"The men who will be
dragged away from their work, from their business, used as 'cannon
fodder.'"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, they are always eager enough for it, at
first," he answered. "There is the excitement. The curiosity. You must
remember that life is a monotonous affair to the great mass of the
people. There's the natural craving to escape from it; to court
adventure. They are not so enthusiastic about it after they have tasted
it. Modern warfare, they soon find, is about as dull a business as
science ever invented."
There was only one hope that he could see: and that was to switch the
people's mind on to some other excitement. His advices from London told
him that a parliamentary crisis was pending. Could not Mrs. Denton and
her party do something to hasten it? He, on his side, would consult with
the Socialist leaders, who might have something to suggest.
He met Joan, radiant, a morning or two later. The English Government had
resigned and preparations for a general election were already on foot.
"And God has been good to us, also," he explained.
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