iral made signals which were repeated by all
the other vessels, each in turn. Lying still on those calm blue waters
was a force which one day might cause nations to totter, the
overwhelming force which upheld Britain's right in that oft-disputed
sea.

A couple of thousand British sailors were ashore on leave, their white
caps conspicuous in the streets everywhere as they walked orderly in
threes and fours to inspect the town. In the square outside the
Consulate a squad from the flagship were setting up a temporary
band-stand, where the ship's band was to play when evening fell, while
Hutcheson, perspiring in his uniform, drove with the Admiral to make the
calls of courtesy upon the authorities which international etiquette
demanded.

Myself, I had taken a boat out to the _Bulwark_, the great battleship
flying the Admiral's flag, and was sitting on deck with my old friend
Captain Jack Durnford, of the Royal Marines. Each year when the fleet
put into Leghorn we were inseparable, for in long years past, at
Portsmouth, we had been close friends, and now he was able to pay me
annual visits at my Italian home.

He was on duty that morning, therefore could not get ashore till after
luncheon.

"I'll dine with you, of course, to-night, old chap," he said. "And you
must tell me all the news. We're in here for six days, and I was half a
mind to run home. Two of our chaps got leave from the Admiral and left
at three this morning for London--four days in the train and two in
town! Gone to see their sweethearts, I suppose."

The British naval officer in the Mediterranean delights to dash across
Europe for a day at home if he can get leave and funds will allow. It is
generally reckoned that such a trip costs about two pounds an hour while
in London. And yet when a man is away from his _fiancee_ or wife for
three whole years, his anxiety to get back, even for a brief day, is
easily understood. The youngsters, however, go for mere
caprice--whenever they can obtain leave. This is not often, for the
Admiral has very fixed views upon the matter.

"Your time's soon up, isn't it?" I remarked, as I lolled back in the
easy deck-chair, and gazed away at the white port and its background of
purple Apennines.

The dark, good-looking fellow in his smart summer uniform leaned over
the bulwark, and said, with a slight sigh, I thought--

"Yes. This is my last trip to Leghorn, I think. I go back in November,
and I really shan't be sorry. Th