DIPLOMACY WINS
Underhill, left alone, sat for some moments looking from the broken
table to the cannonball and then back again. Finally he picked up a
fragment of glass, for the Royal face protector had likewise been
broken, when the good old English oak had met its defeat at the hands
of this Hun of the world of science, and with it, very gingerly, he
tapped the iron ball--this rusty old barbarian which had set at naught
the force of gravity, had violated all the established laws of nature,
and had like the Germans in Belgium smashed through.
Finding that nothing happened, he hesitated for a moment, and, then,
bracing himself against the shock, he touched his finger gently to
this rude old paradox. There was no shock, and, reassured, he leaned
across the table and tried with both hands to lift the cannon-ball.
“That part is genuine there is no doubt,” he granted. “That old
cannon-ball must have been here since--?” He gave a start as his eyes
caught the inscription pasted upon it, which was:
“A freak cannon-ball, made at the Forge
and Manor of Greenwood, Virginia, 1778.
Presented in 1889 to Lord Roberts by
General George Bolling Anderson, Governor
of the State of Virginia.”
“How extraordinary!” he exclaimed. “These Americans are popping up at
every turn.”
He passed out into the large outer office, and, glancing at his watch,
summoned an undersecretary.
“It is now just a quarter after twelve,” he said, “and the Cabinet
lunches at Buckingham Palace at two. Present my compliments to Lord
Rockstone and Sir Egbert Graves, and say that I should like to see
them both here for a few minutes on a matter of the greatest
importance, and that much as I regret to trouble them it is absolutely
necessary that this meeting be held in my office and before they go on
to the Palace.”
To another attendant who, moved by curiosity, was going in the
direction of the smaller room, he said: “Place a sentry at that door
when I leave. No one is to be allowed to enter that room until I give
further orders.”
A telephone orderly came in a few minutes later to say that his
message had found Lord Rockstone and Sir Egbert Graves together, and
that they both would be with him within the half-hour.
Underhill was now fully convinced that Edestone possessed some
wonderful invention or discovery which the United States intended to
use as a final argument for peace, and, with the aid of this
discovery, render untenable any position in opposition to its will
taken by England or any of the other Powers. Had he dreamed that the
United States was as ignorant as to the nature of this invention as he
himself was, the history of the world might have been changed.
When Graves and Rockstone arrived, he greeted them with serious face
and at once drew them into private conference.
“Gentlemen,” he said, “I am sorry to have to trouble you to come to
me, but I am confident that you will forgive me when you understand my
reasons for insisting upon a meeting here.” Keeping both men still
standing he continued: “I have a strange story to tell, so strange in
fact, that you gentlemen would be justified in doubting not only my
word but my sanity, had I nothing to show you in corroboration.”
Both men stood like graven images; one like a soldier at attention;
the other, his hat and cane in his right hand and the tips of his two
first fingers resting lightly on the table behind which Underhill was
standing, his thin, clean-shaven, mask-like face as expressionless as
if it belonged to a head that had been stuck on the end of a pike and
shoved out across the table for Underhill to look at, instead of to
one well placed on his broad athletic shoulders. They both knew that
Underhill was young and had inherited from his beautiful American
mother a nervous and temperamental disposition. They also knew that
this was tempered by the crafty cleverness of the blood of the hero of
Blenheim. They had come prepared for one of his excitable outbursts,
although they knew he would not have been so insistent had there not
been good cause.
“Will you be so kind as to walk into this room with me?” He pointed
toward the door of the small room.
Still with that show of utter imperturbability the two complied,
continuing to gaze stolidly as their associate, closing the door
behind them, called their attention to the cannon-ball and broken
table.
“Exhibits A and B”; he waved his hand toward the two objects. “I
wanted you to see these in order to convince you that I have neither
been dreaming, nor am I the victim of an aberration.”
Then with great care and endeavouring to maintain a semblance of
self-possession, he described his recent experience, omitting no
single detail that he could recall. He showed them exactly where and
how he had been sitting, and followed every movement made by Edestone,
even to the ripping of the glass from the portrait of the King, until
finally, as if overcome by the strain that he had put upon himself to
appear perfectly calm, he ended with a nervous little laugh.
“Will you look at the inscription on that blooming old cannon-ball? It
really seems quite spooky.”
Graves moved forward and thoughtfully examined the split table and the
rusty old relic of Valley Forge, but Rockstone did not offer to stir.
With what was almost a sneer on his face he met the challenging glance
of his younger confrère.
“I would not have believed, Underhill,” he said impatiently, “that you
with your experience with the fakirs of India could have been taken in
by so old a trick.” He half-closed his eyes as if to indicate that for
him at least the incident was closed.
Underhill frowned. “You are wrong, Rockstone,” he exclaimed
impulsively. “This man is no faker, nor am I so easily imposed upon as
you seem to think. I tell you that we are called upon to deal with a
new agency that can neither be disputed nor sneered away, and unless
we can contrive some way to oppose it, the United States will step in
and force a peace upon us--a peace that will leave Europe exactly
where it was before the war--and keep it so, while she herself can go
ahead unchecked and take possession of the whole Western
Hemisphere. Don’t you see the scheme?”
“Where is this extraordinary individual?” inquired the Foreign
Minister, completing his inspection of the table. “What has become of
him?” His thin voice was as evenly modulated as if he were asking
where he had put his other glove.
“Oh, probably at Boodle’s or Brookes’s lunching with some of his
friends,” Underhill answered indifferently. “He left here only a short
time ago. And you need not be afraid, Sir Egbert,” with a significant
glance. “A very careful eye is being kept upon his movements. We can
get him at any moment if we want him.”
Graves nodded, and then went on meditatively.
