“Do you mean that?” Mr. Hebblethwaite asked eagerly.

“Absolutely certain,” Norgate assured him.

Hebblethwaite half rose from his place with excitement.

“I ought to telephone to the War Office,” he declared.  “It will alter the whole mobilisation of the French troops.”

“France knows,” Norgate told him quietly.  “My wife has seen to that.  She passed the information on to them just in time to contract the whole line of mobilisation.”

“You’ve been doing big things, young fellow!” Mr. Hebblethwaite exclaimed excitedly.  “Go on.  Tell me at once, what was your report to Germany?”

“I reported that Italy would certainly fulfil the terms of her alliance and fight,” Norgate replied.  “Furthermore, I have convinced my chief over here that under no possible circumstances would the present Cabinet sanction any war whatsoever.  I have given him plainly to understand that you especially are determined to leave France to her fate if war should come, and to preserve our absolute neutrality at all costs.”

“Go on,” Hebblethwaite murmured.  “Finish it, anyhow.”

“There is very little more,” Norgate concluded.  “I have a list here of properties in the outskirts of London, all bought by Germans, and all having secret preparations for the mounting of big guns.  You might just pass that on to the War Office, and they can destroy the places at their leisure.  There isn’t anything else, Hebblethwaite.  As I told you, I’ve played the double traitor.  It was the only way I could help.  Now, if I were you, I would arrest the master-spy for whom I have been working.  Most of the information he has picked up lately has been pretty bad, and I fancy he’ll get a warm reception if he does get back to Berlin, but if ever there was a foreigner who abused the hospitality of this country, Selingman’s the man.”

“We’ll see about that presently,” Mr. Hebblethwaite declared, leaning back.  “Let me think over what you have told me.  It comes to this, Norgate.  You’ve practically encouraged Germany to risk affronting us.”

“I can’t help that,” Norgate admitted.  “Germany has gone into this war, firmly believing that Italy will be on her side, and that we shall have our hands occupied in civil war, and in any case that we should remain neutral.  I am not asking you questions, Hebblethwaite.  I don’t know what the position of the Government will be if Germany attacks France in the ordinary way.  But one thing I do believe, and that is that if Germany breaks Belgian neutrality and invades Belgium, there isn’t any English Government which has ever been responsible for the destinies of this country, likely to take it lying down.  We are shockingly unprepared, or else, of course, there’d have been no war at all.  We shall lose hundreds of thousands of our young men, because they’ll have to fight before they are properly trained, but we must fight or perish.  And we shall fight—­I am sure of that, Hebblethwaite.”