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He goes out into society a great deal, and is most commonly seen in the military offices and in the best "salons" of St. Petersburg. One night, when he is asleep at a courtesan's house, he mutters the war-cry of Japan: "Banzai! Banzai!" The courtesan denounces him to a policeman who happens to be there, and the pseudo-captain, who is no other than a colonel in the Japanese army, is arrested.
The only result of this sudden throwing out of his hands and scrambling with them, was that they came in sudden and violent contact with the head-covering and facial adornments of the pseudo-Captain, and that before any one else in the room could become fully aware of what had happened, the green patch, the green spectacles and gray wig which had metamorphosed the young man were all cleared away, and the curly head and bright face of Frank Wallace, printer and mischief-maker, stood fully revealed.
"Very glad to meet a brother in arms," said the pseudo-Captain, in an assumed bass, taking up his cane and giving a slight punch to the Colonel, who seemed pre-occupied. "Oh! ah! yes, very glad, to be sure," answered the Colonel, who scarcely knew whether he was talking English or Choctaw at that moment.
"Rather that I should talk about the present war, than anything in Scripture? of course very natural and quite correct. Let me see you were not at Fair Oaks, were you?" "No," said the Colonel, emphatically. "No, I suppose not," continued the pseudo-Captain. "Well, you ought to have been there that is all! Highest old fight that any man ever heard of.
As soon as Raymond and the stalwart chief ascended to the poop, the pseudo-captain received them most affably, complimented them on the smart manner in which the boats had gone ahead with the line, and then asked them to take some refreshment The offer was accepted, for neither had had the inclination to eat anything on shore they, like their men, were too eager to get possession of the ship to trouble about food.
What followed, however, they could not very well avoid hearing. As the Colonel staggered to his feet and attempted to get away, the pseudo-Captain managed to crutch-and-cane himself to a standing position and confronted his superior. "That last remark was offensive!" he said, speaking so that all in the room could hear him. "What is offensive?
"You meddling fool! what can that draft do to me? I am exempt by age!" "It is false! it is false!" cried the pseudo-Captain, driving the victim to the wall more closely than even he knew. "You are not an exempt, and the Governor shall take care of you." "It is a lie!" yelled the Colonel, now incensed beyond all recollection of time, place or auditors. "I am fifty-four!" "Fifty-four!"
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