with her, and be handed over to the care of his most honorable friends, as a person not capable of taking care of himself. Craig thought savagely, as he glared at the cherry blossoms : "But what can a man do when bribery and bluff and blarney have failed him? And really I don't understand in the least why my interesting friend, Lieutenant Asso Hondo, took my word for it that I was not a Russian; I certainly could not have blamed him for dealing with me off-hand as a spy."

Craig had protested against his being deported, and demanded to see somebody in authority, so Asso had ridden with him to the House of the Million Blossoms, and while they waited till the general was ready to receive them, they went through the part of the house under the Red Cross.

"All our nurses are men, who have been most carefully trained, at the great stationary hospitals in Tokio and elsewhere," explained Asso, "while our women nurses have all been called out, and will take the places of the men, who have gone to the front."

"What makes you think women are not so well qualified for field hospital work?" inquired Craig.

Asso smiled. "Doubtless any people who fought with your honorable nation, Mr. Craig, would not hesitate to leave their children as well as their women, where your soldiers might find them, for I believe your army would rather even lose its guns, than commit or condone the murder or outrage of a woman or little child-you would consider the disgrace less."

"I should rather hope we would," said Craig, dryly, "we're white men, Lieutenant Asso."

Asso bowed. "And like the honorable English," he said, "you are a very selfcontrolled people. But we are at war with the Russians, and knowing what their honorable nature is, and as war is an uncertain thing, I am glad we do not trust our women too near the enemy, even under the Red Cross."

Craig opened his lips to speak, then closed them without saying anything, and followed Asso silently into the room, where half a dozen Cossacks-scouts wounded and captured while raiding in Korea-were lying. The surgeon-in-chief, Dr. Toshio, was bending over one of the men who was under chloroform, and as he finished his examination before leaving his patient, Craig saw him take a tawdry gilded icon from the table, and hang it

carefully where its owner would see it as soon as he opened his eyes. And the visitor wondered if, after all, the West could not learn something from the East -this self-control so perfect that even where it hated and despised most, it let no touch of its feelings mar the absolute gentleness of its dealings with its helpless foes. Certainly Dr. Toshio was a Christian, but the government which authorized and commended his work was called heathen.

Then Craig was sent for into the little bare office, where the small, very mildeyed general was sitting on his heels. After politely inquiring after his visitor's health, he said:

"I understand from Lieutenant Asso, Mr. Craig, that you have some complaint to make. Is it regarding him?"

"I only wished to know what authority he had for refusing to allow me to remain in Korea, sir," said Craig.

The general looked at him pensively. "I believe he had mine, Mr. Craig," he said softly. "You see I have reason to think there is a war going on in this country-a very dreadful war-and you must not stay here any longer, because you might get hurt."

Craig muttered an expletive under his breath, and the general looked amused, for even the mildest form of oaths are unknown in the language of Nippon.

"Have a sweetie, Mr. Craig," he said soothingly, bringing out a corked little bottle half full of white candies. "Have

a sweetie; I don't smoke nor carry cigars, for I consider the use of tobacco foolish for any man who wishes to keep his mental powers at their best. But have a sweetie."

Craig took the sweet meekly, and went out into the garden again.

"They are treating me," he grumbled half aloud," exactly as a policeman might a kid he found lost in the streets. I would like to know, though, how Asso was so confident that the story I told of myself was a true one."

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Craig "-Dr. Toshio was standing smiling beside him"but I believe my daughter, who came with me to Korea as my secretary, had the exceeding good fortune of being able to identify you, and save you from some possible annoyance."

"The good fortune was mine, I think," said Craig. "But still I don't understand things. I have no recollection of ever seeing or hearing of Miss Toshio till now."

"Lieutenant Asso reported his meeting

Any friend of Mr. Hunter's is mine, too," said Dr. Toshio, "and I would ask you to be my guest until the Goya Maru" sails. My daughter and Madame Kabokusai are returning to Nippon in her also, so you will be fellow passengers."

For the first time, Craig saw a mitigating circumstance in his enforced return to Nippon. There was a frank, good comradeship between him and Dolly Hunter, entirely unmixed with love-making, and he remembered very well her glowing descriptions of the friend she had always wished him to meet-0 Noshi San-Dolly had never called her anything else, the daintiest, most bewitching little maid that even Nippon ever saw, the personification of all the flower-like beauty and sweetness of her countrywomen. Craig felt decidedly interested as he went with the doctor to Madame Kabokusai's rooms.

