The play was fast and sometimes brilliant.
Nigel had Maggie for a partner, and Chalmers one of her friends, and the
set was as nearly equal as possible. Naida leaned forward in her chair,
following every stroke with interest.
"I find this most fascinating," she murmured. "I hope that Lord
Dorminster and his cousin will win. Your sympathies, of course, are on
the other side."
"You are right," Immelan assented. "My sympathies are on the other
side."
There was a lull in the game for a moment or two. The sun was
troublesome, and the players were changing courts. Naida turned towards
her companion thoughtfully.
"My friend," she said, glancing around as though to be sure that they
were not overheard, "there are times when you move me to wonder. In the
small things as well as the large, you are so unchanging. I think that
you would see an Englishman die, whether he were your friend or your
enemy, very much as you kick a poisonous snake out of your path."
"It is quite true," was the calm reply.
"But America was once your enemy," she continued, watching Chalmers'
powerful service.
"With America we made peace," he explained. "With England, never. If you
would really appreciate and understand the reason for that undying
hatred which I and millions of my fellow countrymen feel, it will cost
you exactly one shilling. Go to any stationer's and buy a copy of the
Treaty of Versailles. Read it word by word and line by line. It is the
most brutal document that was ever printed.
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