Then came the following from beneath the cold waters which divided the two nations at war, a combination of German words and the numerical code-- "J.S.F.: 26378: _Mowe_: (sea-gull) J.S.J.J: _schimpflich_ (infamous) Ozstc: 32; _Schandfleck_ (blot) _tollkuhn_ (foolhardy)." And it was followed by the affix of the sender, "10,111, and the word _zerren_" (pull). Again Rodwell tore off the piece of pale green "tape" and placed it carefully in his pocket, in order to decode it later on. Then he leisurely finished his bacon and declared to Tom that he felt the better for it. "I 'ear as 'ow the pay-pers are a sayin' that the German submarines are a torpedoin' our ships 'olesale, sir," remarked old Tom, when the recorder was silent again. "It's a great shame, surely. That ain't war--to kill women an' children on board ship. Why, the most brutal of all foreigners in the world would go out and rescue women an' children from a sinkin' ship!" "It's war, my dear man--war?" replied Rodwell. "You people, living on the shores of England, don't yet know what war means. It means that, at all hazards and at all costs, you must vanquish your enemy. No kid-glove or polite speeches. The silly peace ideas of humanity, and all that rubbish, don't count nowadays. The German super-man does not understand such silly manoeuvres when he is out to vanquish his enemy. Why, you and your daughter and Ted would be far better off under our own Kaiser than you are to-day, with all this shuttlecock policy of your out-of-date rule-of-thumb Government, and your strangulating taxation consequent upon it. Your English sovereign is only worth fifteen shillings to-day." "Yes, but I don't understand how it is that you German people have put us under your thumbs, as you have done." "Merely because you British people are trustful fools," laughed Rodwell merrily. "You never listened to Lord Roberts, a great soldier and strategist greater than any we have to-day in Germany. You all laughed at his warnings. And now you'll have to laugh on the other side of your mouths. That's the real, plain, brutal truth of it all. You can't conceal it. If you English had taken the advice of your popular hero `Bobs,' there would have been no war to-day. You would have been far too strong for our Fatherland." "But why should we sacrifice our lives any further?" asked the toiler of the sea. "I'm sick and tired of the whole affair, as I said to Ted only this morning." "I quite appreciate that," was Rodwell's reply. "But--" A click sounded upon the instrument, and Rodwell, breaking off, bent eagerly to read the tape. The words, in German, which came out upon it were: "Reply to 0740. Eight undersea boats are in Mediterranean. Message will be sent by wireless to Trieste and Pola for re-transmission. Any report from 6839? Await reply." Rodwell hesitated. The number quoted was that of his friend Mrs Kirby. In a few moments he tapped out the reply.