The reception room was dainty enough to match the maid of Dolly's description: pale, silvery-grey paper walls, patterned with delicate green willow leaves; spotlessly white mats. Craig hastily removed his boots at the door. On the tokonoma, or raised dais, was a branch of cherry blossoms in a bronze vase, and a beautiful little censer, from which a tiny curl of scented smoke rose up before a memorial tablet set in the wall. There will be another name added to those already on it," said Dr. Toshio, softly, "for we heard to-day that Oki Teisko, brother of our Consul in Gensan, whose house this is, died as a soldier of Nippon should, facing the enemies of our emperor."

The wall opened as he spoke, and Madame Kabokusai, a middle-aged, but very graceful woman, entered, followed by a young girl, whose appearance gave Craig a distinct feeling of disappointment.

It certainly was hard to discover the dainty flower maid of Dolly's descriptions, in that prim little woman, with her dark blue trousers and jacket, and close-cropped hair. Her sash was the only mark of her sex that she still kept, and she knelt on the mats, a little image with downcast eyes, only speaking when spoken to, and then as briefly as possible.

Craig would have hardly felt flattered had he known her thoughts as he talked to her father, for Noshi had guessed his disappointment, and misunderstood its

cause.

"Because he heard I was with the soldiers in Korea," she thought resentfully, "I suppose he expected that I was a geisha, and looked to see me with painted face and bright hairpins, dressed up in gay colored robes, and seeking to lure to myself some lover. Can he not understand that women, as well as men, have honor, and do not play when out on the Emperor's service? I have known some time that he was a man without intelligence, and now it appears that he is without self-control also, for he did not like it when he saw my hair was cut, showing I was under a vow, and not for any man to touch. Bah, I suppose all white men are alike, having neither reason nor self-control, like the Russians."

So it was not far from Gray Horse Mountain," Dr. Toshio was saying, "that Lieutenant Asso had the honorable pleasure of meeting you, Mr. Craig. That mountain will doubtless have a place in Nippon's history, for it was about it that our quarrel with Russia began. You have not heard all the story? No; well, it is rather a comical one, and furnishes some idea as to the real management of the Korean government. You know a little of Seoul?"

"I know what the court is," said Craig,.

a corrupt swarm of eunuchs, soothsayers, fortune-tellers, and foreign parasites, with an Emperor that such a crowd would choose."

"Exactly, and the foreign policy of Korea has always been 'make love to the strongest nations, and obey them,' so when she saw the bloodshot eyes of Russia fixed upon her from beyond the Yalu, which, as you know, is part of the boundary between Korea and Manchuria, and heard her demand that she gave the Prino Lumber Co. license to cut timber on the Korean side of the river, she consented at once. This license, though secured in 1896, was neglected until 1903,

when Russian troops and bandits crossed the Yalu, and, under pretence of cutting timber, garrisoned the Korean port of Yongampo, at the mouth of the Yalu. Then they started works on Gray Horse Mountain, which was far beyond the limits of their grant, the whole, doubtlessly, being an armed invasion of Korea, as we carefully explained to the Korean government. They gave us to understand that they had not studied the details of the lumber business, also that their army was not trained to fight, but that if we wanted a license to cut timber on the banks of the Yalu, too, we could have it."

"Not a bad idea," observed Craig, "and while they were about it, they might have given you a license to cut timber, and some other incidental things, in Manchuria as well."

Dr. Toshio smiled. "Instead," he said, "we thought it would show our national self-control better if we asked nothing for ourselves. So, with the honorable countries of England and America concurring in our request, we asked that the ports of Yongampo and Wiju, both on the Yalu, and most absurdly held by Russia on pretence of protecting her lumber company, should be opened to foreign trade. Korea consented at once, but as Russia did not pay a bit of attention, we thought it best to negotiate instantly with Russia ourselves."

"By means of torpedoes inserted under her battleships, eh?" said Craig.

"I

The doctor laughed and bowed. regret that I must leave you now," he said, "but Miss Toshio will show the pictures I have, illustrating our reasons for going to war."

There was not the least reluctance or embarrassment in Noshi's manner, as she drew nearer the guest, and explained the pictures as she turned them over, but he found it hard to believe that she was not the very courteous, business-like young man that she seemed. So he gave his attention to the pictures, quaintly drawn, and oddly though beautifully colored things. The first was apparently the picture of an old farmer of Nippon, with his wife. Noshi's explanations were rather involved, but Craig gathered that the two were the Good Old Man and Good Old Woman of Nippon's legends, also possibly rer the Emperor, "the divine soul of Nippon," and the Spirit of Honor who watched with him over the people.

n

These two were busy with an egg,

which, it seemed, was Korea, "a place of great possibilities, though to outward seeming as hard and lifeless as a stone." Under the care of the wise two, it is hatched into a tiny, weakly bird. And then, while they are very busy preparing it some food, a great snake snatched it through an opening in the wall.

