50.  Then this entry: 

“After tramping all day I finally emerged in the sight of a swift-flowing river on either bank of which, in the distance, appeared two walled-off cities of considerable size....  Foreign GUNBOATS were lying in the harbor in holiday attire....  As I approached the city a courier came running to meet me....  When he approached I drew back prepared to fight....

“But his friendliness disarmed me and I allowed him to draw near....  ‘Li’l’ ladee wantee see you quick; you cum foller me,’ he said, and turned back from where he came....  I followed him with beating heart....  On the dock at the landing where the gunboat was steaming up MARIA met me with moistened eyes....

“She informed me in a low voice that the officer was ready to receive me and accept my orders....  And then she said,

“’Before you go I wish to thank you for all you have done for us....  If our paths should ever meet again I want you to know my heart will beat more quickly when I shall see you coming up the path.’...  That said, she flung her slender arms around my neck, impulsively, and looked calmly in my eyes....  When, involuntarily, my arms showed signs of being prehensile, she sprang away quickly and flashed along the gangway to disappear, like a holy vision, behind that gray storm door!...”

51.  The last entry reads: 

“It has been a habit with me for many years to never be surprised....  When I appeared on deck to give the code to the commander of that vessel this habit was unmoored....  A tall, square-jawed man approached me with a twinkle in his clear blue eyes....  I looked at him inquiringly and a little reminiscently until I heard him speak....  ’I see the loaf of bread came in handy,’ he said, extending me his bony hand....  ‘I thought I left you at Ekaterinburg,’ I exclaimed, recalling the moments we spent after our escape from the abandoned tunnel....  ‘Oh,’ he laughed, ’YOURS was not a one-man job; there are others in the world besides yourself intrusted with state secrets....  ‘But what do you know about the bread, you just spoke of it?’

“‘My company was following on behind,’ he answered.  ’When we came round the bend we saw you scrapping with that outlaw from Trebizond.  You did quite well; you had all but three of them laid out in manly fashion when you got that clip on the back of the head.  Then we stepped in and conducted your party to their present quarters ... thought it better for you to remain in the tent while the authorities here locked up those cutthroats for your disappearance.’

“‘Have you the CODE WORD?’ I asked....  He whispered it in my ear....  Then I lettered the order....  Finally he asked, ’Would you not like to meet my SISTER who has been so much interested in you?’

“His sister!  I had never heard of her!...  ‘Of course!’ I answered amiably enough for one completely stumped....