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“Weseemtohavecollectedaboutfortymessagesfromdifferentbattleshipsandcruisers。Theremustbeawholesquadronbarelythirtymilesout。“
“Youdon’treallythink，“LadySaxthorpeasked，“thatthereisanyfearofwar，doyou，Mr。Fentolin？
Heansweredherwithacertainamountofgravity。“Whocantell？
Thepapersthismorningwerebad。ThisconferenceatTheHagueisstillunexplained。France’sattitudeinthematterisespeciallymysterious。“
“IamastrongsupporterofLordRoberts，“LordSaxthorpesaid，“andIbelieveinthevitalnecessityofsomeschemefornationalservice。Atthesametime，Ifindithardtobelievethatasuccessfulinvasionofthiscountryiswithintheboundsofpossibility。“
“Iquiteagreewithyou，LordSaxthorpe，“Mr。Fentolindeclaredsmoothly。“Allthesame，thisHagueConferenceisamostmysteriousaffair。Thepapersthismorningareominouslysilentaboutthefleet。Fromthetangleofmessageswehavepickedup，Ishouldsay，withoutadoubt，thatsomeformofmobilisationisgoingonintheNorthSea。IfLadySaxthorpethinksitwarmenough，shallwetakeourcoffeeupontheterrace？“
“Theterrace，byallmeans，“herladyshipassented，risingfromherplace。“Whatawonderfulmanyouare，Mr。Fentolin，withyourwirelesstelegraphy，andyourtelegraphofficeinthehouse，andtelephones。Doesitreallyamuseyoutobesomodern？“
“Toacertainextent，yes，“Mr。Fentolinsighed，asheguidedhischairalongthehall。“Whenmymisfortunefirstcame，IusedtospeculateagooddealupontheStockExchange。ThatwasreallythereasonIwentinforallthesemodernappliances。“
“Andnow？“sheasked。“Whatusedoyoumakeofthemnow？“
Mr。Fentolinsmiledquietly。Helookedoutsea-ward，beyondthesky-line，fromwhencehadcometohim，throughtheclouds，thattangleofmessages。
“Iliketofeel，“hesaid，“thattheturningwheeloflifeisnotaltogetheroutofearshot。Iliketodabblejustalittleintheknowledgeofthesethings。“
LordSaxthorpecamestrollinguptothem。
“Youwon’tforgettotelephoneaboutthisguestofyours？“heaskedfussily。
“Itisalreadydone，“Mr。Fentolinassuredhim。“Mydearsister，whysosilent？“
Mrs。Fentolinturnedslowlytowardshim。She，too，hadbeenstandingwithhereyesfixeduponthedistantsea-line。Herfaceseemedsuddenlytohaveaged，herforcedvivacitytohavedeparted。
HerlittlePomeranianrubbedagainstherfeetinvain。YetatthesoundofMr。Fentolin’svoice，sheseemedtocomebacktoherselfasth
