means war, Piers, glorious war, with triumphs for the race and for
civilisation! England means civilisation; the other nations don't
count."

"Oh, come----"

"I tell you they don't count!" roared Alexander, his hair wild and
his beard ferocious. "You're not one of the muffs who want to keep
England little and tame, are you?"

"I think pretty much with father about these things."

"The old man! Oh, I'd forgotten the old man. But he's not of our
time, Piers; he's old-fashioned, though a good old man, I admit. No,
no; we must be armed and triple-armed; we must be so strong that not
all the confounded foreigners leagued together can touch us. It's
the cause of civilisation, Piers. I preach it whenever I get the
chance; I wish I got it oftener. I stand for England's honour,
England's supremacy on sea and land. I st-tand----"

He tried to do so, to reach the bottle, which proved to be empty.

"Send for another, Biddy--the right Irish, my lass! Another bottle
to the glory of the British Empire! Piers, we'll make a night of it.
I haven't a bed to offer you, but Biddy'll give you a shake-down
here on the floor. You're the right sort, Piers. You're a
noble-minded, generous-hearted Englishman."

Mrs. Otway, with a glance at the visitor, only made pretence of
sending for more whisky, and Piers, after looking at his watch,