Of course Madame permitted and ealled for another glass and offered him some of her tea and cake. Possibly he had plenty of his own, but no matter, it was good to entertain someone in friendly fashion again after being an outcast for three days. And it took a little while to find out what was wrong, he was so very polite.
“Madame understands we are at war?”
Madame opened her eyes in astonishment. What could a war in the Balkan Provinces have to do with her treatment on the Amur river thousands of miles in the East?
However, she said she did.
“And Madame knows———” He paused, and then very kindly abandoned his people. “Madame sees the people are bad?”
Madame quite agreed. They were bad. I had quite an appetite for my tea now that this nice young man was sympathising with me on the abominable behaviour of his countrymen.
He spread out his hands as if deprecating the opinion of sueh foolish people. “They think—on the ship—and on the shore—that Madame is a GERMAN!”
So it was out, and it took me a moment to realise it, so little had I realised the war.
“A German!” I did not put it in capital letters as he had done. I had not yet learned to hate the Germans.
“A—spy!”