inspiring such devotion in its retainers--which, though Boris regarded
it as a matter of course, seemed a great thing to Fred, with his
American upbringing.

"What a piece of luck!" he reflected. "Imagine my stumbling on such a
splendid fellow as Boris! If it hadn't been for all this trouble, I
might never have known I had a cousin! And he's the sort of cousin I
call worth having! He amounts to something--and I don't believe he's as
old as I am. Well, I've got to show him that an American scout can keep
up his end! I'll try to play the game with him."

It made up for all the trouble he had had since he had first seen his
uncle. He was more puzzled than ever, after what Boris had told him, to
account for the behavior of Mikail Suvaroff.

"I'll bet there's some explanation," he said to himself. "I certainly
hope so! Seeing Boris makes me inclined to like these Russian relatives
a whole lot, and I'd like to think that Uncle Mikail could square
himself somehow. He's got a whole lot to make up for, of course."

Though he did feel that very strongly, he was able now to frame a
thought that had come to him more than once after he had become certain
that it was Prince Suvaroff who had caused his arrest. And that was
that Suvaroff had seemed far too big and important a man to do a small,
petty thing.

"He's got a wrong idea of me, some way," Fred decided. "He has heard
something, or made up his mind to something that isn't so. Well, I hope
I get back to Russia and stay out of jail long enough to find out what
was wrong. Perhaps this war will make a difference, especially if I'm