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| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-03-03 11:55:10 -0800 |
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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-03-03 11:55:10 -0800 |
| commit | 9a8ab2663acb9e28d12de51173382b233a233307 (patch) | |
| tree | 67bd807d2863e5f69ca8ec95316fc21f9b02b1e8 /46348-h/46348-h.html | |
| parent | 6fefea65dd3ae691218f20b0b91f1b5255209764 (diff) | |
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- float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -/* DIV */ -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } - -</style> -<title>OVER THERE WITH THE CANADIANS AT VIMY RIDGE</title> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="Over There with the Canadians at Vimy Ridge" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="George H. Ralphson" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1919" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="46348" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2014-07-20" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="Over There with the Canadians at Vimy Ridge" /> - -<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> -<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> -<meta content="Over There with the Canadians at Vimy Ridge" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="over.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta content="2014-07-22T20:56:57.103070+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46348" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> -<meta content="George H. Ralphson" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="2014-07-20" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3.20 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="over-there-with-the-canadians-at-vimy-ridge"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">OVER THERE WITH THE CANADIANS AT VIMY RIDGE</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="align-None container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> -included with this eBook or online at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: Over There with the Canadians at Vimy Ridge -<br /> -<br />Author: George H. Ralphson -<br /> -<br />Release Date: July 20, 2014 [EBook #46348] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>OVER THERE WITH THE CANADIANS AT VIMY RIDGE</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="align-None container coverpage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 72%" id="figure-19"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Cover art" src="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Cover art</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container frontispiece"> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-20"> -<img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="THE CANADIANS WERE MASTERFUL FIGHTERS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE WAR. (The Canadians at Vimy Ridge)" src="images/img-front.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">THE CANADIANS WERE MASTERFUL FIGHTERS -<br />IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE WAR. -<br />(The Canadians at Vimy Ridge)</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container titlepage"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="xx-large">OVER THERE</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="x-large">WITH -<br />THE CANADIANS -<br />AT -<br />VIMY RIDGE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics medium">By</em></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">CAPT. GEORGE H. RALPHSON</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">Author of -<br />OVER THERE WITH PERSHING'S HEROES AT CANTIGNY, -<br />OVER THERE WITH THE DOUGHBOYS AT ST. MIHIEL, -<br />OVER THERE WITH THE MARINES AT CHATEAU THIERRY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">M. A. DONOHUE & COMPANY -<br />CHICAGO NEW YORK</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container verso"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">Copyright, 1919 -<br />M. A. DONOHUE & CO. -<br />CHICAGO</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CONTENTS</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>I </span><a class="reference internal" href="#shells-and-minnenwerfer">Shells and Minnenwerfer</a><span> -<br />II </span><a class="reference internal" href="#irving-s-idea">Irving's Idea</a><span> -<br />III </span><a class="reference internal" href="#in-no-man-s-land">In No Man's Land</a><span> -<br />IV </span><a class="reference internal" href="#kamerad">"Kamerad!"</a><span> -<br />V </span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-turtle-is-wounded">The Turtle Is Wounded</a><span> -<br />VI </span><a class="reference internal" href="#a-little-history">A Little History</a><span> -<br />VII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#tourtelle-apologizes">Tourtelle Apologizes</a><span> -<br />VIII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#cubist-art">Cubist Art</a><span> -<br />IX </span><a class="reference internal" href="#bob-s-letter">Bob's Letter</a><span> -<br />X </span><a class="reference internal" href="#dots-and-dashes">Dots and Dashes</a><span> -<br />XI </span><a class="reference internal" href="#irving-tells-the-sergeant">Irving Tells the Sergeant</a><span> -<br />XII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#quizzing-a-spy">Quizzing a Spy</a><span> -<br />XIII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#tourtelle-admits">Tourtelle Admits</a><span> -<br />XIV </span><a class="reference internal" href="#tourtelle-s-story">Tourtelle's Story</a><span> -<br />XV </span><a class="reference internal" href="#irving-an-orderly">Irving an Orderly</a><span> -<br />XVI </span><a class="reference internal" href="#a-startling-announcement">A Startling Announcement</a><span> -<br />XVII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#parachute-practice">Parachute Practice</a><span> -<br />XVIII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#studying-to-be-a-spy">Studying to Be a Spy</a><span> -<br />XIX </span><a class="reference internal" href="#last-preparations">Last Preparations</a><span> -<br />XX </span><a class="reference internal" href="#second-looie-ellis">"Second Looie Ellis"</a><span> -<br />XXI </span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-blowing-up-of-vimy-ridge">The Blowing Up of Vimy Ridge</a><span> -<br />XXII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#behind-the-german-lines">Behind the German Lines</a><span> -<br />XXIII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#off-for-berlin">Off for Berlin</a><span> -<br />XXIV </span><a class="reference internal" href="#in-berlin">In Berlin</a><span> -<br />XXV </span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-reading-of-the-cryptogram">The Reading of the Cryptogram</a><span> -<br />XXVI </span><a class="reference internal" href="#followed">Followed</a><span> -<br />XXVII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-spy-s-decision">The Spy's Decision</a><span> -<br />XXVIII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#making-progress-with-the-baron">Making Progress with the Baron</a><span> -<br />XXIX </span><a class="reference internal" href="#orders-for-money-and-clothes">Orders for Money and Clothes</a><span> -<br />XXX </span><a class="reference internal" href="#before-breakfast">Before Breakfast</a><span> -<br />XXXI </span><a class="reference internal" href="#at-work-in-the-spy-office">At Work in the Spy Office</a><span> -<br />XXXII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#a-startling-recognition">A Startling Recognition</a><span> -<br />XXXIII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#a-surprising-offer">A Surprising Offer</a><span> -<br />XXXIV </span><a class="reference internal" href="#skin-grafting">Skin Grafting</a><span> -<br />XXXV </span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-tapping-on-the-window">The Tapping on the Window</a><span> -<br />XXXVI </span><a class="reference internal" href="#a-revelation">A Revelation</a><span> -<br />XXXVII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#the-submarines">The Submarines</a><span> -<br />XXXVIII </span><a class="reference internal" href="#kamerad-again">"Kamerad!" Again</a><span> -<br />XXXIX </span><a class="reference internal" href="#accidents-will-happen">"Accidents Will Happen"</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="shells-and-minnenwerfer"><span class="bold x-large">Over There with the Canadians -<br />at -<br />Vimy Ridge</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER I</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold large">SHELLS AND MINNENWERFER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Look out! There she comes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These words were whispered, for it -would have been a serious military offense if -the speaker had lifted his voice to a resonant -tone in addressing his companion. Both were -in khaki uniform, and had helmets on their -heads. They had been crouching in a -camouflaged pit out in No Man's Land in the Vimy -Ridge sector of the western battle front in -Prance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was dusk of evening, a mist-laden dusk, -quite as serviceable for secret movements as -the darkness under a clear sky. One could not -see an object as large as a man twenty yards -away because of the fog.