"The snake, of course, represents the honorable policy of Russia in the East, Mr. Craig," said Noshi.

"I see," said Craig, looking at the picture, which showed the old man and woman in attitudes very expressive of grief and horror, "and who is that rabbit there, Miss Toshio?"

"The spirit of young Nippon, Mr. Craig," said the girl, "which rises in answer to the Emperor's prayer, ready to live and die in the defence of him and the honor of our land."

"And this is evidently Brer Rabbit on the war-path," said Craig, as he turned to the next, which represented the most warlike rabbit, with the cap and rifle of an infantry soldier, sitting astride on a torpedo boat about twice the size of the Russian battleship beside it, and, as far as Craig could make out, engaged in an heroic attempt to ram the city of Port Arthur.

The last picture showed the Good Old Man with his hands outspread in benediction over the rabbit that, rifle and all, lay at his feet, its forehead pressing the ground, while the Good Old Woman is busy feeding the recovered bird, which flutters its wings in lively gratitude as it perches on her hand.

"That represents," said Noshi, "that we intend to develop the highest good in Korea, placing our consuls in every city, who will take charge of all government property and financing. Our own properly trained police have taken care of affairs at Seoul, and we hope soon to be able to extend the system through the country. We have already begun the construction of railroads and lighthouses, and adopted a scheme for the reclaiming of waste lands."

Craig looked at her. "Miss Toshio," he said, "do you really mean that at war with an enemy like Russia, your leaders are thinking of anything but how to hold their own? Why, there is hardly a western military expert who believes Nippon can get her army across Korea in time to keep Russia from making it the battle-ground, and then you tell me that your people are making reforms in the police, and reclaiming waste lands."

I

Noshi smiled. "If we were fighting just out of murder-lust, Mr. Craig," she said, "then we might be thinking only of how to kill our enemies, but because we have taken up arms for the enlightenment of the East, I believe our battles were won before they were fought. know your soul is laughing at me, Mr. Craig, yet being a Christian and a Saxon, you must believe in the might of national righteousness. And then, because we are treating the people of Korea with careful honor, they have become honorable towards us. You can observe, for one thing, the large bodies of guards that Russia needs to protect her railways in Manchuria, in strange contrast with the perfect order we are able to maintain here, with so little evidence of force."

Craig looked across the garden to where the little soldiers were still quietly admiring the flowers, and comparing them with the fierce fighters among the Russians, he felt afraid that Nippon's victories would never exist outside her imagination.

Then a tiny boy came slowly out from among the shrubbery. Walking unsteadily on his fat little legs, he looked like some tropical flower himself, in his gorgeous raiment of red and yellow, blue and peagreen. His funny little head was shaven, except for a little black tuft in the middle, and he smiled very broadly at Craig.

"It is Botschan " (baby boy), said Noshi, "O Kabokusai Sama's grandson."

Craig stepped down into the garden, and went towards the child, who smiled and stood still. Then, with a funny little shuffling run, a small girl darted out and stood defiantly in front of the baby. She did not look much bigger than he, though her stiff sash showed she was over seven, and her elaborately dressed hair, and dress of flowered silk made her look like a miniature woman.

Craig stood still in amused surprise as she faced him, her thin, sickly little face set in tense lines, and a narrow bit of steel flashing in her hand.

Then Noshi spoke in her own tongue, and the child's face flushed crimson, her knife disappeared, and she was on the ground at Craig's feet, hitting her forehead on the path in an agony of shame and embarrassment.

"Will you condescend to pardon her contemptible rudeness, Mr. Craig," said Noshi, softly; "she is most foolishl young, and without much manners, a

Farmer Ricefield's daughter, we would call her, something the same as your term 'hayseed.''

"I'll forgive her. I'll do anything if you will only tell her to get up," said Craig. "But what have I done? Is it against the law to look at babies in wartime?"

Little Tasshee stood up then, though she kept very close to Botschan, and Noshi said: "We are taught that mistakes are never excusable, but Tasshee has just come from Port Arthur, and not knowing you were here, foolishly thought you were a Russian, and might hurt Botschan."

Poor little thing," said Craig, "I suppose your people in the Russian ports suffered a good deal when this war broke out, Miss Toshio?"

