the smallest sound. Like two great shadowing fish we darted through the depths of the sea, hunter and hunted.

In between the sagging nets with their load of cod and flounders, shot the phantom boat I was pursuing, and I followed, obliged to slacken speed as we twisted in and out under the keels of the unconscious fishermen.

And all this time the huge warships in two lines astern were plunging through the seas, heading straight for the unfortunate smacks.

The chase seemed to be aware that it was a case of now or never. I was catching up with it fast; I was able to mark its course by the broken water churned up by its propeller; when, all at once, I saw it rise with the swift motion of a bird.

I had no alternative but to do the same.

As I emerged upon the surface I found my boat in the very center of the full glare of a search-light which lit up the whole scene with dazzling radiance.

Fresh from the depths below, where all had been dark, my eyes fairly blinked in the sudden splendor of light.

Then, for what might have been from three to five seconds, I saw everything that passed.

The foremost vessels of the Russian fleet had already gone past the group of drifting trawlers. One large cruiser was passing within a stone's-throw of the nearest fishing-boat, and the English fishermen were playfully holding up some of their freshly-caught fish, as though offering it to the Russian sailors.

Another line of warships was coming up behind, with its search-lights thrown out in front.

And then, right across the range of lights, and in a straight line between the Russian battleships and the English smacks, I saw the phantom torpedo boat pass deliberately, as high out of the water as she could show.

What happened next took place so swiftly, and with such confusion that I cannot pretend to describe it with accuracy.

Shouts rang out on some of the Russian ships, the submarine headed around as though to seek refuge among the trawlers, and then a gun was fired, and a cannon-ball struck the water within a few feet of me.

All at once, it seemed to me, and as though by some preconcerted plan, half the ships of the Baltic Fleet opened fire on the English fishermen, who seemed too surprised and horrified to do anything. I saw ball after ball crash into one luckless smack, which quickly began to fill and sink. But, generally speaking, the marksmanship of the Russians was too wild for the firing to have serious effect.

As soon as I realized that I had become a mark for the Russian guns I sank beneath the surface. It is no doubt this voluntary move on my part which has given rise to the belief cherished by some of the officers of the Baltic Fleet, and indorsed by Admiral Rojestvensky, that a torpedo boat was sunk by their fire.

But I knew that the massacre—for it was nothing less—would go on as long as the other submarine remained on the surface, mixing among the luckless fishing boats with the deliberate intention of drawing on them the Russian fire.

I marked her course, put my engines to their fullest speed one more, and rushed after her.

This time my coming was not watched by the hostile commander. Like Admiral Rojestvensky, he may have believed that my boat had been sunk by the ball which had come so close. Or else, perhaps, in his exultation at having brought about an event which seemed to make war inevitable, he had forgotten his former fears.

But the truth will never be known.

I brought my own boat right under the demon craft, and then, tilting her up at a sharp angle, rammed the other in the center of her keel.

There was a concussion, a muffled sound of tearing iron, and as I backed away at full speed astern, I saw the waters of the North Sea pour through a long jagged rent in the bottom of the doomed submarine, and watched her go down staggering like a wounded vulture through the air.

The shock of the collision had brought Orloff and the rest of my crew running aft.

"An accident," I explained coolly. "I have sunk some boat or other in the dark."

The men exchanged suspicious glances.

"It was the other submarine, sir," said Orloff, still preserving his respectful tone. "Will you permit us to see whether it is possible to save any of the crew?"

"Do as you please," I returned, leaving the helm. "My work here is done, and I am ready to go back."

I intended them to think I referred to the attack on the fishing-boats. The cannonade died away as I spoke.

We went down through the water to where the wrecked submarine was lying half over on her side. Some frightened faces peered at us out of the upper portholes, where a supply of air still lingered.

It was impossible to do anything for them down there without being swamped ourselves. We could only invite them by signs to forsake their own craft and let us carry them up to the surface where it would be safe for us to take them inside.

In order to receive them on our upper deck we circled slowly around to the opposite side of their vessel. And there I beheld a sight which will haunt me for years to come.

The whole side of the submarine had been wrenched open, revealing the interior of the cabin. And on the floor, lying in the peaceful attitude of one who had just resigned herself to sleep, I beheld the drowned form of the beautiful, desperate, perhaps wicked, but unhappy, woman from whose mad love I had fled.

So, in the midst of the wild North Sea, in their strange coffin, the bones of Sophia, Princess Yernoloff, lie and rock on the incessant tides that sweep across the Dogger Bank.

Requiescat in pace!

As our boat, laden with the rescued survivors, shot up again to the surface, I felt a noosed rope drawn tightly around my throat and heard the voice of Orloff hiss in my ear,

"I arrest you in the name of the Kaiser!"



