the longer you defer it the more bitter it will be."

"To what lesson do you refer?" asked the Prince, impressed in spite of
himself, as he gazed at the glowing face opposite him.

"The lesson that never, never must red lips or bright eyes make you
false to your country or to your house, even in thought. You command
that I release these people at the moment when I touch success. And why?
Because you have been impressed with a girl's face."

"It is a lie!" shouted the Prince, and started to his feet.

The Admiral did not stir, only looked at him; but there was in his eyes
a frigid anger which turned the Prince cold.

"I beg your pardon, Admiral," he stammered. "It may be, in part at
least, the truth. But it is not the whole truth. Putting the girl aside,
I still think you should release them. One should not behave
dishonourably, even to one's enemies."

"They are not my enemies, they are my country's," retorted the Admiral,
quickly; "and I would point out to you that one can never behave
dishonourably in serving one's country. In that service, there are no
questions of right and wrong; there is only one question--our country's
glory. Any good soldier could tell you that! But perhaps you consider it
murder to kill a man in battle, or theft to take the enemy's supplies?"

"No," said the Prince, flushing at the mordant irony; "but that is
different--that is war. In time of peace--"

"There is no time of peace," broke in the Admiral, impatiently. "Only
fools believe so. Every thinking man knows that it is war, war, every
day of every week. We manoeuvre for advantage, we build secret
defences, we perfect plans of attack, we prepare night and day for the
onset--just as we are preparing at this moment. For what purpose do you
imagine that Germany maintains this house, with its grated windows and
steel-lined doors and heavy bolts, as of a prison? For just such
purposes as this! For the detention of her enemies. And it has been used
many times--many, many times! And now," he added, in a voice as hard as
steel, "as a reparation for your insult, I will ask you to return at
once to the consulate, to go to your apartment there, and to remain in
it until I see you in the morning. If you are wise, you will employ the
night in pondering carefully what I have said to you."

White with humiliation, the Prince bowed, and stalked from the room. A
moment later, the slam of the front door denoted that he had left the
house. Pachmann