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All day it had been raining, just a slow -drizzle, but nevertheless, a good deal of water had -fallen, and the chief characteristic of the -trenches was mud. "Second Looie" George -Tourtelle and Private Irving Ellis had been -sent out through the communication trench to -the listening post, in which they were crouched -when Irving whispered the words "Look out! -There she comes!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was really no need of his offering any -such warning to his companion, for the latter -could hear the whistle of the approaching shell -just as well as he, but there was also no call -for the punishment that the second lieutenant -administered. The shell passed harmlessly -over their heads and exploded behind the front -line trenches of the Canadian company, of -which the occupants of the spy pit were -members, and almost simultaneously with the -explosion, Lieut. Tourtelle struck Irving a sharp -blow in the face with the back of his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There!" he said viciously, with apparently -no effort to subdue the tone of his voice in -accord with the strict precautionary rules of such -positions. "See that you keep your thoughts -to yourself hereafter or I'll send you back to -report to the captain."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was astonished, as well as angered at -this treatment. He was sure there was no call -even for a reprimand, whereas the officer had -spoken in tones quite loud enough for the enemy -to hear fifty, or possibly a hundred, yards away. -In fact, he was sure that if the "second looie" -had any reflection in him at all, he must have -experienced a thrill of apprehension very soon -afterward lest the sound of his voice had been -heard by some of his superior officers in the -front trenches. If so, an inquiry into its -meaning most certainly would follow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course,-Irving resented the uncalled-for -exhibition of brutality just exhibited by -Lieut. Tourtelle, but he had too much military sense -to show his resentment by look or act. Instead, -he decided to take his punishment and the -accompanying rebuke as provocative of a little -self-discipline and to profit from the experience, -in spite of the injustice that went with it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I never did like that fellow from the first -day I met him," Private Ellis told himself, -grinding his teeth with rage under the first -impulse of revenge. "Now I know him to be the -very sort I thought he was. Nobody but a -coward would do what he did. He knows he'd -never dare to meet me on even terms. I'd clean -him up so thoroughly there wouldn't be -anything for a minnenwerfer to smell if one came -along and dropped onto the spot where he ought -to be. Goodness! there's one now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The "minnie" referred to in Irving's -soliloquy lighted right in the communication trench -not more than 200 feet from the outlook pit in -which the officer and the private were stationed. -The explosion threw up a mass of earth, -several bucketfuls of which came down into the pit -as if from a giant pepper-box. One stone about -the size of two fists struck Irving on his left -shoulder, and for several minutes the boy -feared some of the bones were broken or the -joint dislocated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it proved to be only a bruiser and -presently the young soldier was using his arm -confidently, although with considerable pain. In -the excitement that followed almost immediately -after the explosion of this shell, he -forgot the injury, although under ordinary -circumstances, every movement of his left arm -must have been more or less painful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no shriek of warning preceding -the next explosion fifty feet to the right, such -as had called forth the whispered "look out" -from Private Ellis that was rebuked with a -blow of the hand and an equally unmilitary -reprimand from the second lieutenant. But it -was much more mighty in force and sound. It -tore up the ground almost, it seemed, to the -very edge of the pit in which the outpost was -located. Strange enough, too, not nearly as -much of the upheaved earth fell back into the -pit as had fallen there after the explosion of -the first shell. Irving felt that he knew the -reason.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That was a minnie dead sure," he told himself -with a shudder. "I like the others much -better. You know when they're coming and -maybe can dodge 'em. But a minnie never -gives any warning. They've spotted this -outpost and the next one'll probably wipe us out. -We'll never know what hit us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Evidently something of this sort was going -on in the mind of Lieut. Tourtelle, for suddenly -he darted back through the communication -trench toward the front line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's funny," Irving muttered under his -breath. "He's ducked without giving any -order to me. What'll I do--stick? I feel like -sticking just to show him that I'm made of -different stuff. But no, I guess I hadn't better. -He's just mean enough to report that he -ordered me back, but I disobeyed his order."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="irving-s-idea"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER II</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IRVING'S IDEA</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Private Ellis had not been back in the -front line trench long before he had good -cause to congratulate himself for resisting -the temptation to offer himself as an example -of bravery in the face of the cowardly actions -of the second lieutenant. A second minnenwerfer -dropped unannounced right into the pit -they had just left and the size of the -bowl-shaped listening post was increased many -times.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, if I were an officer and in position to -make suggestions, I'd advise that that pit be -remanned in about half an hour," Irving -mused. "The boches, no doubt, have a report -of the success of their last shot, and will -naturally assume that the place has been put out of -commission as a lookout, and the occupants reduced -to their original elements. I believe that -hole in the ground is just as serviceable as it -ever was to play peek-a-boo at Heinie."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Tourtelle was in the trench within a -few feet of Irving and the latter would have -made an effort to get the proposition to him if -it had not been for the experience he had had -with the insufferable nature of the officer in the -listening pit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish it weren't against orders to whisper -in the front trenches--that is, when you have -something of importance to communicate to the -higher-up," the boy continued to himself. -"I'd really like to go out there and try it -again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment someone took hold of his arm--the -sore one, as the pain in his shoulder -reminded him--and gave it a pull. This was as -much as to say, "Follow me." He obeyed, and -soon reached the communication trench that -connected the first and second line trenches. -His leader, a first lieutenant named Osborne, -led the way through this trench back to the -second line. During the passage, Irving became -conscious of the fact that others were following -along behind. What was up, young Ellis -wondered. It was not time for him to be relieved, -for he had been in the trenches only about -fifteen hours.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was not long kept in doubt. Immediately -on their arrival at the second line, Lieut. Osborne -gathered them together--one officer and -five privates--and gave the following -instructions in low tones:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want you boys to go out beyond the barbed -wire and see what you can find out. Remember -your stock instructions. Don't get into any -fights. If you meet anybody, retreat. We -want to find the location of any patrols of theirs -out in No Man's Land. Look out for evidences -of their work laying mines, repairing barbed -wire, sinking listening pits, or anything of the -sort. Then get back as soon as possible, -keeping your bearings and the locations of your -discoveries well in mind. If any 'very lights' go -up, you must lie or stand still, or remain -unwaveringly in your positions and attitudes -until they go out, unless the light is directly -between you and our trenches. In that case, you -must duck and make the best of your way back -under a hail of bullets, for you'll be seen. You -will be armed only with pistols, hand grenades, -and trench knives. Use the bombs or pistols -only to save yourselves from death or capture. -Remember it is information we want from you, -not scalps. You will be under charge of Second -Lieutenant Tourtelle."