d do to help. She even considered
going to Scotland Yard and, on the ground that her father was a
Congressman from Texas, demanding the immediate release of her
strawberry man. Sensibly, however, she decided that Congressmen from
Texas meant little in the life of the London police. Besides, she night
have difficulty in explaining to that same Congressman how she happened
to know all about a crime that was as yet unmentioned in the newspapers.

So she reread the latter portion of the fifth letter, which pictured her
hero marched off ingloriously to Scotland Yard and with a worried little
sigh, went below to join her father.

CHAPTER VII

In the course of the morning she made several mysterious inquiries of
her parent regarding nice points of international law as it concerned
murder, and it is probable that he would have been struck by the odd
nature of these questions had he not been unduly excited about another
matter.

"I tell you, we've got to get home!" he announced gloomily. "The German
troops are ready at Aix-la-Chapelle for an assault on Liege. Yes,
sir--they're going to strike through Belgium! Know what that means?
England in the war! Labor troubles; suffragette troubles; civil war in
Ireland--these things will melt away as quickly as that snow we had
lastwinter in Texas. They'll go in. It would be national suicide if they
didn't."

His daughter stared at him. She was unaware that it was the bootblack
at the Carlton he was now quoting. She began to think he knew more about
foreign affairs than she had given him credit for.

"Yes, sir," he went on; "we've got to travel--fast. This won't be a
healthy neighborhood for non-combatants when the ruction starts. I'm
going if I have to buy a liner!"

"Nonsense!" said the girl. "This is the chance of a lifetime. I won't
be cheated out of it by a silly old dad. Why, here we are, face to face
with history!"

"American history is good enough for me," he spread-eagled. "What are
you looking at?"

"Provincial to the death!" she said thoughtfully. "You old dear--I love
you so! Some of our statesmen over home are going to look pretty foolish
now in the face of things they can't understand, I hope you're not going
to be one of them."

"Twaddle!" he cried. "I'm going to the steamship offices to-day and
argue as I never argued for a vote."

His daughter saw that he was determined; and, wise from long experience,
she did not try to dissuade him.

London that hot