“It is of course entirely irregular,” he said, “but from what both of
you gentlemen tell me as to the nature of his credentials, there can
be little doubt that the man is here with the approval of his
Government, if not as an authorized representative. The sole question,
therefore, is whether or not he does possess such an invention or
discovery as he claims----”
“But can you doubt that?” demanded Underhill hotly.
“And whether,” proceeded Sir Egbert without change of tone, “granting
that the contrivance is of value, the United States will permit its
purchase for use in the present war.
“On the first proposition, I can only say that if he has this
invention, as my young friend of the Navy stands so firmly convinced,
it is tantamount to admitting that the United States has a new and
terrible instrument of war, in which case it would be most unwise to
offend her. If he has not, there certainly can be no objection to
allowing him the opportunity of offering to our enemies something that
is of no value. Therefore, that seems to settle the question as to the
advisability of detaining him, as has been suggested. I should
strongly favour letting him go when and where he pleases.
“Assuming that he has in his possession facts or mechanisms that would
give to one nation such stupendous advantages over the others as he
claims, we must not forget that the United States has had these facts
and mechanisms for some time. Therefore, it would be ill-advised to
detain him forcibly, for the United States’ answer to this would be a
declaration of war in which the superiority of her position would be
overwhelming.
“I’m inclined to believe that the reason he does not wish to sell his
discovery is because he has not obtained permission from his
Government to do so. They intend to dispose of it to the country with
whom they can make the most favourable bargain. I think indeed that
under all circumstances the best policy for this Government is to
treat this man with the greatest possible consideration. If he has the
power to do us harm, we must put him in such a position that he will
not wish to do it; and if he has not, our treatment of him will have a
tendency to draw the United States nearer to us than she is at
present. We must, at least, pretend to take the American Secretary of
State at his word. Whereas I do not think that there is any doubt that
America is influenced entirely by selfish motives, she is now our
friend, and as long as this war goes on it is to the interest of Great
Britain to keep her so.”
“A very good idea, Sir Egbert,” agreed Underhill. “That is absolutely
the only way to deal with this man. He says that he is almost a pure
Anglo-Saxon, you know, and he is as proud of it as if he were an
Englishman. He is the ninth in direct line from the original old chap,
or rather young chap, who went from England to Virginia in 1642. Think
of it! Say what you may, blood is thicker than water. That fellow is
at heart an Englishman; he has been away from home nearly three
hundred years.”
Graves gave a little bow of comprehension. “When Mr. Edestone calls on
me tomorrow,” he said, “I shall not even touch on the question of the
purchasing of this alleged invention, but shall offer to facilitate in
every way his mission as peacemaker. I shall take him at his word that
he does not intend to sell to any one, and try to persuade him that,
if he is bent on coercing any people, the English are not the ones
that require this, as they are in perfect accord with him, and that he
would accomplish his purpose much more quickly if he would bring force
to bear upon the German Emperor.”
“But, Sir Egbert,” broke in Underhill excitedly, “he says that he
wants us to authorize him to open peace negotiations with the Kaiser,
and I think he rather intimated that if we should refuse he would use
force, which of course means the United States.”
“Well upon my word!” Rockstone’s eyes flashed, and an indignant
expression took the place of the rather bored look with which he had
been listening. “That is pretty strong language to use to His Imperial
Majesty’s Government, and for my part I think that this young
gentleman and his little trick box should be shipped back home with a
very polite but emphatic note to the effect that when England wishes
the good offices of the United States in bringing this war to a close,
she will call for them. As to the young man himself, I should say to
him that if he were caught trying to get into Germany he would be
looked upon as a spy endeavouring to render assistance to the enemy,
and would be treated accordingly.”
“But wait a moment, Rockstone,” said Sir Egbert. “You are forgetting
that this Mr. Edestone is in some measure at least the representative
of his country. We cannot afford to offend the United States of
America, even though his manners are bad.”
“To the contrary,” muttered Underhill, “his manners are surprisingly
good.”
Sir Egbert slightly inclined his head in acknowledgment of the
correction. “There is the point too,” he went on, “as to whether or
not he is an impostor. If he is, why should we allow the American
comic papers to put us in the same category with their own Secretary
of State, at whom they have been poking fun for years, when they
discover that this exceedingly clever young man has taken us in also?
“No, no, to me the matter seems very simple. Uncle Sam has got
something he wants to sell. Good or bad it makes no difference; he
wants to sell, and sell it he will to the highest bidder. Why refuse
to consider his offer on the one hand, or why appear to be too anxious
to close with him on the other? Let him offer it to the enemy; he will
certainly come back for our bid before closing with them.”
“Do you know, Sir Egbert,” Lord Rockstone somewhat reluctantly allowed
himself to be won over, “since you put it that way I think that
perhaps you are right. Diplomacy is probably the strongest weapon with
which to deal with this young man. He did not impress me as one to be
easily bluffed by show of force.”
“Nor should I be bluffed, even by you, Rockstone,” said Underhill
somewhat ruefully, rubbing his arm, “if I had the power that this chap
has locked up in that little rubber box and stored away in that long
head of his.”
“Well, let us make a decision: does His Majesty go to Washington or
shall the Chautauqua lecturer extend his professional tours to include
London?” Graves gave his sly secretive laugh. Then as if ashamed of
his momentary levity, and changing his entire manner, he said: “Well,
gentlemen, what do you propose?”
“I rather think we are unanimous,” said Underhill, “in considering
that Mr. Edestone should be given a fair hearing. The final answer to
his proposition can be given, of course, only after it has been
discussed in full cabinet.”
“That would perhaps be the best way to leave the matter,” approved
Rockstone.
“We are agreed then, it seems,” said Graves, and they left together
for Buckingham Palace.