in' a bit of science and a bit of
enterprise to be as good as all of us. You thought they couldn't get at
you. And then they got flying-machines. And bif!--'ere we are. Why, when
they didn't go on making guns and armies in China, we went and poked 'em
up until they did. They 'AD to give us this lickin' they've give us. We
wouldn't be happy until they did, and as I say, 'ere we are!"

The bird-faced officer shouted to him to be quiet, and then began a
conversation with the Prince.

"British citizen," said Bert. "You ain't obliged to listen, but I ain't
obliged to shut up."

And for some time he continued his dissertation upon Imperialism,
militarism, and international politics. But their talking put him
out, and for a time he was certainly merely repeating abusive terms,
"prancin' nincompoops" and the like, old terms and new. Then suddenly
he remembered his essential grievance. "'Owever, look 'ere--'ere!--the
thing I started this talk about is where's that food there was in that
shed? That's what I want to know. Where you put it?"

He paused. They went on talking in German. He repeated his question.
They disregarded him. He asked a third time in a manner insupportably
aggressive.

There fell a tense silence. For some seconds the three regarded one
another. The Prince eyed Bert steadfastly, and Bert quailed under his
eye. Slowly the Prince rose to his feet and the bird-faced officer
jerked up beside him. Bert remained squatting.

"Be quaiat," said the Prince.

Bert perceived this was no moment for eloquence.

The two Germans regarded him as he crouched there. Death for a moment
seemed near.

Then the Prince turned away and the two of them went towards the
flying-machine.

"Gaw!" whispered Bert, and then uttered under his breath one single word
of abuse. He sat crouched together for perhaps three minutes, then
he sprang to his feet and went off towards the Chinese aeronaut's gun
hidden among the weeds.

8

There was no pretence after that moment that Bert was under the
orders of the Prince or that he was going on with the repairing of the
flying-machine. The two Germans took possession of that and set to work
upon it. Bert, with his new weapon went off to the neighbourhood of
Terrapin Rock, and there sat down to examine it. It was a short rifle
with a big cartridge, and a nearly full magazine. He took out the
cartridges carefully and then tried the trigger and fittings until
he felt sure he had the use of