"No; but it will," Peter hastened to assure him. "And the big-gun ship will still carry on."
"In limited numbers," corrected Uncle Brian. "In my opinion, this reduction of armaments is, as far as the British Empire is concerned, the greatest possible mistake. No doubt the League of Nations is an admirable theory, but it won't—it can't work. The only way to be at peace is to prepare for war—and to prepare for it so thoroughly that a possible enemy won't have the ghost of a chance. Just fancy! Only a few years before the war there was an outcry against the voting of six millions a year for the increase of the British navy. Six millions a year, and the daily bill, during the war, was a little over that amount! Had we done so, the British fleet would have been maintained at the Three Power standard. Germany wouldn't have tried to wrest the trident from Britannia's grasp, and Kaiser Bill would still be on his throne, amusing himself with military manoeuvres with his army that would be utterly useless for aggressive purposes against either France or Russia.
[Illustration: PETER MEETS SEÑOR DIAZ Page 34]
And because we allowed the standard of naval superiority to be dangerously reduced Germany took the risk. Result, four years of desperate fighting, a million of British lives lost, and the Empire victorious yet reduced to the verge of commercial ruin. "Mind you, Peter, I'm not a pessimist," continued his uncle. "I'm only stating facts. The onlooker sees the most of the game. Out here I can only judge by what I hear from home—stories of unemployment, industrial strife, class warfare, and all that. In due course we'll get over that. The British Empire isn't done yet—not by a long chalk. Do you know why I wrote and suggested that you should come out to Rioguay?"
Peter shook his head.
"You'll be very much surprised when I tell you, Peter," said Uncle Brian. "It's this."
At that moment there was a knock on the door. A servant entered and said something to his master.
"We'll have to defer explanations," remarked Brian Strong. "I've a visitor—Don Ramon Diaz. He'll interest you, I'm sure."