The Invasion of Australia. A Forecast.

Item

Title of Story
The Invasion of Australia. A Forecast.
Critical Introduction
The 1906 story The Invasion of Australia features the following social engineering paragraph:
“She believed that Australia had no right to rely on Britain for coastal protection, and she was never tired of telling me that I and every other Australian who thought the contrary were moral cowards to compound by a money payment with our national duty to navally defend ourselves by our own exertions. It was no use begging her to remember that Australia was Britain's child, and lhat we could therefore -without any loss of dignity depenti upon lier to protect us. She would retort by asking me what I would think of any youngster, whether boy or girl, who dared not let go tho maternal apron strings, but always skulked in the shadow of its mother's robe? "How would you like to bring up our George on. those lines?" she would ask me. It is impossible to argue with a woman. The British Government had a dozen times authoritatively assured us that the only proper way of discharging our Im perial obligation was to contribute to the British navy and to maintain a fair sized British trained military force. And tb6 Imperial Defence Committee had shown by all the. most approved rules of naval strategy a locally owned Australian navy to be an ineffective, theoretical and practical absurdity. Yet my wife dared not only to set ber opinion above that of all this for midable array of British Statesmen and naval scientists, hut to contemn them for their way of thinking. Nor was she alone in her views. Thousands of intelligent Aus tralians shared in her irreverence.”

I note that, at the time, there was a women’s movement that worked to prevent the introduction of conscription, and the Catholic church was vehemently against Australia’s involved in war, it is unlikely that this character in this story represents the Australian women of that period. Rather this female character represents perhaps the agenda of the editor of the Melbourne Age newspaper in 1906. Or perhaps a government official pushed the newspaper and / or the author in some way. We may never know. However, as agenda setting and purposive writing is recorded as having happened in multiple stories in the UK, with wide ranging support, it stands to reason it happened here as well.

The discussion with the German at the beginning of the story was interesting as it predicted World War II quite accurately. But then, another on the nose paragraph: “We each pledged our selves to do all in our power to this effect, and we started the ball rolling by there nnd then writing letters to tho papers calling upon the Australian people to dis play their Imperial patriotism in the sen sible, practical fashion we suggested. Tlie result 'exceeded our warmest hopes. With in three days of tho publication of our appeal the whole Commonwealth was in a ferment of patriotic enthusiasm, and at the etui of a week the Prime Minister, with the warm approval of the people, cabled to tlie British government an offer of Australian help.”

And this:

“Our eldest son George, who had recently obtained liis commission as a lieutenant of artillery in the partially paid field forces, insisted on volunteering for the front.”

“A vast crowd was assembled there, the friends and re I a-, tives of the brave lads who were going over seas, a band of chivalrous' adventurers, to fight for the honor of old England and the grand old British flag.”

There are paragraphs of this social engineering throughout. And, it is possible that, in 1906, with a positiveness about the future, these kinds of stories might have persuaded people who were on the fence. (In fact, this story might have been popular in the early days as, even though the first chapter suggests it is a story about the war that took place between 20th September 2014 and 20th October 1914, the story continues until its fictional Dec. It is likely the text was written week to week, with the editor even deciding to draw it out longer by splitting individual chapters across three newspaper issues towards the end.)

However, by the time The Great War started, this interest in being part of the military had begun to wain for a variety of reasons, including that Australians began reporting at home that the British didn't afford them any respect, believing them to be lesser as they came from the colonies. Australians would fight for Australia but they weren't about to be posted to Egypt to fight for the British if they could get out of it! This led to two referendums for conscription which resulted in a no vote both times.

[Perhaps, if the British soldiers had treated the Australian soldiers differently, it would have been a different story. Still, having had a grandfather who survived for two decades with his war injuries before succumbing in the 1940s, surviving on a meagre pension, and a grandmother who died in the 1960s after spending many years fighting for a war widows pension and a loan to buy a house, I wish my grandfather hadn't been part of the campaign in Egypt.]

In any case, this is one of the last of the purposive social engineering experiment future war fiction stories that I have been able to find in newspapers. Stories that come after this one are less obvious and take pains to show the excitement of war and demonstrate how important it is to defend ones country, rather than blatant statements. They also include a vast amount of science, technology and invention which adds to the excitement (and protection) of the characters in the stories.

It is interesting to note that there is a sudden change in the narrative in the last 800 words. Before that, invaders attacking around Australia and soldiers fighting back and the narrator confident all will be well. But, suddenly, almost like the story has been written by someone else (!!!) the narrator reports that his wife is sick, his son is dead and he doesn't care anymore. Later, his wife dies and he hopes he will too. Hmm. I wonder if the editor had got enough grief about this story from the public that they decided it can't continue. There was at least three more chapters in it. Actually, this is quite a common occurence in newspaper publishing and another example can be seen in the last few lines of A Trip to the Moon.
Story Summary
World War in 1914. Quite detailed. Australian Politics. Massive new German Battleship. Electric launches. Massive fleet invades a defenceless Australia.
Science Fiction Subgenres
Future War
Invention Opera
Invasion
Future Year Set
1914
Inventions
No direct inventions, just upgrades of existing tech eg: "It consisted in a German naval demonstration in the Levant. The Kaiser announced his intdntion of paying a friendly visit to the Sultan, and a week or two later lie steamed out of the Kiel Canal— the widening and deepening of which had been just completed at a cost of £12,000,000, in his enormous new battle ship the- "Stuttgart"— of 20,000 tons bur den, steaming capacity 28 knots, armed with 14-inch lCrupp guns'. As an escort lie took with him' two other ships of the same class, four vessels slightly , superior to' the "Dreadnought" type; six battleships all over 15,000 tons; two armored cruisers of 16,800 tons, and twelve smaller craft. It was the most stupendous fleet that had ever escorted a monarch on a friendly call that the world has ever seen; and Europe looked on in stupefied amazement."
Science
Military strategy mathematics. e.g.: "Y\ e found tlint while Britain owned 24 improved Dreadnoughts, 32 second class battleships, 38 special armored cruisers of over 15,000 tons, 40 first class armored cruisers, 50 of the second and third class type, 250 torpedo craft nnd 50 submarines, Germany could only show 18 Stuttgnrts (a type slightly superior, of course, to the improved Dreadnoughts), 12 second class battleships, 24 special armored cruisers of 16,000 tons and over, 12 first cliiss armored cruisers, 24 of the lesser type, 150 torpedo craft and 40 submarines. At first glance it seemed to us that the German nation must have gone of a sudden com pletely crazy, for here was statistical proof that the British navy was twice as powerful as the German. But a little more study convinced us that Germany was not quite us mad as she at first ap peared. The British navy was split up into several detachments; the German sv.es practically undivided. And since 10 out of the 24 British Dreadnoughts were of necessity attached to the Atlantic fleet, it followed that Britain must call upon lier Reserve fleet in order to oppose 14 Dread noughts to the 18 German Stuttgarls. Then no fewer than 20 of Britain's special armored cruisers were distributed between the Mediterranean and Atlantic fleets, leaving only 18 in home waters to oppose Germany's 24."
Related Newspaper Fiction
The Siege of Sydney
The Coloured Conquest
How this Story was Identified
Keyclouds
KeyClouds
scientist experiment invention electric scientific science engine earth world invasion engineer
8 science fiction stories found, 15 discarded.
Historical Context
Fear of an impending invasion of most countries as well as governments pushing for bigger military budgets
Attributed Author
Ambrose Pratt
Nationality
Australian
Other Works by the Author Listed in the Newspaper
The Counterstroke
Single or Serialised
Serialised
First Published Date of Last Installment
1906-12-01
Year For Sorting
1906
Date Range
1906-11-10-1906-12-01
Number of Installments
16 Chapters, a few split across two issues
Complete or Supplemented
Incomplete. Missing chapter XIII. Trove's record of The Age November 23rd 1906 is missing pages.
Estimated Word Count
60,000 words
Length
Novel
Links in To Be Continued
https://readallaboutit.com.au/#/title/72612
Links to Trove
Chapter XVII
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201673912
Newspaper Publisher Citation
The Age Melbourne VIC 1854-1954
Newspaper Name Location Years
The Age, Melbourne, VIC, 1854-1954
Location Town City
Melbourne
Location State Territory
Victoria
Provincial or Metro
Metropolitan
First Republished on InfiniteAnthologies.com
YES
General Subjects
War
Language
English
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These items are historical texts digitised from their original publication, and reflects the social attitudes, cultural values, and language of the time in which they were created. Some content may include depictions or references that are racist, sexist, ableist, colonialist, or otherwise offensive by contemporary standards. This material is presented uncensored for scholarly, archival, and educational purposes. It serves as a record of past cultural attitudes and is preserved here to support critical engagement, historical reflection, and the advancement of inclusive scholarship. Reader discretion is advised.
Edition Creator
Neil Hogan
OCR from TBC and Trove
The Invasion of Australia. A Forecast. By Ambrose Pratt
THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. v " . COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST." BY AMBROSE PRATT ((Author of "The Countcrstrokc," &c.). .CHAPTER I!— LOOKING BACKWARD. At the,' personal request of the Prime Minister of the Commonwuallh, I am about to record the experiences which befell me between the 20th (Lay of September aud the 2Gth day of October in this red year of our Lord, 1914. But, inasmuch as this small portion of my personal history is inextrieablv associated: with Australia's initiation to tlie horrors and the mysteries of war, a brief foreword concerning those events whicli led up to and culminated in tlie national calamities which now atliict jny native land wil not be out of place. It is a far cry to hark back thirteen years, nevertheless certain happenings in the year 1001 still stand boldly outlined in my mqmory. For example, my most' trusted employe, a man who had for half a decade been my managing clerk, opened the new year by bolting suddenly to South America with more than £1000 of my hard earned money. Very soon after that tlie cottage next door to us, which had been unoccupietl for many months, was suddenly taken by an old German bachelor, one of those Germans who claimed the century, and wanted to kick 11s out from cither end of it. He was always belauding Germany and all things German,' and as I have some what of a weakness for argument, and am, before all things, an Australian and an Im perialist, I found his society decidedly re freshing. This brings me to a little friendly, pas sage at arms I had with him which is in delibly engraved upon my memory, and is iworth repeating in consideration of the prophetic light it threw on the historic happenings of the next few years. We iwere seated in my study, he puffing at .a Jong stemmed briar wood' and emptying nt intervals flngon after flagon of German lager, a cask of which I had laid in for his entertainment; I sriioking a cigar, and. now and then moistening my lips with some choice Australian brandy. ' . ' We had been discussing the Boer war, Mien practically" over, and somewhat heatedly too, when a servant brought in the last edition of tlie afternoon paper, which had just becri delivered at the door. The interruption suspended hostilities, and somewhat to my relief, for Mr. Reinhard Hachmann had got me into a, dialectic corner on tho question of British military' unprepared noss and lack of foresight. I rapidly resolved, therefore, to change the subject if 1 could, and seizing the journal DC. ran -my eye over tlie cables in search of nn excuse. Conceive any delight then to- find n paragraph announcing that tlie Kaiser had reiterated his German world empire policy, and that he had declared the twentieth century -belonged to the Ger mans. I put a finger on the cable — and 'with difficulty suppressing a chuckle — handed it to Mr. Hachmann. He read it, frowned, and said,"JIoch !"; Then lie (drained his fifth llagon, and sank back in Oiis -chair, deep in thought. Here was my, chance. I stuck ray thumbs in the arm- holes of my waistcoat, spread out my fingers, crossed my knees, arid leisurely opened fire. "Your Kaiser has a singularly sanguine temperament," I murmured in my softest purr. , "He aspires to found a German world em pire. Well, to do that he needs colonies. But where are colonies to be found? There is hardly a rood of land fit for colonial settlement on the face of tho globe wliicli lis not already owned by. some power or an other." . , "Just so," replied Hachmann, "and usu ally by Britain. Britain has too many colonics. More than she needs or can de velop. More than she -can keep." - ' "Germany will take them from her?" I suggested. "If Britain is wise, she will divide . witli Germany lier colonial possessions of her own accord," said Hachmann. "You think it likely?"' \ ' "No. Neither does the Kaiser— nor any of my countrymen. That is why our Reichstag voted last year £100,000,000 for .the increase of the German navy." "Pah!" I sneered. "Do you imagine that Britain will ever let Germany wrest from her the naval sovereignty that she wields so proudly find so capably. For every. ship Germany builds Britain will build three — she can build— six. Be assured of that." 1 "But for how long?" inquired the Ger man. "For ever." Hachmann shook his head. "Lot ns con sider the facts, my dear lawyer, before we pronounce judgment. That is tiil legal rule, is it not? Well, the facts are as follow:— Britain is truly a most ricb'couritry, but she is smaller than Germany, and her natu- " ral resources arc not mo/e extensive. Her population is 40, 000, WO; Germany's is GO, 000, 000. But while Britain's population is relatively speaking declining, Germany's is increasing at the rate of 1,000,000 every year. And German's national wealth is still more rapid-'y increasing tluin her popu lation; -while Britain, because she is not a self-contained country and lias to feed- her self from .abroad, and because she is no longer tlx! only manufacturing country in ithe world, but has nbw to meet German, French, American and other competition in all her home and foreign markets, must in tho nature of things sooner or later begin— if she lias not hegun already — to lose ground. It follows as surely as night fol- .-' lows day that she will not always be able ' to keep on increasing and increasing her enormous navy. Already lior people are sorely taxed for its support. Twenty, thirty years hence — perhaps more, perhaps less, the limit will he reached. Germany sees ithis— and in order to shorten the period she is now providing for a navy which will force Britain to enter upon an exhaustive war of construction. .You may smile at me, any friend, hut Germany is better equipped for this war than Britain is. In. the first place she has more people to bear the bur den, and their number multiplies by leaps and bounds. In the second, she starts on the race unhampered by the necessity of maintaining in commission at prodigious cost a tremendous fleet, which each year — since, the science of naval architecture is a rapidly; progressive , one— becomes less and less valuable. That is Britain's position— (- Britain's present overweening naval- strength handicaps her future. The, thing is a paradox, but it is true; so true, that 1 dare to predict that we shall both live to see Germany, Britain's naval equal. There!" "Pooh!" said I. ' .."And what do you imagind Canada, Australia, New Zealand, - India and South Africa will he doing in the meanwhile?. Are you dull cnougli to Relieve that if the great outposts of the Empire find that Britain's naval supremacy is being threatened by Germany's naval policy, and that Britain is unable to iinan-' cially endure the strain, they will not help her?" Mr. Hachmann puffed out a big smoke tvreatb. "If I am correctly informed," he murmured, "Canada has already refused to contribute to the Imperial navy, and al though Australia pays something — a drop in the well of Britain's naval expenditure — she does not like it. What is that pltra&c? Ach, I have it. It means to you .colonists taxation without representation, therefore you object. Besides, you Australians as pire to have a navy of your own— is it not so?" "Not all of us," I replied indignantly. "The notion is ridiculous. What do we want with a navy, when Britain is able and willing lo defend us? Believe me, Ilaclc- it is all talk. And you would quick ly see ii He rca need arose how readily We should open our money bags in response to Britain's call!" It may bc» j,e repljeej_ 'Jjjut Germany is prepared for that, too. Our rulers look far ahead, and they take all things into ac count, even the remotest possibilities." "Indeed!" I said contemptuously. "Won derful fellows you Germans are, by jove." My tone stung -him. He sat up and struck the arm of the chair with his fist. "How long," he cried, "will your marvel lous British Empire be able' to keep on building six ships to Germany's one — ay, or even two— if it has to. face at the same time war in Egypt, .war in India, and a fresh outbreak of war in Southern Africa? Tell me.' that!" "My dear Hachmann!" I answered in my most superior manner. "I am prepared to answer sensible questions; but " "You cull mo a fool!" lie thundered. "Well — a visionary!" He sprang to his' feet, purple with rage. "IltiT Ha!" he spluttered. "You stick-in- the-mud Britisher; you damn silly Austra lian. You and all your cocksure fellow Britons; you doze and sleep and grow fat. But Germany works. The Kaiser makes friends with the Sultan of Turkey, the l'ope and all the Moslems. One of these days you will .wake from your sluggish imbecility to find a -jelied preached. Then you will see .'Egypt rise, and India and -Morocco and Al geria . Then once more the Boers will seize their Mansers; and, pouf — where will he your British Empire?" But nt this 1 lost my temper, too. I got to my feet as well, and gave the German scowl for scowl. :"If that's what your Kaiser is dreaming of in making friends with tho Porto, "- I cried, "lie's a raving lunatic. The thing's impossible." , "Impossible !". shouted Hachmann. "You shall see! and more— Avium "the day comes that Australia is no more a British but a German colony — if . you live then 1 Reinhard Hachmann, -will avenge on you the -.insult you have giv.en to my lCtiiscr. Soh !" With , that he shook his list, in my face, and before 'I could. resent . his violence he turned . about, and .simply rushed out of the room and from. . the house. . Reflecting on the .amount of lager lie had consumed I attributed his conduct to in toxication, and next morning I was ready to forgive him. But. I wns never given an opportunity to exercise my merciful in tention. 1 had seen Hachmann for the last time. He left Melbourne the very 'next day, and 1 believe wont to Perth. ' But although the man there and then passed out of my life, I had occasion be fore many years to recall his wild jircdic- tions with a slowly growing sense of won- tier and dismay. . The outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war and the consequent crumbling into fragments of the power of the great European colossus made Germany the paramount military nation in the world. Germany was no sooner freed of the restraining influence of fear for the safety of her northern borders than she began to shake a mailed fist in the faces of her other neighbors. Her' demeanor was so menacing that Britain was impelled, in order to maintain the balance of power, to enter upon an alliance -with France. This checked Germany for the time. ..She. could not afford to fight France and Britain together then, for navally she was weak. But- she tit once began to make preparations for the future by building a navy which should' make' lier ' ultimately the greatest sea power on earth— not excepting 'Britain. Such was her avowed ambition.

CHAPTER II. — THE JEHAD. . ;It -tvas about this., period — namely, to wards the end of the year 190G — that the Australian defence policy began to he' seri ously agitated. A Liberal Government had been for some time in, power, but although it had views, "and -occasionally expressed; them, in favor of a universal military ser vice on the lines of the Swiss system, nr.d h small locally owned flotilla of cruisers, and torpedo boats to protect tlie Australian littoral from the raids of hostile roving cruisers, it lacked the courage of .its opiu- ions. In common with other Conserva tives, I was very glad of this-r-for there existed at the time a_ strong yco mbination to further such a.'scheme ot national de fence. And I verily believe, that had a referendum been taken oti the question in the December elections/of 1906, a consider able majority of .'electors would have pro nounced for the ' sjfecdy realisation of , a local navy/ y The Government, however, did not adopt -this coarse. Earlier in the same year it Jiad/.asked the British Committee of Imperial'Defenice to promulgate a com-- prehensive scheme for the armed protec tion of the Commonwealth; and it had sent an Australian officer to London to . confer- tvitli tho Imperial' Committee and to urge the Australian naval aspiration on the con sideration of the Imperial authorities. But in ils reply the Imperial committee con demned the proposal for an Australian navy in unmeasured terms, and strongly ad vised the Commonwealth to rely solely for ;its coastal defbnee on the British navy, and 'it brought forward a plan for the arma- Iment-pf some existing Australian forts, the disarmament of others— notably those of Albany and Cooktown— and it also ad vanced' a detailed scheme for the remodel ling and strengthening of the Australian volunteer and permanent forces on Impe rial standards. - . ' This' sweeping condemnation by the Bri tish expert authorities of Australian self- nssertiveness so rebuffed , and disheartened the Liberal Ministers that they lost grip of their . policy. Some journals; which claimed to voice the national idea, fought to have the Imperial Defence Committee's counsel set at naught. But although public 'opinion temporarily . favored this course, the .Government frittered away, its chances, and did almost nothing. Then came our turn. A reactionary wave of Conservative opinion swept the country. Imperial Navy Leagues were formed to educate the people into a whole-hearted faith in the fleets of Britain, and to instil into the minds of all our duty as Britons to help the motherland bear the burden of the financial cost of Imperial de fence. Everybody will remember the result. A split in the Government ranks, caused by a quarrel between the Liberals and the Labor party enabled a Conservative Ad ministration to assume tlie reins of oflic-e. One of its first acts was to review the exist ing naval agreement with Britain, and to renew it for. a further term of years on a more generous scale as regards our mone tary contribution. Following that, the Aus tralian officer, who had been appointed to the chief command in our military forces was .superseded -by a British General, and we proceeded to put into immediate prac tical effect the entire scheme of defence which the Imperial Committee of Defence had so graciously and laboriously devised for our advantage and enlightenment. It is worthy of remark that my wife detested my views and those of my party. She was a thorough Radical, and I had never been able to convert her. She be lieved that Australia had no right to rely 011 Britain for coastal protection, and she was never tired of telling me that I and every other Australian who thought the contrary were moral cowards to compound by a money payment with our national duty to navally defend ourselves by our own exertions. It was no use begging her to remember that Australia was Britain's child, and lhat we could therefore -without any loss of dignity depenti upon lier to protect us. She would retort by asking me what I would think of any youngster, whether boy or girl, who dared not let go tho maternal apron strings, but always skulked in the shadow of its mother's robe? "How would you like to bring up our George on. those lines?" she would ask me. It is impossible to argue with a woman. The British Government had a dozen times authoritatively assured us that the only proper way of discharging our Im perial obligation was to contribute to the British navy and to maintain a fair sized British trained military force. And tb6 Imperial Defence Committee had shown by all the. most approved rules of naval strategy a locally owned Australian navy to be an ineffective, theoretical and practical absurdity. Yet my wife dared not only to set ber opinion above that of all this for midable array of British Statesmen and naval scientists, hut to contemn them for their way of thinking. Nor was she alone in her views. Thousands of intelligent Aus tralians shared in her irreverence. The next few years passed very quietly for all the world. That is to say, they seemed to' pass quietly, although we know now that the door of a tremendous powder magazine was open all the time, which only needed a spark to pass to set the globe aflame. It was a period of mighty, war like preparations with all the nations. They did nothing but build battleships and increase and train their armies. For what? No one appeared able to guess. ' But, as Britain held Iter own in this peaceful war of naval .construction and military development, we Australians did not trouble our heads overmuch about the issue. AVe occupied ourselves in inter- State squabbles, in extending our com merce, increasing our population, fighting over Socialism und tho tariff, and incident ally in growing rich. Politically, however, we did not progress much. The effete, ineffective system of government by parly was responsible for that. The Liberals, Conservatives and Labor members, kept for the most part numerically equal in (the House of Representatives, and the Trea sury benches, were continually changing liahds. A Conservative Government would lipid office 011 sufferance for a' few months, then the other parties would combine to kick it out, and in. would come a Libera"; Next Labor would have a. trial, and ,so on, the ball of office being tirelessly tossed about like a veritable shuttlecock. In consequence of this, aud the fact that South Australia's haggling demands be came more and more exorbitant as time proceeded, the business of the taking over and development of the Northern Terri tory by the Commonwealth tvas continu ally postponed. It is true that South Ans-- tralia made a sort of effort to settle the country, and in that aim extended the overland railway from Oodnndatta to the Macdonnell Ranges at her own expense; but she did not add much to the Terii- tory's white population all the same. One of the Labor Governments, in its ia rra of office; started to build the railway /from Adelaide to Perth, but a Conservative Ad ministration followed, and the woi;k was promptly stopped. It was the same in everything e)4c. We did -and we undid, and never a 'jia teaman nrose to show us a way out of t-'je political maze in which we had cnmeshe.4 ourselves. And yet I- doubt, if ever' a Ghl'dstone or a Washington could have done ,Wch good- had one appeared. For wo 'Were sunk in well-fed political apathy as -,i people. The world was going very w<,j| with us— too well indeed; 'and we had; almost come to regard politics as a joke. ' Political factions Und disputes amused, 'put never s'criously disturbed IKS. And til;-' only thing we took any read interest in .was inter-State quar relling. The fact is .we had grown horribly provincial. A proper Federal spirit was wholly lacking .in us, and instead of a united people we remained in spite of federation an .Assemblage of jealous States. This was' not; so much the fault of our poli ticians as t,iu- own. ,The whole body poli tic had become diseased with the dry rot of indifference. My wife used to tell me— almost daily, lest I should forget it— that this fyisease was due to tlie fact that we had / chosen to depend upon England " for protection,, instead of acting like men and insisting upon dofending ourselves. She declared that oilr national character had thereby deteriorated; and she tvas always comparing- Australia witli Florence and Venice and other Stales which had hired mercenaries to defend them, and had suf fered for their folly in the ultimate ex tinction of their independence.' But, how ever that may be, we certainly needed arousing from our lethargy. Although we did not know it, the spur .that was to wake us was being manufactur ed" all the while.' Germany was making it. This spur -first- dimly revealed itself in the spring of 1010. -It consisted in a German naval demonstration in the Levant. The Kaiser announced his intdntion of paying a friendly visit to the Sultan, and a week or two later lie steamed out of the Kiel Canal— the widening and deepening of which had been just completed at a cost of £12,000,000, in his enormous new battle ship the- "Stuttgart"— of 20,000 tons bur den, steaming capacity 28 knots, armed with 14-inch lCrupp guns'. As an escort lie took with him' two other ships of the same class, four vessels slightly , superior to' the "Dreadnought" type; six battleships all over 15,000 tons; two armored cruisers of 16,800 tons, and twelve smaller craft. It was the most stupendous fleet that had ever escorted a monarch on a friendly call that the world has ever seen; and Europe looked on in stupefied amazement. But the Kaiser disarmed active suspicion by in viting British, French and Russian repre sentatives to accompany him and witness his portentous progress;, and he was per mitted to sail into the Mediterranean. In leisurely majesty he proceeded by tray of Nice, Naples and Athens .to Constanti nople. The Sultan came off to tlie "Stutt gart" — an unheard of honor— to bid him welcome, and. lie returned the Sultan's visit. Then he steamed back to Germany. By that time Britain had unmasked the Kaiser's game. She knew that the crafty- German had gone to all that trouble and expense to impress a proper sense of, his naval might on the Turkish mind; But al though Britain did not completely under stand his object, she determined to defeat it, aud she despatched the Prince of Wales with a fleet twice the size of the Kaiser's to have a chat with the Sultan. But it was too late. The Prince's fleet had hardly started when it was quietly announced in the German press that, Turkey had. floated a loan of £25,000,000 in Prussia. Britain,- smarting under tlie lush of so significant a German diplomatic triumph, recalled the Prince, ana sent the lleet, which had been about to visit Turkey to cruise 111 the' North Sea. Then she demanded from Ger many a share in the Turkish Joan. But Germany staggered her by immediately, complying. 'Die incident was temporarily closed on this amicable basis. Three months later, however, it became apparent that Turkey was using tihe money she hail borrowed in warlike preparations. She mobilised an immense army on the Bulgarian frontier, and war seemed immi nent. Britain, however, had little interest in Bulgaria's fate, and her attention was lumber distracted by the happening of two other pvents of immense importance to Iter Imperial interests. Russia, which had .been gradually rising from tlie hideous state of Anarchy and insolvency into which she nail unci! tiliuWU after the Japaiiuac v/ai, suddenly concluded, an offensive and de fensive alliance with Japan; and the very next day China, seeing her ambition thus ibalked of 'recovering possession of Man churia, declared war with both powers. Everyone expected that Japnn would have repeated the successes of her foriner contest with her gigantic Kinsman. But such, of course, wns not the ease. She had herself reorganised the Chinese army and assisted in tlie military, naval and commercial awakening of theMongonian co lossus. She was to suffer for her neigh borly zeal. In the great sea fight off YV'ei- hai-wai China proved the victor, and al though Japan succeeded n week later in bottling up the entire Uiincsc navy in tlie port of Fu Chnu. and Japanese and Rus sian troops poured forthwith over the Chin ese borders from Korea and Manchuria, it became speedily apparent that. China was a match for her foes, ai.cl that tlicy had become inextricably bogged in a task of al most inconceivable magnitude. Thus opened the second quarter of the year 1914, the most fateful and disastrous year of Australia's history. A bloodv war raged in the East, and war clouds hovered everywhere. Of all the world -America alone could afford to view the outlook without sharp nal.ona! anxiety. As for us in Australia, we began from the highest to the lowest to get up very early each morning just to read the cables. AVe were not afraid of the future, for was not Britain still mistress of the seas in spite of Germany"3 prodigons naval growth? Still, we were anxious, and as I have stated, we looked with intense eagerness for European news. Never shall I forget the morning of the 26th July. I had been rather seedy the previous evening, and for several nights 1 had beeu suffering from insomnia. 1 had therefore taken a sleep ing draught, and in consequence I woke late. My wife was up and dressed, for al though the blind was drawn I sawxher through the open door seated sewing in the drtssingrooin. "Good morning, Charlotte," I called out. '.'Have you the paper?" She came into my room, and pulled up the blind. "There is no paper this morn ing. Philip," siie nnswered, rather crisp ly, "our copy has evidently been stolen by some passer-by. and another is not, it seems, procurable, in this part of Toorak, at all events. .1 sent down to the news agents, but they were sold out before 7 o'clock. It is now nearly 9." "Sold out before 7!" I repeated. "Why on earth-; — " "I cannot say for certain," she replied. "But James heard at the news agents that win- has been declared between England and Turkey. I have, however, sent him into tlie city for a paper. He should be here presently. Then we shall know for certain." "Good God!" I gasped. "Are you feeling any better this morn ing, Philip?" "Feeling!" I cried. "Better! AA'hnt a question at a time like this!" I leaped oiit of bed, and began to dress witli feverish haste. AYar at last. That was all I could think of. AA'hat would it mean to the Em pire—and, above all, to Australia?, I had just, pulled nn my coat, when a knock sounded on the outer door. "Come in!" I shouted. , The footman entered, and for the first time -in my knowledge of the fellow his automaton like calin was pone, also 'lus habitual respect for his employers. "" ar> sir!" lie exclaimed. " AA'ar/war! ' then lie thrust "Tlie Age" into mi' hand. "Cost two and six, sir — of a newsboy — and it s the last copy of- the third rdition. I could have sold .it on the way/hack for twice the money. AA'ar, war!'' He went out crack ing 'liis; fingers like a schoolboy — the un thinking clown. / . My wife and I glanced at each other. We 'were both /trembling. "You,'- said I, and I offered lier- the. paper. It was an act ,n f heroism. /'Together.' she replied, with equal self-negation, and came to my side. I tore the' paper open, and we , read as follows, uiiderneath live rows of giant capi tals:— / "j | "A most critical situation has suddenly developed in Egypt. The Moslem populace, inflamed by their priests, who have tor .somo time -past been, clandestinely preach ing A jehad, have .risen in rebellion. _ Hun dreds of. Mollabs tire parading the principal Nile cities, calling upon the faithful, in the name of the uacrcd ' Klialif , tho Shadow of Odd, to slay then1 British masters and re store the ancient rule of Islam. Massacres have already, taken place, and several out lying British garrisons are beleaguered by vast hordes -of fanatics. It transpires that the British Government has not been taken by surprise. The chief Egyptian garrisons were lately strengthened, and an expedi tionary force of 80,000 men, which has-been for some time past waiting quietly nt Ply- : mouth, will embark immediately for Cairo to assist in crushing the rebellion. Mean while, t -e Mediterranean fleet nas beeu ordered to the Levant, and Britain bat pcremptoiiiy 'demanded an explanation of the Porte. . - . "Later.— Turkey has thrown off the mask. The British ambassador has been" requested by the; Porte to leave Constan tinople, and Turkish troops are entraining for the Suez Canal. It is now clear that Hie Sultan has .proclaimed a holy war throughout Northern Africa. In Morocco and Tunis general massacres of Christians have occurred. The .Islamic revolt lias '.extended: to Algeria, and -heavy, fight ing lias commenced between the French . and the native troops. . .In, India a sympathetic movement is ap parent in the Mahometan population. The frontier, tribes are in a state of danger ous excitement and unrest, and the Ameer, of Afghanistan has. seized the opportunity to prefer demands for extravagant conces sions under q veiled throat of making com mon cause with Britain's enemies. There, has been an extraordinary meeting of the British Cabinet, at which liis Majesty , the King was present. Subsequently the Prime Minister informed the House of Commons that it is the intention of the Government to vindicate at all hazards the principles of Christianity and British rule against the Pagan forces which have conspired for their suppression. An unprecedented demonstra tion ' ensued; . the Opposition, vying with Ministerial supporters to evince their -ap proval of the Government's deterriiina- tion." . . That was all, but it was quite cnougn. I sank into a chair and gazed in silence at my wife. I was quite overcome. _ She frowned and pursed up her lips in . deep thought a while. Then she glanced at me, and said in her most aggressive tone, "Germany is at tho bottom of this, Phillip; vou mark my words." ' But although I did not agree, . I knew, better than to contradict her... I. observed .that', the world seemed to me to.be coming to an end. ... . ' . "Nonsense!" fine replied. The 'world 13 all right. It is the British: Empire that us threatened with extinction, not tho world. But there's 110 use you sitting, mooning there. Get right up and go in to your break fast; you've kept. it. waiting long enough , already." ,. I. hadn't a shred of appetite, h.ut I to not feeling argumentative either.: So T. did as I was bid without tf .protest. 'I ahyays give in to 'my. wife in little things. . (TO 'BE CONTINUED.)'

