British secret service during the Great War

BRITISH SECRET SERVICE
DURING THE GREAT WAR

HO o.

British Secret Service
during the Great War

BY

NICHOLAS EVERITT

Author of
"Round thi World in Strang* Company," itc, itc.

Not Heaven itself upon the past has power;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.

Dryden.

TBIRD EDITION

LONDON: HUTCHINSON W CO.
PATERNOSTER ROW

I)

•c/20

THIS BOOK
IS DEDICATED TO

VISCOUNT NORTHCLIFFE

WHO

DURING THE THROES OF OUR NATIONAL

CRISIS PROVED HIMSELF THE GREATEST

OF ALL LIVING ENGLISHMEN

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2007 with funding from

Microsoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/britishsecretserOOeveruoft

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

WAR AND THE INTRODUCING OF JIM

FAGS

The Prosperity of 1914 — An Ominous Calm — Multitude of German
Spies — How England was Undermined — Shortsightedness
of our Liberal Government — Secret Knowledge of Promi-
nent Men — Sir Edward Goschen's Historical Despatch —
Rush to the Colours — Our Unpreparedness — Introducing
Jim — Patriots from Afar — F. C. Selous' Roughriders
— Initiation into the Foreign Secret Service — Advisory
Testamentary Dispositions - - - - 27

CHAPTER II

SECRET SERVICE ORGANISATIONS, COMPARISONS
AND INCIDENTALS

Espionage in Past Ages — Modern British Secret Service Founded,
1910 — Possible Improvements — Comparisons — Jealousies of
Big Departments — Examples of Reckless Extravagance —
Business Men Wanted — Economies in the Secret Service —
Bungling Incompetence — Impassiveness of the Foreign
Office — German War Methods — French and Dutch Secret
Service — Military Intelligence, B.C. — Rise and Develop-
ment of German Secret Service — The Efficiency of Scotland
Yard — Details of German Foreign Propaganda and Expendi-
ture— British Secret Service: Its Cost and Frugalities —
Major Henri le Caron — Nathan Hale: — Similitude of the
Life of a Secret Service Agent - - - - 44

chapter hi

initiation to active work

Crossing the North Sea — A Memorable Meeting — Instructions —
On a Cargo Boat — Snow-storms — False Alarm — Danish
Profiteers — English Consul Profiteering in Food to Ger-
many— Horse- smuggling — Meeting my CO. — Blooded- - 74

\

viii Contents

CHAPTER IV

INTER-COMMUNICATING WITH TEMPORARY CODES
AND INCIDENTS

PAG*

Grammatical Code — ATete- a-Tete — Confidences — Misconstrued
Message leads to Domestic Tragedy — Local Codes — An
Altered Message — An Important Mission — Shadowed —
Attempted Thefts of Papers — A Contretemps — Leakage of
News from England — Watching a Suspect — False Message
Discloses an Open Code — Geometrical Codes — The Knot
Code — A Fascinating Actress, a Confidinq Attache, and a
Mysterious Chess Problem — Cleverness of French Secret
Service ... ----- 82

chapter v

LOCATING GERMAN MINE-LAYERS

Coast- hunting — A Find — Spies of Many Nations — Obliterating
Trails — Tracking Down the " Berlin " — Marvellous Naviga-
tion by Germans — Interned — German Arson — An Impudent
Invitation — A Russian Sugar- Queen's Yacht — Queer Com-
pany— Sapping Hun Intelligences — Playing on Weaknesses —
Success — Loss of H .M.S. " Audacious ' ' — Soliloquising - 97

CHAPTER VI

DEPOSING A RIVAL

Retreat and Would-be Rest — Wintry Weather in the North
Sea — The Secret Message — Rival's Removal Commanded
Forthwith — Seemingly Impossible Proposition — Seeking One's
Colleagues — Solving the Riddle — Preparing the Trap —
The Lonely Sentry and the Mysterious Boatman — Capture,
Arrest, Search and Find — The Incriminating Document —
Instant Deportation — Exultation — Next, Please - - 107

chapter vii

FIGHTING GERMAN AGENTS WITH FAKED WEAPONS

Danger Warning — Disguised Teutons — Hair-Tests — Observation
from Without— Clever Female Guard-— Deported Hun Agents
—Too Many Wrecks — Boot Change Trick — Flight — Patience
Unrewarded — Night Work at the Docks — A Sudden Attack —
OddsofThreetoOne — Pipe-faking for Make- believeRevolver
— A Stern Chase — American Ruse Baffles Pursuers — The
Sanctuary of Conviviality - - - - - 118

Contents ix

CHAPTER VIII

ESCAPING FROM THE CLUTCHES OF A VERY
CLEVER LADY

TAQX

Disguises — Importance of Hands — Service on a Baltic Trader —
" Idle, Dirty, Good-for-nothing Scamp" — A Tender-hearted
Lady — A Fashionable Gathering — The English Dude —
Their second Meeting — Suspected — Clever Fencing —
Whales with Iron Skins — Alliance Offered — A Woman
Scorned — Meditation — Flight ----- 128

CHAPTER IX

WILD-FOWLING EXTRAORDINARY AND TRAWLING
FOR SUBMARINES IN NEUTRAL WATERS

Germany's Western Coast — Shooting Wild-fowl and Being Shot
at — An Intrepid Sportsman — Collapsed Zeppelin — Escaping
War Prisoners — Careless Landsturmers — A Supposed-to-be
Norwegian Skipper — Native Curiosity — Dare- Devil Chris-
tian— A Mysterious Ship — Goose-stalking over a Land Mine
— Too Near Death to be Pleasant — The Nocturnal Sub-
marine Raider — Night Trawling for Strange Fish — Enemy's
Secret Reconnoitring Exposed and Thwarted - - 187

CHAPTER X

THE MYSTERIOUS HARBOUR

Frontier Prowling — Startling Rumours — Terrible Weather —
Evading Sentries — Mapping the Works — Refuge with
Smuggler — Confidences on Super-Submarines and Zeppelins
— A Country Inn — Preparing Despatches — Forcible Intru-
sion— Arrested for aGerman Spy — Search and Interrogation
— Summary Trial—Tricking the Searchers — Committed for
Trial — Escape - - - - - - 148

CHAPTER XI

MAD GAMBLING AND A BIG BRIBE

Kaleidoscope Changes in Secret Service Agent's Life — Called
to Norwegian Capital for Orders — Enforced Idleness — A
War Gambler — Huge Credits — Twisting the Tail of the
British Lion — Averting Possible War — Frenzied Finance —
A Colossal Bribe — Top-heavy Argument — Newspaper In-
fluence— A Good Bargain for England — Millionaire in
Three Days - - - - - - - 161

x Contents

CHAPTER XII

SHADOWED BY POLICE

Posing as a Journalist — Credentials — Subtle Suggestions —
Suspicions — A Fallen Star — Sold to the Police — Instinctive
Warnings — Temptation — Intercepted Adulations — A Serious
Blow — Tests — Danger Signals — Flight — Herr Schmidt —
Double Tracking — Arrest Warrant Postponed - - 170

CHAPTER XIII

DODGING FRONTIER GUARDS AND SEARCHING FOR

ONE'S SELF

Frontier Guards— Smugglers — Rigorous Searches — Unearthing
Valuable German Secrets Regarding Super- Zeppelins,
Submarines and the Paris Big Cannon — A Loquacious Waiter —
— Head-money for My Capture — 25,000 Marks, Dead or Alive
— Looking for Oneself — A Capture — Crossing the Schleswig
Frontier — A Friend in Need — Dangerous Enterprise —
Kiel Harbour — Safe Return - - - - 180

CHAPTER XIV

AVOIDING COLD MURDER

Swarms of Bagmen — Jesuitical Methods — Mysterious Disappear-
ances— Unaccountable Accidents — Avoiding a Duel — Fas-
cinated by a Hungarian — A Ludicrous Traveller — Fracas
at a Theatre — Insult, Assault and Challenge-^Choosing
Weapons — Difficulties Overcome — Fixing Details — Early
Travelling — Denouement — " Am Tag " - - - - 190

CHAPTER XV
ESCAPING FROM A SUBMARINE

A Ship of III- Omen — Attacked — Hell Let Loose — Panic — Fight
for the Boats — Cowardly Conduct — Powerless to Act —
Shrapnel at Sea — Surrender — Taking Charge of Ship and
Carrying on — Value of Smoke Boxes — Terrible Anticipations
— Land at Last— Reminiscences Untold ... 200

Contents xi

CHAPTER XVI

THE CASEMENT AFFAIR

PAGE

Grave Imputations — Norwegian Characteristics — Casement's
Letter to Sir Edward Grey — Irish Interests — Surreptitious
Visits to the Embassy — Envoye Extraordinaire — £10,000
for Casement's Servant — Casement's Explanations, Com-
ments, Kidnapping and Murder Allegations — Sir F. E.
Smith on Casement's Life and Actions — A Bad Mistake - 211

CHAPTER XVII

PERTAINING TO MYSTERY SHIPS

" You British will Always be Fools and we Germans shall never
be Gentlemen " — Silhouette Lifeboat for Gun-covering — A
Secret of the War Explained and Illustrated — More Ideas
for Mystery Ships Described — Secret Thanks — Successful
Results from Camouflage at Sea— The Gratitude of the
Admiralty ....... 225

CHAPTER XVIII

THE SINKING OF THE "LUSITANIA" BY GERMAN

TREACHERY

How the Dastardly Deed was Planned — Commemoration Medal
Prematurely Dated — Sinking Announced in Berlin before
the Vessel was Attacked — German Joy at the Outrage —
British Secret Code Stolen — Violations of American Neu-
trality— False Messages — Authority for the Facts - 235

CHAPTER XIX

MINISTERIAL, DIPLOMATIC, AND CONSULAR

FAILINGS

Ministers Selected by Influence, not Merit — German Embassies
Headquarters of Espionage — How English Embassies
Hampered Secret Service Work; — Bernhardi on the Block-
ade— England's Open Doors — A Minister's Failings — British
Vice-Consul's Scandalous Remuneration — Alien Consuls
— How Italy was Brought into the War — How the Sympathies
of Turkey and Greece were Lost — The Failure of Sir
Edward Grey — Asquith's Procrastination • • - 289

xii Contents

CHAPTER XX

THE SHAM BLOCKADE

MM

Secret Service Protest against the Open Door to Germany —
Activity of our Naval Arm Nullified — Lord Northcliffe's
Patriotism — Blockade Bunkum — Position of Denmark — Huge
Consignments for Germany — The Declaration Fiasco —
British Minister's Gullibility in Copenhagen — German
Bank Guaranteeing the British against Goods going to
Germany — British Navy Paralysed by Diplomatic and
Political Folly — Statistics Extraordinary — Flouting the
Declaration of London — Sir Edward Grey's Dilatoriness
and Puerile Apologia — Lord Haldane Pushed out— Lord
Fisher's Efficiency Unrecognised — Lord Devonport's Amazing
Figures on German Imports — Further Startling Statistics —
British the Greatest Muddlers on Earth — Noble Service
by Australian Premier, W. H. Hughes — Hollow Sham of
the Danish Agreement and the Netherlands Overseas Trust
— Blockade Minister, Lord Robert Cecil, and His Feeble,
Futile Efforts — More Statistics — The Triumvirate —
asquith the unready, slr edward grey the irresolute,
and Lord Haldane the Friend of the Kaiser — David Lloyd
George the Saviour of the Situation — How He Proved Him-
self a Man — A Neglected Opportunity - - - 264

L'ENVOI 317

FOREWORD

There is something so mysterious and thrilling about Secret
Service that the subject must inevitably appeal to the public,
and especially to the more imaginative section of it. Secret
Service is the theme of Mr. Nicholas Everitt's book, in which
he describes the exciting adventures that he met with whilst
in quest of information of use to his country during the
Great War.

In carrying out his task he proved himself to be a keen
observer and a man of resource. His experience gives point
to the old saying that a man's ability is shewn less in never
getting into a scrape, for humanum est errare, than in knowing
how to get out of one ! There is perhaps no vocation in
which it is easier to get into a tight corner and more difficult
to get out again than in the Secret Service, where the sword
of Damocles often hangs over one's head.

Besides giving an account of his adventures, Mr. Everitt
devotes no small part of his work to criticism of the Foreign
Office and its overseas branches — the Diplomatic and Con-
sular Services. He draws attention to what he conceives
to be their defects and suggests how they might be remedied.

While not concurring with everything said by the Author
in regard to politics and politicians, I am sufficiently in agree-
ment with the main features of his book to recommend it
to the British Public, because I believe that publicity is the
most potent instrument of Reform.

NOBTHCLIFFE.

February ', 1920.

INTRODUCTION

This book is not published with the sole idea of increment
to its builder ; it presumes to venture beyond.

When old machinery is continued in use year after year
with no thought for wear and tear, no effort to repair defec-
tive parts, and no attempt to modernise or keep pace with
the times, a smash usually follows.

The British Consular Service is a concrete example of
such short-sighted folly. It is so glaringly defective in its
all-British efficiency that a thorough and complete overhaul,
with drastic reforms, should be put in hand without further
delay.

The British Diplomatic Service is little better. Its highest
positions are filled by men appointed (in many instances)
by influence and not by merit.

The exaggerated dignity, arrogance, and egotistical self-
importance of some ministers abroad is such that the mere
mention of trade sets their teeth on edge, the name of money
is too vulgar for their personal contemplation ; while if
any matter arises in which their authority or actions are
questioned they tender their resignations like sulky, petulant
children spoilt beyond measure by misguided parents.

Attached to each Chancellery abroad should be a business
or commercial expert, paid a fair and reasonable salary,
who should make a study of British trade interests and who
should control the whole consular service in the country to
which he is attached. He should make it his special business
to see that every consul is a born Englishman and that each
is paid a salary commensurate with his position and duties.

Secret Service (if it is to be continued) should be a fully

xvi Introduction

authorised and recognised department having a real business
minister at its head with absolute control of its organisation,
work, and finances. Service men would naturally be ap-
pointed for each separate service department, whilst civilians
should be utilised in useful spheres. Such a reorganisation
would do much to stop the friction which arises when military,
naval, air-service, and other interests overlap, clash, or are
required to work in double harness. The pitiable jealousies
with which Whitehall is saturated have to be seen to be
believed. Among the rank and file this canker-worm has
no existence. The affection of one arm of the service for
another is overwhelming, but the higher one investigates
upward in rank and officialdom, the more deep-seated are
the roots of the pernicious evil found to be.

At home our politicians have ever been much too inter-
fering. Our Government has for all too long been over-
ridden by a multitude of lawyers who have pushed aside
the more efficient business man, while they interfere with,
and attempt to control, colossal matters which they do not
and could not properly be expected to understand, and which
ought to have been left entirely to experts whose lives had
been devoted to the attainment of efficiency therein.

That the Navy should have been deliberately prevented
from making our so-called blockade really effective through-
out the war is as unjustifiable as it has been exasperating
to the British Public, whilst it has been detrimental to the
interests of the Empire. More than half the nation believe
that had this matter been treated with a firm, courageous
hand, the war would have been over in eighteen months at
least. Almost the entire nation believed that the war would
continue to drag its disastrous weary course until the Blockade
was made really effective.

Part of this book is devoted to this most important issue.

The public of the whole world believe we have a thor-
oughly active and efficient Home Secret Service Organisation,
working as a separate independent unit. That is just what
we ought to have had and for which there has ever been an

Introduction xvii

urgent want. This omission is a defect in our armour which
has been directly responsible for the undoubted loss of
valuable lives and the destruction of vast property.

Much too much is left in the hands of the police. It is
true our British Police Force is the best, the most efficient,
and the least corrupt in the whole world. But it is not fair
to place upon it more than it can properly attend to ; whilst
in any event its powers should be enlarged and a more elastic
discretion extended. In comparison with the police of other
nations, words quite fail the author with which to express
his admiration for our noble and exemplary police adminis-
tration. Yet its work could be made more effective if we
had a separate and properly organised Home Secret Service
branch, working conjointly with the police, which could at
a moment's notice send down its agents, drawn from any
station in society, with full powers to act and to commandeer
all and every assistance that occasion might require.

Take a simple example in order that the matter may be
the better understood. It is admitted that for many years our
East Coast had been overrun with spies. There are places
where two or more counties meet. A member of the police
force for one county has no power, authority, or discretion
enabling him to enter into and to act in another. Thus he
cannot follow a suspect over the county border. In 1916
a certain female, whose cleverness was only equalled by her
personal charms and powers of fascination, started a tour
of our great camps along the Eastern seaboard. Her move-
ments were reported by non-authorised observers. Such a
case was obviously one requiring delicate investigation.
Owing to lack of the necessary department under notice, the
case automatically devolved into the hands of the police.
Our lady fair is watched and followed. It matters not to
her ; she can gaily slip over the county-border by automo-
bile. Long reports have to be made out and passed through
slow and devious channels before the police in the next
county can act. By the time this becomes operative, the
elusive one has returned to the county she left, or she has

xviii Introduction

entered another one — an evolution which could happen
several times in a very short period and much mischief be
done under the nose of authorities absolutely powerless to
act — until too late. It is not difficult to imagine how a
home Secret Service agent, with a private motor-car, would
handle such a case ; more particularly when working in
conjunction and perfect harmony with the police generally.

Take another case.

On April 13th, 1916, the author wrote to Whitehall as
follows :

" In a certain Naval Base of considerable importance
on the East Coast in the autumn of 1914, a complete
plant of wireless installation was discovered in the
private house of an English merchant who was known
to have business connections abroad, which plant
was forthwith removed.

Some months after, a second visit was paid to the
same premises and further parts of wireless telegraphy
were found and taken away, and an assurance was
given that everything in any way connected with
wireless had been handed over.

In the month of March, 1916, the premises were
once more visited and another complete plant was
found to have been installed, which was immediately
removed.

In April, 1916, a fourth surprise visit was made
upon the same premises, when a very ingenious and
complete portable wireless plant was discovered.

My information records that the latter of these
respective plants controlled a radius of only about
twenty miles, that they were in perfect order and that
they had been repeatedly used.

The man and the occupiers of this house are said
to be still at large ! These facts have given me much
food for reflection.

" Yours, etc."

The Powers-that-be took a whole week to consider this

Introduction xix

report, the result of private enterprise ; then they suggested
a meeting with the author at any convenient time, for which
they added there need be no hurry whatsoever.

Meanwhile on Monday, April 24th, 1916, the mani-
pulator of these terribly dangerous and unlawful instruments
arrived at another naval base — Lowestoft — on the eve of its
bombardment by the German Fleet, actually staying at the
Royal Hotel, which overlooks the whole sea-front and which was
occupied by most of the officers in command of the base.

Private agitation alone seemed to account for this gentle-
man's eventual removal from the East Coast ; but it took an
unpardonably long time in its successful accomplishment.

Another ridiculous muddle, which was undoubtedly
dangerous to the welfare of the nation, was the Petrol Fiasco.

Such people as rag-and-bone merchants of possible alien
extraction were permitted petrol in such quantities that they
could dispose of it at good profit, whereas the police, even
those in control of big and important areas, with enormous
added responsibilities piled upon their too willing shoulders,
were actually cut down to unworkable limits (one tin per
week, equal to about forty miles) — not enough to cover a
journey of consequence. Furthermore the author was
informed by the Head of our then Secret Service that " he
himself was quite unable to move in the matter." His
supply appeared to have been insanely limited.

No one ever doubted but that we should successfully
pull through the war, or that our heroic, unconquerable
and magnificent Active Service man would prove victorious
in spite of all the mistakes, the clogs on the wheels, and the
disastrous blundering of interfering politicians — those
Grand Old Muddlers who so persistently blocked their ears
to the motto, "It is never too late to mend," and who so
obstinately declined to " get a move on " until positively
spurred into seemingly reluctant action by the patriotic
Northcliffe Press voicing the fierce indignation of the long
suffering British nation.

I venture to predict that Lord Northcliffe will go down in

xx Introduction

history as the one man amongst men who has done most
towards the winning of the war and the safeguarding of the
future welfare of our beloved British Empire.

Regarding the chapters in this book which recount actual
experiences of Secret Service work, I can assure my readers
that nothing has been divulged which touches even the fringe
of the important secrets that every Secret Service agent
would proudly guard with his life. Those things are sacred
and would never be intentionally divulged. On the other
hand the records of adventure are not mere efforts at fiction.
They are actual experiences, faintly tinted, maybe, in couleur
de rose to raise bald facts into readable narrative. They are
also scenes which are enacted every day on the stage of
Life's Theatre, often much nearer to the circle in which the
reader moves than he or she may realise, imagine, or dream
about. They are given in order the better to excite interest,
to exemplify the work which has to be done, and which in the
future may still require attention.

Needless to add that a book of this description has not
been permitted to go to press without difficulties. Much
more has been left unsaid than is said. Much has of necessity
been omitted, not only for the sake of the maintenance of
the glory of one's own beloved land, but also for the sake of
the personal future safety and well-being of others besides
oneself.

Some of the readers of the MS., through whose hands it
had to pass before publication, have commented upon the
political amalgam which has been introduced into the book
as not being strictly within the scope of its title. If any
apology is due under this head the author can only plead
justification by reason of his deep and earnest desire for
reform both abroad and at home. In his humble opinion
the evils that he exposes or hints at could not have been
brought home to his readers had he confined himself entirely
to the perhaps more interesting narrative of individual
adventure.

So far as the statistics given regarding the blockade

Introduction xxi

leakages are concerned, he feels they are important enough
to carry historical interest, and should therefore be collated
and put on permanent record. Secret Service agents de-
voted much time and attention to these details, and our then
Government was or should have been fully alive to the fact
that the so-called blockade was only a ridiculous sham, long
before the Daily Mail campaign opened. Why our Govern-
ment made no effort to checkmate, stop, or divert these
extraordinary supplies going direct into the enemy country,
is left to the judgment of my readers.

/ Twice, between Christmas 1914, and Midsummer 1915,
I entered German territory from Denmark and from the sea.
After my second visit I was warned that a head-hunter was
looking diligently for me in the hope of securing a reward
which the Germans had secretly offered. This enterprising
individual I sought out, and for a day and a half helped him
with another in the hunt for myself, arguing in my own mind
that it was my safest occupation at that particular time and
in that particular locality. During this short partnership
a quarrel ensued regarding the division of the spoils before
they were secured, when I learned that the sum at first offered
had been 10,000 marks but it had then recently been increased
to 25,000. Some compensation remains to me in being able
to look back at this attention on the part of the Hun as a
compliment of some value to my personal activities.
ry In the spring of 1916, during our military operations in
Belgium, a deep and crafty Alsatian of violent disposition*
and of German descent, was captured by our Tommies, and
to save his own skin admitted he had been employed in the
German Foreign Secret Service since the outbreak of war.
Much valuable information was thus obtained ; by way of
test evidence he stated that inter alia he had been ordered to
endeavour to hold my trail (I was known to him) during my
Baltic wanderings in the late autumn of 1914 ; and that
although he had persisted in various disguises he had been led
a terrible dance and had been compelled to abandon the task
as hopeless. I was able to corroborate this.

he

xxii Introduction

Anyone who has lived a strenuous life of many ups and
downs must at times have rubbed shoulders with celebrities.
In later years these personal reminiscences invariably provide
reflections of more than passing interest.
2 The author has, from his teens upwards, been swayed
with an insatiable lust for travelling in foreign lands. During
these peregrinations his experiences have been somewhat
unique, his adventures many. An instinctive inquisitiveness
has more than once caused his arrest for trespassing in private
places of national importance ; whilst cosmopolitan habits,
imbibed from bohemian associations, may have tended
to mould a character adapted for the special work now under
consideration.

Owing to a fortunate, or unfortunate, lapse of good manners

was on one occasion — a good many years ago — given
ample opportunity to survey at close quarters the Kaiser,
his Empress the Kaiserin, little Willie, and the then entire
German royal family, from the confines of a guard-room
in the grounds of their Imperial Schloss at Potsdam.

t The same year Lord Roberts, with General Wood of the
U.S.A. Army, personally escorted him round the most inter-
esting sights of Dresden. The very next day he was arrested
in Bohemia for want of a passport.

In 1895 he accompanied Dr. Leyds, then head of the
South African Secret Service, when he was on his way to
Berlin to interview the Kaiser on a mission of most serious
menace to Great Britain on behalf of his master Oom Paul
Kruger ; although the author was unaware at the time of
the importance of that mission. Cecil Rhodes he knew as
a visitor to his father's house. Dr. Jamieson he has sported
with ; Dr. Fridjof Nansen is no stranger to him ; whilst
he crossed the North Sea when the submarine season was in
full swing with Ronald Amundsen, that most interesting
discoverer of the South Pole. He was within a stone's-
throw of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, in the province of Kiang So,
when the northern Chinese Army of Yuan Shi Kai surrounded
and so nearly captured him during the rebellion of 1913, on

Introduction xxiii

the eve of his escape to Japan. Under the Great Wall of
China on the southern limits of the Gobi desert he was within
an ace of being captured by the notorious renegade " White
Wolf " ; whilst part of the band of another equally celebrated
bandit, Raisuli, gave him cold shudders down the spine in
1896, despite the scorching heats of the Sahara. He has been
an unwilling listener to treason from the lips of one or other
of the much-wanted Hardyal or Gardit Singh, who, on the
western foothills of the Rocky Mountains prophesied that
Germany would declare war in the autumn of 1914 ; whilst
in direct contrast to these unenviable experiences he has been
the recipient of hospitality and of sport as the guest of
Royalty ; although the enforced formalities attendant upon
such experiences tend to destroy the charm which may be
believed to surround the honour.

Variety has been provided by being brought in contact
with Nihilists inRussiaand Siberia; with anarchists in France
and Spain ; as a trembling defendant in a stump-head
court-martial by backwoodsmen in Western America, where
justice is administered with lightning-like rapidity, and fatal
mistakes often result through misidentification, as was so
nearly the case in his own particularly uncomfortable ex-
perience as the unlucky chief actor in a " hold up " on the
trail in British Columbia ; and more than once he has been
lost in the untrodden wilds of vast forests. But these
experiences of the ups and downs of life pale and sink into
insignificance when compared with the vortex of the rapid,
rushing, kaleidoscopic changes, the hair-breadth escapes*
the blood-curdling thrills, the risks, the dangers and excite-
ments, which at times are part and parcel of the life of a
Secret Service agent.

Secret Service, Intelligence, Reconnaissance, Investigation,
Strategical or Military Agent — use any name you will — the
work of each merely resolves itself for the time being into
" the antennae, or the senses of fighting units " ; the seeing,
the hearing, the smelling, or the touching of a fleet or an
army ; of what is before, behind, surrounding, or in its midst.

xxiv Introduction

Without its aid few battles could be won and no ultimate
victory anticipated.

Military and naval officers endowed with sufficient
intelligence, brains, and philological ability are, as a rule,
very keen to devote some part of their career to foreign
Secret Service. It is believed, with some certitude, to be the
surest step to early promotion ; to pave the way to future
advancement. Amongst those who have risen from such a
foundation and who have proved their worth to the British
Empire may be mentioned the late Lord Kitchener, who in
Egypt, under various disguises, penetrated far into the
interior. Colonel Burnaby, Lord Roberts, Sir Richard
Burton and hundreds of other distinguished and prominent
men may be included in the category ; whilst Lt.-General
Sir R. Baden-Powell eulogises this branch of the service in a
book entitled " My Adventures as a Spy." He writes :
"It is an undisputable fact that our Secret Service has at
all times been recruited from men of unblemished personal
honour who would not descend to any act which in their view
was tainted with meanness."

No sane, thinking man would condemn Secret Service
agents as following a dishonourable calling. If it were so,
then it would be equally — if not more — dishonourable to
employ, to guide, and to direct them. Yet all commanders
of all nations employ them and have done so from time
immemorial ; and if any nation failed to do so it might as
well — as Lord Wolseley said — " sheath its sword for ever."

To quote a few well-known names at random, Catinat
investigated in the disguise of a coalheaver ; Montlue as a
cook ; Ashby visited the Federal line in the American Civil
War as a horse-doctor ; whilst General Nathaniel Lyon
visited the Confederate camp at St. Louis in disguise before
he attacked and captured it. In 1821, George III. granted
a pension to the mother of Major Andre, who, whilst acting
as aide-de-camp to General Clinton, was condemned as an
English Secret Service agent ; he further gave a baronetcy
to his brother ; whilst the remains of the hero were exhumed,

Introduction xxv

brought from America to England, and buried in Westminster
Abbey.

The Japanese, one of the proudest nations in the world,
whose code of honour is stricter even than our own, accord
the highest honours to military or naval intelligence officers,
whose bravery and understanding they fully recognise ;
although they never fail to shoot one whenever and wherever
he may be caught acting against them.

It is sometimes puzzling to understand what is the real
motive which prompts our military and naval officers to seek
so persistently to become enrolled in the Secret Service
Department. Is it solely the desire to further their chances
of advancement, or is it the bold adventuresome activity of
the service, the innate longing to take all risks and to bring
back personally the information so essential to the successful
conduct of war ; or is it the feeling and knowledge that only
a brave man is ready to go out alone, unobserved and unap-
plauded, to risk his life for his country's sake ? For let it
not be forgotten that to accept an appointment under the
Foreign Secret Service in war time is no feather-bed occupa-
tion. The smallest slip, the slightest indiscretion, and one's
doom is sealed. Only a man to whom life was as nothing
if risking it would help his country, would dare to undertake
such perilous work. It is indeed the finest and most thrilling
recuperative tonic in the world for anyone weary of life's
monotonies. It commands the highest courage, the clearest
understanding, the greatest ability and cleverness, never-
flagging persistence, and an ever-prevailing optimism. Yet
such men and women as these who have striven, laboured,
fought alone, and won through against inconceivable difficul-
ties and immense odds, possibly to the permanent ruin of their
health or financial status, are, although it seems inconceivable
to believe, more often than not overlooked and passed
aside by the nation ; unobservantly pushed into the cold
burial vaults of ungrateful forgetfulness ! — the fate, alas !
of many an active Secret Service agent, no matter how
patriotically loyal, how brave, or how successful he may have

xxvi Jlntroduction

been. Such men neither seek nor expect to be bedecked with
baubles, or awarded shekels, so coveted by those who stay
at home. They know the hollo wness which quickly fades
or is lost in the vortex of political upheaval or changing
dynasty. They rest content in the knowledge that they
have well and truly served their country, that they have
lived in the full realism of existence ; whilst they are happy
in their memories.

One crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth an age without a name.

NICHOLAS EVERITT.

British Secret Service during
the Great War

CHAPTER I

WAR AND THE INTRODUCING OF JIM

The Prosperity of 1914 — An Ominous Calm — Multitude of
German Spies — How England was Undermined — Shortsighted-
ness of our Liberal Government — Secret Knowledge of
Prominent Men — Sir Edward Goschen's Historical Despatch —
Rush to the Colours — Our Unpreparedness — Introducing
Jim — Patriots from Afar — F. C. Selous' Roughriders — Initia-
tion into the Foreign Secret Service — Advisory Testamentary
Dispositions.

The year 1914 opened auspiciously. Future prospects
looked brilliant. In the past there had been depression
owing to political extravagances, but everything pointed
to a change in the minds of the people ; to an awakening,
to future betterment. Money was plentiful and cheap.
Labour was an active market with plenty of it. Good business
seemed to be in the air. All around there appeared to be a
general cheerfulness. Then came the lull before the storm.
An ominous calm, a dull, dead, mysterious cloud of invisible,
inexplicable, unintelligible danger threatened. No one could
penetrate it ; no one could fathom what it was ; but every-
one felt instinctively that something great and terrible was
going to happen.

The stock markets sagged and fell away in a most ex-
traordinary fashion, no matter how the Bulls or surrounding
circumstances supported them. Buyers of properties sud-
denly stayed their hands. Speculators by natural impulse
held aloof. Rumours began to circulate, strange stories passed
from mouth to mouth which none believed, but which left an
impression of gloom and impending disaster behind them.

28 British Secret Service

The man in the street, the one and only true barometer
of England's real feelings, showed an uneasy restlessness
which could not be interpreted.

The multitude of German spies, who swarmed like
locusts throughout the British Isles, assured themselves that
the seditious seeds they had been sowing so energetically
during the past years in the receptive and nourishing soil
of Radicalism and Socialism, plenteously manured b)' liberal
administrations from the vast financial resources at their
disposal, were at last bearing a rich harvest of rare and re-
freshing fruit. They assured themselves that revolution
would devastate Ireland, perhaps part of England, Wales,
and Scotland as well. The Unions of the working classes
they knew had been nurtured by their fond attentions until
they had grown to mighty proportions. Working men of
German blood or of strong Teutonic tendencies had agitated
amongst the masses again and yet again, for " less time,
more pay, and greater and more extended privileges." Ger-
man Secret Service money had provided the sinews of an
underground labour war. Countless thousands of honest,
hard-working British labourers neither knew of, nor recog-
nised, nor even suspected, the traitorous hand which so
gently stroked them down the back whilst their ears were
being tickled with persuasive suggestions and argumentative
reasoning, prompting a greater dissatisfaction the more they
were pandered to, and petted, and spoilt, and bribed by the
Liberal Government who were the men in power over them.
It must not be forgotten that for some years previous to 1914
prominent members of the Government of the day had been
roundly rated in the Press for encouraging and expressing
pro-German sentiments and inclinations ; whilst the Govern-
ment itself had been accused of shattering the Constitution of
the United Kingdom, of muzzling the House of Lords, of
trampling on the rights of Democracy, of humiliating the
Crown, and of robbing the Church of England.

Whether there was truth in these accusations the his-
torian will record, but that civil war was a seriously threatened
danger there can be no doubt ; whilst the proverbial slackness

War and the Introducing of Jim 29

of our phlegmatic British nature is such that Englishmen
permitted much to transpire which no other nation in the
world would have tolerated. Mr. W. M. Hughes, the Aus-
tralian Prime Minister, speaking in the London Stock Exchange
on March 20th, 1916, more eloquently describes us : "A
people slow to anger, unsuspicious of guile in others, foolishly
generous in throwing open their land to the world, offering
sanctuary to all, even to those who proposed first to exploit
and then betray them, before we as a nation awoke to the
peril."

It was only too well known to certain members of Scotland
Yard, probably others as well, that German Secret Service
agents had reported to their respective headquarters, that
" the English Radical Government would never dare to inter-
vene in a war waged by Germany." They knew, or rather
thought they knew, that England was utterly unprepared for
a war of any magnitude ; that for years military and naval
estimates had been cut down rather than added to, which was
substantiated by a collection of innumerable press cuttings
showing the violent public agitation in consequence ; that the
Government did not believe a great European war could be
possible within the next fifty years ; that the United King-
dom was on the verge of revolution over Ulster's dissent
from Home Rule ; that the Labour Unions had grown so
vast, so all-embracing and so powerful that they could and
would paralyse the Government's action if by any possible
chance it did decide on intervening ; that Egypt, India, and
South Africa were ripe for revolt and only too anxious for an
opportunity to shake off British rule ; that Australia, New
Zealand, and Canada were anxious to declare their respective
independence ; in fact that the whole British Empire beyond
the seas was itching for disintegration, if only " The Day "
would dawn giving half a chance of striking a blow for freedom
and exemption from control of the hated British yoke ; and
that the welding together of all these (believed-to-be) irre-
concilable nations and peoples in a common battle cause was
an unthinkable impossibility.

It was common knowledge to the Secret Service agents of all

30 British Secret Service

nations that the Liberal-Radical Government of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was tottering to a fall.
Its popularity with the masses had waned ; its hypocrisy
with the middle classes had become a byword ; its disloyalty
to the Empire with the upper classes had become revolting ;
its days had become numbered. The German War party
saw this and realised the fact better than the English. It
knew that it was of vital importance to its world-power dream
to make war only when a Liberal, Radical, and Socialist party
was in office in England ; it would be courting disaster to
do so if a Unionist Government were in power.

Yea, verily, the Kaiser believed that the harvest of his
sowing was ready for the garnering.

All these things were reported in gloating glee by the army
of Teutonic spies in our midst to their respective headquarters,
thence conveyed to their Central Office at Berlin with an
openness that might have seemed an insult to the intelligence
of Scotland Yard and those who direct and control that very
effective and efficient department ; only our astute police
service happened to be much more wide awake than it
appeared to be.

The man in power, the one and only being who really
knew the truth of what was actually happening over and
beyond the horizon of our ken, maintained an impassive
silence. His motto throughout was and had been " Wait
and See."

The ruler of the waves, the noble and illustrious British
Bull-dog, Lord Fisher, knew and had known. He had never
failed his countrymen. He pushed along all and every pre-
paration for the evil day, which a weak and Peace-at-any-
price Government had permitted.

The illustrious martial Warrior of previous wars, whose
life and loved ones had been sacrificed upon the altar of
patriotism and loyalty, knew. He had never failed to lift
his voice in warning, both inside and outside Parliament,
since he returned from the South African War, imploring
support, reformation, and more attention to the Army ;
pleading conscription amongst J;he youthful jnasses ; working

War and the Introducing of Jim 31

so unselfishly, so energetically and so devotedly, and in
feverish anxiety for the protection and welfare of the Mother-
land and our Empire, right up to the day of his glorious
death within sound of the German guns. A fitting dirge
for so beloved and valiant a Hero.

The man of Foreign Affairs, the man who gained for himself
the utmost honour, respect, esteem, and gratitude from all the
world, by reason of his unflagging and unceasing efforts to
keep and maintain the peace of Europe, he also knew. To
the very last hour, yea, even far beyond it, he worked on,
hoping against hope that such a terrible calamity as threat-
ened to paralyse the nations of the earth for centuries to
come might yet be averted. Noble man, working for a noble
cause ! History will record your efforts, but no pen can
adequately record your meritorious deserts. Oh ! the pity
of it that you, a true genius in the arts of peace and of peaceful
diplomacies, did not retire at the outbreak of war in favour
of some more martial, bellicose, and iron-fisted statesman,
instead of clinging to office during the awful years that
followed, when our enemy not only torpedoed all the laws of
nations, but outraged every decent feeling of humanity.
Your honourable and gentlemanly nature made it impossible
for you to realise, to understand, or to compete with these
barbaric and inhuman practices.

The man in opposition, whose duty it is to criticise and
restrain the hotheadedness of Governmental action, although
he is not admitted to share the secrets of the Cabinet, he knew.
His instinct told him what was looming behind the electrically
charged atmosphere, and he at once showed that he was
a true-born Britisher first and foremost before he was a
politician.

The man of marvellous organisation abilities, who had
been more than once conveniently removed far afield from
English politics in order to straighten out our tangled skeins
in the East, because such efficient capables as himself, Lord
Fisher, Lord Roberts and others did not suit the party
system of our modern Democratic Government, also knew.
But that man of action without words had to sit and look

32 British Secret Service

on, whilst the late friend of the Kaiser was kept in office
until the unmistakable voice of the people arose in ugly
anger to demand the change. Alas, that your precious life
should have been sacrificed by treachery which ought to
have been checkmated.

The man of mystery, who, although not admitted as a
member of the ship of state, clung limpet-like to its bottom
and maintained an existence thereon, he knew ; perhaps first
of all. His knowledge was but a materialisation of reports
foreshadowing such an event which had floated to him in
crescendo numbers. His office was one of semi-independence.
He could act with promptness and decision. He did, so far
as he was permitted to go.

War was in the air. This seemed to be conceived but not
to be realised. The very idea was too terrible to be true.
A portentous omen had been uttered by a great Silesian
nobleman, Count von Oppersdorff, only a few hours before
it was publicly known that England would declare war against
Germany if the neutrality of Belgium was violated.

He had inquired from Mr. F. W. Wile, an Anglo-American
journalist in Berlin, if such a contingency could be possible.
On being answered in the affirmative, he muttered with great
seriousness, " There will be many surprises."

The real and concise reason which forced England to join
in the war is recorded in the now famous despatch of Sir
Edward Goschen, the British Ambassador at Berlin, to Sir
Edward Grey, the British Minister for Foreign Affairs. It
runs as follows :

August 4, 1914 : "I found the Chancellor very
agitated. His Excellency at once began an harangue
which lasted for twenty minutes. He said that the
step taken by His Majesty's Government (the
ultimatum of war) was terrible to a degree ; just for
a word — ' Neutrality,' a word which in war time had
so often been disregarded — just for a scrap of paper
Great Britain was going to make war on a kindred
nation. I said that, in the same way as he and Herr
von Jagow (the German Secretary of State) wished

War and the Introducing of Jim 33

me to understand that for strategical reasons it
was a matter of life and death to Germany to advance
through Belgium and violate the latter' s neutrality,
so I would wish him to understand that it was, so to
speak, a matter of ' life and death ' for the honour of
Great Britain that she should keep her solemn
engagement to do her utmost to defend Belgium's
neutrality if attacked."

It was on the 5th of August, 1 91 4, that the British nation
was called to arms. It awoke, suddenly, startled as from
some horrible nightmare. It was shaken and stirred in a
manner unprecedented in its history from the day it had
thrown off allegiance to Rome. Without hesitation or delay
every patriotic Britisher having no binding ties to hold him,
in company with many tens of thousands who had, rushed to
seek out recruiting officers or sergeants in order that their
services might be proffered in the service of their country.
So great and clamorous were the crowds in the big cities
that the police had much ado to preserve and maintain
order.

The Government was not prepared for anything like it.
It had made no provision in equipment or supplies to cope
with the stream of men so eager to join the colours. Long
before arrangements could be made to enrol the first batches
of recruits, men from all parts of our empire beyond the seas
began to arrive in the Mother Country, all keen, enthusiastic
and eager for the fray.

The authorities had their hands more than full and were
compelled to refuse thousands, including in some instances,
it is said, fully equipped companies of Colonial recruits. Yet
posters and stimulating advertisements, appealing for volun-
teers, continued to be spread broadcast throughout the land,
and, as the men rolled up in increasing numbers, confusion
became worse confounded. Many went to France in order
to join up there ; others returned to their homes disgusted
and sick at heart by the manner in which they had been
treated.

Was the Government to blame for this ? It had expressed

c

34 British Secret Service

blind faith in Germany and the peaceful sentiments she was
alleged to have expressed. Had not Lord Haldane hobnobbed
with the Kaiser, and had he not related to Parliament what
a good fellow the German Emperor really was, and how
friendly he meant to be to England ? Labour members of
Parliament had been to Germany, where they also had been
hoodwinked and deceived. Had not the Cabinet argued so
strenuously that a European war was unthinkable and impos-
sible for the next century at least, until it seemed to believe
it was actually true ? Hence no 'preparations for such a dis-
astrous calamity had been anticipated, thougM out, or provided
for.

" The Day " had dawned.

War with Germany had been declared. Every Britisher,
worthy of the name, was individually asking himself, in his
heart of hearts or in public, how he best could be of service
to his country, to the Empire, and to his King.

In the days to come, when children and children's children
will seek by interrogation enlightenment from their forebears
as to the part or parts they respectively took in the greatest
war the world has ever known, what terrible shame and mis-
givings will assail the craven, palsied soul of the shirker !

To England's everlasting glory such have been very,
very few, and very far between.

• • . . • «

I apologise for the necessity of having to introduce myself,
because, as the author, I must also figure prominently in
these pages. I am a Bohemian by nature, a Sportsman by
instinct, and a Lawyer by training.

Hail, fellow, well met ! I believe in the old Scotch proverb,
" Better a fremit freend than a freend f remit."

Acquaintances and correspondents I have endeavoured to
cultivate in every country I have been in, whilst as a traveller,
an author, and a sportsman I believe I am widely known.

At the same time I must confess to being a man of moods,
and like most other light-hearted, happy-go-lucky individuals,
who seem to be bubbling over with an exuberance of animal
spirits, there are times when depression holds down my soul

War and the Introducing of Jim 35

in a hell of its own making. That I never understood myself
may explain why so few really ever properly understand me,
I am said to be resourceful, ingenious, and so optimistic that
I extricate myself from difficulties under which many other
people might have capitulated as too overwhelmingly
crushing to attempt to resist. My great trouble has been
that my restless, rolling-stone disposition makes it intensely
distasteful and difficult for me to anchor down for any length
of time in any one particular place. Ever and anon there
comes to me a call from the wild, a mysterious and irresistible
whisper which a true son of nature cannot hope to fight against ;
an imperative summons from the vastnesses of unknown
seas, from deep and pathless forests, from the virgin snows of
mountain peaks. Wanderlust has saturated my system,
yea, to the very marrow in my bones. It has lured me on,
and in obedience to periodical promptings I have travelled
the world around and experienced adventure, sport, and fight-
ing in many a foreign land.

Early in 1913-14 I volunteered in the threatened
Irish upheavals, with countless thousands of others of my
countrymen who felt so strongly the injustice of that matter.
When a better and more meritorious chance of " scrapping "
presented itself, I was one of the first to offer my services,
which were promptly declined, solely because I was over the
age limit. Not satisfied with one effort, I made others in
various quarters and in various capacities, but all in
vain.

It was no consolation to learn later that someone else,
an expert engineer, had travelled 7,000 miles, from Hyderabad
in India,1 to help in munition-making, only to be refused a
job on arrival in this country ; nor that a Tasmanian,2 with
seventeen years' service in the Department of Agriculture in
Tasmania, carrying the highest credentials and having
obtained six months' leave in order to travel 13,000 miles to
the Mother Country to volunteer his gratuitous expert services
to our Board of Agriculture, had likewise butted his head

1 John Bully January 29th, 1916. Ibid., February 12th, 1916.

36 British Secret Service

against vain hopes of helping to forward encouragement of
more home-growing food for the nation.

In the early stages there was a vast army of rejected
would-be helpers turned down ignominiously and left to kick
their heels in fretful idleness. What a wicked waste of time
and good material !

I begin to believe that my American associations have
made me a bit of a hustler. Anyway, I approached the
celebrated Shikar of many trails, the famed big game hunter,
the late Mr. F. C. Selous.1 I wrote to him suggesting that
a corps of Big Game Hunters should be mustered, to consist
only of men who had had at least three years' experience of
that exciting and dangerous sport ; that each man should
provide and personally pay for the whole of his individual
equipment, including horse, rifle, uniform, and appendages ;
that Mr. Selous should take command and then offer the
services of the corps to the War Office.

Mr. Selous grasped the idea and agreed that a body of
quite 500 could probably be raised. He communicated his
willingness to .trffcel the whole work of raising the troop, but
the War Office was neither encouraging to the proposal, nor
willing to accept the services of such a body of men when
ready to serve. Sorrowful was the tone of the letter from Mr.
Selous conveying this news to me, its very much disappointed
recipient. He added in the P.S. that he had a friend in com-
mand of an infantry regiment who expected soon to be
ordered to France, and he had extracted a promise from him
to take him along in some capacity or another, in spite of the
fact that he was over sixty years of age ; and he advised me
to look out for a similar loophole through which I might
hope to crawl into the catacombs of Ypres and the Meuse,
with or without the knowledge or sanction of the Red Tape
artists at Whitehall.

About this period many amateur spy hunters were
actively on the war-path, and it was suggested to me by

1 This gentleman subsequently died a glorious death in the service of his
oountry. He was shot when on active service in South Africa.

War and the Introducing of Jim 37

friends of high standing in the sporting world that my con-
nection with Northern Europe and my varied experience
at home and abroad might be acceptable to the Secret Service ;
furthermore it was pretty plainly hinted to me that if I wrote
a personal letter to Sir Edward Grey it would not be ignored.

Not a moment was allowed to elapse after this. On
October 16th, 1914, I wrote, setting out my believed
qualifications in concise terms, adding that my age had
unfortunately precluded my eagerly proffered services from
acceptance in other spheres ; that I was keen and eager to
be of service to my country ; and that I was eating my
heart out through inactivity. If there was a chance of my
being any use, I prayed that my services might be commanded.

I had been cautioned with impressive seriousness that if
my services were accepted it might be only for enrolment
in the " Forlorn Hope Brigade " and that my chances of
survival might be very remote indeed.

Rather than damping my ardour, this warning merely
added fuel to the flames of my desires. In early life I had
been most bitterly disappointed/ A somewhat sensitive
nature had received a shock from which Ht never properly
recovered. With the fatuity of early youth I had placed a
whole family upon an idealistic pedestal — including a mere
child of thirteen years of age. When that theoristic fabric
fell, shattered to a million invisible fragments, at my feet,
I could not understand, but I felt for years afterwards that
life for me held nothing of worth.

Time heals wounds, and I survived in bodily health. In 1912
I lost a man's best friend on earth — my mother. At Christmas,
1913, my father, my dearest pal, followed her to the grave. I
was unmarried. My brother and my sisters had homes of their
own, far away. What mattered it to anyone, least of all
to myself, if I crossed the Great Divide before my allotted
time ? I was at best a mere worthless atom of humanity
dependent upon no one, with no one dependent upon me.

Here at least was a chance of doing something worth the
while. 'Twas a far, far better thing to do than I had ever
done.

38 British Secret Service

Yea, indeed. I was ready, and willing, and eager, for
the service, whatsoever that service might be, and wither-
soever it might take me, even to the jaws of death itself.

Having regard to all the circumstances, I do not believe
I shall be accused of presumptuousness or of egotism if I
say that I fully believed myself to be a fit and qualified person
for the service for which I then had volunteered.

On October 17th, 1914, I received a letter from the
Under Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
(Sir Arthur Nicholson — now Lord Carnock), acknowledg-
ing my letter of the previous day's date and saying Sir
Edward Grey appreciated my offer, although he regretted
there were no such appointments at the disposal of his depart-
ment ; but he added that my name had been noted in case my
services might be utilised in any capacity at some further date.

On October 19th, I received a letter on War Office
paper referring to my letter to Sir Edward Grey of the 16th,
saying : " I should be very glad if you would arrange to come
and see me here one morning. If you will let me know when
I may expect you I shall arrange to be free." This letter
was signed " P. W.Kenny, Captain '^ and on its left-hand top
corner specified a certain room number. I subsequently
ascertained that this gentleman (and a real gentleman in
every sense of that embracive word I found him) was the
" Acting Buffer " between the Secret Service departments for
both the War Office and the Admiralty to anyone who might
attempt to approach either of these departments. It will
be remembered that his name figured in the public Press as
acting in that capacity when Admiral W. R. Hall, C.B.,
brilliantly defeated and frustrated the clever schemes so
carefully yet vainly laid by the then notorious ex.-M.P.
Trebitsch Lincoln, whose apparent intention and purpose was
to work the double cross against the British Empire.

I promptly answered this communication by a special
journey to London, of which I gave due notice as requested.

1 The author would not have felt at liberty to mention this gentleman by
name except for the fact that his connection with the Secret Service was
made public in the Press on the Trebitsch Lincoln affair.

War and the Introducing of Jim 39

After passing the Police Guards at the entrance to the
War Office, I traversed a long corridor to the inquiry room,
where a number of attendants were busily engaged issuing
forms to be filled up by applicants for interviews. Of course
it was impossible to escape the inevitable form, on which I
inserted the name of Captain P. W. Kenny, his room number,
my name, address, and the nature of my business — private and
confidential. It was a bit of a staggerer to hear from the
attendant that he did not know Captain Kenny, nor of him,
nor did he believe there was any officer of that name in the
building. Inquiries, however, from others of his class elicited
the information that someone had heard a name somewhat
like it and if I went up to the floor on which the room was
numbered as before-mentioned, and applied to the porter or
commissionaire at the lodge up there, he might be able to
locate him for me.

After a wait of some minutes in an ante-room where were
collecting a large number of officers and others on errands
of various natures, I was sent away in charge of a boy-scout,
with about ten other form-fillers, whom he dropped at various
floor lodges on the way. The system was for each boy-scout
to conduct a whole bunch of followers, who carried their forms
in their hands until the desired floors were reached, when
the boy-scout guide handed one or more of his followers to
the commissionaire in charge of the lodge on each floor
sought, who in turn sent them off again in charge of another
attendant to the desired room.

I was the last one to depart from our diminutive guide.
But when I got to the lodge on the floor on which the room
I was seeking was numbered, the commissionaire in charge
said he knew nothing of the officer named on my form. After
arguing the matter discreetly with him I persuaded him to
take me to the room specified on my form, which we found
unoccupied, although there were a table and chairs there, as
I saw them through the half-open door.

As the bona fides of my quest seemed to be doubted I
produced the letter I had received, when he politely escorted
me to two other lodges on the other floors ; but only one of

40 British Secret Service

the men in charge could help me at all, and in that he was
very vague. He believed there had been an officer, whose
name he did not know, using the room so numbered or another
room a day or so ago, and he was not certain which it was ;
he had since changed his room, but where he could not say.
Anyway, as he expressed himself, he was a mysterious kind of
person, and what he did, or what functions he performed, no
one seemed to know. I must confess I was at a loss to under-
stand the position. Suddenly, however, the thought struck
me that it might be a possible stunt to test one's capabilities
for a research or investigation ; so I listened with interest
to the conversations of the various commissionaires and
gleaned that the gentleman I sought, if such an individual
had any business in the War Office at all, was tall, thin, and
aristocratic. The one man who described him thought he
knew whom I meant — " A horficer as spent his time a-dodging
back'ards and forrards betwixt the War Hoffice and the
Hadmiralty, who never said nothink to nobody, so one didn't
know which he did belong to ; one who 'ardly ever was in 'is
room and one who 'ad some queer blokes come to see 'im."
I thanked the commissionaires politely and said I would
try another floor on my own account, as once inside the build-
ing with a form in one's hand it seemed one could wander
anywhere at will and without question.

Accordingly I at once made up my mind what to do. I
went to the floor below, to the lodge there, and I asked for
Lord Kitchener. There was no hesitation in answering that
inquiry ; within a few minutes I had reached the desired
portion of the building, where I asked to see his Lordship's
principal secretary. I have forgotten his name, but I was
not kept waiting for a moment. I was accorded an opportunity
to explain my mission. I showed him the letter I had sum-
moning me to the War Office, and told him the difficulties
I had met with in attempting to locate the elusive " Go-
Between." This officer received me very graciously; he
smiled at the short description I gave him of my wanderings,
and said : " I think I can put you on the right track straight
away ;J please follow me," and getting up he took me to

War and the Introducing of Jim 41

another room at the far end of the corridor we were then in,
where we interviewed another officer who also laughed and
told us that Captain Kenny had just changed his room and

would now be found in room number which was on the floor

above. Having thanked these officers for their kindly
services I ascended once more, and within ten minutes from
abandoning my false scent I ran my quarry to earth and was
tapping on his oak.

I explained the difficulty I had been placed in to Captain
Kenny, who expressed some surprise. Whether he really felt
it or not I do not know, but when I showed him the room
number given at the top of his letter he admitted the recent
change and made apologetic amends for the inadvertence, add-
ing that the attendants in charge of the inquiry bureau below
should certainly have known both his name and room number.

Quien sabe, thought I to myself. Anyway, I held my peace
and we proceeded to business.

For about an hour Captain Kenny questioned me regard-
ing my knowledge of Northern latitudes, their peoples and
my linguistic capabilities. Then he suggested in the most
charming and persuasive manner that I should remain awhile
in London, like Wilkins Micawber of old, " in the hope of
something turning up."

I did so. During this period I called at the War Office at
various appointed times and on each occasion was put to
further interrogation. Captain Kenny rather reminded me
of Dr. Leyds. He seemed to possess that same pleasing per-
suasiveness which made one feel that one was under deep
obligation to him personally for being permitted to relieve
him of the smallest matter in hand — indeed, a valuable asset
to the person possessing such skill. Within a week of my
advent in London a letter came to me from Captain Kenny
in which he wrote : " For the moment there are no vacancies
in the Intelligence Service, but if you will exercise a
little patience I really believe I shall be able to do
something for you. I shall see that your name and special
qualifications are kept well in view and I trust that we shall
be able to make use of your exceptional abilities."

42 British Secret Service

This was followed about the day after by another short
note from his private address, asking me to call at the war
office next day, adding : " The delay arose through a temporary
interruption of certain foreign communications, but he was
almost sure he would be able to do something."

I lost no time in answering this letter in person and within
half an hour I was fixed for the Foreign Secret Service under
the Admiralty in the north of Europe. My remuneration,
I was informed, would be rated on the scale appertaining to
a naval captain in full commission ; in addition to which I
should be allowed £l per day to cover my personal expenses,
with a further allowance up to £l per day to cover travelling
expenses ; but if I exceeded this amount I must bear the extra
payments myself. I was delighted beyond measure : I would
gladly have accepted any offer, on almost any terms, I was so
keen to " do my bit " to help my country in whatever capacity
I could be thought of any use. I subsequently found,
however, that these allowances by no means covered one's
travelling expenses abroad at that time, which daily mounted
higher and higher until they assumed alarming dimensions.
True it is, there were times, when one was obscuring oneself
from too observant and inquiring persons, that one's expenses
could be kept well below these amounts, but at other times,
when speed in travelling was of vital importance, expenditure
had to be a secondary consideration, and the average daily
balances vanished beyond recognition.

At this, last but one, interview with Captain Kenny he
produced a large map of Northern Germany and the Baltic.
Pointing with his finger to various parts of it he kept asking
me whether I could and would go to the places indicated,
which included the outskirts of Kiel harbour.

So in order to free his mind from any doubts he may have
had as to my venturesomeness, I clinched matters by saying
" If you assure me it will in any way benefit my country,
I am ready and prepared to go to Hell itself. So why waste
breath on these pleasure resorts ? "

" Ah ! " replied this most exceedingly polite interviewer.
" That, my dear sir, is the very answer I have been told, by a

War and the Introducing of Jim 43

certain sporting nobleman who recommended you, I should
receive if I pressed you on this. From what he said, and from
what I have ascertained about you, I can quite believe it.
How long do you require to put your affairs in order ? "

" I am ready to start at once," was the reply. I had
come to London prepared for such an emergency.

" Good ! On Monday at 11 a.m. call upon me again.
I shall give you a sealed despatch to deliver at a time and
place to be named, and enough money to enable you to reach
a certain town. There you will meet a certain gentleman
who Will give you further instructions. You can now apply
for a passport, and I wish you every luck."

" Excuse me, sir. But you do not give me any idea of
what my duties will consist — to whom I am to report, or
how ? I really don't quite follow you ; unless, of course, the
despatch contains more enlightenment."

" Naturally the despatch will give full instructions to the
gentleman you are to meet. He will seek you under the name
of Mr. Jim. You will reply by mentioning two other names
or words which you must now commit to memory, but not to
paper. So far as your duties are concerned, you have the
fullest discretion ; remember to use discretion. You will work
entirely on your own initiative. Henceforth you will be known
to the Service as 4 Jim.' And in saying good-bye, I may as
well add, if you have not already done so, it might be advisable
to seriously consider such testamentary dispositions as you
are minded to complete."

CHAPTER II

SECRET SERVICE ORGANISATIONS, COMPARISONS,
AND INCIDENTALS

Espionage in Past Ages — Modern British Secret Service
Founded, 1910 — Possible Improvements — Comparisons —
Jealousies of Big Departments — Examples of Reckless
Extravagance — Business Men Wanted — Economies in the
Secret Service — Bungling Incompetence — Impassiveness of
the Foreign Office — German War Methods — French and
Dutch Secret Service — Military Intelligence, B.C. — Rise
and Development of German Secret Service — The Effici-
ency of Scotland Yard — Details of German Foreign Pro-
paganda and Expenditure — British Secret Service, its Cost
and Frugalities — Major Henri le Caron — Nathan Hale —
Similitude of the Life of a Secret Service Agent.

Not until the reign of Henry VII. and the days of the great
Cardinal Wolsey do we hear speak of organised systems of
Secret Service. Cromwell encouraged the department, whilst
Charles II. seems to have arranged grants for its continuance
equivalent to £500,000 per annum. Pitt was a firm supporter
of the service, and Canning is said to have paid £20,000 for the
treaty of Tilsit.

In earlier times, British Intelligence Agents were attached
to the Chancelleries of our Ministers abroad, as is the case
to-day with nearly every nation, except our own. Remunera-
tion was given commensurate with the risks and service.
But from the 'sixties the pay diminished and the department
faded away from being an asset of much general valuable
utility.

The present British Secret Service Department was founded
about 1910 by an officer, a man of untiring energy, pluck,
and perseverance, who has rendered noble service and willing
sacrifice. Since its initiation this department seems to have
been harassed, attacked, and shot at by petty jealousies,

^Secret Service Organisations 45

which, during the agony of the crisis of war were ignoble and
contemptible in the extreme. An observer behind the scenes
can therefore admire the more the men who ignored this and
worked on, unheeding all, with but a single thought, and that
the welfare of their King and Country.

England never seems to have had any real organisation
for Secret Service propaganda which can compare in thorough-
ness with the German effort. It has had no schools of in-
struction, nor does it send its members to specialise in any
particular branch. It is an unwritten rule of the depart-
ment that a naval or a military officer must be at the head of
every branch or sub-division of any importance ; and the
service of civilians or of those from other professions than the
Navy and the Army is neither sought nor welcomed, however
capable or however clever the persons available may be.
The exceptional civilian is soon made to feel this. Whether
the idea is to instil discipline, or to impress upon the new-
comer the superiority and importance of the right to wear a
uniform, it is difficult to imagine. The main work of the
department, however, is on a par with the collection of evid-
ence, the unravelling of secret mysteries, and the study and
handling of character — which any man of the world would
have probably at once concluded was more fitted to the con-
trolling influence of experienced Criminal and Commercial
Investigators rather than to long-service officers who have
been strapped to their stool by strict disciplinary red-tapeism
from their teens upwards. Admitted that officers must be
at the top of the Service to direct the information required,
and to deal with it when obtained, nevertheless for the direc-
tion and control of ways and means of its attainment, the
financial part, both inside and out, the selection of the execu-
tive staff, the tabulation of facts collected, and correspondence,
a member of the Government of some standing and with
experience of this class of work should be commissioned as
special Minister in full control of the department ; because its
importance to the State cannot be overstated or exaggerated.

Not only should this department have, as near its chief
as possible, a man who has had an extensive experience

46 British Secret Service

of active criminal and commercial affairs, but he should
also, if possible, be one who has specially qualified himself
in the commercial world as a thoroughly efficient business man.

It may perhaps be added that it is by no means the only
Government department which has suffered acutely for want
of an efficient business man on its directorate.

