Page:The Prime Minister by Hall Caine.djvu/155

Rh  Ten—let us say ten.

 [Nodding.] Yes, ten.  Our great offensive is timed to begin at six. It cannot last long—two hours, I am told, at the outside. Within two hours the enemy may have something to say to us.  Another proposal of peace?  Probably. Their forces are morally and physically bankrupt. They cannot last much longer.  Thank God for that!—for anything that will end this horror. Flesh and blood cannot bear much more of it. Either the war must stop or humanity will be wiped off the face of this planet.  Let there be no temporizing with evil though—no parleying with a Government whose word cannot be taken.  Quite so!  The ruthless Powers that swept whole continents into this maelstrom of blood must themselves be swept away.