"I fear you must have caught some cold, standing watch on the gunboat's
bridge," said the Secretary, sympathetically.
That sobered Somers in an instant. The notion that he--he a sea-dog
accustomed to stand watch in all weathers, could catch cold through
exposure of the kind just mentioned made Eph feel a sense of ghastly
humiliation.
Five minutes later Ensign Hal Hastings was shown into the office. The
Secretary of the Navy greeted him kindly, though with a twinkle in
his eyes.
"The paper that caused my trouble was one that was taken from Mr.
Benson when he couldn't help himself," Hal explained. "For some reason,
the military authorities never discovered that Millard had that paper
about him. It was enough to save him from arrest an hour ago."
"And Millard is still at large," nodded Mr. Sanders. "It's a matter
for the military authorities and the Secret Service, I imagine. I don't
see how the Navy can be drawn into it. However, I am going to ask you
young gentlemen to retain your special appointments a little longer. I
may yet have considerable need of you in this affair. You are stopping
at the Arlington? Perhaps, for this afternoon, you would enjoy going
over to the United Service Club, where you are likely to meet a good
many Army and Navy officers.
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