So far as office work is concerned, a Service officer may
understand book routine and discipline, but when it comes
to rock-bottom business this war has produced overwhelming
proof that a Service officer is lost against an efficient business
man. Speaking broadly, the former has no idea of the general
value of things, or of the worldly side of the business world.
How can it be expected of him ? He is trained, specially
trained, in his profession, which has naught to do with the
struggle of the money-makers. He is not accustomed to
rub shoulders with the man in the street, whilst there are
thousands of minor details which he would probably ignore
when brought to his notice, but which a business man would
recognise as floating thistledown showing the direction of the
wind. The business man knows that a knowledge of his fellow-
man is the most valuable knowledge in the world. He is
not saddled with fastidious, obsolete forms of etiquette, the
waiting for the due observance of which has cost millions
of pounds sterling and thousands of much more valuable
lives. He is not tied down to the cut-and -dried book routine,
probably unrevised for years, which it is an impossibility to
keep thoroughly up-to-date.

He is not afraid of the wrath of his immediate superior
officers, which, unless being an officer himself he could modify
or smooth it over, might put on the shelf for ever all chance of
his future success in life. He is not shackled with incom-
petents whom he dared not report or remove because they
hold indirect influences which might be moved to his dis-
advantage. He is not hampered by the importunities of
brother- officers who are pushed at him continually by place-
seekers, or by feared or favoured ones. He is not handicapped
by the jealous spite of machination of other departments,
because an efficient business man will have none of this from

Secret Service Organisations 47

anyone, whether above or below him. Should it arise, he
eradicates it root and branch at first sight, which an ordinary
Service officer is generally utterly powerless to do ; nor dare
he dream of its accomplishment.

It is the existence of this terrible canker-worm of jealousy,
false pride, petty spite, or absurd etiquette, which in the past
has gnawed into the very vitals of our glorious Services,
sapping away much of their efficiency and undermining
future unity, which always tends to turn victories into
defeats or colossal disasters. It is devoutly to be hoped that
this world-war will level up the masses and kill and for ever
crush out of our midst this hydra-headed microbe, the greatest
danger of which is that on the surface it is invisible.

Members of the Secret Service knew all along that the
War Office and the Admiralty were like oil and water, because
they would not or could not mix. * If one required anything
of importance from the War Office it might have blighted
the hopes of success to have blurted out that one came from,
or was a member of, the Admiralty, and vice versa. These
two mighty departments never seemed to work in harmonious
unity. Hence, whenever Jim had business at the War Office
he advisedly concealed that he had any interest in the
Admiralty ; and whenever he was at the Admiralty he denied
all connection with the War Office. It saved so much friction
and avoided so much unnecessary formality, trouble, and
delay.

That this friction was bad for the country, detrimental
to the shortening of the war, and most expensive to the tax-
payer, goes without saying ; but perhaps the fault lay with
our system, which permits so many men over sixty years of
age to remain in, or to be suddenly placed into positions of

1 " So far from co-operating, the Army and the Navy were rival pur-
chasers of aircraft." — Mr. Ellis Griffith, House of Commons, February 16th,
191 6. See also Air Defence Debate in House of Commons, March 22nd, 1916.
At Hull, which was under military control, it was rumoured that a certain
naval officer, in command of a small warship lying in the Humber at the time
of one of the first of the Zeppelin raids, was court-martialled because he fired
at and hit one of the Zeppelins whilst it was bombarding the town, without
having first received an order from the Military permitting him to do so.
Annals of Red-tapeism, June, 1915.

48 British Secret Service

such terrible responsibility and such colossal and continual
accumulation of work ; men who hitherto had had a slack
time and who perhaps had hardly ever been contradicted
or denied in their lives ; men who constantly demonstrated
to those around them that their dignity and self-importance
must be admitted and put before almost every other considera-
tion ; men who ought to have taken honorary positions and
not for a single hour kept from the chair of office more
efficient and younger officers ; men who knew only the old
routine, who were long past their prime, and who were
consistent upholders of the greatest curse that ever cursed
our island Kingdom — the Red-tapeism of the Circumlocution
Office.

Volumes could be filled with examples of the pernicious
results arising because this country has not adopted modern
and up-to-date methods. Volumes could be written to prove
the reckless waste and extravagance that has been allowed
to run wild and caused by our not providing for a depart-
ment having a Minister of Conservation and Economy*
Volumes could be written to prove that if jealousies could be
stamped out, false dignity crushed, and red-tapeism abolished,
our nation would rise far above the heads of all other nations
in the world, and our taxpayers' burdens, both now and in
the future, would be materially reduced.

Although thousands of examples could be given it is
submitted that for a book of this description an example
from two or three departments should be sufficient to illus-
trate the argument.

From the Admiralty.

Some time in the autumn of 1915, two fields were acquired
by the Admiralty at B acton, on the Norfolk coast, for use
as an aviation ground. In order to give a sufficiently large
unbroken and even surface for aeroplanes, it was deemed
necessary to level a hedge-bank of considerable length,
dividing the fields in question.

Secret Service Organisations 49

Within a few miles of these fields were stationed a thousand
soldiers, who were chafing at and weary with the monotony
of their daily routine, an unvaried one for over a year. The
majority of these men would have welcomed the acceptance
of such a task as this. But follow the events which happened,
and it is proved convincingly that some silly, ridiculous
reason prevented any approach, by those who sit in Chairs
at the Admiralty to those who sit in Chairs at the War Office,
to utilise this unemployed labour, or to save the nation's
pocket in so simple a matter.

The expenditure of money seemed to be of no considera-
tion whatsoever, although the House of Commons was at
this particular period shrieking for economy in others, which
they were quite unwilling to commence themselves ; whilst
the Prime Minister (Mr. Asquith) addressed a great economy
speech to the massed delegates representing 4,000,000
organised workers at Westminster on December 1st,
1915. So a contract was offered and entered into with a
civilian to do the work. Owing to Lord Derby's scare-
scheme system of recruiting instead of National Service (which
ought to have been enforced immediately after the Boer
War, as pressed by Lord Roberts and others), the unlucky
contractor lost most of his young men and was quite unable
to get more than a very few old men who were past the age
of strenuous labour. His job progressed so slowly that the
Admiralty realised the work might not be finished for months
and months to come if permitted to continue on the then
present line.

What was it that prevented the Admiralty, on this second
occasion of necessity, from approaching the War Office, or
even one of the officers in command of the thousands and
thousands of troops stationed in Norfolk, a few of whom could
and would gladly have completed the work in a few hours
without a penny extra expense to the country ?

Instead of incurring any possible suspicion of an obligation
from the War Office, an appeal was made to the newly-
formed City of Norwich Volunteers for their men to put down
their names for this work. That loyal, energetic, and patriotic

D

50 British Secret Service

body of Englishmen, which was drawn from all ranks of
society, although working at their various vocations all the
week, immediately acquiesced, without stopping to reason
why, and agreed to go to Bacton the next ensuing Sunday.

The distance from Norwich to Bacton is twenty miles,
but the nearest station is about three miles from the fields
in question.

By reason of the War Office having taken over control of
the railways, these men could, by a simple request from the
Admiralty to the War Office, have been provided with free
travelling passes. They had expressed their willingness to
walk the remaining three miles of the journey, do the work
gratuitously (although quite unaccustomed to any such rough
manual labour), find their own rations, and walk the return
three miles to the station afterwards. Such, however, was
not acceptable, nor permitted.

At North Walsham, five miles from the aerodrome site,
at least a thousand troops were stationed. They were
provided with motor vehicles capable of travelling thirty
miles per hour. A few of these vehicles could have carried
the whole party from North Walsham station to the fields
in under half an hour ; or they could have fetched them from
Norwich in about an hour. But no; such an arrangement
might incur the obligation of a request and a compliance.

So the Admiralty arranged to send some of their own motor
lorries from Portsmouth to Norwich in order to convey this small
party of civilian volunteer-workers twenty-one miles to the job.

It was said that five lorries were ordered, but only three
were sent. They were of the large size, extra heavy type,
which cannot, with general convenience, travel at a speed
beyond ten miles an hour — if so fast ; whilst their petrol
consumption might be estimated at about a gallon per hour.
They arrived at Norwich on Sunday morning November
28th, 1915, apparently after several days on the road.
They took part of the small party of enthusiasts to Bacton,
who worked all through the Sabbath ; whilst other Admiralty
motor-cars were ordered specially over from Newmarket
which took the remainder of the party to and from the job.

Secret Service Organisations 51

The three lorries avoided London, thus the full journey
of each must have approximated 500 miles.

Consider : the running expenses of a private two-ton motor-
car would not be less than a shilling a mile ; compare the
petrol, oil consumption, and wear and tear. It is thus not
difficult to estimate this absurdly unnecessary and recklessly
extravagant waste of the taxpayers' money ; and all because
of some ridiculous personal prejudices, or of the sacred cause
of red-tapeism ; or the possible touching of some false senti-
ments of dignity or hollow pride, assumed by those who sit
on Chairs on one side or the other of Whitehall, and who
direct the details of war expenditure.

From the War Office.

Every Englishman must deeply regret the memory of
countless examples of reckless waste, incompetent manage-
ment, and riotous extravagance which particularly marked
the first two years of the war ; and which, alas, appeared
much more flagrantly in connection with the Army than with
the Navy.

During the progress of the war groans arose in this strain
from every county. The Yorkshire £10 to £15 tent-pegs case,
as recorded in the Press, December 18th, 1915, was never
denied.

A motor trolley accidentally smashed about half a score

of tent-pegs at camp. Instead of replacing them at

the cost of half a crown or less, the CO. ruled that a report
must be drawn up and submitted to the War Office request-
ing a new supply of pegs. In due course the answer arrived
saying : " Loose pegs could not be sent, as they were only
supplied with new tents, but a new tent would be sent,
value £150, with the usual quantity of pegs" Which course
in all seriousness was actually adopted.

In June, 1916, a chimney at a Drill Hall in the town of
Lowestoft on the east coast required sweeping, and an

52 British Secret Service

orderly suggested to the commanding officer that he should
employ a local man residing a few doors away, who offered
to undertake the job efficiently at the modest outlay of Is.
But the commanding officer was shackled body and soul in
red-tape bonds. Following his duty he reported the matter
to headquarters. Further particulars were required and
given and in the course of a few days the army chimney-
sweep arrived, did the work and departed. He came from
and returned to Birmingham, and stated that his contract
price was lOd. The third-class return fare from Birmingham
is 26s. 7d. It probably meant two days occupied at an
expense which could not have been much less than 30s. A
total of £2 16s. 7d., plus payment, postages, paper and possible
extras, to save 2d. and to do a local man out of a Is. job in a
town admittedly ruined by the unfortunate exigencies of the
war !

From the Home Office.

The Leicester correspondent of the Shoe and Leather
Record, wrote on February 25th, 1916 :

" The Government have intimated, through the medium
of the usual official document, that they are willing to receive
tenders for twenty-four emery pads, the total value of which
would be one shilling and four pence. The tender forms are
marked c very urgent ' and firms tendering are warned that in-
ability of the railway companies to carry the goods will not
relieve contractors of responsibility for non-delivery.

" The goods are presumably intended for the Army
boot-repairing depots, but in view of the admitted ' urgency '
it will, I think, strike most business men as strange that there
is not an official connected with this branch of the service
possessing sufficient authority to give the office boy sixteen
pence with instructions to go and fetch the goods from the
nearest grindery shop.

" Up to the time of writing I have not heard which local
firm has been fortunate enough to secure this ' contract.' "

Secret Service Organisations 53

After this gigantic tussle of titanic races is over and the
bill of costs has to be met, perhaps the nation will realise
the cry, that for some years past has been lost like a voice
crying in the wilderness — We want business men : business
men in all Government departments which have to handle
business matters. England's colossal financial liabilities,
pyramided up during recent years, are practically all traceable
to her lack of efficient business men in her business depart-
ments.

In the Navy, in the Army, in the Transport, in the sup-
plies, and throughout, let the head of each department be
chosen from a member of its body, if believed best so to do ;
but let the business side thereof be presided over by an
efficient and fully-qualified business man — a man who knows
the purchasing power of a pound ; more important still,
who knows how hard it is to earn one. The men entrusted
with such responsible positions should have full responsibility
placed upon their shoulders ; they should be highly paid and
they should be free to act without being tied down by the
fetters of " the book," by red-tape precedents, and by the
counter-consents of so many others who in nine cases out of
ten are men of no previous business training nor qualifica-
tion concerning the majority of details which they are called
upon to handle.

Recent Army and Naval administration, as the public
have seen, requires little further comment here. The hundreds
of thousands of pounds absolutely squandered in surplus
rations, billeting, pay, and transport, etc., should have im-
pressed the minds of observers in a manner that this genera-
tion is never likely to forget. A business man in each
department, with a free hand to economise and arrange
its details, in a business-like way, would have saved the
country the salaries paid to them ten thousand times over,
with a gigantic surplus to spare.

The British Intelligence Department probably suffered
least of any in this respect. Its actual managing chief never
wasted a shilling where he could personally see a way of
saving it. To my knowledge he never overpaid anyone,

54 British Secret Service

whilst he was not at all adverse to using the persuasive
argument of patriotism, in order to get a mass of useful work
done for nothing at all. To quote an instance. It was the
case of a man who, at his country's call, had sacrificed an
income of considerably over £1,000 per annum, together with
all his home and business interests, and who in the chief's
absence had accepted a thankless and a dangerous task on
the active foreign executive at a remuneration less than he
had been paying a confidential clerk.

The chief on his return to office did not hesitate to ask
him to waive altogether his remuneration, and to pay out
of his own pocket twenty-five per cent, of his personal
travelling expenses in addition ! Loyally he agreed, and for
months he thus served, although those in authority above
him showed no sign of appreciation or gratitude afterwards
for the sacrifice.

If other Government departments were half as careful
over their expenditure as the Secret Service, the British public
would not have much cause to find fault nor even to grumble.
But what hampered its efficiency, and was neither fair, nor
politic, nor economic, was the policy of the Foreign Office,
which permitted others, in no way whatsoever connected
with the Service, or with the Intelligence, to interfere (during
1914 and 1915) with its work and with members of its
executive both at home and abroad. This was not the worst
of it. Not only was the organisation of a whole and important
branch of the department on two occasions brought to a
complete standstill, owing to the interference of one vainly
conceited incompetent who had collected a string of high-
sounding qualifications behind his name, but he caused
money to be scattered in thousands where hundreds, and
probably tens, or a little judicious entertaining, would have
been more than sufficient. If these monies were debited to
the Secret Service Department, such a wrong ought to be
righted. In due course the colossal indiscretions of this
interfering bungler involved matters in such a dangerous
tangle that he apparently lost his head, and for a period of
time was quite inaccessible for business. On recovery he

Secret Service Organisations 55

coolly announced that he should wash his hands entirely of all
Secret Service affairs. Imagine the feelings of the patient
chiefs of the Foreign Secret Service Department. They had
silently sat for months watching the efforts of their captured
staff hampered at every turn whilst they were persistently
building up a sound, practical, useful organisation, which a
fool and his folly overturned, like a house of cards, in one day.
They had been actually stopped from controlling the move-
ments of their own men, yet they were responsible for their
pay and their expenses ; whilst possibly they had had a
heavy load of extravagant outside expenditure heaped upon
their department without any equivalent advantage. They
had been compelled to endure this indignity, because, as
Service officers, they dared not, for the sake of their then
present position and possibly their future, openly remonstrate
or criticise, or even report the bare facts concerning the all-
too-palpable incompetence of this somewhat Powerful
Gentleman who had insisted on poking his officious and in-
efficacious nose into a department which did not concern him,
and the existence of which it was his loyal duty to ignore.

Without a word of complaint (except to members of his
executive, to whom his language was as emphatic as it was
sultry), our good old managing chief set to work afresh.
Within a couple of months he had straightened out the line,
when, to the astonishment of all concerned, the old enemy
appeared once more upon the scene. Moved either by jealousy,
or by vindictive spite at the success which followed where he
had failed, he again attacked the department by hitting at
individual members of its actively working executive !
Remember, England was at war at the time ; thus a more
unpatriotic action could hardly have been conceived. Yet
the Foreign Office, although impressively advised of the
wrong-doing and the probable consequences, either dared
not or would not trouble itself to investigate the details of
the matter.

Yes, verily, my friends, suppressio veri has much to answer
for. It is well for some of those who sit in high offices that a
rigid censorship and secrecy was maintained throughout the

56 British Secret Service

war ; or the very walls of England might have arisen in fierce
mutiny.

Mr. Le Queux touches the point in his book on " German
Spies in England," page 92 :

" We want no more attempts to gag the Press, no evasive
speeches in the House, no more pandering to the foreign
financier, or bestowing upon him Birthday Honours : no
more kid-gloved legislation for our monied enemies whose
sons, in some cases, are fighting against us, but sturdy,
honest, and deliberate action — the action with the iron hand
of justice in the interests of our own beloved Empire."

Whilst Burnod — "Maxims de Guerre de Napoleon" —
quotes : " It is the persons who would deceive the people and
exploit them for their own profit that are keeping them in
ignorance."

Napoleon's greatness was achieved by employing only
the best men obtainable for positions of the highest respon-
sibility. His most important officer in the Secret Service
Department seems to have been a German, by name Karl
Schulmiester, who drew the princely salary of £20,000 per
annum. Proved efficiency was the little Corsican's only
passport.

Germany has learnt well from this lesson. Soldiers,
sailors, and business men waged her war. Not a lawyer
or professional politician took part in it except in the trenches.
Germany entrusted the administration of her affairs to
experts. Blue blood, patronage, and reputation carried
neither weight nor meaning. It was ruthless, but it was
business — it was war. The magic of a great military name
did not save Lieutenant-General Helmuth von Moltke from
dismissal from the Head of the German staff when the Kaiser
was convinced of his inefficiency. Vice-Admiral von En-
genohl, Commander-in-Chief of the High Canal Fleet, had to
retire in favour of Admiral von Pohl owing to failures ; whilst
the septuagenarian father of bureaucrats, Dr. Kuhn, had to
vacate finance in order to make way for the professional
banker, Dr. Helfferich, who although quite unknown to dis-
tinction was appointed Chancellor of the Imperial Exchequer.

Secret Service Organisations 57

From the very commencement, Germany appointed experts
over each department of her colossal war machine — expert
business men. Every solitary industry which has aught to
do with war-making was linked up with the Government.
By way of example there was a Cotton Council, a Coal
Advisory Board, a Motor and Rubber Committee, a Chemical
Committee, etc., etc.

That able journalist, Mr. F. W. Wile, has proved again
and again by his articles that war is and always has been a
scientific business with Germany. He argues that there is
nothing hyperphysical or mysterious about the successes she
achieved. They were essentially material. German soldiers
are not supermen, or as individual warriors the equal to those
of many other nations. Their victories have been due to a
chain of very obvious and systematic circumstances : to
organisation, strict discipline, thoroughness, and far-sighted
expert management ; in other words, making a business of
their business and employing therein only business men
who know the business.

Apologising for this partial digression from the main
subject matter, the French Secret Service of modern times
has been principally conducted on the Dossier principle,
which came to light in the Dreyfus affair. In the present
war this system has seemingly been of little practical value,
and France has had to depend almost entirely upon her Allies
for foreign intelligence work. Eighteen months after the
war commenced her foreign Secret Service department was
said to have practically closed down for want of finances, so
far as the north of Europe was concerned.

Harking back to before the South African War, we find
that Paul Kruger, the late President of the South African
Republic, was a great believer in an efficient up-to-date
Secret Service department, and vast sums were expended
by him with little, if any, inquiry or vouching. Messrs. D.
Blackburn and Captain W. Waithman Caddell, in their book
on " Secret Service in South Africa," record how Tjaard
Kruger, a son of the President of the Transvaal Republic,
who was for a short time Chief of the Secret Service Bureau,

58 British Secret Service

paid £2,800 in one afternoon in 1906, out of the many
thousands of pounds in gold coinage which he always kept
in his office, to casual callers only, to men who came accredited
by some person in authority as being able to supply valuable
information.

Tjaard Kruger was succeeded in office by a most clever
and interesting celebrity, Dr. Leyds, Secretary of State,
who was the only man who made the department a success.
He showed the unfailing tact of the born diplomat. He was a
great reader of character and formed a pretty accurate esti-
mate of a person in a surprisingly short time. He conducted
his affairs so delicately and diplomatically that he won uni-
versal esteem and the staunchest and most loyal adherents.
He would hand over disagreeable work to a subordinate so
gracefully that it gave the impression that he was relegating
the work, not because it irked him, but because he had found
a man more capable than himself — the man whom he had
long sought.

Dr. Leyds' letters of instructions to his agents were clear,
precise, and exacting, and provided for every possible con-
tingency ; yet had they fallen into the hands of the un-
authorised they would have conveyed little. These letters
bespoke the diplomat. They would have come safely out
of an investigation by a committee of suspicious spy-
hunters.

When he required to " draw " any person he would
instruct his agents to ascertain carefully that person's tastes,
habits, prejudices, and amusements. These he would study
to the minutest trifle, and by skilful play upon a weakness,
or by the evidence of a similar taste, he would successfully
penetrate to the most exclusive and jealously guarded
sanctum sanctorum.

Mr. Hamil Grant is an author who may be congratulated
upon his carefully-compiled work, entitled, " Spies and Secret
Service," which contains the history of espionage from earliest
times to the present day. He shows how the practice was
used by Joshua, David, Absalom, and the mighty warriors
whose deeds of valour are recorded in the Old Testament.

Secret Service Organisations 59

He quotes Alexander Mithridates, the King of Pontus, who
made himself the master of twenty-five languages and spent
seven years wandering through countries he subsequently
fought and vanquished. He traces developments from
Alexander the Great, who lived 300 years before Christ and
was the first known to start secret post censorship ; from
Hannibal, who could never have crossed from Andalusia over
the Pyrenees and the Alps into the plains of Piedmont to
fight the battle of Trebia (218 B.C.) without the assistance he
received from the intelligence scouts who preceded him.
He points out how Caesar and the great generals who conquered
Europe invariably used scouts and intelligence agents. He
quotes Napoleon's admission of indebtedness to Polyaenus for
original strategic ideas of espionage ; whilst he has much to
say in proving that no war of either ancient or modern
times was successful without it.

His most interesting chapters are those dealing with the
rise of the Prussian empire, which he claims to have been built
almost entirely upon such an unenviable foundation. The
author has taken the liberty of quoting somewhat numerous
extracts as follows :

" The Modern System of espionage seems to have been
originally conceived by Frederick the Great of Prussia and
subsequently elaborated into a kind of National Philosophy
by writers like Nietzsche, Treitschke and Bernhardi. But
a nation which is ruled as if it were a country of convicts
actual or potential cannot fail inevitably to develop in a
pronounced degree those symptoms of character and predis-
position which land its converts in the correction institutions
where they are most commonly to be found.

" Baron Stein, a well-known statesman of the Napoleonic
period, was responsible for the practical application of the
theories in the philosophy of Frederick the Great. He was
followed by the celebrated Dr. Stieber, who had the handling
of millions of pounds at his discretion and whose character
had all those elements which were associated with the criminal
who operates along the higher lines. He was a barrister,

60 British Secret Service

born in Prussia in 1818, and he first curried favour with the
officials by persuading his friends and relations to enter into
illegal acts in order that he might betray them for his own
advantage. The German word stieber seems appropriate ;
in our language it means sleuth-hound. In appearance he
represented an inquisitor of old. His eyes were almost white
and colourless, whilst there were hard drawn lines about his
mouth. With subordinates he adopted the loud airs of a
master towards slaves. In the presence of high authorities
he was self-abasing and subdued, with a smile of deferential
oiliness and acquiescence, with much rubbing of hands.

" He seemed to have commenced Secret Service work
with a standing salary of £1,200 a year, in addition to which
he received side emoluments. He organised an internal and
external service with complete independence from all other
official bodies, subsidised by full and adequate appropria-
tions from Parliament. His system was thorough. He
commenced by spying into the privacies of the Royal family
and Court and Government officials, Army and Naval officers,
and everybody of the slightest importance, down to the
labourers' and the workmen's organisations. In a very few
years his nominal salary had risen to £18,000, but about 1863,
in spite of his having been honoured w:th every German
decoration conceivable, he was for a couple of years suspended
from office, during which period he organised the Russian
Secret Police.

" With Stieber's assistance, Bismarck struck down
Denmark in 1864, Austria in 1866, and France in 1870.
Even Moltke, the great Prussian organiser of victory, was
astonished and astounded at the vast amount of valuable
military information by which Stieber had facilitated the
rapid advance of his armies.

" As a preliminary journey into France in 1867, Stieber
appointed 1,000 spies, within the invasion zone, with head
centres at Brussels, Lausanne, and Geneva ; and on his
return he handed over to Bismarck some 1,650 reports which
contained full military and original maps of the French
frontiers and the invasion zone. Year by year this army of

Secret Service Organisations 61

spies was increased, until in 1870 Stieber had between 30,000
and 40,000 on his pay-roll.

" In 1867 an attempt was made on the life of Alexander
the Second of Russia when on a visit to Paris in order to
create a closer Franco-Russian Alliance, which dastardly
act was planned by Stieber in order to be frustrated by him.
When the assassin was tried for his life the jury were bought
by Prussian gold to acquit the accused in order that the two
nations could be kept apart and the object of the journey
thereby frustrated, but whether it was the fertile brain of
Bismarck or Stieber who planned the scheme of the plot will
never be known.

" In 1870 Stieber boasted that he controlled the opinions
of some eighty-five writers in the French daily and weekly
newspapers, furthermore that he had paid sympathisers
on the Austrian, Italian, and English Press in addition.

" By 1880 Stieber and Prince Bismarck had extended
their organised system materially as well as personally,
which can be seen in the present day network of railway
lines and stations controlled solely for militarist uses rather
than for the development of the country ; whilst the funds
demanded yearly from the Reichstag for Secret Service work
increased proportionately.

" No one but a native of Prussia was allowed to hold any
responsible position in Prussia, yet in 1884 there were 15,000
Germans or semi-foreigners serving on the French railways,
all of them more or less in the employ of the German Espion-
age Bureau and prepared to destroy the plant, the lines, the
buildings, and to paralyse French mobilisation at the word of
command.

" In addition to this, Stieber's plans embraced upheavals
in all industrial classes.

14 It was German gold which instigated and carried through
the Dreyfus agitation, also the Association Bill which brought
about the disestablishment of the Church of France and the
so-called Agadir incident in the spring of 1911, which coin-
cided so remarkably with the devastating strikes in Great
Britain.

62 British Secret Service

"It is a cry of the Fatherland that every good citizen is
required to pay taxes, build barracks, and shut his mouth.

" The recent agitations in Ireland and practically all the
strikes in England have been indirectly supported by German
gold ; to which the circulation of the extraordinary manifesto
in August, 1914, was also directly traceable. £4,000 was used
for the purposes of the French Railway Strike of 1893 ; in
the same year a local subscription of £48 was raised for a
bootmakers' strike at Amiens, whilst an alleged sympathetic
£1,000 was sent from Frankfort.

" The English suffragettes are also said to have received
thousands of pounds from unknown sources which in reality
were German.

" Stieber died in 1892, possessed of over £100,000.

"As a part of his deep-rooted policy multitudes of Ger-
mans were sent to France, England, and elsewhere to establish
small businesses, practically every one of which was sub-
sidised by the German Secret Service Office ; as also were
German clerks and others who could obtain positions giving
access to information of any value. Stieberism practically
demoralised the entire German nation, whilst it inoculated
its poison into other European countries in such a manner
that their energies and sound judgment seem to have been
paralysed in more ways than one.

" Stieberists follow the same creed as Jesuits, ' All is
justifiable in the interests of the future of the Fatherland.'

" Major Steinhauer succeeded Stieber, and the present
Secret Service Bureau of Berlin was in his hands when this
war started. He also was a past master in the art of organisa-
tion. The entry into Brussels of 700,000 men without incon-
venience or mishap was practically entirely due to his organisa-
tion. Over 8,000 spies had been placed on the various
routes between Aix-la-Chapelle and Saint Quentin, whilst
those in the Belgian capital had some two or three years
previously actually worked out on paper the billets and
lodgings for all those troops in advance.1

1 This fact refutes the theoristic argument that Germany was forced at the
eleventh hour to invade Belgium.

Secret Service Organisations 63

" The ordinary German Secret Service agent started with
a salary of £200 a year and 10s. a day expenses, with a bonus
for each job to an unlimited amount. Whilst abroad or on any
matter of delicacy, out-of-pocket allowances were increased
to £2 a day, but 33% of all current monies owing was kept
back as a safety-valve until he left the service.

" Amongst the members were to be found Princes, Dukes,
Counts, Barons, Lawyers, Clergymen, Doctors, Actresses,
Actors, Mondaines, Demi-Mondaines, Journalists, Authors,
Money-lenders, Jockeys, Printers, Waiters, Porters ; practi-
cally every class of society was represented.

" The remuneration cannot be considered high when
compared with the dangers undertaken, and since no official
countenance was ever given (nor indeed expected) on the
part of the agents once one of them fell into the hands of the
enemy, the game was far from being worth the worry and
strain it entailed.

" The training and examination before efficiency was
reached were far more difficult than our cadets would have to
pass at Woolwich or Sandhurst, or even officers for a staff
college appointment."

The head offices of the German Secret Service Depart-
ment, which was presided over by the Kaiser himself, were
situated in Berlin at Koenigergratzerstrasse No. 70. So far
as callers were concerned the same routine was followed
as at our War Office and Admiralty : the portals were guarded
by commissionaires who kept records of every visitor, with
such particulars as they could gather. Army or Naval
officers were in charge of all departments. They planned the
work, but they never or very rarely executed it. The secre-
taries and general assistants were all civilians. No Ambas-
sadors, Ministers, secretaries of legation, envoys, pleni-
potentiaries, consuls, or recognised officials were permitted
to interfere in any way with the work of this department,
although they undoubtedly gave it every material assistance
whenever they could. History has clearly proved this. No
jealousies or acts of favouritism to relatives and the nominees

64 British Secret Service

of indirect influences were countenanced. For such an offence
the very highest in office would at once be deposed and
punished, whilst there was no appeal to a Parliament, Congress,
Chamber of Deputies, or political newspapers, against the
Kaiser's decision. He was not only the supreme head of
what he himself described as " My army of spies scattered
over Great Britain and France, as it is over North and South
America, as well as the other parts of the world, where German
interests may come to a clash with a foreign power," but
he took a very keen interest in their individual work.
Efficiency and obedience only counted in his estimation.

The persons selected for this work were specially trained
in preparation for the prospective tasks ahead of them. For
days, weeks, and months, as the case may be, they were
grounded in topography, trigonometry, mechanics, army
and naval work ; with a mass of detail which might be of
service, possibly when least expected. Their studies em-
braced visits to the big Government construction works
and yards ; they were made familiar with all necessary
knowledge concerning war-ships, submarines, torpedoes,
aircraft, guns and fortifications ; silhouettes of vessels ;
uniforms of officers ; secret surveys of interesting districts ;
signals, codes, telegraphs and multitudinous other matters
which the thorough-going German considered absolutely
essential to the training of an efficient Secret Service agent.

Mr. Le Queux, to whom all honour is due for his persistent
and patr otic efforts in unmasking German spies, their systems
and organisations in this country, corroborates Mr. Hamil
in recording that the German Secret Service dates back t6
about 1850, when an obscure Saxon named Stieber began the
espionage of revolutionary socialists, from which original
effort the present department originated. Also that the work
was fostered under the royal patronage of Frederick William,
the King of Prussia, which guarded it against anti-counter
plotting from both militarism and police, and which permitted
it to grow and flourish until it ultimately became the most
powerful and feared department of the State. In August,
1914, with an income approximating £750,000 per annum,

Secret Service Organisations 65

the agents of the German Secret Service extended all over the
world, organised to perfection as are the veins and arteries
perambulating the flesh and tissues of a man's body.

Herr Stieber's present-day successor, Herr Steinhauer,
also seemed to enjoy the full confidence of His Majesty the
Kaiser. He was then between forty and fifty years of age,
charming in manners, excellent in education and of good
presence. This officer of the Prussian Guard is well known
throughout the capitals of Europe. He has collected
information concerning every foreign land which is almost
incredible. He had maps of the British Isles which in minute
detail and accuracy surpass our own Ordnance Survey.
The Norwegian fiords were better known to German naviga-
tion lieutenants than to the native pilots and fishermen who
daily use them. These are facts which practical experts
in many countries have seen put to successful tests since the
world-war started.

For some years Mr. Le Queux made it his hobby to follow
up the movements of German spies in England. He collected
information of value and importance which he says he placed
in the hands of our Government officials, but that our Govern-
ment departments were so hopelessly bound up and entangled
by red-tapeism that for years his communications and warn-
ings fell upon ears that would not listen, eyes that would not
see, brains that would not believe, and hands that would not
act.

The late Lord Roberts, who devoted his life to his country,
referred to this in the House of Lords some ten years before the
present war, but the Liberal and Radical politicians scoffed
and laughed at him ; as they did when he urged other reforms
so sound, so urgent, and so necessary for our very existence.
Now prayers are offered for the dead who never would have
died had these warnings been accepted in time.

German espionage in England has been worked from
Brussels, the chief bureau being situate in the Montagne de
la Cceur ; whilst Ostend and Boulogne were favoured ren-
dezvous for those engaged in the work and the go-betweens.

Large English towns and counties were divided into groups

66 British Secret Service

or sections. In each were selected numerous acting agents
who received small periodical payments for services rendered.
Such sections acted under the supervision of a Secret Service
agent, the whole system being visited from time to time
by agents higher up in the service, who paid over all monies
in cash, collected reports, and gave further instructions.
The favourite cloak or guise to conceal identity was usually
that of a commercial traveller.

It is a great pity that full reports of various trials of
German spies captured in England have not been permitted
to be made public in the Press, passing, of course, under a
reasonable censorship which would have deleted only such
parts as referred to matters affecting the safety of the realm.
The scales would then perhaps have fallen from the eyes of
our fatuous and blinded public. And many another secret
enemy who was, or had been, working throughout the war,
would have been reported and laid by the heels ; as well as
many a noble life spared which has fallen through such
short-sighted folly.

If the public are under the impression that the great
round-up of over 14,000 German, Austrian, and foreign spies
so actively at work in England at the outbreak of war, and
within a few weeks thereof, was due to our Secret Service
Department, it is labouring under a great delusion. The
credit for this exceedingly valuable work is due to the energy,
zeal, and intelligence of Scotland Yard, backed up by
thoroughly efficient police officers throughout the country,
which force is without doubt the finest in the world.

Our censorships are also separate departments run on
their own lines and quite apart from any direct control from
the Secret Service.

On January 7th, 1916, Mr. J. L. Balderston, the special
correspondent of the Pittsburg Despatch, U.S.A., published
data he had collected in Europe showing that German
propaganda had been carried on with feverish energy in
eighteen neutral countries, two of which had been won over
at a cost of £19,000,000, and one lost after a vain expendi-
ture of £10,000,000. During the first eighteen months of

Secret Service Organisations

67

war, Germany had spent no less than £72,600,000 to foster
intimidation, persuasion, and bribery, in conjunction with her
colossal Secret Service system.

The following extract gives the estimated expenditure in
each country where German agents were at work :

United States

£15,000,000

Spain

£3,000,000

Turkey

14,000,000

Holland

2,000,000

Italy

10,000,000

Norway

1,600,000

Bulgaria

■f 5,000,000

Denmark

1,000,000

Greece

4,000,000

Switzerland

1,000,000

China

4,000,000

Argentine

1,000,000

Sweden

3,000,000

Brazil

1,000,000

Roumania

3,000,000

Chili

600,000

Persia

3,000,000

Peru

Tota

400,000

I £72,600,000

The moderation of the estimate that only £15,000,000 has
been spent in influencing the United States, a figure half
or one-third of that often mentioned in America, is also
characteristic of the other estimates, all of which are probably
too low, since they deal only with expenditures which have
been traced or have produced observable results, such as
harems for Persian potentates, or palaces for Chinese man-
darins, or motor-cars for poor Greek lawyers who happen to
be members of Parliament on the King's side.

It should also be noted that no attempt is made here to
deal with the German system of espionage in hostile countries,
or with the organised, but of course secret, attempt to sow
sedition among the subjects of Great Britain, France, and
Italy, in India, South Africa, Egypt, Tripoli, and Tunis.

To the German Government, the stirring up of trouble in
the dependencies of her enemies is an aim of perhaps equal
importance with that of winning over neutrals to be actively
or passively pro-German.

Returning to the actual work of the English Secret Service

68 British Secret Service

agents, it is soon noted that any ordinary British Service
officer of a few years' standing is a marked man in whatever
society he may find himself. His bearing and mannerisms
invariably give him away. There may be exceptions, in
which he can disguise himself for a time, but that time will
be found to be much too short. There are, of course, in the
Service many officers who are different from the ordinary
standard, men whose veins tingle with the wanderlust of
the explorer or adventurer, or who are of abnormal or eccen-
tric temperament ; men who generally hold themselves aloof
from the fashionable society vanities, which in the past
have been dangled too much and too closely round our stripe-
bedecked uniforms to be good for efficiency. But even with
these men, after they have been a few years in the Service,
they find that their greatest difficulty is to conceal that fact.
It should be unnecessary to add that for the particular
work which is under discussion it could hardly be considered
an advantage for anyone to start out labelled with his pro-
fession and nationality. What ruled Rome so successfully
in olden times should have taught the world its lesson ; namely,
a triumvirate.

In this particular venture, a naval man, a military man,
and a civilian strike one as a good combination to be allotted
to a given centre of importance. A paradoxical coalition
abroad, in that it should ever be apart and yet together ;
each should know the other and yet be strangers ; each should
be in constant touch with the others' movements and yet be
separated by every outward sign. The duties of Service
men should be limited to those of consulting experts, whilst
specially selected and trained individuals should be employed
to carry out active requirements. In some places and in
some instances Service men can undertake executive work
better perhaps than anyone else could do ; but these oppor-
tunities are limited. Perhaps they may almost be classed
as the exceptions which prove the rule.

There seems to be an unwritten rule in the British Secret
Service that no one should be engaged for any position of any
importance below the rank of captain. In the head office

Secret Service Organisations

69

it was a saying : " We are all captains here." And it may be
assumed that every officer so engaged in the Intelligence also
ranked as a staff officer.

Most people have an idea that the pay in the British Secret
Service is high, even princely. On this they may as well at
once undeceive themselves ; the pay is mean compared
with the risks run, yet officers are keen on entering the B.S.S.,
as it is known to be a sure stepping-stone to promotion and
soft fat future jobs.

Germany was said to vote about £750,000 per annum to
cover direct Secret Service work, in addition to £250,000 for
subsidising the foreign Press ; £1,000,000 each year
in all. Yet certain members of" the House of Commons
grudgingly and somewhat reluctantly gave their consent to
the £50,000 originally asked for at the end of 1914 by the
English Secret Service Department.

The actual amounts voted and expended on English
Secret Service work are shown hereunder.

Year ending

Grant.

Expended

3\st March.

1912

£50,000

£48,996

1913

50,000

48,109

1914

50,000

46,840

1915

110,000

107,596

1916

400,000

398,698

1917

620,000

593,917

1918

750,000

740,984

1919

1,150,000

1,207,697

1920

200,000

(not known)

How much of the money was actually available for direct
Secret Service work, and how much may have been diverted
into other or indirect channels (exempli gratia — the Liberal
solatium of £1,200 per annum to Mr. Masterman for perusing
foreign newspapers)1 is not known ; nor has the government
allowed any explanation to be given.

Mr. Thomas Beach, of Colchester, Essex, whose identity

1 Reports of House of Commons.

\

jo British Secret Service

was for so many years and so very successfully concealed
under the pseudonym of Major Henri le Caron, and by whose
energies the United Kingdom was saved the loss of many
millions of money and many thousands of lives, proves,
from so far back as the year 1867 and for the twenty-five
years following, during which period he was employed in the
Secret Service of the British Government and stultifying
the popular fiction which associates with such work fabulous
payments and frequent rewards, that " there is in this service
only ever-present danger and constantly recurring difficulty ;
but of recompense a particularly scant supply."

At the conclusion of his somewhat interesting volume
" The Recollections of a Spy," he complains bitterly of the
meanness and cheese-paring methods of the British Govern-
ment : " On this question of Secret Service money I could
say much. The miserable pittance doled out for the purpose
of fighting such an enemy as the Clan-na-Gael becomes per-
fectly ludicrous in the light of such facts as I have quoted in
connection with the monetary side of the dynamite campaign."
After quoting the vast sums used by the enemy he adds :
" How on earth can the English police and their assistants
in the Secret Service hope to grapple with such heavily-
financed plots as these on the miserable sums granted by
Parliament for the purpose? . . . Some day, however, a big thing
will happen — and then the affrighted and indignant British
citizen will turn. The fault will be the want of a perfect
system of Secret Service, properly financed. . . . Imagine offer-
ing men in position a retainer of £20 a month with a very odd
cheque for expenses thrown in ! The idea is ridiculous. I
have heard it urged that the thought of Secret Service is
repugnant to the British heart, wherein are instilled the
purest principles of freedom. The argument has sounded
strange in my ears when I remembered that London, as some-
body has said, is the cesspool of Europe, the shelter of the
worst ruffians of every country and clime. America is called
the Land of the Free, but she could give England points in
the working of the Secret Service, for there there is no stinting
of men or money."

Secret Service Organisations 71

What a contrast were the life and actions of this man to
Nathan Hale, one of the heroes of the American War of
Independence, who said : " Every kind of service necessary
for the public good becomes honourable by being necessary.
If one desires to be useful, if the exigencies of his country
demand a peculiar service, its claims to the performance of
that service are imperious."

When caught and sentenced to be shot he exclaimed :

" I only regret that I have but one life to sacrifice for my
country."

Throughout the period that I was connected with the
B.S.S. there were constant difficulties about money. Had
not my personal credit been good, which enabled me to raise
large amounts almost everywhere I happened to travel, I,
or my colleagues, might have been stranded again and again.
It was nothing unusual for appeals to be made to me to act
as banker and Good Samaritan until long-deferred payments
eventually arrived.

In the early days most of the B.S.S. agents travelling
abroad seemed to labour under the same difficulty : a short-
age of funds and overdue accounts wanting payment. It
may not have been any fault of, but merely an eccentricity
of, our good old managing chief ; be that as it may, impecuni-
osity never bothered me. Some of the others got very angry
about it, whilst their irritation increased as their banking
accounts became more heavily overdrawn.

So far as actual pay went, a B.S.S. man drew the equi-
valent to his ordinary army or naval pay, with nothing over
for rations or extras. He, however, returned a list of his
travelling expenses and hotel bills which were agreed to be
refunded each month. If he were a married man, he had to
pay his wife's and his family's expenses out of his own
pocket, should it be necessary for any of them to accompany
him, which often absorbed the whole of his pay and a good
bit above it. If he entertained anyone with a view to drawing
out some point of useful intelligence, it would be passed in
general expenses, provided the outlay was exceedingly
moderate. But the members of the executive with whom

72 British Secret Service

I came in contact were inclined to be of the parsimonious type,
much too much afraid to spend a sovereign, either because
they could not really afford it, or for fear they would never
see it back again. Their entertaining was conspicuous by
its absence, which necessitated a rather heavier drain upon
my pocket and upon my good nature. It had at times to
be done, and someone had to do it ; that someone was nearly
always myself. The Chief preached economy at all times and
he religiously practised it. It was paradoxical in that if a
big amount was wanted for some exceedingly doubtful
purpose no limit seemed to be made ; the wherewithal was
almost certain to be forthcoming to meet the demand. But
the loyal Britisher who came along to help the Service and
his country in her hour of need, who freely and ungrudgingly
offered to sacrifice everything he possessed in order to serve,
who worked for nothing or practically nothing, and who
perhaps paid a good part of his own expenses, received an
absurdly small remuneration and little if,any thanks ; most
certainly he never received a line in writing from anyone in
high authority to express his country's gratitude.

Those who sit in chairs in Whitehall take their regular fat
salaries and periodical distinctive honours as a matter of
course. They are the men who watch the wheels revolving.
They collect and hand over results, the fruit garnered in by
others working in the twilight which shades their individuality.
With the Powers-that-be these men (the gentlemen who sit
in chairs) are ever in the official limelight, whilst the reckless,
devil-may-care workers over the horizon, the men who carry
their life in their hands and who go right into the lion's den
to collect facts and data which often mean success or defeat
in battles raged elsewhere, or who manipulate and pull the
strings on the spot, seem to be ignored and forgotten. The
secrecy of the Service is so absolute that no mention of the
way their work is accomplished may be made. The cloak
of mystery is drawn so completely over the whole department
that no matter what sacrifice a member may make for his
country's sake, no matter what bravery he may have exhibited
in almost every instance alone and unsupported, probably

Secret Service Organisations 73

in an enemy's domain as one man facing a host of his country's
enemies, his deeds are unrecorded, unhonoured and unsung.
Whilst he is in the Service he is merely a cypher, a unit, an
atom. When he has left it he is hardly remembered as once
a member. What of it ? He only did his duty. Now he is
out of the Service he is no longer interesting, he ceases to
exist. The big wheel of life continues to revolve. The B.S.S.
Department is but a very minute little wheel which cogs into
the larger machinery of State in its own respective corner.
As the rim of this very minor wheel comes up from the dark
recesses of the working world and the separate cogs become
revealed, those in authority who sit watching each and every
cog, upon the stamina and reliability of which so much
depends, from time to time find one that cannot stand the
strain, because it is hurt or damaged, either in body, or in
mind, or in fortune. It is at once removed. We are at war.
Sentiment is dead and buried, except with the weak, who in
life's battles are crushed and accordingly find themselves
forced to the wall. Any cog believed to show signs of weak-
ness is instantly extracted, and those who sit and watch the
wheels revolve seek another piece of tougher and believed
to be better material which may come to hand, and which
they force into the vacant space created. For a second per-
haps the discarded hard -used cog is looked at with admiration
for past and valued service when knowingly driven at highest
pressure ; or with regret at having to part with such a tried
and trusted friend ; then it is hurled into outer darkness, on
to the scrap-heap of broken and forgotten humanity. The
new cog is pushed in and hammered home, it is smeared with
the grease of experience, and the wheel continues its mono-
tonous revolution.

Such is a good similitude of the short and exciting life of
a Secret Service agent.

CHAPTER HI

INITIATION TO ACTIVE WORK

Crossing the North Sea — A Memorable Meeting — Instruc-
tions— On a Cargo Boat — Snowstorms — False Alarm —
Danish Profiteers — English Consul Profiteering in food to
Germany — Horse- Smuggling — Meeting my CO. — Blooded.

The only open route to Northern Europe which members of
belligerent nations could safely take was through Bergen in
Norway. The Wilson Line from Hull to Christiania continued
to run one weekly boat regularly, which carried mails, general
cargo, and an occasional passenger. It was considered advis-
able by most people to avoid taking this boat.

From Newcastle a Norwegian Company ran a line of
small steamers daily, which had not been molested by sub-
marines or warships. They were mail-boats, and although
their accommodation and fittings were far from up-to-date,
and travellers had to look after themselves much more than
they should have been called upon to do, they appeared to
be crowded each trip. The neutral flag and the shortest
direct passage was responsible for this.

There were many other available ways of crossing the
North Sea open to me, and no restrictions as to route had
been laid down. I had simply to visit a certain hotel in a
certain town, in a certain country, at a certain hour, on a
certain date — arranged well ahead. The margin of time
allowed was ample for a crossing by sail if desired.

With a passport., a revolver, a bundle of English banknotes
(of my own providing), and as little luggage as possible, I
made my way towards Scotland to take ship for Norway
and the beyond.

There were three vessels which sailed from the port of

Initiation to Active Work 75

embarkation I selected, two Norwegians and a Swede. One
of the former was fortunately taken. It was certainly fortun-
ate, because the latter was blown up and sunk by a mine
within a few hours of her departure. Such is the luck of
war.

The voyage across the North Sea was uneventful. It
was rough, as it generally is. The passengers were few.
They were almost entirely Russian Poles; I was the only
Englishman on board, and there was one Japanese. All were
ill with sea-sickness, which was perhaps accentuated by a
deadly fear of mines and torpedoes. Few slept, less ate,
and as they were charged for the meals they did not consume
the owners must have made money, more particularly so
when it is remembered that fifty per cent, extra was charged
in addition to the ordinary fares, to cover war risks.

The sea seemed to be utterly devoid of life. Not a sail,
not a column of smoke, nor even a bird was sighted until the
ship emerged from a fog-bank, wherein she had rolled for
many hours broadside on, within a few miles of the outer
island-barrier of the Norwegian coast.

To the ultimate intense relief of everybody the fog lifted,
and a few hours afterwards a small fishing-town on the south-
west of Norway was reached. Cargo was discharged, more
cargo was taken on board, and again the chains rattled in
the hawser pipes ; the engines throbbed and the siren aroused
echoes from the rocks around as the voyage was renewed
northwards.

Later in the day other towns were reached, and similar
scenes repeated, until near midnight the lights of the historic
port of Bergen danced in the distance.

Securing the services of a friendly native, one of the
numerous hangers-on who flit round the quays of seaport
towns in every land in the hope of picking up money with the
least possible exertion expended to earn it, I made my way
to a quiet hostelry in the quietest part of the pleasant old
town and installed myself as comfortably as circumstances
permitted.

At the appointed place and hour, I strolled casually into

76 British Secret Service

the entrance hall of a certain hotel and stood apparently
puzzling over the railway and steamboat time-tables which
were hanging on the wall. Several people were in evidence,
but no one seemed to be particularly interested in anyone
else. I had been there quite a time, and was wondering
how I could explain my presence in order to excuse and justify
a prolonged lingering, when I observed a small-built, quiet
inoffensive-looking young man cross the hall and stop near the
hotel register. Absent-mindedly he tapped his teeth with his
pince-nez, and muttered to himself and half aloud, " I wonder
if Mr. Jim has called for that letter."

Now " Mr. Jim " was the password I had been instructed
to listen for. The unknown was to give me certain orders.
Without them I would have been like a ship in a gale minus
the rudder.

The little man never looked at me nor even my way.
He had stepped near enough so that I could overhear his
sotto voce, also within range of two or three others who were
congregated in the hall. His utterance was low, but it was
as clear as a bell, and he spoke in Norwegian.

No one took any notice of him or his remark. This,
however, appeared to trouble him not a bit. Adjusting his
glasses he pulled a newspaper out of his coat pocket and
proceeded to make himself comfortable on a settee in a remote
corner, where he could observe all that passed and all who
came or went ; provided he wished so to interest himself
should the contents of his paper fail to hold his attention.

Having marked down the man there was no need to hasten
matters. Caution at one's initiation is generally advantageous.
Ten minutes later I seated myself on the same settee as the
stranger and also became absorbed in a newspaper. Assuring
myself that no one was within earshot except the little gentle-
man before referred to, I murmured soft and low, whilst I
still appeared to be reading the paper : " I know Mr. Jim.
Can I give him the letter for you ? "

" Who sent you to ask for it ? " the stranger queried.
I named a name which was a countersign. " For whom
does Mr. Jim require it ? " I gave the third and final word

Initiation to Active Work 77

which proved beyond doubt my title to the precious document
in question.

During this short conversation both of us had been study-
ing our news-sheets, and unless an observer had been stationed
within a few feet of us, nothing transpired that could have
given the smallest clue to the fact that any communication
had passed.

With no sign of recognition the little man got up to go.
He left his paper on the seat, and in passing me he whispered :
4 You will find the letter in my Evening News. Good luck
to you."

In the privacy of a bedroom the letter was opened. It
was type-written, with no address and no signature. It
contained instructions to proceed to another hotel two full
days' journey away, where I was to look out for, and make
the acquaintance of, a certain English Staff Officer to whom
I had to deliver my dispatches.

It was fortunate I had provided myself with plenty of
money. The ten pounds for preliminary expenses, which
was all I had been given, was already over-exhausted, and
travelling in those days of war scares, high freights, and
shortage of accommodation, was far more expensive than the
gentlemen who sit in easy-chairs at home would believe.

I was the only passenger on a semi -cargo boat which sailed
next day for the port desired. The weather was awful.
Severe frost coated the deck and rigging with ice, in places
inches thick. Heavy snowstorms impeded navigation, whilst
again and again the vessel had to lay to for hours at a stretch
before her captain dare make any attempt at headway*
Wrecks were continually passed, not cheery encouragement
to one's spirits ; whilst, generally speaking, that two days'
voyage was about as severe a shaking up as anyone could
possibly expect to receive at any time, or anywhere, during a
year or more at sea.

During the night, about 2.0 a.m., the engines suddenly
ceased running. Feet pattered up and down the deck and
everyone on board instinctively became aware that something
unusual had happened. Slipping on a thick overcoat and

78 British Secret Service

a small Norwegian forage cap, I cautiously negotiated the
companion-way. I suspected a German war- vessel had held
up the ship. If so, I had no desire to meet any members
of a boarding party until I had destroyed the sealed dispatch
entrusted to me. After turning over possibilities in my mind
I had decided to make use of the exhaust pipe of the lavatory.
It was therefore essential that one's lines of retreat should be
kept open without fear of being cut off.

It transpired, however, that my fears were groundless.
The captain had suddenly been taken ill, and an immediate
operation seemed to the first mate necessary as the only
chance of saving his life. The ship had, therefore, run to the
neighbourhood of an island whereon a doctor was known to
reside, and the unfortunate captain was about to be conveyed
ashore.

Poor chap ! It subsequently transpired that he died the
following day in spite of every effort to save him.

During the voyage the ship touched at various small
stations to deliver and receive cargo. Sometimes a few
passengers would come aboard, generally for short trips.
At one place a couple of Danes rushed over the gangway as
it was being dropped preparatory to departure. They had
made a record journey across the mountains, and exhibited
intense anxiety for expedition. They wanted to reach
rail-head in order that they could get back to their own
country as soon as it was possible.

Why ? That one little word gave something to con-
centrate one's thoughts upon during the long hours at
sea.

Danes, generally speaking, are heavy drinkers. They have
a fondness for spirits, particularly with their coffee. It was
advisable to wait until after the midday meal, when it was
customary to repair to the smoke-room, if further curiosity
was to be satisfied. Securing a corner seat I cocked up both
my legs on to the settee and buried myself in a book — the
Sagas of the North. After ostentatiously appearing to
drink a number of small glasses of spirits, signs of somnoles-
cence followed. Soon the book dropped with a bang on the

Initiation to Active Work 79

floor and intermittent snoring became almost a nuisance to
the only two other occupants of the saloon, the Danish
travellers.

The confined space of the apartment caused them by
compulsion to sit within a few feet of where I was lying.
They had been whispering in so low a tone that not a word
could be heard. As the snoring increased they raised their
voices. Under the impression that the sleep was probably
alcoholic, they were soon discussing their affairs in distinctly
audible tones. And very interesting business it turned out
to be.

Shortly, it concerned the purchase, transport, and delivery
of some hundreds of horses which they had been buying
for and on behalf of, or for resale to, the German Government.
This business had apparently been going on for some time.
Denmark and Sweden had been early denuded of all avail-
able horseflesh at enormous prices. Norway was now being
swept clean.

The two travellers were discussing the probabilities of

any action being taken by the British Minister at

to attempt to veto or put what obstacles he was capable of
in the way of this traffic.

One of the twain was a fat, good-natured man whom
nothing seemed to trouble. The other was thin and dyspeptic
looking, who seemed suspicious of his own shadow.

" He'll never be fool enough to sit quiet under the
thousands we are sending over," the latter remarked.

" Oh, he'll never trouble. Look at Consul at -.

Ever since the war broke out he has been sending hundreds
of thousands of barrels of herrings to Germany. He is ship-
ping them off now, as fast as he can get them. And, the
devil burn me, he's the English Consul. The Minister has
never stopped him. Why should he trouble us ? "

" But has he not power to remove him ? " asked the thin
man.

M Of course he has," replied fatty. " Ministers appoint
and remove Consuls as they please. And when an English
Consul is allowed to rake in a fortune in a few months,

80 British Secret Service

supplying the Germans with food, how can you argue he will
stop us dealing in horses to go to Denmark ? "

" Anyhow, the sooner we can get ours through the more
relieved I shall be," grunted the other. " It will take them

two days to reach , and once they are shipped it's

all right."

Their conversation drifted to other topics, and although
I waited patiently on the sofa for another hour nothing
further of importance was divulged. Some time after this
an exceptionally heavy sea struck the vessel, causing her to
roll so heavily that everything on the tables was spilt, whilst
I was pitched, nolens volens, amongst the spittoons on the floor.
This foretaste of further rocking to come sent all three of us
to our respective berths.

On landing at the port of I lost no time in searching

for my unknown Commanding Officer. The hotel which had
been named to me was a good one, its guests included many
nationalities. At dinner I spotted three men of military
aspect, each of whom might well be the gentleman in question.
Coffee and a cigar in the lounge failed to procure any sign of
the expectant one ; I therefore strolled out into the town to
make a few small purchases.

An hour later I returned. Only three people now occupied
the lounge. One of them undoubtedly was an army officer
belonging to a smart regiment, but it would have been
difficult to guess to what country he belonged. A first
venture would probably have elicited German as the answer.
All the more reason for double caution, thought I to myself.

In nonchalant fashion I overhauled the mass of periodicals
upon the tables, and having selected a local one, settled myself
down at ease in a long deck-chair under a potted palm to
watch and wait for possible developments.

In half an hour's time two of the visitors departed,
whereupon my vis-d-vis looked hard at me over the top of
his newspaper and elevated both eyebrows. I nodded.
He smiled, and with a slight indication of the head, implying
that he wished to be followed, slowly left the room and pro-
ceeded up the grand stairway. Waiting perhaps a quarter

Initiation to Active Work 81

of an hour I also took the same route. The first and second
landings were devoid of life. On the third I noticed a half-
open door, which I entered as though the room were my own ;
whilst I was quite prepared to apologise if a mistake was
made in my so doing.

Here, however, I found my friend of the elevating eye-
brows, who received me cordially, and I was introduced to
his wife as an Englishman recently arrived. I gave the name
in which I had booked on arrival ; my newly-found friend did
the same. This, of course, was not sufficient. For some
little time we talked of trivialities and verbally fenced, and
thrust, and parried, the while certain secret passwords were
casually introduced and exchanged in a somewhat similar
manner as has before been narrated in connection with the
little gentleman at Bergen. When assurance had become
doubly sure, the door was locked and bolted, the dispatch
handed over, and the story of the horses told.

Thus it came to pass that I was first " blooded " in the
Foreign Secret Service of His Britannic Majesty's Government.

CHAPTER IV

INTERCOMMUNICATING WITH TEMPORARY CODES
AND INCIDENTS

Grammatical Code — A Tete-a-tete — Confidences — Misconstrued
Message Leads to Domestic Tragedy — Local Codes —
An Altered Message — An Important Mission — Shadowed —
Attempted Thefts of Papers — A Contretemps — Leakage of
News from England — Watching a Suspect — False Message Dis-
closes an Open Code — Geometrical Codes — The Knot Code —
A Fascinating Actress, a Confiding Attache, and a Mysterious
Chess Problem — Cleverness of French Secret Service.

No reader must expect or anticipate a disclosure of the direct
methods which the British Secret Service uses for com-
municating with headquarters. That is a carefully-guarded
secret which no one in or out of the Service would dream of
referring to. Suffice it therefore to say that it is difficult
to conceive anything more clever or effective than it is, both
as to its efficiency and its celerity in use. j

On the other hand, when Secret Service agents are work-
ing abroad they must perforce rely upon codes of sorts, for
means of intercommunication between themselves, their
friends and supporters. These codes are invented by them
entirely at their discretion. If they are wise in their genera-
tion they never keep the same code too long in use, but
change it, at frequent intervals, for another entirely different
in every respect. Such codes cannot be too carefully pre-
pared ; whilst every user knows that if his deception is
discovered the consequences to himself might be serious
indeed. Simplicity is invariably the safest and most effective
rule to follow. In order to give the reader a good idea of
how the work was accomplished a couple of these codes are
roughly outlined, with examples of their working in each case.

Temporary Codes and Incidents 83

One was used for sea work. It was a grammatical code,
which, although simple enough in its patent aspect, was not
easy to memorise with that strict accuracy which is so
essential to future use. Shortly, this code ran somewhat on
the following lines, although English names are therein sub-
stituted in order to give better illustration. Needless to add,
these messages were worded in the language of the country
in which they were despatched, and signed with an assumed
name which would be in common use in that country.

Example 1.

I. Communications signed with Christian Name refer
to War Ships.

Communications signed with Surname refer to
Merchant Ships.

II. Please send a copy of " The Times " to . . .
means " a base is being formed at . . ."

III. I received a letter from . . . on . . .

(German auxiliary cruiser (s) in port at . . .
(German battleship (s) hanging about near . . .

IV. I received a message from . . . on . . .

(German large merchant ship in port at . . .
(German cruiser hanging about near . . .

V. I am hoping to hear from . . . on . . .

(German small merchant ship in port at . . .
[German torpedo-boat (s) hanging about near . •

VI. I am expecting a message from . . . on . . .
German collier (s) in port at . . .
German submarine (s) hanging about near . . #

VII. The first blank in the sentence is to be filled in with
the name of the place at which the base is being
formed, or at which the ships have been seen.

VIII. The second blank in the sentence, after the word
44 on " is to be filled in with a day of the week indicating
the number of ships seen (see over, IX).

means

84 British Secret Service

IX. 1 is Monday 6 is Saturday

2 is Tuesday 7 is Sunday

3 is Wednesday 8 is Monday-week

4 is Thursday 9 is Tuesday-week, and

so on.

5 is Friday 15 is Monday-fortnight,

and so on.

X. If, instead of the singular person " I am (had)," the
plural " We are (had) " is written, it means that the
ships in question, if merchantmen, have left port
and are going South.

XI. If neither the first person singular nor plural is
written and the communication begins, for instance,
" Letter from ... on ..." it means that the ships
in question, if merchantmen, have left port and are
gone North.

XII. Any mention of illness means that the ships are

disabled.

XIII. / am expecting a letter from . . . on . . . means
that several German warships (or merchantmen) of
different classes (or sizes) have been seen.

XIV. Specimen message :

We are hoping to hear from Newcastle jon Sunday.

(signed) Charles.

Decoded, means 7 German warships have been observed out-
side Newcastle, proceeding South.

