"Indeed! Excuse me, my dear, but I must hurry." The Admiral hurried out of the room, and, despite his years and his dignity, ran toward "The Hole," a sheltered portion of the harbor where small craft usually anchored. He got as near as possible to the lighthouse tug, and waved his handkerchief violently. Just as the anchor of the tug dropped, a sailor reported to the officer in charge: "Signal from the shore, sir!" "Don't notice it," was the reply, made gruffly. "Hang the impertinence of some of these spring visitors." "Yes, sir. I think it's Admiral Allison a-signallin', sir." "Ah, that's different! Lower away! I'll go ashore for him." The tug's boat had scarcely touched the beach when the Admiral gave the prow a mighty shove and shouted, "Shove off! Give way!" first wetting his feet thoroughly. Then he sprang like a cat from thwart to thwart until he got aft and dropped beside the astonished officer, whispering: "Charley, you were at the Naval Academy while I was on duty there!" "Yes, Admiral, and you were the best friend I ever had there. I couldn't have pulled through if it hadn't been for you, as you well know!" "I'm glad you think so, my dear boy, for I want some special help from you to-day. Up anchor, and let me catch that train for New York." "Why, Admiral, you know what a slow old tub this is, and we've been blowing off steam." "Never mind. Help me to catch that train. Burn out a boiler, if necessary, and charge it to me. I'll stand a court-martial rather than lose that train." Within five minutes the tug was rounding the pier in front of the hotel and the Admiral was compounding a prescription which is highly esteemed at sea by elderly gentlemen who are suffering from great excitement and wet feet. Black smoke poured so densely from the boat's single funnel that a naval officer who was enjoying a brief outing at the hotel and had got out of bed early to enjoy as much as possible of it, told his wife that probably a buoy had strayed from its moorings somewhere and some sea-captain had been complaining by telegraph to the authorities at Washington. The chase was a hard one; the train-boat had fully ten minutes the start of the tug, but the Admiral, who stood forward ready to hurry ashore, remarked that it usually took fully ten minutes to get all the passengers, luggage and freight from the boat to the train. When finally he went over the side he said: "Charley, keep your eye on the rear platform. If I wave my handkerchief you'll know I'm safely aboard. Then wait as long as the train does; if it starts at once, steam along up the bay until you see it stop. I'll get the conductor to pull up and let us off." "Us?" "Yes; Jermyn and me."