“Think of that!” exclaimed the colonel. “He says another try.”
“You came a roundabout way,” was the artist’s comment.
“Oh, that’s because I left Paris for Brescia. They had some good flights there. Wonderful year! They cross the Channel in an airship and discover the North Pole.”
“Pah! Neither will be of any use to humanity; merely a fine sporting proposition.” The colonel dug into his pocket for his pipe. “But what do you think of Germany?”
“Fine country,” answered Courtlandt, rising and going to a window; “fine people, too. Why?”
“Do you—er—think they could whip us?”
“On land, yes.”
“The devil!”
“On water, no.”
“Thanks. In other words, you believe our chances equal?”