and you,
Count von Munchen! You have come to announce to me your intention to
jointly make war upon England. St. Petersburg is to refuse her demands,
England will naturally strike at the Baltic Fleet, and Germany will send
her fleet to the rescue, and at the same time land troops somewhere in
the North of England. Russia, I presume, will withdraw her troops from
Manchuria and strike at India!"

"No, no!" Count von Munchen protested. "I can assure you, Monsieur, it
is not our intention to land a single German soldier in England. We are
interested only to see fair play to Russia. We require that the Baltic
Fleet shall be allowed to go on its way without molestation."

The President faced the last speaker. His gray bushy eyebrows met in a
frown.

"Then what, Count," he asked, "is the meaning of the mobilization of two
hundred thousand men at Kiel? What is the meaning of your State
railroads running west being closed last night to all public traffic?
Why have you cabled huge orders for Government supplies? Why were you
running trains all last night to the coast? Do you suppose that our
secret service slumbers--that we are a nation of babies?"

The Count made an effort to retain his composure.

"Monsieur le President," he said, "the reports which have reached you
have been much exaggerated. It is necessary for us to back up our
protests to England by a show of force!"

Monsieur Grisson smiled.

"Enough of this, gentlemen!" he said. "We will now talk to one another
as men who have weighty affairs to deal with simply and directly. The
story of the meeting between your two rulers which you, Prince Korndoff,
have alluded to as a fairy tale, was a perfectly true one. I have known
of that meeting some time, and I have certain proof of what transpired
at it. The North Sea incident was no chance affair. It was a
deliberately and skilfully arranged _casus belli_, although your
admiral, Prince Korndoff, had to go one hundred miles out of his way to
find the Dogger Bank fishing-fleet. You spoke to me last night of
Cherbourg, Prince. I think that after all your secret service is
scarcely so successful as mine, for I can assure you that you will find
there all that is to be found to-day at Kiel."

The Prince was amazed.

"But, Monsieur le President," he exclaimed, "you cannot mean--you, our
ally----"

The President extended a forefinger.

"It was no part of our alliance," he said sternly, "that you should make
a secret tre