Chief Engineer. A bit of the world from the Birch tree to the Pine tree.
2nd Engineer. The road between the two blades of grass—
Chief Engineer. The only open road to the South—
2nd Engineer. A question of prestige.
Chief Engineer. And trade.
2nd Engineer. The rights of nationality.
Chief Engineer. We or the Yellows—
2nd Engineer. Never was war more honourable or urgent—
Chief Engineer. Than the war we must fight.
2nd Engineer. We are prepared.
Chief Engineer. We have only to find a casus belli.
Blind Ant. Blank, two, three, four—[A gong.
Chief Engineer. What ’s that?
Voice. (Outside) A messenger! A messenger!
Enter Messenger.
Messenger. I beg to announce myself. From the G.H.Q. Southern Army.
Chief Engineer. Good.
Messenger. In accordance with our instructions, we crossed the frontier of the Yellows—
Chief Engineer. What then?
Messenger. The Yellows captured me and took me to their Commander-in-Chief—
Chief Engineer. And—?
Messenger. Here is his letter—
Chief Engineer. Show it me. ‘The Government of the Yellow Ants calls upon the Ant Realm within three months to withdraw their Army lying between the Birch Tree and the Pine Tree between the two blades of grass.’
