Adventure, June 1911 — page 48: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

234 _ “To those amateur and speculative toys you proudly pointed and boasted of them as war-ships which would rout any enemy that dared to invade our shores—always pro- vided, I suppose, that they did not dare for the next forty years or so till we were ready for them!” “AND inthe meantime,” continued Bee Sir Dean, some of his old suavity = back in his voice as his nephew’s thrilling voice awoke an answering throb in his heart. ‘‘And in the meantime, Alsopp Ostermann, a man working hand in hand with a foreign Power for the downfall of England, striving night and day to weaken her defenses, is watching with the eyes of a hawk for the moment when the opportunity will arise to throw her at the mercy of the enemy, her strength broken—by his means; —her defenses crippled—by his means; her coast unguarded and her army a panic- stricken mob! “For the past month Ostermann has been working- for this—he and his masters across the water! You, as Prime Minister of England, Mr. Sterrith, should have known this; you as the First Sea Lord, Lord Vales, should have known it—twice I have told you my suspicions and twice you refused to be warned. Even now, now at this very moment, with those despatches in his pos- session, with the knowledge they contained at his disposal, with the knowledge, gentle- men, that we have fallen one over the other and without a single protest into his trap— hear me out if you please, gentlemen—with, as I say, the knowledge that we have swal- lowed the bait and that for at least twelve hours almost the entire east coast is un- protected, unprepared, you still refuse to believe! You won’t take a warning, eh? Yes, a trap, I say, a trap! And you fools have insisted upon us walking into it!” His voice rose almost to a shout. He threw calmness to the winds—he threw etiquette to the winds; he cared naught for it. The sight of John Sterrith’s smug face —startled now at his vehemence and twitch- ing with nervousness—filled him with rage. At all costs he must rouse them! At all costs, or England—London—would be con- quered within a night by an enemy who per- haps even now were eee full speed across the channel! John Sterrith had risen to his feet. His face was drawn and pallid and he looked Adventure like a man with his back to the wall, sud- denly awake to the reality that he must fight. “A trap?” he asked thickly. “What trap?” His stupid eyes stared into Densham’s snapping gray ones. “What trap?” he repeated. Densham minced no words. He was a wild beast roused. He spat out the answer like shrapnel: “By whose orders were the Atlantic fleet cruisers and the Nore torpedo-destroyer flotilla sent to sea? By whose orders was the Atlantic battleship squadron sent ona . wild goose chase to the Hebrides? By whose orders was the east coast denuded of a single man-of-war worth putting intoaction? By whose orders I say?” Vales stiffened himself into-a semblance of dignified authority. “The orders were sent through in code from Admiral Lord Fredom—he conferred with me on the advisability of preparing. for sudden attack and we arranged that an imaginary enemy was trying to land forces——” “And as it happens you prophesied rightly!’ They are trying to land forces!. Ostermann is a clever rogue!” “Ostermann?” ‘ “Ostermann. perhaps you didn’t guess that? Who but Ostermann sent those orders to the fleets? Codes can be stolen—or Who but Ostermann spoke to me from the’ . Foreign Office and gained a clear five hours by making me believe Darien had got the despatches through safely?” Sterrith ran his finger between his neck and collar as though choking. “My God!” he said breathlessly. “‘My God!” | “The despatches,” continued Sir Dean, his voice icy with ill-suppressed anger, ‘“‘the despatches were the germs of the terms of a private treaty with—you know with whom, gentlemen. A private treaty, which, seen as it stands, is so hostile that even a weaker country than Ostermann’ s, a far more peace- able one, would be justified in declaring war upon us! To provide themselves with the civilized orthodoxy of an excuse Ostermann planned and succeeded in waylaying the messenger who was taking them to Follett » for consideration. With those papers in their possession no Power will blame them for their attack when they publish the facts. © I can not blame them myself. They have COmiclboooks (©