Washington, White House. The telephone in the duty office rang madly.
"Hello!" The official on duty rubbed his sleepy eyes and picked up the phone.
But then, the drowsiness vanished completely from his face, as though he had heard some utterly shocking news.
"God! What on earth is going on? Are the Germans launching an attack on our homeland?" The duty officer looked incredulous. Then he immediately ran toward President Wilson's bedroom.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
President Wilson was jolted awake by the urgent knocking. He did not lose his temper. Instead, he put on his robe and opened the door.
"What happened?" President Wilson asked. He knew that unless there was an emergency, they would not disturb him at this hour. Moreover, the expression on the duty officer's face gave President Wilson a very bad feeling.
"Mr. President, Boston has come under attack from the German fleet. The Germans are shelling Boston Harbor like mad," the duty officer said.
"What? How is that possible?" President Wilson almost thought this was an April Fool's joke. Although Germany and the United States had already torn all pretense apart over the Azores, neither President Wilson nor the other senior American officials had believed that Germany would launch an attack on their homeland. But now, events seemed to have gone beyond their expectations.
"It's true, Mr. President. This is the report we just received from Boston," the duty officer said. How could he dare lie about something like this? If he actually did that, he would probably have to pack up and leave immediately!
"What are the Germans trying to do? Are they preparing to go to war with the United States of America at a time like this?" President Wilson was completely awake now. He only felt a chill run down his spine.