ow voice, and some one
sat down beside him.

He turned with a violent start.

"Kasia!" he cried, and then stopped, stammering. "I beg your pardon,
Miss Vard," he said, also lowering his voice. "You startled me so!"

As she met his glance, he saw how bright her eyes were. She had thrown a
wrap about her and drawn the hood over her head. Against it, her face
looked very white.

"I think you may call me Kasia," she said softly. "You see, I need a
friend, and I should hate to have a friend call me anything else. No,"
she added, as he started to say something, "I shall continue to call you
Mr. Webster--that is not quite the same thing. And I am sorry I startled
you."

"It was because I was thinking of you. I have been thinking of you all
day. I tried to go to you, just now. I had something to tell you. But
the guard at the ladder stopped me."

He looked around to make sure that there was no one near.

"He didn't stop _me_," she said.

"No; first-class passengers have the run of the ship. How does it
happen that you are first-class, Kasia?"

It was the first time that he had used the word with intention, and his
voice trembled a little over it.

She told him rapidly of the odour which had suddenly developed in her
former stateroom, and how the ship's people had finally been compelled
to transfer her and her father to the first-cabin.

"Oh, to quite sumptuous quarters," she went on; "you should see them.
Two bedrooms and a sitting-room and bath--an imperial suite. There are
no places left at the tables, so our meals are served in our
sitting-room, as though we were royalties. I'm afraid our tips will have
to be something enormous! I can't but feel that the steamship company is
getting very much the worst of it. Both father and I offered to continue
eating second-class, but the Captain wouldn't hear of it. He seems to
think, poor man, that the odour has disgraced his boat. He was quite
humble about it!"

Dan breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"I'm glad it's so simple," he said. "I had begun to imagine all sorts of
things. Last night, when we were talking here, it happened that my
roommate, a fellow named Chevrial, was sitting on that bench yonder, and
overheard a little of our talk. He was quite solemn with me this
afternoon about it."

"In what way?" asked Kasia, quickly.

"He said there are always spies on board these big boats, and that you
oughtn't to go around talking about blowing up battleships--not at