her; and in truth she carried her bunting well, as Captain Stubbard told

his wife, and Captain Tugwell confirmed it. But the eyes of everybody

with half an eye followed the two forms in silver-grey. That was the

nearest approach to brightness those lovers of their father allowed

themselves, within five months of his tragic death; though if the old

Admiral could have looked down from the main-top, probably he would have

shouted, "No flags at half-mast for me, my pets!"

Two young men with melancholy glances followed these fair bridesmaids,

being tantalized by these nuptial rites, because they knew no better.

One of them hoped that his time would come, when he had pushed his great

discovery; and if the art of photography had been known, his face would

have been his fortune. For he bore at the very top of it the seal and

stamp of his patent--the manifest impact of a bullet, diffracted by the

power of Pong. The roots of his hair--the terminus of blushes, according

to all good novelists--had served an even more useful purpose, by

enabling him to blush again. Strengthened by Pong, they had defied the

lead, and deflected it into a shallow channel, already beginning to

be overgrown by the aid of that same potent drug. Erle Twemlow looked

little the worse for his wound; to a lady perhaps, to a man of science

certainly, more interesting than he had been before. As he gazed at the

bride all bespangled with gold, he felt that he had in his trunk the

means of bespangling his bride with diamonds. But the worst of it was

that he must wait, and fight, and perhaps get killed, before he could

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