"Oh, yes, Lieutenant, I remember very well that excellent song you--"
"Isn't it a perfect night?" gasped the Lieutenant. "I think we are to
be congratulated on our weather."
He still clung to the Captain's hand, and shook it again so warmly
that the Captain said to himself:
"I must have made an impression on this young fellow," then aloud he
replied jauntily:
"Oh, we always have good weather this time of year. You see, the
United States Government runs the weather. Didn't you know that? Yes,
our Weather Bureau is considered the best in the world."
The Lieutenant laughed heartily, although a hollow note intervened,
for the young man had got to the end of his conversation, realized he
could not shake hands for a third time, yet did not know what more to
say. The suavity of the politician came to his rescue in just the form
the Lieutenant had hoped.
"Lieutenant Drummond, allow me to introduce my wife to you."
The lady bowed.
"And my daughter, Katherine, and Miss Amhurst, a friend of ours--
Lieutenant Drummond, of the 'Consternation.'"
"I wonder," said the Lieutenant, as if the thought had just occurred
to him, "if the young ladies would like to go to a point where they
can have a comprehensive view of the decorations. I-- I may not be the
best guide, but I am rather well acquainted with the ship, you know."
"Don't ask me," said Captain Kempt. "Ask the girls. Everything I've
had in life has come to me because I asked, and if I didn't get it the
first time, I asked again.
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