And," with a slight lift of the jaw, "I never say what I do not honestly mean.

It will be a good book, and I am proud to have had a hand, however light, in the making." The admiral chuckled.

"That is the kind of flattery no man may shut his ears to.

It has been a great pleasure to me; it has kept me out-of-doors, in the open, where I belong.

Come in, Laura, come in." The girl stood framed in the low doorway, a charming picture to the old man and a lovely one to the secretary.