A SUSPECTED HOUSEHOLD Cheerful though their hosts were, the midshipmen could see that a cloud of anxiety hung over them.

To be "suspected" in Russia is equivalent to being condemned.

Secret police spies in the very bosom of the household may be sending denunciations.

The man who meets you and shakes hands with you in the street may have reported on your conduct.

The letters you write are opened, those you should receive stopped in the post.