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving's heart went "way down" in his hob-nailed -shoes at this latter announcement. He -had had no idea who his companions during -this patrol excursion were to be, for the night -had fallen heavy and it was difficult for those -in the group to recognize identities in one -another's dimly silhouetted forms. The last -information handed to them was almost enough -to cause Private Ellis to do something desperate. -As a substitute for the impulse he did the -thing that had been uppermost in his mind most -of the time since he left the listening post out -in No Man's Land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lieutenant," he said; "may I offer a -suggestion which, it seems to me, would be of -service to us right now?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Certainly, Ellis," the officer responded -encouragingly. "What is it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It seems to me that that pit that was -increased to the size of a small volcano crater -since Lieut. Tourtelle and I left it could be used -with almost perfect safety now," the boy said -eagerly. "The boches won't be expecting -anybody to use it now. They, no doubt, think -they've settled the question of its usefulness for -all time to come. Now, if you'd send a couple -of machine guns out there with some men to -operate them, we could report back at that -point to them and they could do quick execution. -After they'd done their work, they could -run back to our front line and the boches 'u'd -have a merry time dropping some more minnies -into an empty bowl."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Osborne was quick to see the value of -the suggestion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a good idea, Ellis," he said in tone -of hearty approval, "and I'm going to do that -very thing. Lieut. Tourtelle, see that these men -are supplied with pistols, grenades and trench -knives, or persuasion sticks, as they prefer, -while I get the machine gunners."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="in-no-man-s-land"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER III</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IN NO MAN'S LAND</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Private Ellis felt fully compensated -for the treatment he had received from the -second lieutenant by the recognition and -adoption of his suggestion to utilize the -"minnenwerfered listening pit" for the purpose for -which it was originally intended. Fully an -hour had elapsed since this pit had been -converted into a miniature crater, and not another -explosion had taken place in the vicinity. It -seemed, indeed, that he had not erred in his -surmise that the enemy had checked up the -results of their firing and concluded that any -more shells dropped at this point would be a -waste of ammunition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Irving was not without misgiving as the -party started out through the communication -trench for their patrolling and machine gun -battery headquarters out in No Man's Land. -The fact that Lieut. Tourtelle had been put in -command of this expedition dampened his -spirits and caused him to fear disaster. He -fought hard against this apprehension. It had -been too dark for him to discern from the -"second looie's" countenance how that officer -received the adoption of Private Ellis' suggestion, -but he was certain it was not accepted with -the best of grace. He could well picture in his -mind a darkening of the countenance of "the -turtle," a clenching of his hands, and a dogged -sullenness of demeanor as the ill-natured officer -contemplated the favor shown the boy whom he -evidently hated for no good reason whatever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving renamed the second lieutenant "the -turtle" in a kind of subconscious way. It was -not done with malice aforethought. The term -just came to his mind, like a flash, and was -inspired, no doubt, by the contemptible conduct -of the "shave-tail," as flippant military fancy -has dubbed the "second looie," and by the play -of idea suggested in the spelling of his name.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The communication trench was partly a tunnel. -From the front line as far as the barbed-wire -entanglements it was just a plain trench, -seven or eight feet deep. Then it became a -subterranean passage with about two feet of earth -overhead, continuing thus until beyond the wire -belt, when it opened overhead again. When the -patrol reached the spot where the first -"minnie" exploded, they found it necessary to -proceed with special caution, for the passage was -blocked there on both sides of the crater with -heaps of earth. However, they managed to -pass this place safely, and presently were in -the listening pit that had recently been very -much increased in capacity with minnenwerfer aid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A period of waiting and listening followed -the arrival at this "crater." Not a word was -uttered, not even a whisper. Everybody gave -the keenest attention of which his senses were -capable to everything that offered stimulation -to eye or ear. However, their careful looking -and listening was unrewarded with aught save -what appeared to be the most unwarlike silence -and inactivity in the immediate vicinity. Now -and then in the distance could be heard the -thunder of heavy cannon or the nasty spit-snap -of machine guns.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Conditions appearing to be satisfactory, -Lieut. Tourtelle gave the agreed signal, which -consisted of placing one hand on the left -shoulder of each of the scouts, and the latter climbed -up over the sloping embankment at several -points in the big cup and crept cautiously out -over No Man's Land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By this time the fog had lifted, and stars -were beginning to peep out through rifts in the -cloud-swept sky. Added to the muddiness of -the ground, the chill of the atmosphere rendered -life in this sector exceedingly uncomfortable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Each member of this patrol went alone out -over the rising slope of land that lay between -the front line trenches of the Canadians and -the common enemy of the Allies. They either -crouched low or crawled on all fours. Each -scout was assigned to a section of the territory -as clearly defined as possible in order that there -might be no crossing of paths or mistaking one -another for members of a boche patrol.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving took a course to the right, advancing -with a cautious, low crouch. His instructions -were to proceed about 100 yards along a line -parallel to the trenches and then advance -toward the enemy line to see what he could -discover.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He proceeded the distance stipulated southward -as nearly as he could estimate over a -half-mud and half-sod surface and then found -himself close to a thicket of low bushes, the extent -of which he knew to be not very great, for he -had observed this feature of the terrain in the -daylight. He decided that he ought to examine -these bushes carefully, but realized that he -must not take much time for the investigation, -as each member of the patrol had been limited -to half an hour in which to gather material for -his report.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Private Ellis, therefore, decided to make a -detour around the bushes, listening meanwhile -for any sound of moving bodies among the -leaves and twigs. The detection of such sounds -would be ample reason for sweeping the patch -with machine gun bullets.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He made almost the entire circuit without -detecting the faintest noise that could command -the respect of his suspicion, and was about to -turn around and creep back toward the enemy -lines, when a bunch of "very lights," fired -from boche pistols, threw their brilliance over -the scene. The unwelcome illumination was -prolonged in a manner that Irving had not -witnessed before. The lights floated down -slowly, being suspended in the air by small -parachute arrangements that opened out with -the increasing resistance of the air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But something else startled the boy even -more than these lights. Instinctively he -remained stock still in the crouching position in -which the illumination caught him. But right -in front of him, not more than twenty feet away -were the figures of two soldiers. They were -standing erect and facing each other. One of -the faces was turned well toward Private Ellis, -who could hardly smother an exclamation of -astonishment as he recognized him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Lieut. Tourtelle!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What in the world does he think he's -doing?" Irving questioned to himself. "He -doesn't seem to be very anxious to protect -himself. He hasn't a pistol, knife or bomb in his -hand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lights went out, and presently a new -cause for wonder came to the ears of the -crouching boy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kamerad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Could he believe his senses? No, he wouldn't. -It came to him very clearly, that utterance, -from the spot where Lieut. Tourtelle stood. -And yet, this was impossible. It must surely -have been the enemy soldier who uttered the -word of friendly greeting.