spent the night in Chichester, and was waiting for a train to Portsmouth. I opened the window-my train was already beginning to move"Herr Von Neglein !' "Oh, it was very funnee how he started! "Here is your bag!' I cried; 'I want him no further.' Yes! "And I threw it towards him. Ah, yes! I knew that now he would not dare to follow me to have me arrested by the police. For we were both playing the same game, and it does not do to call in the police when you are playing the game of a secret agent. "In London I took the plans and notes to my chief, and received some money. The German book on your English Army I kept as a souvenir. Then I journeyed back to Hastings to get my bag at the hotel, and for a few days' holiday, to take off my boots and socks and wash my feet in the sea. There was another day's excursion to Boulogne, and again I took him, this time for pleasure. Again I visited the Casino. Also, again I lost all my money. But I had this time left enough at the hotel to pay my bill and to purchase tickets to return home. Splendid! IV. HOW THE CAPTAIN DEALT WITH A COWARD. Captain Ivan Koravitch, late of the Imperial Russian Army, had been showing his friends some of his treasures and souvenirs, rummaging them out from the metal-bound strong-box in his room. One of his friends had taken up a case and opened it. The contents were ten or a dozen medals. But when the captain turned and saw them, he stretched out his hand. Please!" he said, as he took the case and closed it. But curiosity had been aroused. He sat down and lighted, with a fine gesture, the inevitable little brown cigarette, shrugged his shoulders half apologetically, and began "Those medals ? Oh yes, they are mine." And he spoke in a modestly careless tone. How did I get them? Some of them in the war with Japan -I was in many battles-some of them-ah, but they are nothing! You see You see a soldier with a big row of medals on his breast, and at once you exclaim, 'This is a very brave man.' But it does not follow. Pouf! Not long ago I met at a military dinner one of your own officers with-oh-many medals. But he had scarcely seen a fight. He was attaché in the war to several armies of the Allies, and some of his medals were given for that reason by the different Powers. Yes? I have told you before I am a coward. I never fight without thinking about something else to keep my mind off, because I am afraid always if I think about the battle. They "I was thinking for the moment, my friends, of the days just before the Japanese War, when my regiment was quartered at Port Arthurwhich was then in our hands. That was what you English call a 'gay time.' The town was bright with the colours of our officers' uniforms-one saw them in every droski,-green, magenta, red facings, and the long grey overcoats. They were not your drab uniforms of warfare to-day. Sometimes we had big fêtes. I remember -it was in the autumn of 1902 -when the general and his staff were leaving for Petrograd, and we gave him-what is it? -yes-a send-off." All down the streets were long tables, covered with white cloths, bearing refreshments hundreds and hundreds of bottles of champagne with their golden necks. Speeches were made, but one could not hear them because of the popping of the corks. Very soon there was to be another kind of popping-from the guns in the forts on the hills behind the town. "It was on that very day that I first became acquainted with Peter Mikhailovitch Vaviloff. He had only arrived at Port Arthur a few days before. Vaviloff was a veterinary surgeon with, of course, an officer's rank in the Army. He was a leetle rather fat man, with a big bass voice, and, like other leetle fat men whom I have sometimes met, he talked big with his big voice. He talked most about those things which no one could contradict, the things he had done in the past, and the things he would do in the future. And, like his voice, they were all big things. We could not see that the things he was doing in the present were at all big things, except that he could eat and drink much. Splendid! 'He drank much champagne that day. I also had a glass or two. Yes ? And then we began talking of the war that we thought would one day break out between Russia and Japan. And he spoke very big. "I hope there will be plenty of fighting,' he said. "Ah, yes, my friend,' I replied; there will be plenty of fighting when we go to war with Japan. But you? You are not a combatant. You give the horses pills and medi Ah, but also I am a soldier!' he cried, and puffed out his chest. 'I exercise my profession at the proper time; but I never forget I am an officer of the Imperial Army. And I wish to have my opportunity of fighting for the Little Father when there is a battle.' "You are a brave man,' and I bowed to him as I raised my glass. He did not see I was laughing at him inside my cheeks. And he was very much pleased. "Of course I shall do my duty,' he said, and waved his hand. 'You also, my friend. You are a brave man. Yes?' 66 6 Me? Ah, no. I am not at all brave. I am a coward.' "He looked at me, and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "But you will fight?' he asked. 'Surely you would not run away!' "Bah!' he cried, as he tossed down his champagne and filled another glass. 