Colonel Harris had promised Mr. Hall to do this, and so advise him where the Harris family were stopping. No sooner was the red, white, and blue given to the breeze above the hotel, than a puff of white smoke was seen on the yacht, and then came the report of a gun in response to Harris's flag signal. Bills were paid at once, and the Harrises took carriage down to the landing. As the "Hallena" glided in between the piers, she was as graceful as a swan, or as Leo expressed it, "as pretty as a pirate." Harris himself when at home saw the yacht launched, and he was as proud of her behavior then as were the officers of the Harrisville Ship Building Company. The yacht had now approached so near that Colonel Harris and Harry Hall saluted each other, and in five minutes the Harris and Hall parties were exchanging cordial greetings on the deck of the "Hallena." "Captain Hall," as Harry was known at sea, was very cordial to all. Colonel Harris was glad again to meet some of his old Harrisville business friends. Luke Henley and wife were of the Hall party. He was stout, resolute, and ambitious; his wife womanly and well dressed. Henley early learned that money was power. Combining what he fell heir to with his wife's fortune, and what he had made by bold ventures in the steel, ore, and coal trade, he was enabled to live in a fine villa, overlooking the water, and to carry on an immense business on the inland lakes. His business, however, was used as a cover to his real designs in life. Influential in the local politics of Harrisville he had experienced the keen pleasure of wielding the silver sceptre of power, and he longed not only to be the "power behind the throne," but to sit on the throne itself and guide the Ship of State. Major Williams also was one of the "Hallena" party. He was young, slender, and had a cheerful smile for everybody. He had climbed to the presidency of the Harrisville Bank which had thousands of depositors, and which wielded a gigantic financial power. It was decided not to start for Genoa till the next morning. Dinner was soon announced and Captain Hall offered his arm to Lucille, whom he placed at his right hand, and Mrs. Harris at his left. The dinner hour and part of the evening were spent in pleasant reminiscences of what each had seen since leaving Harrisville. The marriage of George Ingram and Gertrude was also a suggestive topic, and many agreeable things were spoken. Captain Hall was present at the Paris wedding, and it was the stately beauty of Lucille more than all else that prompted him to invite the Harrises to take the Mediterranean cruise.