Chapter XXVI: Captain Merrill's Commission

Franklin Marmion found a hansom in the Borough Road and drove to Waterloo. He had just time to wire to Merrill to meet him at the “Keppel’s Head” for dinner and catch the new 4.55 express for Portsmouth. Merrill was waiting for him in the smoking-room. As they shook hands, he said in the quiet tone which is characteristic of his profession:

“Your wire was rather sudden news, Professor. I thought you were somewhere in the Baltic. Your coming back like this seemed to mean something, and so I took the liberty of having a private room for our dinner.”

“Perfectly right, my dear Merrill,” he replied. “Let us go upstairs at once. I have a good deal to say to you, and what I am going to say will have to be done quickly.”

“We have our sailing orders for the Baltic, and the Special Squadron leaves Spithead at midnight. Come upstairs, Professor, and we can talk.”

Dinner was served a few minutes after they got into the room that Merrill had reserved on the first floor. The waiter was dismissed and the door locked, and then Franklin Marmion told Mark Merrill the most wonderful story he had ever heard. If it had come from any one else he would have put it down as a lie, but he remembered what had happened in the lecture theatre of the Royal Society, and so he held his peace. It was quite impossible for him to disbelieve anything the father of his Best Beloved told him. When the Professor had finished the story of Nitocris and the Prince, he leaned his elbows on the table, and said:

“Now, my dear Merrill, I am going to put it into your power to save Europe from the horrors of a universal war: but to that you must be prepared to take risks which may result in your being dismissed the Service. On the other hand, if you succeed, as you are almost certain to do if you act strictly on the instructions that I am going to give you, you will be a Captain in a month, and a Vice-Admiral in a year.”

“But I’m a Captain now, Professor. I was keeping that little bit of news for you. I hoisted my pennant this morning on His Majesty’s ship Nitocris: new second-class cruiser, eight thousand tons, and twenty-four knots: as pretty a ship as Elswick ever turned out. And the name: it came to me like a revelation.”

“Possibly it was, in a sense that you may not quite understand now, but you will understand it when you and Niti are married. She will be better able to explain it then than I could now.”

“And what are the orders--I mean, of course, the private ones? Ours are: sail at midnight, make Kronstadt in forty-eight hours: command the approaches to Riga and St Petersburg, and wait for the developments of this manifesto which seems to be setting what is left of Russia on fire. Germany is in with us for the time being: France and Italy and our Mediterranean squadron will see to things in the Near East, and altogether there seem to be the prospects of a very handsome sort of row.”

“Which you, my dear Merrill, will be the means of preventing,” said Franklin Marmion, taking a piece of folded tracing paper out of the inside pocket of his coat. “I yield to circumstance. The name of your new ship convinces me that I was wrong in certain other circumstances. You will give me a passage to Viborg on the Nitocris. You will take French leave of the fleet as soon as you sight Kronstadt, get into Viborg Bay at your best speed, land your men, take the Castle, which is quite undefended, bring away Prince Zastrow and Oscarovitch, and, of course, Niti; put your two princes on board the flagship, bring them back to England, and dictate terms from London. It seems a good deal to do, but I will make it possible, if you are prepared to do as I advise you. There is the chart showing the approaches to Oscarburg.”

“I’ll do it, sir,” said Merrill, taking the tracing from his hand. “I’ll break every regulation of the Service into little pieces to get that done. Now, I ought to be getting on board. Are you ready?”

“Quite,” said Franklin Marmion, rising from his chair. “I see now where the man of action comes in. I did not see that before, I must confess.”