At last, on the twenty-ninth of July, I received a telephone message
to come to Mr. Ward on the instant. Twenty minutes later I was in his
cabinet.
"You leave in an hour, Strock," said he.
"Where for?"
"For Toledo."
"It has been seen?"
"Yes. At Toledo you will get your final orders."
"In an hour, my men and I will be on the way."
"Good! And, Strock, I now give you a formal order."
"What is it, Mr. Ward?"
"To succeed! This time to succeed!"
Chapter 11
THE CAMPAIGN
So the undiscoverable commander had reappeared upon the territory of
the United States! He had never shown himself in Europe either on the
roads or in the seas. He had not crossed the Atlantic, which
apparently he could have traversed in three days. Did he then intend
to make only America the scene of his exploits? Ought we to conclude
from this that he was an American?
Let me insist upon this point. It seemed clear that the submarine
might easily have crossed the vast sea which separates the New and
the Old World. Not only would its amazing speed have made its voyage
short, in comparison to that of the swiftest steamship, but also it
would have escaped all the storms that make the voyage dangerous.
Tempests did not exist for it. It had but to abandon the surface of
the waves, and it could find absolute calm a few score feet beneath.
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