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="kamerad"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"KAMERAD!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"That's a piece of boche treachery as sure -as I'm a Yank fighting with the Canadians," -was Irving's speedy conclusion after -witnessing the scene exposed by the lights and -hearing the salute which he decided must have -come from the enemy scout. "That's the way -they work it! They're noted for treachery of -that very sort."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kamerad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The salute was repeated, scarcely above a -whisper, but clear enough for Irving to hear it -distinctly. And with the utterance of that word -another thrill of apprehension, doubt, confusion, -electrified the mind and body of the listening -scout, who had not been discovered by Tourtelle -and the boches when the lights illuminated -the field, undoubtedly, because he happened to -be crouching close to a bush large enough to -cast a shadow about him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My!" exclaimed the boy under his breath; -"I'd 'ave sworn that word came from the very -spot where Tourtelle was standing. They can't -'ave changed positions so quickly. And yet, I -must be mistaken. Common sense tells me it -must 'ave been the boche who gave that salute. -I wonder what's the matter with my hearing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I'll have to go to that miserable 'shave-tail's' -rescue if the other fellow plays a trick on -him. I think I'll get close and see what's -going on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving crept cautiously toward the spot -where he had seen the second lieutenant when -the lights blazed forth. The distance was so -short that he fancied he ought to have been able -to see both the officer and the enemy scout from -his position near the bush. The boche, unless -he had moved since the lights went out, was a -similar distance away from the watcher and -about twenty-five feet to Private Ellis' right.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a few seconds Irving reached approximately -the spot where he had seen Lieut. Tourtelle, -when the "very lights" illuminated the -vicinity, and was surprised and just a little -worried on failing to find him still there. Then -he began to look around him to see if his eyes -could not pierce the surrounding darkness far -enough to discover the form of the officer. His -search was interrupted by another startling -incident.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Something struck the calf of his right leg a -rather severe blow, and the boy gripped his -trench-knife in one hand and his pistol in the -other, ready to defend himself if attacked. -Nothing further of disturbing nature followed -immediately, and Irving stooped down to -examine the object that had struck him. It was a -short, stout club of the kind known in No Man's -Land as a "persuader stick," which can be -used effectively, like a policeman's billy, in the -dark.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who in the world threw that?--not the -boche, surely," the boy muttered. "It's like -the one I've seen in 'the turtle's' possession; -but what could he want to throw it back here for?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kamerad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There it goes again," buzzed through Irving's -head. "I don't believe it's a trap set for -me, but maybe it is for the 'looie,' and he may -be just fool enough to fall for it. I owe it -to--to--Uncle Sam to save him, if I can, though -I'm afraid Uncle Sam 'u'd be better off -without 'im."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Private Ellis put his knife and pistol away, -gripped his club, and advanced toward the spot -whence the last "kamerad" seemed to have -come. As he moved ahead slowly he became -conscious gradually that a dark object stood -before him a few yards away. Would he be -able to determine whether it was friend or foe? -He was in doubt on this question and determined -to exercise the greatest care and caution.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He moved around in a semi-circular path to -the other side of the object that had attracted -his attention. But he had scarcely done this -when the presence of another and similar -obstruction to his vision caused him to stop and -remain motionless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This object was moving slowly and with -seeming caution toward the other one. His -attitude and manner were not clear because of -the darkness, so that Irving could not interpret -his purpose from any such indication.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kamerad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This time there could be no mistake from -whom of the two scouts the salute came. It -was from the one who apparently had thrown -his "persuader stick" away, the one who was -nearer the spot where he had seen Lieut. Tourtelle -during the illumination.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's he doing--surrendering?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving might have suspected that the officer -in charge of this patrol was working a "boche -trick" on a boche if it had not been for the fact -that he had thrown his stick away. But this -act made it appear that a panic had seized him -and he was signaling his desire to surrender -because he feared to enter into mortal combat -with the enemy scout.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why doesn't he retreat if he's afraid to -fight?" Irving wondered. "He could do that -with perfect grace, for he's under orders not -to fight unless he has to. But he seems to be -advancing right toward Heinie without any -reason for doing it. Maybe he's going to shove -a pistol in that fellow's face, but it looks to me -more as if he's lost 'is senses from fright. -Anyway, I'm goin' to help 'im just for the sake of -Uncle Sam. I'll hit that boche a tap on the -head that'll make 'im see the Star Spangled -Banner."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boy with the club quickened his steps -silently, for he was skilled with the "moccasin -tread" even on hobnails. Moreover, the softness -of the wet earth was in his favor. In about -a minute he had stolen around behind the -boche, who was advancing cautiously toward -the "kamerad saluter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was morally certain that the soldier now -within ten feet of him was an enemy, but he -resolved to be very careful lest he attack one -of his own comrades. So he continued to -approach with the utmost caution, hoping to -identify the fellow by an inspection of his uniform. -In the darkness this was an exceedingly difficult -thing to do, for there is a general similarity in -the make of the uniforms of soldiers of most -nations, so that when silhouetted they differ -very little to any but a keenly observing expert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Irving was not forced to depend alone -upon his vision in the darkness of the night to -verify his identification of the two patrol -scouts. There was another salute in low tone, -and this time an answer was given.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kamerad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Was willst du, hund?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Crack!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The "persuader stick" in the hand of the -Yank swung with sharp impact against the -head of the boche just under his helmet. The -"Canadian-hund" hater dropped in his tracks.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-turtle-is-wounded"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER V</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"THE TURTLE" IS WOUNDED</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The next instant Lieut. Tourtelle turned -and scuttled away as fast as he could -scuttle. Irving's first impulse was to follow -him, but he checked it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, knowing well the pyramid fashion -in which boche patrols work in No Man's Land, -the boy governed his next actions with caution -that took this into consideration. The man he -had just put hors de combat may have been -the "apex" of such a "pyramid," which is a -very treacherous sort of trap. It is the game -of the "apex" to retreat and induce a lone -enemy scout to follow him if possible. A short -distance on toward the boche trenches, perhaps -twenty or thirty feet apart, the distance -depending upon the darkness of the night, are -two more Heinies, who close in behind like -a pair of pincers as the intended victim passes -the line of their positions. Still a little farther -on are two other soldiers, the "cornerstones" -of the "pyramid," who also close in upon the -victim just as the attack is made. His capture -is inevitable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving did not purpose to be caught in any -such trap; so he moved away twenty or thirty -feet from the scene of his victorious exploit -and waited and watched for developments.