above the folds of a white neckcloth he answered curtly, taking a short pipe out of his mouth but not turning his head. 

 "She's Elban." 

 He replaced his pipe and preserved an unsociable air. The elegant young man with the pleasant countenance, (who was Cosmo, the son of Sir Charles Latham of Latham Hall, Yorkshire), repeated under his breath, "Elban," and remained wrapped up in still contemplation of the becalmed ship with her undistinguishable flag. 

 It was not till the sun had sunk beneath the waters of the Mediterranean and the undistinguishable flag had been hauled down on board the motionless ship that he stirred and turned his eyes towards the harbour. The nearest prominent object in it was the imposing shape of an English line-of-battle ship moored on the west side not far from the quay. Her tall spars overtopped the roofs of the houses and the English ensign at her flagstaff had been just hauled down and replaced by a lantern that looked strange in the clear twilight. The forms of shipping crowded towards the head of the harbour were merging into one another. Cosmo let his eyes wander over the circular platform of the tower. The man leaning over the gun went on smoking with indifference. 

 "Are you the guardian of this tower?" asked the young man. 

 The other gave him a sidelong glance and made answer without changing his attitude and more as if speaking to himself: 

 "This is now an unguarded spot. The wars are over." 

 "Do they close the door at the bottom of this tower at night?" enquired Cosmo. 

 "That is a matter worth consideration especially for those like you, for instance, who have a soft bed to go to for the night." 

 The young than put his head on one side and looked at his interlocutor with a faint smile. 

 "You don't seem to care," he said. "So I conclude I need not. As long as you are content to stay here I am safe enough. I followed you up the stairs, you know." The man with the pipe stood up abruptly. "You followed me here? Why did you do that, in the name of all the saints?" 

 The young man laughed as if at a good joke. "Because you were walking in front of me. There was nobody else in view near the Mole. Suddenly you disappeared. Then I saw that the door at the bottom of the tower was open and I walked 

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