The week after my arrival, this code had been completed
and put into use. I was one evening sitting in the best and
most popular restaurant in a certain town. The place was
crowded with customers and business was brisk. The walls
were decorated with magnificent frescoes by a celebrated
German artist. Hundreds of electric lamps added warmth
and attractiveness, whilst dreamy valse music from Wald
Teufel, given by a German orchestra, seemed to help the
digestion. Between bites and sips of German lager I was
absorbed in the perusal of an evening news-sheet wherein

Temporary Codes and Incidents 85

every belligerent army was reported to be making marvellous
forward movements, which, if half true, would have carried
them respectively quite through- Europe and back again in
the course of a few weeks. Whenever my eye shifted from
the newspaper to my plate an opportunity offered to note
casually my surroundings, as well as my immediate neigh-
bours. Two seats only were vacant. They were located
next my own and in due course were occupied by a young
naval lieutenant accompanied by an outwardly appearing
charming demi-mondaine. The champagne of sunny France
soon loosened their tongues. But the more their voices
became raised the more absorbed I became in my reading.
Presently snatches of conversation drifted my way. The
lady was complimenting her gallant upon his patriotism and
prowess. He, as the Americans say, was blowing hot air.
A listener's difficulty was to sift the substance from the
imaginary boasting. Subject matters dealt with were mostly
of a frivolous nature, but ever and anon the lieutenant would
return to his sea trips and the results from their patrolling.
Inter alia he related the number of drifting mines taken up,
vessels sighted and submarine visitation, which matters only
were of interest to me. Presently he paused, then, sinking
his voice almost to a whisper, informed his enchantress that
just before his ship entered port, that very afternoon, a
German cruiser had been sighted going full steam north and
close in shore. He proceeded by giving at length his personal
opinions and suppositions as to her destination and objective.
Now I happened to be aware of several objectives which
would be very attractive to such an enemy vessel. For
some weeks I had been over -anxious regarding the safety of
a line of steamers, the uninterrupted running of which was a
matter of some importance to England. And although I
entertained considerable doubts regarding the truth of the
latter part of the young lieutenant's statement, yet I felt
that I should send the information along to headquarters for
what it was worth. So I despatched the following telegram :

" Received letter from B ... on Monday about you

86 British Secret Service

from a chic lady although do not believe what she
says. — Christian."

Which on being decoded would run :

" One enemy battleship is stated to be hanging around
B . . . going North. Information obtained through female
source and doubtful."

It had been previously arranged that all local wires should
be sent to a certain individual at his private residence, who
conveyed them to another who had his fingers on the reins of
management.

If the news contained was sufficiently important it
would be transmitted home, which would mean a dupli-
cate communication and ensure a double chance of safe
arrival.

The first recipient at local headquarters was a man of
gentle disposition, a domesticated and homely parent, whose
many years of connubial bliss had never been marred by a
single cloud of unhappiness. He was one of those lovable
personages who is generally captured by a lady who may have
enjoyed numerous innocent flirtations before marriage, and
consequently might perhaps be of a suspicious and jealous
disposition, who, knowing the goodness of heart of her
spouse, might imagine that every woman showing an amiable
or friendly spirit towards him was trying to wean his affec-
tions from herself ; and who might accordingly be always on
the watch for all possible emergencies.

Never having seen, nor met, the good lady, I had no
accurate data on these points, but the fact is recorded that
when the telegraph official, who happened to be a personal
friend of the addressee, received the aforesaid message, he
warned the telegraph delivery boy to give it only to the
addressee.

Unfortunately the addressee did not happen to be at home
when the message arrived, and his faithful wife answered the
door. Having been advised to a certain extent regarding
these matters, and recognising the boy who brought the

Temporary Codes and Incidents 87

message, she naturally pressed him upon the nature of his
errand and soon persuaded the reluctant youth to hand over
the missive, which she at once opened and read. Not know-
ing its hidden meaning she jumped to wrong conclusions.

From the scraps of news which reached me afterwards
relating to the domestic tragedy which followed, I pieced
together that the believed-to-be wronged wife immediately
donned her outdoor apparel in order to seek out her Judas
in lamb's -skin. Before she ran him to earth, she had imagined
the worst, and had worked herself up into a veritable furore
of unnecessary excitement.

What really happened when they met, what was said, or
done, were details which I never knew. But the unfortunate
message-receiver implored me to invent another code at my
earliest convenience ; one, for choice, which was not quite so
open to dual construction.

Most local codes, when and where possible, were worked
out on domestic lines. By way of example, familiar and
commonplace names were selected which could be found in an
ordinary directory. To each was attached a definite meaning,
and the message would be worded so that anyone seeing it
would think it related to an ordinary everyday event.
Christian names might be coded to mean definite objects ;
to wit — Bertha, a battleship ; Dora, a torpedo boat des-
troyer ; Sarah, a submarine ; Tiny, a torpedo boat ; Mary,
a merchantman ; Connie, a collier ; Trina, a trawler ; Louisa,
an airship ; and so on.

Surnames were useful to designate numerals ; to wit —
Oldman, one ; Turner, two ; Truman, three ; Smith, four ;
Jones, five ; Robinson, six ; and so on.

Knowing that every telegram was stamped with the name
of the place it was handed in at, the points of the compass,
north, south, east, and west were conveyed by including the
name of some place which could be found on any ordinary
map within a reasonable radius of the place of dispatch.

Time spoke for itself.

Thus, a telegram handed in at Lowestoft worded as
follows :

88 British Secret Service

" Sent your housemaid Sarah Jones to Felixstowe 4
o'clock this afternoon,"

on being coded would read :

" Five submarines passed Lowestoft at 4 o'clock this
afternoon steaming south."

Any reference to an illness meant that damage had been
done, or that a vessel had been adversely affected to some
extent. Any reference to a marriage or engagement meant
that a combat or battle had taken place. " In bed " con-
veyed the news that a ship or ships had been sunk. " Put
to bed " meant sunk, annihilation, or defeat, according to
the context ; mention of " delirium or head sickness " con-
veyed suspicions, or suspicious circumstances ; " doctor
called in " that the enemy (or others, as the context might
convey) had retired, or been put to flight, whilst any direct,
or indirect, reference to " remaining here, or at some named
place," that the object or objects in question were still there
or likely to remain.

The above-mentioned outline should .be sufficient to con-
vey to the reader an idea of how the stunt worked out in
practice.

That these messages were often tapped and became the
subject of racking headaches to the code decipherers who
attempted to unravel them, was quite probable. When we
could we tried on the same thing ourselves ; such was
considered only fair in love as well as in war. Lady tele-
graph and telephone operators are sometimes amenable
to flattery and judiciously administered attentions. It is
also within the bounds of possibility that an occasional one
might be met with who might not object to test a communica-
tion with a semblance of reason ; whilst one of the most
interesting enemy codes we managed to intercept during our
rambles was confined to the limits of a postage-stamp. It
meant not only intercepting the letter or postcard but having
to unstick the stamp and test it before the message could
be copied.

Temporary Codes and Incidents 89

It is not at all necessary, however, to pursue this subject
further, but once upon a time during the continuance of this
war a certain message was handed in at a certain telegraph
office in Holland to cable to a certain address in the U.S.A.,
which ran as follows :

" Father dead."

The telegraph operator, for some reason which we need
not trouble to inquire into, altered the wording to " Father
deceased," and then despatched the message in the usual
manner.

Immediately came back the reply :

" Is father really dead or only deceased ? "

The following up of that simple message cost one Govern-
ment a considerable sum of money, but it was well worth the
outlay.

To those who seek the sunny side of life, humour can be
found in all things. Once at a funeral, when the author was
broken in body and soul with the painful agony of dry tears,
kind Providence sent relief from an unexpected quarter.
In the pew immediately in front were seated two mourners,
one a tiny man, the other about 350 lbs. in weight, whose
head was nearly as big as the puny man's whole body. On
leaving the church for the graveside each took the other's
hat by mistake and they got separated in the crowd. At
the close of the service they unconsciously and solemnly
put on the hats they respectively held. That of the tiny man
did not find resting-place until it had covered his head, ears,
and face, and settled on his shoulders. That of the enormously
fat man looked like a pea on a drum.

Likewise it was with our local code messages. Their use
in practice was often the innocent cause of much trouble ;
more often, perhaps, the source of some humour. The gentle
cherub who had undertaken the collection of messages and
who has recently been hereinbefore referred to, maybe
received another shock to his domestic bliss ; and that only

go British Secret Service

a week after the one before related. It is much to be feared
that he did not fully appreciate the humorous side. However,
as it gives an excellent illustration of the practical and simple
working of the last-mentioned code, it is narrated.
The facts are as follows :

I one day received this request.

" I shall be exceedingly obliged if you will undertake to

deliver this package to personally. If you could start

at once it would be very good of you ; but please understand,

no living soul may see the contents of this packet except

himself."

I bowed my acceptance of the mission, murmuring how
honoured I felt at an opportunity to render service to the
illustrious personage soliciting my assistance. Then I
hastened to my hotel to prepare for immediate departure.

The midnight express to was crowded. On the

platform a few minutes before the scheduled time of leaving,
representatives from almost every country in Europe could
have been picked out. Detectives and Secret Servant
agents glided through the crowd, observing, watching and
noting the many strange and familiar faces. Their work
meant an added consumption of current on the wires. The
vacant stare, the side glance, or the wooden far-away ex-
pression of countenance, conveyed much to these men. To
them it was always interesting to try and read the working
of the brain behind. But I was a traveller and the doings
of these night-hawks interested me but little, beyond such
casual observation as could be made during a quick passage
to the train.

In the corridor of the car to which I was allotted were
several Germans. Two in particular I instinctively feared.
Their faces were familiar. One of them had secured a berth
in my compartment, and addressing me in excellent Danish,
showed a desire to be affable. It was unsought, but it would
perhaps be dangerous not to reciprocate.

Soon after the train had started on its journey I politely

Temporary Codes and Incidents 91

offered to share some refreshment with this fellow-traveller,
which, however, that astute gentleman politely but firmly
declined. It was an easy matter to guess the suspicious
working in his mind. He meant to pass a sleepless night.
So did I.

In due course I retired to rest, and the German secured
the door of the cubicle before climbing to his berth, which
was above mine. As soon as he was comfortably settled I
opened the door he had closed. The German waited a while,
and then, very stealthily, shut it again. I waited about a
like period and reopened it. So the game proceeded, until
about four o'clock in the morning the German complained of
the draught. In the most polite language that could be
commanded I replied by commenting upon the extreme heat
and the unhygienic practice of curtailing fresh air.

At 6 a.m. the German decided to seek another car, at
which I inwardly rejoiced exceedingly. No sooner had he
departed than I secured the door and enjoyed a refresh-
ing sleep of several hours.

Later that morning the door-closing German was observed
in close consultation with his companion. On a ferry which
had to be crossed both of them watched my every movement,
and I began to congratulate myself in that I had taken pre-
cautions before departure in order to guard against contin-
gencies.

Forearmed is forewarned. Before leaving I had prepared
another packet in exact duplicate of the original I had been
entrusted with. The dummy contained only an old news-
paper, and it was placed in an inside bank-note pocket of
my waistcoat. Its outline could have been detected by any-
one on the look-out for it. The original packet was elsewhere
concealed, in a secure hiding-place, where it was least likely
to be sought or found.

On leaving the ferry a rush was made at the gangway and
I found myself involuntarily pushed forward and wedged
in between the two over-night observers. I could feel their
hands run over my chest, so I took some interest in the
proceedings. I had not been on numerous race-courses,

92 British Secret Service

nor participated in football, boat-race night, and other
big crowds in England, without learning something
of the ropes. Every time a hand entered the inside of my
coat it encountered small steel obstacles which lacerated and
hurt. True I lost a few buttons, and my clothes were damaged,
but the dummy packet remained intact, and I noticed with
some satisfaction afterwards that one of the two gentlemen
before mentioned had a hand bound up in a pocket handker*
chief when they boarded the waiting train.

On arrival at my taxi-cab was followed. Having

been a constant visitor to the town in question for many
years I redirected my driver to a public building which had
a bolt hole at its back, by the use of which my pursuers
were baffled successfully, and the package was safely de-
livered without further trouble or anxiety. After which
I despatched the following cablegram :

" Child delivered safely this morning mother doing well."

Whether this message was also intercepted by the jealous
wife of our temporary receiving agent, history does not
relate, but I tremble to think of the volcanic domestic
eruption which must have ensued if it were so.

When war was declared, cables were cut, a most rigid
censorship installed, and no printed matter was allowed to
leave England. Yet news, most important news, continued
to leak through to Germany, and most of it went through
neutral countries.

Before the war, Germany used cyphers, but these were
soon dropped. It is common knowledge that every Govern-
ment keeps a copy of all cypher and code messages sent over
the cables from every Embassy or Consulate, whether the
countries are at peace or war. The great cleverness of certain
men at unravelling any code, however complicated, is also
openly acknowledged.

Yet, in spite of every precaution and all science and know-
ledge the country could bring to bear, news continued to leak
through and to fly across the North Sea. Scotland Yard,

Temporary Codes and Incidents 93

to which admirable institution the whole world owes so much,
was put upon its mettle. It proceeded to watch with still closer
scrutiny certain suspected persons who still claimed the
privilege of freedom. One of these was a small London
tradesman whose premises were situated in a remote and
quiet back street. He appeared to have rather more corres-
ponding friends than his position or his business justified.
His correspondence, in and out, was intercepted, copied, and
sent along in a manner not likely to arouse his suspicions.
Nothing, however, occurred which could be looked upon as
even suspicious, until one day a telegram arrived which had
been handed in at a certain naval base of some importance
in the U.K. It simply said " Been ill three days — John," or
words to that effect.

Now the sender had also been watched, an attention
which had been evenly divided amongst every one of this
tradesman's correspondents. The police knew that the
sender of the message, " John," had been in perfect health
for quite a long time past, which fact was, of course, com-
municated to headquarters.

The information caused a flutter in the official dovecots.

Copies of the message, with comments, were forwarded to
the War Office, to the Admiralty, and to other Government
Departments likely to be interested.

To shorten the story, certain gentlemen in the Admiralty
were amazed when they remembered vividly that secret
orders had been issued by them which commanded a squadron
of warships to leave the port at which the message had been
handed in, and join up with the High Seas Fleet exactly three
days from the date of the aforesaid message.

Needless to add that the further activities of both the
sender and the receiver of the telegram were forthwith
promptly crushed, once and for all future time.

Scotland Yard also discovered, probably with considerable
assistance from the Censorship Department, that the Germans
were successfully getting out information useful to them
through open business letters addressed to residents in
neutral countries, particularly Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and

94 British Secret Service

Holland, which were decoded by adding certain geometrical
figures. For example, where the sides of an added triangle
or triangles intersected one another, or cut the rim of a circle,
there would be found the words used in the secret messages.

Several of these ingenious codes were described in a most
interesting article which was published in Pearson's Magazine,
October, 1918, with illustrations which more clearly demon-
strated their latent meaning. Two of the most brilliant
of them were the knot alphabet and the chess problem.

In the former case a parcel sent to a supposed prisoner in
a German internment camp was found to contain, amongst
other things, a woollen sweater, or knitted sports vest. It
was apparently so badly knitted, and the wool was seen to be
so full of knots, that the censor's suspicions were aroused.
Subsequent searches revealed that no such person as the
addressee of the parcel in question was known to exist. His
name certainly did not appear in any Army List. The aforesaid
garment was most carefully unravelled. The wool was found
to be whole, with a multitude of simple knots tied at irregular
intervals. Alphabets were written on a board, each letter
being placed at given distances apart, and very soon a most
interesting message was read off.

The chess problem was deeper in its cunning and its
intricacy. During 1917, a young and fascinating actress
appeared in Paris. She was suspected and closely watched.
In due course she captivated one of the junior secretaries
of a neutral Embassy. His integrity was absolutely beyond
aU doubt, but naturally he also was watched and shadowed
in order to learn what was passing, or might be passing,
between them or otherwise.

The watchers' notes, on being compared, revealed certain
facts which when carefully pieced together laid bare the whole
plot. The actress professed to be deeply interested in the
serious game of chess. She inspired a similar passion in the
breast of the young and inexperienced attache. One day she
produced to him a rough illustration of an alleged chess prob-
lem which she had cut from a local newspaper ; in all proba-
bility /she herself had indirectly caused its publication. She

Temporary Codes and Incidents 95

worried her admirer unduly to help her solve what had been,
or were, the opening moves in the game which had caused
the pieces to be left on the board as shown in the sketch.
No one in Paris could be found who could enlighten or help
her ; at least, so she represented.

Gentle interrogation of the attache by his inamorata
caused him to admit the existence of a chess club of some
renown in the capital of the country his Embassy represented.
It was a neutral country which bordered on Germany.

The actress then persuaded him to send this simple problem
to the club mentioned with an urgent request to unravel the
problem, if possible, and to let her know, through him, the
result.

She knew, as does everyone who has had any close relation-
ship with an Embassy, that every Embassy has its own
private letter-bag, which is inviolate, and is passed over all
frontiers uncensored and unopened, and is generally carried
personally by some trusted messenger of the Government
interested.

The actress undoubtedly relied on the almost certain
chance of her admirer sending his letters, this one in par-
ticular enclosing the problem illustration, in the Embassy
letter-bag. Which indeed he did. But the very astute
members of the French Secret Service were wide awake to
all her carefully-thought-out plans. They took measures
accordingly, and the letter in question never reached its
destination.

The watchers had reported that this actress had shown
strong outward charitable dispositions, particularly towards
the wounded soldiers from the war; that she frequently
visited them in the various hospitals, sung to them, enter-
tained them, and took them lavish presents of fruit and flowers.
On one of these most praiseworthy visits she had been
observed to linger unduly at the bedside of a young German
aviation officer who had been shot down well behind the
French lines.

The French Secret Service knew that prior to the
war Germans had made many secret surveys of France,

96 British Secret Service

particularly of the northern territories and provinces. Greatly
to the credit of the French, and unknown to the Germans,
copies of most of these surveys had been obtained and filed
away for possible future use or reference. Probably it was
remembered that one of these survey maps had been ruled
up with diagonal, lateral and parallel lines dividing the
country into squares, precisely as is shown on a chess-board.

It was not therefore much of a surprise when it was as-
certained on comparing the sketch of the chess problem,
which had been brought back to Paris, with the copy
survey plan of the Germans which had been ruled up as before
mentioned, to find that the one exactly corresponded with the
other. But the French War Office was certainly surprised
to see before it, set out on the sketch of the chess-board, an
accurate portrayal of all their reserve forces behind their
front lines, posted in the exact positions which they then held.
It required little perspicuity to understand that pawns on
the board, or rather map, represented infantry ; kings,
heavy artillery ; queens, field artillery ; knights, cavalry ;
bishops, air divisions ; and a castle, the military head-
quarters.

CHAPTER V

LOCATING GERMAN MINE-LAYERS

Coast Hunting — A Find — Spies of Many Nations — Obliterating
Trails — Tracking down the Berlin — Marvellous Navigation
by Germans — Interned — German Arson — An Impudent Invita-
tion— A Russian Sugar Queen's Yacht — Queer Company —
Sapping Hun Intelligence — Playing on Weaknesses — Success
— Loss of H.M.S. Audacious — Soliloquising.

The first work which was entrusted to me after having been
granted a rating in the Foreign Secret Service was to hunt
out the hiding-places of the large German auxiliary cruisers
which had been specially fitted out for the important service
of laying special minefields off remoter parts of the coast-
line of the British Isles.

Early in October, 1914, I landed at the south of Norway,
and I zigzagged my way northwards on all kinds of craft that
cruised about the thousands of fjords and islands, inquiring
as unobservantly and disinterestedly as circumstances would
admit in the hope of picking up some information which
might lead me to the object of my search.

It was believed that these pests of the seas were using
unknown fjords as hiding-places, and taking advantage of
the double neutral routes of 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 they
dropped down upon the British Isles suddenly and unex-
pectedly, laid their dangerous batches of eggs, and returned
the same way as they came.

I had travelled almost 750 miles northward, and I was
quite convinced that no German mine-layer was concealed
anywhere in that distance. Many reports I gathered of
German war and other vessels of various rig and shape

G

98 British Secret Service

taking advantage of the neutral waterways ; but they had
all been under steam.

I had nearly reached the Arctic Circle, and I meant going
north to Hammerfest, and even beyond, if the smallest clue

showed itself. I was stopped in the town of T , because

there was a German vessel of some mystery which had been
lying there quite 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 over her allotted interval of
time she became interned ; but she was under suspicion and
watched night and day by interested parties. This suspicion
was accentuated by the fact that a strong head of steam was
always kept up in her engine-room. Why ?

Her name was s.s. Brandenberg, and it was openly
whispered that she probably had on board supplies for sub-
marines concealed under her coal.

The second night after my arrival, the proprietor of
my hotel exhibited much friendliness towards me. Beside
volunteering a considerable amount of interesting information
about the war, Germany, and the Germans, he commented
on " the great scandal," as he referred to it, that an English

Consul 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 disgraceful."
Continuing a running fire of generalities, he went on to state
that he had several German spies stopping at his hotel, and
one who was English. He said he was quite sure about this,
because they all seemed to try to watch each other, whilst
the police and the military watched them.

" That gentleman over there with the sandy moustache,
sitting at a table in the corner by himself, is the English
spy," he said, as we stood in a secluded part of the salle a
manger. " He goes out every night about 8 o'clock and
does not return until breakfast-time. He sits in railway

Locating German Mine-Layers 99

trucks and woodstacks on the quays and other queer places,
watching the Brandenberg. 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 c laugh in the trouser,'
as you English sometimes say. That man at the other end
of the hall, with the military bearing, is a German spy, and
so are the two at the middle table. Some of my servants
draw money from all sides. They report to me a great deal.
Perhaps a great deal more they keep to themselves. How-
ever, it seems to be good business for all of us, in spite of
added and extra war burdens and taxes. It's a peculiar
game on the whole, yet it's interesting."

I wondered why the proprietor should be so open with
his confidences. It was probably the old, old feint — a luring
to draw to attract, or extract, reciprocal advances. 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, so that all believed him
to be their particular friend and supporter. It was the back-
bone of his business, which, needless to add, was a thriving
and lucrative one.

Within twenty-four hours of arrival I instinctively felt
and knew that I, too, had been labelled as a suspect. I was
being watched and followed.

Immediate action to checkmate this was perhaps advisable.
I knew personally the individual heads of some of the large
business firms in the town and its neighbourhood. I had
acted legally for or against several of them in England, in
matters concerning the expenditure of thousands of pounds.
It would be simple to raise imaginary or other business issues.
I mentally determined that it should be done without delay.

When next I left the hotel a couple of the wealthiest
local traders called shortly afterwards to inquire for me.
They expressed annoyance at my absence and sought the
proprietor. That gentleman, at their request, sent out the
hotel porter and a page to visit the main streets, the barbers'

ioo British Secret Service

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 pro-
prietor that I was one of the best-known Continental lawyers
in London, from Gibraltar to Hammerfest ; that I had come
over specially to transact some important business with which
they were indirectly connected and which might detain me
in the country some considerable period, and that I was a
guest worthy of consideration.

An hour later I returned. I was all apologies for my
absence. I had called at the respective offices of my visitors
and I had found them out. The proprietor bustled away
with the news, by which he probably ingratiated himself a
little further into the confidence of other guests of different
nationality.

Subsequent events proved that my ruse had for the time
being worked successfully against my opponents, although
the local authorities, who had known me and of me for many
years past, may have entertained their own surmises con-
cerning my advent at that particular place and at that
particular period of the world's history.

Next day was blustering and stormy. Snowflakes fell
thick in large globules in the streets, making them almost
impassable to traffic ; yet a silent and unobtrusive man
ploughed his way to the hotel soon after daylight, carrying
interesting news.

The German auxiliary fast cruiser Berlin had been seen
entering the fjord.

This was indeed important. The news must at any cost
be transmitted home, and at the earliest possible moment.

It appeared that the cruiser, a vessel of some 18,000 tons,
armed with eight to a dozen quick-firing guns and other equip-
ment, had, under her enormously powerful engines, and after
disposing of her cargo of mines, laid a course northwards well
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

Locating 'German Mine -Layers 101

difficult channels of the Norwegian coast ; past the guard

fortresses at ; past the guardships : and finally dropped

her anchor unchallenged and unhindered under the windows

of the town of , which half encircles one of the most

coveted harbours in all Europe.

It was a marvellous feat of navigation, but then it is an
open secret that members of the German Navy know the ins
and outs of the Norwegian fjords even better than Norwegians
do themselves. They have also much better charts ; both
of which facts they proved in a startling manner in their
manoeuvres before the war.

It is another open secret that at the German War Office,
in the Wilhelmstrasse, Berlin, was kept a complete series of
the Ordnance maps of England, brought fully up-to-date by
secret surveys, which gave detail and information that our
maps do not show and which our War Office is probably quite
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 Coast
of England with which I was very well acquainted. On this
sketch the aforesaid traveller p roceeded to delineate fords to
streams and hidden roadways, the existence of which most of
those even who had dwelt all their lives in the parishes affected
had either forgotten or never knew about.

To return to the subject. The long-lost Berlin had been run
to ground. The burning question of the moment was
whether she would face the music and make a bolt for the
Fatherland or whether she would remain where she was
and become interned. A collection of British cruisers out-
side probably caused her to elect the latter course. So it
was up to me, somehow or other, to try and ferret out all I
coul 1 relating to her recent voyage. But how ?

The chief of the British Secret Service is never interested
in detail. To him the most interesting particulars, showing
how an objective is attained, are irritating and merely so
much waste of time. His requirements and mind centre

102 British Secret Service

only round concrete results, congealed into the fewest possible
number of words. Whilst interviews in his office are limited
almost to grudgingly-given minutes.

It is undoubtedly prudent and wise to draw a bough over
my innumerable snow-trails in order to obliterate the foot-
prints of my tortuous wanderings during the days that
followed. Suffice to say that, night and day, awake or dream-
ing, the subject never left my thoughts, whilst I schemed
and invented possible and impossible plans, until at last one
day chance supplied the missing link.

Meanwhile side issues were not wanting. German agents
had traced the hotel proprietor's show-English-spy to his
nightly lair in the woodstacks. They naturally attached
an unknown importance to what they believed to be his
anxiety concerning 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 espionage, to lure the nightly watcher
in another direction. As soon as his presence was thus
temporarily removed they promptly fired the pile, which
job was so thoroughly well done that hardly a plank could
be salved from the flames.

Having been confidentially told that I was suspected of
being an English S.S. agent, I promptly called up on the
telephone the head of the department which controlled these
matters, and invited him to lunch. Fortunately I knew him
well and could 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, dis-
cussing my bona fides, and the somewhat important
personage called for raised unavailing protests at being
compelled to answer my insistent call, only to learn of the
unimportant invitation to himself from the actual suspect
whose presence was then under discussion and whom it was
part of his duty to be accountable for.

I could not help subsequently smiling when I was privately
informed by another member of the committee that the old

Locating German Mine-Layers 103

colonel had returned from the telephone, very red in the face,
and swearing audibly about that " d — d impudent mad-
brained Englishman who was chasing him about, instead
of waiting to be properly chased," or its equivalent in words
in his own language.

In a snug creek, away from the busy waterways and the
ever-moving industry of the heavily overloaded quays, was
securely moored and laid up for the winter a palatial pleasure
yacht, belonging to a well-known Russian sugar queen of
reputed fabulous wealth. Her captain and crew were objects
of interest to all. I considered it politic to ingratiate myself
with the crew with a view to future possibilities.

In course of time, certain ladies of unknown origin ap-
peared at various hotels in the town and its environs. They
possessed youth, beauty, vivacity of spirit, charm of manner,
and apparently plenty of ready money to add to their attrac-
tion 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
circle, although it required the utmost ingenuity to mix
with the members of these various circles whilst in constant
touch with the chief residents of the town without permitting
one group to gain knowledge of my intimacy with other
groups.

By judicious expenditure in hospitality and a free hand
with small gifts, I was able to draw into my confidences half
a dozen acquaintances whom I could trust to render 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 me for
hours. Often they remained for meals, and then the choicest
of wines were ordered, and the last doubts the proprietor
of the hotel might have entertained vanished.

Within a week or ten days an accurate report was secretly
handed to me of the exact number, nationality, and rating
of every man on board the enemy vessel. It also contained
addenda giving the name and business of every visitor thereto,

104 British Secret Service

and the duration of each visit ; this afforded matter for cogita-
tion, reflection, and thought.

My next requirement was a roughly summed-up estimate
of the characteristics of each person I designated, with all
possible information and detail concerning their believed
weaknesses, whims, 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. Pride, conceit, alcohol, women, and money
figured against one or the other. The two former would seem
the easiest to work upon, but in the end it was the latter
which affected the debacle.

Having laid well my plans, which promised almost certain
successful results, it was advisable for me to depart from the
town and district in order that matters might be permitted
to operate successfully without any possible chance of failure
through some 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 extracts from the log of the recent
voyage of this important vessel, had been brought ashore and
communicated ; and, what was most important of all, the
exact number of mines she had laid in British waters, with
precise latitude and longitude of such laying.

It was expensive, but it was worth the outlay many times
over. It would have been undoubtedly a very great surprise
indeed to the kultured Hun sea-pirates, had they only known
how their most jealously- guarded secrets were thus so easily
opened up.

When in England some months after this information had
been communicated, I had an opportunity of interviewing
some officers and members of the crews on board various mine-
sweeping vessels which had been employed to remove these
pests from navigable waters. They were men engaged 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

Locating German Mine-Layers 105

second fleet sent there to act upon the information which had
been collected in the manner hereinbefore described seem to
have returned to their respective bases and reported there
were no mines to be found. But whilst those in authority
were debating or doubting the accuracy of the original
information collected abroad, proof positive soon convinced
them.

Vessel after vessel was reported sunk by mine contact,
including the new leviathan, H.M.S. Audacious, which awful
disaster was religiously hushed up and kept away from the
ken of the English nation. American papers, however,
exhibited photos of the 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 directed but at a greater depth,
gathered in about 120 to 130 large mines out of the 150 said
to have been sown there. But this was after far too many
casualties had been reported, and much shipping, with
valuable lives, had been lost to Great Britain.

Although at times I am notoriously loquacious, I can also
be a deep thinker. Sometimes when alone during those dark
days in the solitude of deep forests, or perched upon some
bleak promontory jutting out into northern seas and watching
over the angry waters beneath me, I would sit for hours lost
in meditation turning over in my mind again and again
passing events, weighing the possibilities, probabilities,
alleged diplomatic mistakes and indiscretions ; social up-
heavals, labour strikes, absurd 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 in-
creased user of the land towards food production ; contra-
dictions which were irreconcilable ; on the one hand enormous
and useless expenditures, on the other unparalleled meanness
and littleness ; the clinging to fatal fallacies by refusing

io6 British Secret Service \

conscription ; the insistence with which old and admittedly
absolutely incompetent officials were kept in office ; refusals
to find places — even honorary ones — for admittedly first-
class younger volunteers from our colonies ; muddle upon
muddle ; waste upon waste ; mistake upon mistake ; yet
the glorious gallantry and irrepressible loyalty and patriotism
of Britisher units and her allies on land and sea seemed to be
pulling everything through.

Having regard to the thirty years' preparation of Germany
and the utter unpreparedness of England, a miracle seemed
in the process of evolution. Would the nations involved
cease their strife owing to absolute exhaustion and attrition ?
Would the Entente eventually achieve full consummation
of its hopes, so devoutly to be wished ? Or was the sequel
foreshadowed by the late Lord Tennyson :

" Chaos, Cosmos ! Cosmos, Chaos ! who can tell how all will end ?
Read the wide world's annals, you, and take their wisdom for your friend ;
Hope the best, but hold the Present fatal daughter of the Past,
Shape your heart to front the hour, but dream not that the hour will last."

CHAPTER VI

DEPOSING A RIVAL

Retreat and Would-be Rest — Wintry Weather in the
North Sea — The Secret Message — Rival's Removal Com-
manded Forthwith — Seemingly Impossible Proposition —
Seeking One's Colleagues — Solving the Riddle — Preparing
the Trap — The Lonely Sentry and the Mysterious Boatman
Capture, Arrest, Search and Find — The Incriminating Docu-
ment— Instant Deportation — Exultation — Next, Please.

After a coup of importance has been successfully accom-
plished, it is sometimes advisable for a Secret Service agent
to betake himself to a quiet, secluded place where his identity
and his activities are least likely to be known, or even
suspected.

Towards Christmas, in the first year of the war, I found
myself in such a position ; my work for some weeks past had
been not only exceedingly strenuous, but, it was gratifying
to remember, it had also been successful. Perhaps luck had
unduly favoured me. Anyway, I knew quite enough of the
enemy to be only too well assured that he would stop at nothing
to get, or to attempt to get, even with me if he possibly could.
I also thoroughly understood it was advisable for more reasons
than one that I should take a well-earned rest, a few days
breathing-space until further demands were made upon my
individual efforts.

Thus it was I turned my face towards a lonely, secluded
little haven snugly concealed in an inner fjord of the Norwegian
coast where I intended to sleep and dream and sink all
traces of my existence on earth for a few brief days at least.

December, 1914, in northern seas was a month of record
storms and multitudinous wrecks. The daily life of those
unfortunates whose duties took them there, or compelled

108 British Secret Service

them to navigate, was unenviable in the extreme. Ice,
which accumulated and increased in its envelopment hourly,
not only made decks doubly dangerous, but, unless removed
from rails, ropes, deckhouses, and other parts of a ship at
periodical intervals might possibly threaten worse disaster
than the wrecks and sunken rocks around.

Fogs, snowstorms, floating mines, mountainous seas,
submerged hulks and treacherous shoals, coupled with the
long, long winter nights, were enemies more to be feared than
the cruel Hun. A few weeks of this work would try any
man ; it had been more than enough for me, a landsman
whose soul never yearned for the life of a sailor.

The relief at hearing the cranky, ought-to-have-been-long-
ago-condemned old packet, rejoicing in the high-sounding
name of some forgotten heathen god, bump and scrape and
groan against the piling of the quay at my quiet sleepy little
Scandinavian seaport, was a joy not to be expressed in words.
To me who had roughed it, under strenuous conditions, the
coarse fare and the still coarser bed-linen on even a flea-
smothered couch seemed Valhalla adorned.

It was rest. It was peace. It was contentment. It
naturally followed that it was supreme happiness for the
immediate moment.

No shack, cottage, or villa in these northern parts runs
to window curtains. Darkness comes early in the afternoon.
Daylight follows late in the morning, varying in time in
accordance with latitude. Sleep, the greatest blessing on
earth, after such fatigues and endurance would be long and
profound. There was no reason to arise early. To trust to
Nature's call with the sun would probably mean somewhere
about 10 a.m. or later.

It was, of course, necessary for me to convey to head-
quarters the information of my whereabouts, which duty
performed, the luxuries and enjoyments at hand were embraced
by me with limitless indulgence.

It was late next day when a frowsy-haired fishwife brought
my cafe au lait, also news that I was wanted. I was«not sur-
prised. A Secret Service agent is never allowed to rust.

Deposing a Rival 109

Holidays, quietude, peace, or enjoyment are words not known
in his vocabulary. Anyone envying those in the Service
should first contemplate that its units are looked upon as
mere chattels of little worth, easily to be replaced should
accident or machination cause them to fall by the way or
to be removed to a better land. Such patriots must sink
all home-ties, business relationships, pleasures, pains, and
personal thoughts for the one and only object — to achieve
the seemingly impossible.

Outside it was snowing in big, massive flakes, which added
many inches in a few hours to the deep covering already
settled on the solidly-frozen earth. It was biting cold, but
I had to face it. Struggling along as best I could against
the unkind elements, I made three doubles and a walk back
to test whether any possible observer took interest in my
movements, such a precaution being always advisable
after advent on fresh ground. Then, slipping up an un-
frequented pathway, I gained the shelter of another fisher-
man's hut, where an enthusiastic welcome from numerous
chubby-faced bairns awaited me.

It's a good rule in life to remember the little ones. Every
decent-minded parent worships his or her children. If a
home possess none, then affections are often centred on some
four-footed animal. Make a fuss over these and a weakness
in the hardest heart is at once touched. My annual chocolate
bill averaged many pounds, whilst it has returned to me ten-
fold its value in the pleasure created. Not a penny of such
outlay could be grudged.

A good friend was awaiting my arrival. He had a small
package, which had come to hand shortly before. He was one
of those open-hearted, unsuspecting innocents who led the
simple life and believed ill of no man. I wished him to con-
tinue to hold his good opinions, particularly regarding my-
self. In murmuring my thanks for the parcel, I hazarded
the supposition that it probably contained some long-sought
smokes. On opening it before his eyes, so to speak, there was
disclosed a tin of pipe tobacco and a bundle of cigars, which
were at once sampled.

no British Secret Service

Sherlock Holmes would probably have noticed that one,
and one cigar only, had had its smoking- end bitten off.
Further, that that particular cigar was not selected by me,
owing perhaps — perhaps not — to the possibility of its having
already been tested in a stranger's mouth. Be that as it
may, after an hour's small talk (one must never be at all
impatient in Scandinavia), I took my departure and carried
the precious tobacco away with me.

A careful dissection of the bitten cigar, in the seclusion
of my own quarters, brought to light a scrap of paper. A
pocket glass helped me to decipher the mystic signs, the
interpretation whereof read as follows :

" Karl Von S , a German Artillery officer, married

to a native of Scandinavia, is posing as a convalescent
consumptive and has been some time in a private villa on the

Island of . He is much too friendly with the wireless

operator there, also the garrison officers. Advisable that
he be removed at once. You must do it. Act promptly."

Now I was a matter of 300 miles' travel from the locus in
quo. It was in the immediate neighbourhood of large army
reserves and was also much frequented by warships and naval
men. Three times I reread the message in order to memorise
it, then I burnt it to ashes. " He must be removed at once.
You must do it."

Now it is very easy to sit in an office and give commands,
right and left, for this and for that, or for anything which
strikes the fancy. But it's altogether a different proposition
to find oneself in the shoes of the commanded one. I soon
began to feel worried. The thought of the seeming impos-
sibility of the carrying out of the order was annoying. I lit
cigar after cigar, as I lay on the couch with closed eyes ; I
smoked, and thought, and scratched for an indefinite period ;
until my all too lively stable companions effectually did for
me what I was so vainly racking my brains to find some
way of bringing about with regard to another.

Two hours' brisk walk in the open air did not solve the

Deposing a Rival in

problem. So I despatched a message to a colleague, N. P., who
was then on the Russian frontier, informing him that we must
meet immediately, each coming half-way towards the other.

N. P. knew that I should never trouble him over trifles,
and, good fellow that he was, he answered the call without
delay. We met at a frontier town, within a day or so of the
receipt of original instructions. When I explained the problem
and how the more I had thought it over the further its solu-
tion seemed to fade away, N. P. naturally wanted to know why
I had summoned him to meet me.

" That is easy, my dear Nixie," I exclaimed; "you are
without doubt the cleverest man in the Service. You speak
many tongues. You are a garrison artillery staff officer.
What better material could anyone wish for to help unravel
a proposition like this ? He must be removed at once. You
must do it."

" Not me, my boy. That won't come off. It's your
job, and I would not deprive you of the honour and glory of
it for worlds."

" Ah, Nixie, my dear fellow, we may get the jobs, but all
the honour and glory is appropriated by the gentlemen who
remain at home. I think we both appreciate that point ;
but what I want to debate with you are possibilities, actuali-
ties, and probabilities. If either of us, for example, were on a
small island and we received a warning that a German had
had orders to shift us — what would you fear most ? "

" I should fear nothing."

" I don't mean it that way. What I mean is, wherein
would you be most careful, or most on your guard ? "

" He would not get a dog's chance with me, anyway,"
snapped N. P. Then he added in a petulant tone, " I want
some more whiskey and another cigar. It helps one to
think better."

" How about your line of communications ? " I queried.

" No living soul would ever get hold of mine," Nixie
replied.

" Of course not ; but don't you see it's a danger, it's
a weak spot that can be shot at."

ii2 British Secret Service

" No, I don't," said Nixie, stretching himself at full length
on the sofa until it creaked again and again.

I was lying on a bed, and the room was in darkness. One
can think better in the dark. There is no counter-attraction
for the sense of sight to divert any stray thought from the
objective in being. The brain becomes more active and more
concentrative accordingly.

" If you flatter yourself you can touch his lines of com-
munication— after he has been established some time, as the
message says, you are apt to get your fingers burnt in the
trying. Won't do, Jim, my boy. Try and think of some-
thing else."

" Bide a wee. Don't you see where we are drifting to ?
My idea is that we don't try to touch him at all, but that
we make a line of communication in order to be able to break it
Twiggez vous ? "

A short silence ensued, which Nixie broke, in an empha-
sised drawling tone : " You diabolical devil ! You mean
you will send a note to him which you will take good care is
intercepted before he gets it, and in such a manner that the
local authorities will do the rest to complete the coup de grace."

" That's my suggestion," I exclaimed in a deliberate
tone. " Also that's where you come in. You, being a
garrison expert, will weave the strands and splice the knot of
rope that will eventually hang him. Think it out. Ponder over
how it will work."

For a long time we both smoked in silence, and we smoked
in the dark, which somehow seems entirely different from
smoking when one can see the blue clouds drifting. How
long the interval lasted neither of us could tell. It seemed
an age. Then Nixie Pixie demanded lights up. He wanted
to get on with the business. He was keenly interested. His
instincts foretold success, and, what was far sweeter to both of
us, we imagined one more dictatorial militarist would shortly
be driven back to stew in the kultured juice of Teutonic
concentrated cruelties, in the Fatherland.

With lights burning and pens and papers before us, we
soon filled in necessary details of the plan of campaign ;

Deposing a Rival 113

chuckling the while in anticipatory satisfaction at the debacle
to come.

Before dawn broke on the day following we had drifted
apart ; as silent shadows of the night we flitted to and from
our respective destinations, whilst the world slept, and no
watchman had observed our coming or our going. Nixie
was away to the westward by train, whilst I followed the
currents of the ever-restless sea.

• • • • •

Night and day I travelled, in desperate haste. I journeyed
to the northern frontier of Germany, to a small, uninviting
place on the map, where I had a colleague working, who for
many years had lived in Germany and who had only crossed
the frontier a short time prior to the declaration of war.

This English gentleman was perfectly acquainted with
both High and Low Prussian. In a matter of this kind, where
straws had to be grasped at and relied upon, it was essential
to any hope of success to carry out every minute detail with
the greatest accuracy.

I was anxious to have a certain message which I had
drafted en route translated into accurate and perfect High
German. I did not feel confident to do this myself, hence
my present mission.

I hunted up my colleague, who entered enthusiastically
upon the work, and immediately after its completion I
jouri:eyed away again to a small sleepy hamlet not far removed
from the nearest point on the mainland contiguous to the
island in question. I covered several hundreds of miles
during the four days these journeys occupied my attention.

To carry out the plan which I had devolved I secured the
necessary materials at places where no suspicion was likely
to be aroused. They were simple in themselves : an etching
pen, some fine, thin foreign correspondence paper, some oil-
silk and a small tin phial. The message, which will be dis-
closed later, was most carefully written in German characters
under a magnifying glass, which latter I always carry.

It was then rolled up, carefully protected by an outer
covering of oil-silk and inserted into a tin phial.

ii4 British Secret Service

The next steps in the plot to remove this obnoxious
German officer from the security of his stronghold, which
certain high officials were convinced he was using to con-
travene the laws of hospitality, trust, and friendship, were
carried out by another.

The reason for this should be obvious. The risk was
nothing in itself, but it was a matter of importance that I
should not be implicated, either directly or indirectly, with
such a matter, so that my own chances for further activity
in the cause of my country might not be endangered. I
remember the old adage, " Sauce for the goose is equally
good sauce for the gander."

I therefore arranged matters down to the smallest details,
impressing every point upon my only too willing assistant,
and then I quickly took my departure to a place many, many
miles away from the locality in question, there to await
with impatient interest the report I was promised, which
should tell me whether the scheme attempted had succeeded
or proved a disappointing fiasco.

I had not long to wait. Within three days a message
was flashed to me. I visualise events as I believe they
happened.

On the never-to-be-forgotten day a certain sentry was
pacing a rocky promontory on a lonely island overlooking
lonely waters. In spite of its uninviting outward appear-
ance this island was a place of the utmost importance, because
it guarded the Watergate to many a European capital.

The sentry was impatient. It was growing dark. He
was cold and hungry, and none too pleased at his job ; besides,
he imagined the relief guard was late. Perhaps it was.

Whilst in this uneasy frame of mind a small sailing-boat
hove into sight. She was hugging the shore, or rather the
rocky cliffs of which the shore consisted. When within a
few hundred yards of the sentry's position, the mast and sail
were taken down and stowed, and the boatman proceeded
to row.

The sentry was interested.

As the boat approached nearer to his position it disappeared

Deposing a Rival 115

into a small alcove, formed by overhanging cliffs, and he
saw it no more.

Perhaps it was a coincidence that this happened just a
quarter of an hour before the sentry should be relieved. But
in that fifteen minutes he had ample time to work himself
into a high pitch of excitement.

The gloaming had increased. He was straining his eyes
into the coming night when the sergeant with the relief
arrived.

A quick whispered report caused double guards to be
mounted, men to be sent to cover possible lines of retreat,
and a messenger to be despatched for assistance on the
water. These precautions were efficient and effective.
The mysterious boatman was captured.

It was not known whether he was too frightened, or too
unintelligent, or too intoxicated to give a satisfactory account
of his movements, but in a parcel concealed under odd bits
of rope and sailcloth was a dead codfish addressed to Herr
K. V. S.

Whilst the captured one was meditating under lock and
key, the boat and its contents were minutely examined.
Nothing unusual had been found on the prisoner, nothing
else had been found in the boat. The cod-fish was ordered
to be dissected, when, lo and behold ! a small metal tube
was extracted from the gullet. Inside this, tightly rolled
and wrapped in oil-silk, was a small piece of thin foreign
correspondence paper, which, on being held up to the light,
revealed hieroglyphics in the smallest of German characters
imaginable.

Subsequent investigation and examination elicited that
the boatman had agreed to deliver the parcel personally to

Herr K. von S at a certain place, and at a certain hour

in the evening, for which he had received a generous sum of
money. The advisability of remaining in the alcove until
dark to prevent the military from holding him up, or prying
into his parcel, had been suggested to him by his employer,
who was quite a stranger to him. He had never seen him
until two hours before he had arranged to bring the parcel

n6 British Secret Service

along ; he had assured him it was all right. It was only an
act of kindness to a sick man. There could be no harm done
by it.

A thin story indeed, but the fishermen of northern seas
are a confiding, unsuspecting, innocent race.

The letter proved to be written in Prussian or High
German. It required a good magnifying glass to decipher it.
It was highly technical in its terms, and was evidently com-
posed by a thoroughly expert garrison artillery officer. It
ran somewhat as follows :

1. You say we can now communicate with you through
more open channels but we doubt this and fear taking any
avoidable risk.

2. On the plans you sent us you omitted to mark the
ranges of the guns numbered 1, 5, and 7.

3. The exact location of the magazine was not clearly
defined.

4. What are the reliefs ? Give exact detail.

5. Ascertain exact amounts of ammunition at present
stored, with full capacity for added reserves.

6. Advise estimated sum to cover wireless operators'
requirements for a year.

7

8

9

10. Next time cut a larger portion off the dorsal fin, as
your last message was nearly missed through difficulty in
identification.

The boatman, who was a local man and innocent enough,
was lectured and frightened half out of his wits, and finally
permitted to go.

Captain Karl von S with his wife and family were

given twelve short hours to clear the country, once and for
all, with peremptory orders never to set foot in it again.
Probably he is wondering to this day what earthly reason
could have instigated such a decisive and unmistakably
severe command.

Deposing a Rival 117

The inhabitants on the island cannot yet understand why
no live fish of any description, nor dead fish which had not
been split open from head to tail, were permitted to be im-
ported or exported, whether destined for private consumption
or for other uses.

Many miles away from the island in question a tele-
graph official a few days later in a small town carefully
scrutinised an innocently worded message which was handed
in at his office shortly after these stirring events had
occurred. It was, however, permitted to pass and in due
course its recipient, my headquarters department, inter-
preted its hidden meaning. It ran :

44 The shoddy article submitted and marked K. V. S.
has been returned as not up to sample and unworthy
of retention. Next please ! — Jim."

CHAPTER VII

FIGHTING GERMAN AGENTS WITH FAKED
WEAPONS

Danger Warning — Disguised Teutons — Hair Tests — Observa-
tion from Without — Clever Female Guard — Deported Hun
Agents — Too many Wrecks — Boot Change Trick — Flight —
Patience Unrewarded — Night Work at the Docks — A Sudden
Attack — Odds of Three to One — Pipe-Faking for Make-Believe
Revolver — A Stern Chase — American Ruse Baffles Pur-
suers— The Sanctuary of Conviviality.

The sudden transportation and exile of an alleged invalid
German officer back to the home of his fathers had been a
distinct secret score for the British Foreign Secret Service
Intelligence Department, although probably no one was
aware of this except those in the innermost circles of the
Service of the two countries directly concerned.

As a necessary precaution for my own safety I had very
discreetly removed myself some hundreds of miles in another
direction as soon as it was certain that my trap had been
properly sprung. With my mind concentrated on other
matters I had almost forgotten 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, * which irate Teuton had
started hot on my trail, vowing the direst vengeance imagin-
able. " Nordenpligt " in English means " the North duty
or obligation," and I was at no loss to comprehend the full
force of the hinted warning thus so auspiciously conveyed
tome.

1 A fictitious name, but near enough to give the desired elue.

Fighting German Agents 119

Whilst musing over events under the benign influence of
my usual black cigar, some stir became apparent in the
entrance hall of the hotel at which I was then stopping.
Several new-comers had arrived. One very fat lady appeared
over-concerned regarding the handling of her many belong-
ings. A wheezy, consumptive-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 lower-
ing 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 ejaculated the short exclamation,
44 Mein Gott ! " My ears tingled at once. The Teutonic oath
had given away the nationality of this individual, at all
events. It became my immediate business to ascertain
who he was, and what his business might be. Without a
moment's hesitation I also sprang to the rescue.

The result of too many persons concerning themselves
with the matters of one led to a natural tangle and consider-
able jostling in which the German1(gentleman lost his pince-nez.
In stopping to recover them a leather case fell from his inside
breast pocket. But before he could reach it I had antici-
pated his desire, picked up the article in question, and handed
it to its owner. In so doing I observed that on one corner
was an embossed gold coronet and monogram, in which the
letter " N " was prominent. *

My room was on the first floor. I had registered my
occupation as that of a fish merchant of Scandinavian origin,
which, on a strict investigation, might have been held not too
remote. The German 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. It was ominous
that he subsequently contrived to secure a bedroom adjoining
mine, whilst the fat lady sandwiched herself into possession
of another apartment which was situated on the other side.

After supper I placed three hair tests on my belongings,
and lighting the inevitable weed strolled out to give matters
a chance to develop.

120 British Secret Service

At the back of the hotel was a large heap of moss- bedecked
boulders, behind which was a rocky hill, in the crevasses and
hollows of which some scant vegetation had collected and a
few scraggy fir-trees formed an arboreal retreat where in the
summer months loiterers could sit and enjoy the view with
the added pleasure of light refreshments from the hotel.

This arbour commanded a full view of the windows of the
back rooms, the centre one of which was for the time being
in my occupation.

The hair test is a useful expedient for gauging the in-
quisitiveness or prying proclivities of one's immediate neigh-
bours. It is affixed by tension from two notches, or with the
aid of a little wax. Either method 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
across the two covers of a box, on the lid of a box, over an
unlocked bag, trunk, suit-case or elsewhere, few Paul Prys
would ever dream of suspecting its presence, and the pre-
caution inevitably tells its own tale.

A very clever investigator would probably be on the
lookout for anything of this kind, but an equally clever actor
would so place at least one of his precaution signals that it
would be impossible to touch the object it protected without
a break or disturbance sufficient to notice.

When night fell it was dark, cold, and raw, with a nasty
wind blowing, and I found the draughty arbour none too cosy
for my liking, but I stayed there for upwards of 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 of the rocky back-
ground. Just as I was on the point of quitting I observed
a faint flicker of light upon the blind of my room, and
I knew that evil agents were abroad.

An attempt to ascend the stairway behind a couple of
other visitors whereby I could gain my apartment unobserved
was frustrated by the stout lady before mentioned. She,
by an extraordinary coincidence, started to come downstairs

Fighting German Agents 121

just as my foot had gained the last step of the ascent. In
her haste she jostled first one and then the other of the gentle-
men meeting her, for which she apologised most profusely
and in a loud, jovial, bantering manner.

I leaned against the wall and laughed. It was my custom
to take everything as it came, never to meet trouble half-way
by worrying, and even to attempt the credit of gaining happi-
ness under almost impossible conditions.

In the present instance the fortune of war favoured me,
although conditions were adverse. A large mirror hung upon
the landing, the reflection field of which embraced wide
angles. I, happening to glance upwards and beyond the little
pleasantries going on above, observed a shadow darken
the surface of the glass, but the noise made by the merry-
makers on the stairhead prevented any slighter sounds from
being heard.

Later on, when I had entered and was alone within the
privacy of my own apartment, examining the test traps at
my leisure, all possible doubt of an interest having been taken
in my belongings was removed.

What would happen next ?

The veiled secret warning that had been given me por-
tended mischief. It was hardly reasonable to suppose one's
natural enemy would take a knock-down blow without
reprisals. They 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 wriggle out before they could be closed. There must
be no hesitation, no delay, and no " wait and see " about my
decisions. I must quit, and that at once, or the worst might
befall.

Having supped in the restaurant common to all guests
of the hostelry, I retired early, but instead of undressing I
lay upon the outside of the bed and smoked and read until
the early hours of the morning, between whiles turning over
many matters of more or less moment in my mind.

I remembered that the latest ejected one from that
hospitable country was by no means the only one who had

122 British Secret Service

unceremoniously been pushed out by reason of information
which had reached the authorities in a roundabout untrace-
able way. The origin had never come to light, but the
inmates 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 frontier and would in all probability have escaped identi-
fication had not certain strings been pulled whereby he was
located and ejected again, within forty-eight hours of his
arrival. Most annoying to him, of course, but then these
small matters had of necessity to be attended to.

It was unpleasant to remember that the number of wrecks
along the coast was abnormal. The majority of these un-
fortunate vessels were or had been cargo carriers to Germany.
Perhaps it was a just retribution that they should sink or
encounter 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 towards the invective which was
raised by the local police and others interested — although
breathed sub rosa — against fellow-countrymen of theirs
who were suspected of having fired several vast timber-stacks
supposed to have been sold to England.

Taking one consideration with another no love was lost
between travellers from England and Germany.

At 2 a.m., as the silent corridors of the hotel were
awakened by the cuckoos from a Swiss-made clock on the
landing, I stealthily emerged from my apartment. Tiptoeing
along past several of the adjoining bedrooms, I changed the
boots standing outside their respective doors, placing large
for small and vice versa. But one 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

Fighting German Agents 123

door. It should have become obvious to the reader that I
was contemplating my departure. There had been former
occasions when I had been compelled to leave my own boots
behind me, whereby thoughtful hotel attendants and others
had been deceived into believing me to be a very late riser,
and I had been thereby enabled to cover many a league before
the simple deception had been exposed.

But on the occasion in question, in the course of my calm,
contemplative meditations upon the bed, I had evolved the
comforting conclusion that it would be better far to borrow
the foot-gear of some 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 had taught me that
it was a much easier matter to remove a pair of boots from
a neighbouring doorway than to leave my own behind,
necessitating the trouble and expense of their subsequent
replacement.

" Shooting the moon " in this manner is a pastime which
I may add is not usual with me, but there are occasions in the
career of everyone when discretion and retirement are
undoubtedly the better part of valour.

Next morning I was chuckling to myself at about 10 o'clock,
and picturing the confusion and the language likely to be used
by the parties mostly concerned, at the small hotel I had
quitted so suddenly overnight.

What a sell it would be to His Excellency the Baron to
find that his bird had once more flown, and what a head -aching
task he would have of it if he tried to trail his quarry Indian
fashion instead of relying upon the surer and less worrying
methods known to the Secret Service agents of all nations.

At least I knew I was safe for another week certain, and
much could be done in that time. So I journeyed away in
an exultingTrame of mind to a colleague who I knew had some
very interesting investigations which he was following up
in the neighbourhood of one of the largest and most important
docks on the Baltic Sea.

Within a couple of hours of my arrival I was in harness

124 British Secret Service

again. Some important particulars from the manifest and
bills of lading of a big steamer were wanted. The captain
was a convivial soul with a great weakness for sport of all
kinds ; and it was suggested that I, being a sportsman myself,
might be able to succeed in drawing him, although so far no
one else had been able to do so.

A bottle of whiskey and a bundle of cigars were calculated
to be sufficient to move the information required. But
they failed. Patience and perseverance rarely fail. On
this occasion both seemed useless.

From 2 p.m. until 2 a.m., twelve solid hours, I sat listening,
talking, complimenting, criticising, flattering, cajoling, and
arguing in such manner that at first I entirely disagreed, then
allowed myself to be talked round to absolute approval. In
short, no artifice that calculated cunning could suggest was
omitted, yet results proved fruitless. Thus at 2 a.m. I was
forced to abandon my objective of the day, and I agreed it
was time to turn in.

Perhaps the disappointment of failing to achieve a purpose
influenced my judgment. Perhaps it was the weather. Per-
haps it was the mellowing effects of some 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 invitation of a berth on board the ship I was then
visiting in preference to the more or less dangerous passage
of the docks which was my only alternative.

That there was any real danger never entered my head.
Had it done so it would probably have made little difference,
excepting that I might have borrowed 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 incident
was so sudden there was no time to think. Spontaneous
action alone was capable of saving what might have proved a
remarkably awkward position.

Hanging on to a rope guide I slid down the gangway which
was covered some inches thick with a coating of ice. Groping
a pathway as best I could across the quay in the dark, amongst
innumerable stacks of freighted goods and merchandise of

Fighting German Agents 125

every description, was no easy matter. Nor were my diffi-
culties lessened by a snowstorm which raged at the time.
Passing between some sheds, and stack after stack of cotton
bales, destined for the land of barbaric " kultur, " I made
my way towards the only faint glimmering light which flickered
its bilious rays from the one solitary lamp-post in that
immediate neighbourhood.

Just as I reached it I heard a voice. At the same time I
observed two shadows which seemed to appear and disappear
somewhere near the piles of cotton. No complete sentence
reached my ears, only two words, " Das vas," uttered in a
high-pitched key and with startling suddenness. The re-
maining words were lost in the lowered tone. Those words,
however, were quite enough. 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 sub-
stantial sum of cash (not paper or cheques) for my delivery
in their country, condition no object. The sum named was
far and away beyond what I would ever have imagined my
uninteresting carcase was worth. In a flash the situation
became clear to me. It was a plant to kidnap. Great,
blundering, self-satisfied, careless, conceited ass that I
undoubtedly was, I had walked right into the spider's web
without so much as a toothpick on me with which to put up
a fight.

Immediately in front of where I was standing was an
open space, some forty yards across. The ground was
covered a foot deep or more with snow. Concealed thereby
and beneath it were railway lines, points, uneven places, bits
of wood, parts of packing-cases, hoops, and innumerable
obstacles of all kinds, which I knew of too well, having been
frequently tripped by them on former occasions. To attempt
to rush it would be courting disaster.

The shadows, hardly discernible in the feeble light, seemed
to flicker nearer and nearer. Then I observed a third, and
silently I wondered how many in all I should have to contend

126 British Secret Service

with. Only one thing was absolutely definite in my mind,
that was, come what might, I had not the slightest intention
of having my liberty curtailed without a fight to a finish.

As before stated, I had reached the only lamp-post any-
where around. My movements were observable, whereas
those who were hunting me were concealed by the shadows.
Involuntarily I dived my hands deep into the pockets of the
thick overcoat I was wearing. I felt a pipe and tobacco pouch
— common enough objects, but the former was never more
welcome.

Somewhere in the dim and distant past I had heard or
read of highway robbers, or burglars, or other rough people,
having been tricked by the use of a wooden tobacco pipe as a
make-believe for a revolver. Why not try it now ?

There was just a chance the bluff might come off. Any-
thing was better than to be caught and ill-treated by Germans.

The thought was mother to the action. Backing a few
yards to a veritable rampart of cotton, I half bobbed down and
suddenly whipped out the pipe in my hand from the right
coat pocket. It was of ordinary briar-wood, having a silver
band, and holding it close to the pit of my stomach I slowly
moved it round a la American up-to-date methods. Probably
the small silver 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 covered half the distance when
I saw that I was being pursued in force. Risking all possi-
bilities of a trip and a fall, I raced for my life to the first street
turning into the town proper. I had obtained a bit of a start
and had the great advantage of thoroughly knowing the
ground. The leading German fell. I heard him swear.
The language was distinctly Teutonic.

When I reached the corner of the street I was not more
than twenty yards ahead of those behind me. Here again a
practical knowledge of the tricks and ways of sportsmen of

Fighting German Agents 127

the Western States of America stood me in good stead.
In fact, it saved the situation and pulled me through. In-
stead of dashing at full speed up the street after I had negotiated
the corner, when I should for certain have been caught and
pulled down within about fifty yards, I stopped short and
peeped round, exhibiting my nose, one eye, and part 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. Imagine their disgust
when they discovered the ruse and saw me in the distance
scooting far away up the deserted street with a good long lead.
As I turned the next corner leading into a diverging street
I bumped into a crowd of merry-makers which poured out
from some large, brilliantly-illuminated building. Every one
of them was very exuberant and seemed to be embracing
everyone else. Every one of them appeared to be supremely
happy and good-natured, whilst every one of them was
without doubt most gloriously drunk

What a haven of refuge to a hunted being almost at his
last gasp, fleeing from unknown terrors, from capture, torture,
imprisonment, or possible death ! Before they realised my
presence I was in the very heart of the crowd, where I was at
once embraced. Needless to add that I returned the endear-
ments with a vigour and sincerity that I had never
before equalled in all my life. Nor did I attempt to go further
until I had linked up with a convoy of homeward-bound
convivial souls, far too intoxicated to know whether I was
myself or one of them, or some other person.

CHAPTER VIII

ESCAPING FROM THE CLUTCHES OF A VERY
CLEVER LADY

Disguises — Importance of Hands — Service on a Baltic
Trader — "Idle, Dirty, Good-for-Nothing Scamp" — A Tender-
hearted Lady — A Fashionable Gathering — The English
Dude — Their Second Meeting — Suspected — Clever Fencing —
Whales with Iron Skins — Alliance Offered — A Woman
Scorned — Meditation — Flight .

