"I seem to give your Majesty difficulty; the silence isn't flattering,"
she said mockingly; but she was conscious of a certain excitement as she
walked the deck beside him.
"Oh, pardon me! The difficulty is only as to title--you would, of course,
occupy the dais; but whether you should be queen or empress--that's the
rub! If America is to be an empire, then of course you would be an
empress. So there you are answered."
They passed laughingly on to the other phases of the matter in the
whimsical vein that was natural in her, and to which he responded. They
watched the lights of an east-bound steamer that was passing near. The
exchange of rocket signals--that pretty and graceful parley between ships
that pass in the night--interested them for a moment. Then the deck
lights went out so suddenly it seemed that a dark curtain had descended
and shut them in with the sea.
"Accident to the dynamo--we shall have the lights on in a moment!"
shouted the deck officer, who stood near, talking to a passenger.
"Shall we go in?" asked Armitage.
"Yes, it is getting cold," replied Shirley.
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