"Yes," he sighed. "May the time soon come when men shall learn war no more, but shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks."
"It doesn't seem as though that time can be very near," she said. "Papa, do you think Max is in much danger there in Manila?"
"I hardly know, daughter; I hope we shall hear from him soon. I hardly think there will be much, if any more, fighting for him to do there at present. But his next letter will probably enable us to judge better about that."
"Oh, I hope it will come soon!" she exclaimed in a tone of ardent desire.
"As I do," he sighed. "I cannot but feel anxious about my dear boy; though the worst seems to be over, there."
The next morning's mail brought the desired letters to father, sisters, and ladylove. The captain's gave news of the doings of the army and navy, and after a private perusal he read the greater part of it aloud to the family and friends. It told of the irksomeness of their situation, the weariness of the watching and waiting for troops that did not come, the admiral's patience and forbearance in taking the delay so quietly, the troubles with the insurgents under Aguinaldo, and the commanders of the warships of several European nations. "We know," he said, "that those fellows are looking out for the first sign of weakness on our part, or the first disaster that might befall us, intending to take advantage of it to intervene. I can tell you, father, that Admiral Dewey is a credit to his country and that country's navy. He is very kind-hearted, and takes excellent care of his men; he is gentle, kind to all, but thorough, determined, and energetic; everything under his control must be as perfect as possible. When it comes to the necessity for fighting he believes in being most thoroughly prepared, and striking quick, hard blows, soon putting the enemy in a condition where it cannot fight. He says little or nothing about what he expects, but seems to be always ready for whatever happens. The behavior of the foreign ships must be a constant worry to him, though he says little or nothing about it. The Germans here seem to study methods of annoying us. Their ships are constantly coming in or going out of Manila Bay at all hours, and on the most frivolous pretexts—sometimes at night, in a way that makes our lookouts think them Spanish torpedo boats; and should we send a shot at one of them it might cause the gravest international complications. And the German navy officers make the Spanish officers their chosen companions.
"The other day our admiral learned that one of the German vessels had violated neutrality by landing provisions in Manila. He summoned the flag lieutenant to his cabin and when the officer came—'Oh, Brumby,' he said, 'I wish you to take the barge and go over to the German flagship. Give Admiral von Diederich my compliments, and say that I wish to call his attention to the fact that the vessels of his squadron have shown an extraordinary disregard of the usual courtesies of naval intercourse, and that finally one of them has committed a gross breach of neutrality in landing provisions in Manila, a port which I am blockading.' The admiral spoke in a quiet, gently modulated voice, but as the lieutenant turned to go he called him back and added in a wrathful tone, 'And, Brumby, tell Admiral von Diederich that if he wants a fight, he can have it right now.'
"The message had the desired effect, and we have had much less annoyance from the Germans since.
"The English squadron here is equal to the German, and I am glad to be able to say that the British officers lose no opportunity to show their friendship for us. I am told that the German admiral asked Captain Chichester, the British commander, what the English would do in case the Germans should protest against an American bombardment of Manila, and that the messenger received the answer: 'Say to Admiral von Diederich that he will have to call on Admiral Dewey to find out what the British ships will do in such an event. Admiral Dewey is the only man authorized to answer that question.' I cannot vouch for the exact truthfulness of this report," Max went on, "but I can for the hostility of the Germans and the friendliness of the English. And we hear reliable reports of sailors' fights in Hong-Kong, in which British and Yankee bluejackets fight shoulder to shoulder against German seamen subjects of the Kaiser."