So many people imagine that anyone and everyone who is
engaged in detective or Secret Service work carries about
with him a large assortment of wigs, false hair, and other
disguises. When any of this work is reproduced on the
stage or in moving pictures, or in the pages of works of fiction,
disguises of various kinds are generally well to the fore. But,
gentle reader, take it from me, who have been through the real
thing, and rest assured that any kind of disguise is always
attended with danger. To wear false hair or wigs, or even
to have them found in your possession, would mean death
instantaneously, or at best next dawn, in an enemy country ;
probable imprisonment in a fortress for many years in a
neutral one. The cleverest men I have met in the Service
rarely assume any artificial disguise, although I admit that
there are exceptional and urgent occasions when its aid must
be sought of necessity.

In fiction you will perhaps have observed the universal
rule seems to ordain that the assumer of disguises invariably
endeavours to change his outward appearance from juvenility
to old age. That, to my way of thinking, is merely adding to
one's difficulties. In real life it will be found far easier to
play the part of a person much younger than you really are
than it is to play the part of one who is much older.

Escaping from a Very Clever Lady 129

On such rare occasions as I had to make it part of my
business to disguise myself I selected for choice the trans-
figuration of my outward appearance to a younger rather
than an older person whenever the circumstances so permitted.
For example, I would enter a building to all outward appear-
ances a man of sixty years of age or upwards, and within
a very short space of time reappear as a man of not more
than thirty. These tricks may be attempted at night in
artificial lights, but by daylight the risks of discovery are not
worth the small gain or advantage that may be believed to be
attained by their aid.

The common sailor, or working-man who is badly dressed,
very dirty in appearance and who has not shaved for many
days, is generally an object which most men avoid and few
women find the smallest interest in ; whilst he can roam at
pleasure in most public places, and if he has the price of a
drink in his pocket he invariably gathers around him a multi-
tude of friends ready to tell him anything they may know
or to believe any cock-and-bull story as to his own antecedents
which force of circumstances or a very vivid imagination
may suggest.

All disguises and concealments of identity are of little
avail unless very thoroughly attempted and carried out.

Sir Robert Baden Powell, in his book " My Adven-
tures as a Spy," speaks of the importance of remembering
the back view. He writes :

" The matter of disguise is not so much one of a^theatrical
make-up — although this is undoubtedly a useful art — as of
being able to assume a totally different character, change of
voice and mannerisms, especially of gait in walking, and
appearance from behind."

A Service officer, whether of the Army or Navy, would have
far greater difficulties to contend with in this respect than
would any ordinary civilian — which is probably one of the
main reasons why Service men are avoided when possible
by the German Intelligence Department for active executive
work.

The face and body are easy to disguise, but the hands are

1

130 British Secret Service

not. For a rough character rough hands are essential.
Remember that it is a sure test, when questioning a tramp or
hobo before probably wasting one's sympathies as well as
one's substance in trying to help him, to demand an examina-
tion of his hands. They tell at a glance whether he is a
genuine trier, or merely a chronic waster. Therefore,
before undertaking to appear as a unit of the working-classes,
it is advisable to take on a job which will put one's hands into
the condition that would appear compatible to one's outward
appearance. Unloading or loading bricks into a vessel,
or a truck, is the quickest and surest way of accomplishing
this purpose. In a few hours, hands which are unaccustomed
to this work will crack up and blister beyond recognition.
Its continuance for a couple of days will pull the nails out of
shape and give the full, true, horny, hardened grip of a genuine
son of toil. Want of soap and water will complete a supreme
finish to the seeming ideal.

Once upon a time there arose an occasion when I had to
ship as deck-hand and general knockabout on a small Baltic
coasting craft of no classified def nition. It was rough work,
rougher living, and roughest weather. But one soon accus-
toms oneself to one's surroundings in life ; and it really is
marvellous what a satisfactory clean-up one can make with
the assistance of a little grease and a tiny piece of cotton
waste.

The cruise had been completed and the vessel was return-
ing to a friendly port when her skipper undertook to ferry a
party of ladies and gentlemen across from one small island
to another. The deck hand — need I explain that I acted
in that capacity ? — was indisposed. He sought his bunk
below, only to be sworn at and cursed, and ordered out again
in a manner which unfortunately brought him under observa-
tion, exactly the opposite to that which his modest, retiring
nature desired; more particularly so on the occasion in
question.

One lady, a bright-eyed, vivacious, sweet-faced woman
of between twenty and thirty years of age, remonstrated on
behalf of this seemingly ill-used and unfortunate mortal,

Escaping from a Very Clever Lady 131

and she pleaded with the skipper that the poor man looked
frightened and ill. Alas, poor me !

" D d idle, dirty, good-for-nothing scamp," is the

nearest equivalent in English to a translation of his retort.
I had been playing up for a discharge, and plead guilty to the
indictment.

A few days later a fashionable gathering took place. It
was held in a beautifully situated house, having extensive
grounds, fine gardens, and magnificent views of the surround-
ing seaboard. Everyone of any local importance was there.
Amongst the guests was an Englishman. Five minutes'
intercourse with him would have been amply sufficient to
have based the conclusion that he was one of those effeminate,
lisping, soft, silly slackers, who hang round tea-tables and
curates' meetings, and who have a horror of all things manly.

He was dressed in a neat suit of blue serge. Every speck
of dust coming to it was at once flicked off with a silk handker-
chief. His trousers were of the permanent turned-up cut,
carefully pressed and creased. He sported bright yellow
wash-leather gloves and spent most of his time toying with
a rimmed eyeglass. That he was shy, reticent, and retiring
was at once obvious, but in spite of a vacuous, far-away look,
his eyes seemed to travel over most of the company, and
whenever any serious conversation took place he appeared
to be wandering aimlessly about, but well within earshot.

One lady in the crowd seemed to take a more than ordinary
interest in this personage. She was a bright-eyed, vivacious,
sweet-faced woman of between twenty and thirty years of
age. She was also a clever and far-seeing individual — one
who watches, listens, and observes to advantage. The
stranger's face attracted her. She felt somehow that it was
familiar. She was sure that she had seen it before ; but
when, or where, puzzled her.

An introduction was an easy matter. Soon she was
sipping tea and exchanging views on every-day frivolities
with the object which for the moment so attracted her
curiosity. I can assure those who read these lines that the

132 British Secret Service

object in question wished himself anywhere but where he
was.

"It is most unusual to meet an Englishman who speaks
our language, even badly. How is it that you seem to know
it so well ? " she suddenly asked ; experience having apparently
taught her that questions leading up to the point desired
merely forewarned the interrogated.

" No, no. You flatter me. I'm positively wrotten on the
grammar. I only know a number of words. You see, I had
to learn those because I come to your* delightful country so
much on business, also for sport," I replied.

" Business ? What kind of business ? " she asked.

" Well, you see, I'm rather interwested in wood and in
her wings."

" Oh yes ! And sport ? "

" Well, you see, I come here every year for fishing."

For some moments the lady maintained an ominous silence,
whilst her eyes focussed the horizon of some distant islands
lying far out upon the smooth and sunlit sea. She smiled
to herself, as though she had caught a delusive object of
great worth ; then, turning her fair head — and she really was
pretty — so that she could look me full in the eyes, she asked :

" Is it your business or your sport which gives you so
much fascination for the sea ? "

" Fascination for the sea ? " I exclaimed doubtingly.
" Now, weally you are quite wrong. I never go on the sea
unless I'm weally forced to do so. In fact, I hate it. It's
so beastly wrestless when it might be quiet and let everybody
else be quiet too." I lisped painfully.

" I think you said it was herrings that interested you,"
she replied, following up a point she seemed determined to
push home. " Are you sure it's not a larger species of
fish ? "

" Yes, quite sure," I hastened to add. " I have no
interwests in your extensive cod fisherwies ; nor in the oil
which I am told is such good business."

" I did not mean codfish," she said. " I meant a much
larger sort of fish — a big fish closely related to the whale

Escaping from a Very Clever Lady 133

family ! " Whilst as she uttered the sentence her bright
eyes looked laughingly at me with a keen glance that seemed
to wish it could penetrate my very soul.

" Whales ! Whales ! I've never touched a whaling
share in my life, and I'm quite certain I don't mean to in
these times," I muttered.

Again the lady favoured silence, but her eyes never
left my face a second. She studied every line, every flicker
of the eyelid or twitch of the mouth, to try and read what
thoughts were passing through my brain ; but fortunately
for me an assumed innocent expression of countenance suc-
cessfully concealed the tumult within.

I dared not attempt to change the conversation. I
merely followed whatever topic my enchanting vis-a-vis
chose to select. I answered her questions quietly and without
hesitation, but still she persisted.

" I mean those large whales which have been so frequently
seen along our coast ever since the first week of August, 1914.
Those great big whales with iron skins."

It was a sudden, bold, frontal attack, which, however,
failed entirely. In spite of her many self-satisfied smiles,
gentle head-noddings and knowing side-glances, it elicited
nothing but a hearty peal of laughter. This was repeated
twice, and the diplomatic lady joined in to hide the chagrin
she undoubtedly felt.

" My dear good lady, if you take me for a spy, you flatter
me. You do indeed. I'm neither clever enough nor bold
enough, nor energetic enough, ever to be selected for such a
business. Even if I had the chance offered me I should never
know what I ought to do, or how I could or ought to do it ;
and if I met a clever person — like yourself, for instance —
you would be able to twist me wound your little finger and
I could not help myself. Spy, indeed ! You are funny !
You know you are. Yes, you know you weally are." And
I continued to laugh softly, as though the idea suggested
was the most humorous thing I had ever heard, although
I admit I was perspiring all over.

" Then what were you doing on board that trading boat

134 British Secret Service

in which we crossed from to last Monday ? And

why were you disguised as a common sailorman, all dirt and
grease ? "

" Me ? "

" Yes, you. I recognised you the moment I saw you here
to-day. So it is useless to deny it. Besides, I wish to be
your friend." And sinking her voice to a whisper she added,
" I can be of great assistance to you if I like. I am related
to several members of the Government. They will tell me
anything I want to wheedle out of them — anything it may
interest you to know. I love England ; I hate the Germans
and I adore the English. I think you are very clever indeed,
but you are not clever enough to deceive me ; so it's utterly
useless trying to do so any longer. Am I not right, sir ? "
Saying which she tapped me playfully on the arm, accompanied
by many languishing smiles.

It was a mighty awkward moment, a very trying situation.
My only hope was boldness.

At the first words of her last sentence I had raised my face
to hers, looking her full in the eyes until its conclusion, and
assuming to the best of my ability an amazed expression of
absolute astonishment. Then, after a long pause, suitable to
the part I was enforced to play, I blurted out : " My dear
madam ! What on earth are you driving at ? Last Monday
I was in Copenhagen, miles away from here ! Disguised as
a common sailor-man ! All dirt and grease ! What can you
mean ? Is it another joke, like the whales with iron skins, or
the spy ? Or has someone been telling you fairy tales ? "

In vain she continued to pound me with straight, searching,
direct questions. In vain she coaxed and cooed to me to
confide in her and make her a friend and an ally. In vain
she cast amorous glances, full of deep meaning, with those
wondrous eyes of hers, which she knew so well how to use ;
glances which were calculated to move a heart of stone,
and, I could not help thinking at the time, would have been
sufficient to tempt St. Anthony himself from his lonely cell.

I, however, merely continued to stare at her with an
insipid, incredulous, vacant look, until at last she petulantly

Escaping from a Very Clever Lady 135

stamped her tiny foot. Her patience was evidently quite
exhausted.

" You must be an imbecile, a bigger fool than
I would have believed it possible to find anywhere. My
favours are not lightly distributed, nor have they ever before
been refused."

As a woman scorned she hissed this sentence into my ear,
and tossing her pretty head like an alarmed deer in the wilds
of a great forest she trotted away and left me gazing silently
after her.

What would be her next step ? I wondered. Did she really
take me for a blithering idiot, or did she entertain doubts
on the matter ? Would she remain silent, or would she make
further inquiry ? To what lengths would she be likely to
go if she so decided ?

It sent a cold stream of collected perspiration trickling
down my back to think of what trouble that pretty creature
could create if she really did make up her mind to follow up my
trail.

It was terribly bad luck to happen just at that particular
time, because I had wanted so much to remain at
least a week or ten days in that particular locality ; now I
had to debate with myself whether I dare risk a stay over,
and what it might lead to if I so decided and acted on that
decision.

Then I remembered my hands. Good heavens ! If
she had not got so angry, if she had only kept cool, and
had challenged me to remove my gloves. What a give-away
it would have been ! Whew !

I was finding the atmosphere much too warm for my
liking. I began to imagine that bright-eyed, vivacious,
sweet-faced lady sitting in her boudoir at home in a dainty
kimono, with a winsome hand-maiden brushing the silken
tresses of her crowning glory ; whilst she surveyed her
captivating features in the mirror and contracted her pretty
forehead into ugly wrinkles as she mentally reviewed the
day's proceedings.

136 British Secret Service

That night at an hotel in the town not so many kilo-
metres away from my lady's chamber a very wide-awake
Englishman lay stretched at full length upon a very short
bed. His legs protruded some two feet over the backboard.
He was partly undressed, and he sucked vigorously at a strong
black cigar. He also frowned in serious disapproval at the
mental review of the day's proceedings, at an irrepressible,
annoying thought which would repeat itself again and again,
a conviction that if he did not clear out of that immediate
neighbourhood at once that " confounded demnition woman "
was certain to make trouble somewhere. Quit he must and
quit he would.

That man was myself.

CHAPTER IX

WILD-FOWLING EXTRAORDINARY AND TRAWLING
FOR SUBMARINES IN NEUTRAL WATERS

Germany's Western Coast — Shooting Wild-fowl and being
Shot at — An Intrepid Sportsman — Collapsed Zeppelin — Escap-
ing War Prisoners — Careless Landsturmers — A Supposed-to-
be Norwegian Skipper — Native Curiosity — Dare-Devil Chris-
tian— A Mysterious Ship — Goose-Stalking over a Land Mine —
Too Near Death to be Pleasant — The Nocturnal Sub-
marine Raider — Night Trawling for Strange Fish — Enemy's
Secret Reconnoitring Exposed and Thwarted.

A few years previous to the declaration of war several
Englishmen took rather an unusual interest in the western
coast of Germany, particularly in the islands lying near
to Heligoland.

Some of these Englishmen were watched and arrested
on the grounds of espionage. Some were tried and imprisoned
for varying terms of years in German fortresses. Some were
never caught, although they were closely chased, and were
very much wanted indeed.

Maybe I was one of them. Maybe the Germans took little,
if any, interest whatever in so insignificant a mortal. But
the fact remains that for many years prior to 1914 1 had annu-
ally visited the Danish and Schleswig-Holstein coasts on wild-
fowling expeditions and for wild-goose shooting.

To those who are ignorant of the nature of the western
coast of Germany and would learn concerning it, a perusal
of that most interesting little volume, " The Riddle of the
Sands," is recommended. No cliffs are to be found there,
with the exception of some upon the islands of Heligoland
and the hillsides which adorn the northern side of the Elbe
on the way up to Hamburg. A low sandy shore running

138 British Secret Service

in places far out into the North Sea stretches the entire length
of coastline from Holland to Denmark. The changes, addi-
tions, and developments along this forbidden strip of land,
which during past years has been so jealously guarded by the
Germans, have always been a source of deep interest to John
Bull's Watchdogs who have the welfare of the British Empire
at heart. At no time has this interest been deeper or more
absorbing than since August 4th, 1914.

I knew them well. One of my wild-fowling companions
had been a Frenchman, about my own age, who lived in
Copenhagen. He spoke half a dozen languages, and was a
very keen sportsman, and wild geese were his speciality.

Cruising in the depths of winter along the vast extent
of mud-flats, oozes, shallows, and islands, which guard the
west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, is no child's play. It
requires bold and hardy navigators ; men who are not
frightened at the horrors of ice-floes, or of breakers on the
bar ; who can stand a temperature below zero ; who can live
on the coarsest of rations ; and who can sleep anyhow and
anywhere.

The Nordfriesische Inseln tract, lying south of the island of
Fano, the natural buffer to the Esbjerg fjord, was a favourite
hunting-ground, but it had its drawbacks. Many a fine
shot into big flocks of geese and ducks was, to the sportsman's
annoyance, spoilt by the unwelcome interference of German
sentries or soldiers stationed at all kinds of unexpected and
outlandish points among the islands. Sometimes those
interlopers would put out in boats and give chase, but we
knew within a little where they were generally stationed and
by taking advantage of the ground managed to avoid being
captured. More than once we had been hailed and warned
and ordered to keep within Danish waters or we would be
shot — which, however, was nothing out of the common. There
are many good fishermen residing at Nordby and Ribe (in
Denmark) who have netted flat fish in these waters for years ;
also intermittently throughout the war, in spite of rifle
bullets perpetually being fired at them.

Soon after the date particularly referred to above, the

Wild-fowling Extraordinary 139

Germans mined the area fairly heavily and no channel was
safe. But a local fisherman located the mines and started
marking their positions, much to the annoyance of the Huns.
One man in particular would insist on fishing wherever the
mines were thickest. His argument was that, although the
work was dangerous, the mines kept others away, to the pro-
tection of the fish, therefore the fishing must be the better
for it. The Germans warned him often enough, whilst they
shot at him so frequently that he became heedless of their
threats and he appeared to entirely disregard their rifle fire.
One day he was caught and taken before an officer, who
impressed upon him that if he came there any more they would
use him as a practice target for small cannon. Nevertheless
he returned, and found them as good as their word. Luckily
he escaped being hit, but after the experience he sold his boat,
nets, and belongings, and emigrated to America.

I happened to arrive at Ribe just too late. I had travelled
far to meet this man, as I was anxious for a little more wild-
fowling ; and no one knew the creeks, the channels, and the
local geography of that shifting, dangerous coast more
thoroughly than this bold and careless fisherman. He was,
however, by no means the only pebble on the beach. I found
others.

My arrival on the frontier between the two countries
coincided with certain marked events — the collapse of an
airship at Sonderho, and the escape of some Russian and
English prisoners of war from the compound outside Hamburg.
The airship became a total wreck, and the prisoners of war
succeeded in reaching Danish territory. Thence they travelled
to Copenhagen, where they were well and humanely looked
after.

During the autumn of 1914, and the spring of 1915, the
west coast of Denmark and the extensive mileage of flats
running south therefrom was not the happy hunting-ground
it had been in the past. There seemed to be too many
Landsturmer aimlessly wandering around carrying guns loaded
with ball ammunition, which they were nothing loth to use
at any target within sight that might appear above the horizon.

140 British Secret Service

Ducks and geese were scarce and very, very wild. They
seemed to object to rifle shots even more than wild-fowlers.
They were kept constantly on the move. It is true there was
a regular " flight " of Zeppelins and aircraft of various shapes
and make along the coast every twilight ; yet these only
appeared in fine weather, when it is known to all wild -fowlers
that flighting birds fly too high to encourage heavy bags ;
whilst it must not be forgotten that so far as the country
of Denmark was concerned, these foul (this pun is surely per-
missible) were not then lawfully in season. Their close time,
or period of protection, still remained covered. To violate
it would have created much too serious an offence to be
treated lightly. But to observe the movements and habits
of these unfeathered birds with as much secrecy and security
as possible was another matter. In due course I moved
camp to the Kleiner Belt and sought sport and entertain-
ment among the islands of the Southern Baltic, where, in
the air above and in the waters beneath, there was much
activity.

For sometimes a fisherman's hut sheltered a supposed-to-
be Norwegian skipper, whose ship held cargo of a contraband
nature which was caught by the war and thus temporarily
detained. He was taking a little shooting trip by way of
diversion from the monotony of waiting an opportunity to
get away. That man was myself. It was a thin story, but it
lasted out with local natives for the necessary time required.
In harbours or bays near by were about a thousand vessels
laid up in consequence of the dangers of navigation ; whilst
round neighbouring islands, on the Danish side, fleets of
ships of varied nationality could be seen at anchor in many
sheltered nooks, all too frightened to venture further on the
high seas.

The natives of Northern Europe are extraordinarily
inquisitive, and unless one is willing to divulge family secrets
it is necessary to draw vividly upon the imagination when
interrogated as to antecedents, home, and calling. It would
have been dangerous in the instance in question not to have
humoured this characteristic peculiarity, or to have declined

Wild-fowling Extraordinary 141

to satisfy such searching curiosity. The only thing to do to
ensure some degree of safety was to blow " hot air " in volumes
around ; to answer all questions ; and, above all, to remember
every detail of the untruths thus unfolded. It is a true adage
that " a good liar must possess a good memory."

This seemingly annoying inconvenience had, however, its
redeeming feature. The almost daily bombardment of
leading questions opened up excellent opportunities for return
sallies of a reciprocating nature. It was an easy step to lead
from home and domestic particulars to the all-absorbing
topic of the hour — the mighty overshadowing cloud of
national troubles. I therefore encouraged rather than
narrowed any disposition to talk, whilst I was never back-
ward in attending any meetings of the natives in the confined
and fuggy dwellings in which they congregated and resided,
despite the most objectionable atmosphere.

A free hand with tobacco and a few drops (sweets) to the
children added to one's popularity ; and " the captain," as
I was familiarly called, soon ingratiated himself far beyond
all doubt or suspicion. This was as it should be.

Now the Kiel fjord was within an easy sail. Its entrance
was an object of interest ; whilst the Kiela Bay was used as
a patrolling or exercising ground for various designs of air-
craft and warships. Amongst the crowd of men out of a job
was one, a mate, whose life had been passed sailing in foreign
seas. He was a devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky individual,
ready to join any venture that came along. Of course he
drank when he was ashore ; at sea he was a total abstainer —
by compulsion. Whiskey was his weakness, wild-fowling
his hobby.

He knew the haunts and habits of both short and long-
winged fowl, which, in his company, I often sought, and it is
a wonder we came back alive.

Every channel that was navigable round those northern
islands seemed to hold German or Danish mines. Every
storm broke quantities of these mines from their moorings ;
and every day floating mines could be seen, washed up some-
where, or reported. Many vessels were lost by unfortunate

142 British Secret Service

contact with them, and the sea was dotted with the mast-
heads of the sunken craft. Christian — that was the venture-
some mate's name — thought little of this. One danger was
quite equal to another with him. He argued that if fate had
ordained he should be blown up by a mine, instead of being
drowned, what did it matter ? Call-day must come sooner
or later, and after all, perhaps a quick blow-up was preferable
to the prolonged suffocation of drowning. The former at
least would not be a cold or a lingering death, but all over in a
second, with no trouble about funerals and that kind of thing.
The latter caused a shudder to think about.

At first one was inclined to believe Christian was boastful
in his talk, but the following venturesome exploits prove that
such was not the case.

Indented into a certain island in the Southern Baltic is a
certain bay, which has always been a favourite haunt of wild
geese. They visit it in thousands during the spring and
autumn migrations, whilst a sprinkling of them seems to be
ever present. A low promontory of sand and sand-dunes
circles part of this bay, which is so washed by the sea that
it is difficult to tell where the low- water mark really begins.
From one point of the promontory a long spit of sand and
mud projects far out into the sea. It is a peculiar formation
and is much sought by waterfowl for resting and toilet pur-
poses. During the opening months of 1915 geese made a
habit of congregating here in unusual numbers.

Out at sea, in the fairway, was moored an ugly, evil-
looking craft, with huge uprising bows. She was fitted with
wireless, and although she had been anchored there since the
outbreak of war, a head of steam was always kept up. Her
official name and number was G. No. 53. She was supposed
and alleged to be lying outside the Danish seaboard limit.
That, however, to the casual observer looked to be open to
grave doubt. She flew no flag and showed no outward
sign of life on board, but she was known to be a German
vessel, well crewed, victualled and provided. Those on
board could command the sand-spit before mentioned with
their binoculars, as well as with other human inventions.

Wild-fowling Extraordinary 143

Apparently they did not neglect to make full use of what they
had to hand.

On two occasions, within a period of ten days, a couple of
ardent wild -fowlers might have been observed (history seems
to point to the fact that they were observed) at early dawn,
crawling along the said sand -spit, close to the water's edge,
on its lee-side. Very slowly indeed they worked their way
along until they were within range of a small gaggle of geese
which habitually rested there. On each occasion a successful
shot had been recorded. Fable tells us that the pitcher
can go too often to the well. These intrepid sportsmen
attempted to repeat their previous successes.

It was in the gloaming of eventide. About a dozen or
fifteen black (brent) geese were preening their feathers at the
end of the sand-spit, apparently well satisfied with their lot
and the world in general. Just under the uneven line of
washed-up seaweed and other refuse two dark forms crawled
along. They seemed to be hours covering the space inter-
vening between themselves and the birds — their evident
quarry. Between decks on the gloomy vessel this minor
tragedy in life and death was probably an object of equal
interest. The crew could watch and observe without them-
selves being seen. They could' gloat over the spilling of
blood, and the death-dealing power of well-placed explosives,
without the outside world ever knowing that they had any
knowledge of such events happening. How keenly they
must have anticipated.

As the sun sank deeper and deeper in the west, and the
shades of night crept up from the east, the two wild-fowl
hunters drew nearer and nearer to their objective. At least
they began to think it time to prepare for a serenade. They
were in the act of unlocking their guns when suddenly the
ground immediately in front of them rose, like an active
volcano, into the air and a mighty explosion shook the
earth. What a shock ! It raised their caps and, as Christian
remarked, so singed the hair on his head and face that he
would not be likely to want the attentions of a barber for a
fortnight. His companion was glad enough to escape whole

144 British Secret Service

in body and limb, whilst he cursed the cowardly Huns under
his breath for their death-dealing intentions. Christian
seemed to emulate the immortal Mark Tapley. He was
infernally happy and grateful to somebody to think they had
helped him kill geese, which he would probably never have
bagged without such assistance ; and he joyfully rushed
forward to pick up the dead and wounded before they could
recover from the concussion consequent upon the shock of
the explosion.

Natives who heard the report put it down to a floating
mine which had been washed up on the beach and exploded
when brought into contact with the shore. Had one of them
visited the place where the upheaval occurred he could have
seen at a glance that the depth of water was such that a
mine could not have floated within half a mile.

How disappointed must have been the crew of G. No. 53.

Christian was a born sportsman. He was one of those
who would have willingly exchanged a year's earnings for
a red-letter day at sport. If the sport was such that danger
was coupled with it, the greater the danger, the greater the
excitement, and the greater his consequent enjoyment.
For one reason only he was constantly lamenting that his
country had not been brought into the struggle, so that he
could have seized the opportunity to join actively in the
fray. At heart, of course, he did not really desire that his
country or his countrymen should have inflicted upon them
all the horrors of war ; but when a scrap was in progress he
longed with his whole soul to be in the thick of it.

Now it so happened that certain people had declared that
the Germans were violating the neutrality of Denmark, or
at least jeopardising her position and welfare, by certain
nocturnal submarine visitations in certain waters — not so
very far from the Great Belt. German officialdom replied
that these complaints and protests were mythical and without
foundation. Christian thought otherwise.

It was a strange coincidence that at this particular time
Christian should take a violent fancy for trawling. It was
perhaps strange that his particular friend should argue that

Wild-fowling Extraordinary 145

the best and heaviest fish always frequented the deepest
channels which ran between the islands. Christian agreed,
and supported the contention by quoting his experiences
of fishing in far-off foreign seas.

He was not interrogated as to where, and when, and how,
and for how long he had abandoned the forecastle for the
trawl-net ; nor did he give much opening for any such
questions. He knew. Others might think they knew, but
he knew he was right ; that, according to him, was incon-
trovertible.

Christian's enthusiasm carried all and everything with it.
A small vessel suitable for trawling purposes was secured
and fitted out with the necessary gear and equipment. A
chosen crew was selected. Fish were very scarce and con-
sequently were very dear ; the fortunes of all were to be made
in a miraculously short space of time. The skipper was a
heavy-bearded individual who knew his job, but nothing
beyond it. He was easily persuaded, whilst his crew followed
the lead blindly, thinking only of easily-earned shekels to
come. In due course the party put to sea, with Christian
& Co. acting in the capacity of spare hands.

For several nights results were precarious. The mighty
draughts of promised fishes did not come along, and Christian
had to use all his persuasive powers, backed up with innumer-
able excuses and explanations, to prove why it was his theories
had not produced practical solid results.

The spirits of the once optimistic crew had sunk to zero,
but they were over-persuaded to venture forth yet again.
It was a dark night, but the moon was due to rise at 11.30.
The sails of the little vessel had been trimmed, and the trawl
dropped in a well-known channel, picked off from the chart
by the ever enthusiastic Christian. For a few hours nothing
out of the common occurred. Towards midnight the wind
freshened slightly and the moon, peeping out from occasional
obscuring clouds, cast pale, fitful lights over the cold, dark
waters.

Presently the watch on deck became alarmed. An ex-
traordinary phenomenon appeared to take place. The

K

146 British Secret Service

fishing-boat gradually began to go backwards — actually
into the eye of the wind, although her sails were properly
set and full. The watchman rubbed his eyes and pinched
himself to see whether he was properly awake, or dreaming.
He looked at the trawl warp to see whether it was slackening,
as he reasoned that if some current sufficiently strong to
counteract the force of the wind was flowing there, however
unusual or from whatsoever unknown but possible cause it
might have originated, then surely the trawl warp would
show it.

No. The trawl warp was tight. It was strained to its
utmost. He looked at the far-off land and took bearings.
He was not mistaken. The boat was going backwards. Her
speed was easily perceptible.

He rushed to the hatchway and yelled at the top of his
voice to the sleeping crew to come on deck ; to which alarming
summons it responded quickly enough.

Wildly gesticulating and with much waving of arms the
thoroughly frightened and superstitious fisherman explained
matters as best he could. Others sprang to various positions
in the boat to investigate for themselves. The story was
indeed too true, and consternation at the unknown plainly
showed itself on the countenances of all — except perhaps
the imperturbable Christian and the other spare hand.
Whilst the crew was debating with its skipper what was best
to be done under the circumstances, another phase of the
phenomenon developed. A huge, unwieldy shape gradually
rose from the sea abaft the taffrail. It had a smooth, polished
skin, which shone and glistened in the moonlight like the back
of a whale. But on looking farther along to gauge as accuratel y
as could be the whole length of this mysterious leviathan of
the deep,j[a break in the smoothness of its form was apparent,
together with an excrescence which the skipper of the trawler
was not long in recognising as the conning tower of a sub-
marine.

Ye gods above ! How frightened they all were. How
the skipper swore, and raved, and shrieked for a hatchet to
cut away. How he sawed at the trawl rope with his belt

Wild-fowling Extraordinary 147

knife before it arrived, and how he hacked the warp in two
when he did get it. What a commotion there was to pack
on sail in order to get clear before the Germans could get out
of their steel shell and make things unpleasant for them.
How everyone flew about and gave orders to everyone else.
Yes ! All seemed to lose their heads entirely, except the two
spare hands whose whole attention seemed attracted aft.
They gazed, with looks which might have been mistaken for
gleams of triumph, at that huge, ugly monster, now bumping
the stern of the little fishing-boat. They noted every detail
open to visional observation, while their unusual coolness was
not noticed in the general alarm of the crew, who thought
only of their individual escape and safety.

A close, impartial observer might almost have been led to
the belief that the expression on the countenance of Christian
betrayed the realisation of an ail-too -long delayed event which
had at last crystallised and fully justified his anticipations.

In due course it was reported that the propellers of a
believed-to-be German submarine, which, it could be said,
had got out of her course in the dark, had fouled the fishing-
nets belonging to some unknown boat. The local press was
furious. Officialdom was stirred from its lethargy, much red
tape and sealing-wax were expended, many politely worded
notes passed between two Governments, and the event was
soon forgotten by the Powers-that-be. But the fishermen
concerned remembered all too vividly every detail and the
horrible scare they had had, whilst they loudly lamented their
lost gear. However, a Danish gunboat appeared a little more
frequently round that particular part of the coast ; mines,
and yet more mines, were laid out ; whilst the waters in
question, which had so many times rippled round the boat of
mystery, knew the activities of the conscienceless Hun no
more. Meanwhile the Golden Argosy of unlimited profits
from deep -channel trawling by night, as exploited by Messrs.
Christian & Co., proved a ghastly financial failure.

CHAPTER X

THE MYSTERIOUS HARBOUR

Frontier Prowling — Startling Rumours — Terrible Weather
— Evading Sentries — Mapping the Works — Refuge with
Smuggler — Confidences on Super-Submarines and Zeppelins
— A Country Inn — Preparing Despatches — Forcible Intru-
sion— Arrested for a German Spy — Search and Interrogation
— Summary Trial — Tricking the Searchers — Committed for
Trial — Escape.

Whilst prowling along the northern frontier of Germany
in the early spring of 1915, with a companion whom I would
have trusted with my life, we quite unwittingly got caught
in a manner least expected.

I had been over the frontier more than once, but never
far into the interior. I had neither occasion nor object in
so doing. I was at the time on the lookout for some Danish
workmen who I knew had been employed on some of the
important and secret war material of Germany. If I could
meet them on German soil, so much the better ; they would
then be much more likely to open out and talk more freely
than they would do if met elsewhere. I had had experience
of this and was at the time most anxious to get corroborative
evidence of some rather startling rumours which I had recently
heard regarding the (later on called) Paris Big Gun.

Whilst so prowling, as before mentioned, we heard speak of
a certain harbour. The mysterious harbour, it was called, which
no one might visit, which was jealously guarded, and which
the Germans had every intention of occupying at an early
date. Wild, speculative talk, perhaps, but it was enough to
determine me to go and see for myself and so learn the truth
and judge the possibilities from the facts gathered.

Not so many miles from the Island of Femern, where the

The Mysterious Harbour 149

German warship Gazelle was torpedoed by an English sub-
marine in the spring of 1915, although the fact was never
communicated to the English Press, it was said to be situated.
A small, exceedingly convenient harbour, with at least eighteen
feet depth of water at all tides, and it was said to be capable
of great developments.

Its existence was not chronicled in ordinary guide-books
nor on the maps in general circulation. Visitors were not
welcomed and the local inhabitants were fearful lest their
neighbourhood should be seized and overrun by undesirable
foreigners.

During the period with which we are concerned frost at
night was intense. All open marshland was frozen as solidly
as if encased in iron, whilst the ice-bound ditches, canals,
and drains were levelled to the headland with drifted snow.
Storms, of varying magnitude, were of daily occurrence.
Cruel winds swept the bleak area visited, cutting through the
thickest of garments till the marrow in one's very bones
seemed congealed. No one at the time, acting from his own
free will, would have appreciated either a business or a pleasure
trip to the harbour in question. Yet early one eventful
morning, when the weather was at its worst and everyone
else had sought shelter, we braved the elements and attempted
to lay a course through the maze of marshland roads, dams
and banks, which would not have been an easy task to many
of the natives. Our struggle to win through these and other
unseen difficulties seemed hopeless. But our minds were
made up. We were both determined, obstinate, persistent.
Many times we were blown flat by the violence of the storm.
Many times we fell, sunk to our necks, in a snowdrift. Many
times we lost our way and had to retrace our steps or correct
our course. But all the while we proceeded forward, with
lips compressed and faces set in grim determination, to
accomplish the task we had in hand ; to view, to inspect,
and to survey roughly the harbour and its works.

Not a soul was observable upon all that vast flat area
stretching away uninterruptedly to the horizon as far as the
eye could command on either hand. The distant, dull,

150 British Secret Service

booming, angry roar of the sea upon the breakwaters and the
shrieking wind made conversation impossible. No cover
was available until the great embankment was attained. It
guarded some tens of thousands of acres of reclaimed land.
What a relief it was to us poor wayfarers to reach this com-
parative haven of peace, an oasis in the desert of howling
storm ! We had traversed many, many weary miles of most
awful walking, under most exhausting circumstances, and
a long rest was indeed welcome. Having reached the embank-
ment unobserved, the remainder of the venture was, com-
paratively speaking, an easy matter.

With such a gale in progress no vessel was likely to brave
the mines laid out under the Admiralty administration of
several nations and to attempt a passage from the sea. On
the land side, the temporary railway and all roads concen-
trated upon a point where a cluster of new houses had sprung
up, which at the moment in question were full of individuals —
refugees from the storm and others. The windows of these
houses commanded every road within miles. Was it likely,
the sentries undoubtedly argued within themselves, or to be
suspected for a moment, that anyone in sane senses would
attempt to avoid these solid paths and risk an approach
to the harbour through the swamps (although they were
frozen) and by way of the embankments thus reached, to the
east and west ? If there were such rash and foolish people
about then they ran a good chance of being lost and frozen
to death.

So it was that even the sentries were under cover, making
life as pleasant as could be, drinking coffee heavily strength-
ened with brandy, and playing cards for small stakes.

Having rested and eaten and drunk from a thermos flask,
we proceeded along the sea side of the embankment with as
much caution as though travelling in an enemy's country.
Somewhat to our surprise we encountered not a living being,
not even a stray dog to exercise his lungs at strangers. On
arrival at the harbour, which was concealed from view of the
houses by the height of the embankment before mentioned,
we quickly and dexterously got to work, free from observation

The Mysterious Harbour 151

or interruption. My companion kept watch on the main
entrances whilst I overran the works, mapped and thoroughly
investigated them, sounded and checked water depths,
accommodation calculated, and the quay head-room, and
roughly surveyed and noted to the minutest detail all the
surroundings, in a very short space of time.

As soon as this work was accomplished we left the danger
zone. It was unwise to linger a moment longer than was
necessary in such a situation. Retracing our steps until
we were quite convinced there was no chance of trouble from
possible prying followers, we paused on the outskirts of a
small wood. It was the first rest since our objective had
been left, it was the first opportunity we had had to exchange
a sentence.

" Why not look in and see old Pedersen, the smuggler ? He
may know something."

" Good ; let us go then." This was all I had to say.
In a lonely hut, in still more lonely and uninviting sur-
roundings, resided the interesting individual sought. He was
a friend of long standing with my companion, whom he re-
ceived with every outward sign of cordiality and pleasure.
But how deceptive can be the ways of men time will show.
Coffee was at once put on the hob to boil, and a liberal supply
of potato-brandy and eatables forthcoming. The glow of the
fire and warm food after long exposure caused my blood to
tingle in my veins, down to toe- and finger-tips. The sensa-
tion was glorious, and a quiet smoke crowned the extreme
bliss of the moment.

In due course ordinary generalities of conversation
broadened further afield. The grey-haired, bright-eyed old
deluder of Revenue officers dilated upon the war pickings
and opportunities which seemed to be bringing him a rich
harvest. It appeared he had many relations living and
working in Germany. They helped him not a little. Custom
officials on that side also knew him well. They winked at
most things now which before the war would have been
suppressed with an iron hand. His goings and comings were
of more frequent occurrence. His business proceeded almost

152 British Secret Service

openly, and he was accumulating money as he had never
done in his life before.

No, he did not fear the mines. It was true there were
plenty of them. Danish, German, Russian, and English.
He knew exactly where each group was laid ; thus he avoided
them.

Yes, he believed the English had laid out some mines.
He could not say for certain, but he had seen English sub-
marines in the Femern Belt. He had spoken them and he
knew English when he heard it. Of course they must have
laid out some mines.

Everyone knew of the existence and whereabouts of the
Danish and of the German mines. Fishermen who were
daily at sea, fishing or cruising around after one thing and
another, had seen and heard quite enough about them ; but
the Russian mines were another proposition. He believed
most of the Russian mines were floating ones, either from
design or accident. Anyway, there were plenty of them
about. The more the merrier so far as he was concerned.
They kept a lot of people away and they did not frighten
him. It was all good for business.

For some time the old man ran on with the utmost freedom
of speech, which tended to disarm any suspicions we might
have entertained against him. We, however, gave no hint
of our doings. We preferred to pose as good listeners.

When he turned his conversation to the building of new
submarines and airships, and events and happenings in the
interior of Germany, I drew into deeper reticence and avoided
asking questions which might have raised possible suspicions
of the deep absorbing interest such knowledge carried. The
veteran smuggler apparently had two brothers working on
war machines in German territory, and they had told him

Here he broke off in the middle of a sentence to ask his
long-lost friend who I was, where I came from, and all
about me.

It appeared that overcome by the strong wind, coupled
with perhaps the stronger alcoholic libations, I had fallen
asleep.

The Mysterious Harbour 153

" Oh, you need not trouble about him. He's a Norwegian
ship's captain, whose ship is stranded up at Marstal. He is
visiting a few friends hereabouts and doing a little duck-
shooting with me. He's a real good sort and quite all right."
" Of course," replied the smuggler, " I knew if he was with
you he must be all right. But in these times you never know,
so you'll have to excuse my asking " ; and he continued
to describe all he had heard and knew concerning the building
of the new improved German submarines, which were claimed
to be able to run at great speed on the surface and to traverse
a distance of some thousands of miles independent of base
reliance for resupplies.

When the subject had been exhausted he switched off
to the 1915 Zeppelins, upon which another brother had been
for some time employed. These engines of destruction, he
stated, would be a wonderful improvement on all former
known airships of their kind. They would be very much
larger ; have their cars covered in ; there would be more of
them ; their speed would be materially increased and their
capacity for weight-carrying considerably augmented. There
were many other minor yet important details which the
old man, in his enthusiasm, enlarged upon in garrulous
volubility.

At last there seemed nothing more to tell and a renewal
of the journey was suggested, but so soundly did the pseudo
Norwegian captain sleep that it took the combined efforts
of both of them, with much prodding and shaking, before he
could be aroused from his lethargy. When apparently I
was only half awake we left the hut, cursing the belligerents
generally for upsetting everybody's livelihood, instead of
thanking our late host for the friendly shelter and hospitality ;
nor did I offer any apology for having slept throughout his
most interesting discourse upon these unknown things.

The old smuggler audibly expressed an unsought opinion
that the liquor had got the better of my senses. I was
gratified by that.

Later in the afternoon we found ourselves in the neigh-
bourhood of a small township. We made our way to an

154 British Secret Service

inn in the main street, where we ordered something substantial
to eat.

To specially prepare a meal anywhere on the Continent
takes time. At a remote country inn where nothing is kept
in readiness it takes much more time than elsewhere. An
hour is the minimum. I sought my bedroom with an excuse
for forty winks, giving orders to be awakened as soon as the
soup was on the table.

Every hostelry bedroom in the north of Europe is provided
with a table, pens, ink and writing materials. A few minutes
after the door had been locked I might have been seen seated
at table preparing a despatch and puzzling deeply over certain
sprawled hieroglyphics which had apparently been made on
rough paper, possibly inside my pocket with a pencil stump
when perhaps reclining in an awkward position and unable
or unwilling to see to guide the fingers which gripped the active
stump of lead. Be that as it may, the writing was awfully
bad and very difficult indeed to make out. I studied it with
the greatest of care all ways, upside down, and at every
angle ; whilst the smiles on my face may have portrayed
evident satisfaction at the result.

Suddenly a heavy tread caused the solid stairs to creak,
and loud knocking, equivalent to peremptory demands, upon
the door of my room caused me to jump in my chair as though
a guilty conscience plagued my peace of mind. Quick as
lightning I removed and concealed certain precious belongings,
doubled up the sheet of paper upon which I was working, and
started to scribble silly messages upon some picture post-
cards I had purchased at the village store to people of no
importance who lived at no great distance away.

Again the knocking was repeated, this time louder and
more emphatic than before. " All right, my friend, no hurry.
Take all things quietly and all things will be well." But the
impatient visitor would not and did not wait. He placed
so much force behind the lock that it yielded, and he nearly
fell on to his nose as the door gave way.

Recovering himself he came quickly forward, and I rose
to meet him half way.

The Mysterious Harbour 155

44 You know who we are ? " he said to me.

64 My dear sir, I exceedingly regret to say that I have not
that pleasure," I replied.

" We are police officers." As he spoke, another burly
individual appeared in the opening of the doorway, who, with-
out sign of interest in the preliminary conversation, proceeded
to prop up the broken door to some semblance of its former
state. " You have just landed from Femern and we arrest
you as a German spy."

At these words my eyes glittered, I clenched my hands
in a way which did not augur well for the visitors.

" My good sir," I muttered through compressed lips,
11 you may do what you please, and you may assign me to
any nationality in the wide, wide world, except that one.
I am not in any way related to the barbarians, nor will I
permit you to take me for one. If you repeat such an insult-
ing accusation again I shall throw you out."

1 You forget, sir, you are under arrest," he snapped.

"I do not forget that, if I am anything at all, I am an
Englishman, and that I am in a private apartment. If the
door is guarded, the window is not ; you will observe that it
is an unpleasant height from the ground to fall."

" Anyway, you pass yourself off as a Norwegian, now you
say you are English, but we know you are German. Search
his belongings, sergeant, and search thoroughly." Saying
which the senior officer coolly proceeded to take up and to
read the postcards on the table.

It was not a pleasant position to be in, and well I knew it.
The new law was very elastic. It made it an offence to use
the telegraph, the telephone or the postal facilities, or to
enlist directly or indirectly any assistance from any native
for the purpose of conveying any information which could
be considered likely to be of use to any belligerent power ;
whilst the only literature which had recently found favour
in the eyes of the reading public seemed to relate to spies
and espionage, whether in fact or in fiction. Hence every
local junior or senior police or other officer seemed to imagine
himself a born Sherlock Holmes. In vain I indignantly

156 British Secret Service

protested against the intrusion. It merely seemed to whet
their appetite for investigation. Every belonging I had with
me was turned inside out, even to the lining of my raiment.
Hats and boots were separately and collectively opened up,
whilst the marks on my linen, off and on, were compared and
commented upon.

" Perhaps a cigar would cool you down a bit ? " I re-
marked somewhat sarcastically, but the suggestion was
refused with an indignant snort.

" Well, I presume there is no objection to my smoking,
even if you don't care about it," I added, as I bit the end off
a big black cigar and hunted round for matches. Blindly
ignoring a box on the table, I eventually extracted some from
the pocket of my greatcoat, which was hanging on a peg.
In doing so I pulled out a glove which fell to the floor.

Of course my every action was watched. But I did not
appear to notice this until I had twice paced the floor smoking.
Then, seeing the glove lying there, I picked it up and sar-
castically offered it for examination, after which I placed
it in my side pocket. Quite a natural thing to do.

Meanwhile, it should have been recorded that I had pur-
posely left the folded piece of paper containing the partly-
written message lying on the table and in sight during the
whole interview. When the officer had advanced to read
the postcards I had taken care to be there first. I had care-
lessly picked up the aforesaid paper and played with it ;
twisting it round my fingers as though it were a piece of
string. When the officer was out of reach of the table I
threw it down again. If he came closer I annexed it and
played with it as before.

After the glove incident, the officer, evidently in command,
made a dash to secure it. I reached and picked it up just
a second before him and proceeded to twist it with even
greater vehemence than before round my fingers, as though
my nerves were somewhat strained.

The officer held out his hand for it. Instead of giving it to
him direct I first passed the paper from one hand to the other.
A very simple thing indeed in itself to the uninitiated, but

The Mysterious Harbour 157

that little act covered an operation which if bungled might
have provided me with solitary confinement for a period of
many years. As the officer unrolled the twisted paper I
had handed over it proved to be utterly devoid of interest
or utility ; it was, in fact, a piece of blank paper, in size about
the thickness of a man's thumb. By way of explanation
to the reader I must add that in years gone by I had been an
adept in the art of legerdemain, thus it was easy for me to
deceive him and also to dexterously convey the original
document into the thumb of the glove which lay conveniently
for such purpose in my right-hand coat pocket.

After an hour and a half of search and interrogation the
two officers engaged in whispered conversation and the venue
was changed.

In due course I was arraigned before the head magistrate
of the district, a stern but just man who appeared to carry
much weight and influence in local affairs. He was the
equivalent to our lord lieutenant of a county in England,
and probably jto a State governor in the U.S.A.

His first step embraced a bodily search to the skin in
which I, the prisoner, helped by turning out my pockets and
opening up my clothes, and giving all seemingly possible
assistance.

After three and a half hours' interrogation I was dismissed,
but informed I must not leave the inn without a permit.
Meanwhile my travelling companion was also thoroughly
overhauled and examined apart from me and in camera.

Whilst this second act of the drama was in progress I was
chuckling in my room. With most satisfactory smiles I
extracted my various treasures. From the roll of my collar
I drew forth a document of value. It looked uncommonly
like a rough sketch plan, as indeed it was — quite a good map
of the mysterious harbour which had so suddenly sprung
into existence. My handkerchief was not without a crumpled
paper within its folds ; whilst my glove was sought and relieved
of its twisted draft despatch. But what amused me most of
all was a book entitled King Alcohol, a, discourse on the
curse of drink. I had called special attention to this book,

158 British Secret Service

a Danish edition of Jack London, and it had been indignantly
cast upon the table both by the magistrate and the officers.1
It had lain there with my glove, pocket-handkerchief, pipe
and tobacco-pouch as uninteresting and neglected through-
out the proceedings. This book was bound in a paper
cover, but even an ordinary paper cover can hide more than
some people would give credence to. In this it concealed
blocked-out silhouettes on very thin paper of every righting
vessel in the German Navy. I had been using them — oh, so
recently !

Laughing softly to myself, I reflected on the deception ;
the very openness of which was its greatest safety. The
repacking of my disturbed belongings was necessary, and
then I wondered how my companion was faring at the
hands of the authorities, whose exasperation and disap-
pointment at not finding any of the evidence they had
expected with such seeming certainty upon me was badly
concealed.

One reflection led to another. How, when, and where had
the local police or the military been led to suspect us, to
hit our trail ? Who had given information and what did they
really know ? The more I turned the matter over in my mind
the more puzzled I became. Could the old smuggler have
communicated possible suspicions ? Could we have been
seen at work on the harbour ? Was my companion every-
thing I believed him to be ? It was one of those riddles
which Secret Service agents are constantly being called
upon to face, but if they seriously trouble themselves trying
to solve them they are apt to fall early victims of brain
fever.

The examinations had been severe as to past movements,
intentions, motives, and present occupation or pastime.
The mention of wild-fowling had been received with ridicule
until an argument convinced the magistrate that I knew
far more about that sport than he did ; whilst addresses

1 The Danes being a race of notoriously hard drinkers resent any literature
savouring of Prohibition.

The Mysterious Harbour 159

of certain local fowlers, which had been given him with
seeming reluctance, were at once tested by telephone with
results not unfavourable to his temporary prisoners.

Our interrogators either knew, or had assumed a know-
ledge, that the harbour had been visited ; whilst they had
searched diligently and persistently for any trace of a plan
or particulars relating to it.

When the magistrate returned from his second search
he announced his final decision to send us both as prisoners
under an escort to Copenhagen to be tried by the higher
tribunal which handled these affairs. This sentence would
have been acted upon forthwith had I not questioned the
authority and the wisdom of carrying any further so delicate
a matter as interference with our personal liberty when there
was no evidence whatever for him to go upon. My criticisms
were pleasantly and playfully worded, but they were also
concise and crushing in their logic ; besides which they carried
throughout a quiet threatening undertone that portended
possible international trouble, with severe punishment upon
unauthorised officials who tampered unlawfully with the
freedom of a loyal subject of His Gracious Majesty, King
George the Fifth of England.

Thus it came about that the informal court adjourned
until the morrow, and our long-deferred meal was the more
appreciated.

Discussing an after-dinner smoke, my companion unani-
mously agreed with me that wild -fowling in that particular
neighbourhood hardly augured well, nor did it hold out
promise or comfortable prospects ; that although the sus-
picions which had been aroused had been checkmated for
the moment, there seemed every probability that further
trouble was likely to develop. Perhaps it would be better
far to solve the difficulty and ease the minds of all parties
concerned if a rapid, mysterious departure, which left no
traceable trail behind, was taken.

Later in the day, as the twilight darkened into night,
two shadows might have been seen for a moment as they

160 British Secret Service

angled the corner of the inn in that southernmost Danish town-
ship and disappeared in the surrounding gloom ; travellers
once more amidst the flotsam and jetsam of life's highway ;
travelling they knew not whither, with but one mind and one
paradoxical thought— to seek for, and at the same time to
avoid, the unknown.

CHAPTER XI

MAD GAMBLING AND A BIG BRIBE

Kaleidoscopic Changes in Secret Service Agent's Life —
Called to Norwegian Capital for Orders — Enforced Idleness
— A War Gambler — Huge Credits — Twisting the Tail of the
British Lion — Averting Possible War — Frenzied Finance —
A Colossal Bribe — Topheavy Argument — Newspaper Influence
— A Good Bargain for England — Millionaire in Three Days.

The life of a Foreign Secret Service agent in wartime is one
of kaleidoscopic changes. He never knows where he is likely
to be from one day to another, nor the class of company it
may be his lot in life to associate with.

One day it may elevate him to be a guest of Royalty, the
next may find him in company with the very scum of the
earth. Pro Bono Patrice is his motto. His life and every-
thing he possesses on earth is thrown for the time being into
the melting-pot. His sole aim, object, and ambition is to
make good. To shoulder successfully and carry through his
little bit whereby something may be accomplished, something
done, for the furtherance of his country's cause.

All through that hard-fought fight the British played the
game. They conducted themselves as gentlemen and they
never forgot that they were sportsmen as well. We in the
Secret Service prided ourselves that we never knowingly
abused the hospitality of the neutral nations whose land we
were compelled nolens volens to operate in, we never inter-
fered in any way with their politics or their national affairs.
Our work lay with the Hun, the enemy ; we strictly confined
our attentions to him, and to him alone.

Yet we were constantly being tempted to be drawn into
side issues which it was at times really difficult to avoid.

In the early spring of 1915, whilst I was cruising in the

L

1 62 British Secret Service

Baltic, amidst ice-floes and storms frequent enough to chill
the ardour of any patriot, I received an innocent and simple-
worded note, the interpretation of which meant I must
hasten to Christiania for orders.

On my arrival there I met my old friend N. P., who had
been similarly recalled from Sweden, with others who have
not figured in these pages. Days passed in listless idleness.
No orders arrived. There seemed to be nothing doing. But
it was heart-breaking to see the constant stream of the
necessities of life — cotton, copper, foodstuffs and metals —
going to Germany, which the feeble remonstrances of our
Ministers, both at home and abroad, seemed utterly powerless
to stop or to diminish.

For some weeks all members of the Foreign Secret Service
operating round the Baltic were kept at the Norwegian capital
in daily anticipation of something important turning up.
The expected, however, never happened, yet we were still
kept there, in spite of repeated remonstrances and urgent
appeals to be released in order that we might attend to our
respective interests in other spheres.

One evening I had been dining with a friend at the Grand
Hotel. Whilst I was in the vestibule about 2 a.m.,
putting on my snow-boots preparatory to the short walk
home, a middle-aged man, with hands clenched, face as pale
and clammy as a corpse, and teeth set hard, rushed up to me
in such an alarming manner that I fondled the butt of a
revolver lying in the outside pocket of my overcoat by way of
precaution against possible contingencies.

" My God, sir, you are the one man I've been praying to
find ! I believe I should have committed suicide to-night or
by to-morrow morning had it not have been for this chance
meeting. I must see you, now, this moment. You must
save me. I have millions, yet I am a ruined man. I dare not
face it a second time. You must either come to my room, or
I must visit yours. I have not slept for nights. It will take
hours to explain matters. You must save me. Save me !
Yes, only promise me you will save me ! "

Thinking I had a madman to deal with, I humoured him.

Mad Gambling and a Big Bribe 163

I promised any reasonable assistance that lay in my power,
and fixed an appointment for the afternoon of the following
day.

The twelve hours intervening made little improvement
upon the nerves or excitement of the stranger. It was some
time after my arrival before he could articulate a connected
story ; whilst it took considerable interlocution and some
cross-examination before I could draw forth the main facts
of his case.

Shortly, it was as follows :

He was a merchant from the West Coast. He had
gambled in fish oil some years previously and lost his all.
Financial difficulties had since embarrassed him. When the
country was thrown into panic by the declaration of war he
had seen his opportunity and plunged once again into an
enormous speculation. By promising large sums of money
for direct financial assistance, and by offering brokerage
remuneration far in excess of what was either necessary or
reasonable, he had become enabled to buy on credit prac-
tically every barrel of fish oil held in the country. It was a
special kind of oil which could not be replaced until next
season's harvest was gathered in. He was therefore in a
position to control the market and to regulate prices, provided
he could only finance the deal uninterruptedly and his
movements were not hampered by new laws — particularly
prohibition of export.

Terribly anxious on both these points, he had approached
the British Minister and pressed upon him the acceptance of
his whole purchase at a price more than double its initial
cost. In addition he had hinted rather too strongly that
Germany was a certain buyer should the English Government
not care to accept his preferential offer.

It amounted in fact to a threat : "If you don't buy this
oil at once, the whole lot goes off to your enemies."

The Minister had promised his answer in five days. But
when the merchant's financier heard what he had done, that
gentleman was so irate he had threatened to cancel his
credit, because, as he argued, he had tried to threaten

1 64 British Secret Service

England ; which meant that the oil in question would
promptly be made contraband, whilst the English Govern-
ment would call upon the Norwegian Government to cause its
export to be prohibited. There was admittedly no sale for
such large quantities as he had bought in the home markets,
hence he became quite convinced that he was a ruined man,
although, according to market prices, he was a millionaire.

When recounting his folly in thus putting his head into the
lion's mouth, to which he metaphorically likened his visit to
the Ministry, the poor unnerved merchant worked himself up
into a tremendous pitch of excitement. He perspired so
freely that all the starch was exuded from his linen. He
drank bottle after bottle of lager beer in a vain endeavour to
keep his lips moist, whilst his eyes at times assumed an
unnatural appearance, rolling round in their sockets in a
manner alarming to behold.

I knew simply nothing of the subject put so vehemently
before me, but the idea of any goods of any value being
permitted to go into Germany was so distasteful to me that I
listened with the greatest patience and until my visitor could
say no more. Then I inquired where and how I could be
expected to be of assistance.

" Why, you're a newspaper man. You represent the best
and most influential periodical in London, the greatest city
of the world. I know what tremendous power and influence
the English papers hold. Your Minister would certainly
listen to what you said, if you would only interview him on my
behalf ; if you would only intercede against any prohibition
being put on my oil."

" Why should I interfere ? " I said. " As an Englishman,
I certainly object to your selling any goods to Germany. If I
thought you intended sending a single barrel there I should
do all I could to get the prohibition put on it, not to help you
to keep it off."

" But that would bring Norway into the war."

" I don't agree," I snapped.

" Yes, it would. A prohibition on oil or fish would mean
the throwing out of employment of many thousands upon

Mad Gambling and a Big Bribe 165

thousands of Norwegian fishermen and workmen. They
would revolt and march on the Storthings -Bygning " (House
of Parliament) " and compel its members to take the pro-
hibition off in spite of the British Government. Your
Minister might say that England had been slighted, which
would lead to war. One of our own Ministers himself told me
this only yesterday, so I know I'm right in what I'm talking
about."

In vain I poo-poohed the idea ; the perspiring merchant
was insistent.

Having delivered himself of these troubles, he walked up
and down the confines of the room in a frenzy of nervous
excitement. Banging his fists one into the other, alter-
nately running his fingers through his hair, which was
absolutely wringing wet from perspiration, he, literally
speaking, groaned out his mental agony.

I watched him in silence. Suddenly he steadied himself
somewhat, then stopped short, and, looking me straight in the
face, he exclaimed : " I feel, I know, I am positively
certain sure you can save this situation if you will. I am
paying the man who is putting up my money 40,000 kroner
as a private honorarium over and above the usual interest of
five per cent. It's worth it. But neither he nor I shall see a
cent in return if it's to be prohibition. Now, I'll make a
square deal with you. I'll give you 100,000 kroner " (about
£5,500) " if you'll interview your Minister for me and you
can successfully guarantee me no prohibition for six or even
three months. If you can only stop it for three months, then
I shall be safe, and I shall have more than enough to pay my
late creditors and everybody else everything I owe, and to
spare." At this point he positively gasped for breath and
more beer, whilst he re-mopped his streaming neck and
face.

During this scene my thoughts had not been idle. They
had conceived, turned over, and evolved a scheme which I
believed would work out to the advantage of all concerned,
excepting only the Germans.

I would promise him the assistance he desired ; to

166 | British Secret Service

intercede and do my best|to pacify the British Minister's
wrath, which I was given to understand was burning at white
heat against the unfortunate merchant for his presumption
and impudence in daring to suggest a twist of the lion's tail
for so large an amount as the £100,000 profit he had suggested.
It was well known that the Legation had given out, and
wished it to be understood, that England would not look
favourably upon any business relationships whatsoever,
directly or indirectly, with Germany. Furthermore, that
such a flouting of England's goodwill would not be to the
future advantage of any such transgressors. Some mer-
chants made a joke of this, others expressed their feelings in
withering scorn, a few took notice. The idea that their trade
should be allowed to continue with England whilst its con-
tinuance with Germany was to be looked upon as an un-
pardonable offence seemed a top-heavy argument. They
did not view the proposition through similarly tinted glasses.
And as soon as the Minister began to voice his objections, so
soon did trouble begin.

The position of the merchant from the West Coast,
however, was hardly on all fours with other traders in the
country. He was particularly anxious to keep in the good
graces of the British Minister. At the same time, the earning
of money seemed dearer to him than most other worldly
considerations.

I knew he held an appointment which he was desirous to
retain — an appointment which the British Minister could
influence considerably. He, the British Minister, could easily
keep him in it or he could scorch him out of it, whichever he
desired. I also knew that the British Minister, generally
speaking, was not too popular ; whilst it was said that he was
a man who would never understand the Norwegian race any
more than it would ever understand him. I could read what
had passed in the minds of both of these individuals of such
opposite temperaments at that memorable interview. I
could imagine the grim, determined, waiting watchfulness
with which the one man weighed up the weaknesses, the
failings, and the awful nerve-racking sensations of realised

Mad Gambling and a Big Bribe 167

blunders, abandoned hopes and fears, and despair probably
revealed on the face of the other.

