S.O.
--Henry has--and he's a Rear-Admiral! Oh, Helen, I want to cry!"
The two women wandered into a far corner of the room. Richard wrung
his brother-in-law's hand.
"Philippa isn't exactly coherent," he remarked, "but it sounds all
right."
"You see," Sir Henry explained, "I've been mine laying ever since
the war started. I always had ideas of my own about mine fields,
as you may remember. I started with Scotland, and then they moved
me down here. The Admiralty thought they'd be mighty clever, and
they insisted upon my keeping my job secret. It led to a little
trouble with Philippa, but I think we are through with all that.
--I suppose you know that those two young women have been engaged
in a regular conspiracy, Dick?"
"I know a little," Richard replied gravely, "and I'm sure you will
believe that I wouldn't have countenanced it for a moment if I'd
had any idea what they were up to."
"I'm sure you wouldn't," Sir Henry agreed. "Anyway, it led to no
harm."
"Maderstrom, then," Richard asked, with a sudden more complete
apprehension of the affair, "was over here to spy upon you?"
"That's the ticket," Sir Henry assented.
Richard frowned.
"And he bribed Philippa and Helen with my liberty!"
"Don't you worry about that," his brother-in-law begged. "They
must have known by instinct that a chap like Maderstrom couldn't do
any harm.
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