"Well, my dear Max," began the admiral, "and what is now your opinion of your friends the English? We gave them a pretty run for their money, eh?"
Max nodded, not being quite sure of his uncle's humour.
"And they appear to have caught you, mein Herr," he responded. "Our ships have not such speed as theirs. That is a grave disadvantage."
Admiral von Hilliger shrugged his shoulders.
"In future we shall use oil fuel," he said. "The necessary alteration in our machinery will be quite easy."
"Then there is their superiority in guns, sir," ventured Max. "Their guns not only throw a heavier shell than ours, but they are also of much longer range. I am told that the Goethe was smashed almost to pieces before she could so much as touch one of the British Dreadnoughts."
"That fault can be remedied," declared the admiral. "Already we are having larger guns made. And, remember, we are having many new ships built. They will have guns such as the English have never dreamt of."
"And in the meantime," said Max, "I suppose our great fleet will lie idle in the Kiel Canal?"
"In the meantime," rejoined the admiral, "we have our Zeppelins and our submarines. Make no mistake, my dear Max, Great Britain's attempt to blockade our ports will not affect us in the least. We, on the contrary, can starve Great Britain. We shall throw a ring of submarines all round their wretched islands, so that no single ship can enter or leave their seaports."
Max smiled.