'You will see-when the time comes. I tell you I wish to fight very much.' "Much time had passed since the first Russian soldier killed in the war was buried just north of Ping-Yang-you may see his grave to-day. My regiment from the first had not remained in Port Arthur, but had seen much service in open battles farther north in the peninsular. Once or twice I had come across Peter Mikhailovitch Vaviloff, for he was attached to the same brigade as myself, though not of the same regiment. He belonged to the field artillery. You may not know that often in the Russian Army the veterinary officer was the Mess President of his regiment. Also it happened frequently that he lent money to the officers when their pay was in arrears, or, for other reasons, they had need of it. "I had a friend, a Captain Vasilievitch, in the artillery, and he told me some very funnee stories about Vaviloff. He said Vaviloff was always asking the colonel to tell him when there was going to be some fighting, because he wanted to take part in it; but whenever the regiment went into action Vaviloff was sure to have some very sick horses to attend very far in the rear; so that they laughed much at his boasts of what he was going to do and did not do. "He also told me something else that made me much amusement. The colonel had been hard down-eh-I thank you, yes-hard up, and had asked Vaviloff to lend him some money. And Vaviloff had said to him This book was a line of low hills towards which our army was retreating. This knife-see, I place him on the left was a river which gave some protection to our left flank. In front, so, on a level plain, the main Japanese army "I will lend you two hundred roubles, my colonel, if there is a condition made to which you agree.' "And what is that?' asked advancing. Now, see-on our the colonel. "It is that when next there is a battle and afterwards you write despatches that you make mention of me!' right flank, a leetle in advance of the line to which we were retreating, this inkstand shows you a bigger hill-a very important position, which we should entrench and upon which we should mount some guns, all of which would take a leetle time. Two miles, or perhaps more, in front of this hill I place this cigarette. It is an outpost of defence. Between it and the hill the ground rose and fell, so that one could not Very well, my colonel. If see very far back from the "The colonel, he put his finger to the side of his nose80 ! He laughed very much, and then he said "You let me have those two hundred roubles, my friend. And then I will see what I can do. Yes! But you must not charge me interest.' 66 6 outpost. And it was herewhere I have laid the cigarette -that I was stationed. "The outpost consisted of three companies of my regiment, and what I suppose you would call half a battery of Field Artillery-two guns. The artillery was commanded by my friend, Captain Vasilievitch, but the senior officer in command was of the rank of one of your majors, an officer of my own regiment, named Kasatsky. We had taken up the position in the early morning, and our orders were to hold it at all hazards until three o'clock in the afternoon. This was to give time for the hill in our rear to be prepared. 66 You must remember that I am speaking of the days before aeroplanes, and we depended on balloons and our cavalry scouts for information of the movements of the enemy. From the reports which had come in it appeared that our outpost was well beyond his left wing, and any attack might be expected to arrive across the level plain on our left front. On our right front was a range of very low hills, but we did not expect an attack from that quarter. Part of the strategy of our retreat had been to outflank the enemy by holding the hill I have mentioned. It was one of the keys of the new position we were taking up. "Now it happened that Vaviloff was with us at this outpost. Not because he thought there would be fighting-oh, no! But he was obliged to be there. Captain Vasilievitch had two horses in one of his gun teams that demanded the attention of a veterinary surgeon. One of them had been struck in the shoulder by a splinter of shrapnel, and had bled much, and the other had received a kick from his fellow. It was very important that Captain Vasilievitch should preserve his horses, as they would be required later on in our retirement. Otherwise, the guns would fall into the hands of the enemy. So Vaviloff had been sent for, and had ridden to us on his very fine horse-he always arranged to have a good horse, -and had attended to his work. He was in very good spirits, and was not at all afraid, because we had told him there was not likely to be any fighting with us for some hours. And, of course, we thought that was true. Also I suppose he knew he had his horse and could gallop away if there was any danger. We made for ourselves a meal, and we had among us a bottle of vodka. So Vaviloff joined us, and talked very big about what he would do if the enemy attacked us. "You will, perhaps, have an opportunity if you wait long enough,' said Kasatsky, winking with his eye at me and Vasilievitch. 'We may expect a little fighting any time after midday.' "Vaviloff looked at his watch. "I cannot stay longer than |