kate and jermyn were so happy in each other's society, now that they had not to pay attention to a lot of mere acquaintances, that they agreed with the hero of gilbert and sullivan's "mikado" that each second was a minute, each minute an hour, each hour a day, and each day a year. nevertheless, after the illogical manner of lovers, no sooner was the last half of the week under way than they began to complain that each day seemed only an hour long.
"must you really go at the end of your week?" asked kate. "does a week, in military parlance, mean literally a week—no more, no less?"
"exactly and mathematically a week," sighed jermyn. "tis even worse in our case, for the week includes the time i spent in reaching here, the time i will spend in returning, and the day i started, but was taken back by the admiral."
"oh!" exclaimed kate, after a startled look, "that means that you must start back to-morrow!"
"it does indeed. i've gone over it by every applicable rule of arithmetic, but i can find no other solution."
kate at once became so dismal that she could not talk much, and jermyn, remembering the ways of his mother and sisters when they had trouble on their minds, suggested that there could be no better time to make his good-bye call upon the highwoods; he assured himself that a short chat with sympathetic women would enable kate to bear her trouble more bravely. he got his reward, for trif chatted so kindly with him that he himself soon felt much better than he had dared hope, so he felt correspondingly grateful, and wished he might do something in return for the good woman to whose interest he owed so much of his fortune in love. suddenly there came to him a thought which he voiced at once.
"mrs. highwood, i shall go back by way of washington. i'm greatly your debtor; i needn't go into particulars, but wouldn't you like to spend a few hours in washington? you couldn't have a better guide than i, and—"
"'twould be splendid!" trif exclaimed. "but you wouldn't be so heartless as to leave kate behind?"
"i'm greatly obliged for the suggestion."
"and," continued trif, who had been thinking rapidly, "would it be dreadful of me to take trixy also? she has long been wild to see the 'baby of the white house,' and by some lucky accident she might get a peep at that fortunate child."
"it might not be difficult; i've had the honor of meeting the baby's mother, in other years, and am sure she would be delighted to meet a woman like trixy's mother."
"we will go," said trif. "i shan't have to wait to consult phil, for he asked me why i didn't improve my opportunity to see washington during our return trip from old point."
a cheerful party of four started for washington the next afternoon, and on the morning afterward jermyn busied himself in showing the ladies the sights of the capital. but washington is a large city, and time did fly so rapidly—to kate and jermyn, for the latter would be obliged to take the night train for fort monroe.
trixy saw the baby of the white house, and devoured it with her eyes, and asked it questions about its dolls, while two fond mothers looked and listened. the call was short, but, as the party made their adieus, trixy slipped back and said to the lady of the house:
"your husband can do anything he likes with soldiers, can't he?"
"that depends," was the reply. "why do you ask?"
"'cause i wish he would make lieutenant jermyn go back to new york with us. i'm sure miss trewman wishes so too, 'cause they're only just engaged, and he's only been in new york a week, and——"
"there goes the only man who could manage an affair of that kind," said the lady, pointing to an alert-looking gentleman who was approaching the house.
"thank you, very much."
"where is trixy?" asked trif, as the party passed through the gateway. "why, there she is, talking to a stranger! how the child has [pg 190]lost her manners! mr. jermyn, won't you kindly bring her back?"
jermyn hurried to the rescue, and was somewhat astonished to see that the gentleman with whom trixy was talking was the secretary of war.
"mr. jermyn!" said the secretary. jermyn saluted.
"this young lady has been telling me an interesting story. by the way, there are to be some new guns tested at sandy hook, new york harbor, in a day or two. it might be of use to some of the classes at the fort if an officer from there were to observe the tests and take back a detailed report. would your own studies be retarded if you were to remain absent a week or ten days longer?"
"not in the least," jermyn replied, with the promptness becoming a soldier.
"call at the department some time this afternoon, then, for your detail. i'll send a copy of it to your commanding officer, and you will report by letter to him, so that you may be recalled if necessary. will you do me the honor to introduce me to this young lady?"
"with pleasure. miss highwood, allow me to present the honorable the secretary of war."
"what a long name!" exclaimed trixy, with a curtesy.
"i'm sorry, miss highwood, that my time won't allow me to show you special attention while you are here, but i hope we may meet again. good day. mr. jermyn, i wish you a pleasant trip!"
jermyn hurried the child back to her mother, who said:
"i hope, mr. jermyn, that you apologized to the gentleman for trixy's rudeness?"
