"That is why we are eager to fight," was Bob's reply, "and we shall never rest until German militarism is destroyed root and branch; until this War God which dominates Germany is thrown down, and crushed to atoms; until this poisonous cancer of war which has thrown its venomous roots into the heart of Europe is cut out for ever. We shall never cease fighting until that is done, and when that is done, we shall have peace." Bob had almost forgotten where he was by this time--forgotten the circumstances under which he spoke, and to whom he spoke; he did not seem to realise that he was in the heart of the German camp--that he was speaking to one in high command in the German army; he had got away from the mere material aspect of the question--he was dealing with spiritual things. "And if you win"--and still there was a sneer in the other's voice--"what do you expect to gain?" "As a nation, sir?" "As a nation." "Nothing, sir; I've never heard of an Englishman speaking of any gain that might be ours when we win." "Then what do you suppose will happen?" "Justice and peace will come, sir; Belgium will have justice." "Belgium! If she had obeyed our commands, she need never have suffered." "But why should she obey your commands, sir? You had promised her neutrality and independence, and you broke your promise; she had depended upon you, and you failed her. Then she turned to England, and England will never rest until Belgium has justice." "And what is to become of Germany?" "This is to be a fight to the end, sir; and Germany will never have power to make war again." "You would rob us of our country, I suppose?" "No, sir, we do not want to rob you of your country. We hope that when the war is over, the German people--many of whom hate war--will come back to their peaceful life; but we shall never rest until the War God of Germany is destroyed and is powerless to make war again. That is why we are fighting, and will fight for the peace of the world." "But, surely, that is not the feeling of England as a whole?" "It is the feeling of England as a whole, and we shall never cease fighting until our object is accomplished." "And the Kaiser, what think you of him? What is the feeling in Britain about him?" "We believe the Kaiser to be sincere, sir, but obsessed with the war spirit, and that because of it he is full of arrogance and conceit; many believe him mad--that he suffers from a kind of megalomania. Evidently he, like the rest of the war party in Germany, believes that war is a good thing--a virtuous thing, a necessity; and, because of it, he regards himself as a kind of Deity. We believe that his great ambition is to make Germany the dominant power in the world, and that war is the means by which he hopes to accomplish this. That is why we are fighting, sir--and will fight."