“O, I only gave Spain as an example,” said the Colonel casually.
“It might just as well have been Switzerland?” I suggested.
There was silence for a little.
“Talking of Switzerland----” I said, as I knocked out my pipe.
“Oh, go on,” said the Colonel, with a good-humoured shrug. “I’ve brought this on myself.”
“Well, sir, what I was wondering was--What would happen to the honour of England if fifty English women were murdered at Interlaken?”
The Colonel was silent.
“However large an army we had----” I went on.
The Colonel struck a match.
“It’s a funny thing, honour,” I said. “And prestige.”