cize me? I was a man. I knew England better
than she did. I was a journalist of experience. Bah! My twopenny
thoughts drooped and fainted as they rose.

"But perhaps you are better informed?" I said, weakly. "Perhaps you have
other information?"

Constance Grey looked straight at me, and as I recall her gaze now, it
was almost maternal in its yearning gravity.

"I think it's going to be a lesson all right," she said. "What cuts me
to the heart is the fear that it may have come too late."

Never have I heard such gravity in a young woman's voice. Her words
overpowered me almost by the weight of prescient meaning she gave them.
They reached me as from some solemn sanctuary, a fount of inspiration.

"We haven't any special information," said Mrs. Van Homrey. "We have
only read, like every one else, that East Anglia is occupied by German
soldiers, landed last night; that the East Anglian Pageant has been made
the cloak of most elaborate preparations for weeks past; that the
Mediterranean incident last week was a deliberate scheme to draw the
Channel Fleet south; and that the whole dreadful business has succeeded
so far, like--like perfect machinery; like the thing it is: the outcome
of perfect discipline and long, deliberate planning. We have heard no
more; but the only hoaxing that I can see is done by the purblind people
who have made the public think it a hoax--and that is not conscious
hoaxing, of course; they are too bemuddled with their disarmament farce
for that."

"More tragedy than farce, aunt, I'm afraid," said Constance Grey. And
then, turning to me, she said: "We lunched at General Penn Dicksee's
to-day; and they have no doubt about the truth of the news. The General
has motored down to Aldershot. They will begin some attempt at
mobilizing at once, I believe. But it seemed impossible to get into
touch with headquarters. All the War Office people are away for the
week-end. In fact, they say the Minister's in Ipswich, and can't get
away. General Penn Dicksee says they have practically no material to
work with for any immediate mobilization purposes. He says that under
the present system nothing can be done in less than a week. He thinks
the most useful force will be the sailors from the Naval Barracks. But I
should suppose they would be wanted for the ships--if we have any ships
left fit for sea. The General thinks there may be a hundred thousand
German soldiers within twenty or thirty miles of London by to-