ord, the hilt of which and the mountings of the sheath being of solid
gold, exquisitely worked.

The afternoon of the first Sunday in December witnessed my arrival in
the Mersey; and somewhat late the same night I found myself once more in
London.

I was, of course, anxious to see Uncle Bob and Aunt Betsy again without
delay; but, being in London, I could not deny myself the pleasure of
calling upon my friends the Gordons. In the first place I paid my
respects to Sir Robert at his office. As it chanced, he was so
overwhelmingly busy that he could only spare me a bare ten minutes of
his time, just to welcome me home again and insist upon my dining with
him and his wife that evening. I did so, and received such a welcome as
went far to compensate me for many a lonely hour among the storms and
fogs and bitter cold of the Japan and Yellow Seas. To my amazement, I
then learned that my name had become tolerably familiar to such Britons
as had been taking more than a merely superficial interest in the
progress of the Russo-Japanese War, some kindly-disposed newspaper
correspondent having kept the British public pretty well posted as to my
doings. The result of this, I was informed, was that, in the event of
my choosing to make application for restoration to my former position in
the British Navy, the authorities would undoubtedly be willing to regard
such application with considerable favour.

This I soon afterwards found to be true; for although there were several
formalities to go through, while the onus of proving my innocence of the
charge which brought about my dismissal rested entirely upon me, I had
no sooner done this than I received the intimation that the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty, having given due consideration to my
representations, had been pleased to reinstate me as Midshipman in the
British Navy!

It was not long, however, before I received my commission as
Sub-Lieutenant; and now I am a full-blown Commander aboard a
super-Dreadnought, eagerly looking forward to the dawn of a certain Day
which, unless appearances are curiously deceptive, cannot be very far
distant.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun, by
Harry Collingwood

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