CHAPTER XXVII
LENNARD'S ULTIMATUM
Within five minutes they were seated in the big Napier, with ninetyhorse-power under them, and a possibility of eighty miles an hour beforethem. A white flag was fastened to a little flagstaff on the left-handside. They put on their goggles and overcoats, and took WestminsterBridge, as it seemed, in a leap. Rochester was reached in twenty-fiveminutes, but at the southern side of Rochester Bridge they were held upby German sentries.
"Not a pleasant sort of thing on English soil," growled Lord Kitcheneras Lord Whittinghame stopped the motor.
"Is the German Emperor here yet?" asked Lennard in German.
"No, Herr, he is at Canterbury," replied the sentry. "Would you like tosee the officer?"
"Yes," said Lennard, "as soon as possible. These gentlemen are LordWhittinghame and Lord Kitchener, and they wish to meet the Emperor assoon as possible."
The sentry saluted and retired, and presently a captain of Uhlans cameclattering across the street, clicked his heels together, touched theside of his helmet, and said:
"At your service, gentlemen. What can I do for you?"
"We wish to get into communication with the German Emperor as soon aspossible," replied Lord Whittinghame. "Is the telegraph still workingfrom here to Canterbury?"
"It is," replied the German officer; "if you will come with me to theoffice you shall be put into communication with His Majesty at once; butit will be necessary for me to hear what you say."
"We're only going to try and make peace," said Lord Kitchener, "so youmight as well hear all we've got to say. Those infernal airships ofyours have beaten us. Will you get in? We'll run you round to theoffice."
"I thank you," replied the captain of the Uhlans, "but it will be betterif I walk on and have the line cleared. I will meet you at the office.Adieu."
He stiffened up, clicked his heels again, saluted, and the next momenthe had thrown his right leg across the horse which the orderly hadbrought up for him.
"Not bad men, those Uhlans," said Lord Kitchener, as the car movedslowly towards the telegraph station. "Take a lot of beating in thefield, I should say, if it once came to cold steel."
They halted at the post-office, and the captain of Uhlans, who was incharge of all the telegraph lines of the south-east, was requested tosend the following telegram, which was signed by Lord Whittinghame andLord Kitchener.
"Acting as deputation from British Government we desire interview with your Majesty at Canterbury, with view to putting end to present bloodshed, if possible, also other important news to communicate."
This telegram was despatched to the Kaiser at the County Hotel,Canterbury, and while they were waiting for the reply a message came infrom Whitstable addressed to "Lennard, oyster merchant, Rochester,"which was in the following terms:
"Oyster catch promises well. Advised large purchase to-morrow.--ROBINSON & SMITH."
"That seems rather a frivolous sort of thing to send one nowadays,"said Lennard, dropping the paper to the floor after reading the telegramaloud. "I have some interest in the beds at Whitstable, and my agents,who don't seem to know that there's a war going on, want me to invest. Ithink it's hardly good enough, when you don't know whether you'll be inlittle pieces within the next ten minutes."
"I don't see why you shouldn't take on a contract for supplying ourfriends the enemy," laughed Lord Kitchener, as the twinkle of an eyepassed between them, while the captain of Uhlans' back was turned for aninstant.
"I'm afraid they would be confiscated before I could do that," saidLennard. "I shan't bother about answering it. We have rather moreserious things than oysters to think about just now."
The sounder clicked, and the German telegraphist, who had taken theplace of the English one, tapped out a message, which he handed to thecaptain of Uhlans.
"Gentlemen, His Imperial Majesty will be glad to receive you at theCounty Hotel, Canterbury. I will give you a small flag which shallsecure you from all molestation."
He handed the paper to Lord Whittinghame as he spoke. The Imperialmessage read:
"Happy to meet deputation. Please carry German flag, which will secure you from molestation _en route_. I am wiring orders for suspension of hostilities till dawn to-morrow. I hope we may make satisfactory arrangements.--WILHELM."
"That is quite satisfactory," said Lord Whittinghame to the captain ofUhlans. "We shall be much obliged to you for the flag, and you willperhaps telegraph down the road saying that we are not to be stopped. Ican assure you that the matter is one of the utmost urgency."
"Certainly, my lord," replied the captain. "His Majesty's word is given.That is enough for us."
Ten minutes later the big Napier, flying the German flag on theleft-hand side, was spinning away through Chatham, and down the straightroad to Canterbury. They slowed up going through Sittingbourne andFaversham, which were already in the hands of the Allied forces, thanksto John Castellan's precautions in blocking all railroads to Dover, andthe German flag was saluted by the garrisons, much to Lord Kitchener'squietly-expressed displeasure, but he knew they were playing for a bigstake, and so he just touched his cap, as they swung through the narrowstreets, and said what he had to say under his breath.
Within forty minutes the car pulled up opposite the County Hotel,Canterbury. The ancient city was no longer English, save as regarded itsarchitecture. Everywhere, the clatter of German hoofs sounded on thestreets, and the clink and clank of German spurs and swords sounded onthe pavements. The French and Austrians were taking the westward routesby Ashford and Tonbridge in the enveloping movement on London. The WarLord of Germany had selected the direct route for himself.
As the motor stopped panting and throbbing in front of the hotelentrance, a big man in the uniform of the Imperial Guard came out,saluted, and said:
"Lord Whittinghame and Lord Kitchener, with Mr Lennard, I presume?"
