"We have all been so interested to-night," she said, "in hearing what Mr. Fischer has to say about the situation on the other side." Pamela was primed for combat. "Has Mr. Fischer been telling you fairy tales?" she laughed. "Fairy tales?" her aunt repeated severely. "I don't understand." Fischer's steel grey eyes flashed behind his spectacles. "I'm afraid that Miss Van Teyl's prejudices," he observed bitterly, "are very firmly fixed." "Then she is no true American," Mrs. Hastings pronounced didactically. "Oh, I can assure you that I am not prejudiced," Pamela declared, "only, you see, I, too, have just arrived from the other side, and I have been able to use my own eyes and judgment. If there is any prejudice in the matter, why should it not come from Mr. Fischer? He has the very good excuse of his German birth." "Mr. Fischer is an American citizen," Mrs. Hastings reminded her niece, "and personally, I think that the American of German birth is one of the most loyal and long-suffering persons I know. I cannot say as much for the English people who are living over here. And as to fairy stories--" Pamela intervened, turning towards Fischer with a little laugh. "Oh, he can't even deny those! What about the great German victory in the North Sea, Mr. Fischer? Do you happen to have seen the latest telegrams?" "Our first reports were perhaps a little too glowing," Mr. Fischer acknowledged. "That, under the circumstances, is, I think, only natural. But the facts remain that the invincible English and the untried German fleets have met, to the advantage of the German." Pamela shook her head. "I cannot even allow that," she objected. "The advantage, if there was any, rested on the other side. But I just want you to remember what we were told in that first wonderful outpouring of fabricated news--that the naval supremacy of England was gone for ever, that the freedom of the seas was assured, that German merchant vessels were steaming home from all directions! No, Mr. Fischer! Between ourselves, I think that your cause needs a few fairy stories, and I look upon you as one of the greatest experts in the world when it comes to concocting them." Fischer, who had risen to his feet half way through Pamela's speech, was obviously a little taken aback by her direct attack. Mrs. Hastings took no pains to conceal her annoyance. "For a young girl of your age, Pamela," she said sternly, "I consider that you express your opinions far too freely. Your attitude, too, is unjustifiable." "Ah, well, you see, I am a little prejudiced against Mr. Fischer," Pamela laughed, turning towards him. "He happened to defeat one of my pet schemes." "But I am ready to further your dearest one," he reminded her, dropping his voice, and leading her a little on one side. "What about our alliance?" "You scarcely need my aid," she observed, with a shrug of the shoulders.