The Kaiser Prevents a War
It was Kaiser weather in Germany. Back from a five months' trip to
the Far East, Berlin seemed to me like Heaven. I had finished a
secret diplomatic mission for the Kaiser and as a result my pocketbook
was full. Days and days in the Orient make a man try to crowd into
the first twenty-four hours home, all the enjoyments that his city
offers. Accordingly, with money running through my fingers like sand,
I planned a long ride in the Grunewald; I saw myself ordering the few
special dishes one gets at Kempinsky's; I would buy a good seat at the
Metropole and to wind up I would look in at the Admiral's Palace when
the performers were mingling in the audience. It being my first day
back in Berlin, that programme appealed to me a lot more than did the
European diplomatic tangle. I had been idling the early afternoon
hours at the Caf?© Bauer, Unter den Linden, but my programme for the
rest of the day finally chosen, I got up, paid my bill and strolled
home.
My boy Kim must have been on the lookout for me; before I could use my
key the door flew open.
"Master!" he exclaimed in his heavy, jerky voice. "You are wanted on
the telephone."
I had an uneasy suspicion of what that meant, which was confirmed when
my boy added, "Number A 11 wants you."
Bismillah! That settled it! That ended my Grunewald, Kempinsky's,
the Metropole, the Admiral's Palace.
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