"Who does keep it?" the Prime Minister demanded. "The world is governed now by common sense and humanity. I look upon a war of aggression on the part of any country as a sheer impossibility."
"What about a war of revenge?" the General enquired quietly.
"You can search Germany from end to end," Mervin Brown declared, "and find no trace of any spirit of the sort. I am sorry if I am a disappointment to you, gentlemen, but the present Government views your att.i.tude without sympathy. General Richardson is expecting a visit from you this morning at the War Office, and he will give you any information you desire. An appointment has also been made for you this afternoon at the Admiralty. You are doing me the honour of dining with me here to-morrow night to meet certain members of my Cabinet, and we will, if you choose, discuss the matter further then. I have thought it best to place my views clearly before you, however, at the outset of your visit here."
The Frenchmen rose a few minutes later and took their leave, ceremoniously but with obvious discontent. The Prime Minister leaned back in his chair and awaited his secretary"s return with a well-satisfied smile. In a few minutes the latter presented himself.
"Well, Franklin," the great man said, "I"ve let them hear the truth for once. Plain speaking, eh?"
The young man bowed.
"They certainly know your views, sir."
The Minister glanced at his subordinate sharply.
"What"s the matter with you this morning, Franklin?" he demanded.
"There is nothing the matter with me, thank you, sir," was the quiet reply.
"You"re not going to tell me that you disapprove of my att.i.tude?"
"By no means, sir," the young man a.s.sured his Chief hastily,--"not altogether, that is to say. At the same time, one wonders how far those two men represent the feeling of France."
His Chief shrugged his shoulders.
"The military spirit is hard to kill," he said. "It is in the blood of most Frenchmen. They are not big enough to understand that the world is moving on to greater things. What did they say to you before they left?"
"Nothing much, sir. The General just asked me whether I thought you would soon be content to leave London unpoliced."
"What rubbish! Any one else for me to see this morning?"
"You promised to give Lord Dorminster ten minutes," the young man reminded him. "He is in the anteroom now."
The Prime Minister frowned.
"Dorminster," he repeated. "He is a nephew of the man who was always worrying the Government to reestablish the secret service. I remember he came to see me the other day, declared that his uncle had been murdered, and a secret dispatch from Germany stolen. I wonder he didn"t wind up with a report that the Chinese were on their way to seize Ireland!"
"It is the same man, sir."
"Well, I suppose I"d better see him and get it over," his Chief declared irritably. "If only one could make these people realize how far behind the times they are!"
Nigel was shown in, a few minutes later. Mr. Mervin Brown was gracious but terse.
"I haven"t had the opportunity of congratulating you upon becoming one of our hereditary legislators, Lord Dorminster, since you took your seat in the House of Lords," he said. "Pray let me do so now. I hope that we may count upon your support."
"My support, sir," Nigel replied, "will be given to any Party which will take the urgent necessary steps to protect this country against a great danger."
"G.o.d bless my soul!" the Prime Minister exclaimed. "Another of you!"
"I can only guess who my predecessors were," Nigel continued, smiling, "but I will frankly confess that the object of my visit is to beg you to reestablish our secret service in Germany, Russia and China."
"Nothing," the other declared, "would induce me to do anything of the sort."
"Are you aware," Nigel enquired, "that there is a considerable foreign secret service at work in this country at the present moment?"
"I am not aware of it, and I don"t believe it," was the blunt retort.
"I have absolute proof," Nigel insisted. "Not only that, but two ex-secret service men whom my uncle sent out to Germany and Russia on his own account were murdered there as soon as they began to get on the track of certain things which had been kept secret. A report from one of these men got through and was stolen from my uncle"s library in Belgrave Square on the day he was murdered. You will remember that I placed all these facts before you on the occasion of a previous visit."
Mervin Brown nodded.
"Anything else?" he asked patiently.
"You know that a special envoy from China is on his way here at the present moment to meet Immelan?"
"Oscar Immelan, the German Commissioner?"
"The same," Nigel a.s.sented.
"A most delightful fellow," the Prime Minister declared warmly, "and a great friend to this country."
"I must take the liberty of disagreeing with you," Nigel rejoined, "because I know very well that he is our bitter enemy. Prince Shan, who is on his way from China to meet him, is the envoy of the one country outside Europe whom we might fear. We sit still and do nothing. We have no means of knowing what may be plotted against us here in London. At least a polite request might be sent to Prince Shan to ask him to pay you a visit and disclose the nature of his conference with Immelan."
"If he cares to come, we shall be glad to see him," Mervin Brown replied, "but I for one shall not go out of my way to talk politics."
"Do you know what politics are, sir?" Nigel asked, in a sudden fury.
The Prime Minister"s eyes flashed for a moment. He controlled himself, however, and rang the bell.
"I have an idea that I do," he answered. "A few millions of my fellow countrymen believe the same thing, or I should not be here. I think that you know what my principles are, Lord Dorminster. I am here to govern this country for the benefit of the people. We don"t want to govern any one else"s country, we don"t want to meddle in any one else"s affairs.
Least of all do we want to revert to the times when your uncle was a young man, and every country in Europe was sitting with drawn sword, trusting n.o.body, fearing everybody, living in a state of nerves, with the roll of the drum always in their ears. The best preventative of war, in my opinion, is not to believe in it. Good morning, Lord Dorminster."
It was a dismissal against which there was no appeal. Nigel followed the secretary from the room.
"You found the Chief a little bit ratty this morning, I expect, Lord Dorminster," the latter remarked. "We"ve had the French Mission here."
"Mr. Mervin Brown has at least the virtue of knowing his own mind,"
Nigel replied dryly.
CHAPTER XIII
The automobile turned in through the great entrance gates of the South London Aeronautic Terminus and commenced a slow ascent along the broad asphalted road to what, a few years ago, had been esteemed a new wonder of the world. Maggie rose to her feet with a little exclamation of wonder.
"Do you know I have never been here at night before?" she exclaimed.