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT (Author of "The Countcratrokc," &c.). CHAPTER III.— THE FORGING OF THE BOLT. . I had occasion for a small domestic triumph on the following day, for a cable message arrived, informing its that Ger many's altitude was perfectly correct. Tlie Kaiser had assured King Edward of his deep sympathy with Britain in the diffi culties with which she was confronted: and lie liad furthermore sent a telegram to the Sultan couched in a tone that was distinctly remonstrant, indeed, almost mcnncing. I read it aloud to my wife while she was dressing. But as she did not seem to hear it, I read it again. Then I coughed behind by palm, and asked her what she thought. Her reply was rather bitter. Site said that tire Kaiser was playing a game too deep for stupid per sons to see through, and she advised mo to study German history. It is so seldom that I succeed in really "riling" my better half, tint Iter discour teous reflection on my intellectual capacity delighted me, and I went into town re joicing over a rare marital victory. But the news that day brought forth was such as to banish all petty considerations out of mind. A telegram came through about midday from London, stating that Khar toum had fallen before the assault of an enormous force of death-despising Moslems, and that the Suez Canal had been seized by a strong Turkish army. I spent that afternoon in the Melbourne Club dis cussing the situation with a group of deep ly-concerned cronies, one of wliotn was a member of tho Federal Ministry. The conclusion we unanimously arrived at was that Australia ought to volunteer a power ful contingent of troops to serve either in Egyjit or India, as tlie British Govern ment preferred. We each pledged our selves to do all in our power to this effect, and we started the ball rolling by there nnd then writing letters to tho papers calling upon the Australian people to dis play their Imperial patriotism in the sen sible, practical fashion we suggested. Tlie result 'exceeded our warmest hopes. With in three days of tho publication of our appeal the whole Commonwealth was in a ferment of patriotic enthusiasm, and at the etui of a week the Prime Minister, with the warm approval of the people, cabled to tlie British government an offer of Australian help. But even then we only just forestalled New Zealand, for she followed suit on tlie very next day. The ensuing month was one of the most exciting I had ever spent till then. I was to know the inner meaning of excitement— afterwards. Britain's acceptance of our offer plunged the whole country in a froth of preparation. Britain asked us for 5000 mounted infantry for service in India. v\7e were rather disappointed at first— that is lo say, some of us were — for as yet no actual rebellion lias taken place in India. But I was not. Neither was my wife. And for this reason — Our eldest son George, who had recently obtained liis commission as a lieutenant of artillery in the partially paid field forces, insisted on volunteering for the front. I did all I could to dissuade him, but it was no use. Ho was heart and soul set on it. And although I quietly used my influence with the authorities to have his claim denied, lie circumvented me by going straight to the Minister and pleading for what he called just treatment, hinting broadly that in tlie event of a refusal he would let the public know why his demand to serve liad been rejected. There is a great deal of his mother in George. But in spile of liis headstrong ways and sclf-opiniatedness, lie is a fine lad, nnd I am proud of him. So when I found that it was impossible to prevent him going I made the best of a bad job, and personally concerned myself in arranging for his com fort and procuring his outfit. Meanwhile great evfents were in progress in other parts of the world. The bloody battle of Lu-ehang was fought in China be tween the Jans, Russians nnd Chinese. The Mediterranean fleet captured several Turk ish islands nnd destroyed a lot of Turkish shipping in the Levant. The forces of the Sultan overran North-Eastern Egypt, nnd laid siege to Cairo and Aexandria. A dreadful war wfls being waged in Algeria between the French and the Moors. And Britain, all the time, was straining every nerve to push on and complete her prepara tions to preserve her Indian sovereignty, to crush the Egyptian rebellion, and to inflict condign punishment on the unspeakable Turk. Several detachments of home troops had already been sent both to Bombay and Cairo, and a considerable army bad been mobilised at Portsmouth, and was on tho point of embarking in two divisions for Egypt and Calcutta before the Australian JHU4UU LUUkillVitV RUB J.V7UV1J IU OC l> SU11. ACL the day came all too soon at last to say good-bye to George. We went down to Wil- liamstown to see him off. A vast crowd was assembled there, the friends and re I a-, tives of the brave lads who were going over seas, a band of chivalrous' adventurers, to fight for the honor of old England and the grand old British flag. I confess that as I stood on the pier and watched with misty eyes the figure of the troopship dwindle into distance — the ship that bore away my first born and my best loved child— whom, it well might be, I should never sec again — I was tempted for a while to wonder was the title worth the sacrifice. Empire, National Honor, Glory — tliey sounded in my cars" some little time like vain and hollow drum beats. What mattered anything if the son I loved were slain— if tlie gay, glgd life were beaten out of him by some swarthy rebel on a foreign and far distant shore ? And yet, had I not over and again publicly declared it was Australia's boun- den duty to assist the Empire, and to send her sons to fight when need arose in alien lands, since Britain's naval might protected us ? But I liad never thought a day would come when my own child would go. It came home to ine with cruel force that I had been a selfish counsellor, and for tlie first time I began to think that Australia after all might have d"iie letter to dis charge her Imperial patriotic obligation by providing for her own defence. But it was too late to hark back. The die was cast, and I could only pray that Providence would not visit my selfish improvidence on any of the young lives sailing so proudly and cheerily away from the land- of their birth to strive with and help control a race of people they had never seen. My wife's hand stole into mine. But though I pressed it close I dared not look at her. She was sobbing quietly, dry-eyed. And thousands round about lis were sobbing too, sobbing and waving, and uttering pathetii? cheers. It was a desolate home to which tve re turned that night. My second son was away at boarding school, and my daughter, Constance, was too grieved at George's departure to at tempt to cheer us up. Thenceforth we lived for news. George sent us a letter from Adelaide, a wire from Albany. Then the troopships left Australia, and we heard no more of him for many days. But we did not lack in telligence of the most dreadful character — concerning the whole British world — for long. Two days after George's troopship left Albany the cables spoke, proclaiming my old acquaintance Bernhardt Harlt- mann a veritable seer. Seizing the oppor tunity, when the British. Egyptian and Indian armies were all afloat, and when Britain had only six weeks' supplies of wheat in store pending the harvest season, Germany suddenly joined the Sultan. And she did this in a manner that set nt dc-- fmnce all international law and historic precedent. Without a word of warning, without even disclosing the slightest prc- 1 text for a quarrel, she declared war with England, and forthwith launched an im mense naval force agadnsj; Britain. But, thank heaven, the British Admiralty were too wide awake, and their intelligence de partment was too perfectly organised to he caught napping. Tlie Kaiser's battleships had hardly left Kiel before a powerful British fleet moved out to meet them. And within nine hours of the declaration of war there was fought a sharp naval battie in the North Sea. Germany claimed to have won a vietorv because the admiral in command succeeded in sinking two Bri tish armored cruisers. But her claim is untenable. Tlie action was perfectly inde cisive so far as fighting went, for the Ger man admiral retired before any substantial advantage was gained by either side, and was chased bnck to port by the British fleet. Hardly had wc recovered from tile- stupefaction into which wo were thrown by the news of these doings, when Britain assured us, through tlie Colonial Office, that Germany's power for serious harm was utterly crippled. A superior British force liad scaled up the home German fleet, and had already begun to apply the pressure of bombardment and blockade. Then nil Australia began to womler why Germany had embarked upon the war. Had she taken leave of her senses, or what? In order to try and discover a plausible reason for her reckless conduct, wc seized our naval annuals and compared Gennany s naval strength with Britain's. Y\ e found tlint while Britain owned 24 improved Dreadnoughts, 32 second class battleships, 38 special armored cruisers of over 15,000 tons, 40 first class armored cruisers, 50 of the second and third class type, 250 torpedo craft nnd 50 submarines, Germany could only show 18 Stuttgnrts (a type slightly superior, of course, to the improved Dreadnoughts), 12 second class battleships, 24 special armored cruisers of 16,000 tons and over, 12 first cliiss armored cruisers, 24 of the lesser type, 150 torpedo craft and 40 submarines. At first glance it seemed to us that the German nation must have gone of a sudden com pletely crazy, for here was statistical proof that the British navy was twice as powerful as the German. But a little more study convinced us that Germany was not quite us mad as she at first ap peared. The British navy was split up into several detachments; the German sv.es practically undivided. And since 10 out of the 24 British Dreadnoughts were of necessity attached to the Atlantic fleet, it followed that Britain must call upon lier Reserve fleet in order to oppose 14 Dread noughts to the 18 German Stuttgarls. Then no fewer than 20 of Britain's special armored cruisers were distributed between the Mediterranean and Atlantic fleets, leaving only 18 in home waters to oppose Germany's 24. It thus appeared that the German homo fleet was actually stronger than Britain's. But the difference was made up by Britain's overwhelming supe riority in second class battleships nnd first clas5 armored cruisers. And although Ger many had without doubt expected to take Britain by surprise, and deal her one crushing naval blow — as a preliminary step to attempting an invasion — British naval preparedness had foiled her intention. And the sight of an immense fleet of British battleships, armored cruisers, scouts and submarines steaming to give him battle in llip Nortli Sea, when lie liad only expected to eileounter an inferior force of Dread noughts and special cruisers, hastily as sembled to dispute his progress, had evi dently taken the heart out of the German admiral in command, and induced him to avoid risking the whole war on the issue of one general engagement. Such, at any rate, was tho conclusion we arrived at in Australia, and I have yet lo learn that wo were wrong. But we had still to discover that Germany, though bottled up, was far from beaten. She had made mighty preparations for the contest, and had sedulously cultivated her resources for tlie venture. Iler merchant shipping had been warned, nnd before the declara tion of hostilities hail -been quietly trans ferred—the greater bulk of it, at all events — to the protection of a neutral flag, tlmt of Holland. And finally two power ful German cruiser squadrons were at large, one in the Atlantic Ocean, the other in the' East Indies. It thus became vitally necessary for Britain to take instant action to defend her North Atlantic trade route, and to guard the transports already on their way conveying troops to Egypt and round bv the Cape of Good flope (tlie Suez Can.il being in 'the hands of Turkey) to India. Ibis meant the immediate concentration of the various British fleet divisions on points of possible attack. British interests in the Persian Gulf and at Aden had to be pro tected by the East India portion of tho Pacific fleet. The South Atlantic trade route had to he provided for; also the Chiua and Western Pacific commerce roads and tlie Australian and New Zealand routes. But above all it was essential that every available wjtr- ship should -lie em ployed in keeping opeii tho British lines of communication for: transports and store ships to Egypt and to India by the Cape. We were -very soon furnished with a prac tical object lesson of tlie stupendous task with which Britain was confronted, and the advantage which a watchful enemy can always take of the unavoidable distribution in war time of Britain's navnl resources. Icn days after the battle in the North Sea a strong German cruiser squadron, steam ing with -oil fuel, dashed through the British blockading fleet and succeeded in making its way to the Atlantic. Britain imme diately despatched two cruiser squadrons in pursuit. But tlie German wur ships evaded the British, and, after ravaging Bri tish commerce for three days (they cap tured two magnificent Atlantic liners and destroyed a number of fishing boats' in the meanwhile) _thcy actually succeeded in re turning to Kiel. Germany instantly appre ciated the value of this experiment, ialic saw that every squadron she sent out would oblige Britain to detach two in pursuit. She therefore made a determined effort lo extend operations in order to slacken the pressure of the British blockade on her home ports. With a speed little short of magical in the circumstances— although it merely evidenced the extent and craft of her previous preparations— fleets of Ger man commerce rayagers, of cruisers, and merchant vessels extemporised as ships ot war, put out to sea, not only from Ger man, but mostly, indeed, from neutral ports. Thus the war entered on its second phase. The third followed swiftly on the heels of the second. As I have before re marked, at the moment war was declared two German cruiser squadrons were at sea. One of these was supposed to be off the coast of German West Africa, the other in Chinese waters. Both were pursued by the nearest British fleets, but before either could be reached and brought to battle tliey contrived to junction at jjar-Es-Salaam, in German East Africa. . The effect of this strategical manoeuvre was immediately felt in Australia. The two German squadrons combined composed a force of greuter strength than the British East Indian fleet. ' The Admiralty, there fore, forthwith ordered the Imperial Aus tralian squadron to proceed to tbe Capo aud join forces with the East Indian Divi sion. We .were told that these vessels would be "immediately replaced," yet every Australian was sad to see them go. For Australia was thus left witiiout a single war ship to guard her enormous littoral. Of course, this would have mattered nothing if the United British squadrons liad been able to meet and overcome the Germans. But tlie German admiral had other views, and he lost no time in making it perfectly clear that his dearest ambition was to avoid action. Although we did not guess it then, there was a deep motive under lying his apparent cowardice. And that motive was nothing else than tb force tho British Pacific fleets to keep at sea. Ho was their decoy, and his extraordinary con duct was the mask of _operations destined to attect Australia. Tilei-eiure the fleet under his command flitted about the Indian Ocean like a phantom armament, continu ally disappearing, then reappearing at uniikeiy spots — and ever ami anon dash ing in to Dar-Es-Salaam for supplies and coal and oil fuel. And all the while the British Admiral, torn with rage and harried with anxiety, was compelled to dart about from point to point in pursuit of bis astute, elusive enemy. And all the while Germany was perfecting her arrange ments to descend upon the undefended Commonwealth . With us ignorance was bliss in tho truest sense of the expression. The war in the East bad enormously increased our trade in food supplies with Japan and China, and every steamer that left our ports for England was crammed to the deck with wheat and corn and frozen meat. We were growing richer every day on tlie misfortunes of our friends and enemies alike, and, since only a few of us seriously doubted tne ability of Britain to protect us from every danger, we could afford to regard the dreadful strife and ugitation in which less fortunately situated countries were plunged with philosophic resignation. Of course we sympathised tremendously with Britain, and practically too. Had we not already assisted her with troops, and were we not already preparing a second even larger contingent intended to help her quell the Afriais and other frontier tribes which liad just broken into open in surrection? But wc were perfectly confi dent that she would come out all right in the end. ..... And there was sound justification for our point of view. On 3rd August the cables informed us of an important battle fought between tlie British and Turkish forces near the ancient site of Memphis, in which the TurkH had been utterly defeated. True, the Sultan had immediately increased his Egyptian army by despatching two fresh army corps across the Isthmus of 6uez; but Britam bad already. 150,000 men in the field, and 50,000 more wore under way, while the Sultan's land forces all told did not exceed 400,000, and he dared not leave his Bulgarian frontier and his capi tal possessions unprotected. So it seemed clear that he had already almost struiued his resources to their limit. But the great thing was wc in Australia had never been so prosperous; and our Erospcrity was developing by leaps and ounds. This wns universally apparent. Wages were higher than they had ever been before, yet there was an unequalled demand for labor, even of the unskilled or der. Our manufactures were booming— ow ing largely to the absence of German com petition — and our agricultural industries were expanding with an almost violent ra pidity. The whole country wns turning farmer owing to the rise in tho prices ol food commodities. And there was not a poor man in the land. Why, even in iny profession, the extraordinary prosperity of the State was manifest, nnd lawyers are generally the last to feel the effect of eco nomic movements. I had never had so many clients, and less trouble in collecting niy accounts. There were days when I felt it positively incumbent on me to take home handsome presents of jewellery, &c., to my wife and daughter. Indeed, lind it not been for the fact that I could not help worrying lest my son George should be seriously wounded— or killed— in India, I can truly say that— well, that— the world had never gone so well with me. And it was the like with all my friends. We used lo meet every afternoon or evening at the club, and chat over tlie war news, and pity from our hearts our unhappy kinsmen over seas whom the war was no doubt disastrously aflecting. But we always got hack to the Australian aspect of the question before we parted, and as we were not hypocrites, we did not try to conceal the fact that Aus tralia had been tremendously advantaged by the war, aml would -be more and more the longer it continued. Nevertheless, I Cor one sincerely hoped it would end at the earliest possible moment. The mere thought of blood has always sickened me, and L could never forget that my first born child was at the front exposed to the peril of sword and bayonet nnd bullet. Late in the month of September the bolt which Germany had been forging to launch against Australia wins completed. (TO BE CONTINUED.)


THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. . A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT (Author of "The Counterstroke," &c.). CHAPTER IV.— THE BOLT FALLS. It was my evil fate to be one of the first to suffer from the German onslaught, But I hardly regret that now, for my misfor tunes taught me a lesson of ondui-ing value, and they enabled me to prove of some ser vice to my country. It came abottt in this way. The principal of a large Melbourne firm of importing agents — one of my richest and most respected clients— had some little while befftVft fnllnn fnnl tln> niiafnino nil- thorities -over a matter of indent. An ad- verso decision having been recorded against us in the State court, nnd a stay of pro ceedings furthermore refused, it became necessary, in the interests of justice, to im mediately appeal to the High Court of the Commonwealth. Such, at least, was the view I held, and my client and counsel at the hearing were also strongly of my opinion. Unfortunately, the High Court was sitting in Adelaide . at the time. Unfortunately, I say advisedly, for it was the occasion of my troubles. In ordinary circumstances I should have tele graphed instructions to my South Aus tralian agents to make the requisite appli cation on my behalf. But the matter was an extremely important one, involving most complicated accounts which I dared not trust to the interpretation of any hastily advised solicitor, however skilful. I there fore determined to go to Adelaide myself. And since I never travel anywhere by train when a steamer is available — for I love tbe sea, having inherited my affection from a long line of British sailor ancestors — I bade my wife one morning a cheerful au revoir, and betook myself aboard Howard Smilh and Oo.'s magnificent new coastal liner the steamer Yalgoo, of 7000 tons register. I had very few fellow passengers; indeed tliey were all women in the saloon, save one or two commercial travellers, it being an off season; but as Captain Cardwell, the master of the Yalgoo, and I wore old friends, my time passed very pleasantly. We spent the greater part of the first night in' his cabin on the hurricane deck playing piequet, it game to which we were both greatly attached, and I had all the luck. We only played penny points, yet I con trived to win from him £2 11/6. There are some whom it is a positive delight to beat. Captain Cardwell is one of tliem. He is one of the best losers in the world. When we arose he complimented me no less on my play than my luck, but cheerily declared that he would do his best to turn the tables on the morrow. Of course this meant that lie expected me to give him a chance for his revenge — but that was only fail-, and indeed in any case I did not mind, for I liavo yet to meet my master at pie quet. Behold us, then, after a late lunch next afternoon, sealed once more in the captain's cabin, dealing out tbe cards. Now, however fine a player a man may be ho cannot always win — that is evident. Besides, it is impossible to beat an oppon ent who always holds the winning cards. Nobody, I should think, will venture to contradict mo on this head. And that is what happened. Captain Cardwell had the most preposterous rim of good fortune 1 have ever witnessed. No matter who dealt or how much the cards were shuffled, he it was who invariably obtained the proper combinations, while my hands con tained nothing but rubbish. It was in tensely provoking, I might even say exas perating. But I flatter myself that the captain did not perceive the state of my feelings; . even when at the end of three hours I had lost, not onlyall my winnings of the previous' evening, but an additional 30/. But I will not deny that I uttered an exclamation of relief when we were sud denly interrupted by a knock on the door and the entry of the first mate. I have often noticed — the captain was in the act of dealing— that an interruption in the play at a critical moment will change the luck and alter the whole course of the game. Any old piequet player will bear me out in this. But as things turned out, I was not permitted to test my theory and the hope I had conceived. Indeed, we had played our very last hand. The mate said quickly, and I fancied also, rather anxiously, "There's a craft ahead,: sir, that's Btanding by to bead us off.: I'd like you to have a look at her. She's a war ship, I fancy." Curdwell sprang up at once, and without a word, of apology to me hurried out. 1 just stayed to have a glance at the cards which had been already dealt. to me; then, finding they wore even more than usually valueless, I followed the captain to the bridge. He was standing at the end of the starboard side gazing straight' ahead through the binoculars. Following the direction of his observation I perceived a small column of smoke,, two sticks and a; tiny line of hull just above the horizon. A minute later the captain put dowii his glass. "Site's a war ship all right, Bill ings, lie said to the mate; "an unnrmored ciuiser. But she can't be German, for she's painted British grey. She looks to me like the Marsupial."- "But as far as we know, sir, the Mar supial is at Singapore, and we've had-!- no word to expect any British cruiser here abouts." "Pooh!" said the captain. "We can't expect the Admiralty to advertise the movements of their ships. That would be rotten strategy, and no mistake, with a big German cruiser squadron loose in the East Indies. Yon is a British craft all right." "Well then what is she doing there- standing by?" 1 crhaps she has had a machinery mis hap." . "May he, sir. Shall we keep on?" . "Yes; keep on, Billings." But the captain did not leave the bridge. On the contrary, he kept his binoculars fixed constantly on the distant cruiser, and although I addressed several remarks to liim he did not seem to hear. Thus per haps 20 minutes passed, and I was growing tired; indeed, I was on the point of going down to the saloon for a nip of whisky and soda, when of a sudden the captain shouted "Billings! Billings!"- The mate appeared immediately, emerg ing fr.im the chart room. "She's under way, Billings, and ooming to meet us," cried Cardwell. The mate seized his own glass and leaned over the rail. "By Gad, you're right, sir!" he muttered; "coming fast, too." "I don't liko it," said th<5 captain. "It's irregular." "If she is British," commented the mate. Then the two men turned and looked at each other. "The owners," grunted the mate. Captain Cardwell nodded and walked over to the wheel. He said nothing to the steersman, but he took the wheel in his own hands, and a second later the Y'algoo began to describe a huge ai-e. Within five minutes we were heading back towards Melbourne. That done, Cardwell gave di rections in a low tone to the steersman, and then turned to Billings, "Go down and see the- chief engineer yourself Billings," he said quietly. "Tell him to got every ounce out of her he can. Never mind the coal! And, Billings, not a word to the passengers." "Very good, sir," said Billings, and he departed. Cardwell put his arm through mine and led me to the end of the bridge. "We'll soon know all about it," he said, calmly. "Do you really think she's German?" 1 inquired. "No," he replied. "But I can't afford to run any risks. I have special orders on that head." "What if she is?" Cardwell shrugged his shoulders. "We have seven miles' startj and we are running n free. In half an hour, under forced draught, we'll get seventeen knots out of tiffs old tub. If the cruiser is really an enemy, we'll give her a hard cliase and a long chase, even if sho lias the legs of us." "But — won't we escape — have you any doubt of it?" "Not knowing how fast sho can steam, I can't say." "But we must," I exclaimed. "There's that case of mine at Adelaide. It will mean the loss of hundreds of pounds to me, if I'm not there on 'Thursday." "We'll do our best," protested the cap tain. Then he put up his glasses and be gan gazing backwards at the cruiser. I was considerably agitated. Not that I had any personal fears, but the thought of the hole my clients would be in if I were by any chance taken prisoner of slain, and so prevented from pleading their case before the High Court, filled me with dismay. I bitterly regretted that I had not taken the train after all, instead of the steamer. Then I would have been safe, whatever happened. 1 was so up set that I found it hard to keep my eyes on the oncoming war ship. But I could not help noticing that she grew plainer every minute, and bigger, too. It seemed to me iiours before the cap tain spoke again. Billings had returned in the meanwhile to the bridge. The captain said, "She's a twenty-two knottor, Bil lings. It's all up with us if she is a Ger man. She'll overhaul us before dark." Billings just nodded, and begun to screw up his glasses. "No use for these now," lie muttered; "any orders, sir?" "Hoist the ensign!" said the captain. "If she's British, she'll answer us." Billings gave the order, and then, for the first time, I glanced at the Yalgoo's deck. All the lady passengers were up. They had evidently got wind of the possible danger, despite the captain's orders — and it was plain to sec that they were in a slate of tremulous excitement. But the under officers and stewards were going about among them cracking jokes and try ing to reassure them. 1 listened to some of the jokes myself. And the strange thing is I found myself laughing loudly, although I had heard them years before, and they were not really funny in the least. But presently the Australian flag fluttered up to the Yalgoo's masthead; and then nobody laughed or spoke any more.- We just waited breathlessly, strain ing our eyes on the cruiser. She was very plain to see by then, and a nasty venomous looking craft she was. War ships al ways appear to me to have something of the flat, shuddersome aspect of the head of a poisonous snake. They look so ready and so able to spring and strike. For perhaps five minutes the cruiser that pursued us made no reply to our chal lenge. . She just ignored it, and merely continued to rush on. But at the end of that time, quite unexpectedly, a- white puff started from her -bows. There fol lowed a small yellow jet— it was flame — something passed hurtling far overhead, and fell with a splash and a terrible explo sion into tbe sea, half a mile ahead of U9. Only then we heard the sharp thudding crack of the cannon which had fired the shell. The lady passengers screamed frightfully, and ran in a panic, shrieking and contending with each other, from the deck. I felt much inclined to go down and try to allay' their fears and comfort them, but I was restrained by the reflec tion that such a course at such a time might be misinterpreted. Lest, however, I should be in the way of the officers,. I went into the chart room, and, in order to shut out the sound of the poor women's outcries, I closed the ports. "Tli ere go her colors!" I heard Billings sliout a moment later. Peeping out of one of the ports, I made out a flag at the cruiser's foremast.' , It showed a black eagle on a white ground. Then quite suddenly I missed the thudding of the Yal goo's screws. I was staggered to dis cover that we bad stopped. I rushed to ; the door of the chart room to make quite I sure. But it was a fact. And the cruiser was racing towards us like a sea- hawk. "You've stopped !" I shouted at the cap tain. ' "Yes," said he. I m afraid I lost my temper. . I thought of my unfortunate clients and my wife. That was the cause of it. And I fancy I said some unkind things to Cardwell and; Billings! But to .my astonishment tliey did not seem to ntind. Cardwell . merely said, "Oh ! hang your High Court ease, Brym- ner; .Better lose your client than your life. You don't want to be blown out of the1 water, do you?" And Billings remarked, speaking half to himself like n man thinking aloud. "If Australia had the least bit of a navy of her own a cruiser like you wouldn't dare come within a thousand miles of us. Dammo she's a third class, and a poor specimen at that, though she does steam -well — curse her 1" Tliere was something in liis tone, and the subject matter of his observation which re duced me to silence. My anger vanished in a second, and a train of thought ensued' which made me shiver. What if after all I and those like men, who had helped years before to repress the Australian naval aspiration, had made a ghastly blunder? Well, well, time would show. At any rate we had acted for the best, and according1 to the convictions of our minds and con sciences. There was some comfort in that reflection, and I made up my mind then and there to look destiny in the face like a philosopher. Perhaps the German war ship would not take us prisoners. What use would mere non-combatants like us be to them? On the contrary, since they would have to feed us, we would be a hin drance and a drag. I might still get to Ade laide in time for my case, then, after all. "They are signalling !" cried Billings sud denly. "And they are stopping," shouted the steersman. The cruiser was about three miles off just then 1 think. But the steersman was mis taken. She was not stopping; she was merely turning round. Soon she showed us licr whole broadside. "Can. you make out what she says?" asked Billings. "Yes," said the captain. "She orders us to bout ship and follow her out full speed 1" "Shall we?" But the captain had no time to answer before there eamc a flash and -a roar, and a shell dropped into the sea scarcely a hun dred yards from the Yalgoo's side. An immense geyser of foam leaped high into the air, and the spray was blown into our faces. Somehow I slipped and fell sprawl ing on the boards. When I got up 1 was drenched. Captain Cardwell stepped over to the engine room telephone and rang full speed ahead. His teeth were set deep in his undcrlip, and he was very pale. For one wild moment I thought he intended to make another run for it, and I had it -on my tongue to implore him not to be a lunatic. But, just in time to avoid appear ing a fool myself, I saw the Yalgoo's bows swing round, and a little later we were steaming sullenly in the wake of the Ger man- our course north-west. Just before dark the cruiser signalled' again, commanding us to show certain lights, and to make it clear that she meant business she slackened speed until we were less than half a mile apart. There was a fairly heavy sea running, and I suppose that is why she did not put off boats to board us. I had very little appetite that evening; nevertheless, for the sake of setting an example, I strolled down to dinner when the gong sounded. Only two other passen gers turned up— a middle aged commercial traveller, whose equanimity nothing could disturb, and a young fool of a medical student, vvho had lately passed his final examination at the Melbourne University, anil who regarded the whole adventure as a delightfully romantic lark. The bagman was' only concerned for the fate of his samples. As for the sawbones, lie kept .on cliucklihg, and at intervals informing us bow many fellows he knew who would give their oars to be in his place. lie so disgusted me at length that in order to avoid being rude I got up nnd stalked out of the saloon. Poor Cardwell was very miserable that nigli't, and no wonder. The loss of the ship meant his min, no doubt; or so it seemed to him. But it is bootless to describe in detail the happenings of the next forty hours. Suffice it to say we till passed a very trying, wretched time, and even the young medico lost his cheerfulness at last. Early in the morning on the second day our captor altered his course, and forced us to follow him duo north. This gave Captain Cai-dwell n clue to our destination, and after taking an observation he declared that \vc were heading straight for the Nuyt's Archipelago. The event proved that lie was right. About one in the afternoon we sighted several islands, which we soon overhauled und passed. At half-past two we sighted what I thought was tlio main land, but Cardwell said it was only an island, although the largest of the group, lie told us that it contained a splendid harbor and anchorage, and that it was oc cupied by a Scottish family, who lived there by breeding sheep. "I shouldn't won der," he said, gloomily, "to find that the Germans have captured the place and turned it into a naval base. They couldn't find a butter in the whole Commonwealth for raiding operations; and if they are in any strength, from that point as a strong hold tliey could put Australia under toll in the absence of the British fleet. But we'll soon see." And indeed we soon did sec. About four o'clock we rounded a headland aud steamed slowly into the smooth water of a first rate little roadstead. At the head of the inlet was a rising beach dotted with more than a hundred tents. A regu lar military encampment it appeared to me. And two huge steamers swung idly at their anchors in the bay. Each was of -at least 10,000 tons burthen, and tliey rode deep in the water, showing they were loaded heavily. Captain Cardwell heaved a sigh when he saw them. "A collier and a store ship," he said, slowly. This is worse even than I dreamed. It shows that a carefully thought out expedition has been planned against us. It shows, too, that the cruiser which caught us is only one of many. The others are out now harrying our shipping. My God ! Brymner, Australia is in a bad way— a damned bad way. But there goes the signal to drop anchor. Stand aside there, please !" He rang the engine bell and blew a whistle. The propellers were speedily reversed, and in a moment we lost way. A little later our anchor dropped with a dull splash from the bows, and wo swung round slowly to the tide. The German cruiser swept round, and brought up about 500 yards off. Tbe word "Nurnberg" was enamelled on her stern. The decks of the two unarmed steamers were by this time crammed with cheering sailors, and the cheers of others on shore eamc out to us on the wings of the breeze. I had never heard more distressfully ex asperating sounds. Within five minutes the water was alive with row boats and steam launches, all beading for us. The captain, in obedience to a signal, put down both companion ways. The first boat to reach us was an eleetrie launch from the Nurnberg. It was manned with about twenty armed sailors, and a German officer in full dress uniform. Ho eamc straight up to the bridge, and exchanged a very civil salute with Captain Cardwell. Then he asked in excellent English to be shown our manifests and papers. Cardwell led him into the cabin, and two German sail ors with drawn swords and pistols stood guard at the door. Another guarded the ladder of the bridge, and looked most dis concertingly at me. I hated the sight of his pistol — ho used it most carelessly — talk about your German discipline — and the tiling was cocked, too! But I" smoked away at my cigar with the most careless appearance in the world. The fellow was infernally rude, too — boorish one might say. He muttered iu German to a comrade on the deck below, "There's the funniest old fossil up here you ever saw, llcinrich. He's smoking to conceal his tqrror. He is purple with fear." But I took him. down. I said to liim in his own tongue, "Purple is the- color of passion, my friend, not of fear. Be careful or I shall report you to your officer for insolence!" .'He was so surprised, that he actually saluted inc, and much to my re lief he uncocked his pistol. Perhaps he took mo for a German. It is not impos sible. I was for two years a student at- Heidelberg in my youth, and I have fre quently been complimented on the purity of my accent. After a little time Captain Cardwell and the German lieutenant emerged from the cabin. They were apparently on good terms. The lieutenant leaned over the rails and ordered his men below to line up along the gangway. That done Captain Cardwell issued orders for his whole crew nnd all the passengers to assemble on the boat deck. I took this opportunity to offer my cigar ease to the German officer, and to compliment, him as I did so— in German —on tlio excellence of his English. He was just as surprised as his sailor had been. Ho asked me my name. I gave him my card, and diplomatically straining the verities, I hinted at an indefinitely remote Prussian ancestry. No doubt all races are related— if. one goes back far enough. It was surely the German's own fault if he assumed that my father had been a Prussian. And he gave me no time to contradict him. He took it for granted that my sympathies must of necessity be anti-British, and- he assured mo I was just he man his com mander wanted. Thank heaven Cardwell did not under stand a word of German, or he might have put a false construction on my failure to set the German lieutenant right. The real reason that I did not contradict him, and repudiate his imputation, was that liis words gave me an inspiration. What if, by worming myself into the confidence of our enemies, I might thereby discover an opportunity to prove of real service to my native land? Surely I would be amply justified in so acting. The risks were un- unquestionably great. I might be bowled out,' and in that ease I should infallibly be shot as a spy. But then— how could they bowl me out? I thought bard, but 1 diii Tint, norrrivft how thoy nmiH, And —supposing I were able to succeed, and the Germans accepted me as a German sympathiser— it would be in my power, per haps, by supplying them with false informa tion, to leud them into some trap or an other which would end in their undoing. Furthermore, my chances of escape would be increased— enjoying their confidence— and in the meanwhile I should be treated with consideration and bo allowed a mea sure of liberty. To cut a long story short, 1 made up my mind that 1 would not cor rect the error into which the German lieutenant had fallen. Thus it came about that when the captain and officers and all the crew and passengers of the Yalgoo were presently commanded to descend the gang way and enter the boats waiting for them, and thenceforth conveyed to the encamp ment on the desolate looking island destined to form their prison, I remained behind with Lieutenant Gorlitz. About an hour later — after he had completed his investiga tion of the Yalgoo and her cargo, he carried me with him aboard the Nurnberg. Thus for the first time in my life I trod the deck of a German war ship. (TO BE CONTINUED.)



THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. ' COPYEIGHT; A FORECAST. BY AMBKOSE PRATT (Author of "Tho Counterslrokc," &c.). CHAPTER V.— THE FIRST - VICTIMS. The Xurnbcrg was only nrmetl with four S-inch quick-firers and some much smaller machine guns'. But she carried un abnor- ntiall.v large complement of men. No doubt some of them were intended for prize crews lo niait the ships she hoped to capture. Lieutenant Gorlitz left me for.a little while in charge of a guard while lie went to con fer with his commander. But I was not kept waiting long. Presently lie returned and I was led to tho captain's cabin. "Cap- lain . Dippcl— ILerr Br.vmner," said the Lieutenant, and ho went out, closing the door behind him. ..The Captain wns quite a young man, very Oerman in appearance, but by no means ill- looking. He had long yellow moustaches spiked like awls, nnd eyes as blue ns the sea. He invited me to be seated.' "Lieutenant Gorlitz tells mo that ydu are a Melbourne lawyer of'Germnn origin," be began, as I complied. "How goes the League?"- " .' "Tlie League?" T repeated, not under standing biin. "1 beg your pardon." - He frowned nnd shrugged his shoulders. "1 see, I see," ho muttered, half under breath, and he looked nt mo so hard that I began to feel uneasy. "Do you know Herr Konrad Mylitis?" he demanded suddenly. , : ' "XoJ" said'I.' Again he sliruggcd his shoulders; "Hcin!" bo ejaculated, "you are of no use to me. Herr Br.vmner. Gorlitz lias made a mis1 take, thnt'is evident." Speaking, lie press ed nn electric button on the table with bis thumb." A sailor entered instantly. "Lieutenant Gorlitz!". said- tlie captain. The, man disappeared. The captain turned to mo with a. smile. "You must not feel annoyed with me, Herr Srymner," , he said very civilly, "if I caimot regard you as a friend to Germnny juimcdiatbly. Be good enough' to excuse me' for -a moment." 'With that he arose and quitted the cabin. Rut lie left the door open, and I saw a sailor standing on the threshold. My feel ings may be better imagined' .than, describ ed.- -Each second seemed an hour until the captain rbturncd. lie came back, neeom- panied by the lieutenant. "I am to un- dersliind that you have no : knowledge of the League," lie asked, as lie resumed his scat. "I do not even know what' you wish to signify by. the term," 'I answered. "You appear, to be a man of comfortable means?" struck in Gorlitz. „ : "1 am," I replied: '."And without doubt you occupy in Mel bourne a position of responsibility?" "J do." "And ,vou are publicly respected ?" , "Without vanity I may claim to be that," I ijnswered. The Gcraiiuis exchanged a brief glance fall of significance. "You are hiarried '-arid have a family?" said the captain., , i 1 "It is true." " 'Your wife is an Englishwoman?" "Yes." Captain Dippcl leaned back nnd bnlf closed his eyes. "It would not please you were the Fatherland .to tako possession of Australia? Tell me frankly." ; 'JI think it would be impossible," 1 gauL . '. ' ' - 'Ach!" said lie; "and- why?" . "It woufd require an army of '100,000. ind iirst, you would have to bent the Brit ish navy." - "You think so. 'And yet' "we are here." T shook my head. "A anere expedition ary force. You have no doubt eluded the British .Pacific fleets for a lime. But a - squadron will soon- lie ill pursui t of ! The. captain smiled. t'You deceive your self Herr Brynmer.. Britain has, iiol a single ship to spare. -Iter. Pacific"- squad rons nre in the East Indies seeking ours, and they .dare not break their rank while- ours remains unbroken and free to give tlieni battle when we choose." . They will : force you into action sooner or -later," I observed. "They must.- Aus tralia is too important a place to be left to the iiiercy of raiders long, anil the Bt-Jtish Admiral will soon suspect your , same." '' ,-' ' ;"Bah!" said ltc.-."In the immense waktes i of the sea the biggest licet is but a row of , tniv specks. Tlie British will seek our : ladmn fleet for months and. years if so we i Please; but our admiral will not let them i f1"1,1''"' until the force which I command 1 has had its will of Australia. Do yon not i think it! As for the rest, the British ad- f fn-f has more important things to at- s ,'eud to than -Australia. Ho has the ln- 5 dian . cotton ships to look after and pvo- | tlie'ship which Icarrj- from Lancashire : to India fifty million -pounds worth of cot- ' tongobds stuffs every, year.';. 'That will j feep. him. occupied, for our squadrons j threaten that commerce by their mere J ptesence in-. Eastern waters." ' j! .-Your East Indian cruiser squadrons men arc acting as a decoy and ii cloak to % independent attack on . Aus- j , "Just, so." -, ,."Uuli.you do not expect' to capture the' Lowaon wealth with two store ships and3 l;: oneunarmored cruiser ?" ' I" r0r'oZ i'8'"1 .t Ia«gh,.and Captain Dip- I. Pd smiled. No," said the latter, "but I Ii "Wseveml other cruisers 'under my immc- l< ' ?.,icommalltl. and when the troopships Mich I a,,, expecting arrive we'shall mul.-.. I ; a.januing. ' I !m-ay 1 1,0 Pai'mitted to inquire. where. ?" K- ;Vc .contemplate seizing Melbourne as i I; a start, since it is the seat of 'Federal Go-: I 7ern"ient," replied the captain. "But it all! . depends. on circumstances. We may com-' I with Sydney or Brisbane." I i - .j '"deed, And I suppose in the 1- ®tan«'i'iie you will employ your spare. time I av"1 Australian shipping." |j ;>u have guessed correctly. .You are looking serious, mein herr. Does it sadden I Idii to think of the fate in store for your I AuBirahan friends; V j -'-It does," 1 answered frankly; "The I austmhans are a fine people/Captain Dip- Pel, and they have been kind; to me. I am I ashamed to sny tlmt I deeply regret the mi th! yow.have given me/' mi el' Sv,W'" -c sticd, very wui-iuiy. . "I I' , n we> Herr Bryniner, that you are an Ii ?ne5 ma", and. , that you -.hava. a good I . -1 P" Hiat account I shall not nslj you I - 1 " at ,irst intended— to take any I- P :'! ou,1' operations. I shitll, I nm afraid, I; oauged to detain you 'on this' island for I timo' b,!t yo« will' lie released and 'L -'iii : 70 011 t,le mainland at the earliest PvMlule moment." s..Yo J !',re ver>' 80d. Captain Dippel," I :ponded eagerly; "and' I airi the more V ft1. " to you keenuse of my . wife and B in ' >!Cr' w'10 ke suffering tiie greatest m ?.Mety when hews of. the Yalgoo's loss j .naches them." B hV'r "f1','"'11 nodded. "In return," said B<- n,!, 6l|all ask you to forget all about our B ti-.kA'i0'1' wou'(1 seriously injure my B fet Australian people 'were to learn i . ®'e meditated an invasion, for tlipy B lr! '- len concentrate all their military B ; "P. m '10 c;ipiiul cities.; I can trust you iii this B -. .Absolutely,"' T replied. May heaven for- B C7a®c.for the lie. Bl, then shook hands with me, <B ti ' ? escorted, ine from the cabin to B oft-, i 0k "ie Nurnberg,'. where I was re- BtP" 6 descend into a waiting launch. "'fvonveyed me for.thtvitli t'o the island. vB in" sa and a corporal of niarines were B ii(i,RTr1> n "lc beach waiting to receive iJ eso conducted me through the en- ' B iiffftl1011'' ,"nd Hience by a picturesque .|BSkk- j He plateau overlooking- the ?B»« 'it- l',e kay, on which >vas perched ;BedK. r ' oaC'Storied house, eonstruet- B s'one and wood. It was enclosed by a high wooden palisading, which had plainly been only recently erected.. At two corners of tbc fence were clovntcd sentry boxes, which commanded both the house and compound nnd the gate. They were oc cupied by sailors armed with Mauser rilles. The corporal stopped at the gate, and signed for me to enter. "You will be' shot if you attempt to leave Ibis yard without permission," lie said cui'tly, and forthwith returned by the way wc bad come. I glanced up and saw most of my fellow pns.scngcrs clustered on the verandah of the- bouse. As was natural, they were very curious to learn why I bail been taken on board the Nurnberg, but I merely inform ed them that the German captain lmd wish ed to question me on the state of Austra lia's const defences, and that he lmd not tried to press me when he found me dis inclined to speak. But after a time I took Cardwell and Billings aside, and confided to them everything that lmd occurred. At first they were very serious. Billings seem ed to be particularly struck by the. Ger man officers' mysterious allusions to the "League." lje declared it was quite pos sible tlmt the C.crman residents of Aus tralia lmd received previous warning of the coming of tlie raiders, and that tfiey had formed a secret league to assist their enterprising kinsmen. . Cardwell, however, after a little thought, came to tlie conclu sion tlmt the German olliccrs had been de liberately beguiling me. lie asserted that it would be absurd to suppose they would linve told ine anything true about their plans, and tlicn announce their intention of liberating me on a careless promise of silence. "In my opinion," lie declared, "this precious Captain Dippcl hasn't tlie remotest intention of invading Australia, and his talk of expecting troopships is all moonshine. I -believe,' though, that lie, really wants Australia to think his purpose is invasion." "But why?" I nske'd; 'V "Why?" snorted the captain., "Tlmt is easy.--- So that Australia will concentrate lier. land forces in , the capitals, and thus leave isolated coastal towns at the mercy of small landing parties of German robbers from the .cruisers. - Loot is what they are after. Loot, and nothing! else. However, there is. no/good talking. We'll see their game for -certain before Hong — if we live. Hallo— what'is the -Rurnb&g doing now?" We swung round ' o'ri his ' exclamation and glanced at the bay. The cruiser was in motion. But it did: not 'go far. ' J t circled round .the inlet, and. then stole alongside one of the store ships.- . "They are going to rccoal," said Bil lings. We watcneu tnc operations until one of the stewards called us' to dinner. Our meal consisted of fresh mutton. Billings sat beside me. He told men in a whisper that we wore eating, tlie property of the owner of the house. The Germans, it appeared, had seized the proprietor of the island's flocks, and lmd , then imprisoned him and his family in his own house. Bil lings pointed out to me a gloomy faced old gentleman who sat at the head o£ 'the table, with an old lady and a stalwart boy on Hither side of, him. "It has brolien. his heart," lie. -whispered.. . "Look, his poor old- wife cannot, persuade, him to taste a mouthful; and it's tloiic to it turn, too. Out' head cook lias' taken charge of tho kitchen, you know." , i - But the. consequence was I: couldn't eat either. One glance at 'the. pathetic- spec tacle at the head of the titablc was enough for me. I got up and stepped quietly out on the verandah,. anil as 1 lighted. a cigar 1 'shivered,, though . the.- evening' was quite warm.- It' is- a -terrible thing to see a Helpless old man -robbed , of idiis fi-iiits of lauor and his' very means of livelihood.--: - About time o'clock, -.while I- -was. seated apart on a -log- in 'the- ''middle' of the yard gazing sadly seawards, Billings' came up and sat dowji beside me. . "Any message to your , wife,.- Mr. Bryni ner?" lie asked in a low voice.;,', "Hk! What?" I gasped. ' . sh!" he 'muttered; "ill am is the word. I a in going to .make ii bid jjpr!(! freedom; to.- , night.. -It's thixiway.'-.vAfotliorothoiviside of tlie- island there-is little cove -where the son'.of the old islander kccps;;his fishing boat. The Gcr'niuns don't '.khdw of' this. About midnight one of tlie lads and I are going to crawl over! the fence 'and . light : but; if ive can.- There is no inooii, so we ought to have a fair chance. Anyway,' it's worth trying.",' . . " , ',' "Have you told, Cardwell?" I dejnnniled- "'Yes. He is not.finthusiastiei but he imS given me leuvc." "You're a brave man'. Billings," T said. I was deeply 'moved, "lint what if you are soon?" , .. j . "Pooh," he laughed. ' "I am a bachelor, and as to that, I'm not half its game ah The boy." , ,. "It's a wonder his mother allows lum to try it," 1 muttered. ' "Oh," snid Billings, "she 'doesn't know ; his father is sending him. "Tlie old limn is daft to revenge himself oil the Germans for the .way they!vc used. him. > He expects the Govcrnuient' to fit up an expodition for his relief. I don't think they will,' though." "But why. should you risk your life, Billings?" , . ; ; ; '. , - "Me,"- said he; then he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, I'm going in the interests'' of trade. .You see there's hot a soul on the mainland yet has any idea of Ger man cruisers being in Australian waters, and the Germans' game is to keep them in ignorance. as long as. possible. That is why they are detaining us— a lot of useless clogs - to them as wo arc, prisoners here., They know jolly well . that their. chances -of cap tures, will decline to nil once 'the shipping companies get wind of tlieiii, for, all the steamers will be kept in port." TBut," said I, "won't the loss of the Yalgoo.mako the authorities suspect?". "Not: a' scrap." said he: -. "The owners will merely suppose she's/broken dowh; and they'll send out a tiig oi\ '.two. to look, for her.-.- But- not. even that for several days. Meanwhile,: the German cruisers will lie off far out of sight of land, ami only swoop in every now and then to collar' the very pick of our mercantile' marine. I can see the German game as plainly ns if they had told me all abpiit'it. Tlmt is why 1 am getting a move on mo toTiight. I .'reckon i if I succeed I'll save Australia hundreds' of thousands of pounds. : I'll probably, shorten ' your captivity,- too, for as soon as the Ger- ; mans find their game is blown on,: you ban take my word for it '.they'll not 'be bother ed with keeping nnd feeding prisoners.'" ' "Weil," X miittercd, "God. bless and pros per you, Billings," and we shook hands : earnestly under cover of the. dnrk. Later or. I., gave him my wife's address, and 1 forced him to .accept some money , for his ' immediate needs should lie reach? tlie shore. ' He had a fine pride, and lie would, not have taken it, save that lie was' penniless. It ' seemed that the. German sailors, when out of sight of their officers ashore — except a corporal— had robbed every, on? of, their' prisoners but nit of every farthing in tlieir possession— the unmanly brigands." At about 10 o'clock several sailors came" up from -the beach to relieve- our. guard. They brought up lanthorns too, which they put up on each side of the bouse. This made me very anxious, for the light they gave intensficd the peril of Billings's under taking. But the gallant fellow had already., chosen a spot for his attempt, and lie stub bornly declined to give up his resolve. By II o'clock the women had all retired within the house to bed.. As they filled the whole place, it became necessary for the male prisoners to sleep— if limy wished to sleep —out of doors; at all events, to spend the night there- I bad never done such a thing in my life, and I saw death state me in the face in consequence. But there was- no alternative. - Captain Cardwell was kind enough to interest him self in my behalf so far as to procure ine a corner of tlie verandah and to secure for me a piece of old tarpaulin to fie on. 1 made certain 1 should cutch my, death of cold from the night air all the same. How ever, I was so weary that I speedily sank into a troubled doze. I awoke about two hours later. 1 do not know .wliat disturbed me. All was quiet, a nd .the .only sound to. be heard was of the quiet breathing of my companions: But I soon found that I could- not go to sleep -again, find at last: I sat up and gazed out over The bay. Much to my Hurpnbc the Nurnbcrg's lights bad disap peared. Evidently she hud finished coaling wlnlo 1 slumber, ed, nnd steamed straight; out to sea. I was just beginning to wonder whether Billings find succeeded in escaping, or whether he had yet made the utteinpt, when 1 became suddeiily aware of a round ray of light like that east by a bullseyc lantern stealing along, a section of the gaol yard fence. Next second 1 heard a curious clatter from across' llic yard and a loud scratching sound. "Good God!" i thought. "He is trying now— and the sentries have discovered him." The round ray (lushed across the yard like a big eye, but, of a sudden, it stopped short, showing a boy's face ami hand high in air. I shall never forget that strange crisp vignette, cut us it were out of a world of awful blackness. I t only lasted for a second — but iu that second two lilies cracked. There followed a.wild pain shriek and a man's oath. 1 beard a heavy, shambling . thud, then the rifles cracked again. ' I think 1 must have lost my senses for a while. At any rate I cannot remem ber the immediate after happenings. Tho next L knew was thut the yard wus filled with German sailors and marines who had rushed up from tlie eartip beneath the plateau. An officer in command forced us all to stand in line while lie counted us over, even the women, who were dragged at bis orders from the house. I heard him Lell a corporal that wc were two men short, and. thut those two musk be found. Six sailors were ut once provided with lanterns nnd despatched in chase. But they had not far to seek to find. The sentries'. lilies had not beeii , fired in vain. Within five minutes the sailors returned carrying twd bodies. . The lad was alive but insensible; he lmd been shot through the neck. Bill ings was stone dead. . .Lt was awful to have to Witness llie lad's parents' agony. A,t .first they stood like statues staring down nt liim where lie hud been dropped with brutal indifference on tlie ground by the sailors. 'They did not seem able to realise it was .tlieir son. But when the officer stooped to examine Ins wound they both rushed forward. The old mother , cried out, "Willy, my Willy boy — speak to me, Willy— speuk To due.'' And- iu her frenzy of alarm and grief. she shook him to and fro instead of trying -to staneli his wound. . . ''The bullet hits cut. his! .jugular," said the officer to her. in English. "Why did the .young- fool try to escape? -. Surely -you were till -warned." , ' » , The old lather struck liim 'du the mouth, blaspheming as lie did .so, and it required two strong Germans to restrain him from further violence, i must- -admit thut the officer behaved .admirably -in the. circum stances, for he commanded the sailors .to- be us gentle with the old mini ns they could. But meanwhile the lad's life avas ebbing fast. Probably, .be , could not have been saved in aiiy Case — yet no one seeinea to think of making the attempt but' me,: and tvjieii 1 would have moved l'orwara a' German pushed me back with tlie muzzle' of -his rifle. Soon afterwards we were all forced into tlie house, and' the doors were locked upon us. From the windows we watched the sailors dig a big hule in the yard. They dug it about lour feet deep, then tumbled iu both bodies. VY'e pre-" 'vented tlie parents'. of the litd from looking, but their hearts told them what was going on, and perhaps we had been kinder tu let1 them have- their way. Tlieir groans and' outcries will. ring for ever.iu my ears. Ami' all the Women wept -and wailed in sym-- pailiy with' tlicm. ' ".. . : There was no more rest for any of us that: niglit. Dawn showed us a mouiul, the sur-: face of which lmd been' beateir. hard' by German spades, und 'trodden underfoot by; German heels. - Our - gaolers .released us; about "; and we all trooped forthwith to; tlie grave where our two heroes lay buried. .Captain 1 Cardwell read tho ' burial service! over it.r-Iu the midst of this two .Germans! "entered tjur gutc jind crossed the -yard1, -r ear-; lying the bloody carcass of a fresh slain sheep. They flung it down on the verau-i dab, and went their ways ugaiu "without u glance at us, j" !. ' ' ! Uli, War I AVar ! The pity of it, and the horror of "it ! That day the old mother fell -down sud denly ami died. Cardwell ' said she must luivo'liad heart disease; .but indeed the bul let .which laid her son low also -murdered Tier. We had ti second burial . tlmt after noon, and the iiext 'duy a third. > During, the night tlie old islander cut his throat from car to ear: .There .was' nothing left lor him to live for, .aiul driven mad by loneliness and grief lie bad committed suicide. We buried him beside his wife and son. May God have mercy on them all— ay, and on the gallant, mate of the Yal- goo, who braved his end in tlie pure and patriotic hope to 'serve his follow country: men !, I cannot, think that such a man as Billings died. iii vain, i dle met his fate ob scurely in a rash attempt to break from gaol, his motives uiid his gallant purpose; will survive -him. And so sure am I that , the same brave spirit which possessed hiin, throbs in the vast bulk of Australians' breasts "that I venture still to hope tlmt; we shall win out' from the tangle which surrounds us. by our own unaided efforts yet. When that duy -comes T shall have a marble- head stone placed on Billings's grave. -U : < : .... ! ! (TO UE CONTINUED.)


THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT." A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT '(Author of "The Counterstroke," &c.). CHAPTER VI.— THE DEPARTURE FROM THE NUYTS. We were saved front brooding over much upon the tragie events I have nurrated by the arrival in harbor 011 tlie afternoon of the third day of our captivity of two ai'RC merchant steamers. Captain Cardwell :recoRniscd tlieni at once. One was a deeply laden collier, the Qunmbi, of GOOO tons, be- JUllgll'8 „untaii,ic-.,uu«iuu uutuiu irnde, and the other the A.U.S.N. Com- jiany's passenger'. Reamer Kooigardie, G500 tons, which bad plied for many years be tween Sydney and Perth. All that even ing we were kept on the qui vivo of ex- jitement, expecting that tlie Australian. .trews would bo added to our ranlss. Hut Vt this we were disappointed. They were landed, certainly, but .provision was made lor their imprisonment elsewhere. No >)oubt the Germans considered that we at the house were ulready sufficiently over crowded. But we would have cheerfully put up with additional inconvenience for the sake of news. However, when the guard was changed on the following morn ing a sovereign judiciously dropped at the foot of one of tlie sentries induced the fel low to relax his habitual attitude of surly incommimicativeness. He told me that newspapers aboard the Kool- gardie— just out from Adelaide — described a great night attack of German torpedo boats on tho blockading British fleet off Kiel. The attack had not been altogether a bur.eess, for three of the torpedo craft had been destroyed and one captured, but one British battleship had been blown up, and an armored cruiser so badly injured thai she had been obliged to run home for repairs. At the cost of another sovereign I learned that Australia was still unnwuro' of the presence of tho German raiders off her coasts, although shipping circles were much concerned nt the fniluve of the Yalgoo both to arrive at Port Adelaide on scheduled time uud to report herself at intervening points. The sentry chuckled like a hyena as he told me this, and ho added that the Germans expected to cap ture the very cream of our mercantile marine before the Commonwealth should realise her peril. But this ivas not nil. The fellow intiinutcd that he had still more t»fnvinfll.inn lo iinnart— at a. price— which would make 111c (as he phrased it) sing Die Wacht am Rliein backwards. At first lie demanded five pounds, but utter some bar gaining lie abated his pretensions, and for three pounds I was assured that the Ger mans had cut the Cape Australian cable, and that their cable cutting steamer was already on its way to tap and cut, other cable lines, witli the view to the ultimate absolute isolation of tho Commonwealth. All this gave 11s so much to . think about anil discuss that time passed swiftly, de spite our evil case and the hardships we endured. And we were obliged to submit ta real hardships, too, for very soon our food fell off, both in' quality and quantity. A thing which filled me with continued amazement was the condition of my liealtli. 1 had expected that the conditions of our gaol life would have speedily brought me to death's door. But instead of that I posi tively throve on my misfortunes. I grew stronger and hardier instead of weaker day by day. Captain Cardwell ascribed this fact to my being obliged to sleep each night in the open air. I eannot say if this ivas the proper explanation, yet it is true that our woman fellow prisoners who slept, crowded together in tiie stuffy house did net wear as well as the men, who all, like myself, maintained a first rate form. In deed, before the first week was over, we bad several women very sick, poor things. On the sixth dtiy l\vo dduisefh appeared, convoying three more prizes. Two of tho latter were Adelaide colliers, and the third hud been picked up in Bass Strait. There was now an imposing fleet of - ten sleamcrs in Hie bay. Yet there were more to follow. Next morning two more cruisers, one of which was the Nurnbcrg, entered the harbor bringing still another" collier and a huge White Star liner, the Cuevic, of 10,000 tons, which Captain Card- well informed us was loaded with frozen meat for the English market. This was the most valuable prize which the raiders had yet secured, and we did not wonde.i that tho cruisers wasted a deal of powder in gelf-congratulation. Tiie various erews, too, went off their heads with delight, and the cheering lasted the better part of an hour, while tlie playing ot bands per sisted half the duy. The new prizes, however, did not put their prisoners ashore. They were all transhipped to the smallest of the cof fers, and there the men among "them were made to work at coaling one of the Ger man war boats which was warped along side. Afterwards this particular cruiser moved away, and slipped out to sea just , before dark, amid a frantic salvo of eheei- ing. The others, coaled steadily through out tiie night. I should remark m this regard that lliey were all of approximately the same size and construction— old ships of the fourth class, and all unarniored. I am not a naval expert, it should be understood, but Captain Cardwell explained to mo tlm details of their build and armament. And Utis is how lie summed the mutter up:— "Why, look you, Air. Brymner, two Bri- ftsh destroyers, or three at most, could root out the whole bally nest, cruisers, colliers, store ships and prizes, and send em all to the bottom of the sea in half an hour." At another time he swung round suddenly 011 me and said, with liery em phasis, "The inferngl cheek of the damned Germans is getting 011 my nerves. They arc doing just what a dirty old sundowner tramp did to my missus one night when I was away. He robbed her hen-roost, and j then plucked the poultry he had stolen on her doormat." Jen morning dawned we were present- m with one of the linest spectacles I have cier witnessed. This consisted in the manning of the prizes. At least fifty bouts I nnd launches were on the water racing to I. and fro between the steamers and the | Uore-tbips and the nr;t .;.. j; wan the shore. Not the slightest hitch I eeurred 111 thu arrangements. T'hey we're 1. out whh the smoothness and pre- I. cwon of well-oiled clockwork. We count- I. the men in each case. We found that I- no fewer than 200 were taken from the I _,( rl among the prizes; I hZl r T,UiS0IH and store-ships contri- I Til , ,furthcr 250 for the purpose. I h«,tf . ..Operation was coml'leted before I ret . "l' But 111(2 tnisiness was not 1 , lver; The prison ship was visited, and I: out" ei' ,ty,of tlie Prisoners were drawn I tiri, drafted among the cruisers and |. cs. Captain Cardwell said that tlies-4 tr. Bt0Kcre- and the German It J i,?8 to force tllem to work. I e'fid I. heve him for a time, but I s-jon I found he was right. ' 1 Zu iTr har<J'y ,in,ished our firsfc' meal I twrZ ,ri"im »«<lshipm.in, attend- «i by II miLi- 1 rs' CI,tet'ed the compoun-i, and I S(rtoi,,v,Rintheyaid' ,e„ lull 1s0' ho selected thirty of the li the "Ynl u"d strongest-looking members of n fo"ner crew> and commanded I fa-i . procec(l to the beach. . Captain I this hi-lh 610,1 msfc bitterly against | « ugh-hattded action, and it.e appealed Bfc» io t"" . Au8trah'a,j lo re. their ? In fc'ie emee of rauld u11 L'neinie:i- But what tcorp \t Por fellows do? Two d«hrMTrlnU/'?,CS Menac e-d them. They Wind they would die before they would ISddv " atrr\fOT the G airmails, but the 'aosbed, nnd when he gave I we l ' -!,1"1"'1 Ulcy ' .'ad tciobey. And uL, '' raEe but h(ij)Ios8 as so many were forced' to. lot jk 0,n. The whole thirty wOro taken to the Nttrnbergi... Just before noon That cruiser signalled "with flags to the rest of the fleet,- and; followed by her two armed consorts, steamed out to sen. We then witnessed a new phase of the German operations. Within five minutes of the departure of tho cruisers the mighty Cttevie was ivarpcd slowly alongside of the bigger German storeship. Immediately she wits fast a perfect army of artisans "clam"- bered to her decks, anil there began to completely transform her appearance. First of all her two middle masts were lowered. Then her ports were covered over, and her whole vast hull and her two big funnels painted a uniform dull grey. Lastly, her hull was Cunningly pierced on each side fore and afit for guns; and a mighty crane on the store-ship's deck hoisted aboard the lints converted merchantman, two big can non, and two other guns which Captain Cardwell said were dummies. It took a week to do all this, although the men worked night and day incessantly. But when all was over alio looked a veritable battleship; and to show that such she ivas she discharged her guns iu a formidable saiute, while all tlie other craft dipped their (lugs to Iter. I noted, however, that the firing of the cannon shook her from stem to stern at eaelt discharge. But, as Captain Cardwell said, I would not have noted that live miles away, nor have dreamed that she had ever been a simple merchantman. In the meanwhile, each of the four cruisers had cotnc in to coal and gone away again, without prizes.' This circumstance re joiced us, for we argued therefrom that Aus tralia must now be aware of the presence of the raiders, and that henceforth they would not be able to inflict on her much further ltit-vm, save in dislocating and tem porarily 1 fulling a stop to the trailic of her coastal and ocean going commerce. Anil we all felt that this could not long continue. Australia would only need to cable Britain of her peril,1 and the British Admiralty would speedily detach an armored cruiser or two for our, defence, which would cither send the raiders flying or better still cap ture or destroy them. On this account we all felt more cheerful and took on a new tone of hope. But, alas, we were reckoning without our host, and our host was u Ger man. On tlie seventeenth day the Nurnbcrg and -two other cruisers returned to harbor con voying two small . Victorian coasting steamers, lailett with dairy and other pro duce. which l-hey had taken 111 Bass Strait. After transferring .their stores to tho other vessels of tlie fleet, the Germans scuttled and sunk these steamers in the bay; and they also sunk two of the smaller colliers. This ivuntou destruction of valuable pro perty can. only be described as a dastardly outrage on international law. There was no excuse for it. And. there could have been no reason for it save the fact that tlie Ger mans did not wuut them, and were at the same time determined to hurt and damage Australia by every means at their com mand. For the next two days tho cruisers stayed in harbor, probably to rest thoir crews. On the third morning the fourth arrived. It was unaccompanied, but it evidently bore important news, for with in u few minutes of the visit of its com mander to the captain of the Nurnbcrg, ull Ibo other commanders were signalled to immediately, assemble on the flagship. Of course, we could not. rend the signals. But we judged by results. And these were that as soon as the flags appeared at the Nurn- berg's truck, there was an immediate scurry on all the other steamers' decks. Boats were manned in a twinkling, and each conveyed a gilded officer to the Nurn- bcrg's side. We unfortunate prisoners watched these doings in the greatest anxiety. The idea flashed amongst us that a British squadron ivus on its way to Aus tralia's relief, and that the Germans had heard of its approach. And the hope was fostered by immediately subsequent occur rences. The colloquy of commanders lasted, jfor- perhaps an, hour.. Then each returned to his own ship, and ut once1 proceeded to weigh anchor. Meanwhile launches put off from all the cruisers to the island, and a general embarkation of the sailors' till then encamped on shore commenced. ; Our poignant concern is perfectly 'insus ceptible to description. Wo were like a lot of children or lunatics. Wo ran about ask ing each other most foolishly what wa. about io happen tis? Were ivc to.' be car ried off or left behind, and the freedom of the island given us? Some of us demanded to know if we were to be shot out of hand? The women embraced each other, and sob bed and wept. One thing alone was, evi dent. Tho Germans were going with all their force. . This presaged a change in our condition. And wo were so tired of the s,fcate iu which we languished that we >' were prepared lo welcome a change, even, for the worse. Fortunately we were not kept over long in doubt.. The launches having finished embarking and distributing, tip/ sailors re turned in a body to the inland, and a little later a German lieutenant, with a compuny of marines, appearef'l at the gate of the compound. We were 'quickly as sembled, and without a moment's delay hurried down to the beach and hustled into the launches. Not the least respect was shown to persons, ,and the unfortu nate women were treatrxl as cavalierly as the men. It made my/ blood boil to see the rude and boorish 'gray in which some of the poor nervous creatures were dis posed of. Tlte.v might have been so tiiaitv sheep. I ventured la one instance to re monstrate with tlie officer, but it did no 9d. The fellow cnilied uic an old woman, and ho told me to hold my. tongue or lie would have me ggg/ged, aud the women, too. I should drur.ly have liked to box lit cars, but liad. "1 indulged my/ inclina tion I feel certnlri he would have killed me. As it was,' the blackguard gave me a brutal push an I was stepping aboard, and had it not ;"becn for Captain Cardwell I should have /had a nasty fall. We were ccpj.veycd to'onc of the smaller captured col'jhers, a steamer called the Hotspur. It ('wus a big bout, nevertheless— about 2000 pilous I fancy — but a very old and very d'erty tub. Fortunatelj-' however for us it lijas not 'commanded by our con ductor, bit/, by another lieutenant, a very young iiit'oi,, named Garachagen, who. sooii demonstrated that he was a kind-hearted and ver.;- civil gentleman. He placed the saloon .'it the disposal of the women, and utlhourAi lie directed us men to go below hatch M./ for the present, he apologised for the necessity, and lie promised to allow 11s on : .ileek as often as might be convenient. It was a' plea are' to be controlled by ' so courteous a gao'Jer, and despite the fact that for tlie ne xt few- hours we were obliged to sit or lo f! on tho dirty tarpaulin covering the coal, a jid ive could hardly see a yard before us 'xti- the darkness, there , was not a single voice raised in complaint. We felt sure that the handsome young lieutenant would keep his promise, and lie did. Very soon after 1 o'clock the hatch WJin nnAnnrl n»,l we were invited to ascend, and we found that a substantial lunch had been prepared and laid out for us on the covering of the after hold. By this time we had left the island far astern, and we were steaming south through an almost glass still sea. Never was there a lovelier day nor a lovelier prospect pre sented to our gaze. The fleet was proceed ing in a long extended double line, a dis tance of a quarter mile separating each vessel. The Cuevic led the van, in com pany with the Nurnberg. Immediately fol lowing were the Yalgoo and the Koolgar- die; then came tlfe Hotspur— our boat— and the Quambi. Behind us tho two big Ger man store ships churned up the sea; and behind them, ii' co-ordinate- formation, the Tasmaniun passenger boat and a big col lier, two smaller colliers— prizes— and finally the -three\ German cruiser consorts of the Nurnbcrg brought up the rear. 1 1 ivas a most' imposing sight, and so perfectly was the speed of alt the steamers regulated -that the formation? nevc£ , varied, in. tlie: least throughout our meat: To me we ap peared to be going very "slowly, and; I won dered why. Hut Captain Cardwell ex plained that the pace of a fleet is always limited by the stcuming capacity of the slowest vessel: nnd lie also stated that in nil probability the flagship had fixed a low rale of progression in order to economise in coal. I don't remember ever having spent a more interesting hour. It ivas such a relief to escape from that abominable island with its tragic memories. And, moreover,, the German cooking was excellent. There was a ragout provided for our entertain ment, which ivas simply delicious. To this day I greatly regret that I did not make sonic effort to obtain the recipe. I. was thinking of doing so, indeed-, immediately after lunch, but the German- lieutenant put it out of my mind by inviting Captain Card- well and myself up to his cabin. There lie proved what a hospitable fellow lie ivas in the most practical way. He took out a bottle of German 'brandy from his cup board, and invited us to help ourselves. It was the first drop of spirit we had tasted for three long miserable weeks. We were affected almost to tears at the German's kindness. And lie ivas so nice over it too. He simply compelled us to take a second glass apiece. Truly, there are Germans and Germans. I made ltirn a speech of acknowledgment in his own language, ivbich so pleased him that he forced us to accept Hie tag end of a box of cheap Manilas. But lliey tasted bettor than, the finest Laranagas. It was ten days since either Cardwell or I had had a whiff. We shared the cigars afterwards among our other iel- low prisoners. We were permitted lo stay on deck till after tea — a most generous meal — and I for one slept quite comfortably that night, de spite the coal dust nnd the lumpincss of our common bed.. Next morning — tlie cour- , teous consideration of our gaoler proving inexhaustible — we were invited to deck for breakfast, and as the weather had changed for the worse we were allowed to cat yvitli the ivometi in the saloon. Afterwards we discovered that the disposition of the fleet had changed. We ivcre now much further apart, and the arrangement was somewhat /broken. 1 urthcruiore, two of the cruisers' and one of the largest colliers had disap peared. A line of smoke on the western horizon induced Cardwell to assume they had set off in that direction about' dawn. We on the contrary were now proceeding due south-east. . About noon Lieutenant Garschngen sent for me to', the bridge, and we had a long and most interesting chat. In tho course of this 1 dropped liirn a hint of the fact that I ivas acquainted with- Captain Dip- pel and Lieutenant Gorlitz of the Nurn- Dcrg, ana tnut tlicy had promised to set me at 'liberty on the mainland. He ivas greatly surprised, but when I craftily sug gested tlmt : the reason wiis that Captain Dippel knew me to be a - German by descent, the i young man grew quite con cerned. He nt once began to apologise for his commander. He declared that Captain Dippel must have forgotten his word in the press of affair, for his policy ivaa to do everything possible to avoid .hurling or offending Gernuin-Australiatis, and he pro tested that my long imprisonment would cuttse the eontmtluder the greatest regret when he came tc» be reminded, of his ne glect. This ivas mi'jst pleasant hearing; nnd when Garachagen. went ou to promise that lie would take the earliest opportunity to inform Captain Dippel of tny presence on the' Hotspur I felt ' almost as good as at liberty already. It is true ! had sotne natural coinpunctioh in deceiving the charming young lieutenant. But after all he was an enetny. and fair game;- and self- preservation is the first law of nature. That evening he insisted upon sharing his cabin with me, and lie gave me some clean linen and lent me his razor to shave. And ive dined together. It ivas. like returning to civilisation after a long sojourn in the wil derness, to eat with lcnifo and fork on a porcelain plate set on a square of dazzling damask. And the meal! The fact is the ytJiiqg, pian '.ivas'. a Qgrfeft sybarite.,,.. Us told me all about himself. , He ivas the younger son of a wealthy German family oF merchants whom the Kaiser had, not long since ennobled. There followed dish after dish of dainties. Tho lieutenant was _ivell off in his own right. But lie meditated achieving glory. His elder hrother would inherit a i title. He desired to iviu one for himself. We drank champagne. It was sweet, cer tainly; hut I was so tired, so very tired, of water. Under its influence my young friend- expanded and expanded. This ivas his first independent command, and he was tre mendously proud of it, tho more so because it was absolute. The fleet commander bad had no second officer to spare' for bim, so he was alone on the Hotspur, save for a petty warrant officer. But he sighed that the Hotspur was only arrped with a tiny signal gun. He wanted to go on a. cruise and capture1 prizes on his own account. But Captain Dippel had other views. On our third bottle lie let drop that lie did not entirely agree ivith his commander's plan of campaign. But he pulled himself short up there, and the third bottle — they were nil small— was otir last. It was most exasperating, for the nice young ipnn had been growing more friendly and confiden tial with each mouthful. However, by carefully refraining from the slightest ap pearance of curiosity, and' by deftly en couraging him with deferential and flatter ing questions pertaining to his career and his prospects, I contrived, over cigars and "cafe avee," to elicit the information that our mission eastwards was not dictated by any fear of the British IIJLVV. 'Phi vmiHi I man laughed: ut the notion. ' He declared that the cables had long since all bceu cut but one, and that one a cable cutting ship laid tapped, and ivas then lying off a cer tain point of the Australian coast sending false messages to England, destined to allay all British anxiety on Australia's ac- : count. Cheerful news, forsooth, for an Australian to listen to ! Bub the lieu tenant believed me to be a German sj-m- .pathiser, so I forced myself to cordially compliment him on the German skill and cleverness which had laid my country un der so grievous u burden. , Next ' morning I .told Captain Cardwell all: about ft. -But I regret to say that Cardwell, im spite of our long acquaintance and tlie intimacy which, had been engen dered by 'our-' common misfortunes, thought it advisable to address mo iu. tonus which no man of spirit could endure, lie stated that in his opinion I was a most ,.w man, and he asserted, that hud he been in .my place lie would have put in a word for his friend. Tills meant, I suppose, that he was jealous that my prospects' of imme diate release seemed brighter than, it is own. I could have forgiven him for that, since it was natural he should feel chagrined; und it was difficult to explain to: him that. I must have jeopardised my own chances.- had I displayed au interest in a self-confessed Australian like himself. But when lie went on to characterise my conduct towards: our German enemies as treacherous, and: to hint that he was not entirely convinced of my sincere attachment to my native land, it was too much. Captain Cardwell . had been most attentive and considerate to me, but the richest . gifts wax poor when givers prove unkiud. I deplored the necessity, but a proper sense of personal dignity de manded that I should resent tho Captain's inexcusable demeanor. I therefore rebuked him with a proud and scornful glance,, nnd, turning my back upon bim, walked away; He sent after me a peal of insulting laugh ter, and in a loud voice called upon the two commercial travellers who. were standing near by to. get out of the way. and let u "German fossil" pass. This shows how difficult it is for one to ever know a fellow being completely. Until that moment, I would have staked niy life thtat Captain Cardwell- could iu no circum stances have been capable of. such a con temptible and purely splenetic childish out burst. Yet such, ivas the event. Bitterly humiliated and. hurt, far more deeply than 1 can express, I returned forthwith to the lieutenant's cabin. But there T found, im mediate consolation. Lieutenant Garachagen hodt ovcrhgw/ tji. nnparfboable , initnlli which it had been my fate to encounter, lie followed ine into the cabin and shook me warmly by; the hand. "Ach! My dear sir," he cried. "Cheer up. Be not ashamed of the brave German blood you carry in your veins. These insolent dogs of English affect to despise us even when we beat them and hold them at our mercy. But the day is even now dawning on which ive Germans shall put them in their proper place; and the flag of a great German world empire shall wave above the ruins of Hie British. As for that oaf— who refused respect even to your grey hairs— you have but. to say the word and I shall see that he is promptly punished. I shall not permit him any more on deck 1" The fact is Captain Cardwell quite un wittingly had rendered me a tremendous service. He hail completely convinced the lieutenant that I was a German, aud that my German sympathies ivcre recognised nnd detested, by my fellow prisoners. Need less to say I. dissuaded the lieutenant front punishing Captain Cardwell; but f was un able to prevent hint from ordering all the Yalgoo's crew and passengers — save the nruuicu — u 11,1,1. llllloeuiai ciy uiuy had eaten their lunch. I am not a hard man, but I cannot pretend that I j. as sorry for them. They bad all laughed when Card- ; well described me as a "fossil." It is a mis fortune to be old, but Pclion is piled on Ossa. when old age is considered, a proper subject for mockery trad ridicule. ITO BE CONTINUED.)


THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT (Author of "Tlio Counterstroke," Ac.). CHAPTER VII.— THE DESCENT ON EDEN. On the morning of the third day of our royage.we sighted land. Lieutenant Gnr- tchagcn told us it was King Island, nnd ihen he made me very anxious by observ ing that it was Captain Dippel's intention vo there dispose of all his prisoners. Na- turally l am not want to tie immured m lliat small place, witii its scanty means of rommunication, even in pence time, witii Australia. And in existing circumstances one might have to stay there weeks, per haps months, before a chance would be nreffented to' get off. But nnrenivintr from my dejected hearing what was running in my mind, the young lieutenant speedily reassured me. He said lie would make it his business to put my case before the commander of tjie fleet, and remind him of his promise to me. Perhaps I ought to mention that I had been doing all in my power to ingratiate myself with llerr Gnrschitgen. And I also astutely played upon his feelings. I talked witii him for hours on the future of Australia— in German hands. Lieuten ant Garschagcn thought Lhat after the country was conquered he might do- cide to settle there and marry. <! hated deceivit g him. But I had my fam ily and my country to consider, and I knew that if I could once return to Melbourne — with the information I had acquired as to the aims of the Germans and their strength, I, should be able to truly serve tiic Commonwealth, not to speak of the joy 1 should give my wife and children re turning to them as one from the dead. Nevertheless it was very hard to pretend to view the German designs with appro val, and sometimes my gorge rose and my blood boiled at the insolent confidence of . the lieutenant in German might, and his equally insolent conviction of Australia's helplessness to adequutely defdnd her- telf. The fact- is the young man frankly con- sidered us nn inferior nnd a dependent race, merely because instead of having built and manned a navy of our own, we had paid the British navy to defend us. And, arguing by unulogy, he laughed to scorn tlie idea that the Australian military forces would be able to seriously dispute ..the progress of tlie Germans when the German invading force should ho ready to land nnd attempt to seize the country. Once I ventured to disagree with him. I said Hint I thought the Australians, as a race, were hardy and courageous, and I drew his attention to the 10,000 soldiers we had lately sent to fight for the Empire in India— every man of them voiun- leers. But litis only drew on my devoted .head a. shower of ridicule. The lieutenant laughed, nnd said that our " Indian contingents represented tlie flower nf the bravery nnd enterprise of tlie Com monwealth, and that Germany had wntchcd their depnrture from Australia with the deepest satisfaction. Tie told mo that tlie German cruisers might easily have inter cepted nnd captured our transports, but they had preferred to let thorn go on their way, and carry off our troops to tlie fulfil ment of their mission. Then lie told me other tilings of much greater 'importuned, for his confidence in lite was by that time very deeply rooted. He said that Germany . had boon preparing to attack Australia for .rears, and that while the- Germans did not expect to immediately capture the whole roinmonwcallh, they had perfected arrange ments to seize and hold a part at least against all comers. As to what that part should be circumstnnccs 'must 'decide, ' and the advice of the German emissaries on the mainland. But the onslaught would he nade— somewhere or other— within the next few weeks. Five thousand German soldiers who hail gone out nt various times dis guised as emigrants, were even then waiting under arms at German New Guinea nnd in the Marshall Islands for tluit purpose. Two thousand more were expecting the signal to cmhnrk at the German naval base in New i l'ontmern. And various other strong de tachments were distributed among the Dutch possessions in tlie East Indies, no tably at Batavin and Timor. To nil appear ances Holland was in tlie business witii Germany up to tlie hilt, and her pretended neutrality was a vicious disguise to delude Britain, and to enable her to secretly help Germany without drawing upon herself the peril of war. In another regard Lieutenant Garschagcn read me a most instructive lesson on naval strategy. He declared that the stupidity of Australians in neglecting to undertake tlie business of their own coastal defence had hastened their day of doom; for the fact of Australia's 'defeneelcBsnoss once the Impe rial Australian squadron had been with drawn had persuaded Germany to keep in commission her obsolete oltl war ships, like the Nurnberg, which otherwise would have gone to .tlie scrap heap, just as the great majority of Britain's old fashioned cruisers of the same type had done years before. "No doubt," said he, "Britain wondered many a time why we persisted in keeping this effete class going; hut she knows now, or will be fore long. You see, iny dear Brymner, the . Nurnberg— although Bho would not last a minute before an armored eruft of half her size— is every hit as good as a Dreadnought for raiding purposes. Better indeed, for . she can steam 25 knots. And' if she and . twenty like her were sunk to-morrow it wouldn't hurt Germany a bit. They ure perfectly valueless «3 fighting machines, al though so useful in this sort of work." 1 would not have had my wife hear that speech for the world. , Towards evening wo approached to with in live miles of a big headland. But dark coining on the whole fleet stood off to sea. All that night we steamed very slowly, and though the water was smooth and there was very little wind, tlie old Hotspur rolled ; horribly. Once or twico I was very qualm-, , isli — old sailor as I am. Early in the morn ing, however, we put about and ran more quickly towards a big hay that opened out before us, dipping far into the land. There was a small town at the head of the hay, and a fair number of sailing boats was either drawn up on the beach or anchored -. shore. , crowd of people ossuiiihlcd to watch us; but none of the boats put off. Very soon the whole licet was at anchor except the two cruisers, One of these circled round and wurped up alongside of the biggest collier. The Nurnberg perform ed tlie same manoeuvre to us. Then coal ing began, but it did not last very long— ' in our case at all events, for not only were the Xurnborg's bunkers utmost full already , she had used so little coal in tlie three days of slow steaming, hut the Hotspur's hold was almost ompty. Afterwards the cruisers' launches were put out and the disembarkation of tlie prisoners commenced. All this time I stayed in Garschageu's cabin. I was very excited and unxious, for tlie young lieutenant had gone aboard tlie flag ship, and my fate trembled in the balance. But my lucky star was in tho ascendant. Just before the last of the prisoners hud departod Garschagen re turned. He looked so gloomy that I' thought lie had bad news to give mc, and my heart almost stopped heating; hut I wab mistaken. lie was gloomy because the commander had decided to destroy tho Hotspur on account of her poor steaming ability; and tlie poor young man hated to he deprived of hits command. He told me, however, that Captain Dippel had immedi ately recollected my name, and (lis promise to ine, and that a very little persuasion had induced him to have me aboard the cruiser. I accomplished the transfer with out more ado, and was there taken under racoit— Garschagen had remained on the H Hotspur — to a dingy little hole of a eaoio far belbw the water line. Tho placo was clean, certainly, but it was so small and stuffy that I could lmrdly brcatho in it. And it seemed, too, that I was a prisoner, for a sentry stood without the door. Had 1 fallen from thc.fryingpan into the fire? That was tlie question. I passed a rather miserable hour, torn, as I was, with doubts and fears. But at tho end of that lime my anxiety was quite relieved. Garschagen suddenly appeared. He sent the sentry speedily about his business, nnd lie in formed me that I was to consider in) self the guest of the wardroom until an oppor tunity occurred for me to be put ashore. Then he set to work to provide me witii a complete ahange of clothes and underwear. I shall never forget his kindness — German though he is. By lunch time I was a new man. I had bathed . and shaved. I was clad in clean linen, and I wore clothes which, nlthougn of foreign out and texture, were bran new, and fitted me passing well. We had lunch in the wardroom. Thoro I renewed my acquaintance with Gorlitz, and was introduced to the other officers. They were all pleasant fellows, and we be came quite friendly over an excellent meal. But I do wish that Germans were not so fond of sweet champagne. It nlwnys makes me livcrisii next day. Still, one should not look a gift horse in the mouth. After wards we all went on deck, and watched a hand of Gorman sailors on shore, who were going about burning and hacking to pieces all the bonis of the settlement. This appeared to me such wanton brigandage that I could hardly believe my eyes, and I asked the reason of it as calmly as I could. Secretly I was enraged. Nothing angers me more than to see property of uny sort destroyed. But Gorlitz explained thnt Captain Dippel had a strong reason for wishing to prevent any news of- his actual strength reaching the mainland at present, and it therefore became necessary to deprive tlie islanders of all possible means of communication. The German sailors did this very thoroughly. They even smashed up and burned the row boats. As for the Hotspur, it was scuttled and sunk before our eyes. I wns glad, in deed, to leave the bay. My lust impres sion of King Island was a very sad one. Captain Card well was standing— a lone, pathetic figure on tho beach. Ifis arms were folded, and lie gazed after us like a statue of reproach. Through tlie binoculars I saw that he wns biting liis lips and frowning gloomily. My eyes dimmed with involuntary tears as 1 jpoked at him. He had been kind to me at Nuyts, and, though I still felt his subsequent misunder standing of my motives very sorely, it was like parting for over with an old friend. And all on board the Nurnberg, little- its they guessed it, were my deadly enemies. Old man as I am, I would have sacrificed my life to kill them all at a stroke hud I known how to do it. . I hud a, chat with Captain Dippel later in the afternoon. It was mainly about tlie Australian military forces. He possessed the most nstonishingiy complete informa tion about the numbers and disposition of tlie main bodies, hut I soon found he knew little about the country volunteer militia organisation nnd our rifle clubs. 1 therefore made it my business to illuminate his mind with carefully considered lies; and I fancy I succeeded in convincing him that it would be next door -to impossible for Germany, even were she in undisputed control of tlie sea, to ever effect a permanent lodgment in Victoria, New South Wules, or Queensland. He did not openly agree with me, and he frankly discredited my figures, but I was far too wide awake to let him suspect any purpose. I artlessly replied that no doubt he was right, for the Australians wore great boasters, and they loved to exaggerate everything they possessed; und the cluiiices were that they had net half as many coun try detachments and rifle corps as they pro tended. But of course I could rfot say for certain, ub 1 wus a townsman, and never visited the, hnek-blqclcs, The fact that ,'i, thus gave in io him, and made1 no attempt- to support my previous statistical asser tions, produced an evident effect upon the captain; nnd when, moreover, he observed that 1 did not dispute liini — whore lie knew himself correct — lie let my misstatements sink into mind, as it were, despite himself. In order to convince a person iigainst the truth one must never be assertive'. To pro test is to invite disbelief. These arc max ims which I laid down for professional go vernment very early in my legal career, and I have never found tlienx go back on me. That is why I have never gone buck on them. Just before the enptnin dismissed me I asked him when it would he his pleasure io set me ashore. He replied, that, he contemplated cer tain operations against tlie enemy which- would have to be transacted first. He was, lie; said, quite satisfied personally of my good faith, hut as commander of tlie German expedition it behoved him to regard me in his official capacity as a pos sible source of peril to his plans. He hoped, however, to he able to lnnd me somewhere on the coast within a week or ten days. ' With this assurance I was ob liged to be content. l'rom King Island the fleet proceeded at a fairly high rate of , spaed straight towards Wilson Promontory, . which we passed at night close round, all lights out. We then made for Cape Howe, and en route tlie Niirnbei-g captured two colliers, one hound for Adelaide and the other for Melbourne. We sighted another and gave chase, but it was hugging the coast, and before we eoukl get within striking dis tance it slipped into Sydenham Inlet.' Hav ing rejoined tho fleet, which waited for ub in the meanwhile, wo pussed Gabo Island, doubled Cape Howe, and lay off Disaster Bay for a whole night. Next morning we rounded Green Cape, and steamed straight for Twofold Bay. Only the two cruisers and tlie two last captured colliers, however, entered tlie . hay. The rest of tlie fleet stood off. I Hoon found that we lmd gone in to coal. We anchored off tile town of Eden, and by four o'elock in the afternoon the hunkers of both eruisers were once more full. 'The intervening hours wore full of interest, because it was evident that the .people ashore expected tlie Ger mans to attempt a landing. A strong detachment of troops occupied tlie -high lauds, and with them was a bnttcry of Held guns. We were ' well out of range, hut this did not prevent the Australians from occasionally firing at the eruisers to show that they were ready. The German officers laughed heartily at -''-"i- futile dcUiuiiatl'n tiv,Un, but itftm Lucy had sunk tho empty colliers both cruisers stood in shore,, and cleared for nation as they moved. They evidently intended to read tlie Australians . a lesson. God for give them; there was no necessity. It was murder— bloody, purposeless murder. Ihoy circled round twice, and each cruiser discharged four shells from her 6-inch guns. Tli is made sixteen shots in all. My heart bled at the destruction that they wrought. Twelve of tlie sheila dropped among the streets nnd houses of the ill- fated little town; tlie remaining four hurst among the soldiers guarding tlie heights, I do not know how many troops were killed, but I counted a dozen corpses in tlie town, nnd we left poor, pretty little Eden a raging mass of flames. I am not ashamed to confess that 1 retired to my cabin and wept bitterly. Nevertheless I dared not let tlie Germans guess how deep- ly I was moved at their callous and cowardly behavior, and when tlie dinner hour arrived I forced myself to go to tho ward room und listen, with an artificial smile,' to their joyous jests and braggart vaporings. They were so proud of their infamous achievement that one might have supposed that tliey had won a glorious victory against unnumbered odds. And they made ine the butt of a dozen jokes because prior to Hie bombardment 1 had stuffed my ears with cotton wool so that I should not he deafened by tlie firing of the cannon. From that hour I hated litem all hearti ly, irretrievably and fiercely — even -Lieu tenant Garschagen. (TO BE CONTINUED.)


THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. Of ;"' r : / ' , . :- : 1 COPYRIGHT, A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT (Alitlior of "Th e : Coiln t e'rs troke," &c.). "css|5tR- VHI.-THE RAIDING OF THE EASTERN LITTORAL. Alter quitting Twofold Bay. the fleet tood out to sea until fully SO miles from land. Then we ran north at full speed to Cape Byron. Here the Nurnbcrg left the other vessels and slipped back to the Rich mond River heads. Lying off the bar in -nater that wap almost glass still, .Captain Dippek, signalled- fqj-sa pilot. ..As was but natural; however, (no, notice >as taken of OJS message. But.tl,e Germans.. w, ere equal to the oceasiom. The Nurnbcrg ripened fire on the lighthouse, and pilot station, and in three shots reduced those buildings to rums. Then twt> oil launches were lowered, each armed ujth machine guns, and they set off crammed with men for the shore. Xhey had uo> difHculty in crossing the bar. two great. breakwaters signified the -pass age, and. the channel was marhed,; else- where ivath buoys. We watched thcm'ufitil . „Cy,. lal van'3'led within the "river's mouth s Then we stood out from the cliffs and sent five shells shrieking and- whining amoiag the streets of the Unfortunate little jov/n of Ballina, in order, as Lieutenant Garbtz explained- to, me, to teach the in- ihpbitants the fatuity of' resistance. ' -All that day w.c cruised up and down tiefore the river mouth." About'4 o'clock in Ahe afternoon, liowevor, a rocket was fired from the shore. It exploded; with a tre mendous noise half a mile' in the" air. It was the signal that the launches were re turning. Three-quarters of an hour later they appeared, 'towing behind them a small (heavily loaded schooner rigged hargc. This proved to be filled with water, fresh meat, butter, fruit and flour. - But the launches brought the more .valuable portion of the proceeds of the -expedition. Thes.e.. con sisted of some six thousand pounds inrgold nnd silver looted /from! , the banks of -Bal lina, and about -three, thousand pounds' worth of plate and watches, &c., taken from the jewellers' shops.'in the. town. The Gcr- apans had not lost. a man, for they had mot encountered any opposition, but they reported that. the. Nurnberg's-.-shells' had wrecked several houses and killed a' num ber of Australians, four of whom1 were wo men. Captain Dippei expressed regret at (the destruction of, the women. He called, ibem "poor dears,"' find observed that lie wept" for them', but in reality he was!, very far from weeping.' ' -Bo tliTlie and his under officers were/in fact, -/in the highest spirits at the success' of 'their brigaridagb; They were like tigers which bad tasted blood. They wanted more gold, more, much more. They held a long consultation , in the cabin that evening, and I did not need' to be a- wizard to divine the purpose of Ttheir deliberations. We caught up with (the fleet soon after midnight. I knew, be cause the mad cheering of the Gcriiian buc caneers aroused me from, my sleep. Next morning "we sighted --Moreton Is land, aaid were joined almost at once by a email torpedo destroyer, " whieli had run .Hown from the German naval base at New Pommern with news and des- .patches for Captain Dippel«>®i'0/;jntd(li-; 'gcnce brought by this scouK'wAs' eriidfently' of groat importance, but although I was Pot informed of it, judging by the excited -nnd delighted faces about me, it miist have been of a pleasant nature to the Germans. Perhaps a British reverse. Heaven, only, knows ! But whatever it was, it iirimedi- ately affected our dispositions.,, AH the German prizes were at "orico ordered- -to' proceed nndcr convoy of the destrover to New Pommern. vXhp; two German store ships yjero despatched, /-with-'.-tbe-; /Gothn,' 'back to Tvofold Bay. And" ire" in the Nurnberg forthwith set out at the rate tof twenty knots . for. .rToivrisville:-1 Captain' iDippefl's luck was in. We had hardly en- iered, the Barrier Reef before we sighted'a column of .smoke on .the. north-west' hori zon. An hour later it resolved into, a big Ifour-niasted steamer.' It Arid before us- with i the swiftness of despair, but tile INurnberg increased her speed; t& five-and- twenty '.knots, arid we- overhauled "tlie ill- fated' vessel - at - the , entrance of r Broad Bound. It1- was -the; Hbwairii (-'Smith "boat Rayenswood. 4009 itonsj/ladefl: with 'cargri of geheral stores fbr 'Gfiirns "ari'd'Cooktownf The -iNurnberg toofc.it to Percy Islqnd. Therq she warped, alongside of . the/prize- nnd refilled- her. bunkers from the hold of inc Ravenswood, wltose crew and passen- jgers wore subsequently forced into the. boats. The Ravenswood was then manned svitb a German supernumerary prize crew end. despatched to New Pommern. And the Nurnberg proceeded „n her way rejoie- tng. Next morning, soon .after daylight,, we rounded Cape Cleveland!, find entered Hali fax Bay. An hour before noon we were Jmgj opposite to. the-old ifortifications' of Towqsyjlle, which .had been difimantlrid-by tbe advice of the. Imperial Defence Com mittee in the year 1007.'- The harbor .con tained very little ('shipping. Tlie town seemed deserted. Tliere was not a soul to .be seen.. Captain, Dippei' ordered out a launch, 'nnd sept / Liehtenant,. Garschagen: Ashore with a- letter to she mayor) demand ing a. ransom of £100,000 in; gold, failing' immediate payment whereof he' threatened to bombard the city. But the launch had (hardly touched : the wharf, when it wfis fired: upon from neighboring bouses aud buildings.; -I must' say that . I admri-ed .the condUet/of joiing Gar?chag'en.. .Half' of liis; men /were killed. in /tlie'flrst fusillade, but with/the most splendid coolness; ho slood up and. waved a iiocket handkerchief.. The firing stopped inimcdiat'ely.: . But no .Sooner 'bad the lieutenant placed liis foot' upon .the wharf when a dozen' eager young Aus tralians leaped from cover nnd hustled him into a shed. "I really' thought' the Germans on the Numbeig/wriptd go riifid.: Theybe- fcaved like, 'savage -maniacs. PerhapB there /was some excuse for/them, forvthe fiction ' of the Aus'tralians xvas foolish in -.tbe ex-; trcme, but still Garschagen bad been' him self to blame in riot going ashore, under 'cover of a white flag in. the first instance. Captain Dippei signalled for the -sailors -in the launch to return ; ' but apparently they did not see 4he- signal. ' -Enraged at ' the treatment of .their ; officer, .they .leaped 'shore, and, (rushed to, -the rescue. Every, .man' of' theiri 1vas ''shot 'down before. ' /one / could' gain : ,the. shed.. Then Captain _ Dippei showed .us, the stuff of which he was made. Rag ing up and down tbe' quarter deck "and bel- Joiving like any bull, he ordered the Nurn1 .berg's guns to be - trained, not upon the 'offending force -in the wharf buildings, but npon the silent and defenceless city. His oaths mingled with' Ahc" explosions of. /the' cannon. It was horrible. I ivas so upset that I retired to iqy .cabin arid lay cower ing upon my bunk;' trying to,, deaden the dreadful gun shots .with thc-pillow., . - After »ach discharge I_ heard in fancy the death shrieks of .women and children. I thought that I should burst with helpless grief and rage. In' ten rriinutris 'I .was Well - nigh de-. mcnted. But il: could, not- any longer stay below. I crept" cautiously on deck. 1 'The Nurnberg. was in motion. The decks were littered with wounded men. Half dazed .with (astonishment I gazed about me. But speedily I understood!, A dull roar from the ..land and a white smoke veil- on the shore showed that- the place- was ' riot air as de-' . fencejcss as tbe Germans had imagined. Then' came the whirl and .whjne, of the , shrapnel. Field guns were trained upon us. I saw two German .sailors stagger' and fall screaming- within three yards of me. I stood - petrified. But the Nurnberg -began to move more jrapidiy, and the next Australian shell fell short and-Jvas wasted in the sea." Five (minutes la tor the decks were, clear of all signs wf the contest and the- Nurnberg was cut of -range of the Australian guns. . Then she nroMSded- to '-.exact, tho" -vengeance for the damage- she had- suffered. With the speed and precision of an automaton, she circled slowly round and round on a small set Course, and evosy minute one of her great 6-mch's thundered, felie soon found out the Australian field batteries, and. demolished theiri with shells.- Next, she attacked the biggest houses in the town, nnd Inid them low in ruined heaps of dust. A dozen points of flame speedily arose from different pnrts of the city, and great broad .bars of smoke- ascended to -.the '6ky. ' At last the town surrendered. ,A .white flag appeared on the town ball flag- staff, rind fifty men waved others from, the wharfs. The Nurnberg ceased firing, and steamed sullenly to the former vantage post. All her guns were loaded and trained upon the shore. She would stand no non sense now. But neither would she take any risks. Captain Dippei signalled, order ing the mayor and principal citizens to come aboard and parley with hirii. Mean while he prepared ills list of. dead , and wounded. Eleven German sailors had been killed "Outright, besides those in the launch, that is to say, eighteen in all. Seven more had been seriously wounded, nnd a mid shipman had lind his left arm torn off at the elbow with shrapnel. Gorlitz told me that for each of tlio dead £1000 would be' demanded; £1000 for the wounded mid shipman, nnd £500 for each of the injured sailors. And be declared that if Lieutenant Garscbagcn bad been hurt or killed Cap tain Dippei /.would exact a compensation of £10,000, at least. But Garschagen had not been hurt at all. He returned to the Nurnberg a little later, -with the mayor of Townsville and four of tbe aldermen. They came off in a row boat. I went down to .my cabin as soon- fis they npp'erired, for in good' truth I could not bear to look them in the face. But Gars chagen later on told me ail that passed. It seems that they pleaded — almost, i on . /their ! knees— for mercy, imploring the callous buccaneer to be satisfied with having half" ruined the town and slaughtered more than q hundred innocent men, women arid children. But no mercy was vouchsafed' them." Captain Dippei demanded £22,500 compensation for Itis , men killed arid wounded, by-ivhftt he was pleased, to call Australian ; treachery, and, £125,000 for ransom 'of the-cityi- Ho gave the inhabitants of Townsville twclv'o hours to find the money, find lie dismissed the miserable city fathers with ' thfc curt intimation that if within that time it ivas hot- forthcoming tlie bombardment would forthwith recommence. The money ivas found, as all tho world now knows, the citizens of Charters Towers coming -to' the assistance of their unhappy fellow country men. But even after it ivas paid over, and- the specie deposited in the Nurnbcrg's coffers, the German robber was not satis fied; He forced the. Townsville authorities to replenish his: depleted, bunkers with the best coal in the -possession' of ..the 'town; and .on- the -eve 'Of our, departure -.- lie sent out boats to; set . on: fire ;eycry; craft, and vessel in the Bay. Fourteen hours later the Nurnberg dropped -anchor off the town of Mackay, ' and '-despatched a force ' of 100 ma rines, armed with Maxims, to cap ture and loot the place. Tliey re turned ivith a plunder exceeding in value £20,000. Thence ive ran at full speed to Trial/Bay, and) the weather holtlirig good, Captain Dippei extracted- from the citizens - of Kempsey, Frederickton and Gladstone a tribute amounting, all told, to the sum of £11,000. An attempt to similarly treat , Port Macquario ivas, frustrated oaring to a , Sudden; squall, Avlfich struck and over turned a boat 'load J of German sailors as they were approaching the landing place. They iverq all drowned. In re venge the Nurnberg dropped a couple of shells into the toivn, but a' storm coming rip she wris, forced to run to sea, and ive then sped down the coast to Twofold Bay, capturing en route a GOOO-ton collier, which K'ad' raslily ventured out of Newcastle, hop ing to dash, safely through .to Melbourne. . We/found both German- store ships lying-' off EdenJerUisirig bbout under easy steam; but the Gotha ivas away ravaging the Vic- . torian . coast.. ... . -. .- - The Nurnberg "at "once betook herself to the - eternal- task of coaling. .. Afterwards she replenished her, supply (of six-inch shells from the larger of' the store ships, and/from the other, replaced the men whom: she had, . lost at Townsville and. sent -aivay in the. prize captured at Broad Sound, .-Captain Dippei thereupon ordered - his two store' consorts, and the prize collier— lie had. pre viously landed, the '.colljej/s.., Australian.' Crciiv at Eilen, sending theni -aSliore in Ihciu ,oivn boal3r-to'procccd! '.,.ito" /. the .Nuj:t!a Island anchorage, _ and there await him.. /Then, our bunkers packed with coal, and our decks in places further Jadcn to a depth of two feet ivith the precious fuel, ive dipped our flag in a parting salute to the others, and steamed out of the bay, our coursc set north north-east. There ivas. nn air of subdued ex citement on tbc faces of the- whole ship's company as we started on our. voyage. 1, bad kept to my cabin while the last of our preparations were un der way, reading a" volume of 1 Heine's poems, which Garschagen !had: lent/ me., But I 'went on deck , as, sqon , . as I -felt the thudding of ; ihc 'Numberg's1 screws, find I immediately -qierSeiveU 'that1: -Some great venture ivas on foot. The sailors were conversing in groups in ihose peculiar undertones which men always use in time .of stress arid ivhen discussing sub- "'jects' of "deep" import. Not choosing, to play the part of listener, but. nevertheless vastly curious, I strolled about' for'a time, but at length I could not endure the suspense. Gorlitz. Garschagen. and Flag Lieutenant Brugermann were standing iby one of -the after guns so engrossed in talk as to oc oblivious of .; my existence; I had ."twice passed within.' a yard of. them, arid , /they hail not noticed/me. ; T!ie third lime; I- turn ed I went straight, up to them, aniLpui a. hand "on Garschagen's .shoulder. ; "Well, gentlemen." 'Y said 1 anxiously,- "What is afoot now? Is it that T nm at last tO:be put ashore, and are your smiles inspired by, the prospect of soon being rid of an oid fogey who must liave been a great nuisance t'o you all, with .his nervousness and curiosity and naval ignorance?" /'All three swung .round. on instant. '(Nri. No. No,'- they cried in a breath. - :.' . "We shall be refilly sorry, to. lose you," said Garschagen. , "Indeed ive shall," said Gorlitz; "and you must not' call yourself .a.n old- fogey, for your- heart is -the. -youngest -among us all." /: . / ' . : " - .' "Without doubt,',' added Brugermann, and we arc indebted to you for many pleasant hours, 'and first rate stories. ' Be sides, you have given iis invaluable. assist ance in improving our English accent." (This was indcedtrue, for I had been act ing "as an, English school master to' them all.) /'./. " "You relieve my mind":- I. answered, bowing, to them with; great politeness. "Siride anxious as I-'am "to return to the 'bosom '-'of my family,- I" ivould ' he grieved to think that I had been nothing hut a bore to niy. kind hosts.'? ':.- ... "Ah, .well!" said Gorlitz,. "it is true that' the time is coming when ive shall bid you farewell." "Ob!" I cried, my heart? beating so fast that for. a little. I was almost sick. , . "Yes," said Brugennanri, "if all goes' well you will bv Iarided-ivitiiin a very/feiv. days, Captain Dippei said so' scarcely half an hour ago." '.'You must forgive me, . gentlemen," I gasped, "if 1 appear anxious to leave you, but I think of my wife and— daughter— my -/children." , I was so weak that Garschagen kindly came fprward and led me to the gun against which I leaned. "It is so sudden," I mut tered, pleadingly— I was so anxious not to offend them — "and no doubt my family will have been believing I aqi dead." "You will soon have your charming daughter in your arms," said Garschagen, in a low but eager voice. "Herr Brymner, I congratulate you from my heart." "When — when?" . I cried. v "As soon as ive have- bombarded Syd ney!" said Lieutenant Brugermann. ".Cap tain Dippei will then have no reason to de tain you any longer!" (TO BE CONTINUED.) ; ;.; _'J_ . i –

