The young man took a cigarette from his case, and lit it.
"Your best is damned bad!" he said.
"I exercised such judgment as I have," returned the other, in a tone of abasement.
"Judgment alone is of no avail," retorted the other. "What we want is aggressive action. We don't get that from you—you talk, and think, and scheme——"
The other ventured a faint note of protest.
"I was chosen, Herr Baron——"
"I don't want to hear your history," returned the younger man, coldly. "I want to know about this expedition that is being prepared by the Eastern Command, that has been under preparation for the past six weeks."
"I gave you such figures, Herr Baron, as I was able to collect."
The young man crossed to the hearth and stood leaning with his back against the mantelshelf.
"Doesn't it occur to you," he demanded, after a moment's silence, "that figures are only a detail? Figures are something any fool could gather. What Berlin wants to know is, what is this expedition's objective, where is it bound for, also what port it sails from, and when?"