Introduction

Philip Perry and Sydney Monroe are young officers in the United States navy. Although they have been out of the Naval Academy less than two years, and are still ranked as midshipmen, they have seen active service, as related in “A United States Midshipman Afloat” and “A United States Midshipman in China.” “A United States Midshipman in the Philippines” tells how Phil, with Sydney for executive officer, commanded a small gunboat in expeditions against the insurgents. Boatswain Jack O’Neil has been with the lads in many of their hazardous adventures, and the three are now on the “U. S. S. Alaska” in Japanese waters.

The story deals with a misunderstanding between the United States and the Island Kingdom. This complication causes a few days of anxiety to both nations, and gets some people into serious difficulties but, needless to say, it is purely fictitious.

Contents

I. The Man in the Next Compartment[ 9]
II. In the Emperor’s Gardens[ 20]
III. War Talk[ 48]
IV. Stirring Up Trouble[ 67]
V. Who Wrote the Letter?[ 89]
VI. Bill Marley’s Fist[ 117]
VII. The Secret Document[ 137]
VIII. Misunderstanding[ 156]
IX. More Discoveries[ 176]
X. Captain Inaba[ 191]
XI. Phil Confesses[ 208]
XII. The Conspirators[ 224]
XIII. The Quarrel[ 235]
XIV. The Yacht “Sylvia”[ 249]
XV. International Diplomacy[ 258]
XVI. The Duel[ 274]
XVII. Indecision[ 289]
XVIII. A Bold Plan[ 306]
XIX. On the High Seas[ 321]
XX. The “Hatsuke”[ 336]
XXI. The Japanese Fleet[ 352]
XXII. Plot and Counterplot[ 369]
XXIII. By Wireless[ 384]

Illustrations

PAGE
He Seized the Outstretched Hand[ Frontispiece]
“What’s the Row, Sir?”[ 82]
The Japanese Gentleman Went Down[ 142]
“This Letter Talks About a Naval Review”[ 188]
“You Deserve a Good Thrashing for This”[ 242]
“Except What?” She Asked[ 300]
“There are at Least Twenty-five Ships”[ 358]

A United States Midshipman
in Japan

CHAPTER I
THE MAN IN THE NEXT COMPARTMENT

It was one o’clock in the afternoon, and there was unusual activity in the railroad station at Yokohama. Uniformed officials were scurrying to and fro, bending every effort to dispose of the great crowd of stolid Japanese travelers and at the same time, with due formality and ceremony, provide a special train for their lately arrived American naval visitors.