"Perhaps not old enough to know better.
Anyway, if I were going to a foreign government, Germany would be about
the last country. Germany is our rival in building a large navy. About
every other month the experts in Germany sit down to figure whether they
are anything ahead of us in the tonnage of warships, and, if so, whether
there is any danger of our catching up with them. Now, unless the
Germans have a notion that they may need, to fight us one of these
days--"
"Oh, I don't believe anything of that sort," broke in Hal, shaking his
head. "I don't believe any country in the world is aching to pick a
quarrel with us."
"Not while the United States pocket-book is such a fat one, and so well
built for paying war expenses," grinned Eph. Then his look became more
solemn, as he added:
"But we don't want ever to get into a naval condition where it will be
easy for some other country to snatch that fat pocket-book out of our
hands."
"Let's go along, fellows. Drowning and confusion to all possible foes
afloat," proposed Hal, the one who could never see "war" on the horizon.
"After a winter on hot sodas, it'll be a relief to know that the
druggist put in icecream soda to-day.
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