"Any such men shall be instantly shot," declared the kaiser.
"That would be all very well, Sire," said General Ludendorff, "if there remained any to carry out the sentence of execution."
The kaiser began to catch a glimmer of the true situation.
"You mean," he asked in a low voice, "that my men will refuse to fight longer?"
"Precisely, your majesty," he said quietly.
The kaiser dropped abruptly into a chair.
"I should have been warned," he muttered. "I should have been warned. For years I have seen this coming, and yet I would not take heed."
"Tell me," he said to General Von Ludendorff, "what are your sentiments in this matter, General?"
"The same as the sentiments of the soldiers, your majesty."
"You mean that I must accept the enemy’s terms?"
"There is yet an alternative," said General Ludendorff slowly.
"And that?" demanded the kaiser, his voice hopeful.
"Abdication," said General Ludendorff quietly.
The kaiser stepped quickly forward and raised his right hand. General Ludendorff stepped quickly back several paces.
"I should strike you down where you stand," said the kaiser, lowering his arm and letting his hand play with the hilt of the sword that he wore at his side. "Give up my throne, and throw my people upon the mercy of the enemy?"
"The people would be very glad to be thrown upon such mercy," said General Von Hindenburg, now stepping forward. "Your majesty, let me add my voice to that of General Ludendorff. I have fought for you as best I know how, but it has been a losing fight, as we have known, almost from the first. Something must be done, and that at once."
"Then you, too, general, urge that I renounce the throne?"
The kaiser’s face grew grave. Apparently such a thing as abdication had never entered his head.
"Well, gentlemen," he said at last, "I shall give my decision when my son, the Crown Prince, arrives, which should be in a very few moments."
The officers in the tent bowed low. Wilhelm II was still emperor, and would be until he had signed a formal decree of abdication. As officers of the emperor it was the duty of every man present to serve him.
As the kaiser had predicted, the Crown Prince, known more familiarly in allied circles as the "clown prince," because of his peculiar appearance, entered the tent.