"I know," said Jack. "They were foolishly jealous of his knowledge-- jealous of the facts he had gathered during his wanderings up and down Germany, and jealous of the sources of information. They pretended a certain friendliness towards him, of course, but, as you know, the khaki cult is never in unison with the civilian. Jerrold did his duty--did it splendidly, as a true Englishman should. His work will live as a record. Seven years ago he commenced, at a time when the money-grubbing, ostrich-like section of the public--bamboozled by politicians who pretended not to know, yet who knew too well, and who told us there would be no war--not in our time--were content in amassing wealth. What did they care for the country's future, as long as they drew big dividends? Jerrold foresaw the great Teutonic plot against civilisation, and was not afraid to point to it. What did he get for his pains? Ridicule, derision, and aspersions that his mind was deranged, and that he was a mere romancer. Well, to-day he's dead, and we can only judge him by his works." "There are others--certain others too--whom we may also judge by their works," remarked Trustram grimly--"their subtle, fiendish works, aimed at the downfall of our Empire. If the truth had been realised when Lord Roberts started out to speak--and when the whole Government united to poke fun and heap ridicule upon the great Field-Marshal, who knew more of real warfare than the whole tangle of red-tape at Whitehall combined--then to-day thousands of brave men, the flower of our youth, who have laid down their lives in the trenches in Flanders, would have been alive to-day. No!" he cried angrily. "There are traitors in our midst, and yet if one dares to suspect, if one dares to breathe a word, even to inquire and bring absolute evidence, the only thing which the khaki-clad Department will vouchsafe to the informant is a meagre printed form to acknowledge that one's report has been `received.' After that, the matter is buried." "Perhaps burnt," laughed Sir Houston. "Most probably," Trustram asserted. "To me, an Englishman, the whole situation is as utterly appalling as it is ludicrous. We must win. And it is up to us all to see that _we do win_." "Excellent!" cried Sir Houston. "And so we will--all three of us. I'll go to the War Office to-morrow and try and see someone in authority. You, Sainsbury, will come with me, and you'll make your statement-- you'll tell them all that you know. They must take some notice of it!"