“Oh!” I said. “Not another war?”
“Not necessarily,” he replied. “Light your cigar and I will tell you all you need know.” I did so and waited.
“The next war,” he said, “will be a chemical war.”
“A chemical war? What on earth is that?” I said.
“They have been experimenting for thirty years and more, and they think they have discovered what they want. It may take them several years to perfect their arrangements; it will certainly take them a year or two, and may take six or seven. But one never knows. I suppose you never heard of the three days’ war, did you?”
“No,” I replied; “what was it?”
“The State of Lugrabia, with which the Meccanians are in permanent alliance, refused to ratify a new treaty that seemed unfavourable to them in some respects, and feeling ran so high that there was some talk in Lugrabia of putting an end to the alliance. Without any declaration of war the Meccanian Government dispatched a small fleet of air-vessels, planted about a dozen chemical ‘Distributors,’ as they are euphemistically called, and warned the Lugrabian State that, unless their terms were complied with, the twelve chief cities would be wiped out. The war was over in three days. And to this day the outside world has never heard of the event.”
“How can it have been kept secret?” I said.
“Ask rather how could it leak out,” replied Kwang.