"War is-hell," said Noshi quietly, "but as long as civilized Christian men talk of its glory, so long will it be carried on in spite of the sufferings of innocent non-combatants like Tasshee. Her father was a small trader like all his family, and he opened a store in Port Arthur some years ago. There was quite a colony of our people there, living in their own quarter, and when this war threatened, the Viceroy Alexieff was spoken to about them, and pledged his word that they should be protected. But on the afternoon following that first naval attack, a mob of Russian soldiers, under no control, entered our quarter and completely looted the stores and houses, returning to their barracks laden with plunder, before the eyes of their officers lounging round the cafés. There was not even a word of reproof spoken to the men, and no attempt made to prevent further outrages. So other soldiers, excited by the sight of the booty, went down to our quarter, and, enraged at finding only empty houses, they searched the people for money and jewelry, and in many cases stripped them of even the clothes they wore. Our people fled to the seashore, where the women, many of them without clothing, went into the water, where they thought the soldiers would not follow them, and stood there that February night, holding their little children above the waves. Young Madame Kabokusai was one of these, and so she saved Botschan. Tasshee was with her father, and the drunken soldier who shot him bit the child's ear off with his teeth. Really I think the Russians are uncivilized."

Craig glanced at the child, whose care

fully arranged hair barely hid her mutilation. "And then what happened?' he said.

"Oh, our men got some sampans, and, picking up the women, managed to escape from the harbor, and down the coast to Dalny."

"I heard part of the story," said Craig, slowly, "but to be out in open boats that bitter winter's night with women and little children in a heavy sea."

"Yes, they had a deal of trouble with the boats, many were drowned, and others died of exposure, the children's mother among them. The rest reached Dalny and, with the help of the honorable English consul, escaped to Wei-Hai-Wei. The children were brought by friends to Korea, and Madame Kabokusai came from Tokio to fetch them. And now I think I ought to apologize for talking of such unpleasant things, Mr. Craig. I fear I am keeping you from enjoying yourself by my foolish and depressing talk."

Craig looked at her cheerful, placid face. "You are a strange people, Miss Toshio," he said. "Does nothing ever madden you, not even such stories as Tasshee San's?"

"Of course, we know that if we let the Russians cross the Yalu in force, such things will be done in every Korean city. Still we think it is not best to excite ourselves with such tales. Hate is an agitating thing, and it is better for a soldier to think of the enemy with gentle indifference, and go to battle calmly determined to win."

"You have a tremendous confidence in yourselves, Miss Toshio. You seem to think of.the war as won before it is fought."

"We read history, Mr. Craig, and with the one exception of the conquest of Rome by the Goths, there has never been a civilized people conquered by an uncivilized one. And that is why we have no hate for the Russians; it shows the strength of a man when he is always able to make allowances while dealing with savages."

Dolly was right about her being intelligent enough," thought Craig, "and her dress is the most sensible one she could wear, only she is so perfectly cool about it. I don't believe she cares more for my opinion than that of the family cat. I wonder what on earth makes her keep her hair cut."

And Noshi was thinking, "After all, he is Saxon, not a Slav. You could see that by the way he looked when I told him

of Tasshee San. He may not be very clever, but he seems brave and self-controlled. I think I might like him, if only he would not always remember that I am a woman."

The port of Gensan had been full of shipping when Craig left it that morning for the House of a Million Blossoms, but when he returned that evening, on April 23, Vice-Admiral Kamimura's squadron had gone, presumably to continue operations against Vladivostok, but Craig felt that he might as well be a thousand miles away as far as seeing anything that was worth seeing was concerned, and even if he did, post and telegraph were closed to him as completely as if they did not exist.

"I might write a book," he thought, discontentedly, "on Nippon in a new light, and call it 'O Noshi San.'"

He saw her again on the next day, which was Sunday, and they met at the little service to which he had been invited. Afterwards Dr. Toshio spoke to

him :

"I am leaving this afternoon," he said, smiling, "and might I ask that, with the honorable manners of your nation, you will condescend to be a friend to Madame Kabokusai and my daughter until they reach Nippon."

So the camp. by Gensan was broken up, part of the soldiers marching off that Sunday "to an unknown destination," while the small remainder embarked on the transport "Kinshu Maru," which left with her destroyer escort at daybreak on Monday, for where, or what, no one in Gensan to whom Craig spoke seemed to have the least idea.

The "Goya Maru" took her passengers on board about noon. Only Craig lingered on shore till the last moment, hoping against hope that he might hear something. The squadron whose movements he had noted, might be doing anything or everything, but though Gensan lay so near to Vladivostok that her interest in Nippon's success or failure in maintaining the blockade there must be very personal, the Korean part of the population seemed amiably indifferent to war matters, and the little people who lived in their own quarter, with its always clean streets and homes, where they worked and laughed and chattered as if all their work was play, never spoke of what their own soldiers might be doing, nor seemed to notice what happened before their eyes.

Craig went to say "good-bye" to the