It was all as plain to me as though the drama had been
re-enacted in my presence. I felt a contempt I did not
express at the sordid details of such vast credits being
bought and risks run with other people's money, at bribery
prices over and above the usual business rates ; at the
exorbitant brokerages which were being exacted from this
rash and hazardous speculator ; and more particularly at the
heavy sum which was pressed upon me for a service that the
eager donor had seemingly never seriously weighed or con-
sidered with an evenly-balanced mind. Thus I delivered
myself :

" My good sir, you seem to have put your foot into it very
badly indeed. It looks as though you, and all those involved
with you, will crash through the very thin ice you are skating
upon. It looks to me an odds-on chance that you will all be
drowned in the financial vortex beneath. I don't for the life
of me see how a poor insignificant journalist like myself can
be of any real service to you. So you need not worry about
your 100,000 kroner or any other sum. What fragment of
weight do you suppose that so great a personage as our
Minister would attach to either my words or to my presence —
to me, a stranger and an ordinary civilian ? "

In a tense, hoarse voice he replied : " You forget you are
English, an English journalist, representing the most power-
ful newspaper in London. Everyone is afraid of newspapers.
They can uproot a throne. I know. I have lived in London.
I have seen what a newspaper can do. You are cool. Your
nerves are strong. You are a man of the world. You can
state my case as it would be impossible for me to state it
myself. Let the English Government buy my oil at its own
price. I don't want an exorbitant profit. I will leave the
negotiation to your absolute discretion. Prohibition would
ruin me. You can save me if you will only try. I will
willingly pay you any sum you like to name. If you stave off
the threatened prohibition you will earn it ten times over.
You may even save our country from war. I have not slept

168 British Secret Service

for nights. I cannot eat properly. Unless this strain on me
is relieved I feel my brain will give way and I shall go mad,
or I shall kill myself."

He sat down heavily upon a chair, and, burying his head
in his hands, wept aloud.

Allowing a reasonable time for the unhappy merchant to
settle down to a more even frame of mind, I placed my hand
upon his shoulder, not unkindly, and said in a soft voice :
" Well, I'm afraid I shall not carry much weight, and I don't
want your money, but I will go and see him. One thing is
quite certain. You can rest assured that England would
never knowingly permit an injustice to be done ; but if
you're trading with the Germans, then of course you'll have
to paddle your own canoe."

Further inquiries from the now subservient speculator
elicited the existence of a contract made with German
merchants by which a by-product of the oil passing through
his hands in the ordinary course of business, amounting to
about five per cent, of the whole, had to be delivered to them
periodically for some few months to follow.

In due course I carried out the promise I had made, and
as a result I conveyed certain proposals to the merchant,
whereby that gentleman gave a written undertaking that not
a barrel of his oil should be sold to Germany, directly or
indirectly, excepting the by-product before referred to, which
was considered a bagatelle, he receiving assurances that so
long as his undertaking was faithfully carried out no steps
would be taken without fair and reasonable notice to press
for a prohibition of the particular oil in question.

To say that the gentleman most interested in this matter
was effusive in his expressions of overwhelming gratitude
would be a gross exaggeration of mild description. If
permitted he would have fallen on my neck and almost
drowned me in a flood of tears of relief and joy. He produced
a pocket-book bulging with paper money and attempted to
force a handful of notes for large amounts upon me, which I
firmly and emphatically refused to accept. But I did
agree to lunch with him, and the late dejected one ate

Mad Gambling and a Big Bribe 169

what he described as his first decent meal for a prolonged
period.

During the following week we occasionally met. The
merchant was now all smiles and enjoying life consequent
upon a successful venture and an undisturbed peace of mind.
Prices continued to rise in his favour, and ten days later he
declared himself a millionaire in Norwegian kroner. He
vainly continued to press me every time we were alone to
accept something substantial for the service rendered, whilst
he was extravagant in his sentiments of eternal gratitude. He
also proposed that I should abandon my journalistic career
and accept a position as one of the foreign representatives of
his firm, which offer I likewise politely declined. Then he
hinted at the bestowal of a high Norwegian decoration, which
made me smile still more.

Whether the unlimited ambitions of this wild speculator
followed usual precedent and tumbled from the height of
success to the abysmal depth of failure by reason of too oft-
repeated temptations of Providence ; whether, and if so, how
the assurances given and the guarantee obtained were carried
out, the ultimate turn of events, and how all these things
developed, progressed and fructified, remain, as Rudyard
Kipling says, another story.

CHAPTER XII

SHADOWED BY POLICE

Posing as a Journalist — Credentials — Subtle Suggestions —
Suspicions — A Fallen Star — Sold to the Police — Instinctive
Warnings — Temptations — Intercepted Adulations — A Serious
Blow — Tests — Danger Signals — Flight — Herr Schmidt —
Double Tracking — Arrest Warrant Postponed.

Most people who interest themselves in the detailed working
of Secret Service show greatest curiosity regarding the actual
characters assumed by its members when in foreign countries.
A Secret Service agent should never assume a character he
is not absolutely familiar with, both inside and out. It is
possible to act up to a certain pitch, which will carry a
certain distance, but artificiality is never safe. The stunt
that is most in favour with the Intelligence Departments of
all nations is journalism ; thus it has been worked threadbare.
Every foreign newspaper man on the Continent in recent
years has been suspected, marked, and watched from the
start, simply because he is what he is and for no other reason.
I was never warned of this, but it did not take me long to find
it out. I fell into the role on my second trip out and adopted
it naturally. I had been a free-lance journalist for upwards
of twenty years, and I concluded that I could assume the
character of special correspondent without any anxiety, and
that I would be received for what I was. I had previously
posed in many characters which were not so aptly fitted, and
I believed I had carried them through successfully. This
would be child's play to an old hand ; besides, it had been
part of my livelihood and was no assumed role, it was merely
acting as one's self. One of the best, most influential and

Shadowed by Police 171

respected newspapers in London was therefore approached.
I was no stranger to its editor, who received me with cor-
diality and gave me the necessary credentials.

In order to supplement my London references I sought
for and easily obtained a further commission from the head
editor of a series of country daily and weekly issues. A
passport carried the announcement that I was a journalist, and
everything appeared to be in order.

On arrival abroad, in the first country to which my work
was allotted, as a special journalist I made application to the
head Transmission Department to bespeak a legitimation
card, which added an additional official stamp to my papers.

No one could have been more helpful or sympathetic than
the Transmission Department officials, but in this particular
instance it subsequently transpired they took copies of my
credentials, which they handed over to the Chief of the
Criminal Investigation Department. Of course, I knew
nothing of this at the time, although it would not in any way
have disturbed my equanimity or peace of mind if I had.

A chief superintendent, whom I had to interview, was
exceptionally kind. He strictly adhered to his duty to his
country, but the leaning of his sympathies he appeared
absolutely unable to restrain. " Your paper," he said, " is
a power in Europe. It is always fair, impartial, and reliable.
Many of my countrymen read it, and we know that it does
not exaggerate the true facts. I respect it, my colleagues
respect it, although they might not say so, and you may rely
upon all the help I can give you. You must remember,
however, the position we are placed in. You must be
careful not to offend against our recently passed laws or you
will not get your messages through. Also, you may be
misunderstood." I thanked him and sought further enlight-
enment. I guessed what he was hinting at, but I wished to
draw out of the man all he was willing to disclose.

' You know," the superintendent continued, " that you
must not use our wires, either telephone or telegraph, to
report movement of any ships of foreign nations which are at
war. Our instructions are very strict upon this point. We

tj2 British Secret Service

must carry out our duties to the utmost. But these Ger-
mans ! They are not men, they are mad dogs. Their idea of
war seems to be extermination without regard to the law of
nations. They murder women and children ; they seem to
have no feelings. They would overrun our small country
to-morrow if they thought any advantage could be gained
thereby. Alas, poor innocent, unoffending Belgium, whom
they undertook by honourable treaty to protect and uphold !
How they have ruined her, burned her towns, ravaged her
entire country, raped her daughters, robbed her churches and
treasures ; and, on top of all, fined her inhabitants for not
returning to be made slaves to oppressors and brutal task-
masters. ' Vengeance is mine,' saith the Lord. If they do
not suffer for all this, then there is no justice on earth or in
heaven above." We were alone in his private office. Before
speaking he had carefully closed the door, having first looked
anxiously into the outer office. Now he turned to me and,
extending both hands, added : " Reading these things, hearing
of them from eye-witnesses, hearing even worse in detail
which made my flesh creep, can you wonder that we, a peace-
loving people, who never did like those overbearing Germans,
pray for the day when they will find their level in the world
and when they will be compelled to behave like decent-
minded people ? "

I cordially agreed, and inquired what my loquacious
friend was leading up to.

" You have a Press Censor in your country, I presume ? "
— " Yes." " If he saw in the course of his duties anything
which he thought might be of advantage to your Government,
or to its naval administrators, to know, I suppose he would
at once cause it to be sent along ? " " Really, my dear sir,"
I interjected, " I have no knowledge of what our Censor does.
I know he's an awful nuisance to us newspaper men ; he
holds up our copy for indefinite periods. But I, like yourself,
assume he is an Englishman." And I looked him square
in the face and wondered whether he would guess what I
certainly had no intention of admitting. " Good ! " he
exclaimed. " Now, in this country our newspaper men get

Shadowed by Police 173

round our regulations by using simple little codes, which in
their wording refer to things domestic, but in reality can be
translated into something very, very different. For ex-
ample, ' Mrs. Jones of has just had twins ; one is

strong, the other very weak and not expected to live,' might
easily be arranged to convey the interpretation that a couple

of German submarines had entered the port of , one of

which was in a damaged condition. I expect your paper
would like to have such items of news ? Even if it were not
allowed to publish it, your Censor might like to have the news
to hand along. Such a message, worded as I suggest, would
not offend against our rules and regulations. We should
accept it, not knowing or caring for any possible hidden
meaning. Do you understand, my dear sir, what I want to
convey ? "

Wondering at the back of my mind whether he was just
sounding me, or whether he was so truly sympathetic with the
Allies that he was really anxious to help stop the war as soon
as possible, I followed the wise course of terminating the
interview. After thanking the superintendent for his kind
assistance and sympathy I left.

It is an unwritten rule of the Secret Service never to give
anything away unless it is imperative so to do, or a more than
commensurate advantage is gained thereby.

It is an unwritten rule of the same Service to keep away
from all Government officials, irrespective of nationality, in
so far as one reasonably can.

In spite of the deadly earnestness of the gentleman I had
just left, I felt puzzled. I did not understand his voluntary
and unnecessary outburst of outraged sentiment. Instinct
told me that somewhere there was something moving which I
must guard against. What it was, or from which quarter I
was to expect it, I had no idea.

In the Secret Service one must paddle one's own canoe,
alone and unassisted ; always up-stream ; always through
dangerous rapids, wherein at every yard are hidden rocks and
snags ready to tear the frail craft asunder ; always through
countries overrun with enemies armed with poisonous

174 British Secret Service

arrows which are fired singly and in volleys whenever the
smallest opportunity is given ; always hunted and stalked
both day and night by the most persevering, cunning, and
desperate huntsmen in the world ; always on the move, with
never a sure, safe, or secure resting-place for one's weary
limbs ; and always on the qui vive against a thousand and one
unseen, unknown, and unsuspected dangers. No wonder that
members of this Service so soon become fatalists.

A few days later I was closeted with a local journalist out
of collar. He wanted a job. He spoke six languages, had
had smooth and rough experiences in America, and was a man
of great ability. His weak spot was alcohol. He had had
chances innumerable. Friends had helped him until their
patience had been exhausted. Now that his domestic ship
was badly on the rocks, the whole family half-starved, and
himself a total abstainer — by force of circumstances — another
last chance seemed to his unfortunate wife to fall as the
blessed manna from heaven in the wilderness. I treated him
generously and trusted him — as far as I could have trusted
any ordinary person — but he, an ordinary mortal of this
proverbially ungrateful world, at once sold his benefactor to
a higher bidder, in so far as it was possible for him so to do.
It happened thus-wise.

Not satisfied with the liberal terms I had agreed to give
him, which covered full travelling expenses, living expenses
and remuneration separately assessed, he approached various
carrying firms and tried to wheedle from them free passes.
Meeting with no sympathy — probably they knew him by
former experience — he visited the police and sold me over to
them as an alleged spy. Naturally the police wanted evi-
dence. This the man undertook to get. He made excuse
after excuse to delay his departure on my business. He
visited me daily with a long list of questions ; he suggested
the obtaining of information concerning local naval and
military intelligence which did not interest me in the least ;
he pressed for written instructions, special codes, and com-
plicated arrangements regulating the sending and receiving
of correspondence — anything, in fact, which would gain him

Shadowed by Police 175

time and which might prove my undoing — all of which, how-
ever, I suggested he should prepare himself if he wanted them.

The man's testimonials were excellent upon all points
excepting the one weakness before referred to, and I treated
him quite unsuspectingly. Little did I know that when he
made notes in shorthand they were in fact literal and verbatim
reports of our entire conversation, made at the suggestion of
the police and for their special benefit. I afterwards heard
that detectives had helped to prepare the very code he
brought to me and which he was so eager for me to substitute
for one I had suggested.

Had I been indiscreet, and had I given anything at all
away, or had I trusted this man with any facts relating to or
concerning those connected with my real employment, I
would have been arrested on the spot. As it was, the police
learned nothing which did not appear to them legitimate, in
order, and most flattering to their country, to their country-
men, and to themselves.

Remarkable as it may appear, it was, however, a fact that
I was restless and uneasy. Instinct seemed to whisper in my
ears, continually day and night, messages of warning that all
was not well. The air seemed overcharged with electricity.
It felt heavy, like an ominous calm preceding a violent storm.
Yet, rack my brain as I would, I could not for the life of me
fathom the depth of the mystery, nor could I trace its origin
to any fountain-head.

Meanwhile my new assistant entered upon his under-
taking. In a few days he sent to me by code a detailed
description of a sea engagement between German and English
warships. It was the fight off the Dogger Bank in the North
Sea, in April, 1915*

In the course of the next six weeks, in addition to his
proper work, arranging with outpost correspondent agents,
he collected and forwarded at regular intervals a mass of
interesting matter, all good newspaper copy, with many little
tit-bits of special news which were most acceptable. But he
would rub in items of local naval and military intelligence in
spite of my repeated instructions to the contrary.

176 British Secret Service

Not only was I a staunch fatalist, but I believed in a
Divine Providence which directed one's actions and destinies,
which shaped one's ends, rough-hew them how one might.
In this instance it probably saved my liberty from being
suddenly and inconveniently disturbed. Before I received
any of these reports before mentioned they were all (I have
since ascertained) intercepted and carefully studied by the
Criminal Investigation Department. Naturally, my replies
were anticipated by them with still greater pleasure. Dame
Providence, however, directed the pen when I upbraided my
assistant, reminding him he was engaged in journalism, not
espionage ; that he was representing a great newspaper and
for the time being I was a guest in an hospitable, generous
country ; further, that I would at once dispense with his
services if he offended against that country's laws ; and that,
when he sent information concerning German spies, such was
wrongly addressed — he should have sent it direct to the local
police, whom, I added, were the most intelligent, fair-minded
and smartest crowd of their kind anywhere in Europe.

I cannot help smiling to myself now when I think of this.
It seems so ridiculous to think that I should have penned such
flattering words regarding those who were attempting to
catch me, flagrante delicto, as the law puts it ! It probably
puzzled them not a little, whilst it must have caused them
to suspect their wily journalistic friend as running with the
hare and at the same time hunting with the hounds.

About this period something else occurred which added to
my uneasiness. Naturally my most closely-guarded secret
was my main line of communication with London. No one
held the secret of this but the most trusted in the Service.
One day an intercepted message was brought to me. It
contained a sign by which one of my messages could be
identified. I tested this message by a dozen different ways ;
the result was rubbish in each instance. I knew by this that
nothing of any importance was known ; but why should the
message have been floated into channels wherein it seemed to
be known that I had nets ? Who had floated it ? How
had the sign even come to be used ? I puzzled for hours in

Shadowed by Police 177

a dark room smoking my customary strong black cigars
furiously all the time, and I left off more puzzled than when
I began. I put on an agent to follow and to watch myself
from a distance, to try and see if anyone, and if so whom, were
then amusing themselves with that interesting pastime.

I put on another agent to " smear," or to attempt to, a
volunteer agent whom I relied upon to a certain extent for
local correspondence. I had long entertained strong sus-
picions concerning the latter, but I could never find any
tangible proof against him. I wrote spoof letters to myself
and I caused other similar missives to be sent to myself from
various quarters, upon which I was sure my interceptor
would take action, and his movement would probably be
thereby detected. I tried and tested various simple and
ingenious dodges to trap my tormentor, but everything
proved in vain.

Exactly three days after intercepting the first message a
repeat followed through the same channels. It was a
lengthy document and bore the outward visible signs of
genuineness, but inwardly it read nothing but nonsense.
The object my enemies aimed at had failed. I had provided
for that. But whether the police, or the naval or military
authorities, were behind the attempt, or whether it was an
experiment of Hun origin, I never could unravel.

Several quaint experiences following one another in rapid
succession made me wish I could carry through the work I had
in hand to a rapid conclusion in order that I could shift to a
more congenial atmosphere. I had received warning before
starting on this particular business that my lot was not likely
to be enviable ; and that I would probably have to put my
head into the lion's mouth. I had also been warned that the
place to which I had been sent to stay and to direct certain
operations was known to be infested with German agents,
whose jealousy and zeal in watching over certain vitally
important secrets amounted to a mania. My visitation might
find a good comparison in likening it to a police officer being
sent to sit in the entrance hall of an illicit West End gambling
hell. He knew every effort would be strained to tempt him

178 British Secret Service

away from the main issue or to shift him. My Commanding
Officer had intimated that if I survived ten days he would
consider I had done well. As a matter of fact, I stuck it six
weeks. I had arranged what was wanted. I had fixed other
matters towards a promising and satisfactory conclusion
when I received a picture postcard. The illustration
represented a motor-boat going at full speed. Underneath
it was written : " Skip-per ahoy ! "

In the ordinary way this would seem to convey nothing
beyond a casual salutation. But the hyphen ! It was
evidently intentional. I read it as a hint to get quickly
away — to skip, in fact — whilst the motor-boat suggested that a
private rapid departure would probably not be to my dis-
advantage.

The weather was much too tempestuous to venture to sea
in such small craft as might have been available. No other
possible road of retreat, except by sea, was open, so I had to
study ways and means. I informed those who waited on me
that I should be leaving three days later for a well-known
town lying fifty or sixty miles to the southward. Meanwhile
the few remaining details necessary to complete the objective
of my visit were arranged, and the local time-sheets of every
known route touching at the island were studied. I noted
with some satisfaction that early in the morning two boats
crossed each other's passage at given hours, arriving at the
same quay and departing at the same time.

The next day, before six in the morning, I appeared on the
quay and booked a ticket for the southern journey. No one
appeared to be watching, and when the boats arrived I made
the mistake of boarding the boat which sailed north, al-
though I hardly considered it necessary to inform the purser
of the fact when he demanded the wherewithal to cover
passage on his ship.

No one in the town knew I had left, but I had sent a
secret message to headquarters advising of my intentions.

At the next port of call a letter came aboard addressed t<
Herr Schmidt, which I claimed. It was a transcribec
telephone message. Reading between the lines the writii

Shadowed by Police 179

conveyed only one interpretation. Reduced to simple
English, it meant : " Eruption — quit."

I promptly left the boat I was on and changed my route
by going inland over a peninsula to a small fishing station,
where a portion of luck added to a large portion of whiskey
secured a berth on a small cargo-boat running direct to
another country.

The false agent who had sold his benefactor but was
unable to deliver the brand of goods he had promised, then
finding that certain monetary demands were not provided
for by telegram, although not in accordance with his agreed
arrangements, fell a victim to his besetting sin. He indulged
in a prolonged debauch during which he divulged the full
depths of his iniquity. His confessions were in due
course reported to me, and they brought him the order of the
boot.

The deep-laid schemes of the perhaps too-muchly-lauded
police, like those of mice and men, ganged agley ; action on
their warrant to arrest had perforce to be postponed sine die ;
whilst the elusive Herr Schmidt, the pivot round which this
little teacup drama gyrated, vanished pro tern, from the affairs
and haunts of the disciples of Kultur and goulashes.

CHAPTER XIII

DODGING FRONTIER GUARDS AND SEARCHING FOR

ONE'S SELF

Frontier Guards — Smugglers — Rigorous Searches — Unearth-
ing Valuable German Secrets Regarding Super Zeppelins,
Submarines and the Paris Big Cannon — A Loquacious Waiter —
Headmoney for my Capture — 25,000 Marks, Dead or Alive; —
Looking for One'sJSelf — A Capture — Crossing the Schleswig
Frontier — A Friend in Need — Dangerous Enterprise — Kiel
Harbour — Safe Return.

Crossing the northern frontiers of Germany during the war
was by no means so difficult a task as it apparently was to do
the same thing further south. Landsturmers were on guard
during most of the time. Men about forty years of age who
took much more interest in food and drink than they did in
fighting. They were on very friendly terms with the Danes,
particularly with those who lived near to the frontier ; whilst
a great many marriages had been consummated from time
immemorial between Germans and Danes, and Danes and
Germans, all along the northern boundaries.

In spite of the vast amount of commodities and necessities
of all sorts that poured into the northern ports of Germany
during the whole period of the war, until America came in
and in a great measure stopped the absurdity, yet the
Germans were short of many things which their souls hankered
for, whilst many of them, with a thought to the unknown
future, were anxious to hoard up all supplies that could by
any means be obtained.

Small fishermen, and those who picked up a precarious
livelihood from any odd job or from varied and promiscuous
dabblings in trading deals of any nature, were not slow to take
advantage of these favourable circumstances. Hence a hos

Dodging Frontier Guards 181

of smugglers of small operation sprang into being like mush-
rooms in a night. Those men mostly owned, in part or in
whole, a light boat used for fishing or carrying purposes. The
majority of these boats were fitted with paraffin motors which
propelled them about six to nine knots an hour. The coast of
Germany was not more than twenty-five miles away from any
part of the southern islands of Denmark and could be made
in three hours, even under adverse conditions.

Soap, tobacco, matches, aquavit, and such like were cheap
in Denmark, and very dear, if not at times almost unprocurable,
in Germany. Rich harvests were thus to be had almost for
the asking. In addition to this, the Germans themselves used
a great many small boats from their side of the water. They
were assiduous fishers for flounders and other luxuries pro-
vided by the Baltic, and they were friendly disposed to all
Danish fishermen, more particularly so towards those whose
boats were known to carry other cargoes besides fish.

Ports like Kiel, Liibeck, and Rostock were naturally
avoided by these men as being too active and too lively ; but
they did not hesitate to mingle with the German fishing-boats
and land as near as they could without raising any undue
notice or attraction. The coast almost all the way along
is low-lying, with shallow water extending out some distance,
and consists of vast shoals of sand and mud. There are,
however, numerous landing-places for small boats, and many
Danish smugglers made the crossing as often as two or three
times a week.

At ports like Swinemunde, Stettin, Liibeck, and Kiel, if a
traveller of any nationality attempted to pass through on a
passport in the usual manner, he or she was subjected to
unbelievable indignities and searches which in most instances
amounted to insult and violation of the actual person. No
wonder that many Danish workmen, who in some instances
had actually been employed upon private, even secret, war
material for Germany, and who had obtained permission to
visit their homes for a spell, preferred any means of making
the home passage across the southern Baltic rather than take
the regular ferry-boat routes. Thus it was that quite a few

182 British Secret Service

of them came across with the smugglers, whereby they avoided
the severe investigations and saved considerable money on
their passage.

I was not slow at ascertaining these facts and I made
several voyages with the Danish smugglers, which were
interesting in themselves, whilst they brought me in contact
with some of the very workmen who had been employed upon
war-work in Germany which was at that time of the very
greatest interest to Englishmen engaged in attempting to
anticipate and to thwart the wily Hun. I ascertained by this
means valuable corroboration of preliminary particulars
concerning the super-submarines, the super-Zeppelins, and
the preliminary trials of the super-cannon afterwards used on
Paris.

In the early spring of 1915 I had returned from one of
these little cruises where business and pleasure had been
combined. I had landed safely upon one of the southern
islands of Denmark and entered a kro, or small licensed inn,
to obtain a decent meal with a good long drink of the famous
Jacob Jacobsen's Gamle Karlsberg porter, which can be
obtained everywhere throughout Denmark and is every bit
as good as it is famous, when the very dirty waiter whispered
in my ear that there was a heap of good money offered for a
very little work.

Perhaps I should apologise to the aforesaid waiter for
disparaging his personal appearance. Because it might have
been possible that at the time in question my outward
appearance equalled or surpassed his own in filth and sloven-
liness. But be that as it may, I naturally inquired further
regarding this hinted El Dorado.

" Well," he said, rubbing his chin and gazing at me with
great earnestness, " there are a couple of Germans hunting
round this town" (every cluster of houses in Denmark is
called a town) " looking for an English spy who has been
jumping over the frontier a time or two, and they say that
they can get ten thousand marks for him, dead or alive, if they
can only put their hands on him."

I was on the point of quaffing a most delicious draught of

Dodging Frontier Guards 183

the far-famed porter, but somehow I seemed to lose my
thirst. The news was of absorbing interest to me, if not
actually startling in its purport.

The waiter was obviously avaricious, and the mention of
so much money made his fingers itch and his mouth water at
the thought of the glorious times he could secure with such
vast wealth.

Whilst I was watching the various changes of his face as
these ideas chased one another through his narrow brain, it
flashed upon me how easy it would be for anyone to capture
me and to take me back across that narrow little strip of
sea- water whence I had so recently come. A pinch of some
drug in one's food or in one's drink. A slight tap on the
head. A little chloroform on a pocket-handkerchief. All
simple applications, so easy to administer, and so easy to
explain away : that one's friend or brother had merely taken
a little more alcohol than was good for him, or had been
unexpectedly taken ill and now a little help was necessary
to get him aboard his ship or boat, so he could be taken home
to the dear old Fatherland, where he could be well and
properly attended to !

These lightning-like reflections sent a cold shiver down
the very marrow in my spine. I drained my mug of porter at
a gulp and hastened the waiter away for more.

Whilst he was so occupied I decided what to do. On his
return I told him, with all seriousness, that I had seen a
strange-looking dude on the quay less than an hour ago whom
I was certain was English, and if he could find and present
me to the two Germans and I got the reward I would give him
a share of it for telling me all about it. To show him I was in
earnest I treated him to a bottle of porter. After consuming
our drinks he arranged matters, and we left to hunt up the
would-be German scalp-hunters.

About an hour afterwards we found them hanging round
a very primitive moving-picture show which seemed to
thrive on free films supplied by the Hun propagandists. We
all four adjourned to another kro for drinks and important
conference.

1 84 British Secret Service

The description they gave me of the man wanted tallied
exactly with the man I said I had seen. Now that was quite
an extraordinary coincidence, and I impressed it on them.
Only my waiter friend had sense enough to cross-examine
further into my statement, so I had to order more drinks to
stop the possibility of still deeper inquiries. Before I agreed
to make a move I wanted to have a bargain in writing giving
me half the reward. This the Germans would not agree to.
They suggested one-third, and my friend the waiter hinted at
a possible fourth share for himself. When I said I would not
be satisfied with three thousand marks on the risks run they
explained that a third share would exceed eight thousand
marks. " It had been ten thousand," they said, " but quite
recently the reward had been increased to twenty-five thou-
sand marks," which had made them very active and anxious
to try and secure it.

I, however, still argued that if I found the man I
should get half the reward, whatever sum it was. They
disagreed ; meanwhile the waiter got intoxicated. Leaving
him where he was, we commenced our search and continued it
with vigour and persistence for the remainder of that day and
all the next. I assure you, gentle reader, I never had such
an interesting hunt before, and I have hunted big game in
many lands under extraordinary conditions. That trail,
however, was the trail of my life.

About noon next day we ran a suspect to earth in a lonely
spot and put him through the mill with a vengeance. But
he conclusively proved his identity and we were very lucky
to escape trouble over the episode. I think our salvation
was that we so frightened the unfortunate captive that he was
glad to be able to leave the town as quickly as possible and
get away from us back home to his little farm inland.

Towards the afternoon of our second day's man-hunt my
Hun colleagues began to hint their suspicions regarding
myself and as to my actions. They had been very un-
gentlemanly towards me from the first on the question of
dividing the reward. They were very mean over spending
money on drinks and smokes ; and, taking one consideration

Dodging Frontier Guards 185

with another, I thought it far wiser to lean on discretion as
the better part of valour. So as soon as the shades of night
once more darkened the land I regret to have to admit that I
borrowed a boat belonging to some native, whose forgiveness I
trust was granted if he ever found it again, and I left the
island, never to set foot in that township again ; at least for
the duration of the war.

Entering Germany from the Schleswig frontier was not
very difficult unless one attempted to pass through the
custom house, with all its surrounding formalities and
searches. In the angles of the frontier near Ribe, and on the
mainland, of course the whole line was trenched and guarded,
and any attempted passing or even approach was both
difficult and dangerous. But by skipping round either end,
at sea on the east, and between the islands on the west, no
insurmountable difficulty presented itself.

I never attempted a landing on the immediate east
side, but I did go round on the west, and the trip was
not worth the risk or the trouble. There was nothing to learn
that one did not already know from scores of others who
had been permitted to pass the lines on business or otherwise.
There was nothing to gain by going again, and I had no
desire to attempt to repeat the experience.

Living on an island which is unnamed except upon the
best maps of the southern Baltic I had a friend — a Danish
sailorman who was rarely at home, but when he did take a
holiday from his sea-going wanderings it was invariably
marked for its riotousness on shore or for its devilment
afloat.

Dare-Devil Christian was one of the best men I ever met
except for his one great weakness. Provided that was
guarded against, he was fine company and a great sportsman.
Any class of sport satisfied him, from rat-hunting upwards,
and if a spice of danger could be added it gave him a greater
zest proportionately.

I had the great luck to bump into him twice during one
winter season, and for some time we thoroughly enjoyed life

186 British Secret Service

together. Just before the New Year of 1915 I had been
advised of a possible and probable naval engagement some-
where near the North Sea entrance to the Kiel Canal. It had
been hinted to me it would be interesting to know what
German war- vessels there might be cruising in the Baltic that
would or might be recalled if such an event took place. It
was also hinted that the water defences to Kiel harbour, and
the Canal entrance on the east, might be ascertained for
certain with some advantage to England's Naval Intelligence
Department.

I was accordingly on my way down towards the island of
Aero when, by great good fortune, I met my friend Christian
on the second occasion above referred to. Needless to add,
we at once joined company.

In order to occupy our time in a manner congenial to both,
and as ice bound the streams inland and made work at sea
far from pleasant, I suggested to Christian an expedition
having for its object a direct attack upon the short -winged
fowl which thronged the outer coastline. These birds are not
generally considered good eating, and in England nobody
will buy them for such purpose. But in Scandinavia the
natives soak them for twelve to twenty-four hours in vinegar
and water, and by these and other preparations eventually
bring them to table as a most appetising dish.

The waters all around Kiel fjord are reputed as good
hunting-ground for flounders and for diving ducks. The
fjord, however, is situate twenty miles away from Danish
territory, and to reach it in those times one would have to run
the gauntlet of numerous patrol craft of various designs and
size. Yet a small fishing-boat, resembling in all outward
appearance other small boats which are used for coast-fishing
along the east of Schleswig Holstein as well as along the
Danish coasts, was not so likely to draw particular attention.

When my scheme, embracing an expedition to these
waters, was casually brought up with Christian, as though it
was a mere matter of utter indifference whether the boat
drifted there or anywhere else in Europe, he looked at me with
an incredulous expression of pained surprise upon his genial

Dodging Frontier Guards 187

countenance, which seemed to convey the unspoken senti-
ment :

" Have you forgotten that the Germans are at war ? That
to go and fish or shoot ducks anywhere near their precious,
guarded harbour — about the most sacred spot in their whole
empire — could only be equalled in sacrilege to spitting the
eternal holy fire out before the Priests in the Temple on Mount
Ephesus ? "

So I hastened to attempt to assure him by saying :

" Well, we need not shoot when we get in ; nor, for that
matter, if and when we see any ships or people about whom
we might disturb. Also, my dear friend Christian, don't you
appreciate the fact that it would indeed be interesting really
to know the truth just at the present time concerning the
much-discussed outer Kiel defences ? "

" That's all very well, but "

He stopped short at the "but," whilst he became more
serious than I had ever known him to be before. For a long
spell he smoked in silence, then looking up with a half-smile,
exclaimed : "I don't want to know what I ought not to
know, and I don't want you to tell me what I don't suppose
you ought to tell me, but I reckon I know what you want to
go to Kiel for ; it is not flat fish and it is not ducks."

" My dear friend, you are totally wrong. I assure you it
was merely idle curiosity coupled with a love of the venture-
some which prompted the suggestion. But if you funk it,
or do not care about the risk, then we had better steer east."

Christian looked up sharply at the conclusion of this
sentence. He did not reply, nor was the subject again
referred to for several days.

One eventful morning, however, we found ourselves
silently inspecting a small, well-built and compact fishing
craft, just such a boat as we would have selected had we
determined upon the trip before referred to. The boat was
good and so was her gear. Christian, without a word regard-
ing future movements, engaged her, and she was promptly
victualled with several days' supplies.

It was announced to the local natives that Christian had

1 88 British Secret Service

determined a cruise around Stryno and the shores of Laaland
where ducks and geese were known to abound. In due course
a start was made and the boat was headed in that direction.
But as soon as darkness set in she was veered completely
round by tacit mutual consent, and steered south, then
south-south-east.

By daylight next morning we were fishing merrily and
apparently quite unconcerned off the land of the Hun,
abreast of that particular wealthy tract of rich soil and
pasture which the Germans had robbed from Denmark in the
'sixties. As the day wore on the little boat drew nearer in
shore and towards the afternoon she sailed boldly up the Kiel
fjord. It was much safer doing so in broad daylight than at
any other time ; whilst it is true beyond all shadow of doubt
that an impudence which is impudently bold enough generally
succeeds where a hesitating cautious policy would be sure to
fail.

Christian said little, but he evidently knew the ropes.
With the aid of his timely assistance and cool assurance
several dangers were passed over, any one of which might
have terminated the cruise in disaster. He also appeared to
know exactly how to disguise and mark the boat so that she
would be, and was, mistaken for a longshore boat in home
waters. There was, however, much to try the nerves, not the
least strain of all being the overshadowing knowledge that at
any moment the boat and her contents might be blown to a
thousand fragments by a floating or anchored mine ; although
by hugging the shore as much as possible this danger was
greatly minimised. When a warship seemed to take more
than ordinary interest in that frail craft of peace and industry
Christian's discretion rather than his valour caused him to
steer direct for the nearest hamlet on the shore as though he
belonged there. He would often anchor and down sails, but
he wisely refrained from landing, apparently because he had
much too much to attend to in connection with his gear. By
creeping inshore when other craft were too near, and keeping
well away from it at other times, the boat drifted nearer and
nearer to the 'localities desired to be reached and seen.

Dodging Frontier Guards 189

Observations were taken by stealth and with the assistance of
good field-glasses, their user first invariably concealing him-
self under a mass of fishing net, which amused Christian,
although he refrained from making any comment upon the
peculiar eccentricity or caution of the observer.

At night searchlights played over parts of the water and
advantage was taken of any intervening promontory, rock, or
anchored craft that could in the smallest degree hide the boat
from the searching beams. Having nosed around and
observed all that one could have expected to be able to locate
in such a venture, advantage was taken of favourable breezes
and the return journey accomplished with due care and
caution. Fortunately snow-squalls were frequent. Probably
the flakes acted as a mighty host of guardian angels to the
little amateur privateer ; for although she was pushed into the
security of shallow waters again and again during the exciting
if somewhat risky voyage, she evaded capture, even over-
hauling ; and eventually returned like a migratory bird at the
end of a season, to her natal resting-place.

Fortunately a fair supply of birds had been gathered in,
both on the outward and homeward journey, whilst the
fishing had not been in vain. Thus there was plenty to show
to account for our industry. Little did the natives reck the
importance of the data and information thus collected, under
their very noses, so to speak ; or that anything out of the
ordinary had taken place ; or that risk of instant death had
been laughed at and ignored by the two happy-go-lucky
sportsmen, who appeared to them as mere overgrown school-
boys taking life as but a ray of sunshine and never seeming to
regard it seriously.

Between themselves the trip was not talked about, nor
was it ever afterwards referred to beyond one interrogation,
and that was when the sweet music of the grating keel upon a
Danish beach announced our safe and successful return.

" Now are you satisfied ? " asked Christian. The laconic
reply given him back was limited to one word — " Quite."

CHAPTER XIV

AVOIDING COLD MURDER

Swarms of Bagmen — Jesuitical Methods— Mysterious Dis-
appearances— Unaccountable Accidents — Avoiding a Duel —
Fascinated by a Hungarian — A Ludicrous Traveller — Fracas
at a Theatre — Insult, Assault, and Challenge — Choosing
Weapons — Difficulties Overcome — Fixing Details — Early
Travelling — Denouement — "Am Tag ."

Germans in neutral countries during the war were circum-
spect. They swarmed everywhere, and never in the history
of commercial enterprise since the world began were seen so
many commercial travellers as the Fatherland provided, at
such " kolossal " expense and for such little return.

Nearly every one of those men without exception was in
the direct pay of the German Secret Service. It was part of
their work to nose into everything, to shadow everyone
believed to be foreign to the land they visited, or who showed
any sympathy for the enemies of Germany, or antagonism
towards their country.

If they desired to or had received a direct order to stop by
any means the activities of another, those men rarely came
out into the open. They much preferred ways that are dark
and tricks that are deep to achieve their desired ends. The
depths to which their cunning sank had to be experienced to
be believed.

During the years 1914 and 1915, when I was employed in
the B.F.S.S. in Northern Europe, several most extraordinary
accidents occurred, from which I had miraculous escapes. At
the time I put them down to incidents. I think very
differently now.

Verily Prussian methods in all things seem to be Jesuitical,
in that it is believed the end justifies the means. If one of

Avoiding Cold Murder 191

their employees in their own Secret Service, no matter what
his station of life may be, gets to know too much, his fate may
be sealed by a secret sentence of death passed in the Wilhelm-
strasse, and the supreme penalty is inflicted in a manner
unsuspected by the unfortunate victim.

Dr. Armgaard Karl Graves records in his book, " The
Secrets of the German War Office," how the woman Olga
Bruder, whose death in an hotel on the Russian frontier was
returned to the Press as suicide, was in reality poisoned ; how
young Lieutenant Zastrov was challenged to repeated duels
until he was killed in one of them ; and how others suspecting
trouble avoided it by escape. Otto Diesel, we know, dis-
appeared from the Harwich boat when on his way to England
to exploit his engines which the Germans had bought. What
happened to Frederick Krupp of Essen, no one knows.

Presumably executive workers in the German Secret
Service knew as much about these things as Dr. Graves did
himself. Perhaps it is part of their training and instruction
to attempt to involve representatives of other nations with
whom they come in contact and whose energies may be
considered prejudicial or annoying to them, in quarrels or in
brawls where a blow can be struck which it might be difficult
if not impossible to trace. It must be more than a coincidence
that Secret Service agents often find themselves in the middle
of a small crowd where the pick-pocketing fraternity are
undoubtedly represented. Be as careful, polite, and in-
offensive as possible, quick-tempered, irascible irreconcilables
will at times attempt to pick a quarrel. Boats, motor-cars,
and other vehicles by which Secret Service agents travel often
meet with mysterious and altogether unaccountable accidents,
whilst a challenge to a duel, for some trifling cause, is an
experience which more than one of them has had to endure
and to evade as best he can.

I chuckle now as I remember how I passed through one of
these ordeals, not a hundred miles from the Rathhaus of Kiel.
The incident took place very shortly before this world-war
had actually begun. I have happily only received the very
doubtful honour of one challenge since, which I insisted on

192 British Secret Service

treating as a practical joke, wisely absenting myself before
developments could make the situation serious and un-
tenable.

Both these incidents arose through polite assistance being
rendered to a lady in distress.

The former typically exemplifies German methods,
whilst its details cannot be considered devoid of interest.

I had for some years been prowling round on erratic
wildfowling expeditions in the Baltic and along the western
coast of Schleswig Holstein. My operations were at times
based from the Esbjerg fjord, but I was no respecter of
frontiers and there had been trouble whenever I had drifted
too far south with the officious and zealous guardians of the
German coast. I had previously, when travelling on business
and pleasure combined, known trouble at both Berlin and
Potsdam ; later on at and near to Hamburg. Apparently I
was not popular with a certain section of German officialdom.
Perhaps I had become too well known ; that might or might
not have been. Anyhow, for a long period before the war
all German officials showed nervous hysteria in relation to
suspected espionage regarding any Britisher who exhibited
the smallest interest in the Heligoland district or the western
islands, Kiel Canal, and Kiel Harbour. Yet I paid about as
much attention to official fussiness as I would have done to a
pinch of salt.

One memorable winter I had travelled north as usual,
little thinking that any adventure would befall me.

At Osnabruck, where the lower level railway connects up
with the higher, passengers have to ascend a steep flight of
steps, the only means of communication between the two plat-
forms. A certain young lady of Hungarian extraction, on the
occasion in question, regarding whom it had better be stated at
the outset that she was exceedingly fair to look upon and still
more attractive in her manners, was overloaded with small
hand-parcels and wraps. No porter was available, and
common politeness dictated that such assistance as one was
capable of rendering should be proffered.

The natural sequence of events led to an informal

Avoiding Cold Murder 193

acquaintanceship, and the journey was continued in a jointly-
occupied coupd. This compartment was also shared by other
travellers, including a small, extraordinary-looking eccentric
who covered his head with a kind of wire entanglement
resembling the skeleton framework of a lampshade, over
which he drew a green silk cover in order to shade his eyes from
the glare of the lamplight, so that he could sleep without any
inconvenience. The whole thing looked so ludicrous that
one's risible faculties were tickled. I laughed so much I had
to retire to the gangway in order to relieve my feelings with-
out hurting the stranger's feelings by outward rudeness. The
aforesaid Hungarian lady found herself in similar straits.
Mutual converse naturally ensued.

Ascertaining that Kiel happened to be our common
destination, what more natural than we should select the
same hotel to stay at ? After dinner, in order to kill time as
pleasantly as could be, we visited a local place of amusement
where a musical farce was being performed and the stalls were
filled with military and naval officers. My companion had
informed me that her father was the commander of a fortress
on the Baltic, that she had two brothers, one a lieutenant in
the Navy and the other in the Army. Whilst waiting
between the acts a young officer of overbearing, vulgar,
swaggering type, which Zabern brought into world-wide
prominence, entered our private box and claimed acquaint-
anceship. He was more or less intoxicated, and obnoxiously
effusive. He would order champagne, and plenty of it, in
spite of all protests to the contrary. He also fetched another
officer, whom he stated to be a connection by marriage with
the lady, but whom she failed to recognise or to remember.
Not appreciating nor being flattered by these attentions, an
early attempt was made to cover a polite quittance with
plausible excuses, but such an escape was not permitted. In
due course, as the wine flowed, the officer's temperament
changed from gushing effusiveness to the quarrelsome stage.
Instinct foretold unpleasantness, which was not long in the
coming. The two officers first quarrelled between them-
selves, then one of them accused me of an unfriendly act.

N

194 British Secret Service

Whether it was imagination or wilful design on his part I know
not, but the accusation was followed by open insult in action
as well as words.

Wishing to do everything I could to smooth matters over
and avoid as much publicity as possible, I rapidly collected my
companion's wraps and got her out of the box. As I was do-
ing this one of the lieutenants threw a glass of champagne in
my face accompanied by an epithet against which even Job
himself would have protested. It therefore became necessary
to administer one of those gentle little all-British reminders,
which landed home so unexpectedly and suddenly that the
aggressor tripped backwards over the chairs and collapsed on
the bosom of his companion, both falling in a mixed heap
upon the floor. It was difficult to distinguish which limbs
belonged to each respectively, intermingled as they were with
the table, the chairs, the bubbling wine and broken glass.

I escorted my lady friend back to the hotel.

Two hours later a couple of very serious middle-aged
officers of some rank and distinction visited me. They
demanded an audience with the foreigner and sent up their
cards. They had come to arrange matters for their friends,
and they refused to listen to any explanation or arguments
relating to the true facts of the case. All they knew or
would admit was that a blow had been struck, their uniform
insulted, and the dignity of the two officers of the Imperial
Forces had been rolled in the dust. Satisfaction to both
must be accorded at the first available opportunity and in
accordance with the custom of Imperial Germany. As the
principal actor in the affair happened to be a stranger in a
strange land, the hospitality of two friends of unimpeachable
integrity should be provided to his commands. Meanwhile
full apologies were tendered for the lateness of the hour of
calling and for the rather informal procedure ; but the
visitors seemed over-anxious to fix preliminary arrange-
ments, presumably as a caution against the possibility of any
sudden departure.

Which of the usual weapons did I prefer ?

Perhaps it is needless to say that my then inclinations

Avoiding Cold Murder 195

leaned towards neither of them, nor to anything of a pug-
nacious character. I freely said so. They replied that " a
choice must be made or a difficulty would arise which could
not be easily surmounted. No; it must be in accordance
with the recognised code of military honour."

" Very well, then," I quietly replied ; " fists or single-
sticks are good enough for me."

The look on their faces seemed to imply that insult had
been added to injury. Such a proposal was most unaccept-
able and preposterous. They came back to the original
weapons and insisted upon a selection being named, which I
settled by telling them to provide both. Their next proposi-
tion caused a deadlock to further negotiations. They wanted
to fix the meeting in a named wood, some little distance from
the suburbs of the town, at the early hour of six on the
following morning.

Bowing very politely, I smiled. It was the first smile
that had crossed the countenance of anyone of the par-
ticipants at that memorable interview. " Gentlemen," I
commenced, " you may like early hours ; they may agree
with your constitution and methods of living, but you cannot
persuade a civilian gentleman to rise until the world has been
properly aired. We English are as regular in our habits as
you may be. We go to bed at midnight. We are called at
8 a.m., and we have breakfast — a good substantial repast
d lafourchette — at 9 a.m. We must read the morning's news-
sheet. After 10 a.m. we are at the disposal of our friends.
You may have your own way in any other details or par-
ticulars of this unfortunate little misunderstanding you
please, but upon this point I remain adamant."

Again I bowed to each of them, and although serious
enough to all outward appearances, I was chuckling inwardly,
because at last I saw a silver lining to the ominous clouds
which had so suddenly and so unexpectedly enveloped me.

The English nation flatters itself and is justly proud of its
sporting instincts. But it looks with horror upon duelling as
being little short of murder. Our national sense of fair play
and justice abhors the thought of any expert being matched

196 British Secret Service

against an amateur ; more particularly in a contest where
the skill of each party is unequal, or one of them can easily
overmatch the other.

I personally would never attempt the permanent injury
of a fellow-being, unless forced into a fight and the doing of it
was the only way of saving life. I knew nothing of swords-
manship, nor had I ever practised with the foils. As a
revolver shot I was a very doubtful performer, and they are
difficult little things to use at any time. I had no
quarrel with the two unmannerly cads who had forced
themselves uninvited and unwelcomed upon my privacy. All
differences had been settled and wiped off the slate with one
small wave of the arm. Why, therefore, should I now seek
their lives, or to do them some serious bodily harm ? If
anyone was aggrieved, surely I was entitled to all sympathy.
Why, therefore, should they now seek to destroy me ? Little
did I know that " Am Tag " was hovering so near at hand.

On these points, however, my mind was not only quite
clear but it was quite made up. The meeting must be
arranged for 11 a.m. on the morrow or it must be post-
poned to some more convenient and suitable date.

When my visitors shook their heads and demurred I be-
came indignant. I reminded them of the condition in which
I had left those whom they represented. I pointed out the
obvious fact that the intervening time was not sufficient for
them to sleep off the fumes and effects of the excess of alcohol
which they were undoubtedly suffering from ; whilst as a
final and unanswerable argument I hammered home the fact
that I had not yet been introduced to the gentlemen who
would act as my friends at this very important meeting. If
not an insult to them it certainly would be an insult to me, to
be invited or even expected to meet in honourable (?) combat,
opponents who were not perfectly sober, or who might be
severely handicapped in consequence of the continuing
effects of their over-night insobriety.

I enlarged on this, speaking in latent sarcasm which,
needless to say, was absolutely lost upon my visitors. Perhaps
it was best for my personal safety that it was so. Their

Avoiding Cold Murder 197

highly-educated super-kultur would prevent them from
appreciating such, or understanding it. I said that any combat
in which a preponderance of advantage rested on one side or
the other could not be tolerated by any honourable gentle-
man, who never minded accepting odds, providing these odds
were against himself. But he would consider it low and mean
and altogether unworthy to take advantage of an opponent
unless equality and fair play could be ensured. For my part
I insisted that those whom they represented should have full
opportunities of equal combat ; in other words, that they
should have time to get sober.

These honeyed sentiments clinched the business. My
visitors bowed most politely and replied, " Having heard
your explanations, we fully realise, as gentlemen speaking
for and acting on behalf of gentlemen " (God save the mark !)
" that we cannot do otherwise than accept your reasons and
act accordingly." Thus they agreed to fix the meeting by
mutual consent for eleven the following morning, and with an
exchange of courtesies on all sides we parted company.

According to the local railway time-tables, a slow train
was advertised as departing south for Hamburg at the early
hour of 4 a.m. or a little after ; whilst a fast train, running
between Hamburg and the north of Denmark, stopped a few
minutes at Neumunster about 7 a.m. Neumunster is
the junction station for the Kiel Canal on the main Hamburg,
Altona, Rensburg, Schleswig, Flensburg, Wogens, Vamdrup,
Kolding line, and connecting up Fredericia and Copenhagen
by the boat train via Esbjerg.

At 3.30 a.m., long before the hour of dawn, a silent shadow
glided along the deserted streets of Kiel. A meek voice at
the palatial railway -station in very guttural German requested
a third-class ticket by the slow train to Hamburg. "Phis
modest traveller left the train at Neumunster, but no one
appeared to notice he had broken his journey, or that he
quietly disappeared from view on the station platform until
the fast northward-bound train bustled in. In fact, he was

198 British Secret Service

so muffled up, and he gripped his handbag so tightly, that he
did not appear to be worth ten pfennig in return for any
railway official's attention ; whilst other travellers were far
too occupied by their own concerns to trouble about his
existence.

When the world had indeed become properly aired and
the morning sun had risen far above the housetops, the
landlord of a certain hotel in Kiel might have been seen
standing at the entrance of his hostelry. A self-satisfied
smile suffused his fat face, and both his hands were dived well
down into capacious trouser-pockets, wherein he kept turning
over coin after coin, whilst he puzzled his slow-working
brains in vain to find a solution to account for the mad
eccentricities of all foreigners in general ; in particular those
lunatics who seemed to prefer night-travelling on any un-
comfortable train to snug, warm beds ; and who left notes of
unintelligible explanation, enclosing double the remuneration
necessary for the so-called luxuries supplied by his hotel.

About the same time a lattice window in an upper storey
of the same hotel was thrown open, and a sweet-faced maiden,
having an Hungarian type of beauty, leaned out upon the
window-sill, permitting the full rays of the morning sun to
light up the beauties of her face, form, and figure. She was
reading a letter which she had found pushed under
her bedroom door whilst she had wandered in dreamland
through the fairy glades of fancy during her innocent girlish
repose. She frowned as she read it and stamped her foot in
disappointment at the postscript, muttering the while to
herself :

" No, we shan't meet in Paris next month, because I don't
know whether I can get there. I'll come after you now."
.....

At twelve noon, in a small clearing on the outskirts of a
wood a few kilometres from the town of Kiel, three carriages
were drawn into the seclusion of the tree-trunks. The horses
attached thereto stamped impatiently. Either they were

Avoiding Cold Murder 199

very fresh or they had been waiting too long. Further in
amongst the trees was a party of men talking earnestly to one
another. They were military officers, and a doctor was with
them. They appeared to be expecting somebody to arrive,
or something of importance to happen. At last one of them,
kicking furiously at a small bush, asked his companion, a
man much older than himself, M What was that idiotic proviso
you spoke about ? ' You cannot persuade a civilian gentle-
man to rise until the world has been properly aired ' ? We
ought to have spitted him when we had the chance ! "

" My dear Fritz," replied his companion, " you never did
have the chance ; what is still more clear to me now is the
fact that you never will. But if he's one of those Swinehund
Engldnder — if so, then — mein Gott ! Am Tag ! " Saying
which he viciously spat upon the turf.

CHAPTER XV

ESCAPING FROM A SUBMARINE

A Ship of III Omen — Attacked — Hell Let Loose — Panic —
Fight for the Boats — Cowardly Conduct — Powerless to act
— Shrapnel at Sea — Surrender — Taking Charge of Ship and
Carrying on — Value of Smoke-Boxes — Terrible Anticipations
— Land at Last — Reminiscences Untold.

On one occasion, after I had left the British Foreign Secret
Service, I had to undertake a voyage to the outer islands of the
Hebrides, situated about one hundred miles into the
Atlantic, due west of Scotland, and well away to the north-
west of Ireland.

It was known at the time to be a place which was infested
with German submarines, which had perpetrated many
atrocities whilst operating in that region: senseless, cold-
blooded murder of innocent fishermen, by blowing up their
Trail craft to atoms at close range with deck-guns ; and the
sinking of innumerable ships irrespective of the chances of
their crew to make land in the small boats that might be left
undamaged by their shell-fire.

It was summer time and no suggestion of a submarine
attack troubled anyone concerned on contemplating the
voyage.

" I don't like that boat. She looks like a bird of ill-
omen," I remarked to my companion as we stood on the high
quay at Oban looking downwards at a very small and very
dirty steamer which was moored thereto.

She was about one hundred and sixty feet long, with as
much available space as possible devoted to cargo and cattle
transit. Her decks seemingly had never been scrubbed
since the day she was launched. Paint had been relegated

Escaping from a Submarine 201

to the background if superior tar was available. The saloon
cabin, so-called, reeked with a conglomeration of ancient and
nauseous smells, whilst the two private berths matchboarded
off from it were altogether impossible to anyone holding the
smallest ideas on sanitary principles.

" Well, my son, she's the only ship available. She is
designated a mail-boat and she carries a thirteen-pounder
aft, which is some consolation at least in these days of stress
and submarines," replied my friend.

" Maybe, maybe ; but for all that I don't like her. My
prejudice is instinctive. She's about the most repulsive,
uninviting boat I ever boarded, excepting an old coasting tub
in Alaska and a pirate junk on the Yellow Sea ; but in
Europe one does expect a little more in return for even war-
time passage money."

" All the grumbling in the world, my son, won't alter or
improve the accommodation of this hulk, so come along and
make the best of it."

I was silent. I selected one of the largest of my blackest
cigars and lighting it with deliberation, proceeded aboard, and
turning my back upon the private cabin which had been
retained for my special occupation, I proceeded to make
myself as comfortable as circumstances admitted in a space
which was reserved for luggage at the far end of the saloon
above the settee.

It had the advantage oi being situate immediately below
the only skylight, which, as soon as the ship had started, I
prised open and thereby obtained some few whiffs of fresh
air during the long night.

The following day brought about an improvement to the
comfort of the travellers. The sun shone brilliantly, the sea
was as smooth as a lake, and one could bask on the poop with
some degree of comfort, although such things as deck-chairs
or cushions were conspicuous by their absence.

I, however, had a thick ulster, which, spread over part of
the tarpaulin covering the mails, made an efficient couch, and
after a coarse yet satisfactory meal I sunned myself to my
heart's content and whiled away the time smoking and

202 British Secret Service

reading a book, which I was compelled from time to time to
characterise as rotten reading, much to the amusement of my
companion de voyage.

According to regulations, a notice was hung over the main
companion that the ship carried two lifeboats with capacity
lor thirty-three persons, eleven floating apparatus capable of
sustaining one hundred and seventy-six persons, and her
passenger allowance was stated to be one hundred and
ninety-nine in all. How or where they could have slept did
not seem to have occurred to the authorities.

A merciful Providence ordained that on this eventful
voyage not more than one hundred people all told happened
to come aboard at any one time.

A few calls were made along the rock-bound coast. Cargo
was unshipped and more cargo taken in. Travellers dis-
embarked, others took their places.

About midday all vestiges of land disappeared below the
horizon and a course was steered for the open sea.

Although during the earlier part of the voyage many
wrecks were passed and many a gallant ship of noble pro-
portions could be seen piled upon the rocks, the result of
German outrages, and the zone was known to be a particularly
dangerous one, no one anticipated or thought of danger ;
least of all from the much-dreaded submarine.

Had not this obsolete and wretched apology for a mail-
boat ploughed a weary course along this familiar route for
many, many months during the war, whilst her engines
wheezed and coughed and leaked in every pore, and her
rusty plates collected weed and barnacles week by week, with-
out molestation ? Was she worth a torpedo ? She was
hardly worth a shell ! Why should she be noticed now,
even by the most amateur belligerent, or by the freshest
novice at the game ? Yet to the Hun who dreams of the
glories of an Iron Cross, or other coveted decoration, a ship
sunk is a ship to his credit, however insignificant that craft
may be.

Suddenly and ail-unexpectedly a low, resounding
boom echoed across the waters, followed almost immediately

Escaping from a Submarine 203

by a whizz and a bang which made the ship's company jump
and quake in their shoes.

What was it ?

Where did it come from ?

Eyes were strained and the horizon searched in vain,
whilst some of the women-folk sent up a premature wail of
fear of the unknown.

Doubts were soon dispelled. From the sea about fifty
yards away from the starboard quarter of the ship a column
of water rose into the air, towering far higher than her masts.
It was followed within a few seconds by a second boom,
whizz, bang, and another column of similar dimensions rose
equi-distant from her port quarter.

" My God ! It's a submarine," exclaimed my friend.

" Well, let her sub," I lazily replied, and I continued to
read my much-abused book. I should explain to the reader
that I had for quite a long time previously experienced
attacks from bombs and shells, and I was not unduly dis-
turbed by what I believed to be a mere casual temporary
attention.

" You can't lie there, man. Get up ! " And suiting his
action to his words, he kicked me into activity, although
according to him I was very slow to rise.

' The book cannot be as bad as you say it is, if you can
continue reading it like this," he added.

" I know all about that," I replied, " but one must finish a
paragraph."

As I rose from my recumbent position the ship's gunner
rushed up on to the poop, and climbing on the mails, searched
the sea for the whereabouts of the enemy.

;t There she is ! " he excitedly exclaimed, as he pointed to
the horizon on the port quarter. " She's about two miles
away. Look out ! " and he ducked as another whizz-bang
sounded all too close overhead.

We followed the direction he had indicated and observed,
well below the horizon, a long, low-lying craft, upon the deck
of which men were distinctly visible working the gun.

Shot followed shot in rapid succession and all around us

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great columns of water sprang into the air, the descending
spray from which in some instances splashed our decks.

Our own gun, however, was soon in action and it plugged
away merrily, seemingly giving as good as we received.

The fourth or fifth shell from the submarine landed just
short of our vessel's stern. The explosion jerked it upwards
and knocked both our gunners off their feet. This was
followed by a shrapnel shell which exploded a little higher
than our masts in the air above and hissed into the sea all
around. The glass in the saloon skylight was splintered to
atoms, the din of the constant explosions seemed like hell let
loose and the fear of God was located in almost everyone
aboard.

It was too much for the rough element — about sixty or
more Hebrideans, some of whom spoke little English. They
made an ugly rush for the boats, shouting that the ship was
doomed and every man must save himself.

Fortunately there happened to be three military officers
aboard who had recently returned from the trenches in France.
They tried to control the crowd, and acted with a quiet
heroism worthy of much praise.

All their efforts, however, were in vain. Men pushed
women aside or knocked them over, and fought like beasts of
prey for places in the boats.

By the efforts of the mate, who threatened the maddest
of the crowd and fought strenuously for some discipline, an
extra small boat was launched first, but about half a dozen
frantic passengers jumped into her and without waiting for
her complement pushed off from the ship. The two other
boats left in the davits were filled with a fighting, snarling,
swearing mass of individuals, some of whom hacked away
with knives and a hatchet at the falls, whilst the great strain
in weight put upon the davits bent them down like twisted
wire. As the strands of the falls parted, the boats fell into
the sea, shipping much water, whilst some of those left aboard
jumped into them. Some fell out of the boats, whilst
others jumped into the sea and were pulled into them as they
left the vessel's side all too dangerously crowded.

Escaping from a Submarine 205

It was a revolting sight ; a memory that, however hard
one may try to forget, must yet forever live; an act un-
worthy of all form of manliness, which can only remain a
lasting shame to those whose selfish cowardice impelled their
madness.

With my friend, I stood near the funnel looking on. What
could we do ? Had we, or had the officers had a revolver,,
the rush might have been checked, or possibly a life or so
might have been sacrificed to try to save others.

The man handling the axe probably might have suffered
first. I did attempt one small effort. I approached the
fighting mass and tapped a man, who was struggling in-
effectually to get through, on the shoulder. When he
turned round I asked him why he was forgetting the women
and children. The man swore at me, adding, " Women be
damned ! the boats are the only thing for us." Then I asked
him if he had a match. " What for ? " he demanded.

" To light a cigarette with, of course."

" To hell with you and your cigarettes ! " he yelled, and
springing on the backs of those in front of him he crawled
over their heads and jumped for the boat below as it was
falling from the davits. I was gratified to see him miss the
boat and plunge headlong into the sea.

When all three boats were well away from the ship, those
left behind, who could think at all, expressed their thankful-
ness that the rough element had departed. It gave the much-
needed opportunity to talk quietly to many who were
demented with fear, and to attempt to soothe others whose
quiet weeping and wailing was heartbreaking to listen to.

Meanwhile the small thirteen-pounder aft and the sub-
marine exchanged shots with ceaseless regularity. But the
attacking craft appeared to have two guns in action. Her
shells came faster and the high explosive was from time to
time varied with shrapnel.

Shrapnel is much more unpleasant at sea than on land.
One sees it hiss down on the surface of the water like spray
from a water-cart. Whilst I was forward taking stock of
the hatchway battens for possible floating purposes, I had

206 British Secret Service

two fragments pass all too close to either cheek — so close
that I actually felt them. I put my hand up to my
left cheek expecting to find it laid open, but the skin had
not even been broken. A fortunate and most lucky escape.
It was the nearest approach to an individual casualty
throughout the scrap. When the panic crews in the
boats appeared to be about a mile away a high explosive shell
from the submarine actually scraped along the whole of the
port side of our ship, bursting just in front of her fore-foot. I
was forward again at the time getting some lifebelts from the
fore-hatch. The explosion knocked me off my feet.

