"But why should she obey your commands, sir? You had promised her
neutrality and independence, and you broke your promise; she had
depended upon you, and you failed her. Then she turned to England, and
England will never rest until Belgium has justice."

"And what is to become of Germany?"

"This is to be a fight to the end, sir; and Germany will never have
power to make war again."

"You would rob us of our country, I suppose?"

"No, sir, we do not want to rob you of your country. We hope that when
the war is over, the German people--many of whom hate war--will come
back to their peaceful life; but we shall never rest until the War God
of Germany is destroyed and is powerless to make war again. That is
why we are fighting, and will fight for the peace of the world."

"But, surely, that is not the feeling of England as a whole?"

"It is the feeling of England as a whole, and we shall never cease
fighting until our object is accomplished."

"And the Kaiser, what think you of him? What is the feeling in Britain
about him?"

"We believe the Kaiser to be sincere, sir, but obsessed with the war
spirit, and that because of it he is full of arrogance and conceit;
many believe him mad--that he suffers from a kind of megalomania.
Evidently he, like the rest of the war party in Germany, believes that
war is a good thing--a virtuous thing, a necessity; and, because of it,
he regards himself as a kind of Deity. We believe that his great
ambition is to make Germany the dominant power in the world, and that
war is the means by which he hopes to accomplish this. That is why we
are fighting, sir--and will fight."

While Bob was speaking, he saw that the other's hand moved nervously
among the papers on the desk; he saw too that he fidgeted uneasily in
his chair, as though with difficulty he restrained himself.

"And you think the Kaiser is responsible for this war?"

"We believe that he has been preparing for it for years. For a long
time we fought against the belief, and a great part of the country held
that those who regarded him as a kind of War god were mistaken: now we
know otherwise. Doubtless, in many respects, he is a great man--a
strong man; but he is mad."

Again the man in the chair started: then he touched the bell, and the
officers who brought Bob there again returned. The man at the desk
nodded to them and they led Bob out. As he withdrew, the last sight
which met his gaze was that of the lonely