if that were a mere bagatelle. This conversation occurred in a
restaurant. A young officer was sitting alone at the next table, and he
gave his order to the waiter in a high, penetrating voice.

"Bless my soul! if that isn't Clark," cried Cleary. "See, he's a second
lieutenant still. Let's ask him over to our table."

"Go ahead," said Sam, "but don't say anything about East Point."

Cleary invited him over as a fellow countryman, and the three men dined
together, never once saying anything to denote that they had met
before. Whether Clark noticed that Cleary was rather persistent in
offering him the red pepper for every course, it was impossible to
determine.

It was generally supposed that the Emperor had done all that could be
done in Porsslania, but those who believed this, knew little of the
resources of the first soldier of Christendom. Even Count von
Balderdash was ignorant of the card which his master had determined to
play in view of all mankind.

"Balderdash," said he one night, as the poor count sat trying to
repress his yawns and longing for bed,--"Balderdash, we have shown the
heathen here what we can do. We have exacted vengeance from them. Now I
wish to show to the civilized world, and especially to their armies
here, that we have the best army, the best discipline, the greatest
power on earth, and the bravest Christians in our ranks. I have not
told you yet what I propose to do, but the time has come to go ahead
with it. In our vessel, the _Eagle_, which we brought with us, there
are confined thirty persons convicted at home of the frightful crime of
lese-majesty, a crime which shows that the criminal is atheistic,
anarchistic, and unfit to live. I had them selected among those who
have near relations here in the army. They all have either sons,
brothers, or fathers enlisted here. Of course at home our wretched
parliamentary system would make it inadvisable to have them executed.
Here there is no such difficulty. You have often heard me at the annual
swearing in of recruits tell them that they are now my children and
must do what I say, even if I should order them to shoot down their own
parents. I wish to show the world that this is so, and that my soldiers
believe it and will act upon it. Such an army will inspire terror
indeed. Most of the prisoners are men, but I have included among them
two or three of the most abandoned women, who have been imprisoned for