this
difficulty.' 'Our opponents are not ill-meaning so much as
ill-judging,'--these were the sort of sentences he kept throwing in.
And he was full of quotations from private conversations he had had
with every sort of person--including members of the Government. I
remember that he expressed great admiration for Mr Balfour.

Of all that talk, I only recalled one thing clearly, and I recalled it
because Blenkiron seemed to collect his wits and try to argue, just as
he had done at the end of his lecture. He was speaking about a story he
had heard from someone, who had heard it from someone else, that
Austria in the last week of July 1914 had accepted Russia's proposal to
hold her hand and negotiate, and that the Kaiser had sent a message to
the Tsar saying he agreed. According to his story this telegram had
been received in Petrograd, and had been re-written, like Bismarck's
Ems telegram, before it reached the Emperor. He expressed his disbelief
in the yarn. 'I reckon if it had been true,' he said, 'we'd have had
the right text out long ago. They'd have kept a copy in Berlin. All the
same I did hear a sort of rumour that some kind of message of that sort
was published in a German paper.'

Mr Ivery looked wise. 'You are right,' he said. 'I happen to know that
it has been published. You will find it in the _Wieser Zeitung_.'

'You don't say?' he said admiringly. 'I wish I could read the old
tombstone language. But if I could they wouldn't let me have the
papers.'

'Oh yes they would.' Mr Ivery laughed pleasantly. 'England has still a
good share of freedom. Any respectable person can get a permit to
import the enemy press. I'm not considered quite respectable, for the
authorities have a narrow definition of patriotism, but happily I have
respectable friends.'

Blenkiron was staying the night, and I took my leave as the clock
struck twelve. They both came into the hall to see me off, and, as I
was helping myself to a drink, and my host was looking for my hat and
stick, I suddenly heard Blenkiron's whisper in my ear. 'London ... the
day after tomorrow,' he said. Then he took a formal farewell. 'Mr
Brand, it's been an honour for me, as an American citizen, to make your
acquaintance, sir. I will consider myself fortunate if we have an early
reunion. I am stopping at Claridge's Ho-tel, and I hope to be
privileged to receive you there.'

CHAPTER THREE

The Reflections of a Cured Dyspeptic

Thirty-five hours later