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST. BY .'AMBROSE PRATT ; (Author of "The Counterstrobc," &c.). CHAPTER IX.— THE BOMBARDMENT OF SYDNEY. We did not, however, immediately pro ceed to Sydney. Wo ran, first, up to the mouth of the Shoulhaven River, oif which we cruised for an entire night. I do not know what happened there, for it was inti mated to me by Lieutenant Gorlitz that Captain Dippel desired me to keep my ..vis Msr nnViln lininff hfllnW flm Wnfrip line, necessarily possessed no port-hole. Evidently something was going on which they did not;wish me to observe. But I was too seedy to feel very curious at the time, although subsequently I wus able to make a shrewd guess — from the fact that when X went on deck next day I noticed quite a number of now faces ahoard the Nurnberg. 1 soon discovered, too, that there was a guest in the enptnin's cabin— a big, burly German with a florid face and long blonde beard. In my opinion these men were spies who had come off from the land during the night to bring the raiders intelligence of doings ashore. All that day wo slowly steamed north-east, but just before night fall our course was altered, and we ran full speed north-west with all lights screened until we picked tip the Broken Bay lighthouse. When this happened I was again courteously requested to retire. Per perhaps nn hour the Nurnberg lolled about with barely moving engines, rolling and heaving on the swell. I tried to in terest myself in a book, but I did not make much progress in my rending, for every now and then there came to me the sound Of an explosion. At flrst I thought guns were being fired, but from the nbsence of any tremors in the structure of the vesse' 1 finally concluded tliey must be rockets. At length the Nurnberg began to move, but a little later once again the engines stopped. Soon afterwards something bumped heavily against the war Bhip's side, and there followed a good deal of noise on deck. Then came silence for some moments, and then once more the Nurn berg began to move forward at her highest speed. I could tell this from the thudding i of the engines and tlie muffieU thunder of the screws, and llio terrible vibration which set nil my nerves on edge. I became obsessed with a horrid feeling about this time, a sense of impending calamity to myself and those whose interests were with mine identified. I laid a mysterious prescience of a dreadful doom about to fall upon my native land. I began to tremble and shiver as though in the grip of an ague, or taken with a palsy. I lay down and tried to compose myself. But all my efforts were in vain. Eaeli minute that passed made the suspense more keen und unendurable. At length 1 could bear it no longer. 1 opened the door and begged the sentry who was stationed without to send a message for mo to Lieutenant Garsclm- gcn. The mun very civilly promised fo do so, and this calmed me for a while. But a whole hour passed before an answer came, snd by then 1 . was on the verge of a positive collapse. Oarschageu was plainly shocked at my' appearance. He rushed away, nnd speedily i returned with a glass ot spirit, which lie- forced me to drink to Hie last drop. I told him, in trdcr to account for my agitation, I lmd dreamed that my wife was dying, and my dreams had been so vivid and realistic that I feared to be alone. He sympathised with me in the kindest manner, nnd forthwith went fo tlie captain to request permission for mc lo be allowed on deck, bidding the (entry stay with mc in .the mennwliile. He was away for fully twenty minutes, but to my grpkt relief he carried back with' hiiu tlie welcome leave. Unhappily I had not liceu mistaken in my painful prevision of events. The handful of Germans aboard tlie Nurnberg was about to destroy a city which it had taken the Australian nation more than a century to buikl. The vessel was wrapped in darkness from stem to stern, but all her guns were cleared and manned. She must have been burning oil fuel, for although we still rushed through the sea no. smoke issued from her funnels — only a dim red glow that hardly succeeded in defining their position. Straight ahead' of us lay tho South Head lighthouse of Port Jackson. 1 recognised it instantly froni its brilliant revolutions. Wo steamed up to within two miles of the harbor en trance, then the Nurnberg lowered one of. her electric launches. Into this n midship man and two men dropped, nnd the launch, with a (lag of truce at its tiny mqst-head, slipped off like it ghost into the dark. In less than a minute it had absolutely disap peared. Gorlitz told me in a whisper thut the midshipman carried a letter to the New Soutli Wales Premier informing hiin that the entire German fleet would bombard the city every night thenceforward until the Government should decide in its vyis- . dom to send out a vessel to the German commander with a cargo of £3,000,000 in gold as the ransom of the city. After giv ing me this dreadful news, the lieutenant led me to a corner where I should be out of everybody's way-m.nd there lie left me. But Garsclmgen tip-toed to my side a little later, and lie slipped into' my hand a flask of brandy ; also he made ipe com fortable with cushions. They are kind enough to those who belong — or whom they believe to belong to them— these Germans. But they are remorselessly ferocious 'to their enemies. After the departure of tho launch tlie Nurnberg put about and glided, southwards until opposite Bondi. Then she stopped. In tho silence that ensued I distinctly heard the far off chiming pf the city clock hells. It was borne on the wings of a . balmy off shore breeze. It was midnight. The sleeping city was to receive a sudden and most terrible awakening. The chimes were still echoing faintly in my oars— and my eyes were still misty with the gentle memories they brought, when Captain, Dip- pel's voice thundered an order froni the bridge. A few seconds later tlie first gun spoke, and a six-inch shell went forth, whirling from a belching mess of flume on its awful errand, of destruction. I traced its course with anguished interest. It de scribed a sort of parabola' iri the ekv, reaching high into the heavens jh order to overleap the cliffs, and, when it fell— five miles or more nway— it cleft the midnight darkness for a second like a falling star. A moment later two guns spoke together, and two more shells sped shrieking ahorewards. Then tlie Nurnberg sprang forward like a , hound loosed from the leash, and /""''''"U hi her tracjis steamed north. When opposite tiic lights of Watson's s'ie circled round und fired ail her fl inch guns in quick stieeession. Scudding south again she hurled five more shells over the Bondi cliffs, and then ran north across the heads to Manly. Into the very heart of that poor pretty little suburb she dropped our shells, and then without a pause she hurried back to Watson's Buy, firing every hundred yards she moved. But now tho de fenders of the city were awake and alive to the deadly peril that confronted them, from two of the Soutli Head batteries searchlights were sending out long thin lingers of llnme to grope upon the heaving oosoni of the sea. And very soon the groat shore guns began to talk with us. Tlie searchlights did riot touch tlie Nurnberg, hut the flashes of her canon showed from minute to minute her position. The Aus tralian bnltcrjcs, therefore, for want or u better target commenced firing at the flashes. At first, I confess it, I was terrified, he second shot discharged from shore al most reached us. A big whining shell it jiiia. Jt passed right over the Nurnberg nnd c . jhto the waves two hundred yards away, "King an enormous column of white spray. "Jt succeeding shells flew wide, for we gc. wore moving on at racehorse Hpced. Ami when I haw that the Nurnberg's answer to these demonstrations was but to redouble her efforts to demolish tlie helpless city, I lost all personal fears, or rather I resolutely put them by, and I prayed God that the Nurnberg might lie struck and shattered by some shore flung shell, even though I my self should be its first found victim. But it was not lo be. Providence frowned upon Australia and favored the pitiless in vader. For three long fateful hours the Nurnberg lnannuivrcd up nnd down tlie const, darting and swooping hither nnd thither, like mi angry hornet, nnd planting her envenomed stings at every turn. In all she discharged eight and forty 8-inch shells, nnd as far as J. could see, not one of them fell short, nor could I hope that one of tlicm was wasted — for 1 well know that the Germans possessed the most carefully prepared charts and maps of every town and city in Australia— above all of the capitals— and tliey were proud of noth ing more than of their gunnery. Tlie last shot was fired at a little after 3 o'clock. The Nurnberg then steamed out to sen, heading north-east. When tlie South Head light had become a mere speck on the hori zon, 1 went down to bed. J was so tired, so worn out Willi excitement and anxiety tlmt 1 fell uslccp at once; and I was accord ed the blessed boon of eight hours' obli vion. A sailor uwoke me, bringing in my break fast, a cup of coffee ami some steaming rolls.' J was asliumed to find myself both well and hungry. The sailor told me that we Were cruising off the Tuggcruh Beach Lakes, just out ot sight of land. He de scribed it us the rendezvous. I did not understand, but I did not ask him to ex plain, for I was always afraid to excite suspicion by appearing curious. But 1 soon found out what he meant. When I went on deck, all the officers were on the bridge peering through their binoculars north-east, where just as sky met sea there was to be diccrned a faint (brown blurr, which might have been either cloud or smoke. From the fact that the Nurnberg did not move forward to investigate, but continued to roll lazily upon the swell, her engines almost at rest, I divined that the Ger mans must be expecting the preconcerted arrival at this spot of some vessel or vessels from one of. their naval stations in .the Pacific. Such proved to be the case. Tlie north-east' blurr became gradually more nnd iriore distinct and more und tnorc extensive. Sooh 1 could tell with the naked eye that it was smoke, and by lunch time 1 made out a small forest of needle-like masts. Evidently quite a ileet avos com ing to meet us. Tlie officers were in high good humor during the meal, and tliey all made complimentary' remarks about a cer tain Captuin Brasclic, who was, no doubt,- in command of the approaching steamers. Gorlitz said that lie was the most trust worthy liinn in the whole German navy, and that Captain Dippel bad shown posi tive genius to . select him as his second. Brugermniin declared tlmt his coming sealed Australia's fate, and Gnrschagen vowed that, with half a dozen combinations such as Dicpel and Brnsclie, Germany could afford to set the whole world at 'defiance let alone Great Britain. On returning to the (leek after we had finished lunch, wc found thut the oncom ing licet wiis already within six -miles of ns. To my astonishment ofily two ot thu seven vessels it comprised was. a stranger to inc. The. first was a newly captured Queensland merchantman, of about 3000 tuns burthen, and the latter an uniirmorcd cruiser of the same type as the Nurnberg, but a trifle smaller. Gorlitz told mc she was the Lippe Detinold, and in command of the redoubtable Captain Brasche, Tlie other ships were the prizes which Captain Dippel and his consorts had captured while J had hoen a prisoner ut Nuyts; also the Vulgoo. But they had all undergone some sort of transformation, and I would not. liave recognised ..them on my -own account. Indeed, to iny unprofessional gluiice tliey uppeared ti? he ships of war, for all mount ed guns, 'find riot .one" appeared' to jirisse.-is a port. As for tho monster White Star finer, the ' Cuevic, she looked now more than ever a first class battleship. All her top hamper arid cabin fittings had entirely disappeared, leaving her quite low in the water. Both her masts were fur nished with fighting tops, and enormous turrets jvere superimposed on a (lush deck fore arid aft, over which frowned the muzzles of tremendous nine-inch cannon. Of course they may have been dummies, and probably they were, but I cannot say for certain, since I was not permitted lo examine tliern: By two o'clock tho squadron was almost abreast of us, nnd busily exchanging sig nals with the Nurnberg. Every slrip_was crowded with men. I fancied that many of thoin wore soldiers, but Gorlitz assured mo that they were not. He said tliey were spare prize crows. Naturally, I did not dis pute the matter with .him, but nil the same 1 retained iny first opinion. The men wore certainly dressed like sailors, but they were too numerous to have been intended for anything but a landing force. Why, I counted 400 on the Yalgoo's dock alone, and the Cuevic was. simply packed. The Ken was quite smoot'li enough for boats to have been lowered, but this was not done. Tjie commanders . contented themselves with talking by semaphore. This went on for half an hour, while the whole fleet idled. But at the end of that time the Nurnberg flew a certain ensign, and as soon as it appeared the air was rent by a mighty outburst of cheering. Then the Nurnberg's engines moved, nnd, circling round, sho steamed dead south at about twelve knots, followed by the fleot in one long, extended line, the Ciicvie in the cen tre und the Lippe Detinold in tiie furthest rear. At a little after fivo o'clock we sighted the rocky cliffs en closing Manly beach. Then the Nurn berg flew another signal, which pusscd hack from ship to ship, and the fleet slowed down. Keeping the land steadily on our starboard broadside at a distance of about eight miles, we passed tlie north head of Port Jackson' at a veritable snail's puce, and steamed slowly by the lmrhor entrance, by the South Head light, und down the coast uH'far us Botany Buy. It was a naval demonstration we were making, intended to inspire Sydney with-un exaggerated no tion of the German strength, so that she might the more readily- submit to the in famous demands of her cunning and coward ly oppressor. Oh! I make no doubt it was a specious and a clever artifice enough, jus tified perhaps by thu brutal reasoning of war; but, ill the same, I loathed the Ger mans for employing it. it wus so essentially foreign nnd un-English. Not thus does Bri tain fight and beat her enemies, thank heaven; and one day Germany will feel ,tlie weight of Britain's vengeance for her moun and cruel trick.' It is my dearest hope to Uve to see that day. But I digress— a com mon fault of age and rage. With the setting of the sun the German ships swept out to sea some fifteen miles or more, and there we purtcd company. The Nurnberg set off at u third speed north, while ull the others steamed due south as fast as they were able. Gorlitz hinted thut they were about to make a dash into Port Phillip, with tlie idea of bombarding Geelong and capturing the shipping. But somehow 1 could not believe him. From nil 1 had seen and learned of them, it seemed to me that the Gcrmuiis were not fond of taking risks. Tliey liad shown themselves past masters in the art of seizing unarmed steamers, raiding de-. fenceless towns, and even bombarding protected cities— under cover of durkness — but so far I had not oliserved in them any sign of tlie courage that is needed lo fight an open combat on even terms; and I felt sure that tlie defenders of Victoria would be too wide awake to allow any hostile enemies into Port Phillip, night or day, without bringing them to battle with the batteries. However, I did not blame the lieutenant for attempting to deceive me. No doubt lie lind his orders, und, in any case, 1 had no right to know the German plans. But from the gratuitous effort made to draw wool over iny eyes I conceived fresh apprehensions. The German fleet was proceeding somewhere, and it not to Port Phillip— where? 1 did not stay on deck that evening, be cause Gurchagcii said llicy were going tor run in quite close lo tlid shore, nnd be hinted lliut a shell or two might strike the Nurnberg, in which ease 1 should be iu tho way of the workers. I might oven be killed or wounded by my fellow country men. I retired to my cubiii therefore im mediately after dinner, and in order to keep my mind occupied I played patience. 1 bad worked, out the "Emperor" twice, when the Nurnberg fired her first shot. I bud just begun to try it again — but there suddenly occurred to me the horrid memory of Nero fiddling while Rome was burning. How then could I play patience while Syd ney was being destroyed? The mere idea was nauseating. 1 swept tlie cards into a drawer and threw myself upon the bunk. Thereafter I counted the minutes nnd the hours and the explosions of the Nurn berg's cannon. In eighty minutes she fired forty shots. Then came a lull of half an hour, and all was silence, save for the cease less thudding of the vessel's screws. But quite suddenly the firing recommenced, and a minute later a frightful battle wus in progress. Tliis shore batteries were reply ing to the Nurnberg; and so distinctly did 1 bear the thunder ot their guns, it was clear that we were very close lo land. But tho Nurnberg was Hying onwards nt her highest speed, and never a shell could touch her. 1 think that she must have been dodging up and down the coast, for sometimes the shore guns sounded loud and nour, and sometimes indistinctly and far off. But the Nurnberg never ceased dis charging hers. The great feature of her fire was its irregularity. Sometimes she fired only one at a time, and' sometimes two guns were simultaneously discharged. Sometimes a minute intervened between shots; sometime only a few seconds, and sometimes two or t.iree, or even live; min utes. This was kept up for about an hour. By then the Germans had sent 110 0-inch shells whirling Sydneywards. The second lull lasted 40 minutes. All that while the Nurnberg lay motionless and as silent as a tomb. I wondered what tliey were do ing on deck, but I had not the heart to inquire. What did it matter to one so utterly alone and helpless as I? At the end of the lime I have indicated the cruiser once more began to move, and very soon her whole structure was shaking like an aspen under- tlie tremendous energy of her furiously driven engines. But she now adopted different tactics. She steamed for five minutes; then stopped and discharged six shells. Then she rushed on again, and (repented this manoeuvre at irregular inter vals, but with tlie regular precision of a diabolical machine. The shore batteries answered for a -while, hut at the end of half an hour they ceased to speak. Five' minutes later thu Nurnberg also, stopped firing, and her engines slowed down, until her hull ceased shuddering. Then all of. .a sudden a tremendous- cheer went up, and u mighty, trampling sounded oil the dcuk. 1 got afoot quivering and nflninc witli anxious curiosity. The cheering .was redoubled. I opened tlje door, stepped into the passage, and stole on dcuk. The whole ship's com pany was there. But no one noticed me. For the nonce the rigid discipline that usually prevailed wus notably relaxed. The sailors were liiughiiig and shouting und '(un bracing ouch' other. Some of tlicm were positively weeping. And the officers were equally beside themselves with joy. Tliey were shaking hands, tossing their caps into the air, and Hinging their arms about in a transport of aoandon. Something hud evidently . happened. What? J strode to the Nurnberg's aide, and looked shorcwards. We were lying about four miles off the coast, opposite to Watson's Bay. On the cliff, at tiic highest point above the greut Gap, there was blazing an enormous bonfire. Before tlie bonfire there was reared up a tall pole, and there fluttered from the lop of this a long white Hug. Sydney had surrendered! 1 glanced more southward, and. begun, to understand. The western sky .line was crimsoned witli a brick red glimmer, over topped witli a -heavy pull of purple smoke. The mother city of Australia was on lire. I watched until I could not see the glow for tears, and then I, turnod away heart sick ami desperate, and slunk hack to tpy cabin. And once more not a German saw <»; heeded mc. They were far loo much engrossed in the success of their most in famous achievement. Surely, 1 thought, tho worjd must be coming to its end when civilised . Christian men can thus ' rejoice over the. awful, sufferings and. ruin they have caused to brothers in their Master's congregation, who have never given them a shadow of offence, and who indeed aro utterly unknown to tlieni. In my righteous wrath, I kneeled beside my crib, und prayed that a thunderbolt might fall from heaven to dcnioljsh tlieni. Richly, indeed did they deserve a still more fearful fate. But the ways ot Providence lire inscrut able. Nought came of my despairing im precation; and, at Inst, worn out with weariness and grief, I threw myself, dressed as I wus, up6n my bed, and fell into a troubled sleep. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT (Author of "Tho Counterstrokc," &c.). CHAPTER X.— THE RELEASE. AVith the break of dawn I was up and on deck. AVhile I slept the Nurnberg had put a great distance between herself and the land, but we were now running half speed north-east, and by 7 o'clock tho South Head light and some of the tailor cliffs were just visible above the horizon from the deck. Further south' and east the Bky was banked with a heavy mass of dark brown clouds, though elsewhere it was radiant blue. The clouds were mndc of smoke. Each moment this heart-breaking fact became more evi dent. About half-past seven Captain Dip- pel appeared on the bridge. Observing me, ho called and beckoned me to go to him. lie met me with extended liahd nnd a plea sant greeting. He looked, however, extreme ly weary, and in answer to my inquiry he confessed that ho liad had no real rest for many nights. He invited me into his cabin, and we partook of cafe and cognac to gether. The big blonde German who had appeared on board after our sojourn off the Shonlhaven River was present, but Captain Dippel did not introduce us. However, this man spoke to 111c, and in very good English begged me to take charge of a letter and post it for liim on my arrival in Sydney, This was niy first inti mation that I was to be immediately re leased. It put me in such a flutter of ex citement that I could not reply to him. All I could do wns to look helplessly at the captain. He answered my imploring glance with a smile. "You have my permissioa, Herr Brymncr," he said cordially. "Then I am to be put ashore?" I cried. "Without doubt — unless the white flag last night was a trick' and a subterfuge." "Ah!" "But I do not seriously apprehend that," smiled the captain. "Our marksmanship was far too accurate— witness those smoke clouds yonder," lie pointed west. "I hope nnd, indeed, believe, Tlcrr Brymncr, that you 'ivill be once more restored to the hosom of your family before this day is out— all! but, of course! they reside in Mel- bourne— well, nt any rate, unless I greatly err, you will be put nshol'o' to day." "to Which case," put in tho blonde stranger, "you caii do me a great favor by dropping this letter in a pillar box at your earliest opportunity," "Certainly," 1 gasped, lie handed me tlie letter, and I put it in my pocket. "It must have occurred, to you," said the captain, "that on being put ashore from the Nurnberg you will be more or less a marked man amongst Australians. Know ing or your German ancestry it mny oven be Unit some suspicion will full upon you, and that you will be required to give an ac count of yourself." "That is quite possible," I answered. The blonde German turned away his head and siniled. "Herr Bryinner is a very reputable A'ictoriun citizen," ho murmured. "He has many friends. I havo often heard of him." There was something in the fellow's voice that made me shiver. Did lie suspect my bona fides? IIow much did he know of 111c? I. could not tell. But I resolved to try and find out, so I played a bold card. "Very few Melbourne people are aware of my descent," I observed, with all the carelessness I could muster. "You see, Captain Dippe), I am not a young mun, and although 1 was born in Australia my parents ure dead these thirty years and more." , "Quite so," said the captain. . "But, ail ' the 1 Fame, I want "to spufe you in every way possible. I have therefore decided to send ashore with you some other prisoners about whose nationality there, cau be no mistake. AVe have aboard the captains and chief officers of two prizes 'which wo captured. These men have been imprisoned bc ow deck nil the time they have been Tilth lis. Tliey will therefore know nothing of the comparative liberty that has been accorded you-nml in their company you .mil lie the less likely to excite undue at tention." "That is, indeed, good of you," I re sponded gratefully. In return," cut to the blonde man; "we oMiin i f! y,ou. wiU Mm "Particular care of tlio letter 1 have given you. It is .writ ten in cipher, and therefore, even if it were tc 1 fall into the hands of the Austra lian authorities, it could not harm us-bufc it is nevertheless important that it should once." C6tmut1011' ""d if possible at i bowed to liim. "Then, sir, ! shall post i immcdiiUcly I have. an opportunity- iiless of course, I am searched aud it is taken from mo. You will perceive there is some risk 111 -that regard!" p"1, f;,I,7v 1 l'oi'»ted it out to you," said C Plain Dqipel. "It is to. minimise that f. ProPose to. release men who might pllJt8' 1,roy of ultimate' use to me. A 011 understand?" Quite." lor the rest, Ilerr Brymncr, since T areouCCI f assuiod-that Your sympathies are ours, I leave your conduct to your own tkT . f miBht' however> recommend will infnim'i l"8 lj., th Mentions which w 1 iiifdhbiy bo addressed to you by the authorities and your Australian friends Germnn' r mu® ?0t l exnevat the tell "n ,Th6 fnct is Umt tlle Aus- tralian uncrcimtile marine has become so dte in n ' c th i)Ulk o£ the slliPPing lies idle in port, nnd our opportunities of Prfes are thuB unpleasantly re- tncted. It is quite possible they may get er their scare, and become more venture- some 1 you put it abroad that our squad- ran, ail told, amounts only to a few obso- n, old. war„ 8l|iP8 and prizes converted 1 mto cruiserfi. I letter"1"'1 £"ow your direotionB '.to the miri.rV' Sni'r tlle blonde man' "And you S ? g "lao inform your, friends that With- i Iriif .wee'E. the. southern and eastern coast I uHl be quite deserted by our ships, as wo i mo on the point of proceeding to seize and SEE!;- ,rthern Territory of South AUbtrahn, which we have resolved to con cert into a German colony. You may have parked that the prize squadron with 1 , wc Parted company last evening was I . wuwcled with men. It was for that pur- i pose." 1 1 cried. "But if that is true, why : "'"tbey go south after they left lis? Sure- I Qns8ll0drEt 101110 would be by way of The two Germans smiled. im,11 's ,nt true," said Captain Dippel. asmanin is our real objective, and be; iwcen ourselves, that splendid island-tlic I , (?cs l Jewel of the Commonwealth— is "Mined to become our prey. But we do SI w"nt Australia to guess this just at Present. Not that Australia could move n tand to prevent us. That must bo appa- nt to you, Ilcrr Brymncr, for we control .,?i "'J', but "Mi communication still sis between Tasmnnia nnd the main- 1 ' an<i we do not want the island to aye any warning of bur plan." You dcsiro me "'en to give that the Northern Territory is your 'rue objective." if JCS',-,you way ad(1 Western Australia u ''ke- It will do no harm. On the fr We must go to Nuyts to in the first instance, and our move nt thitherward will give color to the Y,U Perceive that we trust you 'J "'ly' Hoit Brymncr. But I am sure mi 1 Prove worthy of our confidence." I shall do my utmost to requite it," I nswered, with a bow. plain Dippel smiled and arose. "Then tall bid jou farewell and God speed- . - I trust yon will find your family in good health. You will certainly rcstoro to them their happiness by your return. Pray, give tliem my respectful siilutatiohs, and regrets for your detention. Good-bye!" He wrung my hand ns he spoke, and looked me fnirly in the eye. I. did .the same. Thqn tlie blonde Ger man followed suit, and again bade me lie careful of his letter. I went off treading on air. I was soon to be released. 1 felt ns happy as a king. I was so liappy, indeed, that I totally forgot to inquire bow I was to be put ashore. But this, after nil, was a detail. AVhat mattered the manner when the fact was decreed. But on reaching the deck I got something of a shock. Lieuten ant Gnrschagcn was superintending the lowering of an ordinary life bbnt. Imme diately lie saw me ho cried out, "Behold! my dear Brymncr, the gift of tbe Nurn berg to you. In a little while you wilt en ter this boat and set off upon the sweetest voyage of your life." I did not agree with him nt all. True, the dny wns gloriously fine and tho sea fairly smooth. But the Nurnberg was lying a good eight miles from the Heads, and 1 have always liad a liorrol- of excursions in cockleshells. Of course I was not fright ened—but I remembered bow easily squalls arise in those waters, nnd the boat looked so liny and so frail that I could not help feeling somewhnt nervous. And much of my pleasure evaporated in contemplating the fresh trial I wns about to undergo. However, I put the best face on the matter that I could, and expressed myself delight ed. Soon afterwards we all went into (breakfast. It was a jolly meal, and as it ivas to be my Inst the officers ' vied with each other in tonsting my departure in champagne. I felt fit for anything when it was over. It is wonderful how exhilarating German sweet wine of the effer vescent sort in essence is. Two small bottles would make a man face a forlorn hope with a laugh, I do believe. And as for three— but of three I should not speak. Biugermann was d three bottle man, but tlie only one on bonrd the Nurnberg, and ho hated tbe English like poison. After his third bottle liisf talk always ran. on tho invasion of Bri tain and tho German ravishmefit of British homes. A perfectly detestnble character! And it as not to be supposed that the sweet champagne was in the least respon sible. After breakfast we ail trooped on deck and examined the coaiit with binoculars. The pole with the white flag was' still Btnnding above the Gap, although the bon fire lmd burned out. But there was another white flag flying also from the lighthouse flagstnff. Sydney bad therefore not re pented licr decision. She would pay her ransom. Tlio Nurnberg was honded for the shore, but her engines hardly moved faster than was sufficient to keep her course set, nnd we were still beyond range oE tho land batteries at 10 o'clock. At eleven o'clock, having drifted in another mile per haps, she turned about and steamed sea wards. But the Germans wore growing im patient. Captain Dippel hoisted a line of signal flags and fired a gun. Five minutes Inter the lighthouse flagstaff replied. AVhat message tliey sent, however, could not be made out nt the distance. But Captain Dippel would not go in closer to the shore, although all liis officers wanted him to do so. Gorlitz and Gnrschagcn wero bitterly annoyed at his refusal. But it wns no use protesting. Ho was the commander, and providence had made liim a coward — so at least jt seemed to me. But we. were not kept waiting much longer. About ten minutes to twelve a column of smoke ap peared midway between the heads, and . within 'lmlf an hour we made out the funnel and masts of a small tugboat that was steaming out to meet 11s. The Germans cheered like inanities as soon as it became evident Unit tho tug was seeking tlie Nurnberg, and they began to pluy the Rhino AVatcli on their two brass bands. A'cry soon tho hull of tlie tug rose into view, .and wo made out through tbe glasses the German middy — whb had gone ashore with the Nurn- b'ei'g's liltilhatiim to' tho"Nd(v' South Wales Government — standing on tlio bridge. „A little Inter he signalled that the tug car ried a cargo of sixteen tons of gold specie. The Nurnberg instantly dipped her flag to the little steamer and discharged a whole broadside Of her small gims in Salute. I was well nigh deafened by tlie explosions, and the mad shoutings of the Germans that ensued did not administer a salve to my discomfort. But the time had come for my depar ture. AVhile tlie tug was still half a mile off, Captain Dippel issued an order, and the officers, after hastily slinking hands with me, all hurried to the bridge. A war rant officer then took me in hand. I was led to the vessel's side and bundled down the gangway with scant ceremony into the boat destined to carry me usliorc — which the Nurnberg had been towing. A second later I slipped and fell into the sheets, and when I arose I was covered with a blind ing drench of spray. Tlie sea seemed ten times rougher than it had from the Nurn- berg's deck, I could hardly believe a boat could livo in it, and I well nigh gave my self up for lost already. But I regained a meed of confidence when, one after an other, fivo Englishmen in tarnished uni forms followed each other and me into the tiny, tossing craft. They . looked angry but ever so capable, and eager too. With out losing a. moment they seized and put out , the oars, and the boat ' became forthwith a great deal steadier. It was a blessed relief, for I had been almost shaken to pieces, lhe two German sailors swarmed at once up the Nurnberg's side, and let our painter go. In one second the cruiser was yards away. She seemed to fairly flash off into distance. And yet her screws were barely moving.. I was greatly astonished. But 1 was not allowed much leisure for reflection. One of tho newly released pri soners tacitly assumed command of our cockleshell. He ordered the others to be gin rowing, and ho came himself to the stern sheets, lyhere I sat. "You're sitting on tho rudder," lie said curtly; "get up!" I moved aside, 'Whereupon bending over the stern half out of the craft lie slipped the rudder into place. In the operation the boat rocked .frightfully, and I was wet to Qie very skin' by the spray that kept flying over ns. But I scarcely heeded that in my excitement, for every seeond it seemed that the boat must capsize. But afterwards it was bettor. The others began to row, and the boat began to forge ahead. The man at tlie rudder then set me to work baling. I. had to sit 011 one of tlie thwarts to do so. and I was up to my ankles in water be sides. It was most unpleasant, hut I grit ted my teeth hard and did my duty. Aiter- wards tlie captain allowed me a small share of his seat, lie was a' rough fellow, and most impertinent, lie said, "I am Captain Bailes, late of the Macquaric — lost by no man's fault to those b dogs. AVho the devil are you ?" I begged liim to use gentler language; but he declared he would stand none of my "lip," and lie looked so menacing that I hastened to proclaim my identity. For tunately the Macquaric had been a Mel bourne trader, and Captain Bailes had heard of nic. Indeed his owners were very old clients of mine. He therefore, at once moderated his insolent demeanor, and be came much more respectful. I was glad of this, because he gave me as a first instal ment of reform a fairer share of tlie seating accommodation. But he was not a nice man, for when in reply to a request I assured him that I did not possess such a thing as a spirit flask, he swore under breath, and made, an extremely rude remark about my complexion. Not even common perils ana common sufferings can breed sympathy where natures are antagonistic. It is also impossible to make a 6ilk purse out of a sow's ear. But I will do Captain Bailes the justice to observe that be was an expert boatman. AVilhin two hours, without tlie leaBt mishap, he brought tis to tlie entrance of Port Jackson, although wind and tide were both against 11s. By that time tho Nurnberg and the tug bad both vanished from tlie face of the sea, and only a line of smoke on the south-east horizon remain ed to show where tliey had been aud gone. Very shortly afterwards a change 111 the wind enabled ns to hoist a sail. AVe then ran into tho harbor at a spanking pace- close hauled— and rounding tho lightship, sped citywards at a positively breathless speed, our nose clean out of the water more than half the time. The first thing of interest I noted was that the port wns crowded with steamers and ships, swinging idly at llfuir anchors, in nil the different bnys and coves. Athol Bight held 110 fewer than two big liners, four tramps, and a huge five masted barque, and beyond Fort Denison there was moored a perfect fleet of smaller vessels. 'The strange thing was that all appeared to be deserted. Hero and there I noted a man or two aboard the different craft, but not one of them contain ed a crow. As we appronched Pincligut we wore able to make out and separately dis tinguish tho Centres of conflagration. Three great fires were raging in Paddington, in the city apparently just beyond the town hall, and cither in Pyrmont or Balmain. From each of these places onormoiiB col umns of smoke steadily ascended— and in Paddington especially wo could see that many houses, indeed whole streets, were aflame. Occasionally, we in the boat glanced expressively at one nnother, but we had not a syllable, to say. The occasioti was beyond relief of words. But soon we were to see that which wrung outcries from our stiffened lips to spite of us. As we rounded Milson's Point to enter Circular Quay such a scene oE desolation met our eyes as should properly belong alone to nightmare visions of disaster. All tlie great buildings facing the bead of the. Quay bad been shattered into ruins. Golds- borough, Mori's big warehouse wns a mighty heap of smoking dust. The stately Customs House ivas cleft in twain, and it huge dark gap liad divided tlie main odifico into two sequestered skull-like towers. Tbe old Paragon Hotel opposite bad escaped, but tbe adjoining buildings were all rent and torn aiid twisted out of shape; nnd the streets were blocked with shelving mounds of tumbled brickB. Over all bovcrcd a tbin pall of smoke. But tbe fire at tills poiivt had, it seems, been mastered, for although a number of water jets played upon the ruined piles wc saw no sign of rising sparks or flames. The quay itself was utterly deserted of hu man beings. Many steamers and ferry boats lay along the wharfs, but not one had steam up, and there was no movement any where perceptible. At Dawes Point, however, an immense crowd ot people lmd collected. Ferry boats wore plying rapidly thence to tho North Shore and back again; each one crammed with passengers. Captnin Bailes seeing this, ordered the sail to be lowered, and we then rowed quietly 'across tlie bay. Twenty-' eight or 30 boats wero drawn up by tbe steps beside the ferry wharf, most of .them filled with people Mushing to land. AVe were obliged to wait until all had accomplished their desire, for our turn, and by then an other dozen boats bad joined ours. But wo landed at last, and pushed our way out upon the road. Nobody took tbe least no tice oE us. The people wero all so occupied with their own affairs that I verily believe tboy would not have wasted a glance at iib had we been crowned kings instead o£ wretched castaways. On tlie road tlie press was awful. Mounted policemen, however, by riding ceaselessly up and down, kept a way clear on which to move at intervals, and by watching our chance and keeping well together we contrived in time to win out of the worst pack of the throng, and climb tlio hill behind the landing place. Thence we proceeded into Miller-street. I thought liercuhouts to find a cab or some other conveyance in which I might be driven to an hotel, for I was very tired. But none was to bo seen, and there were no trams running either. The entire thoroughfare was occupied with swarms of people hurrying citywards <111 foot. AVe were irresistibly drawn on -by the throng. Captain Bailes grumbled ceaselessly. Ho declared that lie was ravenously hungry. Tbe others wero hungry too, and so. was I. AVe stopped at tlio first cook shop wo encountered, and entering, wo bought and ate some cold meat pics. That is to say, I bought thein, for my companions were penniless. Captain Bailes seemed very disinclined to part from mo. lie said we ought all to stick together ns tho best means of forcing the Govern ment to make good our wants, and ho in structed me there and then to bring an action for dnmnges against the Federal de fence authorities. It was no use assuring him that no such action lay against tho Grown. lie swore he would have his rights; tho Crown ought to compensate him for the losses he had suffered, and by the Lord be would make it do so. However,- it Buitcd mo 'to keep in touch with these fellows, so I advanced them a sovereign apiece and bade them call upon me that evening nt the Australia Hotel. Tliey then went off to the Sailors' Home, and I strolled wearily into George-street. -Very soon I came to a post office, and thence despatched a long tele gram to my poor wife in Melbourne to ad vise her of my safety and releaso. Afterwards I proceeded to Hunter-street, and there at last found a lion3om. "Aus tralia Hotel, cabby," I called out, and sank gratefully back upon tlie cushions. But to my surprise instead of going up Hunter- street, the cab turned into Gcorgc-Btrcet and bowlqd down past Moore-street into King-street. I wns on the point of stopping tlio fellow to demand an explana tion—when glancing into Moore-street I perceived that the thoroughfare was blocked with a perfect mountain of debris. The Pitt-street wing oE the General Post Office had fallen out upon the road, and the great New York Life Buildings at the opposite corner of. Martin-place had been deprived of the larger part of its facade. Evidently quite a number of German shells bad fallen 011 this spot, and a big column of smoke a little further north showed that some buildings in cither Bligh or Castlc- reagh streets must be on fire. King-street, however," had escaped damage, and there the trams were running busily. But on turning into Castlereagh-street tbe scene that met my gaze was truly awful. All the buildings from the corner ot Moore-street right on to Hunter-stroet were sullenly smouldering. A rope cordon guarded by a line of soldiers was drawn across the road opposite the Australia Hotel, and be hind it hundreds of firemen and civic oflU cers were fighting the flames. A. mighty assemblage of sightseers filled the street, and from every balcony and window of neighboring buildings crowded faces peered out ujiou the horrible inferno provided by tlie German raiders for their entertainment. I was obliged to leave the cab at tlie Royal Theatre and worm my way on foot to the hotel. Even then I was compelled to enter by the side door in Rowe-street, for bun- dreds of people were packed like herrings on the steps of the main entrance. I bad half expected to find the hotel crowded with visitors. But such was not the ease. The proximity of tho fire had driven tho timorous away , and tho manager dolefully informed me that he had- not more than two score guests, all of whom were men. He gave me a comfortable room on the se cond floor, which possessed a fire escape, and therein fox Iho present I prepared lo take up my abode. For before rejoining my family I liad a duty to my country to perform. I must see the Premier of the State and the local Federal 'defence au thorities, and place before tliem' all tlie information I possessed concerning tlie enemy and liis movements. My first act, therefore, after rinsing my hands and face, was to set the telephone at work. After a good deal of trouble 1 succeeded in speaking with the Premier's private secretary, and told him who I was, and that I had just been released from the Nurn berg, and that I should see the Premier at once in the interests of the State. lie asked me to stand by a moment, I waited Then came a most excited summons. I must present myself forthwith at Go vernment House, where the Premier of the Stale, the Federal Minister of De fence, tlie Inspector-General of the Com monwealth Forces and several other im portant personages were holding a con- ference. Tho secretary told me not to delay a moment. I pleaded for a little time so that I might procure a proper change of clnthcs, but lie replied that I must consider myself under peremptory orders. There was, then, 110 help for it but to obey. Thank goodness, my wife could not sec me. She would have been beside herself, for in truth I wns a most disreputable spectacle. My trousers were still damp from the salt water, and fright fully shrunk. Tliey scarcely reached my boots. My coat wns streaked with grease nnd tar from my fall in tlie Nurnberg's boat, and my wnisteont— it was one young Garschagen hnd given me — was so dirty that one could not cnsily havo guessed it was made of tlio best linen, aiid that it had been dazzling while when I put it on that morning. But T comforted myself with tlie reflection that my bedraggled condition would -provide eloquent testi mony of the dangers I liad faced and the sufferings I had endured. Therefore I went forth with a stout heart and a reso lutely composed demeanor. I felt that I had nothing to be ashamed of, and if any should smile at my Appearance— well, the story I liad to tell would sufficiently re buke them. Five minutes later I was bowling along Maoquarie-street ill a han som cab. (TO DE CONTINUED.)