CHAPTER XXXIV

THE FAMILY STATUTE

My task is done. At last the reader knows all that ever will be known—all there is to know, in short—concerning the tragedy of the North Sea.

My personal adventures can possess little interest after the all-important transactions I have had to describe. But in case there should be a reader here and there who is good enough to feel any curiosity as to my fate, I will briefly tell what followed on my arrest.

My revolver was taken from me and I was conducted under a strict guard back to Kiel.

Off the mouth of the Canal we were boarded by a despatch-boat flying the German naval ensign, and a police officer with three men took me off the submarine.

The first proceeding of my new captor was to handcuff me. He then warned me,

"If you speak a single word to me or any one else till you are in the imperial presence, my orders are to shoot you through the head."

I nodded. I had as little wish to speak as the Emperor could have to let me. My thoughts were busy with the memory of the woman of whose tragic death I had been the unwitting cause, and with the measures that remained to be taken to extenuate, so far as extenuation was possible, the fatal action of the Baltic fleet.

As for myself, I can say truly that I had become almost indifferent to what was in store for me. My feeling toward the unfortunate Princess had not been such as that which makes a man desire a woman for his wife; it had not deserved the name of love, perhaps; and it was certainly free from any taint of a less noble passion.

Nevertheless it had been a powerful sentiment, colored and strengthened by my knowledge of her love for me.

Sophia had loved me. She had saved my life. And I had taken hers in return.

Must I accuse myself of weakness for feeling as if happiness for me were over, and the best fate I could wish would be to lie there beside my victim on the lonely Dogger sands?

When I came before Wilhelm II. he was not in the Hall of the Hohenzollerns, indulging his vein of extravagant romance, but in his private cabinet and in his most stern and business-like mood.

"Give the prisoner a chair, and wait outside," his majesty commanded briefly.

I sat down, still handcuffed, and the guards withdrew.

"Now," said the Kaiser, fixing me with an eagle glance, "be good enough to explain your proceedings."

I met his look with a steadfast one in return.

"I have carried out your majesty's orders scrupulously. I have taken out the submarine torpedo boat, engaged a crew, proceeded to the Dogger Bank, and drawn the fire of the Baltic Fleet on the fishing-boats from Hull. I have not seen a newspaper since, but I assume that the British Navy has already arrested Admiral Rojestvensky and his squadron, and that the two Powers are at war."

The Kaiser gnawed his moustache.

"Things have not gone quite so well as you pretend, M. Petrovitch.

"The Russian cannonade ceased after a few minutes," the Emperor resumed. "You did not remain on the surface after the first shot; you did not launch your torpedo, neither did you permit the other submarine to do so. In fact you sunk her."

"I had no orders with respect to another submarine, sire. I was entitled to treat it as an enemy."

"Nonsense, you know that it had left Kiel before you, on the same errand."

"On the contrary, sire, I could not possibly know anything of the kind."

"Why, you saw it had disappeared from the dock. You inquired after it along the Canal. When you got out to the Dogger you were searching for it the whole time."

"And when I found it, sire, it was leading the Russian squadron, of which it appeared to form part. I had every right to assume that it was a Russian man-of-war."

"A German boat!" thundered the Kaiser.

"A boat not flying any flag must be presumed to belong to the country of those who are in control of it. I found this submarine under the control of a Russian subject."

"The Princess was my agent."

"Your majesty had not told me so. On the contrary, I understood that you wished my own boat to be considered a Russian vessel, in case of any question. I shipped a Russian crew therefore."

Wilhelm II. frowned angrily.

"Do not play with me, M. Petrovitch. I know all about your crew. Explain why you, a Russian subject, should have attacked what you are pleased to pretend was a Russian ship."

"I regret to have to say that your majesty is laboring under a mistake. I am not a Russian subject."

This time the Kaiser was fairly taken aback.

"What subject are you?"

"A Japanese."

Wilhelm looked thunderstruck.

"Japanese!" was all he could say.

"If your majesty pleases. That being so, as soon as I took possession of the submarine, with your permission, of course it became a Japanese ship."

"What you tell me is monstrous—ridiculous. Your name is Russian, your face is at least European."

"My name, sire, is Matsukata. I received it in Tokio at the commencement of the war, on being adopted into a Japanese family.

"If your majesty doubts my statement, I ask to be confronted with the Japanese Ambassador in Berlin."

The Kaiser looked as if he would have liked to doubt it, but found himself unable to do so.

"Then on your own showing you are a Japanese spy," he pronounced slowly. "As such I am entitled to have you shot."

"Pardon me again, sire. In Petersburg I admit, that was my character. In Germany I have been your majesty's agent, and have literally fulfilled your commands."

"You are a very acute quibbler, I see," was the retort, "but quibbles will not save you. You have stolen one of my ships to sink another with, and at the very least you deserve to be hanged as a pirate."

