Dogger Bank, and drawn the fire of the Baltic Fleet on the
fishing-boats from Hull. I have not seen a newspaper since, but I
assume that the British Navy has already arrested Admiral
Rojestvensky and his squadron, and that the two Powers are at war."

The Kaiser gnawed his moustache.

"Things have not gone quite so well as you pretend, M. Petrovitch.

"The Russian cannonade ceased after a few minutes," the Emperor
resumed. "You did not remain on the surface after the first shot; you
did not launch your torpedo, neither did you permit the other
submarine to do so. In fact you sunk her."

"I had no orders with respect to another submarine, sire. I was
entitled to treat it as an enemy."

"Nonsense, you know that it had left Kiel before you, on the same
errand."

"On the contrary, sire, I could not possibly know anything of the
kind."

"Why, you saw it had disappeared from the dock. You inquired after
it along the Canal. When you got out to the Dogger you were searching
for it the whole time."

"And when I found it, sire, it was leading the Russian squadron, of
which it appeared to form part. I had every right to assume that it
was a Russian man-of-war."

"A German boat!" thundered the Kaiser.

"A boat not flying any flag must be presumed to belong to the country
of those who are in control of it. I found this submarine under the
control of a Russian subject."

"The Princess was my agent."

"Your majesty had not told me so. On the contrary, I understood that
you wished my own boat to be considered a Russian vessel, in case of
any question. I shipped a Russian crew therefore."

Wilhelm II. frowned angrily.

"Do not play with me, M. Petrovitch. I know all about your crew.
Explain why you, a Russian subject, should have attacked what you are
pleased to pretend was a Russian ship."

"I regret to have to say that your majesty is laboring under a
mistake. I am not a Russian subject."

This time the Kaiser was fairly taken aback.

"What subject are you?"

"A Japanese."

Wilhelm looked thunderstruck.

"Japanese!" was all he could say.

"If your majesty pleases. That being so, as soon as I took possession
of the submarine, with your permission, of course it became a
Japanese ship."

"What you tell me is monstrous--ridiculous. Your name is Russian,
your face is at least European."

"My name, sire, is Matsukata. I received it in Tokio at the
commencement of the war, on being adopted into a Japanese fam