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. ' ' A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT (Author o£ "The Countcrstroke," &c.j. CHAPTER XI.— A BETTER FROM THE ENEMY. The first thing I noted on passing. Bont- sticct was that the Domain and the Bo tanical Gardens presented the appearance of a big military encampment. Both places .were filled with tents, and pimply n;i, v. mill suiujcrs. un turning into Uo- yernmcnt House grounds the sentries stop ped the cab, and demanded my business.. But I hnd only to mention my nairc to bp permitted to proceed. Plainly, tliey had been warned to expect 'my arrival. Just within the .gates two eomnnninR nf lancers mounted on fine horses were dratvn up, as if to guard the drive. One Would have thought the titular head, of the State feared an attack from his' people. A . second force of mounted infantry, further more, stood on guard before the house it self. But they did not challenge mc. Bid ding my cab to wait, I eiitcred tlie porch, and was received by a flunkey, who glanced at my shabby rainment with a supercilious expression of surprised contempt. But, learning my name, he led me immediately to an . ante-room that was. filled -with, mili tary officers. 'I. looked' them over, hoping to , find among them - a Victorian acquain tance, but they were all New. South AVeishi ' "gahv'My fiamp'.and. dirty,, 'clothes '.'con- tVa?ted so ill with" their" heat khakee that a Heeling of dhame stole over me, more especially as one, .the youngest and . iiat- tiest of the lot, after favoring me witli an - eye-glassed stare, muttered, something -epV.eh put some 'of his companions in a t'i&S But..tbby diH not 'all laugh, and Preaehtly a major of artillery; st'rolliiig up "tood, asked me in a' very civil tone1 if there was any late news in ' tlie 6itjvf'I replied that I had heard nothing— KaYing only just arrived in town— iind IPi'pJS Ve.'was disposed 'to. be chatty " I him .why Government Mouse was 'so tfell/guaided. Ho looked' quite , astonish ed. -.."Is it possible," lie inquired, "that you have, not heard of-last Saturday's -un employed deputation to the Governor? iWIiere-cnri you have conie from?" '"1, have, been out of the State, and be yond reach of news," I replied.' "All! A Veil, then," said he, "one can "un derstand,.' I must in that, case tell you that a mob of'uncontrollables fairly storin- qfffTs place Jas't- Saturday: _ The idiotic ibje appeare"d,'to imngine that Mils Ex'ceJ- fcnfy,!is. responsible for tliefr" .distress. The teqpps had' to be called out,' and". luckily they were close at hand, or , the Lord knows what -would have happened. As it 'was, -five troopers were pretty badly knocked about, and we had at last to fire into the crowd to reduce them/ to submis sion. A regular red Saturday. Twenty men -were- killed all told. You can 'well imagine that his Excellency is not anxibus for ' a repetition of the experience." /"Good heavens!" I cried, quite horror- stricken. "Why do they do these!, things?'.'. .-.The major shrugged liis shoulders. "You can 'hardly wonder, my dear sir," he re plied- "With fifty thousand empty bel lies in the city, and their owners utterly unused to discipline, riots/are simply bound to occur. I consider we have cause to congratulate ourselves they have not been more frequent. Fortunately -we- have a strong man at the lielm of affairs; and his fearless action in threatening to . proclaim martial law has probably saved hundreds of lives, and untold destruction of property:" .'.'Martial' law!" Xigasped. The major's eyes opened- wide. — - '-'My ilpiir sir,, your. ignorance amazes nie.'-'.Have you just dropped down here from Mars, or what?" ; - But I had no time to respond, for at that instant a door opened on my right, and an eager voice called out, "Mr. Brym- ner— Mr. Brymner!" . I hurried forward in answer to the sum mons, and next moment found myself in the centre of a largo room facing a circle of distinguished people. .- .The Governor was geated'at the head of a long table. At his right was the Federal Minister of De fence; opposite him the .'Inspector-General of— now General, Officer .Commanding— the Australian military forces. - With both these gentlemen I am personally acquaint ed. But, although they had often dined at my house, they greeted me with tlie curtest of nods on this occasion. ' Next to them sat the Premier -of -New : South (Wales— whose, face. -I recognised ; at-, rqnee from his counterfeit presentment in politi cal cartoons; the Treasurer of the State, and an officer in tlie. uniform of a colonel. 'At tlie other side of the table -were seated two gentlemen in mufti, .! who ; were strangers to me; a general Officer, ibudjtwb secretaries— their pens busily scratching! The whole circle looked me up and down for a space of ten seconds' in silence, then tlie Governor said something to a man who stood'by liis' chair, and tliispnan' brought me -a" chair. "Pray be seated!"'' said his Excellency. I- T'.bowed. and sat down. . Secretly I was enraged at .the coldness of my reception, but although I kept my feelings to my self, I 'determined, to pay my entertainers fifffik in kind. I would show these aristo- £riit's ''and officers;"' and jacks-m-office; that tliey could not snub or brow-beat an- old . lawyer like, Philip Brymner with impunity. Confouud them! And after, all the.perils and sufferings I had undergone for my country's sake, too. I therefore assumed a sphinx-like air, nnd fixed my eyes with perfect tranquillity upon the . Governor's necktie. He had turned to face -me. . / "We are given to understand, sir," lie nresfltltlv VlPtwin "Mint vmi Iidva Tinnn /!«. taincd as a prisoner upon one of the Ger man war ships, and that, you, were this afternoon released."; ' ' / rl 'looked him in the eye; 'and nodded. - ' i "Well, ' sir?" said ho, witli.- some im patience. . . , "Your, servant, sir," I replied, and gave him an ironic bow. V /He colored and bit his lip. "You have perhaps some information to give us?" he suggested. "If so, sp'eak out,' but be .as brief- as possible." -, His tone was so dis dainful1 that I resolved to hit himhard, iind I 'knew a way -to-do -it,- for he was an old soldier. ' !- , ,. . , : "I do notice a naval officer present," -J replied. "If there were, one -.here, " and liad he" at command' a sitigle'ship of war, I could put him in the way of sending the whole German squadron to the bottom ot the sea in eight and forty hours. But soldiers are as helpless as civilians. The Germans, laugh at you, and. pity you. X fear then that my story will have only an academic interest for your Excellency !"- ' Aha! I had my revenge in a single sen tence. The Governor clenched his fist nnd brought it down with a crash upon the table. The Inspector-General, tlie bri gadier and . the other military officers all uttered angry exclamations, and some or them. actually got afoot. But I did not turn a hair. I just smiled at them. ' ' "Sir, you are insolent," said the Premier of 'New South Wales. "It becomes no one to mock at Australia's present helplessness nor at the impotence of her defenders." I turned on him like an adder. "Nor, sir, does it become Australians to receive an Australian who has just undergone a terrible experience at the hands of the common enemy as though he were an alien whom you found it hard to tolerate. I did.- not come here to be contemned — and were it not that I am willing to subordin ate my personal feelings to my country's interests I would not stay, .here another moment, I look, perhaps, a disreputable object in the clothes I wear— but your im perative summons prevented me from pro curing others — and there are those present who ought to.be able to testify to my posi tion." The Federal Minister of Defence broke the silence that followed my rebuke by saying in a deprecatory tone, "I am afraid, my dear Mr. Brymner that you have mis taken our natural anxiety to hear the news you have to tell us for discourtesy. If I have unwittingly offended, I sincerely beg your pardon. And there is no doubt I should have formally met . und presented you to his Excellency." "Quite so," said the Governor. "Still anyone— but there— perhaps it is not yet too late." The Minister of Defence took the hint and sprang up. Then he formally intro duced me to his Excelleney. The Governor, ate the leek like a gentleman, I will say that' for him. He grasped me warmly by the hand, and declared he was pleased to make my acquaintance. He then insisted that I should take a seat at the table in stead of sitting us before, like an accused person before a court. All this proves how necessary it is for a. man to always strike, back in ..tliisV '.world at tlie person who lilts him. No good ever comes of knuckling under.. Assort . your dignity whenever it is assailed— whether .by a pauper or a prince— and people will re," spcet you for it. But if you once ( ullow, yourself to. he trampled, 011 you might, as well become a bootblack at once, for people will wipe their feet on you afterwards,- whether you like it or not. It'id'huniah nature., Naturally, 1 felt proud oLmy Vic-" tory,. but I flatter myself that 1 behaved with. becoming modesty; and. it was'hot. until I was adjured by his Excellency to' tell my story in. my own.way that 1 would do aught but answer questions. But then I rather let myself go. 1. had something, to. say, and 1 said'it .well — it is not for nothing that I have been an advociitc for five 'aud twenty years. Without exaggeration, I may observe tlmt 1 succeeded in riveting tlie attention of my audience upon my narra tive. Tliey listened with breathless interest for .more than two hours, und not an inter ruption was made until 1 came to the inci dent' when the big blonde German, Captain Dippcl's guest upon the Nurnberg, h'nd given mc the letter to' post 'for him. It was the Inspector-General who. interrupted! "Pardon me," he said; "you have-that let ter still, without doubt?" ' "Certainly," 1 replied,- and finished : my story. Then, in the midst of ii profound silence I took tlie letter from niy pocket,, its envelope still, unbroken, , just .. us . the ' German. had given it . to me, and-.I..laid it upon the table in- front of the Governor.'1'' His Excellency glanced , down tlie line, ot faces! - "I think, -'gentlemen; that we are justified in opening this , epistle,"' lie ob served. . ' Everybody concurred. The Governor took a .paper knife from a- pin tray before him and inserted the point of the blade in tlie wrapper. \"It is' addressed .to Jli'.' ttermaii Brown, G.P.O., 'ielli'ouriie/J .lieqbseiwcd; glancing at tlie superscriptions as-be spoke, A second later he extracted from the iin! velope a double sheet of foreign note paper. Unfolding this, wo all saw that it contain: ed.on one side perhaps a dozen lilies oF fine hand writing. The Governor examined it carefully a moment, then he handed it to the Minister of Defence with a slirug of liis shoulders. - "I can make neither head- nor tail of it," he remarked in a disappoint ed tone. ' "It :is a cipher." The ''.InspcctprrGencral smiled, "I ven ture .toVprcdipt!"' lie sni,,."thatVthQ gip.he.r will be simple-'eiiougli; for; :iis.;to unravel without any vast expenditure of effort!':.' "Ah!" - exclaimed t!ie Govornor—"tlieu you think? " "I believe," said the General, "it was in. tended by the Germans ifliat this" letter should full into our hands. Mr. Brymner agrees with me. 1 am sure." "I confess, General, I am 'nnder that im-' prcssion," I replied. "I' felt instinctively when the man put it in illy hands that-.be ' knew more about me than lie pretended." » "Well," cried the Defence Minister, ' "it is Chinese'' to'-me!" 'The-chariictcrs ard'Ger- man, bu t ,tl)e. words .are. ensqless. , .'hlany.-of Uicm lack.yoweis." " '. . ' . - "If you will nliow.me to try, " suggested the General. "I am not exactly an expert, but I know most of the less recondiLc ci pher codes. Ah! Thanks." The General took the paper, and spread ing it on the table he began to dot down marks with : a pencil underneath the writ ing. Thus five minutes passed— tlicn of a sudden he looked up and . uttered a short, contemptuous' laugh. "I'fi not detain you long- now," lie said. "The Germans have taken pains, to save us hnyEyain . worry. It is the Y.?. . code. One moment." He. seized another' sheet of paper, and always glancing at the- letter wrote rapidly. '.Very soon lie had finished. He leaned back / and read aloud the following message:— , "Assemble. League-,, rendezvous ;Queens- cliff. . Rocket signal, remove .breech-blocks. Burn blue lights, successful. Boats attend. Expect Friday." . "It is in German, biit I lioivc given you a literal translation," he added quietly. .. Ana wiiat may:it.meanr inquired the Governor. „ "It mean's, replied- the General,- "that tlie Germans- desire us to believe they have a secret League of German spies und trai tors in. our midst, whom this message will incite to make an. attack upon the Queens- cliff-forts on the/fifing of - a rocket signal,1 probably on Friday night next, from a Ger man war ship off .Port Phillip Heads; - The . inference is obvious. They, wish us to sup pose that the German fleet is preparing for a dash into Port Phillip Bay, with the ob ject of bombarding Melbourne." "Good God!" cried the Federal Minister. "But, supposing it is true?" Consternation seized the gathering,, -and candor , obliges me- to - confess that I- was not the least alarmed of any. there, for . I thought of my home and iiiy dear ones, and the. idea of a shell falling upon my pretty villa— destroying my - property and killing my helpless family— threw me into a per fect panic. ' ' But the General remained, coldly -imper-' turbable. After the storm of exclamations end excited nniriiR "hnd nfimim-1,1 : c . 1 1, e i rl n .1 he waved his hand to obtain silence, and then addressed the meeting. "Your Excel lency, and gentlemen," he began, "as the person chiefly responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth, I beg to assure J'ou that, in my opinion, your fears are ground less. From what Mr. Brymner has al ready told us, there can be little doubt but that the Germans have a number of spies on the mainland— and perhaps- there is a loague. in existence.'1 But is it not to' the last- degree improbable -they ' would, haye taken this, means". (he pointed to the, let- ,ter) "of communicating with, their friends ashore. They bad a deeper object, be lieve me, in. entrusting Mr. Brymner with this'cipher. That they are' meditating an attack upon lis I thoroughly believe, , but Melbourne is not the objective. This let ter is designed to throw us off the scent. Nevertheless, trust me, I shall take all proper . precautions." He turned to the Minister. "In that behalf, with your per mission, sir, I shall start immediately for Melbourne." "I shall accompany you," said the Minis ter of Defence. "And I," I cried; ' The Minister glanced at. me. "It would he as well," he observed. "For otherwise, since the railways are all under military control, you might have to wait" several days for aii opportunity to make the jour ney, and the Prime Minister will no doubt desire to hear your story as soon as pos sible from your own lips." The Governor immediately arose. "Then, gentlemen," said he, "I shall not detain you. :Go, and God speed you, and may Melbourne be spared, through your patriotic efforts from the terrible calamity with which the enemy has afflicted this unhappy city." "Amen!" sighed the Premier. Next moment we were shaking hands all round, and almost before I realised what had happened, I was seated in a carriage between the General and the Minister of Defence, and we were bowling along towards Redfern surrounded by a dense ring of irotting -lancers. The journey- ; did not occupy a quarter of a hour, yet it was re plete with incident. Half way down Eliza beth-street, while passing Park-street, we encountered a great mob of men, who greeted our appearance with noisy impre cations. "Give us work!" tliey cried, and "Give us bread!" As the people com pletely blocked the thoroughfare, we were forced to halt, in spite of our escorts, and stones and pieces 'of dirt, and Bods of glass, uptorn by' the' roots from the neigh boring park, fell like hail in and about the carriage; while the clamor of the crowd was siniply appalling. 1 do hot know what would iiave become of us 'had it not been for the General: The Minister was at his wits' end, and so was 1. 1 do not mean lo say we were, afraid, but we were confused, aud we both wanted to go back and try'; to reach the station by another way. But the General would have none of it. He tore open' the dobr and sprang upon the. road. The lancers and liis mounted staff, who' rode beside the carriage begged hiiii' to go back, but he seemed put iuA a pas sion by the merh' suggestion. ' lie ordered them aside -with a' ieai soldier's oath; and slaiked through their lines,, and, beyond theni; till lie Stood alone, .before the . mob. SVe thought he wouid be toru'. to-pieote;- aud; indeed, ''some of the rabble rushed for-; ward with' shouts as.iF.lo seize. huh.!- hut" he stood like a rock, -aiid- pointed', at.vtlioin with his hand. -.'I uen- a wonderful 'thing liappcuod. The. men ivno were rushing ;at' ;biin halted ahd -stood eyeing ilnh obtilused-, ly, and the grea t seeihiiigmpb;, becUiuo or ii' ouducn still us deiuli,' F "Men," -said ,-Uie -Gqiicrnl, in', a ringing voice, -"I've had word— it miiy be ra iftise word and it may.' be;, true— that ; tlie /.Uetf' inn lis arc to lanu at lust.' - Arc you going, to bail; The on iyy road to niccL Uiem '' " 'ihe yell that went up as he ceaseu spcak- ing split the air like a prodigious chip of vnuiider. ' ''-"Ao! ho! uo!" shrieked J ilie crowd.. .' ; ' ' ;'.v' ; 'f?.? "h.whng.. on .his heel, ;arid: walked back to.- the carriage!" -Then, ilie great, mob- parted' in two, and we- drove' between their ' ruiiks, while they' . howicd themselves 'hoarse 'with cheers. .The Utm- . e.ral shrugged -his; sjibuidhrs', leaned . : buck in liis corner., aiid! 'lighted a- cigur.-. ly was speecliieSs; with admiration at his- courage and his coolness. -''But the Minister patted oiir here" 6ir! the huee/ aiid said, .'softly, "Wcll'.dbne, | old .cliap; . \yeir dpue."/, . i-i-e- grct to say- the;Geiierai swore. But.l-did- not like- him any; .thc.Tess . for it sonichoW r-aaether.' .'l'think 1 sliqiiidTiaye-vvauted' to_ swciir, .too; .in the sanic. circumstances,; just to'slibw I >yasirt-.as. proud,of- myself; as 1 cou(d.bc withoijt "bui'sting vvith pride. I adorqraets uf real iieroisihr AVhcn I was a younmaii myself— hut,' there! .Xliis nar rative, is not' a personal one. . It was just at; the .foot of Elizabeth-street the next- ac cident occurred; " There was a-'raob. there,' . fqo, bu'6 a 'small , one. , . Still ; f lip mhii; lopke'd' very gloomy.' aqd despprato. ! -.'-vAiici !,.tbey hustled the lancers.nhd threw Stones; 'and' sticks at the horses' legs; A brick struck the carriage ".window;" iiiid .sent ispfinters Vof glass crashing , in' amongst ,us, - :. . . My face : was cut. badly with- a . fragment,' and tuc brick fell on the General's kuce. He was' very angi-y. HeTcaned'out of the window 'and spoke to the. soldiprs.. Thuii there was" a dreadful - noise, and the; most frightful Shrieks arose.' "M" did "not see what was ; happening, for tlie Minister; of. Defence was .binding Tip my iwound . .wiitlv.his k'crchicf. ; But: we, ".did ' not', even actually stop, , aiid isoon wln7#oVe;:tnUch Taste'r.V,- J ;tuihli I must "have 'swooned; Toi'the.'iiext I remember they ivere' helping me. out of -the carriage hiid" giving, me' some spirit- to drink. -There was a trooper lying on' the pavement near 'me, with a' ghustly bruise on liis- forehead. " An officer knelt heaide him. He arose, and .said,. "Quite dead; skull crashed in like an' egg shell." ' The poor lancer liad been- killed iii the- fracas with the mob. 'Then;! fainted 'right away! When I recovered my senses I found niy- self '.lying on. the seat of a train' That was g6ihg:atTa;.tfemehdousrate,f-tb-qb"dge''froin . th'e:oseillations;of-, the.-carriage;.'. We seemed to be simply flying. :'I sht up a'fid-lpokea' about! me. I Was quite alone, ' but my compartment communicated . by a passage with others close at- hand, and :I' heard-a' bum of voices not far off. I liad an op pressive sense of" having forgotten some thing. . Very soon',1 , remembered, what it was. , /I had forgo tten To ..pay, .the cabman who had taken, me, from the Australia Hotel to Government House. In the hurry of leaving for Melbourne rthe': fact of his very existence had.„complgleIy slipped my.mpmory. . IF was excesiiyiilY, annoying.- AVhat.'wouId tliefman thihRvof'-. me? -V But it was mere inadvertence on my part, as I am ready' to': pj-0ve;. .'HThe lhaii— I after- ivards ; tripd to' find 'him,' but .failed— ever happens to read; these. lilies,, arid .will ' take the trouble to -drop. me/a '.line,. with !'a proof of. debt -to my ;ofiicc in .-Melbourne, I' -shall gladly- send' liim by return of:post a- remit: tanc« for, tw'iie'. the' .amount, ..of '".my legal obligation.;- , j /-.-iV;- . ./. - (TO- BE' CONTINUED;)

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST, BY AMBROSE PRATT (Author of "The Counterstroke," &c.). CHAPTER XII.— HOW AUSTRALIA HAD FARED. We discussed the Germun letter in all Its bearings for the greater part of that even ing. My idea ivas to post it, nnd so put its genuineness to a complete practical test at once, talcing care, of course, to have the Melbourne G.I'.O. carefully watched by detectives, and an ambush laid for the League. But the, general was strongly averse to this proposal. His plan was — should a rocket signal be fired on the ap pointed night outside Port Phillip Heads, to burn a blue light from the forts, and thus try to tempt the enemy to enter. He had very little faith in the League, but he declared that if such a thing existed, wc might be very sure its members would be too wide awake to full into a trap. Tbe Minister of Defence was of tbe same opinion, so my project was put aside. But I still think it was the better one, and, had it been acted on, we should have had a definite term put to some portion of our fears, at any rute. I detest dwelling in uncertainty. But there was no use talk ing to a man like the general. He had a very strong will, and he would not discuss the matter once he had made up his ' mind. Our train being a special, and tho line clear, wo made a ivory quick trip to the border; so quick,- indeed, that I hardly seemed to have slept an hour when tho Minister awakened me to say we were at Albury. It was pitch dark, and not yet 4 o'clock, ' The station people had breakfast waiting for us. I could hardly cut a mouthful, although I was as hungry as a hunter. After we had started in the new train the conversation turned on the con dition of the country, owing to a remark of mine., I said thut I had left it on the crest of a tremendous wave of prosperity, and returned to find it apparently sunk in tbe trough of a terrible depression. But 1 speedily learned that the depression was more terrible and widespread than I had dared to dream. The Minister of De fence informed me that since I hnd been captured by the Germans the trade and commerce of the Commonwealth had be come almost completely paralysed. The vast bulk of the Australian shipping was lying uselessly interned in port for fear of capluro by the German cruisers, and the result had been a general industrial collapse. „ The Minister feelingly sketched for me the course of events while I had been a pri soner. l'irst of all, it seems, the grcuHconl industry of New South Wales had been disorganised. The shipping paralysis had struck it so severely by cutting oft' the huge export trade and limiting tiie faeilltios of supplying tho borne market that 12,000 minora had speedily been discharged, and notwithstandingun immense ensuing rise in the price of coal— it was then, it appears, selling at 38/ per ton at the pit's mouth — very1 few of Hie big Newcastle and Malt- land collieries were working more than half a shift per day. This was bad — but a mere trifle to the consequences. Coal having to be carried all over Australia by train— tire shipping companies not daring to send out tlieir steamers except by dashes at infre quent intervals— there hud followed a coal famine in Victoria and Soutli Australia. Coal had risen to £5 per ton in Melbourne and £7 10/ in Adelaide. - This prohibitive tariff had stopped work in a large propor tion o i the factories, and caused an cnor- mous advance in the price of every house hold requirement, except food, throughout the States. More than 200,000 manufactur ing opcrativesJiad been put out of work 125,000 in Victoria alone — and almost every trade and occupation had been disastrously affected. The dairy farmers, unable to send their butter, cheese and bacon, for lack of ships, to London, were ceasing to annkc any. The great bulk of the squatters hnd decided not to shear their sheep this year —to, the threatened ruin of thousands of unfortunate shearers, because there seemed no prospect cither of sending it away or of finding a market for it overseas even could tliey send it. Building had absolutely ceased in all the capitals, thus enormously swelling the ranks of the unemployed. The manufacture of machinery was at a stand- . still. Ship and boat building was a dead letter. And even agriculture was coming to , a halt, since, through the loss of the export trade in meat and wheat, the local market was so glutted with supplies for the mo ment that farmers nnd stock breeders alike were the victims of an abnormal condition of over production. Only a limited number of trades were doing well. Saddlers nnd harness makers, for instance, were doing well out of the needs of the troops — also coach and waggon builders. Clothing manu facturers, too, were reaping an abundant harvest, owing to the cessation of imports of foreign made goods. But the fortunate ones could be counted on tho lingers of one hand. For the rest thousands of clerks had been thrown out of employment by the ruin or suspension of business of their firms. Many big commercial houses hull gone bankrupt. There had been several runs on the biggest banks; some of the smaller institutions lmd closed their doors, and a banking crisis might occur at any moment. One had ac tually taken place in Sydney already, but the Government had saved the situation by guaranteeing an increased paper currency in return for the enforced loan of £5,000,000 of gold bullion required for the ransom of the capital. Any further depletion of the coin reserve, however, must result, said the Minister, in an ' unprecedented banking disaster, involving widespread ruin. Tho Commonwealth and State Governments were feeding between them, at the expense of the nation, an aggregate of more than 50,000 starving poor per day. Special direct taxation of the wealthy 'classes had -been rendered necessary to support the expenses of State; nevertheless Australia was increas ing her public indebtedness at the rate of £1,500,000 a week. This was in some part owing to the shrinkage in railway revenue, and the enormous cost entailed in hurry ing troops from point to point of tho coast line, following the movements of the . Ger man cruisers, in order to provide against possible lauding expeditions. But the com plete extinction of customs receipts was piiiicipaiiy responsible. New Federal excise taxes had been imposed on . oil, tobacco, lour, sugar, clothing, meat and liquor. The States had doubled their land taxes, and the value of house and landed property had ' gone down with a run. The various Go vernment stocks were quoted on Change at Par, hut there were no buyers to. be found at a higher price than 75. Such was the dreadful picture which was painted for me by the" Minister. But the worst feature had yet to be told. , Tho population of the country was all Hoicking citywards. Already thousands on thous ands of people had poured from tiie back blocks to the capitals, and the stream allow ed no signs of diminution. They came by bain, by carts, -on horseback, in coaches or atoot. The great bulk hud Iittlo .or no omney, and seemed destined to become de pendent on the charity of the State. Hie only redeeming feature of this evil Was the splendid conduct of the crowd in general. If they had been any but Aus kalians of British stock — Portuguese or Italians, for instance — there would have been unending riots and disturbances. But in apite of tiie prevailing poverty and dis- jtess and the dangerous concentration of idle people at the capitals, only two unto ward incidents of any consequence had yet occurred, and both in Sydney. From the I highest to the lowest the whole, popula- I uoii had magnificently responded to the I call upon their patriotism. They were uni- I vetsally animated with a spirit of gener- I cos endurance. The various State Gov- I !rnmenta had all started relief works, and were employing many thousnryls of men nt a bare living wage on fortifications, shift ing sand, road malting and scores of oilier temporary expedients. Thousands more were necessarily unprovided for with work; but to these Government rations were ser ved out daily, and thousands more were supplied with food by various civic organ isations. The Employers' Federation lmd been especially active. It ,bnd extended the most generous aid to the unions, -and u great scientific system of free food dis tribution was in force, which reflected the utmost credit upon its administrators. The big squatters and agriculturists moreover bad come to tbe aid of the State in the most splendid fashion. They forwarded immense supplies of fresh meat, milk and flour daily to the cities absolutely gratis, and the Government was only put to the expense of carriage and distribution. As was only natural, the police force had been largely increased, and a number of soldiers moreover had been detailed for police duty in the most crowded portions of the capitals. And the gaols were fairiy full. Furthermore, it lind been found ad visable to adopt in Melbourne the institu tion of the curfew. Not, as the Minister took care to explain, because the populace was turbulent, but largely for the 6ake of economy, and as a wise precaution to fore stall all chances ot the mob getting even temporarily out of control. But I think this circumstance did more than aught else to make me realise to what a pass the country hnd been brought. Fancy free Australian cilkens being forced under pain of criminal penalties to shut themselves up in their houses after night fall, and not venture forth again until the following morn! But when I exclaimed at this the Minister said, drily: "Early to bed, Mr. Brymner— you know the old pro verb. And one must early to bed in Mel bourne now — for there is no gas. And un less you care to burn candles at 2/ a pound, or oil at 3/0 a quart, there is noth ing else to do but go to bed," "No gas!" .1 cried. "It is cut olf at the mains each night at 7.30," he replied. "But, of course, the streets and public buildings ure kept lighted. We economise whore wo can, you see. A coal famine is a terrible tiling, Mr. 'Brymner. But this will end by doing Vic toria some ultimate good, I think. Scams are being opened up everywhere, and the city is doing its cooking very largely al ready with our o wu brown coal. Tbe State Government, too, is experimenting with the Dean's Marsh and Gippsland deposits of brown coal. It will absorb thousands of the idlers we are now obliged to feed to save from starvation." "But!" I cried. "What a price -to pay." The.. Minister shrugged liis Bhoulders. "All experience that is worth anything is invariably dearly bought," he said. "If we had not been purblind fools wc should years ago have had a navy of our own. Then our coasts would have been safe from those German buccaneers. If Victoria had pro perty exploited her coal resources years ago, instead of relying solely on New South Wales, we should not have a coal famine hero to-day, 1000 closed factories, anil well nigh 150,000 operatives and artisans out of work. If again we had years ago put up an effective tariff wall around this coun try Australia would long ago have learned the lesson taught by Adam Smith, that the home market is always the best market. Our industrial life in that case could not have become so instantly disorganised, and although we should inevitably have suf fered greatly from the interruption in our export trado and from high transport prices and war insurance rates, wc should never have been bit in the fashion we arc to-day. But, alas, if ifs and hnds were pots uiul pans tliere'd be no work for tinkers' hands. And I am one of -the tinkers whose business it is to try anil mend some of the rents and holes in the leaky State pot." "You have faith in tho future," I asked. "Surely," he replied. "It's true , that we've had no word of news from the bid world for three long, ' wretched' Weeks, arid' there are many among lis who fear the worst. But I would sooner doubt the evi dent fact of my own existence than doubt Britain's capacity to win. out the dangers and difficulties that beset her. It's a big fight, and it may be a long fight, and all her energies nnd resources may need to lie employed; but the bulldog grit will pull her through, and we'll lfve to see the Em pire rise from the toil and turmoil of the struggle with all our enemies whining round Britain's feet." "Bravo!" Bhouted the General. "God send it," I cried; thon added sober ly, "but in the meanwhile Australia will be ruined," "Never fear it," Bnid tbe Minister. "We'll be hurt — ay. wounded and out to the quick, but we'll survive. And though sadder, we'll he infinitely wiser, men." "We'll build a navy?" I suggested. "Ay," said lie, "if it costs our last farth ing to do it. And we'll build a tariff wall about, us that will put in force the deepest lesson of this war— the national madness of depending on another land for anything we need and can ourselves Bupply. Why, look you, Mr. Brymner, coffee is 0/ a pound, tea has gone up to 0/0 for the cheapest brand, sugar is selling at 1/8, and you cannot buy a cotton handkerchief for less than 1/0. Yet not only can we produce and supply all our own needs in all these things if we choose, but have a surplus to export. And it is the same with wool, to a very large extent at all events. So far wo have been sending our raw wool abroad, and buying it back as manufactured woollen clothing. Our local factories only supply; a tithe of the local demand. Since the raiders came they have all been working overtime, and most of them have doubled their lmnds— yet, and mark this well, the price of woollen goods lias not increased by more than 10 per cent. Such is the result of the complete protec tion afforded by the war. Now contrast this with cotton goods, which are exclusively import. Ootton fabrics lmve increased in price by 300 per cent, already. Ib there not a lesson here?" It was very hard for an old free-trader like myself to sit silent under this sort of lecturing. But I had to do it or appear il logical. I had been converted by force of circumstances to recognise the necessity of local naval Belf-proteetion— and the same principles applied fiscally. I saw this, yet force of habit urged mo so powerfully to debate the matter that probably I would have done so to my own discomfiture. But Providence intervened. At that moment wc Btopped at n station. It was only, however, for a second or two. The. station master opened the door and thrust soma -newspapers into tho General's hand. Then the engine whistled, and we were off again. . Tho General opened the. bundle and dis tributed the papers among his staff, who had all coine crowding to the door of the compartment. He then handed the Minis ter a paper and one to me. I cried out in - amazement. "Whnt! This — 'The Ago' I" I exclaimed. The Minister laughed; and said, "Another lesson in protection, Mr. Brymner. We can nialco just as good paper here and just as cheaply as in any part of the world. But we don't— yet. Some day we shall,. You see the result now of our neglect. Supplies have run short." They must have run Bliort indeed. Tho copy of "The Age" in my hand was no larger than u sheet of foolscap. It only con tained four pages, and the print was so diminutive that 1 had to put on my glasses and hold it close to my oyos to make it out. Even then it was difficult. Only a single page was devoted to news. Bat quality made up for quantity. The chief items were from Western Australia. An Orient mail steamer, the Orinoco, had arrived at Fre- mantle, having successfully evaded the Ger man cruisers. And she carried the most im portant intelligence— albeit four weeks old ' — from the scenes of war. A second great battle had been fought in Egypt, and the English forces had once more proved the victors. This was glorious news, but it was counteracted in a measure by the report that German troops were pouring into Tur key to help the Sultan by way of Austria and the Levant, and that the long expected Mahometan rcbollion liad broken out in Burma and the north'-west provinces of Hindustan. There had been several naval brushes in tbe North Sea, and although Britain hnd succeeded in sinking a great German battleship, two German cruiser squadrons had escaped from Kiel and dis appeared. So much for the war. The rest of the news concerned the economic condition of the motherland. It was bad in the extreme. Millions of people bad been affected by tho dislocation of commerce and the disorgani sation of industries. The coastal towns were all emptying inwards. The army had commandeered the railways, the roads wero choked witli transport. Hundreds of thou sands of people were starving, and confu sion reigned supreme. Bread had gone up to lOd. a loaf; meat and all food supplies were correspondingly dear. Popular opinion was clamoring to stop the war, London was crammed with homeless multitudes, and the Government had been compelled to place the oily under martial law,' in or der to withstand the revolutionary clamor and excesses of the panic-stricken, hunger- maddened mob. A deep silence fell upon us all. When we hnd rend 'thu dreadful tidings we were sjlent, still for long; but the Minister, au incurable optimist, at length spoke out. "permuny plays a waiting game, naval- ly," Baid be, "in the hope of reducing Britain to extremities of fuminc. But Ger many cunnot control the Atlantic, and Britain will soon dispose of the roving cruisers there. America will continue to feed England all right, and the mob .will presently get, over its panic and settle down to the inevitable. 'The Government has only to stand firm for a little while, and all its troubles will dissolve like clouds." "Tim news is four weeks old," observed the General. The Minister of Defence sliruggcd liis shoulders. "Which proves that the war still continues, and thut Britain is still on top," lie said. "Were it otherwise, Aus tralia would liuvc -been invaded ere this." "Perhaps you are right," said the General. "But I have a feeling that we Australians shall presently be iightjiig for our li earths and homes and lives against a German army corps. I pray that I am wrong." "Amen!" said I. Tho engine whistled as I spoke, and we began to slow down. I glanced out the window, and saw Btrcets and houses ilying pust. . 'YYJiatl Melbourne already!" cried tbe Minister. "Wc have liad n record run!". I sprang to my feet, and then sat down again, weak and sick with excitement, and my senses swinging from a sudden rush of blood to my head. In a few minutes I should see my wife agnin— my wife. The train stopped, but I could not move. 'I'll! Minister, seeing my condition, very kindly gave me some whisky from liis flask. Then he helped, me from the carriage to the plat form. I had an insane idea that 1; .should find my wife waiting there. But I re membered she could not know. I had not warned her of my coming. The sta tion was alive with troops. They greeted the General with a cheer. He and tho Minister said- good-bye to me, and en trusted mo with greetings to any wife. . I was glad when they moved off. I felt bet ter, but still a good deal overcome. My heart was bursting with a curious emotion of mixed joy and grief. I felt— ah! so glad to be once more in my native city, but desolate to think of its condition. After a while I realised that I was a centre of curious observation. There were soldiers everywhere, and they .smiled when I arose. My appenranco was indeed such as to provoke smiles. My trousers, al though dry no\v, had shrunk so much from their wetting that they stood two inches irom my boots. I hurried from the station platform, and went up to the first cab I saw. ' > "Mi;. Brymner!" cried the driver. 'He , had recognised- ime. My heart warmed - to the follow juHt because of . that, and im pulsively I extended my hand, "Glad to see you buck, sir; thought tho Dutciiies had collared you," lie obsorved. "Home, sir?" "Yes; home!" I said, and, jumping into tiie carriage, I leaned back in a corner, and closed my eyes. The word so spoken had filled mo with a pleasure that wns too sharp not to have its meed of pain, and try as I would I could not stop the tears from wellihg up and rolling down my elieekB. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