Everyone aboard felt the shock. The side of the ship
seemed to be stove in, and the captain commanded a member
of his crew to see what water the vessel was making.

" You damn well go yourself, mister," was the reply he
got ; which showed the state of nerves aboard. Being
almost next to the man in question I volunteered to go, which
seemed to somewhat shame the mutinous seaman, as he went
below at once. Then the captain did an extraordinary
thing. He stopped his ship, hoisted a flag (the W) half-mast
high, blew three long blasts on the siren, and came down from
the bridge on deck.

I met him as he descended the companion and asked him
what he was playing at ?

" I mean to save what lives I can," he said. " The ship
is holed and it is useless to carry on."

" That's the way to sacrifice the lot," I told him. " You
don't suppose those pirates will spare either ship or us."

Whilst we were slanging each other, a wild-eyed woman
whose hair was all down her back clutched the captain and
demanded him to surrender at once. " Save us, save us ! "
she wailed. Her embrace had to be forcibly removed.

None of us aboard who took interest in life were agreeable
to a stoppage of the ship or to a surrender in any form. We
bluntly said so. But the captain claimed he was master
aboard his own ship and should do as he thought fit. Having
thus delivered himself he proceeded aft and cut away the
lashing of three small rafts, each about ten feet by four, which

Escaping from a Submarine 207

appeared to be the only hope of safety left for the forty or
more people aboard.

The engineers had stuck to their posts — all credit to their
bravery ! — but the ship, having lost way, was drifting broad-
side on to the submarine, which would soon have made her an
easier mark to hit. Whereupon one of the three military
officers, a second lieutenant of infantry, as arranged quickly
between ourselves, mounted the bridge and rang up the
engine-room for full speed ahead.

He managed to heave her round and got her going again ;
and very, very slowly she was made to steal further and
further away. As soon as the captain realised his vessel was
moving he went back to the bridge, reassumed command, and
remained there.

For emergencies there is no school of learning to equal that
of wide- world travel. In a search for more floating accommo-
dation my friend and myself went forward and released the
heavy coverings of the fore-hold, which provided ten or a
dozen good planks quite equal to surf boards, such as we had
seen used by Kanakas of the Sandwich Islands, and where we
had participated with them in the joys of surf-riding on the
Pacific breakers rolling in over the coral reefs. It was un-
doubtedly a wise forethought.

Although the fighting lasted, from first shot to last, forty ^
two minutes, it but seemed a few seconds to those whose
minds were occupied with the safety of the ship and the lives
of all aboard her. We had quite a lot to do and we were kept
busy. Lifebelts had to be handed out and correctly
put on, cigarettes obtained from below and supplied to all
who cared for that form of nerve tonic, a great proportion
of the terrified women pacified, and the rafts arranged on
deck with a captain to each and fresh- water supplies provided.

As soon as necessary matters had been completed I got
hold of my friend, who was taking matters quite philoso-
phically, and we ascended the poop together to help take
observation of our shell fire. Then we noticed that our gun-
layer was serving the gun alone, so I slipped down to him to
help get out more shells and to hand them up to his platform.

208 British Secret Service

After a few rounds someone shouted, " Smoke boxes."
At the moment I was struggling to the gun with a live shell,
but I received a push from the all-too-energetic originator of
the idea which sent me sprawling over a coil of rope and a pile
of empty shell-cases.

Picking myself up as quickly as I could, I returned to the
main deck in time to see the first of these useful and ingenious
devices brought into practical utility. It was an oblong box,
about three feet long and one foot deep, which was lighted at
the end by a fuse, then thrown overboard to windward. Others
followed in quick succession.

The smoke formed a light brown haze which with the help
of a broadside-on breeze drifted across our wake and in a very
short time obliterated our hull from the view of the deserting
boats as well as those on board the submarine ; which latter
did not seem too desirous of following on, nor of decreasing
the distance separating us.

From statements made by those in the boats (one of which
was not recovered until some five days afterwards), the flag
hoisted to half-mast, the three blasts on the whistle, and the
obliterated hull gave every appearance of the foundering of
the ship. If they formed this impression, a fortiori, the
Germans, who were more than a mile behind them, must have
been still more convinced that their shell-fire had done its
dastardly work. This would also be strengthened by the sight
of the three boats crowded with refugees rowing frantically
away in the foreground ; they must have appeared like rats
(as they indeed were), deserting what they believed to be a
doomed vessel.

Be it as it may be, after this the submarine ceased fire
and submerged. Our gun-layer also ceased fire because he
could see nothing further to shoot at.

Those on board, although relieved of the horrible din of
bursting shells and continuous gun-fire, were not happy.
They were haunted by a deeply-rooted idea that the sub-
marine had only submerged with the intention of concealing
her course so that she could head off the ship and attack her
again from another quarter. Some were quite unable to conceal

Escaping from a Submarine 209

their anxieties. However, after the cessation of active
hostilities a more hopeful and cheerful tone prevailed through-
out. Some of the engineers came on deck for a breath of fresh
air, whilst those below redoubled their efforts to pack on every
ounce of steam the overstrained boilers would stand. With
much wheezing and groaning, jerks and spasms, the machinery
ground away and the battered old tub really did appear to
make an effort to get along. What her speed actually was is
not likely to be known, but if the log had been used and had
recorded anything over eight knots an hour her passengers
would have doubted its accuracy.

After sunset the elements favoured those of us on board
who had certainly endeavoured to help ourselves. A rain-
squall dropped from above, mists rolled up from the surface
of the ocean which had hitherto been so calm and tranquil,
and soon it became rough and unpleasant. Womenfolk who
had been sick beyond belief through fear and shell-shock now
became genuinely sea-sick. Perhaps it was a counter-irritant
ordained for the best.

As soon as firing ceased and the enemy had disappeared
from view, I sneaked away alone to a coal-bunker, where I
carefully buried deep under the black nuggets a small packet
of precious documents which would undoubtedly have proved
of absorbing interest to the Hun. I thought this would
probably be the last place anyone would be likely to look for
anything of the kind, even if a boarding had become actual.

On returning to my friend, I much amused that gentleman
by reason of a rather argumentative dispute I was drawn
into with a Reverend raft captain regarding the salvage of
certain fishing gear which I suggested would be the best help
to kill the monotony whilst drifting and waiting to be picked
up ; assuming naturally that we were shortly to be sunk by
the submarine.

But by degrees twilight gave place to gloaming. Sturdily
the engines throbbed and the vessel pushed steadily ahead ;
whilst every eye that could, searched the sea around for any
sign of periscopes.

What a relief it was to all when the faint outline of land

o

2io British Secret Service

gradually showed up far ahead ! Greater still some hours
afterwards when a bay was entered and the vessel reached safe
anchorage. This, however, was far from the destination we
had had in view, and however beautiful the scenery might
be said to be, my companion and myself had no desire to
linger there for an indefinite period.

How we fared eventually ; how the soul of one of our
small coterie collected on a rock-bound island, a General
recently returned from Gallipoli, passed over the Great
Beyond in a storm ; how ships that passed and repassed were
attacked by submarines and sunk or escaped ; how wreckage,
empty lifeboats galore and dead bodies daily piled up in the
alcoves and on the rare sand -patches of the shore ; how a
wireless, with plant and adjacent buildings, was blown
sky-high ; how we were all burnt out of house and home, and
other passing episodes of that short but adventurous trip, do
not concern the subject-heading of this narrative. They
remain another story.

Suffice it, therefore, to say that after a meal of sorts
ashore a bargain was struck with some rough but honest
island fisherfolk, whose knowledge of English was limited,
although they knew well the value of a " John Bradbury ; "
and an hour after entering that peaceful haven of refuge a
small fishing-craft stealthily crept out to sea, steering north-
wards over the scene of our recent fight, where she was soon
lost in the silences and the shadows of the night.

CHAPTER XVI

THE CASEMENT AFFAIR

Imputations — Norwegian Characteristics — Casement's Letter
to Sir Edward Grey — Irish Interests — Surreptitious Visits
to the Embassy — Envoye Extraordinaire — £10,000 for Case-
ment's Servant — Casement's Explanations, Comments, Kid-
napping and Murder Allegations — Sir F. E. Smith on Case-
ment's Life and Actions — A Bad Mistake.

In February, 1915, a veritable bombshell was burst in the
diplomatic circles of Northern Europe.

A letter had appeared in the German newspapers contain-
ing very grave allegations against a British Minister, extracts
from which had apparently been sent round broadcast to the
Press of neutral countries.

On Wednesday, February 17th, the Aftenposten of
Christiania published the document in its entirety. Other
papers may have copied it, but the demand for copies im-
mediately became so great it was difficult to secure them.
Those which were purchased were read aloud in public places
and discussed and commented upon until excitement reached
fever-heat.

The general public in Scandinavian countries knew little
or nothing concerning the writer of the letter — Sir Roger
Casement.

The Norske Argus described him as " a man who had held
positions ; a British Consul in various places in the Colonies ;
Consul-General in Rio de Janeiro ; the exposer of the Putu-
mayo affair."

In Norway British Consulships are most eagerly sought
after, and considered enviable positions carrying high
honour.

The Norske Argus stated that " Sir Roger Casement

212 British Secret Service

belonged to the faction in Ireland which had opposed the war
and recruiting ; that he had been to Berlin to intercede with
the Germans for better treatment towards Ireland if it came
to an invasion of the British Islands ; and that he felt
satisfied with the answer he had obtained from the highest
quarters, that ' in such case Ireland should obtain her full
freedom ' ; and because of this visit the English were very
bitter against him and in many places he was stamped as a
traitor."

Now Norway is a country infused with a very strong
Socialistic element. It holds deep sympathies with the
Irish, and believes them to be much abused and a much ill-
used race. It knows nothing of the wildly absurd, head-
strong obstinacy of certain Irishmen who make it their
business to stir up dissent and to oppose their best interests ;
or that they apparently do this out of sheer " cussedness."
Rightly or wrongly, Norway believes that Ireland is a poor,
downtrodden country which during the past hundred years
has received nothing but harsh and unsympathetic treatment
at the hands of the English. Hence Norwegians, not being
fully advised of facts, looked upon this bogus hero, who had
voluntarily taken upon himself such great risks as his action
and journey involved, in the light of a modern Garibaldi,
rather than as a traitor to his country, which he had and since
has fully proved himself. *

In his letter Sir Roger Casement stated that he landed
from America on October 29th, 1914, and that within a few
hours of his arrival his abduction or murder was planned by
the British Minister personally. Some Norwegians looked
upon this allegation almost as a breach of good faith with
them and their country. They somewhat doubted that the
representative of King George of England, the brother of
their beloved and popular Queen Maud, could stoop so low
as to be a party to such acts as were alleged against him in
this letter. But they wanted and waited for a denial direct.

1 Roger Casement was hanged as a traitor at Pentonville Prison on
August 3rd, 1916, after having been landed from a German submarine
on the west coast of Ireland.

The Casement Affair 213

There was no evidence whatever before them that this
man (Sir Roger Casement) had done anything contrary to the
interests of England, or that he could well have done anything
between the outbreak of war and the dates quoted. If he was
a traitor or a criminal their own Ministers and police should
have been informed thereof and the man arrested and ex-
tradited for a fair trial. The alleged revelations thus came
as a shock to the country, and consternation filled the faces
of many thinking persons.

Translation of Sir Roger Casement's Letter to Sir

Edward Grey, as Published in the Aftenposten on

the 17th day of February 1915 x

"Sir Edward Grey,

" I understand that my pension has been the subject
of an interpellation in the House of Lords. 2 I have already
renounced my claim to the same upon going to Germany to
ascertain the German Government's intentions towards
Ireland. In the course of the discussion, according to what
I hear, Lord Crewe said that c Sir Roger Casement's be-
haviour deserves a severe punishment.'

" This gives me an opportunity of clearing up once and for
all the question under discussion, especially as I now am in
possession of incontestable proof of the kind of punishment
secretly meted out to me. I acknowledge that from the first

1 This letter was circulated in the Berlin Press on February 13th,
and most of its material parts appeared in the London Times on February
1 5th, 1915, having been officially circulated through German wireless stations
and received by the Marconi Company.

2 The interpellation above referred to is probably the following : On
January 8th, during a debate in the House of Lords on the national respon-
sibility with regard to voluntary recruiting or compulsory service, Earl
Curzon said :

" I should like to mention the case of Sir Roger Casement, which is one
in which I take a personal interest, for in the old days at the Foreign Office
I was his official superior. This gentleman went to Germany after the out-
break of war, where he has been accused of disgraceful and disloyal acts.
His friends wrote to the papers that not too much attention should be paid to
those acts, as they were doubtful about his mental condition. Since then his
proceedings seem to me to have been characterised by perfect possession
of his faculties. The last thing of which we have read is that he has prepared
a pamphlet which has been printed by the German Government and circulated

214 British Secret Service

day three months ago when I first set foot on Norwegian soil,
I was aware of your intentions, but it has taken me some time
to get your diplomatic agent to give me written evidence of
the assault that His Majesty's Government planned against
me.

" Allow me first to show my own method of proceeding
before comparing it with yours. Between the British
Government and myself there has never, as far as I am aware,
been any talk of a pension, reward, or order. I have served
the British Government truly and loyally as long as I possibly
could. I resigned as soon as I found it no longer possible.
As it also became impossible for me to enjoy the pension
legally due to me I have also renounced it voluntarily, as I had
previously given up the position which entitled me to it and
as I now give up all orders and distinctions that have at
different times been awarded me by His Majesty's Govern-
ment.

" I came last October from America to Europe to see that
my Fatherland Ireland should suffer as little as possible from
the results of this luckless war, however it may end.

" My point of view I have sufficiently clearly published in an
open letter from New York dated September 17th, * and
which I sent to Ireland for distribution amongst my country-
men. I have the honour to enclose a printed copy of this
letter. It gives exactly my views which I still hold to and
the duties which an Irishman owes his Fatherland during this
crisis.

" Shortly after having written this letter, I left for Europe.

" The possibility of my being able to assist Ireland to escape
some of the horrors of war was in my opinion worth the loss

by the German Foreign Office pleading for an alliance between Germany and
Ireland. I do not desire to comment upon it ; it is unworthy of comment,
but I wish to ask if this official who has received a title is to continue in the
enjoyment of his pension."

The Marquis of Crewe, on behalf of the Government replied :
11 1 have no particular information in regard to Sir Roger Casement.
Even if he is still entitled to a pension it is evident, from what we have heard
of his whereabouts, that he is not in a position to draw it, nor is he likely
to become so ; but I agree that such action as he is reported to have taken
ought to be followed, as far as possible, with the infliction of the severest
penalties. With that I couple the melancholy reflection that a man who has
done such good services in the past, assuming that he is still in possession of
all his faculties, should have fallen so low as he appears to have done."

1 No copy or trace of this letter can be found. — Author,

The Casement Affair 215

of outward honour and my pension, as well as the committing
the act of high treason in the technical meaning of the word.
I had naturally reckoned on taking all personal risk and any
punishment which the law could possibly threaten my actions
with. I had, however, not considered that I should be sought
after with means in excess of the law in spite of my action
being without the moral limits. In other words, I reckoned
with English Justice and legal punishment and the sacrifice
of name, position, and income, and willingly agreed to pay this
price, but had not reckoned with the present Government. I
was ready to face a legal tribunal but I was not prepared
against being shadowed, kidnapped by force, my servant
being bribed, and that I, in short, might be struck down ; I
was, in fact, not prepared for the precautions your representa-
tive took upon hearing that I was stopping in this country.

" The criminal attack which M. de C. Findlay, the British
Ambassador, planned on the 30th in the British Embassy,
together with a Norwegian subject named Adler Christensen,
included all this and more. The plan included not only an
illegal attack upon my person for the execution of which the
British Ambassador promised my servant £5,000 sterling, but
also included an infringement of international law and
common justice, and the Norwegian was guaranteed by the
English Ambassador in Norway that he should go free of
punishment.

" I landed from America on October 29th. A few hours
after my landing a Secret Agent of the British Ambassador
approached the man I had taken into my service and whom I
fully trusted, and conducted him in a private motor-car to the
English Embassy, where the first attempt was made to induce
him to commit an act of treachery against me.

" Your agent at the Embassy pretended not to know me
and said he only wanted to identify me and get to know my
plans.

" As this attempt did not succeed, Adler Christensen the
next day, October 30th, was accosted by a new agent and
requested to go to the Embassy, where he would hear of
something to his advantage. The next meeting was con-
ducted by the Ambassador himself. Mr. Findlay went
straight to the point. His assumed or real ignorance of my
identity, as shown the day before, he now abandoned.

216 British Secret Service

Findlay acknowledged that he knew me but declared that he
did not know where I was going, what I was going to do, and
what my intentions were. It was enough for him that I was
an Irish Nationalist. He confessed that the British Govern-
ment had no proof that I had done, or intended to do, any-
thing wrong which could give him right, either moral or legal,
to interfere with my freedom. All the same, he was deter-
mined to do so. He therefore boldly and without further
consideration used illegal means and gave my servant to
understand that if I ' disappeared ' it would be a very good
thing for whoever managed it. He specially emphasised that
nothing should happen to the perpetrator, as my presence in
Christiania was known to the British Government, and that
that Government would protect and be responsible for those
who effected my ' disappearance.' He suggested clearly the
means that could be used, intimating to Adler Christensen
that the man who ' knocked him on the head ' would not
need to do any more work for the rest of his life, saying, ' I
presume that you would have no objection to taking it easy
for the rest of your days?' My faithful servant hid the
indignation he felt at this proposal and continued the con-
versation so as to become more fully acquainted with details
of the assault being planned on my person. He remarked
not only that I had been good to him, but that ' I absolutely
relied on him.'

" Upon this absolute confidence Mr. Findlay built his whole
plot against my freedom, Norway's common justice, and the
well-being of this young man, whom he tried to bribe with a
large amount to commit a cowardly crime upon his well-doer.
If I could be seized or disappear, no one would know it, and
no question could be raised, as no one outside the British
Government knew of my presence in Norway, and there was
no authority from whom I could get help as the one authority
would protect the accused and care for his future. Thus,
according to my information, spoke Mr. Findlay, the British
Minister, to the young man who was tempted into the Em-
bassy for this purpose. That this young man was faithful to
me and to the law of his land is a triumph of Norwegian
straightforwardness over the vile manner in which the richest
and mightiest Government in the world tried to tempt him
to treachery against both.

The Casement Affair 217

" After thus having sketched out his plan, Mr. Findlay
asked Christensen to ' think it over ' and ' come again at
three o'clock if you agree.'

" He gave him twenty-five kroner, just to pay the automo-
bile with, and let him go. As I naturally was interested to
hear how they proposed to get rid of me, I gave the man
whom they had tried to bribe orders to return to the Embassy
at three o'clock and pretend to agree with the wishes of your
envoye extraordinaire. I advised him to ' sell me dearly '
and demand a respectable sum for such a dirty job. Chris-
tensen, who had been a seaman and naturally seen many
strange people, assured me that he felt quite at home with His
Majesty's representative. He returned to the Legation at
three o'clock and remained alone with Mr. Findlay until
nearly five o'clock. An exact account of the conversation
will duly be sent to you and others. My servant pretended
to agree to the British Minister's plans and only demanded a
moderate sum for his treachery. Mr. Findlay promised on
his word of honour (this strange phrase was used to guarantee
the transaction) that Christensen should have £5,000 on his
handing me over to the British authorities.

u If by this abduction any harm should happen to me, or
any personal injury be inflicted upon me, no question would be
raised and full impunity would be guaranteed to the abductor.

" My servant emphasised that I should travel in the after-
noon to Copenhagen, and he had already reserved my place in
the train, unless he had some immediate opportunity to carry
out the commission.

" Mr. Findlay admitted that it would be necessary to defer
the attempt until there appeared a favourable opportunity
to lure me to the coast, to one or other place by the Skagerak
or North Sea where there would be an English warship which
waited to catch me.

" He confided further in my servant the commission to steal
my correspondence with my supposed colleagues in America
and Ireland, particularly in Ireland, so that they could be
made a party to the ' sympathetic punishment ' which was
intended for me.

" He explained a system for secret correspondence with him
which Christensen should use and write through a confidential
address in Christiania, to which he should communicate the

218 British Secret Service

results of his endeavours to steal my papers and report my
plans.

" This address in Christiania was written down in block
letter capitals by Mr. Findlay on a half- sheet of the Am-
bassador's letter-paper. This precaution, said he, would
prevent the handwriting from being identified.

" This document, besides 100 kroner in Norwegian notes
which Mr. Findlay had given him as earnest money, with more
to follow later, was immediately brought to me, together with
a full account of what has already been told.

" As I was obviously in a dangerous position I changed my
plans, and instead of travelling to Copenhagen I resolved to
change the method of travelling and the route.

" Thus it was that I, with secret knowledge concerning the
full extent of the crime which was planned by your repre-
sentative in Norway, left Christiania on October 30th.

" The remainder of the history is soon told.

" You are doubtless apprised of all that happens, as you are
both by telegraph and by letter in constant communication
with your representative.

"You also know the Imperial German Government's
declaration which was published on November 20th last year
in answer to my question.

" The British Government had, both through Press cor-
respondents as well as through special agents, allowed to be
spread over the whole of Ireland the lie that the Germans
began the most abominable crimes in Belgium, and they had
also pointed out that a similar fate awaited the Irish people
if Germany came victorious out of this war.

" Your Government's intention was to excite the Irish to
apprehend a predatory attack by a people who never had done
them any harm and by false reports make them believe that
this was their plight. It was my intention not only to
obtain a binding benevolent assurance from the German
Government, but also to free my countrymen from the false
position which this lying exciting campaign would develop ;
finally, as far as it stood in my power, I would prevent them
from entering into an immoral conflict against a people who
had never done Ireland an injustice.

44 This declaration from the German Government, which,
as far as I know, was delivered in full sincerity, forms a

The Casement Affair 219

justification for my ' treason.' I leave it to you, sir, to find
justification for the British Government's and the Minister's
criminal plan, which was fully prepared before I had even set
foot on German soil and, furthermore, in a land where I had
perfect right to remain, this plan, which was attempted to be
carried out by the miserable means of bribery and corruption.
' You will not find justification in the many conversations
which Mr. Findlay in November and in December last year
had after his own wish with my faithful servant. The
correspondence between them couched in the Ambassador's
arranged cypher speaks for itself. These conversations have
brought one thing to the light of day which I later on will
make public.

"It is certainly correct to say concerning all this, which
passed between your representative and mine, with these
opportunities, that you during the constant negotiations had
half the thread in your own hand.

" Your object was, as Mr. Findlay openly has confessed
before the man whom he believed he had bought, to get me
out of the way in the most disgraceful manner. My object is
to expose your plans to the whole world, and by the help of
the agent whom you yourself have selected for your plans and
whom you have attempted to bribe in order to get him to
perpetrate an exceptionally vile crime.

" Once, when my man pretended that he was not satisfied
with the sum which was bid him for the treachery, your agent
ventured to raise the amount to £10,000. I have a precise
inventory of the negotiations put forward and the promises
which were given in your name.

' Your Ambassador has twice given A. Christensen large
money rewards — once 500 kroner in Norwegian money,
another time a like sum partly in Norwegian money and
partly in English gold. On one of these occasions, in order
to be precise, December 7th, Mr. Findlay handed to Adler
Christensen the key to a back door in the English Ministry
so that he could come and go unobserved. This key I intend
to return personally to the owner, together with the various
money rewards which he has forced upon my servant.

4 The tales which Mr. Findlay told in these conversations
would not deceive a schoolboy. All mentioned proofs of my
plans and intentions which Adler Christensen produced, the

220 British Secret Service

mentioned letters, the fingered land and sea maps, etc., I
must put together for my own defence to expose your criminal
plan and thus come into possession of the indisputable proof
which I now have.

" First. — On January 3rd Mr. Findlay exposed himself thus,
that he, in the English Government's name, gave my betrayer
a safe undertaking from himself in which he promised him
reward and impunity from any punishment if he committed
the arranged crime. This piece of writing is in my hands. I
have the honour to enclose a photograph of it.

" Then, the English Ambassador in Norway obviously is in
a position to give secret guarantees and safe impunity from
punishment for crime, so I reserve myself for a time when I
am not exposed to his persecutions to place before the
Norwegian authorities the original letters and the whole of the
proofs which are in my possession and as glaring illuminations
of the British Government's methods.

" I now permit myself, through you, Sir, to surrender to
this Government my Order of St. Michael, the King George
the Fifth's Coronation Medal, and all the other distinctions
which the British Government has given me.

" I am, your obedient and humble servant,
" Roger Casement."

Englishmen in Norway, or indeed throughout the whole
of Scandinavia, who could have given the true history of Sir
Roger Casement at that time might have been counted on the
fingers of one hand. l

1 The following extract from the Daily Telegraph lifts the veil as to the
English position to October 7th, 1914. Sir F. E. Smith, K.C. (Attorney-
General) was appearing for the Crown at the trial of Sir Roger Casement in
opening the case for the prosecution, on June 26th, 1916, before the Lord
Chief Justice of England and other judges, the charge being one of High
Treason without the Realm contrary to the Treason Act, 1851, and the
account goes on :

M After stating that prisoner was born in County Dublin in 1864, the
Attorney- General proceeded to recite the various offices he had filled as Consul
at Rio dc Janeiro, Lorenzo Marques, West Africa, the Gaboon, Congo Free
State, Santos and Para. During the South African War he was employed
on special service at Cape Town, and when hostilities ended he did not refuse
the Queen's South African Medal, although that was a war of which many
Irishmen profoundly disapproved. They might perhaps therefore assume
that at the age of thirty-six the crimes and delinquencies of this Empire had not
engaged prisoner's attention or affected his intelligence. On June 20th, 1911

The Casement Affair 221

Norwegians naturally argued that one side of a story was
good until the other was told. Meanwhile the newspapers did
a remarkably fine business, as most editions were greedily
bought up day after day and week after week, in the expecta-
tion of finding the reply of His Britannic Majesty's Minister to
the scathing indictment propounded against him.

According to the Berliner Tageblatt, and other German
newspapers, this letter was sent to Sir Edward Grey on
February 1st, but no answer had been received up to Feb-
ruary 15th, when some of the most material allegations were
being quoted in the Press. Nor did any answer ever appear,
to the writer's knowledge, from Sir Edward Grey, Mr. Mans-
feldt de Cardonnel Findlay, or any other person ; even after
the letter had been re-published in full by the Aftenposten
in Christiania, and commented upon by other papers, and
discussed from one end of Scandinavia to the other by men
and women in every station of life.

That omission was publicly and privately stated to be

he was made a knight, and the same year he received the Coronation
Medal. In August, 1913, he retired on a pension. That pension had been
honourably earned, and it would have been neither necessary nor proper to
refer to it were it not for the sinister and wicked activities of prisoner which
ensued. Government pensions were paid quarterly, and on each occasion
must be formally claimed by a statutory declaration setting forth the services
for which the pension was awarded and the amount claimed. Prisoner made
five such declarations, the first on October 2nd, 1913, and the last on October
7th, 1914.

"When notification was sent to prisoner by Sir Edward Grey of the intention
to bestow a knighthood upon him, this enemy of England, this friend of
Germany, this extreme and irreconcilable patriot, replied in the following
terms :

" ' Dear Sir Edward Grey. — I find it very hard to choose words in which
to make acknowledgment of the honour done me by the King. I am much
moved by this proof of confidence and appreciation of my service in Putumayo
conveyed to me by your letter, wherein you tell me the King has been graciously
pleased, upon your recommendation, to confer upon me the honour of knight-
hood. I am indeed grateful to you for this signal assurance of your personal
esteem and support. I am very deeply sensible of the honour done me by
His Majesty, and would beg that my humble duty might be presented to His
Majesty, when you might do me the honour to convey to him my deep apprecia-
tion of the honour he has been graciously pleased to confer upon me.'

" What happened to affect and corrupt prisoner's mind he did not know."
Sir F. E. Smith then went on to describe Sir Roger Casement's visits to
the internment camps in Germany, etc., which was after October, 1914.

222 British Secret Service

a colossal mistake which would cost England, and the countries
fighting by her side, very dearly indeed.

One would have thought that Mr. M. de C. Findlay would
instantly have sent a short explanation in reply to every
newspaper in Norway which reproduced any part of this
fatal letter. He, however, remained in the seclusion of his
castle on the hill of Drammensvei and observed a prolonged
and unbroken silence.

The honest, open-minded, and clean-thinking Norwegian
people were disgusted beyond words. They looked to him
for an explanation as of right. They waited long, but they
did not see, neither did they hear, a word of denial. Sorrow-
fully but very naturally they actually began to believe these
extraordinary accusations to be true in substance and in
fact.

Now, references are made in this letter to " secret agents
of the British Ambassador approaching the man whom Sir
Roger Casement refers to as his servant." Therefore the
writer takes this, his first opportunity, of most clearly and
emphatically denying that any member of the British Secret
Service was in any way employed or engaged in this affair.
Such Secret Service agents as were then working in Scan-
dinavia were known to him (the writer), also their locations ;
not one of them was within hundreds of miles of Christiania
at the time of the alleged transaction. It should also be
obvious that if any person exhibited such an amateurish
display of incompetence and bungling as the accusations
allege, that person would be more than useless for any Secret
Service work, however simple it might be.

It seems quite impossible to believe that any man
could have acted as Mr. M. de C. Findlay is said to have
done.

What use was block letter- writing to conceal identity if it
was cyphered on Ambassadorial note-paper ?

Why use English gold when Norwegian money was
available ?

Why permit such a man to come near the Embassy at all ?

Why see such a man personally ?

The Casement Affair 223

Why give a key to a gate, or a door, which could be left
open ?

Why give a scrap of writing or paper of any sort ?

Why offer such ridiculous sums of money to a stranger,
who, if he were such a man as suggested, would have accepted
a fraction of the amount for such work ?

If an investigation of the alleged proofs could show there
was any semblance of truth in this story, then, indeed, " it
certainly would not have deceived a schoolboy" as the letter
quotes.

Assuming, for the sake of argument, that an alien to a
neutral country (whosoever that person might be or in what-
soever walk of life he might happen to be placed) had made
himself a danger to the realm ; that it might have been
considered an advantage to the Allies if he were kidnapped
and taken to a place of safe keeping so that he could be
looked after until peace was declared. What more simple and
inexpensive than to bring about a consummation of such
wishes ? Our friend Nixie Pixie, or Jim, or another of that
ilk, any one of those individuals could have acted secretly
and absolutely independently.

What could have been easier or more inexpensive than a
quickly -cultivated acquaintanceship by a Secret Service
agent with a person so named ? A little dinner or light
refreshment at a cafe, or a hall ; drugged food or drink,
followed by the natural announcement that one's companion
was temporarily indisposed or suffering from a slight excess of
alcohol ; assistance to a cab or other vehicle, nominally to
convey him home but actually a quick journey to the docks
and quay side, with rapid transport to a friendly ship ! Thus
such a job could have been accomplished for a few pounds
without fuss, inconvenience, or publicity.

It would probably not be wide of the mark to venture the
statement that many a man has been, perhaps even now is
being, temporarily detained in the seclusion of some lonely
lodging upon far less pretexts than the alleged revelations of Sir
Roger Casement, until this tangled European skein be fully
and completely unravelled. The annals of that grim fortress

224 British Secret Service

of Peter and Paul, the dungeon walls of which are washed by
the turbid waters of the Neva (wherein the author has had
personal experience of his own), could perhaps add histories of
some interest, but if they are to be told they must form the
pages of another chapter.

CHAPTER XVII

PERTAINING TO MYSTERY SHIPS

" You British will always be Fools and we Germans shall
never be Gentlemen " — Silhouette Lifeboat for Gun Cover-
ing— A Secret of the War Explained and Illustrated — More
Ideas for Mystery Ships Described — Secret Thanks — Suc-
cessful Results from Camouflage at Sea — The Gratitude of
the Admiralty.

The year 1915 saw much havoc at sea from the ravages of
German submarines. I was located in the midst of it. I
saw many a noble craft torpedoed direct or sunk by gunfire or
mines. Such is a sight which leaves impressions and gives
much to reflect upon.

The Germans, I knew, adopted subterfuges to lure their
victims to destruction. The British apparently scorned to
descend to such levels. Bitterly I remembered the words of
the captured officer : " You British will always be fools and
we Germans shall never be gentlemen." It was maddening
to know that all our acts of chivalry and knightly conduct
throughout the war only provoked the mirth and contempt of
our adversaries.

Something should be done to meet blow with blow, subter-
fuge with subterfuge, and violence with equal retaliatory force.

The outcome of my reflections on this subject are herein-
after divulged.

"To

" The Admiralty,
u Whitehall,

" London. " June 15th, 1915.

" Sir,

"I would, with all deference, submit to your con-
sideration a suggestion which has occurred to me as possibly
worthy of trial. It is as follows :

P

226 British Secret Service

" In the Port of 1 observed trawling vessels fitted with

guns conspicuously mounted upon a platform raised just abaft
the funnel and over the engine-room, obviously for patrol
purposes.

" I assume that a German submarine could not but at once
observe the gun and at a considerable distance, as it is raised
well above deck-levels. She would naturally resort to the
torpedo without coming to the surface and without warning.
But if the submarine could be deceived that these trawlers
were fishing vessels, or mine-sweepers, she would hardly
waste an expensive torpedo when she could sink such in-
significant craft by gunfire or bombs, and she might come to
the surface to warn the crew to take to the boats, or to hail
the vessel, thus giving a chance for our men to get a bit of
their own back.

" In my humble opinion the guns which are now mounted
(twelve-pounders, I believe) on these trawlers could be
concealed with the greatest of ease in more ways than one ;
and as the vessels are in all other respects unaltered in their
ordinary appearance, I see no reason why the experiment
should not be tried. Also remembering that submarines as
a rule attack at dawn or gloaming.

*' If I may be so presumptuous as to go further and outline
one of the means of concealment foreshadowed, I would
construct in light framework covered with painted canvas the
sides of a small row-boat or lifeboat in two silhouettes, which
I would place on each side of the gun, whereby it would be
completely covered up. The stanchions erected round the
gun platform I would unship, or if their continuance is
essential I would mount imitation davits of painted steam-
bent wood, which could easily ship or be jointed with hinge
and hook fastenings, so that they could be unshipped at a
moment's notice. To these davits I would add light blocks
and tackles, so that in a few seconds the whole dummy show
could be swept on one side and the gun brought into play.

" I have carefully examined the platform and gun on one of
these vessels and firmly believe that the idea is practical and
feasible and would act effectively and to advantage.

"When I was cruising in the Baltic opposite Kiel and
Femern (December-February) I was successful with somewhat
similar devices of a simple nature, fitted to small boats, and

Pertaining to Mystery Ships 227

calculated to deceive as to distances and in other ways, which
originated the present ideas as soon as I saw our trawlers.

" If you consider the idea worthy of a moment's further
consideration, I would, if you so desired, at once set to work
and have a working model made.

" I remain, your obedient servant,
" Nicholas Everitt,
" (' Jim ' of the B.F.S.S.)"

• . • . .
Intermediary correspondence and actions would not

perhaps interest the reader. Suffice it to say that my ideas
found favour in the eyes of the Powers -t hat-be, and I was
given carte blanche to carry my designs into effect.

It may now be divulged that many weeks prior to the
writing of the letter mentioned above I had confided an
outline of my invention to a certain naval officer, a friend of
mine in charge of a patrol-boat. We had between us manu-
factured a rough model from such materials as could be
collected, which had beem fitted to a vessel, and it had been
effectively and successfully used in action at sea, although
not officially known or recognised.

Now that I had free access to, and full authority to make
use of, several Admiralty yards for material and assistance, it
was an easy matter to improve on former ideas and to produce
a complete efficient and creditable result.

• • • • •
" To

"The Admiralty,
" Whitehall,

" London. " July 14th, 1915.

"Extracts from My Report

' The completion of the model was pushed along as quickly
as circumstances would permit, and the first week in July,
1915, was fitted to a completed gun platform on the steam
trawler then lying in Harbour.

M The silhouette boat and chocks which support it on the
gun-deck are made all in one piece, the deception being
brought about simply by shading in the painting.

228 British Secret Service

" The boat is held in position by the dummy blocks and falls
above, and to the gun-deck below by short iron clips at the
foot of the chocks, which slip into small iron sockets screwed
on the gun-deck and so slightly raised that they are not
noticeable. The two silhouette boats are kept firm by two
iron connecting rods.

" To clear the gun-deck. —Two men are required to handle the
gun, which gives one man at each end of the boats.

" To clear the gun-deck for action each man would simul-
taneously push up the iron connecting-rod between the
silhouettes and at the same time instantly kick clear the clip
at the foot of the chock from its socket. A slight push to the
swinging boats releases the hinged davits, which fall back-
wards, pulling each dummy boat clear over the top of the
lifeline stanchions, whilst they automatically drop into the
bend of the davits, which holds them there until wanted for
further deception purposes.

" The boats can be pulled back and fixed into their original
positions in about a minute, or even less time if necessary.

" Both sides of the dummy silhouette boats are covered
with canvas and painted white with gunwhale streak brown,
so both sides match each other. The gun should be laid
pointing towards the stem of the vessel and the gun itself,
mounting and pedestal, painted white.

" Then in whatever position (whether the ends are covered
with canvas or not) the dummy boats are viewed, within ten
yards or further away the deception is complete.

" A very close observer, viewing the apparatus end-on,
might assume that a couple of collapsible lifeboats were being
carried aboard over the engine-room."

Immediately after the official inspection (July 10th),
which was said to be quite satisfactory, the vessel so fitted was
ordered to sea, and in due course I received a registered letter
marked " Personal and Private." , The envelope covered an
inner envelope also marked " Private." The inner envelope
contained a short note conveying the thanks of the Lords of
the Admiralty to me, the inventor.

To what further uses, or with what results the design was

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Pertaining to Mystery Ships 229

utilised, remained as closely guarded a secret as the inner
letter of thanks.

• • • • •

Meanwhile I was more than anxious for active service
which would give me a chance of getting at short grips with
the dastardly submarines which I had hunted in the frozen
north so long but never fairly and squarely behind a gun.

Further reflections caused the following letter to be
written :

" To

"The Admiralty,
" Whitehall,

" London. " August 11th, 1915.

" Sir,

" Since I wrote you with completed report on my
gun-screen-dummy boat, submarines have continued to
favour these waters in particular. Three large steamers have
quite recently been torpedoed.

" They have sunk in this neighbourhood alone over fifty
sailing trawlers, every one bombed or sunk by gunfire, and
from the surface, but not a mine-sweeper nor a patrol-boat
seems to have been attacked !

" There are plenty of sailing trawlers lying idle in
ports.

" I therefore humbly venture to suggest to the Admiralty
that if half a dozen of these were mounted with guns, covered
by the dummy-boat-screen and manned by a small, smart
crew, dressed in ordinary fishermen's clothes (not the naval
uniforms with gold braid and white-topped ornamental caps,
so much in vogue at present), those submarine pests would be
caught napping without much difficulty ; whilst the fisher-
men, who are mostly ruined, would at least feel that we had
got a little of our own back with every pirate so sunk.

" It would also be easy to place a motor and propeller in
the vessel so employed which would help manoeuvring in no
small measure ; whilst as to manning them, there is plenty
of material of the very best to select from for such a job-
men who have been patrolling in gunboats and trawlers for a
year without a smell of powder which their nostrils hunger

230 British Secret Service

for. I personally know plenty who would willingly abandon
good positions and hail such an opportunity with eagerness ;
whilst, if the chance was given, I myself would willingly and
gladly volunteer my services with them in the first boat sent
out, or under them in any capacity, from the lowly cook or
cabin-boy upwards.

" If this seeming presumption on my part should be acted
upon you may rely upon my wholehearted service for any
assistance that I may be able to give in the fitting-out, etc.,
or otherwise, and it will be my pleasure to execute your
smallest commands.

" I remain, your obedient servant,
" Nicholas Everitt.

"('JiM'oftheB.F.S.S.)"
• • • • *

This letter only produced further " secret " thanks. The
suggestion for active service was not responded to !

Cold comfort to one burning with such unquenchable
desires. Poor gratitude for services rendered. Depressing
recognition for future effort.

But what could a mere civilian expect ! It was the same
in both Services at that period of the war. Civilians were as
nothing ; merely to be used as conveniences — if they had to
be used at all. Or as stepping-stones for Service men to
trample upon towards their own immediate advantage,
utterly regardless of position, ability and status, and
whether they had voluntarily or compulsorily sacrificed posi-
tion, property, or dearer belongings.

Had any such ideas as these originated with a junior in the
Service he would have had to have taken them at once to his
superior officer. That dignified individual would in all
probability have personally commended him in private, then
put forward the ideas to those above him with much weight,
but at the same time conveniently neglecting to couple the
name of the real originator.

The secret annals of the Service could many such a tale
unfold.

Should a junior officer have dared to presume to have
sent in his original ideas direct to Whitehall, woe betide the

Pertaining to Mystery Ships 231

day for his immediate future and his chances for early pro-
motion.

The above opinions are no flights of imagination ; they
are founded solely on many bitter complaints which have
come direct to the ears of the writer from junior officers in
both arms of the Service, whose inventive ideas have either
been summarily squashed by superior officers, or who have
been compelled in their own future interests to stand aside,
silent and disgusted, whilst they have observed others far
above them taking what credit was to be bestowed for ideas
or suggestions which were never their own, and often followed
by decoration without any patent special service.

Shortly before this book went to press the author happened
to meet a naval gunner who had served for a prolonged period
aboard mystery ships. He was most enthusiastic on the
subject of camouflage, and he related how he had served in
1915 in a ship which had one gun only, placed amidships,
which was concealed by a dummy silhouette boat.

According to his account the stunt was great. He nar-
rated in detail the completeness of the deception, the in-
stantaneous manner in which the gun was brought into
action, and the success which had attended the introduction
of the idea. He affirmed that no less than ten submarines
had been sunk during the first few weeks this invention had
been first introduced. But, as he explained, one day a vessel
so fitted was attacked by two submarines at the same time,
one being on each quarter, and the secret became exposed.
After that, he added, the Germans became much more
suspicious how they approached and attacked fishing vessels,
and successes fell off considerably.

It had been an Admiralty regulation that when a sub-
marine was sunk and its loss proved, the successful crew was
awarded £1,000 for each submarine recorded, which was
divided proportionately according to rank. Submarines
claimed to have been sunk run to over two hundred. Many
and various were the methods by which they were sent to
the bottom of the sea ; but so far as a number of inventors

232 British Secret Service

or the originators of ingenuity were or are concerned, it
would appear that virtue alone remains their sole reward.

Since this book was accepted for press my attention has
been called, in the February number, 1920, of Pearson's
Magazine, to an article by Admiral Sims of the U.S.A. Navy,
entitled " How the Mystery Ships Fought," in which he says :

" Every submarine that was sent to the bottom, it
was estimated, amounted in 1917 to a saving of about
40,000 tons per year of merchant shipping ; that was
the amount of shipping, in other words, which the
average U-boat would sink, if left unhindered to pursue
its course.

" This type of vessel (Q-boats) was a regular ship of
His Majesty's Navy, yet there was little about it that
suggested warfare. Just who invented this grimy enemy
of the submarine is, like many other devices developed by
the war, unknown. It was, however, the natural out-
come of a close study of German naval methods. The
man who first had the idea well understood the peculiar
mentality of the U-boat commanders."

Extracting further paragraphs from Admiral Sims'
article :

" There is hardly anything in warfare which is
more vulnerable than a submarine on the surface
within a few hundred yards of a four-inch gun. A
single well-aimed shot will frequently send it to the
bottom. Indeed, a U-boat caught in such a pre-
dicament has only one chance of escape ; that is
represented by the number of seconds which it takes
to get under water.

" Clearly the obvious thing for the Allies to do was
to send merchant ships armed with hidden guns along
the great highways of commerce. The crews of these
ships should be naval officers and men disguised as
merchants, masters, and sailors."

At p. 104 of the magazine Admiral Sims refers directly to
my invention as described and illustrated :

Pertaining to Mystery Ships 233

LC Platforms were erected on which guns were
emplaced ; a covering of tarpaulin completely hid
them ; yet a lever pulled by the gun crews would
cause the sides of the hatchway covers to fall in-
stantaneously. Other guns were placed under lifeboats,
which, by a similar mechanism, would fall apart or rise
in the air exposing the gun.

" From the greater part of 1917 from twenty to
thirty of these ships (Q-boats) sailed back and forth
in the Atlantic."

The February number of the Wide World Magazine,
p. 361, also contained a most interesting article by Captain
Frank H. Shaw entitled, A " Q," and a " U," in which he
describes how he personally helped to sink a submarine with
the aid of a camouflage apparatus on the lines of my invention
as illustrated :

" Meanwhile the fitters were making most of their
opportunities aboard the Penshurst (the Q-boat in
question). A useful twelve-pounder gun — one of the
best bits of ordnance ever devised for short range work
— was mounted on the fore-deck. A steel ship's life-
boat was cut in two through the keel, and so faked that
on pulling a bolt, the two halves would fall clear
away. This dummy boat was then put in place over the
twelve-pounder and effectively concealed its presence.

" So far as the outward evidence was concerned, the
Penshurst was simply carrying a spare lifeboat on deck
— a not unnecessary precaution, considering the activity
of the enemy submarines."

Captain Shaw describes in stirring narrative and vivid
detail how a submarine held up his ship, how part of their
crew abandoned the ship, and how the Hun boat was lured well
within easy gun-fire range, and how my ideas worked in
practice :

" The foredeck boat opened beautifully like a lily and
the gun came up, with its crew gathered round it. The
twelve-pounder was not a second behind its smaller
relative. Her gunlayer, too, was a useful man. He

234 British Secret Service

planted a yellow-rigged shell immediately at the base of
Fritz's conning-tower. It exploded there with deafen-
ing report and great gouts of water flew upwards with
dark patches amongst the foam."

• • • • •

By my friends I was disparaged for foolishness in not
putting forward a claim for compensation in connection with
these ideas, followed by an accepted invention of recognised
utility. In the U.S.A. in the spring of 1919 I heard this
invention considerably lauded ; in New York, Boston, and
Washington. It was also described and illustrated in certain
American periodicals.

If the figures given by Admiral Sims are true estimates,
and, say, only twenty-five submarines were sunk by the
direct assistance of this simple contrivance, then it follows
that about 1,000,000 tons of shipping were saved each year
it was in active use.

Eventually I communicated with Admiral W. R. Hall, C.B.,
through whom I had submitted my suggestions in the first
instance. From him I received a charming letter in which
he regretted the matter had passed beyond his department.
Therefore on January 26th, 1920, I wrote to the Secretary
of the Admiralty referring by number to previous letters
conveying the secret thanks of the Lords of the Admiralty to
me in 1915 and asking him whether (now that the war was
over) I was entitled to any recognition for this invention, and
if so, how and to whom I should apply.

I wrote again on April 29th, asking for a reply to my
previous letter, but being only a civilian, I suppose he did
not consider either myself or the subject matter I enquired
about worthy even of simple acknowledgment.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE SINKING OF THE "LUSITANIA" BY GERMAN
TREACHERY

How the Dastardly Deed was Planned — Commemoration Medal
Prematurely Dated — Sinking Announced in Berlin Before the
Vessel was Attacked — German Joy at the Outrage — British
Secret Code Stolen — Violations of American Neutrality —
False Messages — Authority for the Facts.

So long as the memory of mortal man endures, this dastardly
act of German treachery will never be forgotten.

On May 7th, 1915, the SS. Lusitania, a passenger ship of
32,000 tons of the Cunard Line, was sunk by torpedoes, fired
at short range from a German submarine off Kinsale. She
carried on board 1,265 passengers and a crew of about 694
hands. From this number 1,198 were drowned, including 113
Americans and a large number of women and children.

It is no exaggeration to say that the event staggered the
humanity of the world, yet the Kolnische Volkeszeitung on
May 10th, 1915, stated : " With joyful pride we contemplate
this latest deed of our Navy," etc. The commander of the
submarine which struck the fatal blow was decorated, and a
special medal was struck in the Fatherland commemorating
the event, and dated May 5th — two days before she was actually
attacked and sunk.

A copy of it is now before the writer.

It was struck with the object of keeping alive in German
hearts the recollection of the German Navy in deliberately
destroying an unarmed passenger-ship together with 1,198
non-combatants, men, women, and children.

On the obverse, under the legend " No Contraband "
(Keine Banvare), there is a representation of the Lusitania

236 British Secret Service

sinking. The designer has put in guns and aeroplanes, which
(as certified by United States Government officials after
inspection) the Lusitania did not carry, but he has con-
veniently omitted to put in the women and children, which
the whole world knows she did carry.

On the reverse, under the legend " Business above all "
(Geschaft uber alles), the figure of death sits at the booking-
office of the Cunard Line, and gives out tickets to passengers
who refuse to attend to the warning against submarines
given by a German.

This picture seeks apparently to propound the theory that
if a murderer warns his victim of his intention, the guilt of the
crime will rest with the victim, not with the murderer.

How the foul deed was plotted and accomplished is told in
concise and simple language by Mr. John Price Jones in his
book entitled, " The German Spy in America," which has an
able introduction by Mr. Rogers B. Wood, ex-United States
Assistant Attorney at New York ; also a foreword by Mr.
Theodore Roosevelt.

Summarising detail and extracting bare facts from Mr.
Price Jones' work, it is shown that Germany had made her
preparations long before war was declared. She had erected
a wireless station at Sayville with thirty-five Kilowatt
transmitters and had obtained special privileges which the
U.S. Government never dreamed would be so vilely abused.

Soon after the declaration of war, Germany sent over
machinery for tripling the efficiency of the plant, via Holland,
and the transmitters were increased to a hundred Kilowatts.
The whole plant was in the hands of experts drawn from the
German Navy.

On April 22nd, 1915, the German Ambassador at Washing-
ton, by direction of Baron von Bernstorff, inserted notices by
way of advertisement warning travellers not to go in ships
flying the British flag or that of her Allies, whilst many of
the ill-fated passengers received personally private warnings ;
for example, Mr. A. G. Vanderbilt had one signed " Morte."

It is also stated than one of the German spies who had
helped to conceive this diabolical scheme actually dined, the

The Sinking of the " Lusitania " 237

same evening the vessel sailed, at the home of one of his
American victims.

The sinking of the vessel was also published in the Berlin
newspapers before she had actually been attacked.

On reaching the edge of the war-zone, Captain Turner,
who was in charge of the Lusitania, sent out a wireless message
for instructions in accordance with his special orders.

By some means unknown the German Government had
stolen a copy of the secret code used by the British
Admiralty.

A copy of this had been supplied to Say ville, which used it
(inter alia) to warn Captain Turner against submarines off the
Irish coast — which evidence was revealed at the inquest.

Sayville was very much on the alert, looking out for and
expecting Captain Turner's request for orders.

As soon as it was picked up the return answer was flashed
to " proceed to a point ten miles south of Old Head of Kinsale
and run into St. George's Channel, making Liverpool bar at
midnight."

The British Admiralty also received Captain Turner's call
and sent directions " to proceed to a point seventy to eighty
miles south of Old Head of Kinsale and there meet convoy."

But the British were slow and the Germans rapid. Captain
Turner received the false message instead of the genuine one,
and over a thousand unfortunate beings were sent to their
doom.

At the inquest the two messages were produced and the
treachery became apparent. Further investigations pointed
direct to Sayville, Long Island, New York, to which place the
plot was traced.

The German witnesses who swore the Lusitania had guns
aboard her were indicted in America and imprisoned for
perjury.

To use the wireless for any such cause as above described
was contrary to and in violation of neutrality laws ; also of
the United States of America's statutes governing wireless
stations.

In many chapters full of vivid detail Mr. Price Jones gives

238 British Secret Service

extraordinary particulars of conspiracies and plots against
persons and property.

In scathing terms he condemns Captain Franz von Papen,
von Igel and Koenig, Captain Karl Boy-Ed, Captain Franz
von Rintelen, Dr. Heinrich F. Albert and Ambassador Dumba
as spies, conspirators, or traitors ; men without conscience,
whom no action, however despicable, would stop.

CHAPTER XIX

MINISTERIAL, DIPLOMATIC, AND CONSULAR
FAILINGS

Ambassadors Selected by Influence, not Merit — German
Embassies Headquarters of Espionage — How English Em-
bassies Hampered Secret Service Work — Bernhardi on the
Blockade — England's Open Doors — A Minister's Failings —
British Vice-Consul's Scandalous Remuneration — Alien Con-
suls— How Italy was Brought into the War — How the
Sympathies of Turkey and Greece were Lost — The Failure
of Sir Edward Grey — Asquith's Procrastination.

The Press, it will be remembered, was during the first few
years of the war periodically almost unanimous in its
outcry against the Government, particularly the Foreign
Office. Having regard to the facts quoted, well might
it be so. But the Foreign Office is somewhat in the
hands of its Ambassadors and Ministers abroad, who unfort-
unately sometimes appear to put their personal dignity before
patriotism, and threaten to resign unless some ridiculous,
possibly childish, whim is not forthwith complied with. It
seems hard to believe such things can be in war-time ; yet it
was so. If our Ambassadors and Ministers were selected by
merit, and not by influence, a vast improvement would at
once become apparent, and such things as were complained
of would not be likely to occur or be repeated.

One Press writer pointed out that " Great Britain lacked
a watchful policeman in Scandinavia." Perhaps he will be
surprised to learn that about the most active non-sleeping
watchmen that could be found were there soon after war
started. But these watch-dogs smelt out much too much,
and most of them were caught and muzzled, or driven away,
or chained up at the instigation of the Embassies. The

240 British Secret Service

heaviest chains, however, get broken, whilst the truth will
ever out.

Naturally one Embassy would keep in constant touch with
another, and with regard to this question of supplying the
enemy all three Scandinavian Embassies knew, or should have
known to a nicety, precisely what was doing in each country.

We in the Secret Service had been impressively warned
before leaving England to avoid our Ambassadors abroad as
we would disciples of the devil. In so far as we possibly could
we religiously remembered and acted upon this warning. But
the cruel irony of it was, our own Ministers would not leave us
alone. They seemed to hunt us down, and as soon as one of
us was located, no matter who, or where, or how, a protest
was, we were told, immediately sent to the Foreign Office,
followed by hints or threats of resignation unless the Secret
Service agent in question was instantly put out of action or
recalled to England.

I was informed that several of my predecessors had been
very unlucky in Denmark. One had been located and pushed
out of the country within a few hours of arrival. Another
I heard was imprisoned for many months. I was further very
plainly told by an English official of high degree that if the

British Minister at became aware of my presence and

that I was in Secret Service employ, if I did not then leave
the country within a few hours of the request which would
with certainty be made, I would be handed over to the police
to be dealt with under their newly-made espionage legislation.

Considering that the German legations in Scandinavia
increased their secretaries from the two or three employed
before the war to twenty or thirty each after its outbreak ;
considering that it was a well-known fact, although difficult
to prove, that every German Embassy was the local head-
quarters of their marvellously clever organisation of Secret
Service l against which our Legations possessed rarely more

1 As evidence in support of this, see the papers seized from von Papen at
Falmouth, December, 1915 ; the papers seized at Salonika, January, 1916;
the reports from Washington, U.S.A., 1915-6 ; and the numerous paragraphs
in the Press to date since November, 1914.

Ministerial and Consular Failings 241

than one over-worked secretary, whilst the British Embassies
were a menace rather than a help to our Secret Service, it
did seem to us, working on our own in England's cause, a
cruel shame that these men, who posed not only as English-
men but also as directly representing our own well-beloved
King, should hound us about in a manner which made
difficult our attempts to acquire the knowledge so
important for the use of our country in its agony and dire
peril. Dog-in-the-manger-like, they persisted in putting
obstacles in the way of our doing work which they could not
do themselves and probably would not have done if they
could. ^^

If unearthing the deplorable details of the leakage of
supplies to Germany evoked disgust and burning anger in the
breast of Mr. Basil Clarke, the Special Commissioner of the
Daily Mail, surely I, and those patriotically working in
conjunction with me, always at the risk of our liberty and
often at the risk of our lives, might be permitted to feel at least
a grievance against the Foreign Office for its weakness in
listening to the protests of men like these, his Britannic
Majesty's Ministers abroad ; real or imaginary aristocrats
appointed to exalted positions of great dignity and possibly
pushed into office by the influence of friends at Court, or
perhaps because, as the possessors of considerable wealth,
they could be expected to entertain lavishly although their
remuneration might not be excessive. Had they remembered
the patriotism and devotion to their King and country which
the immortal Horatio Nelson showed at Copenhagen a
hundred years previously, they too could just as easily have
applied the sighting glass to a blind eye, and have ignored all
knowledge of the existence of any Secret Service work or
agents ; unless, of course, some unforeseen accident or circum-
stance had forced an official notice upon them.

The Foreign Office would have lost none of its efficiency or
its dignity, had it hinted as much when these protests
arrived ; whilst England would to-day have saved innumer-
able lives and vast wealth had some of the British Ministers
in the north of Europe resigned or been removed, and

Q

242 British Secret Service

level-headed, common-sensed, patriotic business men placed
in their stead as soon after war was declared with Germany
as could possibly have been arranged.

That the Germans themselves never believed England
would be so weak as to give her open doors for imports is
expressed by General Bernhardi in his " Germany and the
Next War." He writes : "It is unbelievable that England
would not prevent Germany receiving supplies through
neutral countries." The following extract is from p. 157 :

" It would be necessary to take further steps to
secure the importation from abroad of supplies neces-
sary to us, since our own communications will be com-
pletely cut off by the English. The simplest and
cheapest way would be if we obtained foreign goods
through Holland, or perhaps neutral Belgium, and
could export some part of our products through the
great Dutch and Flemish harbours. . . . Our own
overseas commerce would remain suspended, but such
measures would prevent an absolute stagnation of
trade. It is, however, very unlikely that England
would tolerate such communications through neutral
territory, since in that way the effect of her war on our
trade would be much reduced. . . . That England
would pay much attention to the neutrality of weaker
neighbours when such a stake was at issue is hardly
credible."

To understand what was actually permitted to happen
the reader is referred to the succeeding chapter. What
possible excuse is there which any man, that is a man, would
listen to, that could be urged in extenuation of this deplorable
state of affairs and of its having been permitted to exist and
to continue so long without drastic alteration ?

Our Foreign Office, hence presumably the Government,
were fully informed and knew throughout exactly what was
going on. Every Secret Service agent sent in almost weekly
reports from October, 1914, onwards, emphasising the
feverish activity of German agents, who were everywhere
buying up supplies of war material and food at ridiculously

Ministerial and Consular Failings 243

high prices and transferring them to Germany with indecent
haste.

Cotton l and copper were particularly mentioned. Im-
ploring appeals were sent home by our Secret Service agents
for these to be placed on the contraband list ; but no Minister
explained to the nation why, if it were feasible to make them
contraband a year after the war commenced, it was not the
right thing to have done so the day after war was declared.

German buyers openly purchased practically the whole
product of the Norwegian cod fisheries at retail prices ; also
the greater part of the herring harvests. Germany absorbed
every horse worth the taking, and never before in the history
of the country had so much export trade been done, nor so
much money been made by her inhabitants.

The same may be said of Sweden, with the addition that
her trading with Germany was even larger.

The British Ministers in Scandinavia seemed to carry no
weight with those with whom they were brought in contact.
Their prestige had been terribly shaken by reason of the
decision to ignore entirely the Casement affair. An Am-
bassador of a then powerful neutral country referred to one of
them as " what you English call a damned fool." It was
only the extraordinary ability and excellent qualities of some
of the subordinates at the Chancelleries which saved the
situation.

All this had its effect in these critical times. I, who was
merely a civilian Britisher and not permanently attached to
either the Army or the Navy, and hence was not afraid to
refer to a spade as a spade, was called upon continually by
others in the Service to emphasise the true state of affairs
with the Foreign Office.

Those with whom I associated in the Secret Service agreed
that if the Ministers in Scandinavia could be removed and

1 Cotton was not made absolute contraband until 381 days after the war
had broken out, August 20th, 1915. Sir Edward Grey, speaking in the House
of Commons on January 7th, 1915, said : " His Majesty's Government have
never put cotton on the list of contraband ; they have throughout the war
kept it on the free list ; and on every occasion when questioned on the point
they have stated their intention of adhering to this practice."

244 British Secret Service

good business men instated at these capitals it would make a
vast amount of difference to Germany and considerably hasten
along the advent of peace. But by reason of circumstances
which cannot well be revealed in these pages, my hands were
tied until such time as I could get to London in person.

In March, 1915, I attended Whitehall, where I in no un-
measured terms stated hard convincing facts and explained
the exact position in the north of Europe. I strongly em-
phasised the vital importance of stopping the unending
stream of supplies to Germany and of making a change at the
heads of the Legations mentioned. Direct access to Sir
Edward Grey was denied me, but an official of some prom-
inence assured me the essential facts should be conveyed to
proper quarters without delay, although the same complaints
had previously been made ad nauseam.

But facts have proved that no notice whatever of these
repeated warnings was taken, and matters went from bad to
worse.

On June 21st, 1915, 1 had returned again to England, and
I wrote direct to Sir Edward Grey, at the Foreign Office, a
letter, material extracts from which are as follows :

•' Sir,

" Being now able to speak without disobedience to
orders, I am reporting a serious matter direct to you from
whom my recommendation for Government service originates.
• « • • •

"It is exceedingly distasteful having to speak in the
semblance of disparagement concerning anyone in His
Majesty's service, and I am only anxious to do what I believe
to be right and helpful to my country, whilst I am more than
anxious to avoid any possibility of seemingly doing the right
thing in the wrong way. But it is inconceivable that any
Englishman should push forward his false pride, or be per-
mitted to place his personal egoism, before his country's need ;
more particularly so at the present crisis, when every atom of
effort is appealed for.

" now being a centre and a key to so many channels

through which vast quantities of goods (as well as information)

Ministerial and Consular Failings 245

daily leak to Germany, the head of our Legation has become a
position of vital importance. Much of the present leakage is
indirectly due to the present Minister, in whom England is
indeed unfortunate.

" I therefore feel that, knowing how much depends upon
even little things, it is my bounden duty to place the plain
truth clearly before you. I have often before reported on
this, so far as I possibly could, but those whom I could report
to were all so fearful of the influences or opinions of the all-
too-powerful gentleman in question, that none of them dare
utter a syllable concerning his status or his foolish actions —
although in secret they sorrowfully admit the serious effects.

