midnight on the 12th
of May
Are you prepared to be convinced ? '' `` Of what ? '' replied the Kaiser , coldly . `` That there will be no world left to conquer after midnight on the 12th of May next , or to put it otherwise , that unless our terms are accepted , and Mr Lennard carries out his work , there will be neither victors nor vanquished left on earth . '' `` Gentlemen , '' replied the Kaiser , `` you will pardon me when I say that I am surprised beyond measure that you should have come to me with a schoolboy 's tale like that . The eternal order of things can not be interrupted in such a ridiculous fashion . Again , I trust you will forgive me when I express my regret that you should have wasted so much of your own time and mine on an errand which should surely have appeared to you fruitless from the first .