Chapter XIII – The Age 23rd November 1906 is missing this page


THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. i COPYRIGHT. A FOR EC AST. f , i BY AMBROSE PRATT i '(Author o£ "Tho Counterstrokc," &cj. CHAPTER XIV.— THE BIRTH ' OE A NAVY. I had to repeat the tvhole history of my adventures from start to finish for the benefit of the Prime Minister and the naval stranger. For some unexplained reason I was not introduced to the latter, but 1 may say that I afterwards discovered him to he Captain , R.N., Oificer in Command of the Imperial Naval Depot at Sydney. That there was some deep . pur- pose in this interview was evident to mc, but what it actually was I was left to exer cise my wits about, that night ut all events, for my visitors departed without taking me into tlieir confidence, although they loaded me with compliments. In the morning, however, just as we were sitting down to breakfast, a telephone message came from Mr. Ellis urgently requesting me to call upon him at the United Service Club at 2.30 that afternoon, lie declared that he had business of the greatest im portance to discuss with me — business .which concerned, in fact, the most intimate interests of the State. Naturally, I kept tho appointment. In deed I was a few minutes early. But the club hall porter, instead of leaving me in the strangers' room, ushered mo at once into the K.C.'s private apartment. . It ap peared that he was a permanent resident at the' club. It was a big bed-sittingrooni, a most comfortable place, yet somewhat peculiarly furnished, or rather ornamented. The wails wore covered with old pictures. Over the mantel was a large oil painting' of tho Melbourne S.S. Company's latest passenger liner, the Droglieda; arid half a dozen great glass cases scattered here and there oil ntarble pedestals contained exquisitely constructed models in minia ture of various types of ships and steam ers. Of course 1 had known for years that Ellis was a big shareholder and director in the Melbourne . S.S. Co., but- until- that moment I had not been aware how deeply interested he was in shipping. Evidently it was his hobby — rather a curious hobby for a lawyer, but we all have our fads. .. He entered the room promptly on the stroke of the half hour, nnd thanked me warmly for my punctuality. Then lie put mc into his biggest arid most luxurious bachelor arm chair, and produced a box of rarely fine Havannas. He made mo fill my own cigar ease straight off, saying with a laugh, "When near supplies, Brymner, al- , .ways lay in as if for a siege." "I hope I have not dragged you away from importunate clients," he remarked, as wc lighted up. "Don't worry," I replied, disgustedly. "Not a soul 1ms entered my office all the morning. Importunate clients, indeed! There seems to be no business d'oing any where. What is to be done about it all?" "Something!" said Ellis briefly. "The infernal rot must be checked somehow. A whole country, a whole people, . a whole- thriving nation one may say, as helpless as a flock of sheep with a dingo yelping through the fence— nnd from your account it's only a bally goat with a dingo's skin on. Somclting of this I had guessed be fore. Damn this cigar, it won't keep alight." He threw the weed iu the grate, and took another from the box. Ho seemed much excited. But presently he resumed, more quietly, "As I was saying, BrymueiyT had guessed it before— arid not I alone. It was all very well for the first few days, but after that some of us began to feel the tin- bearable humiliation of five million people knocked clean, out of gear and into this paralytic condition— and by what? Brym ner, your landing is a God:send. I. wonder the beggars let you go. It's the only false move they've made so far, it seems to me. Now we know for certain that wo have 'been working on fairly Sound lines." "Sound lines," I repeated, surprised. "What have you been, doing? What can you do— with nothing afloat to fight the Germans? - You don't suppose that " "Hold on!" lie interrupted. "I had bet ter go .back a bit and let you see exactly how things stand. I am in., shipping, as you know. But perhaps you don't know how heavily. Well, barring the money in your safe, every cent. I own is invested in Australian bottoms— and tlie Germans have collared three of them already. I'm chair man of the Melbourne Company's hoard of directors. Well, to state things plainly, we decided — when our second liner was cap tured, not to put up with the curse if there was a possible way out. First of all we went to the 'Government to get some ray of light, to old Boulder, Defence Minister, you know. He had his answer pat. 'Inconveni ence temporary; mere cruiser raid, followed, shortly- by British pursuing fleet; losses of only secondary importance. We'd get them, back. 'Pursuing fleet-bound to presently ar rive, and knock the Germans into -a variety of cocked' hats, and all would be well again.' Of coursiri I am an old Navy League man Snyself — just 'as you were, Brynmcr — and I took my part in. killing old' Creswell's scheme for a local naval armament— so we Oind to swallow, our own medicine. But days went by, and matters only grew avorse' instead of better., The. wildest rumors came from all points of the coast, and cir culated everywhere. Every lighthouse keeper and pilot north and south and east and jvest was seeing cruisers nnd fleets of cruisers. Why, if -half the reports were correct, the entire German navy must have been' besieging us. Still, facts gave the rumors the ugliest support. A dozen and more non-arrivals threw commerce' into a panic. Insurance rates became prohibitive, and nothing would put. to Bea at all. Wharfs all idle. No coal for Melbourne, 'Adelaide, Broken Hill and the other' places, and numberless other items to add to the misery. Well, we had a special-meeting at last, and we got some of our trustiest old skippers to attend it. It was a meeting!" Ellis smiled grimly at the recollection. "There was never such a one at the com pany's office before. Old Cciulter, of the Maoraki, struck the keynote. There had been, vague talk for half an hour. But the oiu ciinp had been chafing all the time. Suddenly he stood up, and fired this off at us — 'Seems to mo, genelmon, it's like this ' " Ellis was an excellent raconteur, and he imitated Cqptain Coulter, an old friend of mine, to the life—" 'seems to me, sirs, we've got to do something. Doin' no- thin' don't , seem to pay — leastways there ain't 110 dividends bcin' chucked at no body's head— nor bonuses to skippers neither. And anyways, we are all in Aus tralia goin' to simply keep on sittin' down arid sereamin' for help to the old country? She can't give it. She's fighting hard— got \ (her back to the wall most like, and can't t give us a look even. She would if she could, \ P' course. But that ain't the point. Sup- \ posin's she does have a bit to spare for us —what sort of a figure arc we cuttin' afore the. rest of our kinsfolk, we Australians, takin' our beating lying dotvn! Tell you what, sirs, you give 1110 the Maoraki clean out of dock, and give Captain Harding, here, the Waratoto, clean out of dock and coaled in best steaming trim. We could fill up with volunteers in an hour. Then .we'd dog the Germans, and watcli 'em, and fliey won't catch either of us. We could Bend in word where they arc, and where they're shaping fori And, well, if any of 'em should have the heels of us ,why I think with twin screws and an old cliap I know at the wheel I'll give one of them at least the stem for it. You wouldn't , mind losing the Maoraki, sirs, I take it, if I rammed the German flagship and dragged her under too, and it's easy done, sirs. CThq heaviest ironclad afloat couldn't stand 5000 tons, cat oiling her, uqder the lining, of her waistcoat. You see, sirs, we can do something. Leastways, that's my way o' lookin' at it.' " '"Well," eaid Ellis, with a reversion to his usunl voice, "for a sober hoard of busi ness folk to quietly discuss' the chances of ramming their crack steamers at a German cruiser will give you some idea of the tem per of the directors after old Coulter bad spoken. Yet that is exactly what we did. However, the idea once started it speedily became improved upon. It seemed a pity to us to send the two ships out unarmed, so we finally made up our minds to fit them up to the extent ol our ability as extemporised cruisers. And to cut a long story short, in one respect at all events, we've been hard at work in that direction 1 ever since." "Well done!" I cried. "Well done, in deed. Ellis, this is splendid news. I can not tell yon bow proud and pleased I am to hear it." Ellis nodded. "It was only the beginning though," he said. "Brymner, you can't conceive the amount of infernal red tape thete was' in the business. The press be haved like bricks; but they could only help us with cash end private influence, since to have mentioned the matter publicly would have given the show away to the Germans. The fact is the place— we have good reason to know — is riddled with spies, and they have some means of communicat ing with the raiders, too. It was the authorities stood in our road. Wc were informed that wo would be privateers; that our operations' would transgress interna tional law; that not haying regular com missions our skippera and men would be treated ns pirates. Can you imagine such idiotic trivialities? But worst of all, Colonel O'Kelly, of the Defence Board, seriously put forward that an Australian armed ves sel would 'introduce that dual control so fatal to sea warfare, and against all naval principle!' Fancy such rubbish being talk ed at such a juncture. And the beggars were wasting weeks of valuable time. How ever, we got leave at last. Fortunately we had been bard at work— secretly— all the time. You see there were' a few scattered remnants of the old Commonwealth Naval Force kicking round; also a few. R.N. offi cers nnd men in the States — men who find married and remained out . hero. We got hold of them, and put together two ships' companies as quietly ns mice. But hallo! it's threo past three. Dalby should he here!" "Dalby," I repeated. "Our company's naval adviser in chief, lie particularly wishes to meet you, Brym ner. In fact, that 'is the principal object I had in view iiv dragging you here to day." "Oh! indeed!" . At tliat moment the door opened and a waiter appeared. "Captain Dalby, sir." "All! Dalby," said Ellis, rising quickly. "I aril three /minutes late. I apologise," said the new arival. . "This is Mr. Brymner," said Ellis, with a bantering smile at me. "A-friend of mine, who has just returned from a yacht ing cruise on the coast with some German pals of liis." Captain Dalby laughed as we shook hands. He was a man of unmistakable naval cut. His face was quite familiar' to me. "I know your face very well, sir," I ven tured. ... "Very likely, Mr. . Brymner," he replied. "I was in the local naval force hero some years ago till we were wiped out for reasons of the 'highest strategy,' which, it seems, we outraged by existing. But just now they are beginning- to wonder whether it would not have paid better after all' to keep ' on 'outraging.' " lie turned to Ellis. "But before anything else, I've good news for you, Ellis. It's all right about those guns and mountings." "Tliat's grand," . cried Ellis. "Wc shall have them over then in a week or so?" "Week or so be hanged!" retorted Cap tain Dalby, bluffly. "They'll be over to night. I sent a gang of men and all the necessary lifting gear to Albury this morn ing to shift them from the New South Wales trucks into our own. They'd he here now if it wasn't for that wretched break of gauge. Cost us six hours at least." "How 011 earth did you manage "it?" gasped Ellis. "I thought .the Imperial De pot people would not let us have anything for this 'mad -venture,' as they called it." "The Governor-General worked .it," re plied Dalby. "I was with; him all yester day forenoon., He's as keen- as any of .us about it now. Things were a hit. mixed at first. Old' — , the captain in charge at Garden Island, . sat down hard on every thing. But the G.G'. insisted, and lie gave way at last. Captain. seems in a bet- ter humor this morning. I saw him as I came along." ' ' "He met Mr. Brymner last night, and got converted, X suppose," said Ellis. "But 1 had no idea he had already given in." "Well," said Dalby, "a couple of train loads arc coming along as hard as they can foot it. Practically, the Imperial Stores are at our disposal, That's the size of it. Of course, 'all guns are to be returned if- -re quired for his Majesty's ships.' But there's demnition small chance of that the way things are shaping now." Ellis was put into the highest possible good humor by this information, but its full significance only came to me later. Frankly, I did not understand it' all' just then. , ' i " But .Dalby was a man of netjon, and lie refused' even -a cigar. "I'm here for biz,'! he said; "and 'my business is to get as mueli news as' I can ahout our friends out side— as, mucli '(lie turned to mo) as y'ou'li be good enough to tell me, sir." Dalby, however, did not want experien ces. He wanted only details, and very few of those. "Had I been on the Nurnberg?" "Was I sure she was the Nurnberg?— the playful chaps may have changed her name for this picnic." "Picnic," he called it ! But a few details as to size arid guns made it certain she was the Nurn berg. "Fetch out; your Brassey, Ellis," he' com manded, curtly. "Then we can fix. off her fighting chances to. a T." - " . Ellis speedily produced the "Naval An nual." It was not the latest, but, as Dalby remarked, neither was the Nurnberg. Then I was asked more questions by Dal by. Many tliat sccincd to me have only a slight hearing on the matter in hand, but I could not fail to bo struck by the line of his inquiries differing so mucli from that to which tho Sydney war council had subjec ted me. < . Where did the war ships coal? \ > How did they coal? V-O-: Tlieir provisions, ammunition and store ships? What were the other vessels at the Nuyts Island? Did they leave "with us? Were any left at the islands? And, last ly, of the vessels accompanying the Nurm- berg off'Sydney? ' - He was satisfied at length. He then iden tified in the annual two other cruisers of the same class as tho Nurnberg. Dalby knew liis business, it seemed to me. "I think, Ellis," he said presently, look ing up from the book, "that we can throw a little variety into the Germans' outing. Those two boats of yours, the Maoraki and the Waratoto, will have 6 to 4 the best of them in speed in hard weather— and it's the season. Our first little amuscirient will he with this joker that's so fond of hang ing about Port Phillip Heads. You know they say she's no cruiser— only a faked one. Perhaps it's your own ship, the Dongachero." "Gad! old chap!" cried Ellis in alarm, "Don't sink her! Think of our share holders." : "I'm afraid wo must if we cannot catch him alive," replied Dalby. "I think I'll sell some Melbourne company shares 'for ward' — good spec," he added, with a laugh. He was chaffing, of course. "At any rate I'll promise you, we'll shift him from the Heads," he went on. "He'll have to go und play in the next street when wc come out." Suddenly he swung round on mc. "There's one thing, Mr. Brymner, I don't quite catch on to all those crowds of men, those soldiers, marines or .whatever they A are, you saw on the German ships. Where the dickens did they raise them?" "Oh! I think that is pretty simple," said Ellis, answering for mc. "Dutch Islands. Dutch neutrality might have been worth something to us at one time, but Germany has practically swallowed those islands with her steam lines. And, mark my words, Mr. Brymner, you did not sec half the expedition. They'll rendezvous, somewhere with double that number of ships if they mean landing." "Landing for keeps, loo, I expect," said Dalby. "But," and his eyes gleamed, "I'd give- something for a chance at that same rendezvous when they are well' into the lauding business. What an entertainment we could gjve tliem— if, if wc had the luck. Ellis, the iving would make j'ou and your co-directors dukes by return mail— he can't just now (jy cable. But to catch them landing would be too much for a poor old retrenched one." Ellis shrugged liis shoulders. "I'm not looking for, a dukedom, Dalby. But time flies. What about your work? How goes it?" ' , ' Dalby Btood up gnd saluted, half serious ly, half in, jest. "Very good, Mr. Chair man of Directors"' lie began, "ltcre goes for a report. That lot of men who came out by train last Saturday has filled us lip. Jamieson ' had done wonders over there. All guns, ammunition ', nnd' war fixings he has seen to, and lie comes over with tlie last of tliem to-night. I'm much afraid that news of what we ure up to is leaking out at last. But luckily it does not matter much now. You see the drilling in your old sheds and the manufacture of , the fixings for .the gun mountings tell their tale in spite of our attempts at secrecy. Still we must hope for the best.' And . anyiyay. we'll fsoon be ready for a- dash. AH the strengthening work for the guns is finished, only some bolting down and heavy smith' work left to do. But not so much as might have been expected. The -crews are ail organised and in fair order, although we've only -had three weeks since the word to begin. We'll have the',, guns , alongside to-night "and in by morning. .- A fair, amount: -of fitting work, and a little adjusting .iVill'-'liave to be done. - Jamiesou's wired measure ments are ..correct to a hair: .By to-mor- row night we shall have the armament in order, also all stores und provisions for ten weeks. .Two days in the Bay— Wed nesday, and Thursday— and then, hey! fori the, Heads and the open sea, and, please. God, we'll do something effective to 'lighten the nicss-wo are floundering in." "Bravo!" said; Ellis. . Captain -Dalby held out his- hand ,to iiui. "Good-bye, Mr. Brymner— many thanks for the information you have so kindly given us." He Squeezed my fingers in a vice-like grip, picked up his hat anil'made for the door. "So long, Ellis. .I'll see you later. I'm off to the wharf for half an hour. The Maoraki's extra bunkers are being filled, and there's still some' enrol ling to be done. We are doubling the fireman complement. We meet at the Minister's at 5.30." The door banged behind him at the last word. I: liked Dalby. He impressed me very pleasantly anil confidently..'' A short but well set up Scotchman, of 50, ' lie was still as active as a lad. Breezy, vigorous and convincing, lie was stamped all.. 'over with the will to do, the soul to dare. Anil for all his bluff good humor, one could see beneath a nature hard as steel. Ellis, and I exchanged glances. "Lord, help the German raider he elects to tackle," .'I burst out; 1 Ellis nodded. "He'll go pretty far, I think. I know Dalby well. He won't throw a chance away, and he'll make the most of what he's got. Tlie. pity is -we can't give him more. Still it's our. best— and it's something. " Better than nothing, eh? But; oh Lord; oh Lord; what fools we have -been— fools— fools!" '.fllow?" I asked. "Fools!" "Aye," said 'he,, "the lot of us, and some of jus more than others. You and I, fpr instance. Do you remember the big de- fenecj controversy in 1005— or was it 1900? — tvben we were all so decided. that to have any local naval defence here was out of tho question?" ,j "Yes," I answered sorrowfully; "I re member, Ellis." :. 'j! "There was a proposal for torpedo boats' or torpedo cruisers, or something of that sort," went on Ellis. "I had my doubts at the time whether we were right. There seemed an awful lot of common sense logic in the argument;- but;" well, when the Ad miralty damned it, it - was not for laymen . like us lo put our. backs up. But we were . asses, Brymner— asses. I remember it was the cost chiefly balked us. Cost! Faugli!" Why hang it al), look what this infernal raiding and robbing business is costing us now! £50,000,000 won't see, it. through— not to speak of the endless" trouble and anxiety, the .private calamity," the humiliation! Costly!" — and Ellis laughed bitterly— "It was to cost . some, two or three millions, .spread over several years, if I remember right, and wo but toned up our pockets and scouted it as idiotic extravagance! Why, if we had spent £3,000,000 a year from that day to this, and saved Australia tliis cursed visi tation, we'd bo many millions to the good this minute, arid untold millions saved in human misery!" "Ah!", said I, "and the most stupid part of all is that 'we abolished our naval force ! to help the mother country. Did we not?; And the only good we have done is — — " "Is to make another call on her," cried Ellis, "when she is harder pressed than she has ever been in history. Look here, Brymner, I'm well served. It's up to ine to cat the leek,, and I'd do .it" publicly when the tiriie comes. I" knew a little of sea .matters and sea history, and I al ways had my doubts. Yet I refused to act' wlien I had the chance, as my own mind prompted. It's true I'm doing what I can. to' mend things now. But this is what I. say— Any man in Parliament or'in power, who, for the sake of his seat or his popu larity, or the safety of his Cabinet, who after this refuses to look facts in the face, and tell his countrymen that if they want to defend their country they must pay for its defence, ought to be led out and shot as a traitor! And if he docs not know how the country should be defended, lie. ought to be kicked out as a useless— u'iid worse— a dangerous fraud. If you want to know how dangerous such a fool fraud is— look around you at Melbourne or Sydney,- or any other part of Australia 'to-day, and you will be enlightened." . "I lake some of tlie blame on my own head," X said, sadly. "But don't let us cas tigate ourselves. any further, Ellis. I have seen my error and am paying for it, and 1 am ready to do further penance." I arose. "I must bo going now—home -to that re duced establishment of mine.", Ellis arose, too. "And I also must be off presently— to meet Dalby at the Min ister's. Thcrqjs a lot ti red tape still to get through. The ships have to be officially transferred .to the, Commonwealth, and regular commissions made out for the offi cers. Well, good-bye Brymner. . Give my warmest regards to your wife. She is one of the most whole-hearted naval enthusiusls in the country. Many's the chat I've had with her about it. She'll be glad to hear what we are doing. She knows, of course, that you're converted?" "Oh, yes; she knows." We shook hands and I went home. It was a full day— one of the fullest in my life, and the most memorable — and yet it had only been spent in talk. (TO BE CONTINUED.) The causes of color blindness, aside from natural causes, are alcohol, tobacco and disease. It is in many cases hereditary.

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. : COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST. BY AAIBROSE PRATT (Author of "The Counterstroke," &c.). CHAPTER XV. — THE ATTACK ON WARRNAAIBOOL. The next four days passed in compara tive tranquillity all over Australia. The enemy -for the nonce had disappeared. News came to us, certainly, of one or two unemployed riots in Sydney, but they were not of . much account. As for tlie Alel- . bourne unemployed, they behaved admir ably, and did nothing more serious than utter their usual daily grumble at the qual- ity of the food with which the Govern ment supplied them. On Thursday a great piece of luck befell us. Three large col liers; laden to the. decks with coal, entered Port Phillip Heads, having successfully dared the voyage from Newcastle to Alel bourne.. As they carried between thein fully 14,000 tons of coal, several factories were immediately enabled to resume work, and tliis meant a reduction of the ranks of the unemployed by fully 2000 men. There were general rejoicings in the city that- night; and on the follow ing morning we had still better cause to congratulate ourselves, for two German raiders were seen passing the Heads. They had only missed their quarry by a few hours. Nevertheless, the pre sence of the enemy outside Port Phillip must have caused great anxiety to our de fenders. For the Alaoraki had slipped out of the Heads the previous night in ad- Vance of her sister vessel, the Waratoto, which had been detained by an unfortunate accident to part of her machinery, and it was quite possible that the Germans might meet Captain Dalby, and take him at a dis advantage. It all depended on chance and the speed of the vessels. I confess that I felt very anxious myself when all that day passed without a word of news and part of the next, but that occurred immediately before. 1 o'clock on Saturday, whicb drove all thoughts of the Germans out of my head. I was just locking up my office pre paratory to going home for lunch, when of a'sudden my wife and daughter, all breath less from climbing the stairs, and also evi dently suffering from some other cause of agitation, appeared before me. "Oh! thank -goodness we have caught you!" gasped my wife. "Yes, yes!" cried Constance. "Oil, Dad! .Tack is hurt — dying perhaps, JVc must go to him." My wife thrust a telegram into my hands. "Quickly, quickly!' she panted. I took the paper, and held it to the light. It was from my cousin, William Alasters, a surgeon, who resided and practised his profession at Warrnambool. It ran as fol lows:— "Your son John injured, conflict sol diery, lock out miners, Port Fairy. Con dition serious. Come at once." I reopened my office door, and rushed to the safe, from which I quickly extracted £50. Then I hurriedly wrote a notice, which I pinned to my door to explain to clients my en forced absence from business— not that I really expected any clients to visit me. 1 had not seen one since, my return to town — and then I hurried downstairs with the women. Not one of us hnd exchanged a word from the moment my wife gave me the telegram. They had a cab waiting in the street. It contained two portman teaus. "I have packed some things lor you, Dad, dear," said' Constance. I nodded, and bundled her after her mother into the vehicle. Then 1 sprang in myself, and shouted to the driver to go as fast as possible to the Commonwealth offices. "Why not to the station?" asked my wife. "Oh! Philip-i-our son may die be fore we reach him." ; "We'll never reach him without I see a Jlinister," I replied. "The railways are all under the control of tho military. We must get an order for a train, and a permit to travel." Aly wife is the most reasonable of wo men. She instantly perceived the force of my argument, and she made no protest. But ail the drive the tears -were stealing down lier checks, unchecked, unheeded. Constance fondled lier hand. I stared out of the window. Jack was very wrong to baye run away and enlisted as he did with out his mother's consent;' but' he was our youngest child, the baby of the family and its idol. It hurt me from head to heel to. think of him lying, wounded — may be to death, however much it might be the con sequence of his folly and his disobedience. Heavens! how terrible is the power that children', possess to wring the hearts of their .'parents, .and. alas, how thoughtlessly they exercise it. '/ (Fortunately -the. Prime Alinister was in. The messenger said that , he was too busy to see me, but I scribbled a few words on the back of the fatal telegram and sent it into him. The result was what I had I believe a right .to expect." Within five minutes the Prime Alinister came out into the passage. He gave me a signed order for a special train, and he said some kind ly "words, which will live for ever in my reoollection. Half an hour later we wore speeding south-west at the rate of thirty miles an hour. .We arrived at Warrnambool that night at half-past 10 o'clock, and drove straight to Dr. Mastcrs's house. "There is hope, but not a great deal of it," said my cousin, as' he led us in doors. ' "His shoulder is fractured, and he has -had a severe occi pital-concussion'. He has not yet recovered consciousness." ' A straightforward man, Masters, one who never minces matters. We found Jack lying prone on his "back in Masters's own bed. He : was perfectly insensible, his eyes were closed, and he' was breathing 6tcrtorously. There was death on his face. Airs. Alas ters .was watching beside him. She had been a hospital nurse, and she wore her old-timo uniform. "Some blackguard threw; a brick from a two-story building during the fracas," explained the doctor. "He deserves to be hanged. But the soldiers will save Jack Ketch the trouble if they catch him. Your son, I hear, is a. universal favorite with his comrades." "He is a dear boy," said Airs. Alasters. . Constance went up and kissed her. Aly wife kneeled beside the bed and began to pray. I stole out of the room, and Alas ters followed me. We went into his study. "What chance has lie?" I managed to inquire. The doctor shrugged his shoulders. "Ife is young. One in ten perhaps. There is a (lesion in the brain. I shall be able fo tell you more surely in the morning. He will not get his senses back to-night. Hare some whisky.?" I shook my head. "I shall go for a walk," I muttered. "Don't wait up for me, but lend me your latch key. I'll sleep in the hall, in a chair, if I can at all, when I come back. Just now I must be alone." ' "Quite so," said the doctor. He gave me a key and led me out of the house. It may be asked, What has all this to do with the German descent upon Australia? But wait a little! It was one of the in scrutable. steps of that inscrutable Fate which seems to have intended mc to be an eye witness of most of the German move ments againBt the Eastern States- of the Commonwealth. Had I been less deeply concerned at my son's condition; had Dr. Masters been less matter-of-fact and more' sympathetic, it is quite possible that I would have remained in the house, and then the Germans would have had an easy task to accomplish in But there, I must not forestall myself. (TO-BE CONTINUED.)

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYWGHT' A'FORE C A 8 T. BY AMBROSE PRATT (Author of "The Counterstroke," &c.). i CHAPTER XV.-(CONTINUED.) J left the doctor's dwelling in a state of Tittchcdness, which I cannot possiblj de- ribe. I was quivering with misery, and „l to & certain degree, positively dazed ,-iih erief. I felt an esoteric need of phy- lical exertion. Therefore 1 started off walking, and quickly too, 1 think. But whither I neither knew nor cared. I was lite one walking in a dream. 1 stumbled elong looking neither to right nor left, and acing nothing, for the night was dark. Unconsciously, however, the sea called to' ue. Either that or Providence directed my iteps. At any rate, long afterwards 1 be anie suddenly aware of the sea breeze and (be old familiar scent of brine. And I 1 found myself standing at the extreme end o! the Warrriambool breakwater, gazing I down at the waves, beating like white L .hosts on the rocks. In the depths of my fad preoccupation I might quite easily have talcn just one step too many, and have awakened from my painful dream to strug gle for life, and all too likely in vain, among the sullen breakers at the seawall's foot. The terrifying reflection more than aroused me; it brought on a slight palpi tation of the heart. I was constrained to i itretch' myself upon the ground, and rest motionless ' until my heart ceased flutter- I iug. 1'erhaps an hour thus passed.' Then, | feeling more composed, but physically a I good deal chilled by the cool south wind, I I got up; and began to walk about to warm I myself. As yet, however, I could not en- I dure the thought of returning to the house I and its harrowing associations. I felt that I I could not help but play the woman if I I did. So' after a time I sat down on the I edge of the .breakwater, and tried to oc-' I CUpy ny mind , with alien considerations. I I fell to-wondering at the plans of the Ger- I mans. ' I Vila t were the raiders doing? I Where were they? Did they really in- I tend to try and get into Port Phillip? And I if not, what was the actual move which I the feint they were making was designed to I rover? I I had been pondering these matters in a I dull, purposeless fashion for a long, long I while, when all at once my attention was I arrested by an astonishing phenomenon. I 'A narrow column of sparks suddenly arose I from the dark bosom of the ocean, about I a mile to the south of the seawall, and I shot into the sky. In one second it had I romc and gone. It was as though a tiny I volcano had suddenly emitted a diminutive rruption, and' then subsided into inactivity. I .What could be the cause of it? I rubbed my eyes, and peered nt the point from I which the spuria had ascended, but now I there was absolutely nothing to be seen.. I Had my senses played mo an uncanny trick, I or — -? .What was that? Borne on the mng3 of the breeze there came to mo from I romc far reach of the idly rolling swell a succession of faint m'echnnicnl noises. They rounded at one instant like distant liam- I Bering, at another like the rattling of chains. But soon they faded, and once more nothing was to he heard but the I murmur of the water on the rooks. How- ever, the experiencc'had greatly excited avid disturbed me'. What if the column of iparbs had been emitted from the funnel H of a steamer— one of the German raiders? What if the noises I had heard were ocen- lioned by the lowering of boats?1 What if a lot of German pirates were even now rowing towards the shore intent on binding I under shelter of the breakwater and loot- ing Warrnambool, just as they had done I before my eyes to many a town in Queciis- I land and in .New South Wales, when I' had been a prisoner on the ' Nurnborg ? Qf I «"«. Ke '. 'tpitigs I had' isccii atfd 1 'Keard- t might , he attributed - with ' reason to the' I operations of some.hight fi'slierman,.' who' I feared to 'show, the usual -.lights lest he I should court capture at Hie haads.'of some I passing hostile rover. Still, it .would be better to be sure than sorry— if to make' sure were possible. But how could I make sure? An old hunter's trick, occurred to mo. When :I was a boy it had been a favorite sport with' : tie lads of my acquaintance (f w'aVborh led bred m. the. Bush) to shoot opossums by moonlight. We used to put up . the possums into trees by the nid.of dogs, and ta get the poor little animals into line nib the moon as they clung .to, the touches, .when they .became an easy prey hour guns. True, there 'was no moon fo ught, but I remembered that we had some- no made good bags on moonless nights . I merely silhouetting the opossums agninst ' < But I was too high up he breakwater to silhouette any object « the surface of the sea against the stur- ht southern horizon. .To do such a thing. .1 must somehow reach the water's edge DwI. The feat was very perilous.' - It !!n imP"ihle. . The wall was JroflLu . "gn' " ther was vory liUle M id anywhere; and, the gloom was Ab solutely -unrelieved, save for "the white linn of sea teeth that grinned, up hungrily nt me meeting of rook art wu brtbS" ' at Rpcedily determined twe I slipped uiid almost fell. More than el ga?e myself up for foat, and.gronned tuT ? M a rock ",,Id cra3,, uwav he- yfeeUndroHinfothesurf.iuta a?nd fttt| 'm tir"gg,e "'ways saved i at length wet and shivering, my Sbieeding, my knees braiued my whole body aching and quivering, I Sari "1 „fo0tho,d-tl>e Projeing toek firmly embedded iter's cdl T,fi9 o£ others at thc very lEndin spray beat over it in hug masses on the surge of every wav " fenethmg could deter me now. I kneeled Udedcroll ! r y to a ou act- letaklip? waitcd for the momentary iu- Ttn„eny onslaught of tile toII- >d ' ,,n I Touched down and peered 0 sut'far o£ thc Bweli, my almost on a level with its heaving sotiesalw tC Se lntcrval3 Passed 4j" and"th» "v',gbt save wave and nun. 8rTay speeding drenehnd - Vci, eKm. But the fourth at- P was fraught, with fear-tiirilled ft £e th?. bhek hull, the fun- ta.2 a j ' tapering masts of a large masts' had fighting topa. dead 6ti11 about onis 0 cou, d be only one As presence there. I wait- be6an to o J asccnt' however,, was ft8,"'6 aad a few minutes' « brought me to the tQp_ Forth. dlb. loW 7 as 1 was able. I reach es!!!? ft' and hurried with swed IC0uld straight to my cousin's i« „l u ymg fast asIeeP' fully ft, P(n tho operating- table in his Uchhe instantIy woke "JJPnug afoot. Wi nCr!" be Maimed. "What icoSl, . hap?ened you? You look like nse-ind a battered one at that."'- T'nta.cllair. Quite spent. But be vaame Wrth some spirit, and then hav- W. learnt that Jack was still insen- ,"po,ut<!d out ny story. Masters ,madq a, . uPn It. He was essentially a SIv He lc£t the room, and prc- reUirned with his wife, jj ft Mr- Brj-mner's wants," ho bMki" ,Setvice 'l- Going out. itimt he disappeared. But I knew he idaid , was necessary, despite epecoh. Moreover, he was ; « ' to the local rifle corps, so he know exactly what to do. T felt, that I could afford to rest for a - i while after my exertions. Mrs. Masters was most kind. She washed .all my cuts .'and bruises with warm, water, and bound them up with plaister. And when she heard my story she declared T was a hero. She was a sweet woman, with a warm, sympathetic nature. I have often wonder ed how she came to bestow herself upon a hard, matter-of-fact man like Musters. ' I wanted her to retire and. let me take- a turn watching by my son's bed, but she would not hear of it. However, 1 went into thc sick room for a little while. My wifo was sitting beside the couch, holding the 'unconscious lad's hand. She seemed more composed and hopeful now. She smiled at me. Constance was dozing in a chair. She must have been worn out, poor girl. When I returned to the study I snatched a nap myself. Masters awakened me. His ex pression was as grim aiid hard as granite. "You have bad news!" I muttered. "Jack is dead!" ' "Ou the contrary," said lie. "Jack reco vered his senses an hour ago, and is now asleep. His chances are now no longer one in ten, but one in four, or perhaps, even three." I glanced at my watch. It was u few mi nutes to i o'clock. I had slept three. solid, hours. Masters walked over to a cupboard in the corner of the room, opened the door, and took out a double-barrelled fowling piece; also a box of cartridges. "Will you come with us, or stay to guard the wo men?" he asked calmly. I felt the blood rushing to my face. ''The Germans!" I gasped. (TO HE CONTINUED.)

IHE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA; I f COPYRIGHT. K' IMtOfli BBS- -a' - forecast. -13 p . BY AMBROSE PRATT" ' "(Author of "The Counterstrokc," &o.). CHAPTER XV.— (Contipued.) "There ore six bontloftds 01 the oormans WM inside' the breakwater, waiting for daylight to dash up to the beach ' and land. We'll be glad to have you, Brymner, though I can only offer .you this gun-for „ need every man wc can muster. Loot, ilv I have a lot of duckshot here-it should C .ffpetive at short range. But, of course, if vou prefer "Give me the gun. I cried. "Good!" said Masters. He handed me the fowling piece and filled my coat poc kets with cartridges. "The women know," he observed, "but they are not as terrified as 1 expected. Your wife thinks of nothing but Jack. Would you like to see her? Bet ter not." "Xo, I will not see her. He nodded, and filled two glasses, with whisky- and water. "Here's luck!"- he said, and tossed it off. I took mine up and sipped it. Masters did not seem in any particular hurry. He began to clean his revolver, talking all the time. "We've had the telegraph at work and there arc 500 men with a field run on their way to us from Melbourne," he observed. "But it will be all over long before they arrive. Luckily we've a good leader in old Colonel Thorn— but I wish wc had more regulars. The plan is— forty to make a. feint of opposing the landing on the beach, and then to fall. back on the street reserves. If the Germans follow, as wi hope— we ought to bag the lot; You'll In? posted with' the townsmen in the se--. cohd line. I'll get you a plnce on u balcony, if possible. You'll be safer there. But we'd better be off. Arc you ready?" "l7es," "Come along, then." . , 1 shouldered the fowling piece, and fol lowed Martin into tlie street. It was still very dark. The sky was banked with thick black clouds, and not a star was vis ible. On turning the first corner we came upon a lot of dull glares .of yellow light, which issued from the open doors of houses along one side of the road. The other side was pied here and there with pile reflections, but elsewhere black as Krebus. Tlie scene was us weird as one of Dore's pictures. The street was lined with silent figures, some still, some mov ing. Sometimes a glare would fall upon the barrel of a rifle, or illuminate for a passing flash a white, set face. In a mo ment we were among the crowd, and n s'e- cond'latcr challenged ill a loud, husky whis per by a sentry. There was a droning hum of muttered conversation surging up and down the street. It swelled nnd subsided like the waves of the sea. But at moment- nry intervals a loud "Silence!" would be hissed, and for a little while afterwards the hum would he hushed, I had a curious sensation of mystery and unroality. I seem ed to be living in n fevered gruesome dream. There was an old man dressed in ' a faded uniform, with a forage cap set upon locks white as snow, who ran along the ranks heckling the men in raucous under tones. Everybody seemed afraid of him, and instantly obeyed him. I noticed ns ivo passed down the line that very few of tlio men were fully dressed. Here and there the ghostly faces of women peered, out, from doorivuys nnd porches and open windows. Dr. Masters led mc to a two-story house just past the middle of tho row; It was a new building— a baker's shop. We entered without ceremony, and climbed up a pitch dark staircase. At the top ' two soldiers were standing on gunril before:, a closed door. A small dip of a candle was- burning on t(i,ci%r."j.3/a"3tem"t)penefl";tlVd,':d6o'f".n'lia" bgcVoned me, to. follow. Next: moment 1 stood in a small and very dimly lighted room that was tilled almost- chock-a-blqck with soldiers. The room had only one win dow, and that was covered with a blanket. It was horribly stuffy. An elderly gentle man, with a heavy cavalry moustache, was toiling the men to be sure and fire low. ; Some of them were officers. "This is Mr. Biynmer, Colonel," said Masters. ' "He ! wants a place in the second line." - "Smith will attend to liiin," rejjlicd the ; Colonel. "Now then, lads, get a move i on!", . f. . Thereupon everybody left the room, in-'. I eluding, the Colonel, except "Masters and : myself. Evidently a man of strangely j rough manners the Colonel. I said so to : Masters, but he made no reply. Ho went to the door and called out, "Smitlj!" 1 Someone said in angry tones, "Shut up!" - But a moment later -.a young- lieutenant ap peared. Masters whispered, something tq I him, and without a vord to mc ran down ; the stairs. The : oflicer, however, wliis- ; pered me to follow him, and lie brought ' me to -an open balcony. A lino of rifles j Protruded from the railing. Behind the : rifles was a row of silent, kneeling figures, ; Make room there for another," said the" j officer; arid he vanished. Presently I saw 1 o space, and kneeling down X, too, pushed ! my gun over the railing. . But I soon grew j tired of that position "and stood up again. > e. the men ordered me in a whisper | to resume my place, hiit I requested . him to mind his own business. My bruises ' mould not permit nie to kneel long. The balcony was in line' with tlie street," but one end commanded a view of- the sea. I lip-toed thither, and leaning against the wall I tried to make out what was going on. But -the effort was a vain one. Al most. an hour went by before the cloak of wkness began appreciably to lift. Even ; "Wit was terribly long before objects -be- Mac properly decipherable. And I was doomed to disappointment. I could see the «ean and the German cruiser— now only about, a mile out from shore; but tlie break-. fer could not see, because a row of roof tons intervened. However, portion' 'be beach lay full in view, and as it ircw lighter I made out a thin line of men Mfne crouching behind boats and others hing at fu" length on the sand, concealed beMQil boxes and other improvised obstpuc- ons fiom the sight of the Germans in Ve boats. Rie moments that ensued were the most taM&elCi''n? Ulat I 1,lold in rceollec. 0 appealed a minute, and Jr mmuto an eternity. What were the Wraws doing? If only I could see them! Wd they, never land? Had they turned »w, or what? The crisis came, in -the ®ost orderly and quiet fashion possible. VI » sudden six large/boats glided slowly Wt the line of buildings that shut in my meir.jnd rowed quite, lazily, for tile beach, we of my companions at this junctiiro at my coat, and hoarsely ordered me Mdown I obeyed him, because lie was iJ BH" Conce'vab>ly the Germans catch sight of me. But I .lost noth- J. the act of grace. It was- just as v -ee overl'tll»tlS through "the bal- V3 standi"S "P. The Germans iTit i® keach almost simultaneously, their boats grounded, in a nice straight Each contained, besides the crews; W twenty sailors, armed with' carbines. 5 \T' ®djat,ely stt'I,cd into the 1 dand waded silently ashore.. But long Wore one of them reached dry Idiid f J®re shouted "Eire!" and forty rifles l! W l0DE' str®8Eling volley, u counted one, two, three, five Germans ,i : cou'd not understand. Thev " , V? keen annihilated. The un- «®WnIna,8"t0PPef 6hrt' in.fcar and Wine anP10"" Rln?tS broke' und. many, niTL ii ,8creamm> made back to- But the offioera nirestcd wet 'i? I ,1"' rd6r' And in Oernun to tell the story the Salw " ,raCiDg like madmen through 'fi £? Z WatCitowards "'0 nhore, firing uellitt ® en . then poured in GtnMM MCy' a i p"s tfmib 0I1,X leu, and their ranks never jvavcr- 1 ed. The Australians now. sprang afoot and again fired.. .Not a German was touched, but, alas, 'two Australians sank spread- eagled on the sand. The rest, not waiting .for the Germans, began to run towards tho . town in the most hopeless disorder. Some times, however, a man .would stop, and turn and- jcncel nnd fire. One man, evi- dently'a fine shot, killed three of tho enemy without a missi Then, ho w'as .killed in turn.. Presently the "retreat became a real rout. The Australians no -longer stopped' to lire, but they ran for their very lives. Some of them even threw away their rifles. And every momcrjt a man fell. The Germans followed. - them like bloodhounds, firing .every second. . The Australians dashed into. the street at last, the Germans scarce ly fifty .yards behind them, and the chase continued until our men hud passed the bake shop. ' But then it was our turn. Somewhere down the street a voice yelled "Second lino file!" Instantly from every, door and bal cony and window in the street there streamed out jets of flame and smoke. In one second pandemonium reigned supremo. Rifles cracked and sputtered, men shouted, women hidden in the houses screamed. Everybody seemed to have gone mad, and I was as mad as my companions. I stood up and fired shot after 6hot at the Germans, with my fowlingpiece. Some times I forgot to reload, and pulled use less triggers. As for the Germans, heaven help them; they were brave men! They made, after the first shock, to retreat whence they had come, but a line of re served Australian soldiers suddenly dc- ployed across their path, and poured h withering volley right into their faces. From ' the other side the men whom they had been chasing recovered from their pro tended pnnic, nnd bore down upon them in a solid phalanx. And the ambushed towns men, with rifles, fowling pieces and revol vers, hailed lead upon their ranks. , But, nothing daunted, they formed square, aud, cheered on by tiieir commanders, prepared to die' lighting. It was a truly gallant fight. But Providcuce intervened to save the frightful waste of life to which their officer had doomed them. Of a sudden tho 'young man threw up his arms and fell to the ground, shot through the brain. Im mediately afterwards a sailor cast away his carbine, und waved a handkerchief. -The other Germans instantly ceased firing." So did we Australians, spontaneously, and without waiting to be told. Colonel Thorn stepped out of a doorway two houses dis tant, and shouted out, "Do you surren der?" "Ya-ycs!" replied the sailor. "Our offi cer is dead." "Good!" said the Colonel. "Then throw down your rifles, nnd march this way two by two." "Like the animals out of the ark," cried out a voice. "Silence!" thundered the Colonel. Seventy-one Germans obeyed Colonel Thorn's instructions, and submitted to bo hound by the Australian soldiers. Astounding -as it may appear, only twenty-nine of them had been killed or fatally wounded. Many others, it is true, were slightly injured, but none dangerously. Though 1 live- to be a hundred I shall never cease Lo be surprised that this was so. I could not havo believed had I not seen tho thing happen, that ten men could have pos sibly survived the hell of firo that for many minutes was poured upon the German band. Yet tho great majority -survived, arid not only survived, .but. escaped, per fectly unscathed.. As for our casualties, they were terribly severe. Nino gallant Australian lads had been killed outright, Sixteen were desperately wounded, and eleven others more or less seriously hurt. We had bought our victory very dearly. (TO BE CONTINUED.) ,

