‘You mean Germany?’
‘We look around us,’ he continued, scarcely noticing my interruption, ‘and we see all the continents staked out in advance by other Powers: Asia by England and Russia, Africa by England and France, North America by England and the United States, Australia by England alone. There remains only South America, in the possession of weak Latin races, unable to make use of their advantages, but who are protected in their decay by the bullies of Washington.’
‘A war in which the United States found itself fully occupied would be a fine opportunity for the German Michael to plant his standard in Brazil or the Argentine, I understand.’
Kehler looked at me earnestly.
‘The man who undertook the task of making such a war inevitable, without compromising exalted personages, would be no loser,’ he remarked significantly.
I looked back at the Bavarian before demanding—
‘Have you any definite scheme to put before me?’
‘Until I know that you accept,’ he demurred.
‘I do not know that you are accredited,’ I reminded him.
‘What authority do you require?’