British Secret Service During the Great War

any Wrecks-Boot Change Trick-Flight-Patience Unrewarded-Night Work at the Docks-A Sudden Attack-Odds of Three to O

n a distinct secret score for the British Foreign Secret Service Intelligence Department, although probably no o

otten the episode, when a whisper echoed and re-echoed from the south that the full fury of the Northern German espionage bureau had been invoked upon my fortunate or unfortunate head, and that I must beware of a certain Baron Nordenpligt,[8] which i

nsumptive-looking weakling of humanity was trying to assist her. Most probably he would have been crushed under an iron-bound trunk which a porter was lowering from the roof of the hotel bus had not another traveller, seeing the danger, rushed forward to his assistance. As he did so he involuntarily

ince-nez. In stopping to recover them a leather case fell from his inside breast pocket. But before he could reach it I had anticipated his desire, picked up the artic

an baron, for such he undoubtedly was, had registered as a commercial traveller from an inland town in Denmark, whilst he obviously knew the language of that country as well as he did his own.

elongings, and lighting the inevitable weed st

nd hollows of which some scant vegetation had collected and a few scraggy fir-trees formed an arboreal retreat where i

dows of the back rooms, the centre one of wh

od will be found equally efficacious. Human hairs a few inches in length are easily procurable; a single one is practically invisible to the naked eye, and a slight strain will snap it. If cunningly placed acr

equally clever actor would so place at least one of his precaution signals that it would be im

an hour in the belief that something was going to turn up. Meanwhile half a gale whistled through leafless branches and howled round the crevasses and protuberances o

ore mentioned. She, by an extraordinary coincidence, started to come downstairs just as my foot had gained the last step of the ascent. In her haste

ng as it came, never to meet trouble half-way by worrying, and even to a

tion field of which embraced wide angles. I, happening to glance upwards and beyond the little pleasantries going on above, observed a sha

own apartment, examining the test traps at my leisure, all possible

uld hap

hey were more than hinted at in the urgent message I had received. I was not deceived for one moment. I felt myself within the claws of the pincers and it was up to me to wri

stead of undressing I lay upon the outside of the bed and smoked and read until the early hou

of Koenigergratzerstrasse No. 70 probably had a shrewd suspicion whom they could credit for the attention. S-- was another very active German agent who had recently been expelled the country; he returned almost immediately under another name and disguise. He successfully crossed the

disaster preventing their further assistance to direct acts of barbarism by the mad dogs of Europe. Be that as it may, Germans in that particular neighbourhood would hardly have agreed with any such sentiments; nor were they sympathetic to

ther no love was lost between tra

pair I selected from the extreme end of the corridor as being as nearly as I could judge a fair match in size to my own. These I brought along, and not being an obstinate, blind-to-all-home-principle-Free-Trade Britisher, I dumped them down outside my own door. It should have become obvious to the reader that I was con

e other traveller in order to carry into effect my playful little deception, rather than sacrifice any more boots of my own. The ruse would assuredly work equally as well, whilst past experiences h

t usual with me, but there are occasions in the career of everyone wh

ing the confusion and the language likely to be used by the parties mo

hat a head-aching task he would have of it if he tried to trail his quarry Indian fashion instead of

way in an exulting frame of mind to a colleague who I knew had some very interesting investigations which

of a big steamer were wanted. The captain was a convivial soul with a great weakness for sport of all kinds; and it was suggeste

fficient to move the information required. But they failed. Patienc

that at first I entirely disagreed, then allowed myself to be talked round to absolute approval. In short, no artifice that calculated cunning could

ome decent whiskey which made me feel devil-may-care and careless. Anyhow, I was foolish in the extreme not to have accepted the proffered and pressed i

orrowed a stick, or some weapon of defence. It was not until I was actually cornered that I remembered I had left my revolver at home. The incide

reighted goods and merchandise of every description, was no easy matter. Nor were my difficulties lessened by a snowstorm which raged at the time. Passing between some sheds, and stack after stack of cott

. I had been privately informed, only that morning, by an interesting conveyer of intelligence newly arrived, from Berlin, that some rather important German officials were taking a kindly interest in my welfare; certainly to the extent that they had offered quite a substantial sum of cash (not paper or cheques) for my delivery in their country, condition no object.

cealed thereby and beneath it were railway lines, points, uneven places, bits of wood, parts of packing-cases, hoops, and innumerable obstacles of

silently I wondered how many in all I should have to contend with. Only one thing was absolutely definite in my mind, t

were hunting me were concealed by the shadows. Involuntarily I dived my hands deep into the pockets of the thick o

rs, or burglars, or other rough people, having been tricked by the use of

t come off. Anything was better than t

ilver mounting showed some glint from the straggling rays of the solitary lamp. Anyhow, I saw the shadows, which had appeared well separated before, fading away and concentrating in the rear. This gave me a chance which I was not slow to avail myself of. Moving as rapidly as I conveniently could I crossed the open space towards the warehouses beyond. I had co

of my hat; also the hand holding the spoof pipe-revolver. The effect was electrical, not to say humorous. The two Prussian sleuth-hounds who were racing full pelt after me pulled up dead in their tracks: so suddenly, in fact, that the third, who was rapidly making up lost way behind, bumped into them, and all three sprawled in the snow. As soon as they could pick themselves up they cautiously opened-out the corner, fearing that their quarry was waiting behind it to pot them off one at a time as they came round.

s in the very heart of the crowd, where I was at once embraced. Needless to add that I returned the endearments with a vigour and sincerity that I had never before equalled in all my life.

TNO

, but near enough to