IKE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT (Author of "The Counterstroke," &c.). CHAPTER XVT.— A SEA FIGHT AND A VICTORY. The immediate consequence of the cap ture of the German sailors was that their comrades in charge of the boats which had brought them to land set off at full speed to the war ship. Several Australian rifle men followed them nlong the breakwater, sniping as they went. More than one of ah. rowers were thus picked off. But the boats gradually drew away, and the stea mer swooping in to meet them compelled our soldiers to retire by opening fire on the breakwater with a Maxim. I watched tho whole proceeding from a back window in the baker's house; and then for the first time my attention wns caught by the shape of the German vessel. It wns not a real war ship at nil— merely one of the Austra lian prizes which had been converted into a cruiser. But it was mounted with at least one big gun— cither a 0-inch or a 4- ineh quick firer— and the sight of the big turret, with the gaping muzzle grinning over it, filled me with dread. What would (he German captain do? Would he, in revenge for the capture of his sailors, bom bard and lay the town in ruins? The reflection drove me out of the house and sent me running towards Dr. Mas ter's dwelling. Better get my family away from the plnce nt' once, if possible, I thought. But, alaBl there were difficulties in the way. In a few yards I was com pelled to stop and pick my way among parties of sad faced men nnd weeping women who were bringing in the wounded and the dead. Then I came upon tho Ger man prisoners, bound in yoked gangs, and guarded by a ring of riflemen. They block ed up the thoroughfare, and I wan forced to push my way nlong the shop fronts to get past them. And when I came to my cousin's house it was hut to find that Jack had been awakened by the noise of battlo and made delirious by tho excitement. It would have meant liis almost certain death to move him. He wns in n high fever; nnd, worse still, there wns no doctor to attend him. Masters had more pressing calls upon his services— or so it seemed. And even Mrs. Masters had deserted her post. She had gone to help her husband to bind up the wounds of the injured townsmen. For tunately my wife wns a good nurse, or the worst would have befallen Jack. She knew what to do, nnd.Bhe nnd Constance wnited 1 on him hand nnd foot. I stayed with them for a while, but I was of no use— indeed, only in their road, . and a hindrance to them. So at length I went forth into the street ngain and back I to my original vantage post. I found I Colonel Thorn and a number of young soldiers snatohing a breakfast of coffee I and biscuits on the back balcony, and star-. I iog at the German cruiser us they ate and I drank. 1 made myself known to the I Colonel, and having more time to be civil I now he was good enough to acknowledge I that Warrnambool . owed mo nn I undying debt of gratitude for the I timely warning I had given of I the German raid. He was, however,' I eaten up with anxiety na to what migh the I the enemy's next move. But we were not I kept waiting long to discover that. Even I while we were discussing it, half a dozen I sailors ran down the cruisor's gangway nnd I stepped into one of the boats. Presently I an officer followed, carrying a. white flag I on a staff. The boat pushed off and at I at once began to row towards the shore. I Evidently the Germans wished to parley I with us. As soon as they rounded the break- I water we all walked down to the bcatfi to I meet them. Before long the boat grounded I on the sand, and the officer, still bearing I his flag, stepped ashore. He was a stranger | tunc, .and l was glad of it. 'He gravely I saluted us, and then asked in good English I to be taken to the Australian officer in I command. I Colonel Thom said, "I am in command I here! Kindly state your business!" I The German saluted again, nnd replied I that his first business was to inquire how I many of the Brcmerbiifcn's men had stir- I rived the light. I "Seventy-nine," said the Colonel, short I, end sharp. "What next?"' I The German' lifted his eyebrows. "They I are all prisoners?" ho asked. I; "They surrendered when their leader was I tilled." I; "Och!" said the other; then half under I: braiih in German, "That poor devil Leuck- I hart!" I: "I beg your pardon," cried the Colonel I: testily. I The German frowned. "I am directed, : mein herr, to demand the immediate release : ot your wounded and unwourided'-prisoners. I It you comply the Bremerliafeu will offer I yon no further molestation." I, "And should we refuse to release them?" I; "Should you refuse," said the German, I "ire shall blow your town, into little I pieces." I There was a moment's pause. Then I; Colonel Thom said quietly,' "There are more I women and children than men in this town, I Lieutenant." I "That , is a pity," replied the Germ.an, | "because we have not taught our shells I: Iw to discriminate between ages arid Hi seres." I! "A callous speech, Lieutenant. But' have Ij you reflected that you will be firing on seventy of your own men." I "They must take their chance, sir. In I 'W rase if you decline to release them I Hey are useless to the Fatherland." I 'onc' "t'obed his moustache and I "Obed et the German' as ono would at a I curious invention. He was ns cool as a I cucumber. After a moment's, thought he 8, ed gently, "And supposing we release 8 our prisoners and permit them- to return fa you, what guarantee do you " offer us mat you will not turn- round and bombard the town?" I 3' s'r' as a Gorman officer." B , Colonel smiled. "I am afraid, sir, H tint I must ask you for a more substantial pursntee." I Ibc German colored angrily,. "You doubt my words, sir," lie' began. But the Colonel Welly interrupted. "Not nt all, Lieuten- "' Hit you, after all, are only a herald. Be good enough to return to your conhnan- to, and tell him that I shall release the Wsoners on nne condition- that he for- wras me a pledge in writing signed by all ae omccrs on tlm cruiser that neither the kemerbafeu nor any other vessel of the Mtinan fleet will ever molest Wnrrnam- 1 again." "Am I to understand that is vour last tonir "Precisely," : Nanl tell you frankly," said the Ger- ",e.re is every chance that my com- , ,v'll return a leaden answer to your "silent proposal." The Colonel shrugged his shoulders. Jri "m "Isi? lo b0 "'""k." he retorted, i "E 'crst skot vour commander ,. ut Warrnambool will sentence to im itate destruction the seventv-orie Ger- ®a prisoners in our hands. Good dav to Lieutenant." ' ; hi' bach- on The SSr T'IC(1 0(1 t0 thel«'n. We kmnri German stood for a few stock still; then with a shrug he ntorn i", C!' a,ul lnatl0 for bis boat. Wei Pitched tl rC bakCi ',ous'! balcony, and therefrom the boat row back, to cim?n7rCd' MWCver' U,at u'c German to! uVa?lj: rkc u" his iiuTti; A. whole hour passed Srr Btii! lay idie' a,,d we Ktraordmary movement on her due to h. a " 8 0 c,ock wo received a rii iuHh! I ,nilct'on. A column of smoke toiiBg r" y made out by a sharp sighted i rifleman on the south-eastern horizon, and about the same time we saw an officer climb lo one of the cruiser's mast heads with- a spy glass. Without doubt, a second German cruiser wus approaching, and the commander of the Bremerhafen was waiting to confer with his consort. Per haps then a renewed attack would be made upon the town. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA. COPYRIGHT. A FORECAST. BY AMBROSE PRATT ' (Author of "The Counterstrokc," Ac.). CHAPTER XVI— (Continued.) - The reflection was sufficiently disturbing, bnl we got solid comfort from the fact that at 8.30 the long expected military train arrived, bearing 500 regulars, a quick firing field gun and n brace of Max ims Wc felt then that we had 110 longer anything to fear from a lending, and our only danger lay in bombardment. But this, too, faded presently. The Germans having witnessed tlie nrnvni 01 uic nam and our warlike preparations, came to the wise resolve to redeem their sailors and to let us be. While, then, the oncoming steamer was still eight or nine miles away, the Bremerhafen suddenly sent off live boats to the shoro-only four men in oaoh, and one of them brought tho Bigned pledge which Colonel Thorn had demanded. It would be impossible to describe the deep relief the most of us experienced when this precious document was placed in our bauds. Some of the soldiers, however, were, curi ously enough, disappointed. They did not like the thought of letting tho men go free who hnd cost so much to capture. But naturally tliey were in a minority, and the great majority of U3 were delighted to see the backs of the prisoners as they marched down to the beach. Of course all these proceedings ate up a lot of time. Thus it came to pass that the new steamer had approached to within two miles of the Bremerhafen before the boats containing the released prisoners had put off more than a hundred yards from the shore. The new steamer, like the Bremerhafen, was, to all appearances, an Australian prize captured by the Germans. But it was evident that alio had only been re cently taken, for she was not yet converted into a cruiser, and she Beemed to carry A very small crew. She flew the German eagle from her masthead over the Union Jack. She wus about 4000 tons burthen, and ahe looked remarkably like a Union liner. She came up steaming very fast, and signalling as she approached with long lines of tho moBt strangely shaped nnd colored flags. But while she was still quite a mile and a half from the Bremerhafen, and just as the boats were crossing the end of the breakwater, a most aatonishihg thing occurred. A longitudinal section of each iron sido of tho oncoming steamer fell of a sudden outwards on a hinge, and 10 Bcconds later four jets of flame lcapod from the thin, blnck hollows thus reveal ed. There followed the whining shriek of shells, and four projectiles fell simul taneously with tho roaring of tho cannon which had fired them among the German boats. A few seconds later tho steamer yawed a little, and from the other side discharged three more shells at the Bremer hafen. "God in heaven!" gasped someone who stood near mo. "She's a Britisher!" Then a yell arose from the townsmen and the soldiers that could havo been heard for miles. 1, however, stood dumbstrioken with amazement and delight, able only to look and listen. It was, of course, the Maoraki, in command of Captain Dalby. She fired four more shots before the Ger mans on the Bremerhafen had recovered from the shock of their surprise. And, good heavens! what damage thoso shots wrought! One 8-inch shell smashed the Bremerhafcn's bridge and conning tower to pieces. Two others tore great holes in her upper hamper, and another sank ono of the boats, and sent more than twenty German sailors to perdition. But then the Bremerhafen began to re ply. She fired two shells at the Maoraki and received four in, exchange. . Two more shells also fell among the boats. Another boat was destroyed, and one of the Bremer- hafen's funnels was hurled into the sen. Of the remaining three boats one made for the Bremerhafen and the other two dashed back shorewards, to shelter behind the breakwater. It was the signal for a dis play from the Australian soldiers. A hundred of them raced on instant for tho beach and began to fire upon the unfor- . lunate wretches in the boats. Meanwhile the Maoraki rushed on, de luging her adversary with shells and rifle tire aB she drew near. And the Bremer- hafen's answering fire grew less and less each moment. As wo learned afterwards, ahe had only a third of her proper crew to work her guns, the remainder having been lost to her by their employment on the fatal landing expedition. Altogether the action lasted about nine minutes. Then of a sudden the Bremerhafen struck . her flag and the firing censed. She looked a perfect wreck. The Mao raki on the other hnnd, except for some damage to the upper deck cabins, was com paratively uninjured. She had caught the' Germans at a terrible disadvantage, and had made the very utmost of her opportun ity. The victory was complete. Only four Australians were killed in the engagement. The Germans, on the other hand, had lost one officer and 48 men killed, and many others wounded. Captain Dalby showed (himself as ener getic an administrator as a fighter. With out the loss of a moment lie despatched two heats' crews to take possession of the prize . -she proved to he the Melbourne Steam- ehip Company's passenger liner Bogong— altered and renamed by her first captors- aml he thereupon had all the living pri soners transferred to tho land. Within two hours of the firing of the first cannon both steamers were hull down on the horizon on their way to Melbourne. Such remarkable expedition left us all . breathless with pride and admiration. But not for long. There was work to he done. . The unfortunate Germans, only 30 men all . told, and half of them wounded, reached the shore in the most sorry state. We had previously recaptured tho living rem nant of the boats' crows— another 30. So ive had CO prisoners to provide for. Dr. Masters and two other surgeons, who had come from Melbourne with the military, attended to the injured at the hospital, the others were marched off to the railway station nnd put aboard the train which was to convey the field force back to town. ue German officer, however, was taken to the bake house and put privately tp 1 Question by Colonel Thorn arid Major Mur- ny-"ie commander of the Melbourne troops. As he could not speak English my services were requisitioned as inter preter. It is a distinct advantage on oc- casion to possess the gift of languages. Tlie man s name was Friedrich Sappel. He gave his rank as first lieutenant. He was a big, . ,ulf. rather boorish mannered fellow, one who hod probably worked his way up from the ranks, if such a thing be possible in . | man navy. But however that may ue, he was not a gentleman, and he was Quite destitute of culture. He started off by jeeringly congratulating m> on our triumph over him. "You iiave found out at last," he 8neered! mat we have been harrying your mmmcree and laying your cities under ransom with a lot of your own dirty littlo passenger boats armed u''ly, 'th, dummy guns. But you've karned the lesson too into to profit by it. ihe ship you retook to-day is the first and Hat you 11 ever get a chance at. The others 'uwliere very far elsewhere, and if you get too venturesome you'll see how Si Ur cruisers will come along and gobble. you uP-after they have finished the uttle job they have in hand just now." Having translated this elegant speech, ttJra !nr.oy d!rected me t0 inquire what the Tittle job" which the cruisers were engaged on. Jfot lieutenant Sappel pat a finger on bis urn we ltd I ; B j. traitor to the Fatherland or nn unmention able idiot. I put many other questions to him, but I did not get a satisfactory answer to any. In fnct, the German did nothing but jeer nt us. and recount bis own exploits. Ha boasted that during the Inst ten days, he had captured two Australian colliers and a British tramp steamer laden with vnlunblo morohandiso, nnd that ho had sunk a big sailing ship. And he declared thnt had not the need to send his prizes nway to the rendezvous left hhn short-handed he would have mado short work of destroying the Maoraki, for nil her superiority in guns. He fairly gnaBhcd his teeth as he said this. Evidently he found defeat a very bitter pill to swallow. I was glad to see the last of the fellow. If I had hnd my 'way with him he would have been clapped in a cell at Pcntridge in doiible quick time. I never met a more insolent mnn, nor one so stu pidly incapnhlc of appreciating ills position. He went so far as to be personally insult ing. He referred to Colonel Thorn as "old turkey cock face," to Major Murray ns "that pompous fellow," nnd he dared to tell me to my, teeth that I spoke German like a lascar. Tliey had bonfires lighted in the streets when I went out, the joy hells were ring ing, and tho town wns already gaily decked with flags in celebration of the first Australian victory. There were many houses, however, with drawn blinds. Houses of mourning whicli no doubt each contained u still nnd silent form. How would the grieving watchers feel to hear the merry clangor of the hells? I made my way, plunged in sad thoughts, to my cou sin's dwelling. Constance opened the door for mc. She was white to tho very lips; her cheeks were scored with tears, nnd her eyes were swollen with weeping. My heart sank to zero at the sight of her. "Tnck, Jnck!" I gasped. "lie is dead," she muttered. Wo took his body back to Melbourno by the train that night, nnd next day wo buried him in the family vault at Kew. It was terrible— the p'roccssionto tlhe grnve,ond the home going afterwards. Our wretched ness was mocked by the pealing of un numbered bells, by tho sight of joyous thousands parading the streets, Inughing nnd shouting nnd singing patriotic Bongs. Captain Dolby's exploit had put the city into a ferment of enthusiasm and delight. A public holiday had been proclaimed. The State Government had voted a large sum to give the unemployed an extra allowance of rations by way of treat to mark the glorious event; nnd all was jollity and mirth and fervent thanksgiving. But we— my poor inconsolablo wife and Constance, and I — we were not in tune with tho times. We held ench other's hands, mid tried not to listen ns we were driven slowly through tho happy, careless crowd. Ah, but it wus horrible. (to be continued.)

THE INVASION OF AUSTRALIA; copyright! A FO:R E;ciAST, f .'.'fi' tl!" - 'a / -T > / : BY AAIBROSE PRATT I (Author of "The Countcrstrolce," &c;j. CHAPTER xatt.— THE LAST LEAVES ; OFDIR. BHYMNER'S DIARY! " -Monday, 2nd November, 1914. At the very moment that the burial scr- .irice tv-os. being read over the grave of my Unfortunate son three British war ships 'were entering the harbor of Port Jackson. One was a first class, armored cruiser,- the Calliope; -the others were the Jaipur 'and tihe I halm, protected cruisers of the second tldss. All three were battle scarred! But while the Calliope was structurally - unin sured, the Jaipur and the Thalia were damaged almost to the point of destruction. Nevertheless, the newB they brought threw the- Commonwealth into a perfect frenzy of excitement and high-wrought jubilation. It seems' that cite Admiral .'in command of the British Eastern fleet, after vainly clias- ing the German cruiser squadrons, for five weeks back and forth across tlic Indian Ocean, had become aware of the desperate - condition to which the un attached German raiders had reduced Australia. Unable to go to the Commonwealth's relief— for such n course would, in helping Australia,' liave left India, Ceylon and all the British East Indies and the British Pacific and. Indian- trade .hopelessly at - Hie mercy of the Ger mans, and unable, moreover, to divide liis forces, -for to>do 'so: would- have -rendered him inferior -in qti'effgth to bis adversary, he jhad, nevertheless,' made up-bis mind to adopt a most desperate expedient, for Australia's sake, to bring his wily enemy to' battle. Learning at Colombo that the German' fleet had left Dar-Es-Salaum for ani-unknown destination, be resolved, in- ste&l of attempting to intercept it in the Iridiah Ocean, as he had many times be fore tried and failed to do, to proceed straight to; German, Nov Guinea and .-bom bard the Gcrnian .ports. This action would have left, the German Admiral in full con trol of the Indian Ocean, but it -would have compelled him to make a choice be tween commerce raiding and risking the Joss of a great German possession. But the British Admiral was saved the trouble of, putting his hazardous experiment to, the' test of pifaetice. AA'hen abreast of Java, on his road cast, of a sudden the German fleet — which had so long eluded him— was" descried in the offing, advancing to meet him in battle array. The British were as- touhded at ,this. unexpected volte face in the! tactics of the enemy. But also they were overjoyed; and they rushed forward to the encounter amidst the wildest en thusiasm. Tlie'German Admiral, however, after a '.short! engagement, at long range, was apparently more than satisfied of British superiority in naval fighting. Hardly had a dozen shotsheen interchanged than he -turned witli all his" fleet and fled by ,way of Torres Strait for the German naval base of Siinpsonshafen. It was open to bin), of course, to return to German - East - Africa; but he had- probably burned too 'much cqal! in crossing- the Indian Ocean to venture a protracted trial of speed with- the eager British cruisers. But, cvenj ; as it was, tlio fastest of the .British vessels eventually brought the ' ; -slowest .of tlie Germans to book. And '.a running battle commenced off Cape York, which lasted for two days, until tlie Germans finally took refuge in Simpsonsliafen., . In .that fight one special British armored cruiser had been lost on a reef, two protected cruisers and three ocean destroyers had been sunk, and two more protected cruisers, the Jaipur and the, Thalia, so seriously damaged as io be put out bf actiom(« But- the Germans had been far more;,' seriously: . thrashed. They had lost -no fewer than seven tprpedo destroy-, crs — three on reefs; three second class ar mored cruisers had been, sunk, one of their first class cruisers had surrendered, and another had been blown out of the water by a torpedo. And the remainder of the fleet was now lying hopelessly bottled up —for the present;- at all events — at Simp- eonshafen, the British cruisers waiting out- eidc the port like bloodhounds in leash to leap upon them should they attemxit to come out. -' — - But the captain of tho Calliope had bet ter news still to give us. He had been de tailed by the Admiral to clear the( Common wealth littoral of all German raiders; and no sooner had he entered Port Jackson than he began to effect his repairs and to. coal up, with tho intention of a rapid cruise round the New South AAralcs coast to Melbourne, and thenen to the Nuyts Islands to destroy the German hornet's nest, which had apparently established its head quarters, there. The Jaipur and the Thalia will, of course, be unable to ac company him, for it will take weeks to make them ;.j ready -for service -again. But they are , riot needed. The Calliope is; heavily "arriiorcd and armed with two 10-inch, six 9-inch and ton G-inch guns. She is, therefore,, more than a match — single handed— for the German squadron. It is no wonder that the. people went al most frantic' with jdy1. " It seemed to us all that the last of our troubles was over; and that we might now set peacefully to work to make good our tremendous losses oeea- eioned by the German visitation. But, alas! the end is not yet. ' T.u6sday, 3rd November, 1914." On opening, our newspapers this morning the following announcement confronted ail readers in ;.tKcv easterly, States: — ; BOMBARDMEXX - . OF PORT " "ADELA-ftlE. A NATIONAL CALAMITY; Adelaide, Tuesday. An hour after .midnight this morning several German 'cruisers, without the least warning opened a terrific shell fire upon Port Adelaide. The bombardment was maintained for two Jiours without intermis sion. Largs Fort continuously replied, but it is feared, without effect. AY'-hcu daylight broke it was -found that tlic war ships had vanished, departing as mysteriously as they had approached, but they had lett behind an oil launch, which landed under a flag of truce. The German officer in charge 'pre sented a message to the port, demanding immediate payment of .£1,000;000, failing which tlie German cruisers will return to-night und continue the bombardment. The town is in a most desperate condition. Fire lias broken out in many places, and a great number of houses, public and other buildings have been utterly destroyed by the shells. Tlic damage to property has been roughly esti mated at £5UU,U00. The list of casualties is not yet complete. But 67 deaths have already been reported, and all the hospitals are filled with wounded, many of whom are injured fatally. There has begun a genera, exodus of the, "population, to the capital. - Later. — Amohg the deaths are Councillor Richard Jcvons, mayor of Pprt. Adplaide; Lady Jennings, widow of Sir Samuel Jen nings, late administrator of the Northern Territory; arid the Right. Rev. Patrick Saumarez, l(oman Catholic Bishop of the Port. The ' South-street fire is gaining rapidly, and it'is feared' it will be impos sible to save the newly built Royal Hotel. A special meeting 'of the South Australian Parliament has been convened to consider the situation. ' There is little need to dilate upon this terrible disaster. Coming as it lias, so speedily on top of the joyous news brought us by the Calliope on the previous day, it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that we are literally stunned. But the authorities have done all that was possible. The Min ister of Defence telegraphed to the South 'Australian Government tb agree to the raiders' demand, but to plead for time in which to find' the -money. Meanwhile, as it is manifestly impossible for the Calliope to reach the scene of action in-time to be of use, Captain Dalby was despatched in com mand of the Maoraki and the AA'aratoto (now ready for sea), and ordered to steain under forced draught to the relief of tlie beleaguered town. It was a desperate course to take to send two extemporised war ships against a force of unknown strength. Brit the ! knowledge that the Nurnberg had unassisted reduced Sydney to subjection induces us. to hope that only one cruiser is being used against Port Ade laide. If that proves to be the case, we hope that Captain - Dalby, with (lis two steamers, will bo able to Cither sink or drive away tlie raider. He has been ordered, in tlie event of there being more than one cruiser, to -try and .draw them off, in chase of him, back to- wards Melbourne. But, somehow, I do not expect Captain Dalby to obey those orders to tlie foot of the (etter. He is not of the type to run when hard knocks are going, and a chance is offered to give as well as to receive. (Post-scriptum.— Five days, liave passed, but still no news of Captain Dalby. AA'hen he left Port Phillip Bay lie disappeared from Australian ken. AVill it he for ever,? Ihe fact that the - Germans, - after giving the people of Adelaide 30 hours' grace to find the ransom, and yet have not returned to., receive it, coupled with- the absolute evanishment of Captain Dalby, tell their own tale. In my opinion, Dalby met and fought the Germans, and. the bat Hi was on both sides one of extinction. Probably the.sea has already, for several days, been Ihbir common tomb._8tli November, AA'ednesday, 4th November, 1914. I am very weary, very hopeless, very sad Ihe coming of the Calliope to our relief has bqen the herald of unparalleled misfortune, hirst the bombardment of Port Adelaide and now . Sure, this is the blackest day in Australia's history! Two days ago we were a rejoicing people; to-night, what soul m the Commonwealth -will sleep, un less worn out with grief. I have, been all ...aj , since 10 o clock -this dnorriing, ' stfind-- ing' among the stricken crowd before the post office, reading. the telegrams, as they came through frorii the AA'est, and ivere posted up for us to Aqnd, fthidi now: to record the tenor of -their 'messages;-'1' ' It seems that one hour before daylight on, this most evil day a traitorous, pre concerted attack -was made by, a large armed force of German spies (damned traitors who had landed months ago as emigrants, and who had been hospitably welcomed) upon tlie forts defending the harbor of Fremantle. The Australian gairison and field troops in command were taken by surprise and butchered almost to a man; Long before assistance could be rendered or the forts retaken a large fleet of German cruisers, store, and troop -ships entered the harbor, and quickly 'effected a landing. A junction was immediately made with the local force of spies, and by 9 9' clock Fremantle had -not only ceased to be an Australian town, but on army of 5000 German regular troops, equipped, with liold guns and all the -panoply of war, was on the road to Perth. The last telegram came through at 3 o'clock. It stated that heavy flighting was thenproceeding in the southern suburbs of the capital. But the mere fact that no news has come through in all tlie hours since shows very clearly that our troops 'have not been successful. Perhaps Perth lias already fallen, and is 'now in tlie hands of tlie invader— being" looted, ravaged, God knows what not! Thursday, 5th November, 1914. I am proud of my country. Proud to be an Australian. During to-day no fewer than 30,000 A'ictorian and New South AVales civi lians, in. person, by- letter or : by telegram -have volunteered for, active service to expel the invader l'rom 'AATstdrn Australia! Five steamship companies have placed every steamer they posses, gratis, at the service of the Commonwealth; and there is already on foot an immense national movement to assist the Government 111 the charges pf .the expedition. Money is pouring in tb the newspaper offices from aril- over thp coun try; and I intend to-morrow to hand over to the Defence Minister, an amount. in, State bonds equal to tiie sum which I intended to bequeath to my poor son Jack— the blame of whose unhappy death I regard as solely attributable to the Germans. ( r Friday, Gth November, ,1911. Perth arid tlie surrounding distrietaare completely in the hands of, tije.!enemy.", jfn the . battle, which, lusted for two ' days,' in the streets of the capital, the Australian troops -lost 1000 men'.fkilled.. apd. .. wounded and 300 prisoners. The Australians have retired along the railway towards Albany, destroying tlie line as they retreat, con testing every mile of tlic road against a vastly superior force, and laying waste the country behind , them. The German force is'iiow estimated at 8000 at the least. But it i. -split into several detachments. One has set out by railroad to Kalgooriic— it is supposed to capture tho mines. Another holds Perth and Fremantle, and a third is pursuing, the Australian troops to Albany. Australians -who have slipped through the German lines from Fremantle and joined the retreating troops have reported that the Germans arc hard at work increasing the defences of the port. They are laying mines in the harbor, and . are busily en gaged landing immense siege guns from the store ships, with which to. re-arm the forts;-. Now for the other side of tho picture. .The. Federal Government -|ias announced its intention to immediately despatch 10,000 regular troops and .5000 volunteers to. AY'ost- ern Australia, in charge of General Hoad, who will temporarily retire 'from liis ad ministrative position as Inspector-General in order to command in the field. The transports conveying our soldiers will be convoyed thither by the Calliope, which is now 011 her way to Melbourne— her re pairs having already been coriipleted. In view of the German defence-operations at Fremantle the . Australian army will land at Albany. Preparations'-' are 'rindcr way and being pushed 011 ait full speed. It is expected that the ship's will bo all coaled and provisioned by Monday or Tuesday at farthest: and that tlie expedition will start during tlie week. The people of Melbourne are quieter than -I have ever seen them. There is no excitement anywhere. But on every face is to he seen the same grim, re solute expression. AVe Australians have our backs to the Wall now. Our national integrity is threatened. Our. country is in vaded.. The future of the Connribriwealth is at stake. AVe have to -prove the man hood that is in us. A\rell,"we arc ready! And it will go hard with, us if . ohr. gallant soldier sons do not write their names in history, efe long, with 'German blood; Saturday, 7th November, 1914. . A Jesperate engagement has taken place at the town of Beverley, on the Pertli-AI- bury line, between the Germans and the AA'est Australian troops.. Our men were com pelled to retire, but according to tlie tele gram, -the liermans iiavc paid tor their vic tory with the loss of at least 200 dead- The Australian force, moreover, is being rein forced witli hai-dy bushmen volunteers. It is, however, beginning to suffer from a shortage of ammunition, and guerilla tac tics are being resorted to. Colonel Carey lias already succeeded in mounting every unit under -his command. ' " The Gallicpe arrived to-day in Port Phillip, from Sydney, in" cbm'pnny with four large passenger liners, which are to be used as troop ships. The work of se lecting arid equipping the volunteers is proceeding at railroad speed. Sunday, 8th November, 1914. Details have at last come through from the AA'est of the German lauding at. Fre mantle. Lieutenant Carron, a Common wealth artillery officer, one of the few sur vivors of the treacherous land attack on the Fremantle forts, made his escape in a skiff, and last night he succeeded in reaching Bunbury. He states that the German army of invasion consists of 10,000 men. It was conveyed, to Fremantle direct from Batavia in a fleet of 30 large Dutch and German steamers, convoyed by a squadron of 5 first class armored cruisers and 3 second class uuarmorcd cruisers. Lieutenant Carson further states that within two hours of the German landing all the German first class cruisers put out to sea and proceeded north. He has 110 doubt that they are now on their way to Simpsonsliafen, to (Io battle with the British fleet which is now blockading that port and the German war ships interned there. The news has thrown us all into the ut- most consternation. Three things are now -clearly, evident. Firstly, the German.de- .nigns upon Australia are far more deep 'laid and extensive than we have hitherto dared to dream. It is now plain that the German squadron "at present interned at Simpsonsliafen deliberately put itself in the -way of the British East. Indian fleet in order to entice it out of the road, so that it would be unable to offer any opposition to tlie passage of the German invading army from 'Batavia "to Fremantle. Secondly! it is impossible -to avoid this conclusion — Hol land has joined the German confederation, and lias placed all tlie East Indian colonies openly at Germany's disposal; and, thirdly, it is no raiding expedition which Germany had-- directed against AA'estern Australia. She intends to seize the .place, and hold it .against all comers, if she can. It- is, more over, manifest that the the five first class German cruisers which convoyed the Ger- 'man army to Fremantle are a recent addi tion lo the German East Indian fleet.- They must, have escaped from Kiel, and made their way unreported— at least io us— from European to southern waters within the last few weeks. AH this shows the depth apd craft of German preparations, and the awful peril in which Australia stands. If the five Gcrnian cruisers succeed in taking -the British fleet now off Simpsonsliafen by surprise heaven alone can foretell our fate. But we can only do our best, and leave the .rest to Providence. Captain Kinglakc, of the Calliope, wished at first, when the news arrived last evening, to set' off at once for Gorman New Guinea to assist the British Admiral in the tight which is to all seeming imminent. But as a result of a conference with Commonwealth Ministers lie finally agreed to adhere to his original promise, and escort the. Australian army of relief from Melbourne to Albany. Tlic reason that he gave way is that it would be impossible, with the start now obtained by the Ger- flnan squadron, to reach Simpsonsliafen in time to be pf use. Tbe Commonwealth Government, however, has made arrange ments for the instant despatch of no fewer than three fast merchant steamers from Brisbane nnd Rockliampton to warn tlie British Admiral of' the danger which menaces him. May God grant that they may accomplish their mission, and warn the British Admiral in time. ' . Monday, 9th November, 1914. Albany has fallen. Soon after daylight this morning, two large P. and O. and Orient passenger liners, flying the . British flag, entered King George's Sound, and proceeded to the wharfs. The townsfolk rushed down to give them welcome, but were driven back in the most brutal fa shion. with a murderous Maxim tire. Forthwith some 2000 German troops — hail ing probably from German East Africa — landed from the vessels, nnd speedily cap tured the town. The dreadful signiiicance'of this event is that the AA'estern Australian troops, under Colonel Carey, will in all likelihood be presently caught between the tivo German forces. However, we must hope for the best. He is an able man, and he has already proved himself a capable strategist. Moreover, he is mounted, and may be expected to use that great advan tage to tlie utriiost. AA'e are mow cut off from all news from the AA'est. AA'hen shall we' hear again? AA'cdnesday, 11th November, 1014. Two transports arrived to-day from Syd ney with 1500 horses and 1000 men aboard. My wife is ill. She has been ailing ever since Jack's death. Thursday, 12lh November, .1014. It is stated that everything will be ready for a general embarkation next Monday. My wife is very ill. The -family, doctor has asked for a consultation. Friday, 13th November,1 1D14. The world is ending for me. A P. and O. boat arrived to-day from the Cape with English mails dated 25th September. The news was all of the war. But I have 'no heart -to relate it. My '-eldest son George was killed in action at' Quctta on the 16th. I saw his name among the listed dead. But' I am keeping the news from- my wife. Monday, 16th November, 1914; . The expedition sailed this afternoon. I saw nothing of it, for I am chained to my wife's sick room. I have as yet told lier nothing about George, nor Constance, It is eating my heart out. AA'ednesday, 25th November, 1914. The Australian army, under cover of the Calliope's guns, has effected a landing at Albany without the loss of a man. The Germans have evacuated the town, and retired northwards. General Hoad reports that they are no more than. 4000 strong. He expects that they will retreat to the main- body, harrying his advance mean while,, and that the whole- German force will unite to oppose him somewhere south of Perth. The Australians are confident and eager for- the fray, but showing the most perfect discipline. A general advance will begin on Friday. Four -transports con taining. .supplies and reinforcements left Melbourne this morning for Albany. . ' _ Monday, 29tli November, 1914'. The Kermadec, a British ocean destroyer, arrived" this morning at Brisbane in a crippled state. Her commander reports a desperate naval- engagement between the British East Indian fleet and the reinforced German squadron in the Coral Sea. For tunately tiie 'British 1 Admiral had been warned in -time — by the merchant steamers sent by the 'Commonwealth Government— of tlie approach of the live German armored cruisers which had convoyed the German army of invasion to Fremantle; and, in stead of waiting to be caught between two fires, he had moved his whole force to meet the oncoming enemy, intending to crush each section in , turn. Nevertheless! the event proved that , the Get mans had antici pated every possible strategical disposition of the British war ships. No sooner, then, had our Admiral left .Simpsonsliafen . than the Germans lie had been blockading steamed out and followed at a respectful distance in his rear. Forced by this cir cumstance to change his plans, thc.British Admiral altered, his course, and proceeded souj.h-eaSt, hoping to lure the enemy from tlieji- base. He succeeded to an extent, but: the Germans kept in touch with Simp- sonidiaven by a chain of scouts, arid not un til they had effected a junction with the fivq new cruisers, could they be .com pelled or tempted into battle. At the mo'- roerit when the Kermadec had' been obliged to leave her consorts and. run "to harbor for repairs the fight was at its hottest. Two of the biggest German cruisers had already been completely disabled, while all of ours were still to the fore. " The captain of>the Kermadec declares that the British had amply proved themselves superior to tho enemy in handling -their ships and in accu racy of gun fire. But he points out that tlie German fleet was still, in spite of its losses, numerically more powerful than the British, and he admits, that the British fleet was in retreat. What is to become of us if the British are beaten? Of my fellow countrymen I should say; for myself I care nothing; my wife is dying. The doctors tell me that she cannot recover. Tliey. say there is 110 longer any reason to conceal from her. the fact of George's death. Soon she . will know. How shall 1 endure the loneliness of life when she is gone? Tuesday, 30th November, 1914. The Australian and German armies are facing each other on opposite sides of a stream between Broome Hill and Katun- ning. The Germans are entrenched in a line! four miles long. They are about '9000 strong. General Hoad reports that their position is of enormous natural strength, but they have only an insignificant force of cavalry. General Hoad is expected to make full use of liis. great superiority in monuted troops. A battle is imminent. AA'ednesday, 1st December, 1914. The battle is proceeding. The fate of the . Australian Commonwealth and the destiny of the nation are swinging in the balance. But I — God help me — care little what may hap. My wife is dead. I would that I were too. , Finis. i w:


November 23rd 1906 The Age is missing at least one page at the end, which may just be more advertising. No copy of Chapter XIII has yet been found.
Item sets
Vintage Science Fiction from Australian Newspapers 1901-1939 (Australian)