"I demand to be tried," I said boldly, knowing that this was the one step to which the Emperor, for his own sake, could not consent.

As I expected, he frowned uneasily.

"In this case I must exercise my right of refusing a civil trial, in the interest of the State. I will give you a court-martial with closed doors."

"That would be illegal, sire."

"You dare to tell me so!"

"Your majesty will find I am right. The case falls within the Hohenzollern Family Statute."

The Kaiser appeared stupefied.

"The Family Statute?" he repeated slowly, as if unable to believe his ears. "What has the Statute to do with you?"

"It is provided in the Statute, if I recollect rightly, sire, that a member of the Imperial Family can be tried only by his peers, that is to say, by a court composed of members of your majesty's House."

"Well, and what then?"

"By another clause in the Statute—I regret that the number has escaped my memory—the privileges of a Hohenzollern in that respect are extended to members of other reigning Houses."

"What are you going to tell me?" Wilhelm II. demanded in amazement.

"Only that I have the honor to be the adopted son of his imperial highness Prince Yorimo, cousin to his majesty the Emperor of Japan."

The German monarch sat still, unable to parry this unexpected blow.

"The Japanese Ambassador—" he began to mutter.

"Will confirm my statement, sire. I have already asked to be confronted with him. Before going to Kiel, I sent him information of my plans, so that he is already expecting to hear from me, I have no doubt."

Wilhelm II. saw that he had come to the end of his tether. Lying back in his chair, he ejaculated——

"I believed there was only one man in the two hemispheres who could do things like this!"

"I am flattered to think you may be right, sire," I responded in my natural voice, with a smile.

The Emperor bounded from his seat.

"You—are—Monsieur V——!" he fairly gasped out.

"I was, sire. Permit me to repeat that I am now called Prince Matsukata of Japan."

Wilhelm II. made an effort, and came out of it with his best manner.

"Then, in that case, you will stay and lunch with the Empress and myself, my dear Prince."

As soon as the handcuffs had been removed, I told the whole story to the Kaiser, who was immensely interested, and decidedly touched by the part which related to the drowned Princess.

Before leaving the Palace, I asked permission of my imperial host to make use of his private wire for a message to London, in the interest of peace.

Wilhelm II., who began to see that he had been betrayed into going a little farther than was altogether desirable, consented in the friendliest spirit, merely stipulating that he should be allowed to see the message.

He was rather surprised when he found it was addressed to Lord Bedale at Buckingham Palace, and comprised a single word, "Elsinore."

And so, although some of the newspapers in the two capitals of England and Russia continued to breathe war for some days longer, I felt no more anxiety after reading the paragraph which stated that the British Prime Minister, at the close of the decisive Cabinet Council, had driven to the Palace to be received in private audience by her majesty Queen Alexandra.



EPILOGUE

As I write these lines the war which has cost so many brave lives, and carried so much desolation through the fields and cities of Manchuria is still raging.

The great fleet of Admiral Rojestvensky, from which the stains of the innocent fisherman's blood have not yet been washed, is plowing its way to meet a terrible retribution at the hands of the victorious Togo.[C] A curse is on that fleet, and it may be that the British Government foresaw that they could punish the crime of the Dogger Bank more terribly by letting it proceed, than by bringing it into Portsmouth to await the result of the international trial.

[Footnote C: These words, which have been proven prophetic, were written last March, when Admiral Rojestvensky's fleet was still a very formidable fact to be reckoned with.—EDITOR.]

In the great affairs of nations it is not always wise to exact strict justice, or to expose the actual truth.

I, too, am a lover of peace. Not of that hysterical, sentimental horror of bloodshed which would place a great civilized nation at the mercy of more barbarous powers, which would stay the wheels of progress, and be indistinguishable from cowardice in the face of wrong.

But I am a friend of the peace which is the natural result of a better understanding between peoples, of respect for one another's character and aims, of a wise recognition of facts, and an honorable determination not to play the part of the aggressor.

It is in the hope of promoting such a peace on earth, and such good-will toward men, that I have allowed myself to publish the foregoing narrative.

In order to soften the character of this revelation I have endeavored to impart to it a character of romance.

So far as my abilities extend, I have sought to give the reader the impression that he has been reading an allegory rather than a dry, business record. I have tried to cover certain incidents with a discreet veil. I have as much as possible refrained from using real names.

I trust that my narration will be accepted in the spirit in which it has been written and that no reader will allow his feelings of curiosity to lead him into going further, or raising questions which it might be indiscreet on my part to answer.

But there is one part of the story to which the foregoing remarks do not apply.

Whatever else be mythical, there is nothing mythical about the bright figure whose portrait has accompanied me through so many perils. There is a home for me in far-off Tokio, and when the blood-begrimed battalions of Asia sheathe their swords, I shall go thither to claim my reward.

THE END



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