“These boats are now lying in the inner harbor, all fitted out and ready for sea.
“You will take one, with a crew of your own, whom you must enlist secretly, and slip out through the Canal into the North Sea.
“You will proceed, keeping under the surface, till you reach the Dogger Bank, and find yourself among the trawl nets of the English fishermen.
“There you will wait till such time as the Russian ships come up.
“As soon as the right moment has arrived, you will rise to the surface and discharge a torpedo. As soon as you have drawn the fire of the Russians, and have seen an English fishing-boat struck, you can go beneath the surface again, and make the best of your way back to Kiel.”
“Your plan is perfection itself, sire!” I exclaimed with an admiration which was not wholly pretended, since the idea really was not lacking in cleverness.
The Kaiser nodded good-humoredly.
“The Russians will never be persuaded they were not attacked first, and the English will never pass over such an outrage in their own waters,” his majesty remarked complacently. “Lord Charles Beresford will do the rest.”
“I am ready to carry out your orders, sire. All I require is an authority to take the submarine from Kiel.”
The Kaiser frowned.