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were not long coming. Apparently the -Yank's suspicion of a "pyramid trick" was -not in error. Apparently also the other -component parts of the man-trap had heard the -crack of Private Ellis's club on the head of -the "apex" of the "pyramid," for they soon -were gathered around the unconscious form of -their comrade and muttering a torrent of -"hund curses."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gee! I must get back in a hustle and we'll -get those Huns," was Irving's next thought. -"No doubt they'll carry that fellow to their -trench, and necessarily they'll go pretty slow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He scuttled back to the listening pit even -more rapidly, if possible, than "the turtle" -had scuttled, and soon was with his comrade -scouts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is everybody here?" he asked in a whisper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, you're the last one out," Lieut. Tourtelle -replied in, Irving fancied, a sneering tone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then sweep that section right over -there"--indicating with his right hand. "There are -several boches 200 yards in that direction carrying -in a comrade that I cracked on the head."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The other scouts had returned with information -of interest to the machine gunners, -and presently the "typewriters" were rattling -away with a hail of steel-jacketed messages. -Cries and groans from several quarters of the -arc swept by the guns indicated the effectiveness -of the firing. Irving was rewarded for -his evening's work by hearing several evidences -of hits from the neighborhood of the scene of -his adventure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the firing, there was a quick retreat to -the Canadian front line. They got back before -the Heinies were able to collect their wits and -concentrate an answering fire upon the pit -which undoubtedly they thought they had -recently converted into a combined shambles and -tomb.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This last statement is true, but misleading. -The patrol did not get back without some -punishment. One machine gun of the enemy got -busy just before the scouts leaped back into -their trench. Again we are misleading. One -of the returning scouts did not leap into the -trench--he fell. It was Lieut. Tourtelle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving sprang to his aid, lifting the officer to -his feet and supporting him thus. But his -efforts were of little use. The wounded man -had fainted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another soldier offered assistance, and -together they carried him to a lighted dugout. -There speedy first-aid remedies brought the -wounded soldier back to consciousness, but it -was evident that he was severely injured.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A telephone call in the dugout soon brought -a team of stretcher bearers, and in a short time -Lieut. Tourtelle was being conveyed to a Red -Cross ambulance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next day Irving's left shoulder was so sore -that he was unable to use the arm. He tried -to conceal his embarrassment, but it was -observed by Sergt. MacDonald, who reported it -to Lieut. Osborne. Then followed an -examination, which proved that the young -American's shoulder was discolored and swollen as -a result of the wound he received following the -explosion of minnenwerfer No. 1 near the -listening pit early in the evening, and he was -ordered behind the lines for treatment.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-little-history"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A LITTLE HISTORY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving was not confined to an invalid's -couch at the hospital behind the Canadian -lines. His left arm was put in a sling and his -shoulder bandaged in hot cloths, frequently -changed. It was found that the stone that -struck him had strained and bruised the -muscles and ligaments severely, so that the -subsequent use of the arm had brought about a -condition resembling results of a bad sprain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was in the hospital a little over a week, -and although he was not subjected to any of -the heroic treatment that is administered to -many of the wounded, yet the exciting thrills -that had filled his short experience in trench -and No Man's Land with "lots of pep and -pepper" had a very fitting sequel in his hospital -sojourn, very much unlike the usual wearisome -wait of the wounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As we have intimated, Private Irving Ellis -was an American of the United States brand. -His home was in Buffalo, N.Y. His father -was a ship captain employed by a company that -operated a line of passenger and freight -steamers on the Great Lakes. As a result the boy -grew up a "fresh water tar." He worked with -his father on the latter's boat most of the time -during the summer vacations after he reached -his teens.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The steamer of which Mr. Ellis had charge -touched at several Canadian as well as United -States ports. In one of these lived an uncle of -Irving's, John Douglas, and the latter's family.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ellis had married a Scotch Canadian -bride, and as both families lived near Lake -Erie, there was frequent visiting between them -back and forth across the mid-water line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As a result, Irving's best chum of his schoolboy -days was his cousin, Bob Douglas. They -were about the same age, and both were fond -of life on the lake. Bob also was given work -under Mr. Ellis's command in the summer when -he became old enough to be of service on board.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Soon after England declared war against -Germany, Canada began the organization of an -army to aid her mother country in the great -fight, and Bob was one of the first to enlist. -On the day of his enlistment he wrote a long -letter full of fiery patriotism to his cousin over -in the United States, and perhaps you can -imagine the sensation this communication created -in the family of the steamboat captain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But no, you can't, for the big sensation was -not immediate. Of course, there was a good -deal of excitement among Irving's brothers and -sisters--two boys and two girls, all younger -than he. Cousin Bob was a real hero in their -minds, and Irving envied him. The violation -of the Belgian treaty, the storming of Liege -and the invasion of France across the Belgian -frontier were still fresh in the minds of the -people everywhere. The "scrap of paper" -was still waving like a red flag in the face of -popular demand for the inviolability of -international honor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, two days later, Irving electrified the -family circle at the breakfast table with the -announcement that he wished to enlist. -Nobody protested; nobody approved. In fact, -Mr. Ellis had paved the way for his oldest son's -wish by expressing the opinion that the United -States would be drawn into the war before it -was over. Even the younger children were so -imbued with a sense of the seriousness of the -great struggle as a result of things they had -heard father, mother, and older brother say, -that they just looked awed when Irving's -announcement came.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. and Mrs. Ellis had too good sense of the -logic of things to start an argument to dissuade -their son from his unexpected desire. They -rather decided upon a plan of silence, which -put an end to discussion of the war in their -household. The radical change that suddenly -transformed the family conversations was -almost grewsome in its emptiness; the -substitution of silence for talk frequently became -embarrassing. But there was one thing that -did not stop; that was the arrival of letters -from Bob. They came almost with every mail, -and Irving devoured them eagerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last the boy was able to stand the embarrassing -silence no longer, for the desire to take -part in the great struggle against the hosts of -a hated military power was growing every day. -Mr. and Mrs. Ellis saw the inevitable coming. -They knew that they would not forbid their -son to enlist when once they were convinced of -his deep-seated desire to do so. They could -sacrifice their son for a great cause just as well -as for country.