This impressed Bland. He hurried away towards the post-office. I felt that I was not likely to get anything more out of the statue. I put a small bit of it in my pocket to keep as a souvenir, and then strolled along Donegal Place. I met Crossan, who saluted me gravely. "The provisional Government," he said, "desires your lordship's presence in the City Hall." "I'm glad there's a provisional Government," I said. "We want something of the sort. Do you happen to know if I'm a member of it?" "I've been looking for you, my lord," said Crossan, severely, "for over an hour, and there's no time to waste." I hurried off. The Government, after driving off the British Fleet, was likely to be in a good temper, but I did not wish to keep it waiting for me too long. When I entered the room I found Conroy, McNeice, Malcolmson, Cahoon and the Dean seated at the table. Moyne was not there. "I congratulate you, gentlemen," I said, "on the result of the naval engagement. Malcolmson was perfectly magnificent. It was you, wasn't it, who--?" "I didn't see anything magnificent about it," said Malcolmson, sulkily. "We're damned well sick of being played with," said McNeice. "If the English Government means to fight us--" said the Dean, speaking explosively. "Do you mean to say," I said, "that you think the Admiral was not in earnest in that bombardment?" "No more than the soldiers were yesterday," said McNeice. "They fired over our heads." "And we're not going to stand any more fooling," said Malcolmson. "We're business men," said Cahoon, "and this sort of play-acting won't do for Belfast." "Your boss politicians," said Conroy, "have been flooding us out with telegrams." There was a large pile of telegrams in front of him and some forty or fifty loose sheets of flimsy yellow paper were scattered about the table. "Their notion," said Conroy, "is that we should send a man over to negotiate." "An ambassador," I said, "Plenipotentiary?" "Lord Moyne won't go," said the Dean. "He's the proper man," I said. "Let's try to persuade him." "He's up at the barracks," said McNeice. "He's been there all morning trying to get the General to arrest him." "It would be far better," I said, "if he went to London and handed himself over to the Prime Minister." "European convention," said Conroy, "makes it necessary, so I am informed, that this particular kind of job should be done by a member of your aristocracy." I was, I think, with the exception of Moyne, the only member of the House of Lords in Belfast at the moment. The committee had evidently fixed on me as an ambassador. "There is," I said, "a tradition that the Diplomatic Service should be--but our circumstances are so very peculiar--I am not sure that we ought to feel bound--" "Will you go?" said Conroy. "Of course, I'll go," I said. "There's nothing I should like better."