"Ah, I see! You are thinking of wrecking the place, eh?"
"Possibly, later on. But what I mean is that for our plans we need explosives, and plenty of them. Well, here they are, ready to hand, and all we have to do for a start is to get what we want away unseen."
"Aye; accumulate a store of our own ready for the day we want them?"
"Yes; the best place to attack we can settle later. In fact we may have to seize our opportunities as they come along."
"The best places to choose are these filling-shops, old man. Heaps of explosives about, and, although they watch everyone pretty closely, we ought to get a chance before long. If this place were blown sky-high it would damage a lot of the other shops, and probably get Schenk the sack. He seems to have got over that other affair all right."
"Yes, but I can't bring myself to blow up this great place with all the workmen in it, Germans or renegade Belgians though they are. I want to cripple the works, not kill the work-people."
"Don't see much in your scruples, Max. If we don't kill them they are left to go on sending shells out to kill our men."
"True, old man, but all the same I should like, if I can, to do the business without causing any loss of life among the workmen. There is the power-house now. If we could wreck that we should bring the whole of the works to an absolute standstill."
"Phew! Yes. Well, and why shouldn't we?"
"I've been thinking, and I believe we ought to be able to do it. Of course you know there is a soldier always posted at each entrance?"