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Father, mother, I want to go," the boy said -one day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was an isolated statement, that would have -been Greek to one not intimately familiar with -the campaign of silence that had preceded. The -consent was given in silence and the subject -was not discussed again until Irving began to -make preparations for his departure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went to Canada and enlisted. Partly -through a deliberately planned purpose and -partly by good fortune, he was able to get into -the regiment with which his cousin was -training and a few months later was aboard a -transport on a zig-zag, submarine-dodging course -for England. After their arrival in France, -Irving because of his training in certain -technical lines was put in the engineering service, -but shortly before the occurrence of the events -already related herein, he succeeded in getting -a transfer back to his regiment on the plea -that he wished to do some real fighting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then for the first time he learned that his -cousin had been severely wounded and sent -back to Canada incapacitated for further -service several months before. This information -came in a letter from Bob written at home. -Two weeks later, while Irving was in the -hospital recovering from the injury he received in -the listening pit in No Man's Land, another -letter came from his cousin, communicating a -seemingly innocent but strange bit of news -which was destined to have an important -bearing on Private Ellis's future experiences as -a soldier.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="tourtelle-apologizes"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">TOURTELLE APOLOGIZES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>But something remarkable and of great -importance, affecting Irving's soldier -career, took place between the time when he -entered the hospital and the time when he -received the second letter from his cousin at -home. The deep significance of the event did -not develop at once, but the novelty of the thing -kept the attention of interest upon it until the -real meaning was uncovered. From that time -on the young American soldier's war experiences -were a succession of thrills, surprises, -and dangerously interesting work.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The field hospital to which he was taken -consisted in part of a group of farm buildings that -might have served as the nucleus of a village a -short distance behind the rear battle line. -Everything was slow and uninteresting to him -during his first two days at this place. Then -came the first incident in the chain of events -that was to mean so much to Private Ellis as -an American fighter in France.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He received a message from one of the guards -patrolling the grounds that a wounded officer -in one of the buildings wished to see him. No -explanation as to why he had been sent for -was given by the bearer of the message. The -head nurse of the building would direct him -to the man who wished to see him, he was -informed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wondering a little who the officer could be -and what was the nature of his interest in him, -Irving hastened to answer the call. He was -conducted by a nurse upstairs in a former rural -residence and into a small room, little larger -than a closet and occupied by a single patient -on an army cot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the way he ran over, in his mind, the list -of officers with whom he could claim anything -in the nature of a personal acquaintance and -found it very small. Moreover, he had not -known that any of these had been wounded. -In this review of acquaintances of both -commissioned and non-commissioned rank, -however, he missed one who should not have been -disregarded, although their intimacy had been -of anything but friendly nature. This officer -he found lying on the cot in the little room -which he now entered. It was Second -Lieut. Tourtelle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The surprise became almost startling when -Irving saw the face of the "shavetail" brighten -up with a look of apparent eagerness as he -recognized the caller. The nurse withdrew -immediately and the American soldier was left -alone with his strange "comrade enemy" of -No Man's Land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hello, Ellis," the "second looie" greeted, -extending his right hand to his visitor and -making an effort to smile pleasantly. "I sent -for you because I wanted to have a talk with -you. Sit down on the edge of the cot. Sorry -there's no chair here, but I'm not the housekeeper."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This latter "breath of levity" didn't sound -bad at all, and Irving began to have a vague -suspicion that there might be an intelligent side -to the nature of this young officer who had -behaved so brutally toward him. However, he -indicated that he preferred to stand and waited -patiently for Tourtelle to continue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I called you to ask you to do me a favor," -the wounded officer continued; "but first I want -to apologize for the way I treated you. I won't -attempt to explain why I did it because I don't -know. But I acted like a bum scoundrel and -ought to have been reported for it. The fact -that you made no complaint against me shows -that you're a real man and makes me feel -ashamed of myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was rather embarrassed by this -unexpected speech on the part of his supposed -"comrade-enemy." He could not well reject -the profession of humility, and yet he was -uncertain just how to take it. Lieut. Tourtelle -apparently desired to convey the impression -that he was suffering from pangs of deep -regret, but although the "pangs" twisted the -muscles of his countenance the visitor was -unable to convince himself as to the depth of -the patient's mental suffering.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope you will forgive me, Ellis," the -injured soldier said after a few moments' -silence. "I had a spell of very bad temper that -night and have regretted nay actions ever since. -If there's anything I can do to make it right, -I'll do it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This seemed to be as much as any reasonable -person could ask under the circumstances; so -Irving replied:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sure I don't bear you any ill will under -the circumstances, lieutenant. I admit I was -pretty much offended by what you did, but I'm -sure, after what you've just said, I can let -bygones be bygones. We must remember that -we are fighting a common enemy and it is -ridiculous for us to be fighting one another. We -ought rather to be helping one another."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's an excellent idea," Tourtelle declared. -"Now what would you say if I should -ask you to do something for me? Would you -resent it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I couldn't very well, after the principle I -just laid down," Irving answered with the -shadow of a smile; "provided it were reasonable," -he added.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I don't see how there's anything unreasonable -in it," the officer replied quickly. "The -only thing is, you may think it a very odd -request, freakish perhaps. But I think I can -explain it satisfactorily. First, let me enlist -your sympathy a little by informing you that -my wound is more severe than was thought at -first. I'm going to lose my left arm. One of -the doctors told me today that it would have -to be amputated between the elbow and the shoulder."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's too bad," Irving said with evidence -of fellow feeling for the second lieutenant. "If -there were anything I could do to save your -arm for you I'd surely do it. But what's the -matter?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A bad compound fracture and gangrene. -The doctor said he'd have to cut it off today -or my whole system might be poisoned. But -here's the favor I want you to do for me:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When the doctor told me my arm would -have to be cut off, I asked him if it would be -possible to save the limb, so I could take it back -home with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving interrupted this statement with a -start of surprise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what the doctor did when I suggested -the idea to him," Tourtelle continued, -noting the effect of his suggestion. "He wanted -to know why I wished to save the arm, and I -replied that it was for two reasons: first, -because I thought it would make an excellent -souvenir; second, because it was tattooed in a -very artistic manner and I don't want to lose -the art. I'm of an artistic temperament, and -it would break my heart more to lose that bit of -tattooing on my arm than to lose the arm and -keep the art."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think I get you," said Irving with a smile. -"You want me to put the arm in alcohol and -preserve it, tattooing and all?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a clever inference, but not quite to -the point," Tourtelle commented without much -change of expression on his face. "The doctor -offered a substitute suggestion, and that's what -I'm going to put to you now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The patient paused a moment or two, and -Irving waited expectantly for the next development -in the strange narrative of novel events.