Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-12-10

watched the point where she had dis.
appeared.
CHAPTER WI.
Making . War.
Hedworth .Westerlins would have
said twenty to one II he had been asked
the odds against war when he was
parting from Marta Galland In the
hotel reception room. Before he
reached home he would have changed
them to ten to one. A scare bulletin
about the Bodlapoo affair compelling
attention as his car halted to let the
traffic Of a cross street pass, he bought
a newspaper thrust In at the car win
dow that contained the answer OF the
government Of the Browns to a dis
patch of the Grays about the dispute
that had arisen In the distant African
jungle. This he had already read two
days previously, by courtesy OF the
premier. 1t was moderate in tone, as
became a power that had 5000, 900 SOL
diers against its opponents 5000. 900:
nevertheless, it firmly pointed out that
the territory Of the Browns had been
overtly invaded. on the pretext Of Sc
curing a deserter who had escaped
across the line, by Gray colonial
troops who had raised the Gray flag in
place Of the Brown flag and remained
defantly in occupation of the outpost
they had taken.
As yet, the Browns had not attempt
ed to repel the aggressor by arms for
fear of complications, but were relying
on the Gray government to order a
withdrawal of the Gray force and the
reputation of a commander who had
been guilty of so grave an international
affront. The surprising and illuminat.
ing thing to Westerling was the in
spired statement to the press from the
Gray foreign Office, adroitly appealing
to Gray chauvinism and justifying the
"intrepidity" Of the Gray commander
in response to so-called "pin-pricking''
exasperations.
At the door Of his apartment, Fran
co.'s, his valet and factotum, gave Wes-
terling a letter.
Important, SIR" said Francois.
Westerling knew by a glance that It
was, for 1t was addressed and marked
Personal" in the premier's W hand
writing. A conference for ten that
evening al requested in a manner
that left no doubt Of its urgency.
Curiosity made him a little ahead of
time,' but he found the premier await.
ing him in his study, free from inter.
ruption or eavesdropping.
In the shadow of the table lamp the
old premier looked his years. From
youth he had been In politics, ever a
bold figure and a daring player. but
now beginning to feel the pressure of
younger mems elbows. Ponder even
of power, which had become a habit,
than in his twenties, he saw 1t slipping
from his grasp at an age when the
downfall Of his government meant that
he should eve hold the reins again.
He had been called an ambitious dem
agogue and a makeshift opportunist by
his enemies, but the crowd liked him
for his ready strategy, his genius for
appealing phrases, and for the gam
bler's virtue which hitherto had made
him a good loser.
you saw our communique tonight
that went with the publication Of the
Browns Dispatch" he remarked.
Yes. and l am glad that / had been
careful to send a spirited commander
to that region" Westeriing replied.
so you guess my intention, l see."
The premier smiled. He picked up a
long. thin ivory paper.knife and softly
patted the palm of his hand with it.
Certainly" Westerling replied in
his ready, confident manner.
1--WE hear a great deal about the pre-.
cision and power Of modern arms as
favoring the defensive" said the pre-.
mier. Il have read somewhere that 1t
will enable the Browns to hold US back,
despite u advantage Of numbers.
Also. that they can completely man
every part Of their frontier and that
their ability to move their reserves
rapidly. thanks to modern facilities.
makes a powerful thanking attack in
surprise out Of the question"
Some half-truths in that" an.
Westerling. "One axiom. that must
hold good through all time. is that the
aggressive which keeps at It always
wins. W. take the aggressive. In the
space where Napoleon deployed a d.
vision, we deploy a battalion today.
The precision and power Of modern
arms require this. With such immense
forces and ~present.day tactics. the line
Of battle will practically cover the
length Of the frontier. Along their
range the Browns have a series Of
fortresses commanding natural open.
ings for u attack. These are almost
impregnable. But there are p~regnabie
points between them Here, our
method will be the same that the Japa-
nese followed and that they learned
from European armies. We shall con.
centrate in masses and throw in wave
after wave Of attack until we have
gained the positions we desire. Once
we have a tenable foothold on the
crest Of the range the Brown army
must fall back and the rest will be q
matter Of skillful pursuit."
The premier, as he listened, rolled
the paper knife over and over. regard.
ing its polished sides, which were like