The sea was very calm, and the rock
most temptsome. Of course I knew it was Russian territory, but who
could have imagined that such a point in space was inhabited by
anything else than sea-gulls."
"What!" cried the girl, looking up at him with new interest. "You
don't mean to say you are the officer that Russia demanded from
England, and England refused to give up?"
"Oh, England could not give me up, of course, but she apologized, and
assured Russia she had no evil intent. Still, anything that sets the
diplomatists at work is frowned upon, and the man who does an act
which his government is forced to disclaim becomes unpopular with his
superiors."
"I read about it in the papers at the time. Didn't the rock fire back
at you?"
"Yes, it did, and no one could have been more surprised than I when I
saw the answering puff of smoke."
"How came a cannon to be there?"
"Nobody knows. I suppose that rock in the Baltic is a concealed fort,
with galleries and gun-rooms cut in the stone after the fashion of our
defences at Gibraltar. I told the court-martial that I had added a
valuable bit of information to our naval knowledge, but I don't
suppose this contention exercised any influence on the minds of my
judges. I also called their attention to the fact that my shell had
hit, while the Russian shot fell half a mile short. That remark nearly
cost me my commission. A court-martial has no sense of humor.
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