“Iamreadyalwaystomeetmyownpeople，butIrefuseutterlytodealwiththiscommittee！“ItwasnotoftenthatMr。Maitlandbecameprofane，butinhisdescriptionofthisparticulargroupofindividualshisordinaryEnglishsufferedacompletecollapse。
“Dad，McGinniswillbehereinafewminutes。Ishouldliketosuggestoneortwothings，ifyouwillallowme。“
“Goon，“saidhisfatherquickly。
“Dad，thisiswar，andIhavelearnedalittleaboutthatgame’overthere。’AndIhavelearnedsomethingaboutitinmyathleticactivities。Thefirstessentialistodeclinetoplaytheenemy’sgame。Let’sdiscoverhisplanofcampaign。AsIreadthisdocument，thethingthathitsmyeyeisthis:dotheyreallywantthethingstheyaskfor，oristhewholethingablind？WhatI
meanis，dotheyreallywantwarorpeace？Isaylet’sfeelthemout。Iftheyareafterpeace，thethingiseasy。Iftheywantwar，thismaycometobeaveryseriousthing。Meantime，Dad，let’snotcommitourselvestoMcGinnis。Let’splayitalone。“