The girl stared at him, but said nothing.
“What would you say if I were to tell you it is in my power to destroy the British fleet off Helgoland?”
The girl took a step backward.
“It is impossible!” she gasped.
“No!” cried the lieutenant, now carried away. “It is not impossible. It is true! And, what is more, I shall do it!”
“You to say this to me! You, an Englishman!” exclaimed the girl.
The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders.
“What is Great Britain to me?” he said. “I am an American.”
“But you are an officer in the English navy.”
“True; but for a purpose. I hold a commission as captain in the German regular army.”