To this the German Press retorted by pronouncing the declaration to be a diplomatic lie, and unanimously urged the Imperial Government to recall its ambassador. All privately owned airships in the Fatherland were taken possession of by the authorities, and ordered to the newly-formed Government aerodrome at Munster, a Westphalian town sufficiently far from the sea to be out of the reach of the guns of hostile warships, yet within a few hours' flying distance from the East Coast of England.
The struggle, if it came off, would be a desperate one. Both fleets were almost numerically equal, the British having a slight margin of superiority, but in aircraft the Germans held a decided advantage. In the science of warfare there was little to choose between the two, so that as far as Great Britain was concerned the issue depended upon whether the British tars still retained their bull-dog tenacity that characterized their forefathers in the days of the old wooden walls.
In spite of the British Government's coolness and determination the country, that had passed through so many international complications with safety, was in a panic. Consols dropped lower than ever they had been known to fall; prices immediately rose with a bound, and within twelve hours of the receipt of the disquieting news of Captain Restronguet's escapade at Wilhelmshaven the country was experiencing the horrors of war without actually being engaged in a desperate conflict on which her very existence depended.
On the morning following the momentous news from Wilhelmshaven a message appeared in The Times. It was a statement purporting to come from Captain Restronguet, in which he emphatically denied ever being in German waters, and that as a proof he would give a sure sign of his presence off the shores of Great Britain. At noon of that very day he would give a demonstration of the irresistible powers at his command at a spot somewhere between the Horse Sand Fort and the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.
"Do you think it is a joke, sir?" asked Sub-Lieutenant Hythe of the navigating officer of the "Investigator."
"What do you think of it, may I ask?" replied Lieutenant Egmont guardedly.
"Personally, I hardly consider that it is a hoax. You see the notice appeared in the Personal Column."
"And paid for in the usual manner, I suppose."
"But the Business Editor has the option of refusing any advertisement."
"That's what makes me think there's something genuine about it. Again, the paper has a short leader on it: non-committal, it is true."