Again Kate blushed, which was exactly what the Admiral hoped would be the result of his speech. Still, the girl seemed suspicious about something, so the old gentleman began to talk of something else with his customary ability. While he was talking, a waiter from the hotel approached and handed him a telegram. "Kindly excuse me a moment?" said the Admiral, adjusting his glasses and opening the envelope. Then he glanced at the dispatch and exclaimed: "Good!" "May we congratulate you upon something?--the thanks of Congress, or a new war?" "Better still. The business upon which Jermyn and I went North has been satisfactorily concluded. Will you kindly excuse me a few moments, until I can write a letter? I will do myself the honor of rejoining you." "There is probably some secret government business in the hands of the Admiral and the Lieutenant," suggested Harry. "Secret nonsense! It is something which is mixed up in some way with the strange manner of Trif and Fenie, and the Admiral must simply tell what it is." Meanwhile the old gentleman was re-reading the dispatch, which was as follows: "That letter is in proper hands. Jermyn." "Proper hands! Proper hands!" repeated the Admiral to himself. "Evidently that means his own hands. Fine fellow! He deserves the girl, if only for the pains he has taken to keep her name from being used publicly. How I wish I might tell her the whole story! Still, if they continue to like each other, my time will come. I think that I ought now to be able to make my peace with Mrs. Highwood. I need merely to repeat to her Jermyn's own words, and crave the privilege of age to laugh with her over a matter entirely to her credit." Within five minutes the Admiral had dispatched a note to Trif, who languidly opened it and then suddenly dropped her languor and called Fenie, to whom she said: "What can the man mean? There can be but one letter that the man refers to--the one which Trixy gave him, and which she got back so strangely, and I sent on to Phil, promising that I would tell him something about it when I reached home. Phil don't know the Admiral, so I can't make sense out of the matter. It isn't possible that Trixy is making any more trouble with letters?" "Don't be silly!" replied Fenie. "What did the poor child know about the matter?" "Oh, I'm afraid she overheard us wondering whether the letter ought not go back to the Admiral, because whoever sent it back to him would be sure to ask whether he received it, and--Trixy, where are you? Have you opened any of my letters?" "No, mamma; really and truly I haven't," was the indignant reply. "Oh," said Trif, "I do wish I could find out what it means. If I don't know pretty soon I'm sure I shall go insane."