Absently the Prince opened it. Then his eyes lit up.     

       "Gotterdammerung!" he said. "I never thought of that. 'Smash up London and provide work for unemployed mending it.—GRAYSON,'" he read.       "Poppenheim."     

       "Sir?"     

       "Let the bombardment commence."     

       "Yes, sir."     

       "And let it continue till the Russians arrive. Then it must stop, or there will be complications."     

       Captain von Poppenheim saluted, and withdrew.     

  

  

       Chapter 6 — THE BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON     

       Thus was London bombarded. Fortunately it was August, and there was nobody in town.     

       Otherwise there might have been loss of life.     

  

  

       Chapter 7 — A CONFERENCE OF THE POWERS     

       The Russians, led by General Vodkakoff, arrived at Hampstead half an hour after the bombardment had ceased, and the rest of the invaders, including Raisuli, who had got off on an alibi, dropped in at intervals during the week. By the evening of Saturday, the sixth of August, even the Chinese had limped to the metropolis. And the question now was, What was going to happen? England displayed a polite indifference to the problem. We are essentially a nation of sight-seers. To us the excitement of staring at the invaders was enough. Into the complex international problems to which the situation gave rise it did not occur to us to       

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