A Rock in the Baltic | Page 6

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."
"I suppose everything is satisfactorily settled now?"
"Well, hardly that. You see, Continental nations are extremely

suspicious of Britain's good intentions, as indeed they are of the good
intentions of each other. No government likes to have-- well, what we
might call a 'frontier incident' happen, and even if a country is quite in
the right, it nevertheless looks askance at any official of its own who,
through his stupidity, brings about an international complication. As
concerns myself, I am rather under a cloud, as I told you. The
court-martial acquitted me, but it did so with reluctance and a warning.
I shall have to walk very straight for the next year or two, and be
careful not to stub my toe, for the eyes of the Admiralty are upon me.
However, I think I can straighten this matter out. I have six months'
leave coming on shortly, which I intend to spend in St. Petersburg. I
shall make it my business to see privately some of the officials in the
Admiralty there, and when they realize by personal inspection what a
well-intentioned idiot I am, all distrust will vanish."
"I should do nothing of the kind," rejoined the girl earnestly, quite
forgetting the shortness of their acquaintance, as she had forgotten the
flight of time, while on his part he did not notice any incongruity in the
situation. "I'd leave well enough alone," she added.
"Why do you think that?" he asked.
"Your own country has investigated the matter, and has deliberately run
the risk of unpleasantness by refusing to give you up. How, then, can
you go there voluntarily? You would be acting in your private capacity
directly in opposition to the decision arrived at by your government."
"Technically, that is so; still, England would not hold the position she
does in the world to-day if her men had not often taken a course in their
private capacity which the government would never have sanctioned.
As things stand now, Russia has not insisted on her demand, but has
sullenly accepted England's decision, still quite convinced that my act
was not only an invasion of Russia's domain, but a deliberate insult;
therefore the worst results of an inconsiderate action on my part remain.
If I could see the Minister for Foreign Affairs, or the head of the
Admiralty in St. Petersburg face to face for ten minutes, I'd undertake
to remove that impression."

"You have great faith in your persuasive powers," she said demurely.
The Lieutenant began to stammer again.
"No, no, it isn't so much that, but I have great faith in the Russian as a
judge of character. I suppose I am imagined to be a venomous,
brow-beating, truculent Russophobe, who has maliciously violated
their territory, flinging a shell into their ground and an insult into their
face. They are quite sincere in this belief. I want to remove that
impression, and there's nothing like an ocular demonstration. I like the
Russians. One of my best friends is a Russian."
The girl shook her head.
"I shouldn't attempt it," she persisted. "Suppose Russia arrested you,
and said to England, 'We've got this man in spite of you'?"
The Lieutenant laughed heartily.
"That is unthinkable: Russia wouldn't do such a thing. In spite of all
that is said about the Russian Government, its members are gentlemen.
Of course, if such a thing happened, there would be trouble. That is a
point where we're touchy. A very cheap Englishman, wrongfully
detained, may cause a most expensive campaign. Our diplomatists may
act correctly enough, and yet leave a feeling of resentment