"
It was not necessary to say more. They all laughed then. Ha, ha, ha!
with a spontaneous roar but a short one, a laugh in three blows, since
to prolong it, might be interpreted as a lack of respect to His Majesty.
As they neared Europe, a batch of news came to meet the boat. The
employees in the wireless telegraphy office were working incessantly.
One night, on entering the smoking room, Desnoyers saw the German
notables gesticulating with animated countenances. They were no longer
drinking beer. They had had bottles of champagne uncorked, and the
Counsellor's Lady, much impressed, had not retired to her stateroom.
Captain Erckmann, spying the young Argentinian, offered him a glass.
"It is war," he shouted with enthusiasm. "War at last. . . . The hour
has come!"
Desnoyers made a gesture of astonishment. War! . . . What war? . . .
Like all the others, he had read on the news bulletin outside
a radiogram stating that the Austrian government had just sent an
ultimatum to Servia; but it made not the slightest impression on him,
for he was not at all interested in the Balkan affairs. Those were but
the quarrels of a miserable little nation monopolizing the attention of
the world, distracting it from more worthwhile matters. How could this
event concern the martial Counsellor? The two nations would soon come to
an understanding.
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