“I confess that this thing has completely stunned me,” said Dr. Brown. “You see I could not believe, I would not believe that war was possible in our day. I would not believe you, Mr. McPherson. I thought you had gone mad on this German scare. But you were right. My God, I can't get my bearings yet; we are really at war!”
“God grant that Canada may see its duty clearly,” said Mr. McPherson. “God make us strong to bear His will.”
They hurried back to their island, each busy with his thoughts, seeking to readjust life to this new and horrible environment.
Mrs. Murray met them at the dock. “You are back, Dr. Brown,” she cried. “Did you forget something? We are glad to see you at any rate.” Then noticing the men's faces, she said, “What is the matter, James? Is there anything wrong?”
“We bring terrible news, Mother,” he said. “We are at war.”
Mrs. Murray's' mind, like her husband's, moved swiftly. She was a life partner in the fullest sense. In business as in the home she shared his plans and purposes. “What about the block, James?” she asked.
“I wired Eastwood,” he replied, “to stop that.”
“What is it, Mother?” inquired Isabel, who stood upon the dock clinging to her mother's dress, and who saw in the grave, faces about her signs of disaster.
“Hush, dear,” said her mother. “Nothing that you can understand.” She would keep from her children this horror as long as she could.
At lunch in the midst of the most animated conversation the talk would die out, and all would be busy fitting their lives to war. Like waves ever deepening in volume and increasing in force, the appalling thought of war beat upon their minds. After lunch they sat together in the screened veranda talking quietly together of the issues, the consequences to them and to their community, to their country, and to the world at large, of this thing that had befallen them. They made the amazing discovery that they were almost entirely ignorant of everything that had to do with war, even the relative military strength of the belligerent nations. One thing like a solid back wall of rock gave them a sense of security—the British Navy was still supreme.