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="cubist-art"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">CUBIST ART</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Yes, I am of an artistic temperament," -Lieut. Tourtelle continued in a sort of -dreamy way, which tended rather to give his -audience-of-one "the creeps" than to "soften -his soul," as art is supposed to do.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If he's an artist, he ought to be painting -kaisers, crown princes, Hindenburgs, and -Ludendorfs with horns on their heads and -arrow-tipped tails," he thought grimly. "But maybe -he means it all right. Perhaps he really -believes he has artistic temperament, but hasn't -sized himself up right. A few years ago I -thought I could write poetry, but found I -couldn't even write an acceptable advertisement -in verse for sentimental candy or floating -soap. I'll humor 'im a while and see what's on -'is mind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tourtelle's mind was wandering now, either -with a purpose in view or because of a real -genius delusion. He rambled along thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I made a study of art ever since I was old -enough to daub with a little box of colors and -a paint brush. When I was old enough to -attempt something better than a smear, I went -to an art school and there made quite a hit with -the professors with some of my novel ideas. -Then when that craze of the cubists and the -futurists swept the country a few years ago, I -took it up and made quite a hit with some of -my paintings. One painting in particular, a -cubist production representing a basket of eggs -spilling down a stairway, was regarded as a -student masterpiece. The praise I received -over that work intoxicated me, I guess, for I -caused a copy of it to be tattooed on my arm -by a fellow student.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, the original was lost and I had only -the copy on my arm. So, you see, I became -very fond of that copy, as the original was -acknowledged to be worthy of exhibition along -with masterpieces of well known painters. By -the way, you remember something of that cubist -craze a few years ago, don't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," Irving replied, "I remember something -about it. There was a good deal about it -in the magazines. I suppose I recall it because -it was so perfectly crazy. Those artists seemed -to take great delight in making a human being -look as if he had gone through a threshing -machine and afterwards raided a hornet's nest."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've got the idea exactly--I mean the layman's -idea," said the self-styled cubist -enthusiastically. "And I don't blame you, in a way. -But if you could only have got an artist's view -of the idea, you'd look at life a good deal -differently. But that's neither here nor there. Oh, -yes, it is, too--I forgot myself on the moment. -It's here--on my arm--and I want to save it. -Now, this is what the doctor told me to do. He -told me to peel off the skin where the tattooing -is, as soon as the arm is sawed off. That is, he -didn't tell me to do it myself, for I'd be in no -condition to perform such an operation on my -amputated limb. He meant that's the way it -should be done. But I don't believe he'd ever -look after the job himself. He'd cut the arm -off while I'm under the influence of ether, and -that 'u'd be the last I'd ever see of it, including -the miniature copy of my painting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So I decided to get somebody else to look -after the matter, and that's what I called you -here for. It isn't much of a job. All you have -to do is to cut the skin around the tattooing and -peel it off, then pack it in salt to preserve it. -The doctor said it would peel off easily and that -salt packing would keep the skin and the -tattooed colors in good condition. The nurse got -me a little box and some salt, so everything is -ready as soon as the doctor comes along with -his saw."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When is he coming?" Irving inquired.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sometimes this afternoon, he said," Tourtelle -replied. "What do you think about it, -Ellis? Will you do me the favor?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure," the private answered with a smile. -"I'm sorry you're going to lose your arm, but -I'll take care of your cubist art for you with -pleasure. I'm really very curious to see what -it looks like."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd roll up my sleeve and show you, but -I'm afraid I'd hurt my arm," the "second -looie" said in response.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no," Irving returned hurriedly, "I -wouldn't have you do that for anything. But -I'll kind o' hang around until the surgeon -comes. If I'm not here right on the dot, the -nurse'll be able to find me without much -trouble."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="bob-s-letter"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BOB'S LETTER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving almost forgot that there had ever -been any difficulty between him and -Lieut. Tourtelle in contemplation of the novel service -he had promised to perform. Perhaps his -remembrance of that trouble had been smothered -by his curiosity as to the character of this -tattooed copy of a "Basket of Eggs Spilling Down -Stairs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The surgeon came at 3 o'clock in the -afternoon and got busy at once. However, before -administering the ether, he acknowledged an -introduction to Private Ellis and promised to -"skin the tattoo off the arm" after the -amputation and turn it over to its delegated -caretaker.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was permitted to be present during -the operation. He watched with a good deal -of curiosity for a first vision of the cubist art -on the patient's arm, and was not at all -disappointed. It surely was a clever piece of -work, from the point of view of a votary of this -sort of art. This was the conclusion of all who -saw the operation, and it was the general -subject of conversation until the arm was removed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The surgeon took more interest in the -subject now than he had taken at any time -previously. This doubtless was due to the special -preparations made by the patient for the -preservation of the tattooed skin. While the -ether was being administered by a nurse, he -bared the wounded arm and examined the -"copy of quaint art" with interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What does he call this picture?" the -"military sawbones" asked as he gazed at the -seemingly unmethodical arrangement of distorted -"cubes" of all sorts of shapes and angles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The patient was not yet unconscious, -although the nurse was dropping ether into the -mask covering his mouth and nose. In a low -dreamy voice he answered the question thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's 'The Basket of Eggs Spilling Down -Stairs.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The surgeon and the two attending nurses -laughed at this answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"His mind is wandering under the anæsthetic," -said the surgeon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, it isn't," Irving interposed. "He told -you the same thing he told me. You see, he's -a cubist. That's his idea of art. That -tattooing on his arm is a copy of a picture painted -by him when he was a student in an art school. -That's the story he told me this morning."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The expression on the surgeon's face went -through a motion-picture metamorphosis while -the boy onlooker was making his statement. -First it indicated a kind of professional -resentment at the contradiction; then followed a wave -of incredulity, succeeded by an enigmatical -smirk. As he cast a glance of still-smirking -amusement at young Ellis, the latter interpreted -it to mean that he questioned the sanity -of the patient.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I were to perform this operation in the -manner that cubists execute their art, he'd -probably want to sue me for malpractice," said -the scientific man as he finished preparation -for the use of the knife.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The operation was quickly performed, and -the surgeon obligingly peeled off the portion -of skin containing the cubist tattooing and -handed it to Irving. The latter proceeded at -once to pack it in the box of salt provided for -the purpose, and said to the nurse in charge:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll lay it here on the bed beside his pillow, -so that he'll find it when he wakes up. Will -you please call his attention to it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The nurse promised to do as requested, and -Irving left the building and heard nothing more -of the incident for several days. At last his -shoulder recovered from its lameness and he -was ordered back to the front.