he
envelope which Lennard had left upon the table, beckoned Count von
Moltke into his room behind, locked the door, and said:

"Now, Count, what is your opinion of this? At first sight it looks
ridiculous; but whoever this Lennard may be, it seems hardly likely that
two men like Lord Whittinghame and Lord Kitchener, two of the
coolest-headed and best-balanced men on earth, should take the trouble
to come down here as a deputation from the British Cabinet only to make
themselves ridiculous. Suppose we have a look at these papers?
Everything is in train for the advance. I daresay you and I understand
enough of mathematics between us to find out if there is anything
serious in them, and if so, they shall go to Herr Doellinger at once."

"I think it would be at least worth while to look through them, your
Majesty," replied the Count. "Like yourself, I find it rather difficult
to believe that this mysterious Mr Lennard, whoever he is, has been able
to impose upon the whole British Cabinet, to say nothing of Lord
Kitchener, who is about the best engineer and mathematician in the
British Army."

So the Count and the Kaiser sat down, and went through the elaborate and
yet beautifully clear calculations and diagrams, page by page, each
making notes as he went on. At the end of an hour the Kaiser looked over
his own notes, and said to von Moltke:

"Well, what is your opinion, Count?"

"I am not an astronomer, your Majesty, but these calculations certainly
appear to me to be correct as far as they go--that is, granted always
that the premisses from which Mr Lennard starts are correct. But
certainly I think that your Majesty will be wise in sending them as soon
as possible to Herr Doellinger."

"That is exactly the conclusion that I have come to myself," replied the
Kaiser. "I will write a note to Herr Doellinger, and one of the airships
must take it across to Potsdam. We can't afford to run any risks of that
infernal submarine ram or whatever she is. I would almost give an Army
corps for that ship. There's no doubt she's lost us three fleets, a
score of transports, and twenty thousand men in the last three days, and
she's just as much a mystery as ever. It's the most extraordinary
position a conquering army was ever put into before."

The Kaiser was perfectly right. There could be no doubt that up to the
present the invading forces had been victorious, thanks of course mainly
to the irresistible advantage of the airships,