"1. Since the commencement of the war has com-
mitted a series of indiscretions and mistakes, entailing a
natural aftermath of unfortunate and far-reaching con-
sequences.

" 2. Since February, 1915, he has stood discredited by the
entire nation, and in other parts of Scandinavia.

"3. He is bitterly opposed to the Secret Service and
paralyses its activities, although he states that his objections
lie against the department and not individuals.

" In conclusion, please understand that I am in no way
related to that hopeless individual, ' the man with a griev-
ance,' but, being merely a civilian and having nothing
whatever to expect, nor to seek for, beyond my country's
ultimate good, I can and dare speak out ; whilst the fact that
in the course of my duty I went to Kiel Harbour (despite the
German compliment of a price on my head), should be
sufficient justification of my patriotism and give some weight
to my present communication.

" I have the honour to remain,

" Your obedient servant,

"Nicholas Everitt.
"C Jim' oftheB.F.S.S.)"
• • . • •

It seems hard to believe, but this letter was passed
unheeded, not even acknowledged.

A week later, on June 28th, I wrote again, pointing out
the importance to the State of my previous communication
and emphasising further the danger of letting matters slide.

246 British Secret Service

Both these letters were received at Whitehall or they
would have been returned through the Dead Letter Office.
What possible reason could there be behind the scenes that
ordered and upheld such a creed as Ruat ccelum supprimatur
Veritas? Or can it be ascribed to the much-talked-of
niysterious Hidden Hand ?

My letters pointed only too plainly to the obvious fact
that I had information to communicate vital to the welfare
of the State, which was much too serious to commit to
paper ; serious information which subservients in office dared
not jeopardise their paid positions by repeating or forward-
ing ; information which affected the prestige of our own
King ; information which might involve other countries in
the war, on one side or the other ; information which it was
the plain duty of the Foreign Secretary to lose no time in
making himself acquainted with. Yet not a finger was lifted
in any attempt to investigate or follow up the grave matters
which I could have unfolded, relating to the hollowness of the
Sham Blockade with its vast leakages, which the Government
had taken such pains to conceal, and to other matters equally
vital which I foreshadowed in my letter, and which might
have made enormous differences to the tide of battle and to
the welfare of nations.

No wonder the Press of all England made outcry against
the Foreign Office, as and when some of the facts relating to
its dilatoriness, its extreme leniency to all things German, and
its muddle and inefficiency in attending in time to detail
gradually began to become known.

Abroad I had heard the F.O. soundly cursed in many a
Consulate and elsewhere. I had, however, hitherto looked
upon Sir Edward Grey as a strong man in a very weak
Government, a man who deserved the gratitude of all English-
men and of the whole Empire for great acts of diplomacy ;
the man who had saved England from war more than once ;
and the man who had done most to strive for peace when the
Germans insisted upon bloodshed. I would have wagered my
soul that Sir Edward Grey was the last man in England, when
his country was at war, who would have neglected his duty,

Ministerial and Consular Failings 247

or who would have passed over without action or comment
such a communication as I had sent him.

I waited a time before I inquired. Then I heard that Sir
Edward Grey was away ill, recuperating his health salmon-
fishing in N.B. But there were others. Upon them perhaps
the blame should fall.

The Foreign Office knew of, and had been fully advised,
that the so-called Blockade of Germany by our fleet was a
hollow sham and a delusion from its announced initiative. It
was also fully aware that the leakages to Germany, instead of
diminishing, increased so enormously as to create a scandal
which it could hardly hope to hide from the British public.
Why, then, were these Ministers abroad allowed to remain in
office, where they had been a laughing-stock and were ap-
parently worse than useless ? It can only be presumed that
they also had been ordered to " wait and see."

Perhaps our Ministers, particularly at the Foreign Office,
believed that they could collect, through the medium of our
Consulate abroad, practically all the information that it was
necessary for our Government to know. In peace times this
might have been probable. These self-deluded mortals
seemed to have forgotten entirely that we were at war.
Furthermore, it must be admitted to our shame that our
English Consular Service in some places abroad is the poorest
paid and the least looked -after branch of Government service
of almost any nation.

Sir George Pragnell, speaking only a few days before his
lamentably sudden and untimely end, at the great meeting
called by the Lord Mayor of London at the Guildhall on
January 31st, 1916, a meeting of the representatives of Trade
and Commerce from all parts of the British Empire, said :

" Our business men maintained that our Consular
Service should consist of the best educated and the
most practical business men we could turn out. Not
only should these men be paid high salaries, but I
would recommend that they should be paid a com-
mission or bonus on the increase of British Trade in the
places they had to look after."

248 British Secret Service

If this sound, practical wisdom had only been pro-
pounded and acted upon years ago the benefits that England
would have derived therefrom would have been incalculable.
But look at the facts regarding the countries where efficient
and effective Consular Service was most wanted during the
war. In Scandinavia there were gentlemen selected to
represent us as British Vice-Consuls who received a fixed
salary of £5 per annum, in return for which they had to provide
office, clerks, telephone, and other incidentals. Although the
fees paid to them by virtue of their office and the duties they
performed may have amounted to several hundred pounds per
annum, they were compelled to hand over the whole of the
fruits of their labours to the English Government, which thus
made a very handsome profit out of its favours so bestowed.
Our Foreign Office apparently considered that the honour of
the title "British Vice-Consul" was quite a sufficient re-
compense for the benefits it demanded in return, the laborious
duties which it required should be constantly attended to, and
the £20 to £50 or more per annum which their representatives
were certain to find themselves out of pocket at the end of
each year. Soon after the war commenced one or two
members of the service were removed from the largest
centres and other men introduced, presumably on a special
rate of pay ; but in almost all the Vice-Consulates the dis-
gracefully mean and unsatisfactory system above mentioned
seemed to have been continued without any attempt at
reformation.

Is it to be wondered at that so many Vice -Consuls who are
not Englishmen did not feel that strong bond of sympathy
either with our Ministers abroad or with our Ministers at
home, which those who have no knowledge of the conditions
of their appointment or of their service might be led to
expect existed between them ?

Further light is shown upon this rotten spot in our
Governmental diplomacy management abroad by an article
entitled " Scrap our Alien Consuls," written by T. B. Donovan
and published in a London paper, February 20th, 1916, short
extracts from which read as follows :

Ministerial and Consular Failings 249

" Look up in Whit alter' s Almanack for 1914 our
Consuls in the German Empire before the war — and
cease to wonder that we were not better informed.
Out of a total of forty old British Consuls more than
thirty bear German names ! Other nations were not so
blind. . . . Glance through the following astounding list.
In Sweden, twenty-four out of thirty-one British
Consuls and Vice-Consuls are non-Englishmen ; in
Norway, twenty-six out of thirty ; in Denmark, nine-
teen out of twenty-six ; in Holland and its Colonies,
fourteen out of twenty-four ; in Switzerland nine out of
fourteen — and several of the few Englishmen are
stationed at holiday resorts where there is no trade
at all.

" And we are astonished that our blockade * leaks at
every seam ' ! . . .

" This type of British Consul must be replaced by keen
Britishers who have the interests of their country at
heart and who are at the same time acquainted with the
needs of the districts to which they are appointed. If
we could only break with red tape, we could find
numerous men, not far beyond the prime of life, but who
have retired from an active part in business, who would
gladly accept such appointments and place their
knowledge at the disposal of their fellows. . . .

" The state of things in our Consular Service is such as
no business man would tolerate for a moment."

Turning attention to our diplomacy on the shores of the
Mediterranean and the Near East, those in the Secret Service
knew that during the early days of the war at least our
Foreign Office had nothing much to congratulate itself upon
with regard to its representatives in Italy.

For the first eight months of war an overwhelming volume
of supplies and commodities, so sought after and necessary
to the Central Powers, was permitted to be poured into and
through that country from all sources. Even the traders of
the small northern neutral states became jealous of the
fortunes that were being mad^ there. Daily almost they
might be heard saying : " Why should I not earn money by

250 British Secret Service

sending goods to Germany when ten times the amount that
my country supplies is being sent through Italy ? "

The tense anxiety, the long weary months of waiting for
Italy to join the Entente, are not likely to be forgotten. When
at last she was compelled to come in, it was not British
cleverness in diplomacy that caused her so to do, but the
irresistible will of her own peoples, the men in the streets and
in the fields ; the popular poems of Signor D' Annunzio, which
rushed the Italian Government along, against its will, and as
an overwhelming avalanche. The popular quasi-saint-like
shade of Garibaldi precipitated matters to a crisis.

" It is interesting as an object lesson in the ironies of
fate to compare the fevered enthusiasm of the Sonnino
of 1881 for the cultured Germans and Austrians, and his
exuberant hatred of France, with the cold logic of the
disabused Sonnino of 1915, who suddenly acquired
widespread popularity by undoing the work he had so
laboriously helped to achieve a quarter of a century
before. European history, ever since Germany began to
obtain success in moulding it, has been full of these
piquant Penelopean Activities, some of which are fast
losing their humorous points in grim tragedy."

Thus wrote Dr. E. J. Dillon in his book of revelations,
" From the Triple to the Quadruple Alliance, or Why
Italy Went to War." From cover to cover it is full of solid,
startling facts concerning the treachery and double-dealing
of the Central Powers. It shows how Italy was flattered,
cajoled and lured on to the very edge of the precipice of ruin,
disaster and disgrace ; how she had been gradually hedged
in, cut off from friendly relationships with other countries, and
swathed and pinioned by the tentacles of economic plots and
scheming which rendered her tributary to and a slave of the
latter-day Conquistadores ; how for over thirty years she was
compelled to play an ignominious and contemptible part as
the cat's-paw of Germany ; how Prince Bulow, the most
distinguished statesman in Germany, also the most resource-
ful diplomatist, who by his marriage with Princess Camporeale,

Ministerial and Consular Failings 251

and the limitless funds at his disposal, wielded extraordinary
influence with Italian senators and officials as well as at the
Vatican, dominated Italian people from the highest to the
lowest ; how, in fact, the Kaiser's was the hand that for years
guided Italy's destiny. The book is a veritable mine of
information of amazing interest at the present time, given in
minutest detail, authenticated by facts, date, proof, and
argument. But it is extraordinary that in this volume of
nearly 100,000 words, written by a man who perhaps, for
deep intimate knowledge of foreign politics and the histories
of secret Court intrigue, has no equal living, not a word
of commendation is devoted to the efforts made by our own
British diplomacy or to the parts played by His Britannic
Majesty's Ministers and Ambassadors. There is, however, a
remote allusion on his last page but one, as follows : " The
scope for a complete and permanent betterment of relations
is great enough to attract and satisfy the highest diplomatic
ambition." This seems to be the one and only reference.

As quoted in other pages of this book, the reader will
perhaps gather that Dr. Dillon, who has been brought much
in contact with the Diplomatic Service and who has excep-
tional opportunities of seeing behind the scenes, believes in
the old maxims revised ; for example : De vivis nil nisi bonum.

A brief resume of the material parts of this book which
affect the subject matter of the present one shows that on
the outbreak of the European war Italy's resolve to remain
neutral provoked a campaign of vituperation and calumny in
the Turkish Press, whilst Italians in Turkey were arrested
without cause, molested by blackmailing police, hampered in
their business and even robbed of their property. But Prince
von Bulow worked hard to suppress all this and to diffuse an
atmosphere of brotherhood around Italians and Turks in
Europe.

In Libya, however, Turkish machinations were not dis-
continued, although they were carried on with greater secrecy.
The Turks still despatched officers, revolutionary proclama-
tions, and Ottoman decorations to the insurgents, and the
Germans sent rifles in double-bottomed beer-barrels via

252 British Secret Service

Venice. Through an accident in transit on the railway one of
these barrels was broken and the subterfuge and treachery
became revealed. The rifles were new, and most of them bore
the mark "St. Etienne," being meant not only to arm the
revolt against Italy but also to create the belief that France
was treacherously aiding and abetting the Tripolitan in-
surgents. And to crown all, during the efforts of fraternisa-
tion, in German fashion, Enver Bey's brother clandestinely
joined the Senoussi, bringing 200,000 Turkish pounds and the
Caliph's order " to purge the land of those Italian traitors."

The never-to-be-forgotten " Scrap of Paper," the viola-
tion of neutral Belgium, the shooting and burning of civilians
there, the slaying of the wounded, the torturing of the weak
and helpless, at first chilled the warm blood of humane
sentiment, then sent it boiling to the impressionable brain of
the Latin race. Every new horror, every fresh crime in the
scientific barbarians' destructive progress intensified the
wrath and charged the emotional susceptibility of the Italian
nation with explosive elements. The shrieks of the countless
victims of demoniac fury awakened an echo in the hearts of
plain men and women, who instinctively felt that what was
happening to-day to the Belgians and the French might befall
themselves to-morrow. The heinous treason against the
human race which materialised in the destruction of the
Lusitania completed the gradual awakening of the Italian
nation to a sense of those impalpable and imponderable
elements of the European problem which find expression in
no Green Book or Ambassadorial dispatch. It kindled a
blaze of wrath and pity and heroic enthusiasm which con-
sumed the cobwebs of official tradition and made short work
of diplomatic fiction.

Rome at the moment was absorbed by rumours and
discussions about Germany's supreme efforts to coax Italy
into an attitude of quiescence. But these machinations were
suddenly forgotten in the fiery wrath and withering contempt
which the foul misdeeds and culmination of crimes of the
scientific assassins evoked, and in pity for the victims and
their relatives.

Ministerial and Consular Failings 253

The effect upon public sentiment and opinion in Italy,
where emotions are tensely strong, and sympathy with
suffering is more flexible and diffusive than it is even among
the other Latin races, was instantaneous. One statesman
who is, or recently was, a partisan of neutrality, remarked to
Dr. Dillon that " German Kultur, as revealed during the
present war, is dissociated from every sense of duty, obliga-
tion, chivalry, honour, and is become a potent poison, which
the remainder of humanity must endeavour by all efficacious
methods to banish from the International system. This,"
he went on, "is no longer war ; it is organised slaughter,
perpetrated by a race suffering from dog-madness. I tremble
at the thought that our own civilised and chivalrous people
may at any moment be confronted with this lava flood of
savagery and destructiveness. Now, if ever, the opportune
moment has come for all civilised nations to join in protest,
stiffened with a unanimous threat, against the continuance
of such crimes against the human race. Europe ought surely
to have the line drawn at the poisoning of wells, the persecu-
tion of prisoners, and the massacre of women and children."

The real cause of the transformation of Italian opinion was
no mere mechanical action ; it was the inner promptings of the
nation's soul.

The tide of patriotic passion was imperceptibly rising,
and the cry of completion of Italian unity was voiced in
unison which culminated on the day of the festivities arranged
in commemoration of the immortal Garibaldi. Signor
D'Annunzio, the Poet Laureate of Italian Unity, was the
popular hero who set the torch to the mine of the peoples
which, when it exploded, instantly erupted parliamentary
power, Ministers' dictation, and the influences of the throne
itself. It shattered the foul system of political intrigue built
up by the false Giolitti and developed the overwhelming
sentiment of an articulate nation burst into bellicose action
against the scientific barbarians ; by which spontaneous
ebullition Italy took her place among the civilised and civilis-
ing nations of Europe.

Most people who have followed events closely are

254 British Secret Service

convinced that Turkey could, with judicious diplomacy, have
been kept neutral throughout the war. It was whispered in
Secret Service circles that a very few millions of money, lent
or judiciously expended, would easily have acquired her
active support on the side of the Entente.

One need not probe further back in history than to the
autumn of 1914 to ascertain the blundering fiasco that was
made in that sphere of our alleged activities.

Sir Edwin Pears, who has spent a lifetime in the Turkish
capital and who can hardly be designated a censorious critic,
because for many years he was the correspondent of a Liberal
newspaper in London, published, in October, 1915, a book
entitled " Forty Years in Constantinople." In that book he
describes how the Turks drifted into hostility with the
Entente because the British Embassy was completely out
of touch with them. Sir Louis Mallet, H.B.M. Ambassador,
appointed in June, 1913, had never had any experience of
the country ; he did not know a word of Turkish, whilst he
had under him three secretaries also ignorant of the language
and of the people. Sir Edwin Pears thus describes them :

" Mr. Beaumont, the Counsellor, especially during
the days in August before his chief returned from a visit
to England, was busy almost night and day on the
shipping cases. . . . He also knew nothing of Turkish,
and had never had experience in Turkey. Mr. Ovey,
the First Secretary, also had never been in Turkey, and
knew nothing of Turkish. Unfortunately, also, he was
taken somewhat seriously ill. The next Secretary was
Lord Gerald Wellesley, a young man who will probably
be a brilliant and distinguished diplomatist twenty
years hence, but who, like his colleagues, had no
experience in Turkey. The situation of our Embassy
under the circumstances was lamentable. ... It was
made worse than it might have been from the mis-
chievous general rule of our Foreign Office which erects
an almost impassable barrier between the Consular and
Diplomatic Services. . . . There were three men in
the Consular Service whose help would have been
invaluable."

Ministerial and Consular Failings 255

It thus seems to be implied that this help, which would
have meant so much in the saving of valuable lives and the
wasted millions in gold, was absolutely barred by the false
dignity or inefficiency of someone at the Foreign Office.
England's only chance of attaining any success with the wily
Turks apparently rested upon one man. According to Sir
Edwin Pears :

" Nine months before the outbreak of war we had at
the British Embassy a Dragoman (interpreter), Mr.
Fitzmaurice, whose general intelligence, knowledge of
Turkey, of its Ministers and people, and especially of
the Turkish language, was, to say the least, equal to
that of the best Dragoman whom Germany ever
possessed. His health had run down and he had been
given a holiday, but when, I think in the month of
February, 1914, Sir Louis Mallet (the British Am-
bassador) returned to Constantinople, Mr. Fitzmaurice
did not return with him, and was never in Constan-
tinople until after the outbreak of war with England.

"•It is said that he did not return because the Turkish
Ambassador in London made a request to that effect
... I think it probable that if such a request was made
it was because Mr. Fitzmaurice did not conceal his
dislike of the policy which the Young Turks were
pursuing.

" As his ability and loyalty to his chief are beyond
question, and as he possesses a quite exceptional
knowledge of the Turkish Empire, and has proved
himself a most useful public servant ... it was noth-
ing less than a national misfortune that he did not
return with Sir Louis Mallet."

Baron von Wangenheim, the German Ambassador,
possessed a superbly equipped staff. It is known that he
distributed money, favours, and distinctions broadcast with a
free and bountiful hand. He played upon the weaknesses
and characteristics of the Orientals with such diplomatic skill
and cunning that he entirely won over the Young Turkish
party to his way of thinking. And the Young Turkish party
ruled and dictated to the whole country.

256 British Secret Service

The blame and responsibility for this extraordinary state
of affairs has been put by our indignant Press upon our
Foreign Office at home, which sent out, organised, and con-
trolled such a representation. The terrible defeat we suffered
at the Dardanelles has also been referred to as the natural
aftermath to such a sowing ; for proof of culpability as to
this see further on.

Our position in Turkey, says Sir Edwin Pears,

" was made worse than it might have been from the mis-
chievous general rule of our Foreign Office, which erects
an almost impassable barrier between the Consular and
Diplomatic Services, a barrier which I have long desired
to see broken down. When, some months afterwards, I
returned to England, I received a copy of the ' Appendix
to the Fifth Report of the Royal Commission on the
Civil Service,' published on July 16th, 1914, in which
(on p. 321) there is a letter written by me two years
earlier in which I made two recommendations. The
first was adopted, the second unfortunately was not. I
claimed that the Consular and Diplomatic Services
should be so co-ordinated that a good man in the
Consular Service in Turkey might be promoted into the
Diplomatic Service, and I instanced the case of Sir
William White, one of the ablest Ambassadors we ever
had in Constantinople, who had risen from being a
consular clerk to the Embassy. The facts under my
notice from July to the end of October, 1914, afforded
strong proof of the common sense of my recommend-
ation. The inexperience of the Ambassador and his
staff heavily handicapped British diplomacy in Turkey :
yet there were three men who had been or were in
the Consular Service whose help would have been
invaluable. They had each proved themselves able
Dragomans and each had many years' experience in
Turkey. The only explanation that I can give of why
their services were not at once made available in the
absence of Fitzmaurice was the absurd restriction to
which I have alluded."

The Press has also stated that the unsatisfactory pre-
cedent exhibited by the Embassy at Constantinople typified

Ministerial and Consular Failings 257

the British Legations at the Balkan capitals. We know how
badly we were disappointed, deceived, and let down in the
whole of that theatre of war. The best resume may be found
in an admirable series of articles, published, February 3rd to
8th, 1916, in the London Daily Telegraph, by that most
brilliant and experienced of Continental correspondents, Dr.
E. J. Dillon. They reveal the pitiful failings, weaknesses and
miscalculations of our Balkan Diplomatists in such glaring
vividness that the reader wonders at the marvels performed
by our gallant troops and Navy in the face of the difficulties
and obstructions they had to contend with.
Dr. Dillon wrote :

" High praise is due to the intentions of Entente diplo-
matists, which were truly admirable. They did their
best according to their lights during the campaign as
they had done their best before it was undertaken.
That the best was disastrous was not the result of a lack
of goodwill. What they were deficient in was insight
and foresight. Their habit is not to study the mental
and psychical caste of the peoples with whom they have
to deal, but to watch and act upon the shifts of the
circumstances. Amateurism is the curse of the British
nation. Their vision of the political situation in the
Balkans was roseate and blurred, and their moral
maxims were better fitted for use in the Society of
Friends than in intercourse with a hard-headed people
whose morality begins where self-interest ends. By
these methods, which, unhappily, are still in vogue, the
/diplomacy of Great Britain, France, and Russia lost the
key to Constantinople, and contributed unwittingly to
deliver over the Serbian people to the tender mercies of
the Bulgar and the Teuton. Turkey is still fighting us
in Europe and Asia. Roumania is neutral, and mis-
trustful, and the war is prolonged indefinitely. The
facts on which our statesmen relied turned out to be
fancies ; their expectations proved to be illusions ; and
their solemn negotiations a humiliating farce devised by
the Coburger, who moved the representatives of the
Allied Powers hither and thither like figures on a chess-
board."

258 British Secret Service

Mr. Crawford Price, the Balkan war correspondent,
writing in the Sunday Pictorial of February 27th, 1916,
alleges that the Greeks wanted to join the Allies in active
aggression On several occasions, but the Hellens were effec-
tively snubbed by our Diplomats. Although the General
Staff and the King were both willing at one time to intercede,
they opposed unconditional participation in the Dardanelle
enterprise, because they believed our ill-considered plans
would end in disaster. Mr. Price says that our Diplomatists
refused to consider their matured ideas based upon a lifelong
study of local conditions and the adoption of which would
probably have given us possession of Constantinople in a
month. Again, after we had failed, the Greek Government
submitted a plan on April 14th, 1915, for co-operation, but we
would have . nothing to do with it. Finally, when in May
following King Constantine offered to join forces with us upon
no other condition than that we should guarantee the in-
tegrity of his country (surely the least he could ask !), he
received a belated intimation to the effect that we could not
do so, as we did not wish to discourage Bulgaria.

After this, it will be remembered, England offered to
bribe Bulgaria with the Cavalla district belonging to
Greece.

No wonder Greece refused to be bribed with Cyprus when
Bulgaria had declined to be moved by the blind and in-
comprehensible enthusiasm which seems to have dominated
English diplomacy in the Near East. Or was a certain
Continental wag, well known in Diplomatic circles, nearer
the mark when he facetiously lisped, " Your English Govern-
ment is said to be slow and sure, which is quite true, in that
it is slow to act and sure to be too late " ?

It is a matter for consideration that the British Minister at
Sofia was changed during the war, whilst almost his whole
staff were only short-timers in Bulgaria, where such a gigantic
failure was proved by the subsequent actions of that mis-
guided and unfortunate country. What small advantages
were once obtained in this sphere of action seem all to have
been lost through our everlasting and repeated procrastina-

Ministerial and Consular Failings 259

tions and unpardonable delay. Had the permission of
Venezelos to land troops at Salonica been immediately acted
upon and the proffered co-operation of the Hellens accepted
with the cordiality it deserved, and half a million men been
marched to the centre of Serbia, that country would never
have been conquered by the enemy, whilst Bulgaria and
Roumania would have come in upon the side of the Entente,
and Turkey would have been beaten at the outset ; thereby
saving hundreds of thousands of valuable lives, and hundreds
of millions of pounds sterling.

What a difference this would have made to the length of
the war !

Our diplomacy failed.

Our then Government showed an utter lack of possessing
the art of foreseeing. The fruits of its policy, " Wait and
see," materialised into muddle, humiliation, slaughter, and
defeat.

Just criticism fell from Lord Milner, who, speaking at
Canterbury on October 31st, 1915, said :

" If the worst of our laches and failures, like the delay
in the provision of shells and the brazen-faced attempts
to conceal it, or the way we piled blunder upon blunder
in the Dardanelles, or the phenomenal failure of our
policy in the Balkans — if the nation was induced to
regard these as just ordinary incidents of war, then we
could never expect and should not deserve to see our
affairs better managed in the future. Truth all round
and clearness of vision were necessary to enable us to
win through."

A few days later Mr. Rudyard Kipling in the Daily
Telegraph wrote :

" No man likes losing his job, and when at long last
the inner history of this war comes to be written we
may find that the people we mistook for principals and
prime agents were only average incompetents moving
all hell to avoid dismissal."

History repeats itself, and George Borrow was not very

260 British Secret Service

wide of the mark when he wrote in 1854 : " Why does your
(English) Government always send fools to represent it at
Vienna ? " 1

The work of all foreign Ministers should consist in provid-
ing for contingencies long foreseen and patiently awaited.
Surely we must have some good and able men who do or can
serve us abroad ? Or does the fault lie with the Foreign Office
at home ?

The English Review of February, 1916, contained a serious
article entitled " The Failure of Sir Edward Grey," the logic
of which causes one to reflect. Its author, Mr. Seton-
Watson, argues as follows :

" From the moment that the mismanagement of the
Dardanelles Expedition became apparent to the Bul-
garians (and it must be remembered that the whole
Balkan Peninsula was ringing with the details at a time
when the British public was still allowed to know
nothing) only one thing could have prevented them
from joining the Central Powers, and that was the
prompt display of military force, as a practical proof
that we should not allow our ally to be crushed. . . .
Prince George of Greece was sent to Paris by his
brother, the King, with a virtual offer of intervention
in return for the Entente Powers guaranteeing the
integrity of Greek territory. The French were inclined
to consider the offer, but it was rejected by London on
the ground that no attention could be paid to ' un-
authorised amateur diplomacy.'

" This astonishing phrase was allowed to reach the
King of Greece, and having been applied to his own
brother on a mission which was anything but un-
authorised, naturally gave the greatest possible offence.

46 As a matter of fact, the Treaty was much more
comprehensive than is generally supposed. Under its
provisions the casus foederis arises not merely in the
event of a Bulgarian attack on Serbia, but also of an
attack from any other quarter also ; and therefore

Romany Rye," chapter 39.

Ministerial and Consular Failings 261

Greece, m not coming to Serbia's aid against Austria-
Hungary in 1914, had already broken her pledge.
Hence Sir Edward Grey, who must have been well
aware of this fact, was surely running a very grave risk
when he relied upon Greek constancy in a situation
which his own diplomatic failures had rendered infinitely
less favourable. On September 23rd Bulgaria mobilised
against Serbia ; yet on September 27th Sir Edward
Grey practically vetoed Serbia's proposal to take
advantage of her own military preparedness and to
attack Bulgaria before she could be ready. Next day
(September 28th) in the House of Commons he uttered
his famous pledge that, in the event of Bulgarian
aggression, ' We are prepared to give to our friends in
the Balkans all the support in our power, in the manner
that would be most welcome to them, in concert with
our Allies without reserve and without qualification.'
At the moment everyone in England, and above all in
Serbia, took this to mean that we were going to send
Serbia the military help for which she was clamouring ;
but on November 3rd Sir Edward Grey explained to an
astonished world that he merely meant to convey that
after Bulgaria had joined Germany ' there would be no
more talk of concessions from Greece or Serbia.' The
nawetS which could prompt such an explanation is
only equalled by the confusion of mind which could
read this interpretation into a phrase so explicit and
unequivocal. Greece's failure in her Treaty obligations
towards Serbia alone saved Britain from the charge of
failure to fulfil her pledge to Greece. Nothing can
exonerate Greece's desertion of her ally, but in view of
our tergiversation and irresolution, some allowance
must be made for King Constantine's attitude towards
the Entente. Sir Edward Grey, throwing to the winds
all his public pledges to Serbia, definitely urged upon the
French Generalissimo complete withdrawal from Sal-
onica and the abandonment of the Serbs to their fate.
General Joffre replied with the historic phrase : ' You
are deserting us on the field of battle and we shall have
to tell the world.' General Joffre carried his point,
and in the biting phrase of Sir Edward Carson, * the

262 British Secret Service

Government decided that what was too late three
weeks before was in time three weeks after.' But those
three weeks, which might have transformed the fortune
of the campaign, had been irretrievably lost through Sir
Edward Grey's lack of a Balkan policy. Even then our
hesitation continued. In Paris the question is being
asked on all sides why Sir Edward Grey, after such
repeated fiascoes, did not follow his late colleague, M.
Delcasse, into retirement, and what everyone is saying
in Paris, from the Quai d'Orsay to the Academic
Frangaise, surely need no longer be concealed from
London. The German Chancellor was unwise enough
to hint this in his speech, when he ascribed Germany's
Balkan success in large measure to our mistakes. The
fall of Sir Edward Grey, as the result of a demand for a
more energetic conduct of the war and for still closer
co-operation with our Allies, and the substitution of a
man of energy and first-rate ability, would be far the
most serious and disconcerting blow which the Germans
had yet received."

The halting, hesitating, vacillating " wait-and-see " policy
which seems to be revealed in such startling vividness by Mr,
Seton-Watson causes a deep thinker to ponder further.
Is it not possible that Sir Edward Grey, like the late Lord
Kitchener, may not have been his own master ? That he
in turn may have been held down and dictated to by the
one man whose own valuation of his personal services so
greatly exceeded the worth put upon them by the nation at
large ?

It is easy to state in the House of Commons, " I accept
entire responsibility," as Mr. Asquith did when the Gallipoli
disaster was questioned, but he surely ought then to have
been the questioner ! His statement, which the members of
the House were bound down by national loyalty not to attack
as they would have liked to have done, proved that the Prime
Minister had been meddling with military matters which should
have been left absolutely and entirely to military experts.
Hence it was that the nation learnt that the halting, hesitat-
ing, vacillating " wait-and-see " policy had paralysed not

Ministerial and Consular Failings 263

only the whole Gallipoli campaign, but particularly the
Suvla Bay expedition, which if properly exploited would
undoubtedly have given our arms one of the greatest victories
of the war. l

1 It has been said by those who were there that the English troops were
kept back and permitted to play about on the beach bathing and building
camp, etc., for three days after the first landing, thus giving the Turks more
than sufficient time to bring up opposing forces and successfully dig them-
selves in where required, whereas it was but nine miles across the peninsula,
which could presumably have been straddled in a few hours with little, if any,
opposition at the time of landing. Was this the suppressed episode " within
a few hours of the greatest victory of the war," which the Right Hon. Winston
Churchill referred to in his memorable speech, and which has been the subject
of so much surmise and comment ?

CHAPTER XX

THE SHAM BLOCKADE

Secret Service Protest against the Open Door to Germany —
Activity of our Naval Arm Nullified — Lord Northcliffe's
Patriotism — Blockade Bunkum — Position of Denmark — Huge
Consignments for Germany — The Declaration Fiasco — British
Ministers' Gullibility in Copenhagen — German Bank Guaran-
teeing the British against Goods going to Germany — British
Navy Paralysed by Diplomatic and Political Folly —
Statistics Extraordinary — Flouting the Declaration of
London — Sir Edward Grey's Dilatoriness and Puerile Apologia
— Lord Haldane Pushed Out — Lord Fisher's Efficiency Un-
recognised— Lord Devonport's Amazing Figures on German
Imports — Further Startling Statistics — British the Greatest
Muddlers on Earth — Noble Service by Australian Premier,
W. H. Hughes — Hollow Sham of the Danish Agreement and
the Netherlands Overseas Trust — Blockade Minister, Lord
Robert Cecil, and his Feeble Futile Efforts — More Statistics
—The Triumvirate — Asquith the Unready, Sir Edward Grey
the Irresolute, and Lord Haldane the Friend of the Kaiser
— David Lloyd George, the Saviour of the Situation — How
he Proved Himself a Man — A Neglected Opportunity.

During the first year of the war Secret Service agents busied
themselves much concerning the vast stream of goods,
necessities and munitions in the raw state which poured into
Germany direct and through neutral countries like the waters
of a rising flood over weirs on the Thames. Night and day
these ever-restless beings flitted as shadows along the secretly
or openly favoured trade routes. Persistently and energetic-
ally they followed up clues and signs of the trails of enemy
traders, from ports of entry to original sources. Week by
week, almost day by day, they flashed home news of then
present and future consignments of such importance and value
to the enemy that he paid exorbitant prices and ridiculous
commissions to help rush them over his frontiers. Seemingly
all was in vain. These efforts were but wasted. The work

The Sham Blockade 265

was apparently unappreciated and unresponsively received.
England, to all intents and purposes, was slumbering too
soundly to be awakened. Meanwhile, during every hour of
the twenty-four, unending processions of trade ships of every
shape, make and rig sneaked along the coasts of neutral
waters, as near to land as safety permitted, on their way to the
receiving ports of Germany.

Observers, stationed in lighthouses or on promontories,
who watched this abnormal freighting activity, could net
but help noticing that, whenever smoke showed itself upon
the horizon seawards, consternation at once became manifest
on the decks of these cargo carriers. They would squeeze
dangerously inshore, lay to, or drop anchors, bank up their
fires and damp down every curl of smoke which it was
possible to suppress ; in short, they adopted every conceivable
ruse to conceal their presence and identity.

If this trade was honest and legitimate, why should these
tactics be followed, and these precautions taken ? Res ipsa
loquitur.

As the year 1915 progressed and the inertia of the British
Government became more and more realised abroad, the
captains of freighters grew bolder and bolder, and the con-
fidence of the thousands upon thousands of get-rich-quick-
anyhow dealers ashore increased and multiplied accordingly.
No one, except the Germans themselves, knew or could get to
know the actual extent of this enormous volume of their
import trade. The chattels came from so many different
countries and were consigned through so many channels that
accurate records were rendered impossible ; whilst the
greater part was shipped in direct.

The English Press, which had been so self-denying and
loyal to the Government in spite of the shameful manner in
which it had been gagged and bound down, until the Censor's
blue-pencilling amounted almost to an entire suppression of
news, began to grumble and to hint very broadly that the
bombastic utterances of our Ministers regarding the effective-
ness of our blockade and the starvation of the Central Powers
were exaggerations and not facts. Men who had always put

266 British Secret Service

their country before any other consideration began to
proclaim that the so-called blockade was a delusion ; whilst
they quoted figures of imports to neutral countries which
were embarrassing to the Government. Something therefore
had to be done. The notorious Danish Agreement 1 was
accordingly framed in secret (in secret only from the British
public), and a very highly -coloured and altogether misleading
interpretation of its limitations and effectiveness was hinted
at in Parliament. In spite of terrific pressure upon Ministers
by members of both Houses, not a clause of this extraordinary
document was permitted to be published, although its con-
text was freely circulated or commented upon in the Press of
neutral countries and the whole Agreement was printed in
extenso on December 12th, 1915, in the Borsen, at Copenhagen.
What a sham and a farce this whole arrangement turned out
to be will be seen later.

It has ever been the proud boast of Englishmen that
Britannia rules the waves. Until this war the British Navy
had been supreme mistress of the seas, and no loyal person
within the Empire whereon the sun never sets has grudged a
penny of the very heavy taxation which has been necessary
to keep up the efficiency of our Fleet. From the commence-
ment of the war, however, our Fleet was tied up body
and soul, shackled in the intricacies of red tape entangle-
ments woven round its keels, guns, and propellers by lawyer
politicians who never could leave the management of naval
affairs to the Navy, any more than they could leave the
management of military affairs to the Army. In theory these
pedantic illusionists may be superb, whilst some of them even
stated (1915-16) that if they were removed from office during
the continuance of the war it would be a calamity. But in
practice the British public has seen proved too vividly — and
at what a cost ! — only an incessant stream of terrible disasters
and mishaps ; " milestones " in their policy of makeshift,
dawdle and defeat.

The first chapter in this book shows that our party system

1 Completed on November 19th, 1915.

The Sham Blockade 267

Government was probably directly responsible for the war
itself, or at least for our being precipitated unprepared into
it. Without a shadow of a doubt it is solely accountable for
the wild and riotously extravagant waste, for our colossal
supererogation, and for our excessive losses.

What would have happened to the Mother Country and
to her extensive Colonial Possessions had not Lord North-
cliffe, through the powerful newspapers he controls, stepped
in from time to time and torn off the scales which had been
plastered and bandaged upon the eyes of an all -too-confiding
British public, and just in the nick of time to save disaster
upon disaster too awful to contemplate ?

It is not necessary to enumerate the many and vital
matters which Lord Northcliffe helped an indignant and a
deluded public to consider and discuss, whereby the Govern-
ment was roused from its torpor and pushed into reluctant
activity, but the greatest of all canards which it had attempted
to foist upon Europe does very much concern the subject-
matter of this volume, hence it must be separately dealt
with. It is this so-called blockade, which amongst Teuton
traders in Northern neutral countries was looked upon as
the best of all " war jokes " !

It seems to be universally believed that had the British
Fleet been given a free hand and its direction left to the
discretion of a good, business-like, fighting Sea Lord, the war
would have been over within eighteen months from the first
declaration. As it has happened, the freedom of action of our
Fleet has been so hampered that our enemies have actually
been permitted to draw certain food supplies not only from
our own Colonies, but from the United Kingdom itself. How
can it be argued that this suicidal policy has not helped to
drag out the war and add to its terrible and unnecessary
wastage of life and wealth, with the aftermath of woe and
misery consequent thereon ?

For our Ministers to affirm that Germany has been starved
by our blockade is as untrue as it is ridiculous. The bunkum
which has filled the thousands upon thousands of Press
columns in different countries on this subject has been mere

268 British Secret Service

chimerical effort, in great part subsidised from indirect pro-
German sources of more or less remote origin in accordance
with the value of the publication used.

Now for a dissection of the facts concerning the main
subject.

Passing over innumerable paragraphs in the Press which
hinted at much more than they disclosed, attention should be
given to an article which appeared in the January (1916)
number of the National Review (pp. 771-780), in which a naval
correspondent gives record of a startling amount of supplies
of cotton, copper, oils, foodstuffs and other commodities that
were permitted to pass into Germany by permission of our
benevolent Government.

The Edinburgh Review of the same month also contains
an article worthy of perusal upon the same subject. Many
other periodicals directly and indirectly touched upon it, but
for proof positive and authentic evidence the reader is referred
to the files of the Daily Mail. That paper, in its persistent
and praiseworthy patriotism, by pushing forward everything
it honestly believed to be for the Empire's good, or which it
hoped might help shorten the war, determined to get to the
bottom of the matter. In order to ascertain how far this
alleged supplying of Germany was permitted it arranged for
one of its Special Commissioners to visit Scandinavia for the
express purpose of collecting evidence on the spot and for
publication in its columns. The author has taken the liberty
of extracting freely therefrom. On January 12th, 1916, the
special series of articles commenced as follows :

" In setting out the facts I will try hard to keep from
my presentation of them any distortion due to the dis-
gust and burning anger that they evoked in me, as they
must do in every patriot of this Empire.

" Lest even for a moment a wrong and cruel suspicion
rest upon little Denmark — namely, that she is un-
friendly towards the Allies and has been ' two-faced ' in
the many tokens of friendliness and respect she has
shown us, I say with conviction that there is not a truer
or deeper love for England and the English than exists

The Sham Blockade 269

to-day in Denmark. These Danes, forefathers of so
many of our race, warm still to Britain and the British.
Their hearts glow to our successes, yearn to our reverses.
Deep down they are for us through and through. The
best Danes revolt at the work Denmark is now forced to
do. A big and greedy German fist hangs over her —
threatening, bullying, driving. ' So far as in you lies,'
says the bully behind that fist, ' you must be useful to
us — as useful at least as you are to our enemy ' — (aside,
' even more useful if we can make you so ') — ' and should
you fail by one iota to yield us such surplus food
commodities as you produce and such food commodities
as you can get ' — (aside, ' by hook or by crook ') —
' from abroad, then the consequences for you will be
serious. We shall seize Denmark.' "

Here follow several columns of statistics relating to the
importation of foodstuffs to Denmark, showing increases in
some instances of upwards of 1,000 per cent, upon her normal
supplies.

Denmark's total population is under 3,000,000, and to
argue that she would, or even could, use these commodities
herself is mere foolishness. Extracting further :

" The vast bulk of Denmark's pork goes to Germany
— either directly, by train or ship, or via Sweden, where
obliging workmen, dignified pro tern, with the title
1 merchant consignee ' (but whose whole stock-in-trade
consists perhaps of a hammer, some nails and a batch
of labels), change the labels on the goods and perhaps
turn upside down the marked ends of the packing-cases,
and then re-consign the goods to Germany.

" And they may even leave Sweden in the very
railway trucks and cases in which they have arrived
and travel to Germany back through Denmark in sealed
trucks over which the Danish Customs have no control.
Or there may be no need to trouble to send them to
Sweden. They may leave Copenhagen docks direct for
Lubeck, Warnemunde, Stettin, or Hamburg, in direct
steamers, of which some 500 sailed during the year. Or
they may go by train. Huge trains leave every day.

270 British Secret Service

The trains and ferries and boats connecting Denmark
and Germany are so full that there is competition for
room. How often may one see the Danish shippers, in
advertising their sailings for German ports, add the
significant words, ' Cargo space already full ' days
before the actual date of sailing !

" Now more Swedish traffic than ever crosses the
water from Malmo or Helsingborg and makes its way
to Germany across Denmark by rail. I have stood
about the railways at many points in the two countries
and watched truck after truck go by — all to cross the
German frontier below Kolding, in Jutland. The great
wagons were closed and a little seal gleamed red on their
black doors. I have stood, too, on the quays at these
ports and watched the dock cranes lifting and lowering
sack after sack, box after box, and barrel after barrel,
from the quays to German-bound steamers, to German
words of command, and on the main or mizzen-mast of
the steamer would be as often as not the gloomy little
German flag, black and white and red, still blacker and
gloomier with the smoke drifting from the funnel
before it.

" On the quays at Copenhagen I watched the steamers
Hugo Stinnes, of Hamburg, Esberg, Snare, Haeland,
Hever, and others, of Sweden, loading wine from Spain
and Portugal ; oil, lard, coffee and petroleum from
America ; meat from Denmark, and many other goods,
all for German ports. I travelled to Malmo, in Sweden,
with a cargo of oils and fats and iron and boxes with no
marks on them, and at Malmo saw these things put
ready on the quay to await the next German steamer.
At the same port I saw pork in boxes, meatstuffs in
boxes and barrels labelled ' Armour and Co.,' oils and
fats bearing the names Swift or Morris or Harrison or
Salzberger, and some of them adding the information
l^hat the contents were ' guaranteed to contain 30 per
cent, of pure neat's-foot oil ' ; also petroleum of ' Best
Standard White ' and other brands ; pork c fat backs,'
and many other things besides, all labelled ' Lubeck '
and going into lighters for transport thither. Fussing
tugs, with a litter of 400-ton lighters behind, may be

The Sham Blockade 271

seen travelling these waters all hours of the day bound
for Germany, and no one can say what mysterious
cargoes slip from country to country at night. The
glut of traffic at these link -points is tremendous. At some
ports there is such a glut of stuff that Danish traders
complain that they cannot get their own Danish produce
over to Germany ' because of the amount of foreign stuff '
there is to be ferried over. A pretty position, indeed !

" And it is we in Great Britain who are allowing all this
1 foreign stuff ' to reach these countries. It is British
licences and permits and recommendations which
make possible this pouring of the world's goods into
Germany. Little wonder the Danish merchants and
other onlookers less friendly to us look with wonder
upon us. ' My word, but you are truly a Christian
people,' they say. ' You love your enemies all right —
well enough to feed them. And if you, England, will
allow the stuff over, it is not for us, little Denmark, to
stand in Germany's way.'

" But how is all this possible, you may ask, this
feeding of Germany through neutral Scandinavian
countries ? Are there not strict undertakings and
promises and guarantees given to England against
these goods, supplied from outside, ever reaching our
enemy, Germany ?

" Our Navy does its part. Ships are hauled into
and searched. Guarantees are exacted and forth-
coming. And the whole performance, admirably and
bravely done, is so much waste of effort. For the
guarantees are not worth the ink they are written with ;
they are not worth a single tinker's expletive. To
show this will be a little intricate, perhaps, but it is
worth trouble to follow.

" Goods leave Great Britain and America, Spain and
other countries for Danish ports. The shipper, now
wary of the British Fleet, which has done wonderful
police duty on the high seas, generally exacts a declara-
tion that the goods are not for export to an enemy
country. The declaration is signed right willingly, for
the consignor can quite easily believe, or pretend to
believe, that his goods are merely for Denmark. A

272 British Secret Service

British warship overhauls the boat, and perhaps takes

her into (a certain British port) for examination.

" The declaration with each consignment is in order.
But, not satisfied (the Navy all through have been
suspicious, and rightly), the officer communicates with
London. ' The s.s. so-and-so has big consignments of
foodstuffs for Copenhagen under the names So-and-So.
Can we release them ? ' London communicates with
our Legation at Copenhagen, in whose hands they are
in this matter. ' Can we let through consignments to
So-and-So in your capital ? ' And our Copenhagen
Legation replies with a list of the Danish people whose
consignments must be let through and a list of those (if
any) whose goods must be stopped or forwarded only
on declaration that the goods must not leave Copen-
hagen Harbour or Copenhagen City. It all looks
admirable — most businesslike ; quite systematic and
thorough. It is so much nonsense. For in point of fad
the ideas of our Legation at Copenhagen on the good faith
of some Danish traders and the bad faith of others are
childish beyond words. Their rulings are the laughing-
stock of Denmark. And the joke would be all the more
appreciable were it not that there is so much anger
caused by the arbitrariness of the Legation's trade
rulings and the baiting of some honest men, while less
honest go free and trade with impunity. Struck by the
frequency with which one or two names appeared in the
Copenhagen importers' lists, I made some calculations,
then some personal inquiries. I found that c X ' alone
had imported during the year 4,000,000 lbs. pork,
3,000,000 lbs. lard, 2,500,000 lbs. oleo, 1,000,000 lbs.
other pork and meat. ' Y,' another man, imported in
September, October and November alone, 1,045,000
lbs. of cocoa. Neither of these men was engaged in
these trades before the war. They were men of quite
humble business attainments. Yet both enjoyed the full
confidence of our trusting British Legation at Copenhagen,
who would have taken solemn affidavits, no doubt, that
neither of these men traded with Germany. I would
have done the same myself. But these men traded
with others who did trade with Germany, either

The Sham Blockade 273

directly or through third and fourth and maybe fifth
parties.

" What is the result ? You have in Copenhagen that
amazing modern war phenomenon the trader of the nth
degree. Plain Trader imports his goods and basks and
grows fat under the aegis of the British Legation in
Copenhagen. Trader 2 buys from Plain Trader under
a ■ guarantee ' not to sell to Germany, and if he does not
dare to break that guarantee himself he sells to Trader
3 or Trader 4 or Trader 5, one of whom will undoubtedly
do it. And the less money that Trader 5 has the better,
because then, even if he is caught, which is not likely,
for nobody worries, no one can squeeze him for the
amount of the guarantee because he has not got it.

" The result is that every Tom, Dick and Harry of
Copenhagen is a trader — from the bona fide merchant
downwards. Your hotel porter may be trading with a
Hungarian for flour or rice or fat ; the " Boots " can
get you a ton or two of meal. Imagine the amazement
of the Danish housewife when her maid came in one day
and, with hands clasped in enthusiasm, said, c Oh,
madam, I've got three wagon-loads of marmalade to
sell ' ! And that happened in Copenhagen not long ago.

" The newspapers are daily blackened with great
display advertisements offering goods for sale. I have
before me as I write a whole sheaf of such advertise-
ments, offering anything, from American lard to potash
and oil and cocoa and coffee. And not one of these
advertisements has a name or an address to it ; nothing
but a telephone number. One or two of these I tracked
down, only to find as vendors simple, kindly souls, such
as old shopwomen, caretakers, porters, shop-girls, and
the rest waiting for an offer for their goods. Per contra, as
the book-keepers say, there are advertisements from
those wanting goods, and these are often more out-
spoken.

" Some of these nameless advertisements treat of
great quantities. ' Ten thousand kilos fat, with permit
to export ; 20,000 kilos salted half-pigs ; 50,000 kilos
salt meat ' ; and much more says one advertisement
alone. And the good soul answering to your inquiry

274 British Secret Service

may prove a simple little typewriting girl — one of
Copenhagen's new traders to the nth. degree.

" The machinery that has been established by Great
Britain in Denmark for preventing imported foodstuffs
from reaching our enemy might be very admirable — if
only it worked.

14 There has been little or no enforcement of the
trading laws imposed upon Danish traders by Great
Britain. We have supplied them with goods and have
allowed them to help themselves to goods from all the
ends of the earth upon set conditions — namely, that
those goods should not go to Germany, our enemy.
They go to Germany, nevertheless, and they go because
we have no one in Denmark who sees to it that they shall
not go. Great Britain, in short, lacks a watchful police-
man in Denmark. Great Britain also lacks a live
sergeant at home to see to it that her Denmark police-
man does not sleep on his beat. I1 he British Foreign
Office is the sergeant I mean ; the British Legation at
Copenhagen, or its commercial department, is the police-
man. Theirs is the duty. And both have failed us.

" Take the written declarations made by traders that
goods supplied to them by or through us shall not go to
Germany. Without control and enforcement they are
perfectly useless. I myself found traders who told me
point-blank that they would consider such agreements
as this not morally binding upon them. c Your Navy
seizes our ships,' said one, ' and your Foreign Office
releases them only on condition that the goods they
contain shall be subject to your own conditions. I sign
those conditions, but they are exacted from me by force,
and I don't consider them as worth a snap of the
fingers. If you put a pistol to my head and said,
" Sign that cheque," I'd sign it, but I'd telephone to the
bank the minute you'd gone and stop payment. And
I'll do the same thing with your British import agree-
ments.' These agreements are perhaps ' backed ' by
a money penalty. The banks undertake this guarantee
part of the business. For a modest 3 per cent, or
so they will put up your money guarantee against your
goods ever reaching Germany and contravening the

The Sham Blockade 275

agreement clause. And when the goods go on to
Sweden the Swedish banks relieve the Danish banks of
their obligations. And when the goods go on from
Sweden to Germany, who relieves the Swedish banks ?
I have it on the word of a man I believe to be thoroughly
honest and well informed that the North German Bank
of Hamburg alone has taken over from Swedish banks of
late in one transaction as much as £78,000 worth of
guarantees — that the goods will not reach Germany !
Was ever there such a comedy ? A German bank guaran-
teeing that much-needed goods will not reach Germany I

" The Germans are not 8 let down ' by their dip-
lomacy in Copenhagen. A constant weight is poised
carefully and with a silken brutality over little Den-
mark's head and von Ranzau smiles and assures
Denmark he is really preserving her from his powerful
master. And he gets his way, of course. The little
matter of a permit for export ? Well, perhaps it can be
managed for you, Baron — especially as the British
watchman is asleep just now !

"So the great game goes on. If Denmark has goods
that cannot obtain a permit for direct export to Ger-
many they can go via Sweden. Vice versa, if Sweden
has goods about which our active British Legation
there is too curious, send them to Denmark and re-
export them. That is simple. And I have seen for
myself at Denmark's port of Copenhagen Swedish goods
(casks of American oil) which had been refused permits
for shipment direct from Sweden to Germany, being
loaded into the steamer Heinrich Hugo Stinnes, of
Hamburg, for shipment to Hamburg. Also, on the quay
at Malmo (Sweden) I have seen goods for which Den-
mark had refused a direct export permit being loaded
into nameless lighters for shipment to German Liibeck.

6 Thus agreements, promises, guarantees, and pro-
hibitions— the whole commercial code that Great Britain
has devised for regulating imports into Denmark and for
checking their re-export to Germany (and, incidentally,
for displaying to us at home) are so much meaningless
pantomime. They have become so simply because the
honester traders of Denmark, and the dishonest parasites

276 British Secret Service

of all nations who work under them and through them,
have found that there is no supervision, no punishment,
no judge to answer. Our watchmen, both in London and
in Copenhagen, have slept"

On January 13th, 1916, Lord Sydenham in the House of
Lords raised the question of " Feeding the Germans," and in
his speech stated that in cocoa alone our exports for August-
July, 1913-14, were 6,138 tons as against 32,083 tons for
1914-15. For the sixteen months preceding the war our
exports were 8,883 tons, as against 33,357 tons during the
first sixteen months of the war.

Lord Lansdowne, following, admitted that " there was an
enormous balance unaccounted for which it was reasonable to
suppose found its way to enemy countries"

The following are the exports of cocoa to the countries
named in the years 1913, 1914, and up to December 80th,
1915 :

Cocoa Exports

In lbs. to

1913.

1914.

1915.
(to Dec. 30

Holland

2,205,282

12,203,463

9,298,805

Denmark

50,782

1,853,948

10,615,873

Scandinavia

343,573

3,079,904

14,606,309

A leading article in the Daily Mail of January 14th, 1916,
stated :

" The strength of the greatest Navy in the world is
being paralysed by administrative feebleness and
diplomatic weakness. Had our sea power been used,
as the sailors would have used it, from the opening of
the war, it is possible that Germany would before now
have collapsed. The mightiest weapon in our arsenal
has been blunted because our politicians imagined they
could wage what Napoleon called ' rosewater war,' and
were more eager to please everybody than to hurt the
enemy, and because our diplomatists are remiss.

The Sham Blockade 277

" On December 29th the Neue Freie Presse, x a leading
Austrian newspaper, published for the benefit of the
people of Vienna an advertisement offering provisions
from Holland. A list of the articles which could be
supplied at moderate prices followed. It included
cocoa, chocolate, potatoes, flour, sausages, sides of
bacon, butter, coffee, tea, sardines, oranges, lemons and
figs.

" And yet Mr. Runciman tells us that the Germans are on
the verge of starvation !

" The cure for this state of affairs is to infuse greater
energy and insight into our diplomacy and to free the
Navy from its paper fetters. Much of the mischief is
due to the want of capable advisers at the British
Legations in the neutral capitals and of energy and
vigilance on the part of the Foreign Office at home.
The Germans have been quick to realise the importance
of stationing active agents at the vital posts.

" The present system of setting diplomatists who have
lived all their life in a world of formality to deal with the
sharpest business men in Europe in a matter where huge
profits are at stake is an immense blunder which may have
the most serious consequences.

" Our very gentleness with Denmark is being quoted
in that country to prove that we are not likely to win
the war. This is undoubted and dangerous fact."

On January 14th, 1916, the Special Commissioner in a
further article, headed, " The Sham Blockade : British tyres on

1 The following illuminating advertisement also appeared in the Neue
Freie Presse of January 16 :

<4For Sale.

40 tons prime beef, fresh packed in ice from Holland.

Condensed milk from Amsterdam.

Raspberry jam.

China tea, 25 chests.

Soap, 20 to 40 per cent, fatty matter, 8 wagons.

Sausages from Holland.

Cement, linseed oil, a wagon of each every week from Denmark.

Apply, etc."

Not far away from the above advertisement in the same paper is another.
" Soup extract, 2 Jd. a cube. Soup vegetables, Julienne, Is. 8d. per lb.,
China tea (Souchong), 5s. per lb., just come from a Danish export house."

278 British Secret Service

German Cars," explained in detail the tricks used by un-
scrupulous foreigners and others to acquire stocks of rubber
motor-tyres for German use. He complained, with reason,
that the broken promises, broken guarantees, and reckless
manner in which permits to trade were granted seemed to be
almost entirely the fault of the British Foreign Office repre-
sentatives at the British Legation. He concludes with the
following paragraph :

44 Is this soft-heartedness towards commercial short-
comings and laxity characteristic of our British control
in Copenhagen ? On the evidence that I have I
honestly believe it to be so. But is this attitude solely
the individual attitude of Britain's representatives in
Copenhagen or is it merely a reflex of the Foreign
Office attitude at home ?

" I think the true answer is that the Copenhagen
Legation attitude is a reflex of our Foreign Office
attitude. But if London is mild, Copenhagen is puny ;
if London is a lamb, Copenhagen is a sucking dove."

On January 13th, 1916, the following paragraph appeared
in the Globe :

44 We cannot disregard the startling and amazing
figures collected in Denmark by the Special Com-
missioner sent out by the Daily Mail.

44 Of course, all these commodities are consigned to
Danish purchasers, under guarantees that they are
not intended for the enemy. What purposes these
guarantees serve except to hold harmless the vessels in
which the articles are conveyed we are at a loss to
understand.

" No sane person will believe that the Danish people
have suddenly developed such a passion for pork that
they must increase their consumption by 1,300 per cent.,
or that every man, woman and child in Denmark requires
the daily bath in cocoa with which the 23,000 tons they
now import would appear to be intended to provide
them. The only possible inference from these figures is
that we are being deluded, and are feeding Germany in
our own despite."

The Sham Blockade 279

The Pall Mall Gazette of January 18th, 1916, said :

" Revelations like these can only be described as
heart-breaking to the men and women who have given
their sons and brothers and husbands to the end that
Germany may be brought to her knees. Now they find
that some malign spell has paralysed the Navy's arm so
that, instead of Germany's foreign supplies being cut
off, they are in some vital respects more abundant than

The Quarterly Review, January, 1916, contains a powerful
article on " The Danish Agreement." It suggests how some
blight has been at work in our Foreign Office for years steadily
undermining our mastery of the sea. One paragraph bears
particularly on the present point :

" No informed man doubts that the winter of
1916-17 must weaken to a marked degree, through lack
of food, Germany's armed resistance, always assuming
that she is not supplied through neutral countries.
The existence of England depends on her victory over
Germany. Her victory over Germany depends on the
cutting off of neutral supplies. Therefore the existence
of England depends on the cutting off of neutral
supplies. But when, in August, 1914, the Cabinet and9
above all, the Foreign Office, were confronted by this great
possibility of stratagem every psychological force was set
in motion against its adoption"

A telegram from Washington, U.S.A., on January 17th,
1916, to the Morning Post, set out the exports permitted to
be poured into neutral countries in spite of all the efforts and
protests of our Navy by our all -too-benevolent Foreign Office,
and in face of Mr. Asquith's pledges to the House of Commons
in March and in November, 1915, when he emphasised to loud
cheering that he would stick at nothing to prevent commodities
of any kind reaching or leaving Germany. That there was no
form of economic pressure to which he did not consider we were
entitled to win the war.

280

Wheat
Maize

Boots
Cotton
Motor-
cars &
Parts

British Secret Service

Exports to Neutral Countries

To

Holland, Norway,
Sweden, Denmark

Denmark

Holland

Other neutrals

1913.

Bushels.

19,000,000
4,750,000
6,900,000
2,100,000

1915.

Bushels.

50,000,000

10,950,000

11,600,000

6,400,000

13,750,000

28,950,000

Wheat Holland
Flour Other neutrals

Barrels.
708,000
709,000

Barrels.
1,500,000
3,800,000

1,417,000

5,100,000

Bacon Holland

Other neutrals

lbs.
3,900,000
27,000,000

lbs.
9,000,000
82,500,000

30,900,000

91,500,000

Neutrals
Neutrals

Neutrals

1914
462,000 pairs
53,000 bales

£260,000

1915

4,800,000 pairs
1,100,000 bales

£4,000,000

The New York Journal of Commerce, quoting statistics of
the U.S.A. export trade for the first ten months of 1915 under
a headline, " Increase to Neutral Europe Equals German
Loss," shows that " whilst shipments to Germany fell away
£31,400,000 for the period named, the gain to the neutral
nations on the north of Germany was £32,000,000."

What could give more confirmatory proof ?

On January 24th, 1916, the Morning Post received a

The Sham Blockade 281

further cablegram from Washington, U.S.A., containing the
elucidating facts that in the ten months from January 1st to
October 31st, 1913, Germany imported from the U.S.A.
9,898,289 lbs. of cotton-seed oil, the Netherlands 31,867,327
lbs., and Norway 6,174,033 lbs.

In the corresponding ten months of 1915 the figures were :
Germany, nil ; the Netherlands, 93,153,175 lbs. ; and
Norway 24,110, 269 lbs.

Other statistics follow, such as cotton-seed, meal and cake,
etc., proving beyond all shadow of doubt that neutral coun-
tries were importing far more goods and foodstuffs, etc., than
their usual average imports plus the total previous imports of
Germany in addition.

A careful analysis of the leading American exports showed,
almost without an exception, the striking fact that the prices
of peace exports were very much lower in 1915 than in 1913 ;
whilst the prices of war exports all showed large and heavy
advances.

Deducing from these figures, leader-writers came to the
obvious conclusion that Germany was enjoying unrestricted
imports for which Great Britain directly or indirectly paid.

Returns from other parts of the world merely corroborated,
adding proof upon proof. By way of example the Brazilian
official trade returns during the first nine months of 1913,
compared with 1915, show the following exports to the
countries named :

1913.

1915.

£

£

Sweden

389,475

2,844,787

Norway

63,562

594,900

Denmark

105,637

715,387

In addition to the export figures given and those quoted
from the U.S.A. should be added the enormous quantities
of corn, etc., re-exported from Liverpool and other British
ports under special license issued by our Government.

It is therefore reasonably arguable that our Government

282 British Secret Service

has used our Fleet to convoy our Merchantmen in freighting
foodstuffs, at our expense, to feed the Germans. By this in-
comprehensible tolerance home prices of food in the United
Kingdom were directly raised to a high figure and neutral
countries were directly helped to pile up fortunes by bleeding
and pinching our own peoples in order to feed their enemies.

On January 21st, 1916, in the House of Commons Major
Rowland Hunt asked the Foreign Secretary " whether the
Foreign Office had been aware of the state of things demon-
strated by the American trade statistics and if so could he
say how much longer our Navy was to be crippled by the
Foreign Office, the war prolonged, and many more thousands
of our men sacrificed ? "

Sir E. Grey : "I understand that the subject is to be
discussed next week. I must, however, say that the state-
ments in the question are grossly unfair and entirely mis-
represent the facts of the case. I reserve any further state-
ment I have to make until next week."