"Yes, that's so," said Lord Kitchener, opening the side door and gettingout. "Colonel von Folkerstroem, I believe. I think we've met before. Youwere His Majesty's _attache_ with us during the Boer War, I think. Thisis Lord Whittinghame, and this is Mr Lennard. Is His Majesty within?"
"His Majesty awaits you, gentlemen," replied the Colonel, formally. Andthen as he shook hands with Lord Kitchener he added, "I am sorry, sir,that we should meet as enemies on English soil."
"Just the fortune of war and those damned airships of yours, Colonel,"laughed Lord Kitchener in reply. "If we'd had them this meeting mighthave been in Berlin or Potsdam. Can't fight against those things, youknow. We're only human."
"But you English are just a little more, I think," said the Colonel tohimself. "Gottes willen! What would my August Master be thinking now ifthis was in Berlin instead of Canterbury, and here are these Englishmentaking it as quietly as though an invasion of England happened everyday." And when he had said this to himself he continued aloud:
"My lords and Mr Lennard, if you will follow me I will conduct you intoHis Majesty's presence."
They followed the Colonel upstairs to the first floor. Two sentries inthe uniform of the 1st Regiment of Cuirassiers were guarding the door:their bayoneted rifles came up to the present, the Colonel answered thesalute, and they dropped to attention. The Colonel knocked at the doorand a harsh voice replied:
"Herein."
The door swung open and Lennard found himself for the first but not thelast time in the presence of the War Lord of Germany.
"Good-evening, gentlemen," said the Kaiser. "You will understand me whenI say I am both glad and sorry to see you."
"Your Majesty," replied Lord Whittinghame, in a curiously serious tone,"the time for human joy and sorrow is so fast expiring that almosteverything has ceased to matter, even the invasion of England."
The Kaiser's brows lifted, and he stared in frank astonishment at theman who could say such apparently ridiculous words so seriously. If hehad not known that he was talking to the late Prime Minister, and thepresent leader of
the Unionist party in the House of Lords, he wouldhave thought him mad.
"Those are very strange words, my lord," he replied. "You will pardon meif I confess that I can hardly grasp their meaning."
"If your Majesty has an hour to spare," said Lord Whittinghame, "MrLennard will make everything perfectly plain. But what he has to say,and what he can prove, must be for your Majesty's ears alone."
"Is it so important as that?" laughed the Kaiser.
"It is so important, sire," said Lord Kitchener, "that the fate of thewhole world hangs upon what you may say or do within the next hour. Sofar, you have beaten us, because you have been able to bring into actionengines of warfare against which we have been unable to defendourselves. But now, there is another enemy in the field, against whichwe possess the only means of defence. That is what we have come toexplain to your Majesty."
"Another enemy!" exclaimed the Kaiser, "but how can that be. There areno earthly powers left sufficiently strong that we would be powerlessagainst them."
"This is not an earthly enemy, your Majesty," replied Lennard, speakingfor the first time since he had entered the room. "It is an invader fromSpace. To put it quite plainly, the terms which we have come to offeryour Majesty are: Cessation of hostilities for six months, withdrawal ofall troops from British soil, universal disarmament, and a pledge to beentered into by all the Powers of Europe and the United States ofAmerica that after the 12th of May next there shall be no more war. Yourfleets have been destroyed as well as ours, your armies are here, butthey cannot get away, and so we are going to ask you to surrender."
"Surrender!" echoed the Kaiser, "surrender, when your country lies openand defenceless before us? No, no. Lord Whittinghame and Lord KitchenerI know, but who are you, sir--a civilian and an unknown man, that youshould dictate peace to me and my Allies?"
"Only a man, your Majesty," said Lord Whittinghame, "who has convincedthe British Cabinet Council that he holds the fate of the world in thehollow of his hands. Are you prepared to be convinced?"
"Of what?" replied the Kaiser, coldly.
"That there will be no world left to conquer after midnight on the 12thof May next, or to put it otherwise, that unless our terms are accepted,and Mr Lennard carries out his work, there will be neither victors norvanquished left on earth."
"Gentlemen," replied the Kaiser, "you will pardon me when I say that Iam surprised beyond measure that you should have come to me with aschoolboy's tale like that. The eternal order of things cannot beinterrupted in such a ridiculous fashion. Again, I trust you willforgive me when I express my regret that you should have wasted so muchof your own time and mine on an errand which should surely have appearedto you fruitless from the first.
"Whoever or whatever this gentleman may be," he continued with a wave ofhis hand towards Lennard, "I neither know nor care; but that yourselfand Lord Kitchener should have been deceived so grossly, I must confesspasses the limits of my imagination. Frankly, I do not believe in thepossibility of such proofs as you allude to. As regards peace, I proposeto discuss terms with King Edward in Windsor--not before, nor withanyone else. Gentlemen, I have other matters to attend to, and I havethe honour to bid you good-evening."
"And that is your Majesty's last word?" said Lord Kitchener. "You mean afight to the finish?"
"Yes, my lord," replied the Kaiser, "whether the world finishes with thefight or not."
"Very well then," said Lennard, taking an envelope from thebreast-pocket of his coat, and putting it down on the table before theEmperor. "If your Majesty has not time to look through those papers,you will perhaps send them to Berlin and take your own astronomer'sreport upon them. Meanwhile, you will remember that our terms are:Unconditional surrender of the forces invading the British Islands orthe destruction of the world. Good-night."