"He's in the Navy, I suppose?"
"He's retired from active service, but he is still one of the most influential men in our Admiralty."
"Ah, yes, but I'm afraid I have but little knowledge of these things. I am a man of peace. I hate war of every sort. I am at one with what you English people call—Quakers. But ah, it looks like war again now."
"You mean the Servian trouble?"
"Yes. At first I thought the Austrians were going to be kind and reasonable. But they have Germany behind them, and now, I suppose, they've sent impossible demands to Servia. It is here in the evening paper. It seems, too, that Russia is going to back up Servia, and that will mean trouble."
"How?"
"I am not an authority on European politics, but I am sure that if
Russia espouses the cause of Servia, Germany will throw in her lot with
Austria. Don't you see what follows?"
"You mean that Germany would declare war on Russia too?"
"Yes, and that is not all. France, my own country, although I am an Alsatian, is bound to be dragged in. And I am a man of peace. I hate war."
"I am with you there," cried Bob eagerly. "War was born in hell."