it can possibly mean war?" he said. "Can't Germany be
squared?"

"War!" said Rendel without looking up. "Who can tell?" And again he felt
the supreme excitement of standing unseen at the right hand of the man
who was driving the ship through the storm. Sir William laid down the
paper on his knee and tried to think, but all he could do was to close
his eyes and keep perfectly still. Everything was vague ... and the
worst of it--or was it the best of it?--was that nothing seemed to
matter.

At the same moment a brief colloquy was being exchanged outside the hall
door. Stamfordham's brougham had drawn up again, and Thacker, who was
standing hanging about the hall with a secret intention of being on the
spot if tremendous things were going to happen, had instantly rushed
out.

"Is Mr. Rendel in?" said Lord Stamfordham hurriedly as Thacker stood at
the door of the brougham.

"Yes, my lord."

"Ask him to come and speak to me."

Thacker was shaken into unwonted excitement; he opened the door of the
study quickly and went in. Sir William started violently. Any sudden
noise in the present state of his nerves threw him completely off his
balance.

"Can you come and speak to Lord Stamfordham, sir?"

Rendel sprang up; then with a sudden thought turned back and pulled down
the top of his writing-table, which shut with a spring, and rushed out
without seeing that Sir William had begun raising himself laboriously
from his chair as he said--

"Don't let me be in your way, Rendel."

"His lordship is not coming in, Sir William," said Thacker.

Sir William sank back into his chair. Thacker, after waiting an instant
as though to see whether Gore had any orders for him, went quietly out,
closing the door after him.

Rendel had madly caught up a hat as he passed, and flown down the steps,
not seeing in his haste a burly personage who was coming along the
pavement dressed in the ordinary garb of the English citizen, with
nothing about him to show that his glowing right hand held the
thunderbolts which he was going to hurl at the head of Gore. It is
unnecessary to say that Robert Pateley knew Stamfordham's carriage well
by sight; and it was with pleasure and satisfaction that he found that
Providence had brought him on to the pavement at Cosmo Place in time to
see one of the moves in the great game which the world was playing that
day. It was better on the whole that he should not accost Rendel. There
was no need at that momen