There seemed to him no doubt that the French field-artillery with its anti-recoil construction had gained a great advantage over all other armies; an advantage which could only be prejudiced if the utility of the invention were proved on the field of battle to be less than was expected. Up to the present time the French gun-carriage had only been tested on a small scale in peace man[oe]uvres, and it had not been absolutely demonstrated that its construction would stand the continuous high pressure of a campaign. He was now absorbed in a scheme for simplifying and strengthening the anti-recoil attachments in such a way that they would keep in working order under the severest test. And at the same time he had been directing his attention to the steel shields used in the French field-artillery for the protection of the men who served the guns. German military authorities were for the most part opposed to the introduction of this method of protection; but the shield seemed to him very worthy of adoption. In the battles of the future the percentage of probable losses must be computed quite mathematically; and it would be a great advantage if, by virtue of the shield, a large number of the combatants could be considered safe. The opponents of the measure gave it as their opinion that the men would shirk quitting the protection of the shield; or that, at any rate, they would take aim so hurriedly that their accuracy must necessarily suffer. Well, one might equally well argue that the infantry would refuse to leave their trenches. The other objection was more convincing: shooting would become too difficult if this steel shield were associated with the anti-recoil construction. It was a question of mobility; therefore Güntz set to work to find out some method of lightening the gun. Why should the gun-carriage be loaded with such a large quantity of ammunition as was customary--more, probably, than would ever be needed? He was constructing the model of a carriage in which the quantity of ammunition carried was to be diminished by one-third; so that the extra weight of the anti-recoil construction and the steel shield should be more than counterbalanced. When he was in Berlin he had gone into the details of his invention with the head of a large Rhenish gun-foundry. This man proposed that Güntz should send in his resignation and enter the service of the firm at a handsome salary. Güntz at that time was not prepared to decide in the matter; but at the close of the interview the manager had said: "Who knows? perhaps we shall see each other again." Had the man been right? In any case, Güntz felt strong enough to make his own way through life. The servant took his horse from him at the garden gate. "Well, did it go off all right?" asked Kläre.