"i hadn't the opportunity," jermyn replied. "ladies, i've an interesting announcement to make; i am to accompany you back to new york."
"oh, jermyn!" exclaimed kate. "'tis too good to be true."
"nevertheless, 'tis as true as it is good. the gentleman with whom trixy was talking was the secretary of war, and he has ordered me back, for a few days, on duty that will occupy my time for only a few hours a day."
"you clever fellow! how did you manage it?"
"i didn't. trixy did it."
"trixy!" echoed both ladies.
"why," said the child, "i only told him all about mr. jermyn and miss trewman. the lady in the white house told me he was the right man to ask if mr. jermyn couldn't go back to new york with us, so i asked him." then trixy looked up with the inquiring air she always had when she suspected she had done something wrong, but didn't know what it was.
"bless me!" exclaimed kate. "i wonder only that she didn't ask the president himself."
"that's what i was goin' to do," explained trixy, "but the lady said the other man was the right one, so i asked him."
all three adults stopped and stared fixedly at trixy, at which the child began to cry; so trif picked her up and kissed her and told her to "never mind," and kate stooped and kissed her, and when she lifted her head there were tears in her eyes; so trif looked hurriedly toward the war department and said it was good for the public sense of propriety and dignity that the secretary was out of sight, otherwise it would be just like kate to kiss him also, as she had kissed the admiral on a certain occasion.
kate hurried the party away; she explained later that while looking toward the white house she was sure that she saw the hostess looking through the window at her and smiling at her.
"i declare!" she said, with downcast eyes and cheeks a-flame, "there's no living with trixy, nor——"
"nor any living without her—eh?" added jermyn.
the remainder of the day was the very merriest, so four people said, that any party had ever spent in washington. jermyn took his guests to the old chamber of the house of representatives, and mystified them a few moments with the "whispering gallery" over the speaker's desk, making kate his latest victim, despite her appeals to him to be quiet, and his assurances that no one else could hear a word he was saying, although he was forty feet away. kate became so embarrassed that she suddenly withdrew and trixy took her place—a change which jermyn did not notice until he heard a peal of childish laughter, and, stepping forward, saw kate and trif standing some steps from the arch and trixy joining them, and saying:
"that's the funniest thing i ever heard of!"
"what is the funniest thing, dear?" asked trif.
"trixy," exclaimed jermyn, "don't tell, please."
"but i must mind mamma," pleaded the child. "besides——"
"trixy," exclaimed jermyn, "if you repeat what i said i'll never speak to you again."
"trixy," said kate, "if you don't tell i'll never speak to you again—i mean," for kate had caught an appealing look from jermyn—"i won't speak to you if you do tell."
the child was so confused that she did not know what to do, so she turned to her mother for advice, and trif hurried her a few steps in advance.
"remember, trixy!" cried kate after them.
"don't forget, trixy!" shouted jermyn, in his sternest tone of command.
two more uncomfortable lovers than kate and jermyn were in the next five minutes could not have been found anywhere, for kate wondered what it was all about and insisted upon knowing, and jermyn replied that he would tell her at some future time, and kate wanted to know why he couldn't tell her at once, and jermyn replied, somewhat sheepishly, that some things might be said in the privacy of a whispering gallery that could not easily be said face to face in a crowded street, upon which kate wailed:
"but that child heard it!"
"never mind, my dear; she'll forget it."
"not she! i'm beginning to believe that the smaller the child the less chance there is of her forgetting what shouldn't be remembered. and, oh, jermyn! of all men in the world, here comes admiral allison! what if she should tell him?"
"if she does," said jermyn desperately, "i'll never again dare look him in the face; i shall always believe he is laughing at me. 'tis all your fault, my dear. if you hadn't made me love you so dearly, i wouldn't have said——"
"let us overtake them—quick!" said kate.
"we've been up to the whisp'rin' gall'ry," trixy was already saying to the admiral, "and——"
"trixy!" sternly spoke three voices as one.
"what rare fortunes providence has in store for old men!" exclaimed the admiral. "i greatly wanted and needed to see jermyn, this very day, and i not only find him unexpectedly, but get a couple of glimpses of paradise beside—yes, three, for here is trixy also."
"paradise?" echoed trixy. "it was somethin' about paradise that——"
"trixy!" said jermyn warningly.
"allow me," said the admiral, "to take you all to a hotel, where i may rob you of jermyn a few moments."
jermyn took the child's hand, placed himself between her and the admiral, and thus they walked to the hotel.
