e is everything in a
crisis like this. What is the second announcement, sir?"

"They prohibit the export of grain," said Lord Sevington, "the whole of
Germany is to be rationed for a year, bread is to be supplied by the
Government free of all cost to the people; in this way Germany handles
the surpluses for us to buy."

"What will she charge?"

"What she wishes. If van Heerden's scheme goes through, if throughout
the world the crops are destroyed and only that which lies under
Germany's hand is spared, what must we pay? Every penny we have taken
from Germany; every cent of her war costs must be returned to her in
exchange for wheat."

"Impossible!"

"Why impossible? There is no limit to the price of rarities. What is
rarer than gold is more costly than gold. You who are in the room are
the only people in the world who know the secret of the Green Rust, and
I can speak frankly to you. I tell you that we must either buy from
Germany or make war on Germany, and the latter course is impossible, and
if it were possible would give us no certainty of relief. We shall have
to pay, Britain, France, America, Italy--we shall have to pay. We shall
pay in gold, we may have to pay in battleships and material. Our stocks
of corn have been allowed to fall and to-day we have less than a month's
supply in England. Every producing country in the world will stop
exporting instantly, and they, too, with the harvest nearly due, will be
near the end of their stocks. Now tell me, Mr. Beale, in your judgment,
is it possible to save the crops by local action?"

Beale shook his head.

"I doubt it," he said; "it would mean the mobilisation of millions of
men, the surrounding of all corn-tracts--and even then I doubt if your
protection would be efficacious. You could send the stuff into the
fields by a hundred methods. The only thing to do is to catch van
Heerden and stifle the scheme at its fountain-head."

The Chief of the Foreign Ministry strode up and down the room, his hands
thrust into his pockets, his head upon his breast.

"It means our holding out for twelve months," he said. "Can we do it?"

"It means more than that, sir," said Beale quietly.

Lord Sevington stopped and faced him.

"More than that? What do you mean?"

"It may mean a cornless world for a generation," said Beale. "I have
consulted the best authorities, and they agree that the soil will be
infected for ten years."

The four men looked at one another helples