British Secret Service During the Great War

vigation by Germans-Interned-German Arson-An Impudent Invitation-A Russian Sugar Queen's Yacht-Queer

s to hunt out the hiding-places of the large German auxiliary cruisers which had been specially fitted out f

t that cruised about the thousands of fjords and islands, inquiring as unobservantly and disinterestedly as cir

the inner and outer passage of the west coast of Norway to cover their coming and their going from Germany to the Icelandic coast, whence th

s concealed anywhere in that distance. Many reports I gathered of German war and other vessels of

te a while. I wanted to learn more about her, so I lingered. She was a steamer of several thousand tons burden and loaded with coal. In spite of her disguised condition, she had been chased into neutral waters by English warships. Having remained

ly whispered that she probably had on board su

nsul at S-- was allowed to pocket hundreds of thousands of kroner by supplying the Germans with herrings whilst they were at war with the country he actually represented. He added, "It is no secret, the whole country is talking about it, and every man, woman, and child considers it disgra

andenberg. He thinks no one knows, but we all know. When he comes back in the morning, hints are dropped about amorous wanderings, and what 'wonderful dogs with the ladies some men are to be sure.' You see, he feels flattered in two ways, whilst we 'laugh in the trouser,' as you English sometimes say. That man at the other end of the hall, with the militar

s. It was the proprietor's policy to sympathise and tender make-believe unanimity and agreement with all his guests; to humour all their troubles, whims, or fancies

ely felt and knew that I, too, had been labelled

e town and its neighbourhood. I had acted legally for or against several of them in England, in matters concerning the expenditure of thou

e main streets, the barbers' shops, the post-office, and other possible places wherein I might be met with. Whilst they were chafing outwardly in their impatience, they casually mentioned to the proprietor that I was one of the best-known Continental lawyers in

of my visitors and I had found them out. The proprietor bustled away with the news, by which he proba

ough the local authorities, who had known me and of me for many years past, may have entertained their own

e streets, making them almost impassable to traffic; yet a silent and unobtrusive

t cruiser Berlin had bee

must at any cost be transmitted home

into the region of floating ice, thus outwitting the vigilance of the English patrol boats. Taking the fullest advantage of the awful weather and frequent snowstorms, she had slipped unobserved through the tortuous entrances and difficult chann

ow the ins and outs of the Norwegian fjords even better than Norwegians do themselves. They have also mu

e unacquainted with. I was never more astonished in my life, although I had the sense to conceal it, than when an alleged German commercial traveller with whom I had been travelling somewhere in Finland sketched, in order to illustrate an argument, a correct plan of a remote part of the East

make a bolt for the Fatherland or whether she would remain where she was and become interned. A collection of British cruisers outside probably cau

ective is attained, are irritating and merely so much waste of time. His requirements and mind centre only round concrete results,

ortuous wanderings during the days that followed. Suffice to say that, night and day, awake or dreaming, the subject never left

erning the safety of these piles of innocent timber. They appeared to assume that this particular wood-worth possibly somewhere about ￡20,000-was considered of great value to the English Government. Accordingly they planned, by contra

ould do so. It was humorous that whilst I was doing this the gentleman in question happened to be attending a small committee meeting which was, at the moment, discussing my bona fides, and the somewhat important personage called for raised

el had returned from the telephone, very red in the face, and swearing audibly about that "d-d impudent mad-brained Engli

d up for the winter a palatial pleasure yacht, belonging to a well-known Russian sugar queen of reputed fabulous wealth. Her captain an

ion and graces. They had friends who soon called, or met them at or away from their hotels. From information received and from personal observation, I deemed it expedient to push myself forward into this small but somewhat exclusive cir

any assistance I might perhaps at some time require. Meanwhile I was ostensibly engaged in legal matters. Clients called with masses of papers and remained closeted with

ating of every man on board the enemy vessel. It also contained addenda giving the name and business of every

hims, fancies, hobbies, ambitions, or failings, which I persisted in procuring concerning every person I could on the before-mentioned list. This was a long and more difficult task. Pri

remote suspicion being hatched and developed from my presence. It was far better for me to watch from a distance, to observe the effects of palm-oil penetrate deeper and yet deeper, until that which I was most anxious to get hold of, namely, material ex

undoubtedly a very great surprise indeed to the kultured Hun sea-pirates, had they

ngaged to harvest what the Berlin was alleged to have sown near Tory Island, which lies off the north-west coast of Ireland, and not far from the all-important Loch Swilly. The first and second fleet sent there to act upon the information which had been collected in the m

he wreck and rescues which were freely copied by international journals, whilst Germany knew all about it from the first. The third fleet of mine-sweepers, eventually sent to Tory Island with instructions to sweep the same area as at first direct

optimism of a section of the Press; false security created by too rigid censorship; political dangers from continued vote-angling and pandering to obvious German agitation amongst workmen and miners; continued short-sighted political revenge upon English landowners for the suppression rather than encouragement of any increased user of the land towards food production; contradictions which were irreconcilable; on the one hand enormous and useless expenditures, on the other unparalleled meanness

s of evolution. Would the nations involved cease their strife owing to absolute exhaustion and attrition? Would the Entente event

os, Chaos! who can t

nals, you, and take thei

ld the Present fatal

the hour, but dream not