Roger flushed. "I haven't taken a thing that won't be paid for to the last dollar."
"Well, I'm not going to quarrel with you about Von Minden's box. I invited Werner down here to inspect the plant and you can fight it out with him. He'll fall dead when he sees the new engine."
"I'm not sure that I want him down here," Roger scowled, thoughtfully. "I have no patents as yet and I had an unpleasant experience with Von Minden, another with Gustav and I'm not altogether crazy about trying out a third German."
Gustav gulped his coffee and walked out of the room.
Ernest suddenly flushed deeply, but said nothing.
"I thought you were keen about Germans," said Elsa.
"I always have been, and I still am. And yet, ever since I've heard about this war--I don't know. I feel uneasy. Hang it! Germany had no business hogging across Belgium as she did. It was a dirty trick, just like the one, by Jove, Von Minden tried to play on me! Gustav, another German, take notice, tried to steal from me, too!"
There was an awkward silence, then Ernest said a little belligerently: "Germany must fulfill her destiny, no matter who suffers."
"What is her destiny?" asked Charley, curiously.
"To rule the world. The Vaterland is superman. It's coming into its own, now!"
"Superman fiddlesticks!" exclaimed Charley.
"Seems to me you picked up a lot of silly rot on this trip East, Ern," said Roger. "Who is this Werner, anyhow? I'll have you remember, old man, when it comes to a choice, I'm all American, as I believe you are, eh?"
Slowly Ernest's face darkened. Slowly he rose from his chair. No one had ever before seen the look of passion in Ernest's beautiful eyes that now blazed there.
"There's not a drop of blood in my veins, thank God, that's not German. I say to you 'Deutschland über alles,' and all that Ernest Wolf can do to bring it about, shall be done."
"And I tell you," Elsa cried suddenly, as she crossed the room to face Ernest, "that I am all American and I hate Germany and all her works. I think you've acted like a fool, Ernest."
"Be quiet, Elsa!" roared Ernest, in exactly his father's voice.
"I'll not be quiet! I'm an American girl, not a German Fräulein. I say that you've got to cut out all this superman stuff and tell Roger where you got that money."