They arrived at the Russian consulate, a moment after hours, and hurried in. No one there but a clerk. The Major laid his card on the desk, and said, in the Russian tongue, “Now, then, if you’ll visé this young man’s passport for Petersburg as quickly as—”

“But, dear sir, I’m not authorized, and the consul has just gone.” “Gone where?” “Out in the country, where he lives.” “And he’ll be back—” “Not till morning.”

“Thunder! Oh, well, look here, I’m Major Jackson—he knows me, everybody knows me. You visé it yourself; tell him Major Jackson asked you; it’ll be all right.”

But it would be desperately and fatally irregular; the clerk could not be persuaded; he almost fainted at the idea.

“Well, then, I’ll tell you what to do,” said the Major. “Here’s stamps and the fee—visé it in the morning, and start it along by mail.”

The clerk said, dubiously, “He—well, he may perhaps do it, and so—”

“May? He will! He knows me—everybody knows me.”

“Very well,” said the clerk, “I will tell him what you say.” He looked bewildered, and in a measure subjugated; and added, timidly: “But—but—you know you will beat it to the frontier twenty-four hours. There are no accommodations there for so long a wait.”

“Who’s going to wait? Not I, if the court knows herself.”

The clerk was temporarily paralyzed, and said, “Surely, sir, you don’t wish it sent to Petersburg!”

“And why not?”

“And the owner of it tarrying at the frontier, twenty-five miles away? It couldn’t do him any good, in those circumstances.”

“Tarry—the mischief! Who said he was going to do any tarrying?”

“Why, you know, of course, they’ll stop him at the frontier if he has no passport.”

“Indeed they won’t! The Chief Inspector knows me—everybody does. I’ll be responsible for the young man. You send it straight through to Peters-burg—Hôtel de l’Europe, care Major Jackson: tell the consul not to worry, I’m taking all the risks myself.”

The clerk hesitated, then chanced one more appeal:

“You must bear in mind, sir, that the risks are peculiarly serious, just now. The new edict is in force.”

“What is it?”

“Ten years in Siberia for being in Russia without a passport.”

“Mm—damnation!” He said it in English, for the Russian tongue is but a poor stand-by in spiritual emergencies. He mused a moment, then brisked up and resumed in Russian: “Oh, it’s all right—label her St. Petersburg and let her sail! I’ll fix it. They all know me there—all the authorities—everybody.”

III

The Major turned out to be an adorable travelling companion, and young Parrish was charmed with him. His talk was sunshine and rainbows, and lit up the whole region around, and kept it gay and happy and