Ominous Presentiments

Terrible fates lay hidden in the folds of all the earth's continents last week. They were trapped there, but they strained to be loose upon populations. One key only could unlock them--the defeat of Britain. Last week the key was set in the keyhole.

The magnitude of world confusion could only be realized when the thousands of press dispatches, the millions of radio murmurings, and all the display of mute, invisible facts and forces were gathered into bald proximity. The persistent, patient rapping of Japan at the doors of French Indo-China (see p. 33) became really loud only when set near the ticking of the Balkans' time bomb (see p. 34); Almazan and Avila Camacho staring at each other angrily in Mexico (see p. 39), Smuts and Herzog doing the same in South Africa--these minor cockfights became significant potentials when juxtaposed. The shadow of Russia creeping again on Finland (see p. 39) turned from red to black when superimposed on the shadow of Italy's sharp little foot dancing through North Africa toward the Near East (see p. 27). And the nations' fears, from the mighty U. S. down to the areas well-educated people had never thought twice about until lately--Buna, Tonkin, Antigua--these fears grew to ominous presentiments of things to come.

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