From December 16th to 30th, 1915, just on 25,000 tons of
iron ore were openly consigned to Germany through Rotterdam
and Holland ; as to which see further on.

Here is a sample report of the sales one day at Esbjerg
(Denmark) cattle market, December, 1915 :

" Cattle sold to-day numbered 1,450 head, of which
Street, of Hamburg, bought 141 ; Dar Neilsen, of Kiel, 330 ;
Franck of Berlin, 440 ; an Austrian buyer, 327."

This leaves 212 for Danish buyers. No wonder best beef
was then half a crown a pound in Denmark !

Incidentally great quantities of the fodder with which
these cattle for Germany are fed come from British ports and
possessions.

Our Government was fully, persistently, and impressively
advised by the Secret Service agents of this continual and
enormous export of cattle and beef direct to Germany in
January and February, 1915. Yet it apparently did not lift
a finger to attempt to stop or divert it throughout the year
following, or at any time.

Sweden, which normally imports 734,720 lbs. of meat in

The Sham Blockade 283

November and exports 2,961,280 lbs., imported during
November, 1915, 8,016,960 lbs.

Holland, which usually imports in November 1,843,520
lbs. of meat and exports 11,874,240 lbs., imported in
November, 1915, no less than 17,973,760 lbs.

In the light of these figures it seems idle to say that our
blockade was tightened or in any degree effectual.

In the House of Commons on January 19th, 1916, Mr.
Booth put the following question to Lord Robert Cecil in
reference to these exports.

Mr. Booth : "Is the noble Lord aware that the Germans
in New York toasted the health of the Foreign Office at
Christmas time ? "

No answer was returned.

On January 26th, 1916, Sir Edward Grey delivered his
promised reply in the House of Commons. It was brilliant
oratory, but it was not argument. It was a defence of the
Navy, which needed no defence. It was a masterpiece of
forensic jurisprudence, but it revealed between the chinks
of polished sentences and high-sounding declamation, in
startling nakedness, the weaknesses, the unwarrantable
hesitating caution, or the downright cowardice of the Cabinet.
With such grace and skill did the speaker unfold his case that
a reader, unaware of the facts concealed behind it, would
believe the policy and actions of the Government had been
hitherto faultless, flawless, and blameless. Reading it at a
later date brought to my mind the story of a poacher's wife,
who with tears of grateful joy streaming down her countenance,
thanked a learned junior counsel for his able and successful
defence of her husband, who had been charged with stealing
a certain shot-gun.

M My good woman," replied her modest advocate, " it was
only a mistake. The judge truly said that your good hus-
band left the Court without a stain upon his character. It
was only alleged that he stole the gun."

" Alleged be bothered," said the woman ; " why, we've
got the gun at home now ! "

If this speech of Sir Edward Grey, as a speech, had a fault

284 British Secret Service

at all, it was that the defence he made was too good to ring
true. At the time of its utterance it appeared to appease the
House. No one wished to hamper the Government, which,
like the energetic but painfully inefficient pianist at a certain
Western mining camp, was protected by proclamation :
" Please don't shoot. He's doing his best." But outside
the House the underlying effect of the speech upon thinking
people was very different. It created satisfaction in Germany
and amongst neutral Governments. It caused great jubila-
tion amongst the vast army of mushroom traders and ad-
venturers abroad who were piling up fortunes by illicit
trading. But it left Englishmen and our true sympathisers
in this tragic war irritable, indignant, and unsatisfied ;
smouldering in their just wrath at the confessed weak-kneed
policy of politicians, who, however good their intentions,
proved that they had not yet grasped the difference between
a quarrel at law and a quarrel at war.

It left the nation disappointed. The people felt we had
been fooling with the war too long ; that the time had
arrived for some strong and decisive action. That politics
and patronage should be shelved and the Navy given a free
hand. It remembered how the Government had hesitated,
procrastinated, and vacillated in this so-called blockade, as in
other matters. It remembered that Parliament had refused
to pass a code of international rules called the Declaration of
London because that code, made largely to please Germany,
weakened the hands of the Navy. It remembered that the
Government had gone behind the back of Parliament and illegally
put that very code into operation after war began. It had not
forgotten that this proved such a scandalous weakening of
our right and our strength that soon after the Coalition
Government came into being that code was said to have been
scrapped. Even as to this doubts arose for long afterwards.1

It had not forgotten the seventeen long months of public

1 "Apparently the Declaration of London was valid in the House of
Commons, but not valid in the House of Lords." — Lord Beresford, House of
Lords, February 23rd, 1916.

The Sham Blockade 285

pressure and the trouble there had been to force cotton as
contraband ; nor the seventeen months of " wait and see "
before the Navy was permitted to examine mails and extract
(inter alia) parcels of rubber. It had not forgotten Sir
Edward Grey's declaration that " he had no intention of
making cotton contraband " ; nor Lord Haldane's contention
that " it was useless stopping the import of cotton to Ger-
many, because if we did Germany could find a substitute
for it."

The nation had been deceived and lulled to sleep before by
soft words and gentle assurances. It had been told, " we
decline to be bound by judicial niceties." It had been
promised " to prevent commodities of any kind from entering
or leaving the enemy's country " ; "to stick at nothing." It
remembered with some misgiving how these promises had
been kept.1

What, it reasoned, were the disappointments of a few
Dutch and Scandinavian adventurers from making fortunes
out of a war which to ourselves was a tragedy ? The country
had unbounded confidence in the Navy. It had not un-
bounded confidence in either the Government or the Foreign
Office. It hungered with an overwhelming desire to know
why the Navy should not be given a free and unhampered
hand.

The speaker skilfully evaded too much information on that
point, and the nation was compelled to nurse its resentment.

At the outset of his speech, Sir Edward Grey attempted to
deal with the mass of statistics and evidence of direct im-
portation of goods into Germany accumulated by the Press.
He selected wheat and flour only, whilst he casually referred
to a list of figures issued by the Press Bureau from the War
Trade Department of the Government the day before the
debate, which members in the House rightly complained had
not been supplied to themselves. This list was stated to have
been compiled officially in this country from true copies of

1 In referring to the keeping of Government pledges, Sir A. Markham (L.)
said : " The only thing the Prime Minister has stuck to has been his salary."
—House of Commons, March, 1916.

286 British Secret Service

the ships' manifests, and it alleged the figures given by the
Danish Borsen were in many cases wrong and unduly
inflated. For instance, the increase in rice imports should
have been only 480 per cent, as against 580 per cent. ; lard,
275 per cent, instead of 375 per cent. ; pork only 1,216 per
cent, instead of 1,300 per cent ; and so on. Now everyone
knows that statistics are not infallible and a generous allow-
ance should always be made by a careful calculator. But
when all circumstances are taken into consideration it can
safely be concluded that the majority of the increases alleged
by the various Press writers, as having percolated into
Germany, were, if anything, under rather than over the mark.

As to the reliability of the Borsen, it is edited by a Govern-
ment statistician, and considered by Danish traders as official.

So far as Norway is concerned, H.B.M. Minister at
Christiania had difficulty in obtaining official statistics re-
garding imports and exports after the Casement affair
remained unanswered ; certain it is that Government
assistance was denied to various Consuls acting under him ;
whilst I, when in that country, was informed (by British
authorities) I must not collect these figures, although to me
and others working with me they were comparatively easy of
access.

So far as Foreign Office knowledge is concerned, it is
hardly a credit to the ability or even sanity of the British
Legations in Scandinavia if they have denied knowledge of
these colossal imports of goods into Germany, which were
known to almost every inhabitant of seaport towns. If
they deliberately shut their eyes to the evidence all
around them, they presumably obeyed orders. One
could then only wonder as to the reason for such suicidal
policy.

As before mentioned, at the commencement of his speech
Sir Edward Grey laid stress upon the fact that part of the
stated increased import, namely, 2,000,000 barrels of flour
were allowed to be exported to Belgium ; whilst a little later
in his speech he admitted that " She [Germany] had
requisitioned the food supplies of the civil population of

The Sham Blockade 287

Poland and Belgium." Almost immediately afterwards Lord
Robert Cecil strove hard to back up the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, but he could not give the House any positive assurance
that the Belgian Relief distribution was absolutely inde-
pendent of German control. The disposition of this is
therefore obvious.

Sir Edward Grey attempted to whittle down the U.S.A.
exports of wheat by stating that nearly half went to Spain,
Portugal, Greece, and Malta ; but he did not refer to the
corn, etc., exported to Northern neutrals from Liverpool and
other British ports, nor did he make any allowances for the
stream of mysterious ships sailing round far northern seas
(many of them choosing the passage north of Iceland), which
sighted land on the north-western coast of Norway and
carried their course inside neutral waters into the Baltic;
which heavily-laden cargo-boats I and others in the Secret
Service had watched and reported week by week and month
by month with heart-rending persistency. The majority of
these ships probably sailed direct to German ports, and no
records of their cargoes were likely to be made, or returned
from any country concerning them. Nor did Sir Edward
Grey make reference to the grain ships, which although
nominally bound for Scandinavian ports, were intercepted by
their owners' or consignees' agents in the Baltic, for the
purpose of varying orders for their ultimate port of destina-
tion ; nor to the ships which were held up in the Baltic by
German war vessels and taken to German ports under circum-
stances calling for grave investigation. Nor did he attempt
to answer the general American statistics showing that the
gain in imports to northern neutral countries exceeded the
German loss.

About the middle of his speech Sir Edward Grey said :
" If a vessel was held up by the Fleet with suspected cargo
on board, the matter was referred to the contraband com-
mittee, who decided what part of the cargo should go to the
Prize Court."

Surely any other nation in the world at war would have
arranged from the outset that the capture of a vessel with

288 British Secret Service

contraband on board en route for the enemy, would have meant
confiscation of the ship and her cargo. Our exceptional and
extraordinary leniency was hardly commented upon ; it was
certainly not satisfactorily explained.

Continuing to quote from the speech : He would say
to neutrals that we could not give up the right to interfere
with enemy trade and must maintain and press that point.
He would ask those countries in considering our rights to apply
the principles which were applied by the American Govern-
ment in the war between the North and South as affected by
modern conditions. // they agreed to it, then let them with
their Chambers of Commerce and other bodies make it easier
for us to distinguish between goods intended for the enemy
and goods intended for themselves. If those neutral countries
said that we were not entitled to prevent trading through,
neutral countries with the enemy, then he (Sir E. Grey) must
say to the neutral countries who took that line that it was a
departure from neutrality. (Cheers.) But he did not think
they would take that line.

What naturally strikes the reader on perusal is this : why
not the words, " I had said " and " I have asked " instead of
" he would say " and " he would ask " which Sir Edward
Grey used in his speech ? Why wait eighteen months to
arrive at such a decision ? Why were not these words used
as soon as war was declared f Flagrant breaches arose, as
Sir Edward Grey should or must have known, and continued
to increase in magnitude from the autumn of 1914. Why he
waited until the then date, and why he had not acted before,
was not explained. In the next few grandiloquent sentences
he admitted the justification and the necessity ; whilst the
House cheered the words, forgetting past neglected deeds.

Next he admitted that " Germany had, in effect, treated
food, when she found it, as absolute contraband since the first
outbreak of war."

This admission gave one much to ponder over.

On the point of a stricter blockade Sir Edward Grey
suggested that " if a rigorous blockade had been established
the whole world would have been against us,"

The Sham Blockade 289

Such a contingency, put into legal parlance, is too
ridiculously remote for further consideration. Why did he
not explain why our Fleet was not allowed to limit particular
imports to neutral countries to certain fixed totals per month,
or per annum ? It is unthinkable to suppose that any
country would seriously threaten war in face of former well-
known precedent and because such limits were imposed by a
blockading Fleet. More particularly so if any such affected
country happened to have been one of the parties to the
Treaty of the Hague, which affirmed the integrity of poor
innocent, unoffending Belgium ; the country which, without
justification or excuse, was violated, and ravished, outraged
by the barbarian Hun invaders, and which so many other
countries watched aghast without attempting to help England
to protect or to avenge.

Admittedly it would have been easy for us to close the
Baltic and the Mediterranean. Why did we not do so ? We
could then have regulated to each country not at war its full
and fair average annual complement of necessities plus an
extra and a generous margin for contingencies. The Govern-
ment of each recipient country would have seen to it that its
own respective countrymen reaped full benefits ; leaks to
the Central Powers would have automatically stopped.

What countries would such a course of action have forced
into war against us ? v

Possibly Sweden, doubtfully Holland, remotely Denmark.

America had boasted she was " too proud to fight." She
might have favoured us with a " note," but her love of trade
would have been an absolute bar to the possibility of any
cessation of supplies and munitions.

No other country would have demurred except Greece,
and the vacillating tactics of the Greeks were but the harvest
which could have been expected from the seed of " wait-
and-see " diplomatic sowing. This is clearly shown by the
utterances of King Tino, who said : " I fear the Germans. I
do not fear the English." The Greeks have similarly ex-
pressed themselves. " We know the Germans would rob,
murder, and outrage our land and our people without any

T

2 go British Secret Service

hesitation. The English are quite incapable of anything of
that kind."

It had been proved that Consulates in Greece had been
nests of espionage and arsenals of munitions, and the
Islands bases for submarine murderers ; and yet their King
actually sent us a protest against our movement at Salonika
to assist the persecuted Serbians whom he and his country had
pledged themselves to uphold and protect ; a solemn treaty
they had long ago undertaken, but so conveniently forgotten
and lamely excused themselves out of as soon as called upon
to carry it into active force.

As a general answer to the direct charges of the Press that
the Foreign Office had not kept faith with the nation in doing
all that could be done to make an effective blockade, as an
explanation to sweep on one side the overwhelming mass of
■evidence relating to the extraordinary number of German
agents and dealers who swarmed throughout Scandinavia and
Holland, their amazing advertisements, their suddenly
accumulated wealth, the balance sheets showing large profits
of neutral companies dealing in Germany's requirements, the
alleged wholesale dealers of imported goods so suddenly
sprung up from the ranks of hotel porters, clerks, typists,
adventurers, caretakers, and even charwomen and servant-
girls, our own inflated home prices of necessities and com-
modities— Sir Edward Grey's answer to all this was : The
Government had lately sent Lord Faringdon to examine the
position in Holland and Scandinavia and he reported that on
the whole things were very satisfactory and that all was being
done that could be done to prevent the enemy obtaining
supplies.

Well might the fat stomachs of the " Goulashes " * extend
and shake in merriment when they read these comfortable
words !

Sir Edward Grey concluded his speech with this stirring
peroration : The whole of our resources were engaged in
this war, and our maximum effort was at the disposal of our

1 Goulashe is the name given to illicit traders with Germany.

The Sham Blockade 291

Allies in carrying on this conflict. With them we should see
it through to the end and we should slacken no effort in the
common cause. We should exert all our efforts to put the
maximum possible pressure upon the enemy, and part of that
pressure must be doing the most we could to prevent supplies
going to or from the enemy, using the Navy to its full
power. . . . and in common with our Allies sparing nothing,
whether it were military, naval, or financial effort, which this
country could afford, to see the thing through with them to
the end.

In the loud cheering with which the House of Commons
received the speech no thought was given to the famous words
of Napoleon : " Put no faith in talk which is not borne out by
action" ; whilst future events went to show that Napoleon
truly forecasted England's present-day weakness when he
wrote : " Feebleness in its Government is the most frightful
calamity that can befall a nation."

Contrast Sir Edward Grey's eloquent words and diplo-
matic evasiveness upon the treatment of neutrals with the
plain, outspoken, thoroughly English opinion of Lord Fisher,
who is credited with having said :

" There are no such thingsas neutral powers. Powers are
either with us or against us. If they are friendly they will
put up with some inconvenience ; if they are unfriendly they
will squeal. Let them squeal."

Had we acted throughout on this dictum the war would
most probably have been over well inside of eighteen months.
Men of the calibre of this grand old Sea Lord, whose far-
sight, foresight, and second sight have endeared him to the
nation and made him unique and incomparable, would soon
have made short work of the war. Yet they were not
wanted by the then present-day party-system Government.
They were much too blunt and honest and energetically active.

The nation will also remember that when Lord Kitchener
of Khartoum returned from the East in the early days of the
then present Government, it had no use for his invaluable
services. He was actually permitted to accept a director-
ship of one of our poorest railway companies on the south

292 British Secret Service

coast for want of a better occupation.1 But the Press and
the public soon brought the Government to book, as it
seemingly had to do in every matter of real national im-
portance.

The Government tried to keep Lord Haldane installed at
the War Office, but the Press would have none of it. It also
insisted on K. of K. being placed in his proper place and kept
there. More's the pity that he was not given a free hand to
do as he liked.

The Press also clamoured for Lord Fisher as First Lord of
the Admiralty. The nation knows how he was treated. A
captain in the Navy aptly described the unwanted and
slighted Admiral expert in John Bull, February, 1916, as
follows :

" Lord John Fisher is to-day our second Nelson — a
diplomatist among diplomats and a strategist unequalled in
our history. What has Lord John Fisher done ?

" He scrapped 162 obsolete warships which were rotting in
harbour at great expense — for which the Government tried
to reprimand him.

" He introduced the water-tube boilers, which, as every
engineer and seaman knows, raise a full head of steam in
twenty minutes, instead of twenty hours, as formerly.

" He introduced the steam turbine, which was adopted by
every nation.

"He introduced oil fuel into the Navy, thus making
destroyers capable of steaming further, a great benefit being
the almost total absence of smoke. He also applied it to battle-
ships and other large craft.

" He introduced the Dreadnought, the bulwark of Britain,
and the ship that baffled the German nation and made the
Kiel Canal useless for years. The oil-burning, water-tubed
destroyer, and the Queen Elizabeth — the Secret Service ship
and the monitor — all emanated from his brain.

" He introduced the battle-cruiser, against the will of a

1 Books on the life of Lord Kitchener of Khartoum do not dwell upon
this unpardonable fact. Some discreetly omit to mention it.

The Sham Blockade 293

timorous Government whose cry was ever, ' Cut down
armaments,' ' Cut down the Army and Navy.' Had Fisher
listened, the Germans would to-day have outraged our wives
and crucified our children.

" He planned the Falkland Islands battle, and sent the
Secret Service ships to chase the German submarines out of
the Channel. He fought hard against the Dardanelles
expedition.

" He was Sea Lord when we sank the Blucher, the German
destroyers in the North Sea, the German Fleet at the Falk-
lands.

"He is a great man, who seems never to have made a
mistake."

Whilst Sir Edward Grey was giving his explanations in the
House of Commons, Lord Devonport was busy in another
place. He is one of our shrewdest and most experienced
business men. As Chairman of the Port of London Authority
and former Parliamentary Secretary of the Board of Trade,
he would not be likely to go into figures lightly.

He had given notice to ask the Government for its official
figures of Holland's imports of ore (metal) during 1915.

The Duke of Devonshire replied that the figures provided
him were only 650,000 tons. It was admitted that Holland
had virtually no smelting plant, nor coal to feed it if it had,
and the Government was virtually bound to confess that at
least this amount of contraband had mostly gone straight
through to Germany.

Lord Devonport clearly stated that in reality one and a
half million tons of metal ore had been imported ; whilst he
produced statistics showing the name of every ship, the date
of entry, the place from which the cargo came, the quantity
and character of the ore carried, and the agents to whom each
was consigned.

To summarise shortly the total shipments for the period
named by Lord Devonport, August, 1914, to January 15,
1916, it appears that 298 ships carrying 1,414,311 tons of
metal ore entered Rotterdam. The countries from which the

2Q4

British Secret Service

ore came included Sweden, Norway, Spain, Algeria, Russia,
and Great Britain. The totals shown monthly are as
follows :

Ore

Cargoes.

1914. No.

of Ships.

Tons.

August

38

174,162

September

11

61,679

October

10

47,900

November

8

37,300

December

14

63,900

Total 384,941

1915.

January

17

76,200

February

17

79,700

March

13

85,800

April

22

123,800

May

17

68,100

June

21

95,350

July

21

89,150

August

19

82,300

September

19

92,400

October

22

105,270

November

13

59,700

December

12

48,300

Total 1,006,070

1916.

To January 15

4

23,300

Grand Total 1,414,311

Two hundred and fifty eight ships carried 1,321,456 tons
of iron ore ; 25 ships carried 41,830 tons of zinc ore, the
remainder taking copper ore, pyrites, nickel, manganese, and
calamine.

The Sham Blockade 295

Lord Devonport added :

" What has come of the much- vaunted order in Council
declaring that no goods should either enter or leave Germany ?
What is the ultimate destination of these cargoes ? There
is no concealment about the matter. Every captain knows
exactly. There are no facilities in Holland for converting
ore into pig-iron ; not a single blast-furnace, and no coal to
feed it even if there were.

" The cargoes are transhipped into barges and carried up
the Rhine to a place in easy communication with Essen,
where Krupp's works are situated. Sweden is the main
source of the supply. It is astounding to me that the
British Government should sit still while these ores are sent to
the enemy from mines which are virtually the property of the
Swedish Government.

" Great though the imports of ore into Rotterdam have been,
they are insignificant compared with the importations in
German ports in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea — Liibeck,
Stettin, Swinemunde, Emden and others. From May 1st to
December Slst, 1915, the total of those imports were 556 cargoes
and 2,089,000 tons of ore. The question is going to become
critical for, though the country has been tolerant and long-
enduring, things have not gone too well. The sheet-anchor of the
situation is the British Fleet."

" The figures," says F airplay, the shipping paper, " suffi-
ciently indicate the absurdity of supposing that the Nether-
lands Overseas Trust or any similar artificial would-be barrier
as at present constituted can, in fact, prevent the enemy from
receiving vital supplies of raw or manufactured material."

Nineteen days after the delivery of Sir Edward Grey's
" blockade " speech in the House of Commons Mr. T. Gibson
Bowles, speaking at a great City demonstration in London
on February 14th, 1917, under Lord Devonport as Chairman
and convened for the purpose of protesting against hampering
our Navy, said : " Since the war began Sir Edward Grey had
hampered, shackled, and strangled the Fleet in the perform-
ance of its duties." Whilst Lord Charles Beresford wrote to

296 British Secret Service

the Chairman : " If the Government had used our sea power
as they were legally entitled to do at the commencement of
the war, by instituting an effective blockade and making all
goods entering Germany absolute contraband, the war would
now be over."

Lord Aberconway added : " The matter is far too serious
to be trifled with any longer ; my personal knowledge
intensifies my conviction."

The Government having attempted to evade any direct
answer to the startling figures and accusations of the Daily
Mail disclosing the get-rich-quick method of the Scan-
dinavian Goulashes, Lord Northcliffe sent a Special Com-
missioner to Holland, and published the result of his in-
vestigations in February, 1916. It showed a repetition of the
sordid Scandinavian fiasco, a further proof that the so-called
blockade was leaking in every seam.

To enumerate the masses of statistics would be wearisome.
It is sufficient for present purposes to quote a few extracts.

Cocoa Beans. — Of the 528 tons imported into Holland in
1915 Germany received the whole.

Cocoa Butter. — England could only obtain half what she
had in 1913, whereas Germany obtained five times as much.

Cocoa Powder. — England obtained half 1913 supplies,
whereas Germany obtained approximately ten times as much.

Cocoa in Blocks. — In 1913 Germany imported 4 tons from
Holland, Belgium none at all ; whereas in 1915 no less than
565 tons were exported from Holland into these two countries,
all for German use.

Copra. — In 1913 Germany obtained 26,728 tons of copra
from Holland, whereas in 1915 the amount rose to the
amazing total of 106,613 tons.

It would appear from the figures that England was in-
directly supplying Germany inter alia with margarine.

In 1913 Great Britain sent to Holland 1,914 tons of the
raw material, as against 6,166 tons in 1916. Germany sent
no raw material to Holland during either of the years quoted.

In 1913 Holland exported 308 tons of margarine to Belgium
and to Germany 401 tons.

The Sham Blockade 297

In 1915 Holland exported 7,616 tons to Belgium and
21,721 tons to Germany. Totals of 709 tons suddenly jumped
to 29,237.

Coffee. — Before the war Germany had always exported
coffee to Holland in thousands of tons. During 1915 she sent
in none at all, but she imported from Holland 129,968 tons ;
whilst 32,822 tons in addition were sent to Belgium for German
use as against a prior yearly average import of about 8,000 tons.

N.B. — England, which during 1911, 1912 and 1913 ex-
ported a yearly average of 6,720 tons of coffee to Holland,
suddenly increased her exports to this country to 15,672 tons
in 1914 and to 28,425 tons in 1915.

In March, 1916, Brazil was seizing German ships because
she could not collect a trifle of about £4,000,000 owing to her
for coffee by the Fatherland.

Cotton. — In the three years before the war England
exported an average of 7,808 tons of unspun cotton to
Holland, but in 1915 she sent no less than 22,856 tons.
Germany, which exported an average of 33,975 tons before the
war, actually imported from Holland direct in 1915 no less
than 38,750 tons.

The Commercial Treaty of the Rhine, cunningly made by
the clever Teutons before war was declared, prevented the
Dutch from even examining any cargoes which were there-
under arranged for direct shipment into Germany ; whilst
from the very first the workings of the much-boasted arrange-
ment made by our Foreign Office with the Netherlands
Overseas Trust piled up evidence, week by week and month by
month, that our so-called blockade was an absolute farce.

In the famous " Kim " case before the Prize Court, the
President, Sir Samuel Evans, made the law quite clear.
Figures were placed before the Court to show that the average
monthly quantities of lard exported from the United States
to all Scandinavia in October and November, 1913, was
427,428 lbs. Within three months of the outbreak of war
one company was shipping to Copenhagen alone considerably
over twenty times that quantity in three weeks.

When it might have been thought that the public had

298 British Secret Service

forgotten this complete and overwhelming evidence, Lord
Emmott, speaking on behalf of the Government, told the
House of Lords that " an abnormal supply to a country is
not sufficient reason to stop a cargo." Here was a Govern-
ment spokesman absolutely contradicting the Prize Court
Judge — another unwarrantable interference with the rights
of Democracy.

On February 22nd and 23rd, 1916, the House of Lords
debated an important motion ably advocated by Lord
Sydenham.

" That in conformity with the principle of international
law and the legitimate rights of neutrals, more effective use
could be made of the Allied Fleets in preventing supplies,
directly conducing to the prolongation of the war, from
reaching the enemy."

Lord Lansdowne, Lord Emmott and the Marquis of Crewe
spoke in defence of the Government, but they brought
forward no direct proof to upset the alarming statistics which
had been quoted against them. Some figures, however, were
given to show that during the last past month a greater
activity had been caused, in consequence of which there had
been some diminution of imports to Germany ; whilst it was
further promised that as an attempt to concentrate the
general supervision of the War Trades Committee the work
should be placed in the hands of one Minister, Lord Robert
Cecil, who would be given Cabinet rank.

That Lord Robert Cecil is a man of great ability no one
doubts. The stock he springs from is pedigree so far as
politics are concerned, but he is a lawyer. For many years
past this country has suffered greatly from a glut of lawyer
politicians, particularly in the unwieldy Cabinet of twenty-
three members. The nation remembered only too well how
this noble lord had fought so strenuously and so persistently
against cotton being made contraband. His appointment
therefore to this post of vital importance, which could
influence, affect and control the duration of the war to such a
great extent, was strongly objected to by the public at large.
Neither the act nor the man carried an iota of confidence.

The Sham Blockade 299

To have seriously attacked the Government and put it
out of office would have raised a general outcry. It was
considered disloyal even to criticise. " Wait and see " was
the only policy Englishmen were permitted to contemplate.
Meanwhile this farce, this weakness or this cowardly inaction,
whichever epithet is most appropriate to it, was permitted to
drift its course. Gleefully the Germans continued to annex
the rich cod and herring harvests of Norway, nor did they
cavil at the super-price. Gleefully the Norwegian fishermen
continued to rake in the deluge of gold, the like of which had
never been known within the memory of man. Gleefully the
Goulashes of Scandinavia continued to increase and multiply,
whilst they prospered and waxed exceedingly rich, in spite
of a few widely-proclaimed spectacular fines and confiscations.
The advertisements in the papers of neutral countries offering
to supply necessities direct into Germany also continued and
spread, like the proverbial grain of mustard-seed, until the
very mails were glutted with contraband.

One of these multitudinous advertisements is given as an
example. It is from the Fatherland, March 29th, 1916, the
subsidised German-American weekly published in New
York:

FOOD TO GERMANY.

Delivered through my Firm at Stuttgart.

Can condensed milk - - - - 30 cents

Fruit marmalades, per pound - - - 35 cents

Fifty cigars - $2.00

One pound of rice - - - - 40 cents

One pound of bacon - - - -75 cents

One pound of lard - - - - 70 cents

One pound of cheese * - - - 25 cents

100 cigarettes - - - - - $1.70

Also dried fruits, beans, peas, etc. Invigorating wines for
sick and wounded.

Information and price lists on request.

E. R. Trieler, Dept. F. 35-37, West 23rd St., New York.

300 British Secret Service

No wonder Lord Grimthorpe, after quoting an influential
Frenchman's opinion that " England had muscles of iron but
brains of wool," argued that, instead of bringing more
lawyers into the management, the country would be much
more satisfied if the Ministry of Blockade was put into the
hands of a fighting man like Lord Beresford or Lord Fisher.

Those in the Secret Service knew that since the outbreak
of war Germans had employed only soldiers and sailors to
manage it ; and that all their lawyers and civilian politicians
had been relegated to a back seat until further notice ;
furthermore, that only proved ability counted. Patronage,
length of service, hereditary and social altitude carried no
weight whatsoever at Berlin ; whilst the capacity for organ-
isation and thoroughness which Germany exhibited had
astonished the world.

Yea, verily, it is a true saying that " Britishers are the
greatest muddlers on earth." It seems to be their grim
bulldog pertinacity only which pulls them through, and their
individuality which gives them the stamina to stay.

As the winter turned to spring and the spring to summer
other terrible disasters arose which diverted the attention of
the nation from the bogus blockade. Mr. Asquith's " one
bright spot," the Mesopotamia expedition, turned to gall and
wormwood ; the terrible Gallipoli fiasco shocked the nation ;
the pampered Irish rebels appeared in their true colours ; the
careless sacrifice of a man whom many believed to be one of
the noblest and greatest of Army Chiefs (K. of K.) this world
had ever seen, paralysed and numbed every English-speaking
land ; whilst German spies were still permitted to press their
deadly finger-prints upon our national throat owing to our
unbelievable weakness in neglecting to intern all aliens of
belligerent nationality.

Meanwhile the Press continued to growl and to publish
statistics from time to time to prove that the so-called
blockade was still as great a farce as ever ; furthermore, it
was absolutely and utterly ineffective to stop supplies going
to Germany. Whilst Ministers and Members of the Govern-
ment still had the audacity to refer to its alleged effectiveness

The Sham Blockade 301

and to call attention to the unenviable plight of starving
Germany.

All true Englishmen should gratefully thank God that we
had at least one man amongst the few real men who had the
courage of his convictions, namely, Mr. W. M. Hughes, the
Australian Premier. He, during his all too short sojourn in
the Motherland, rendered noble, great and patriotic service.
He called with an unmistakable voice at the British Imperial
Council of Commerce in London, on June 8th, 1916, for a real
blockade. He said : "Do you realise the tremendous pile of
treasure we are pouring out in this contest ? Do you think
that any nation, no matter how wealthy, can stand in-
definitely such a strain on its wealth ? It cannot. We are
living like spendthrifts, upon our capital. There must come
a day when we can no longer live upon it. I want to em-
phasise the point that we cannot continue this struggle
indefinitely. The blockade is one great weapon at our
disposal — one of the most effective weapons for shortening
the duration of the war — by increasing the pressure upon the
enemy. // the blockade had been effective earlier it would have
curtailed the war. We now have the power, as Mr. Balfour
said, to make that blockade still more effective, and whatever
stands in the way of making that blockade effective against
the enemy and against neutrals must be swept aside. We have
to choose between offending neutrals and inviting defeat. We
have to choose between pouring out our treasure and losing
the lives of thousands of our best and bravest. Let us hedge
around this nation (Germany) a ring of triple steel through
which nothing shall pass. I have been told there are still
things going out of Britain to Germany. I am told the
reason given is that we are getting German money in ex-
change. That argument does not appeal to me. I would
not tolerate the practice for another hour. I would treat
those who engage in it as I would treat any other traitor to
his country. Therefore insist upon the blockade being such
a blockade as will compel our enemies to recognise the power
of Britain and the Allies."

Lord Hugh Cecil, the Blockade Minister, does not appear

302 British Secret Service

to have been amongst those present at this memorable
gathering. More's the pity of it ! Had he been perhaps he
might have had his eyes opened at last to the folly and in-
efficiency of his previous policy and foolishly expressed
fallacies.

To the probable relief and secret joy of the Cabinet, and
to the irreparable loss of the nation, Mr. W. M. Hughes was
in the early summer of 1916 compelled to return to his duties
in Australia. After his regretted departure the so-called
blockade continued to leak, as is proved by the following
facts and figures which found their way into the Press in
spite of all the hushing-up processes of the weaklings in
power. Can it be wondered at that many thousands of
astounded Englishmen were actually beginning to believe
that some of our prominent Ministers did not want to win the
war because they were either indirectly interested financially
in Teutonic enterprise, or they were pro-German from other
mysteriously concealed causes ? What other possible reasons
seemed arguable in view o£ their extraordinary actions, their
leaving undone those things which they ought to have done,
and their doing those things which they ought not to have done ?

How German production steadily revived from the shock
of the first year of the war is shown by the following table of
pig-iron output in tons published in the Berliner Tageblatt :

1914.

1915.

1916.

January

1,566,505

874,133

1,077,046

February

1,445,511

803,623

1,033,683

March

1,602,714

938,438

1,114,194

April

1,534,429

938,679

1,073,706

May

1,607,211

985,968

June

1,531,826

993,496

July

1,561,944

1,047,503

August

587,661

1,050,610

September

580,087

1,033,078

October

734,841

1,076,343

November

788,956

1,019,122

December

853,881

1,029,144

The Sham Blockade

303

Asking the Prize Court on June 5th, 1916, to condemn the
Swedish vessel Hakan, of Gothenburg, with her cargo of
3,238 barrels of salted herrings, the Attorney-General, Sir
F. E. Smith, alleged that the fish were intended for Germany.
Writing from Liibeck to Gottfried Friedrichs, fishmongers, of
Altona, said the Attorney- General, a member of the firm of
Witte & Co., their forwarding agents, said : " We have
prohibited the export of herrings from Norway, but our firm
has obtained a licence to export 50,000 tons. We hope to
sell 75,000 tons this winter, so there is plenty of work."

Sir Samuel Evans : How many herrings in 50,000 tons ?

The Attorney-General : My assistants and confederates
inform me that there are about 450,000,000 herrings. It is a
conservative estimate.

These are official figures published by the Netherlands
Statistical Department on May 20th, 1916 ; such great
assistance rendered to Germany is more serious owing to the
fact that Germany's gain has been our loss.

Foodstuffs Sent From Holland, in Tons.

(Covering the months January to April.)

Eggs — 1914.

To Germany . . 3,101

To Britain . . 2,733

Fish —

To Germany . . 21,337

To Belgium . . —

Meat —

To Germany . . 4,156

To Britain ... 25,460

Potato Flour and its products —

To Germany . . 13,991

To Britain . . 8,831

Coffee —

To Germany „. 17,429

1916.

11,825

557

29,378

30,621
555

43,861
5,520

39,684

304

British Secret Service

Cocoa Powder —

1914.

1916.

To Germany

598

3,302

To Britain

2,155

1,437

Butter —

To Germany

4,010

10,237

To Britain

1,387

33

Cheese —

To Germany

4,120

25,437

To Britain

5,624

407

One has only to cast the eye down these figures to see what
Holland means as a depot for Germany's food.

During the first four months of 1916 Holland had im-
ported by consent of Great Britain 432,702 tons of cereals.
No less than 283,792 tons were re-exported from Holland and
consequently did not go into home consumption there ;
272,630 tons of this went over into Belgium. It is im-
portant, also, to note that of the cereals imported 102,722
tons of maize were included in the total. Most of this maize
was used for fattening pigs, which were eventually slaugh-
tered and sent to Germany.

This abundance of pig food allowed by us to be consumed
by the Dutch pigs in fact enabled the Dutch to fatten the
immense supply which they sent over to Germany. The meat
figures given above must be read in the light of this fact.

The more we sent into Holland for her home supply, the
more she could release of her home-grown products to the
enemy. As between Holland, Germany and ourselves, we
lost tremendously. Germany and Holland were of immense
assistance to each other, at our expense.

A weekly circular of the London Rice Brokers' Association
shows the following striking contrasts in exports from London :

Exports of Rice from London.
January 1st to May 27th, 1915. Same period, 1916.

Cwt. Cwt.

To Holland 247,869 905,078

(say 45,000 tons)
To France 22,607 430

The Sham Blockade 305

Thus the export to Holland had greatly increased and the
supply to France had dwindled almost out of existence.
During the single week ended May 27th, 1916, 224,252 cwt.
(say 11,212 tons) were shipped to Holland from London.

On June 2nd, 1916, the London Press wailed over the
enormous supplies of grain entering Germany through
Roumania, which she was enabled to purchase by exchanging
goods made from the raw material permitted so kindly by
England to leak through the blockade.

In April one consignment of 1,500,000 eggs passed from
Holland to Germany in two days only. Indeed, so vast was
the drain of Germany upon Holland that the Dutch people
complained in June that they were being stinted of their
proper food supply. Norway continued to supply nickel,
fish, copper, fish oils, and many other things, although
England at last awoke in the spring of 1916 to the advisability
of purchasing part of the Norwegian fish harvests. In this
deal, however, her lawyer Government had not the sense to
consult the best export fish merchants, who are essentially
business men. She went to work in the usual amateurish
way, which spelt reckless waste and extravagance ; paying
£5 to £7 per package for what could have been previously
arranged for at about 10s. or less.

The English Government throughout the war had the
Norwegian fish trade absolutely in its own hands. Yet
one of its own Consuls supplied Germany wholesale in 1914 ;
it supplied coal and salt to assist the Germans to garner in
practically the entire harvest of 1915 ; and it was not until
the middle of 1916 that some English sluggard in power
woke up and paid through the nose for what could have
been purchased practically on our own terms.

Sweden continued to supply almost everything and
anything that Germany required, openly when possible,
smuggled in by all manner of tricks and dodges should any
difficulty of transport be likely to arise.

At the end of June, 1916, a Liverpool merchant con-

/tributed some remarkable facts and figures to the Liverpool
Courier, proving that England was helping Germany to obtain

306 British Secret Service

what she required at the expense of the home consumer in
England. The net result of his arguments was that our
shipping and home ports were congested for several months
by Dutch imports through private arrangements between
Holland and England, whereby Holland was supplying
Germany to a colossal extent and frustrating the supreme
purposes of the so-called blockade. In conclusion, he
plaintively besought the nation to adopt the strangle-knot of
Mr. Hughes by so tightening the blockade that Holland would
no longer be able to provide the Germans with food for her
peoples and materials for the manufacture of guns and
explosives to slaughter our sons.

The tables of figures quoted showed in glaring contrast
the usual enormous increases of imports upon pre-war returns
which the British reader had grown quite accustomed to see. To
giveibut one example : the shipments of margarine from Holland
to Germany during 1915 showed thirteen times greater, etc.

On July 20th, 1916, during the hearing of a case in the
London Prize Court relating to the S.S. Maracus, the Solicitor-
General (Sir George Cave) read an affidavit by Mr. John
Hargreaves, provision merchant, Liverpool, stating that in
1915 the price of lard in Germany was 100s. per cwt., as
against 50s. in Liverpool. At that price there was an
inducement to American shippers to risk shipment to Ger-
many, and to German buyers to open credits in New York.
Should the American shipper succeed in getting two shipments
through, he might well make a large profit which would amply
compensate him for the loss of one shipment, apart from
his chance of recovering compensation from the British
Government.

An affidavit by Mr. R. M. Greenwood, Assistant Treasury
Solicitor, showed the imports of foodstuffs into Copenhagen
during the first six months of 1915 as compared with the
similar period of 1913. The figures were :

1913. 1915.

Pork 948,400 lbs. 15,062,060 lbs.

Lard 3,999,700 „ 23,458,720 „

Oleo 2,509,900 „ 8,775,750 „

The Sham Blockade 307

The evidence in the case proved that the ship was bound
for Germany and her captain had been promised a bonus of
£200 if the goods reached their destination.

On June 28th, 1916, Lord Robert Cecil in reply to a
question in the House of Commons, said :

" As the result of the Paris Conference His Majesty would
be advised to issue an Order in Council withdrawing the
successive Orders which had been issued adopting with
modifications the Declaration of London, and a general
statement should also be issued explaining the reason for this
step."

Amidst the loud cheering which followed a voice was
heard to exclaim, " After twenty-three months ! "

How Potsdam must have hugged itself with delight in
1909, 1910, and 1911 at the absurdly childish simplicity
exhibited by the English Liberal Government in nullifying all
its geographical advantages by accepting such a one-sided
code of sea-law which gave Germany the right to stop food
en route to British ports, while forbidding Great Britain to
stop food en route to Germany, and whilst in force rendered
any effective blockade of Germany impossible.

But what powerful mysterious motives prompted its re-
adoption after it had been rejected by the House of Lords ?
Again on August 20th, 1914, why did the Cabinet illegally put
it into force with modifications — though Article 65 thereof
states that the code is indivisible ?

What was held in the unseen hand and to whom was it
extended ?

On August 2nd, 1916, M. Clemenceau published an article
in V Homme Enchaine, headed, " A Fresh Assassination," in
which, after commenting upon the brutal murders of Nurse
Cavell and the innocent Captain Fryatt, he wrote :

" It is time that Great Britain made the weight of her will
felt, especially as regards the strict application of the blockade,
which, has too often been relaxed out of a desire not to arouse
an unpleasant quarrel with Washington. It is time to end
these half -measures. We must make up our minds as to what
to do, and do it."

308 British Secret Service

On July 6th, 1916, Lord Robert Cecil admitted in the
House of Commons, in reply, what was tantamount to a
confession that the British Fleet employed in the blockade
was still muzzled, being bound down by red-tape precedents
and strict London directions.

On July 9th he was further compelled to confess that
10,708 tons of lard had been permitted to enter Belgium, as
well as about 2,000 tons of tallow and other fats. Nominally
this was fathered by the Neutral Relief Committee, but in
reality it was just so much more assistance granted to the
enemy.

Fat (for Explosives) in tons

In the early part of 1914 Germany exported lard to
Holland, but this ceased on the eve of war. Great Britain, on
the other hand, for some extraordinary and unintelligible
reason, permitted her exports to Holland to increase. These
are the figures :

From Germany.

From Great Britain.

1914

861

660

1915

Nil

6,591

1916

Nil

12,273

Barley for Malt

In 1916 Great Britain exported to Holland about fifteen
times more barley than normal pre-war exports, so diminish-
ing our home supplies that the British working-man was
deprived of his national beverage through shortage and
prohibitive prices. Whisky also was similarly affected.

Tobacco

The Christian spirit of " love your neighbours and your
enemies better than yourselves " had apparently no limits
with the British Government. Their loyal and hard-suffering
subjects were deprived of a full supply of the soothing weed
on the excuse of economising freight room, but no effort seems
to have been made to curtail Dutch supplies, which were
thirty-five times greater than the pre-war exports.

The Sham Blockade 309

In 1914 Hamburg and Bremen exported 4,544 tons of
tobacco to Holland, but in 1915 and 1916 neither of these
towns exported any at all.

The amounts exported by Holland from January to June
in tons were as follows :

To Great Britain. To Germany.

1914 1,611 31,891

1915 1,672 54,456

1916 923 96,931

The figures published by the German Steel and Iron
Manufacturers Association for the first six months of each
respective year show the following outputs, thanks to Sir
Francis Oppenheimer's previous Netherlands Overseas Trust,
which permits iron ore in millions of tons to proceed direct to
Krupps' and other blast furnaces in Germany without let or
hindrance to be used against us.

Pig Iron

Tons

1915

5,530,000

1916

6,497,000

Steel

1915

6,187,000

1916

7,756,000

The Lokal Anzeiger, July 28th, 1916, remarked : " These
figures constitute a most gratifying state of affairs in respect
of the requirements of the German Armies" No wonder the
captured German officer remarked : " You English will
always be fools, whilst we Germans can never be gentlemen " !

In August l a Mr. E. Bell, of 12, Yarborough Road,
Lincoln, wrote to the Press as follows :

" The talk of tightening the blockade of Germany is rather
futile in face of the following Board of Trade figures referring
to cotton yarn exported from the United Kingdom to the
following neutral countries :

1 Daily Mail, August 16th, 1916,

310 British Secret Service j

June Sweden Norway Denmark Holland Switzerland

1914 108,900 218,700 106,400 3,220,800 722,600

1915 260,800 348,300 204,700 4,493,300 1,788,800

1916 279,200 508,200 598,400 7,539,800 1,304,100

" Germany is obviously getting the surplus."

The values * of New York exports taken for the week
July 30th to August 5th are equally startling :

1915. 1916.

New York to £ £

Norway 1,884 137,176

Holland 713 717,601

Holland and Scandinavia 123,327 970,255

On August 26th, 1916, an agreement was signed between
the Dutch Fishing Association and the British Government
regarding the release of some 120 to 150 Dutch fishing-boats
laid up in Scottish ports, whereby not more than 20 per cent,
of their catch shall be permitted to go to Germany. Of
the remainder twenty per cent, was to be retained for home
consumption, and sixty per cent, sold to neutral countries. On
each barrel of this sixty per cent, the good, kind, benevolent
British Government agreed to pay a subsidy of 30s. to the
Dutch boat-owners.

Now the D.F.A. owned about 850 vessels and 1,000 barrels
is a good average season's catch !

In addition to this arrangement the British Government
agreed to pay full compensation for their loss of part of the
season, to be calculated on the basis of the returns on an
average season. They also agreed to pay for any damage
which might have happened to the interned boats.2

One wonders what British fishermen whose vessels have
been commandeered had to say when they were informed of
these facts.

The Hamburger Nachrichten of August 23rd, 1916, pub-
lished a telegram from its Hague correspondent declaring

^Evening News, August 24th, 1916. a Daily Mail, August 28th, 1916.

The Sham Blockade 311

that the semi-official German Central Purchase Company
was seizing Dutch food in enormous quantities; that local
merchants were in a state of alarm and threatening Govern-
ment interference ; and their correspondent defiantly stated :
" The Netherlands Government will hardly dream of interfer-
ing with the activity of the Dutch Bureau of the German
Central Purchase Company, the operations of which are
assuming larger and larger dimensions."

To add further proof of the utter futility and hollow sham
of the alleged blockade safeguards, namely, the Danish
Association Agreement and the Netherlands Overseas Trust,
Sir Henry Dalziel informed the House of Commons on
August 22nd, 1916, that in June Denmark imported over ten
times as much cotton yarn as in June, 1913, and that in the
first six months of the present year Holland exported to
Germany over twenty times as much butter as in the first six
months of 1914, nearly eight times as much cheese, and over
seven times as much meat.

The unfortunate Lord Robert Cecil in mid-August gave
quite a eulogistic report upon his stewardship as Blockade
Minister, which was immediately followed by the arrival from
New York of the Custom House returns showing that during
the week ending August 5th the value of the exports to
Holland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark was eight times as
great as in the corresponding week of the preceding year. To
Holland the exports had increased in value a thousandfold
and to Norway seventy-five fold.

On September 1st, 1916, the Governnment, through the
War Trade Statistical Department, issued to the Press an
official Memorandum on the question of the efficacy of the
British blockade.

It barely amounted to the proverbial half-truth, and was
pitiably feeble. It was more than unfortunate that the
Government should rush into print just before the United
States export figures were due for publication — only a week
later.

These latter reliable statistics showed an extraordinary
state of affairs :

312 British Secret Service

Exports from U.S.A.

1914.

1915.

1916.

£

£

£

To Norway

1,813,400

7,815,000

10,735,600

„ Sweden

2,928,800

15,654,800

10,387,800

„ Denmark

3,134,000

15,964,800

11,132,400

„ Holland

22,443,200

28,653,400

19,852,600

„ Switzerland

204,000

547,200

1,631,200

The Telegraaf, Amsterdam's leading journal, on September
11th, 1916, quoted Governmental statistics to account for the
excessive rise in price of her home products, concluding by the
statement that " Holland has sold her livelihood for greater
war profits " ; whilst all the Dutch Press seemed to deplore
mildly the vast and unmanageable manner in which the
smuggling of goods over the German frontier was permitted
to continue.

The figures for meat, cheese, eggs, vegetables, and butter
showed an average increased export of seventy-five per cent on
preceding years. Practically every ounce went to Germany
or to territory under her rule.

On September 12th, 1916, Reuter's representative at the
Hague was able to announce that : " The Dutch Overseas
Trust had obtained the release of 420 tons of Kapok, Java
cotton, and had also succeeded in removing the difficulties
in the way of the importation of cocoa-beans."

Such paragraphs as the above could be found repeatedly
by anyone who chose to search the Press. No wonder the
smouldering wrath of the long-suffering British public became
fanned to a flame and its confidence in its so-called repre-
sentative Ministers correspondingly decreased.

On September 9th, 1916, the Foreign Office issued a notice
that no further export licenses or further facilities would be
given by H.M.G. for the importation of certain specified com-
modities until further notice. The list embraced scores of
foods, but, in fact, was merely another patch to the very
ragged mantle covering the so-called blockade.

On September 12th, 1916, the War Trade Statistical

The Sham Blockade 313

Department made another feeble attempt in public to refute
the statistics quoted by the Press. It set out specious and
plausible arguments why general conclusions should be
drawn in a light more favourable to our interests. It gave no
denials nor suggested that the figures quoted were not correct.
It was a fretful official apology, a tacit admission of weakness
and inefficiency.

A casual remark was made by a really able German in the
Wilhelmstrasse on English policy in regard to Germany, to
Mr. D. T. Curtin, as reported by him in the Times, October
21st, 1916.

" He said to me :

" ' When the war began we thought it would be a
fight between the German Army and the British Navy.
That was the cause of the outbreak of German anger
against England on August 4th, 1914. As time went on
we found that the English Government drew the teeth
of its Navy and enabled us to get in through the then
so-called blockade supplies of cotton, copper, lubricating
oil, wool ' (here he named some twenty commodities)
' in a sufficiency that will last us many long months
yet. How different would have been our position to-
day if the British Navy had controlled the blockade as
we had every reason to fear it would ! We can and will
hold out for a long time, thanks to their blunders.'

" Blockade policy, prisoner policy, enemy trade con-
trol, the Zeppelin reprisal policy — all these are puzzles
to the rulers of Germany. All are taken as part and
parcel of their belief of your desire to curry favour with
them and your fear of their after-the-war trade struggle.

" The average German holds similar views as to
America's fear of the Kaiser's Army and Navy after the
war. They frankly tell us that it will be our turn next."

On October 25th, 1916, Mr. D. T. Curtin explained in the
Times how, when he was in Germany, a neutral and pro- Ally
resident of a certain port in Germany with whom he discussed
things took him for a walk and showed him the quays. There
were not hundreds, but thousands of barrels of fats. " It
almost makes me weep," he said, " to know that every one of

314 British Secret Service

these barrels lengthens the war and destroys the lives of
gallant soldiers and their officers." And apart from the
public evasions of the blockade is the secret smuggling —
difficult to deal with.

A day or so previously Mr. Curtin had written : " Every
bar of chocolate entering Germany prolongs the war, which I
know from my own personal necessities. The Allies and the
Government should realise the great value of the utmost
pressure of the blockade."

It was not until December, 1916, that the rising tide of
public feeling threatened to burst the banks of reasonable
control.

On the first day of that month a crowded meeting of City
business men was held in the Cannon Street Hotel under the
presidency of Lord Leith of Fyvie to protest against the
slackness of the Government and terrible blunders which
were far too serious to openly discuss ; in particular to insist
that " the British Navy be set free to exercise to the full all its
lawful sea powers." Startling disclosures were made, and
the Government, which had twice restored itself after its
legal expiration, was characterised as worn-out and stale,
unable to make peace any more than it was able to make war ;
sentiments which were unanimously acclaimed.

Almost the entire British Press echoed this condemnation,
and the Haldane group, recognising that discretion was the
better part, awoke at last from its delusions of the value
placed by the nation upon their personal services, and after a
few feeble remonstrances retired in favour of a new Cabinet.
" Wait and see " was compelled to give place to " Do it now."

Mr. Asquith the Unready, Lord Grey of Falloden, the
Irresolute, Lord Haldane, the friend of the Kaiser, and the
Simonite group of backers, who for fifteen unlucky years had
so grievously and disastrously led the country astray ; who
had cut down armaments, hoodwinked the nation, and when
war was declared held back conscription, muzzled the Fleet
and were too late for everything, were at last fallen from
doing further mischief, and the nation breathed its prayers of
thankfulness.

The Sham Blockade 315

Of the late Prime Minister (Mr. Asquith) one able editor
wrote :

11 Never before in all our history have such opportunities
been given. He had no opposition ; the nation was solid ;
the Empire was behind him. No country has ever given any
leader such devotion and none has ever seen its devotion so
carelessly wasted. Declaring he would ' stick at nothing,'
he stuck at everything, and moved only when he was
pushed." *

What Germany thought of the change is reflected in an
extract from its Press when it first heard of the resignation of
Mr. David Lloyd George from the War Office, and it was under
the belief that the Haldane group had triumphed over him.

The Bavarian Courier, December 5th, 1916, said : " This is a
terrible disaster for the war party in England," whilst the
Leipzig Tageblatt said : " The British people have doubtless
had enough of this war agitator. His fall from power brings
nearer an honourable peace for Germany."

Within a few days of Mr. Lloyd George being created
Prime Minister of England the Kaiser was seeking peace.
Res ipsa loquitur.

What has been given is merely a rough and very deficient
resume of England's sham blockade, which was permitted to
muddle along its costly, tragic, and fatal course until the
Americans joined the Allies in their fight for freedom and the
rights of small nations. Washington at once swept aside
maudlin sentiment by its practical common sense, get-right-
there-quick decisions.

The nation's relief cannot be expressed in words.

Was it to be wondered at that from the soul of the Mother-
land prayers had so long and so often ascended ?

" Oh, for a man of the old, old Viking blood to lead and
direct the battle in place of those poor craven lawyer poli-
ticians in the Cabinet of the never-to-be-forgotten twenty-
three ! "

1 Daily Mail leading article, December 6th, 1916.

3i 6 British Secret Service

Indeed, this was the darkest hour before the dawn.

The autumn of 1916 saw the advent of the magic of the
Wizard from Wales. To him all honour is due.

For some years prior to the war he had been perhaps the
most hated man England had ever known. He had helped
to minimise the Army, the Navy, and the House of Lords ; he
had led people to believe it was almost a crime to own land ;
he had descended to the lowest levels of vulgar abuse regard-
ing our most sacred traditions ; he had helped rob the Church
in his native land ; he had become despised by the noblest
and best of his fellow-countrymen. His sole ambition,
apparently, had been to gain the popularity of the masses — a
transient glory which might fade in an hour. He had
attained the position almost of a deity with the extreme
Radical and Socialistic Mob.

But, in this hour of Great Britain's direst peril, he
valiantly came forth. He buckled on his armour of un-
daunted courage and vast ability. He put his whole heart
and soul into the fight, absolutely ignoring what effect his
actions might have upon his recent followers, forgetting all
his schemes of lifelong planning, and concentrating all his vast
abilities and ceaseless, untiring energies upon one single
concrete thought, one hope, one ideal — Victory.

Like that greatest of all the heroes of ancient Rome —
Venit, vidit, vicit. Veritably he proved himself a man.

What a pity it is that since those days he has not adjusted
himself to this changed world and seized the opportunities for
real statesmanship that lie in this era of reconstruction !

L'ENVOI

Before parting with my reader I feel an apology is due from
me, not for anything I have written, but for what I have left
unsaid.

I admit this book is an amalgam, and far from being what
it might have been, had circumstances not required the exer-
cise of considerable restraint on the part of the writer.

Staunch loyalty to his native land is the least return
every true-born British subject can make for his birthright ;
and just as in carrying out the investigations entrusted to
me, I ever kept in mind that the one and only object of my
existence for the time being was to help my country, so in
compiling the preceding chapters I have been compelled, by
what in a higher sphere would be called reasons of State, to
suppress many facts and incidents which would, I make no
doubt, have constituted interesting reading matter.

I have striven to give nothing away that could be con-
strued directly or indirectly against my country. I have
touched, lightly, yet I trust sufficiently, upon the canker
spots that I so fervently hope and pray may in time be
eradicated from our system of home and foreign affairs.

I may have added to my roll of enemies, yet I rejoice in
the consolation that by my actions I know I have brought to
me many true and great friends.

My readers may complain that the narrative portion of
the book dealing with detailed adventures could well have
been extended, and that the discursive semi-political portion
could well have been curtailed.

I sympathise exceedingly with them to that extent, but
if they knew all they would, I am sure, sympathise even
more deeply with me in the difficulties which have arisen

318 British Secret Service

regarding the publication of these remnants of my knowledge
which are now placed before them. The book, as it is,
consists of but the fragments of a tale untold.

Had I been dealing with a foreign country as a foreigner,
what a different word-film I could have unrolled ! — whilst it
must not be forgotten that I hope to re-visit in the future the
countries mentioned. Were I permitted to record all the
happenings of the past I might find such a return too eagerly
awaited and the welcome accorded might be open to various
interpretations by the Powers-that-be.

It is extraordinary but nevertheless true that there are
people who entertain doubtful feelings regarding anyone who
has undertaken Secret Service work. Some even suggest
that such a person, male or female, could only be classified as
a spy, a person to be shunned and avoided. What ignorance !
What little-mindedness !

When the country had declared war and we knew that the
long-anticipated warwith Germany had become an established
fact, what Englishman, worthy of the name, could rest with-
out dreams of active service ? Who hesitated to question
the service ? When I failed again and again for enlistment
by reason of age and was told to apply to Lord Grey direct,
I had a tinge of suspicion that if I did have the luck to be
found acceptable it would probably be for foreign intelligence
work.

A bald statement of fact that such work was or is con-
temptible could only spring from a craven-souled individual
who would probably shrink from his country's call in any
event ; from some narrow-minded, over-indulgent stay-at-
home ; or from some pompous, self-exalted incompetent,
whose ideas of men and things are beneath contempt indeed.

Secret Service is essentially a service of isolated in-
dividuality. A member is not supposed to know, nor per-
mitted if possible to know, other members, beyond those
whom he must of necessity meet ; yet I knew many more
active members than my CO. had any knowledge or any
intention that I should know.

All those whom I had the honour of meeting I found to be

L'Envoi 319

men of honour, men whom I am proud to have met. I do
not care to express any opinion concerning the ladies, because
it is very certain that the more a man studies women the less
he really knows of their true nature.

The men in responsible positions (I do not attempt to
include the underlings employed in casual cases) I found in
every instance to be unflinchingly loyal and true to their
country over every other consideration. I will give an
instance of this extremeness. An officer in the Army, whom
I would unhesitatingly have trusted with my honour and my
life, was working with me in a dangerous undertaking. To
safeguard us both, so far as I could, I suggested that we should
form an absolute alliance, for life or death. He solemnly
agreed, but he made one stipulation. It was that, if he
received a peremptory order from home to put an effective
stop to my further services, he should, very reluctantly indeed,
but without the smallest hesitation, shoot me without
warning. He hastened to add : " You know, old chap, I
need not express my known feelings to you, but I am a
soldier of the King. I have to obey my orders, and when my
country is at war I would shoot my whole family without
question, if so ordered from H.Q." I knew he meant it.

I read an account of the capture of this friend by the
Germans in Finland — I knew what that meant. I mourned
his loss for two whole years. Poor devil ! How I pitied
him and his fate ! But the Secret Service is ever one of
surprise and surprises. On April 7th, 1920, I received a
letter from the much-lamented departed, " chipping " me in
great glee, adding that he had left this branch of service only
a few months after I myself had retired hurt, because, to use
his own words, " the War Office refused to give me any
honours of any kind."

As would be expected, he went straight out to France,
where his valour in the field immediately earned some half-
dozen mentions in despatches, the D.S.O. and other decora-
tions. Knowing his bravery, skill, and marvellous work whilst
abroad in the Secret Service, it seems unbelievable that Home
Authorities (who apparently decorated every inmate of the

320 British Secret Service

Whitehall Offices, and even telephone girls who retained
their stools whilst Zepps were about !) could wilfully ignore
such services as his.

That this was not an exceptional case, I may add that I
do not know, nor have I ever heard of, even one solitary
honour or recognition being bestowed by our own Govern-
ment upon a soul who actively served abroad in the Foreign
Secret Service ; although I do know of highly-coveted decora-
tions being offered and given from abroad, which would-be
recipients declined, or dare not accept, because of those above
and around them.

Personally I doubt whether any responsible member of
the British Foreign Secret Service ever really troubled himself
one iota about such trivial matters as decorations — as such.
An ambition to climb to the highest rung of acknowledged
service to one's country was another matter.

The sporting element of discomfiting and checkmating
the Huns seemed to be the one thought uppermost in their
minds, whilst, if any time for reflection was ever found, it
was generally passed in cursing politicians at home for
curtailing activities by shortage of funds, and Ministers
abroad for not following Nelson's patriotic ophthalmic action
at the battle of Copenhagen.

Speaking for myself, I can only say that my greatest joys
in life have been consummated in successful big-game shoot-
ing. My employment in the Foreign Secret Service gave me
opportunities at far Bigger Game than my wildest dreams had
ever led me to hope for.

I enjoyed to the full every minute of those activities. I
would not have missed them for a king's ransom ; whilst now
I rest in the consolation that if my past life thitherto had been
useless and of little worth to the world at large or to anyone
in it, I was, during the period of my then employment, striving
to accomplish a better thing than I had ever done, to help to
victory the noblest cause this world has ever known.

" JIM."

THE END

mf i i — - .. -■

PRINTED BY THE ANCHOR PRESS, LTD, XIPTKEE, ESSEX, ENGLAND.

v~

D Everitt, Nicholas

639 British secret service

S7E8 3d ed.

1920

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