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before returning to the trenches, however, -he received a letter from his cousin, Bob, that -stirred in him a thrill of excitement that no -sensational activities of battle could have -aroused. The affair thus revealed over a -distance of thousands of miles confronted Irving -with what seemed at first a most remarkable -coincidence. But the boy was unable to accept -it as such without first making an inquiry about -certain suspicious circumstances. He -suspected at once that something was doing that -ought to be laid before army officials for -investigation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm getting along first rate, Irving," Bob -wrote. "My wounds have all healed. I was -pretty badly shot to pieces. One of the bones of -my left leg was pretty much shattered. They -thought, at first they'd have to amputate the -limb, but it was saved, thank goodness, although -the knee will always be stiff. I had half a -dozen shell and machine gun wounds in my -body, too, though fortunately all of them were -well removed from vital spots. But, although -these injuries were as bad as one would -care to receive, all of them together were not -nearly as dangerous or uncomfortable as the -dose of gas I got. Believe me, Irving, I don't -want any more of that. If you want my -opinion of it, I'll tell you I think it's more cruel -than submarine warfare where they sink -passenger ships without warning. The doctors -thought for a while that I was going to have -the 'con,' but I'm about over the effects of my -dose now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, while I was convalescing, I had to -have some amusement--I mean after I was -able to be up and around, but hardly strong -enough to shovel snow. Say, we've had some -awful heavy snow storms this winter. Regular -blizzards, with snow over your shoetops when -you're standing on your head. That's snowing -some, isn't it?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, about the time I was able to get -around without doing myself any harm--the -gas effects kept me pretty weak quite a while,--I -went up to Toronto to visit some friends. I -was invited up there by one of the boys who -was gassed at the same time I was. He and -others had organized a 'Gas club,' consisting -of fellows who had been gassed in the war. -Grewsome idea, wasn't it? But it took -famously. They wanted me to join, and I went -up there and was initiated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, while I was up there, I saw considerable -outdoor life. Several of us went hunting -on snowshoes one day, and that capped the -climax of my physical exertions. I ought to -have been more careful, for I was not strong -enough yet for such life. Well, I became ill on -the way, and the boys got me to a hospital in -the outskirts of the city and a physician -examined me. The doctor said there was nothing -serious the matter with me, only over-exertion -in my weakened condition, so I did not notify -father and mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Two days later the doctor said I was in -good enough condition to leave the hospital, -but advised me to go straight home and not try -any more such vigorous exercise until I was -in condition to return to the trenches. This -was in the evening, and I decided to remain -in the hospital until morning. I was sitting -up when the doctor called, and after he left I -went out into the hall to find a telephone to call -up my friend and tell him of my plan to return -home next day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The building is an old brick structure that -undoubtedly would have been condemned for -hospital purposes if the interior woodwork had -not been of the best material and well put -together. However, the layout was decidedly -old-fashioned and confusing to one accustomed to -modern architecture. Anyway, I got lost, so -to speak, in the hall while trying to find my -way to the stairway.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I found a stairway, but soon realized that -it was not the one I wanted, and was about to -turn back, when something caught my attention -and held it for several minutes. I was on -a kind of half-floor landing before an entrance -into a low rear addition, and from that position -found myself gazing into a laboratory in which -something very strange was going on. Three -men were in the room, one of them little more -than a boy and in the khaki uniform of a -soldier; the other two in civilian clothes. In the -upper half of the door were two glass panels, -through which I could see very clearly, and the -transom over the door was swung partly open.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There was something peculiar about the -two older men which almost fascinated me. -Both had a decidedly foreign look. One was -smooth-shaven, except for a heavy kaiser -mustache; the other, the older of these two, wore -a full beard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The young fellow in khaki was seated on -a chair, with his left arm bared above the elbow, -resting on a table. The other two men were -working over the arm in a most studious -manner. Over them was a brilliant calcium light -which illuminated their work. I could see the -arm very plainly and it took me only a minute -or two to determine what the two older men -were doing to it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They were tattooing the arm, and a most -remarkable kind of tattooing it was. They -were extremely careful with their work and -progressed slowly. Judging from the care they -took and the slowness with which they -progressed, they must have worked on that arm -several days. Also, spread out before them, -was a small sheet of white paper, to which they -referred frequently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is hard to describe to you the appearance -of the result of their work, but I'll send you a -copy of the original they were working from -and explain how I got it. I think you'll agree -with me that it looks more like a piece of -kindergarten patchwork than anything else -imaginable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"While I was gazing in a kind of fascination -at the strange scene, the man with the kaiser -mustache turned suddenly and saw me. His -next movement was just as sudden and much -more astonishing. He sprang to the door, flung -it open, and before I could realize what was -taking place he had seized me by the arm and -was dragging me into the laboratory. I -struggled to prevent him from getting me inside, -but, because of my weakened condition, was -unsuccessful. My next impulse was to cry out -for help, but the situation seemed to me so -ridiculous that I decided I would only make -myself look foolish by so doing. This hospital -was surely a highly respectable institution, I -reasoned, and the misunderstanding of which I -was a victim would soon be cleared up. -Perhaps these men thought I was a spying -meddler bent on some malicious mischief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After they got me inside--for the other -men sprang to my captor's assistance--they -closed and locked the door, also the transom, -and began to quiz me as to what I was doing -out in the hall. I was too sore at their -treatment of me to give an explanation and -demanded what they meant by their actions. I -saw that they were very uneasy about -something and that made me bolder. It soon -dawned upon me that they had been doing -something that they wanted to keep secret. -That resolved me to get back at them with -interest, and while they were busy with their -excited demands, I got my wits together to -devise some sort of trick that would show them -it wasn't quite so easy to browbeat me as they -seemed to imagine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All three of them huddled together right -in front of me and rained questions at me -excitedly. This suited me first rate as soon -as I had decided what to do. I wasn't afraid -of any desperate violence on their part; the -place was too public for that. I retreated slowly -to the table at which they had been working -and leaned back resting my hands on it. They -never caught on to what I was up to, but pressed -close to me with their excited questions. I met -these with noncommittal replies, and at the -same time got one hand closer and closer to -the mysterious slip of paper on the table. It -was not more than six inches long and three -wide, and I figured that if I could get one hand -on it I might crumple it in my fist without their -observing what I was doing. After I had been -dragged into the room, I saw the young fellow -hurriedly draw down the sleeve of his shirt -over the tattooed portion of his forearm. He -seemed so nervous while doing this that my -suspicion of something wrong became very -acute; and yet, the mystery could hardly have -been more baffling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I got my hand on the paper and crumpled -it in my fist, and they never got onto my -trick, at least, not until I got out of that room -and away from them. I was now ready to -answer their questions. I told them I was a -patient in the hospital and was just trying to -find my way to the office and started down the -wrong stairway--that was all there was to it. -I then demanded that they release me at once -or I would make serious trouble for them. -They asked me my name, and I told them. Then -the bearded man left the laboratory, and I -presume he went to the office to make inquiry about -me, for he came back in a few minutes and -reported that he guessed I was all right. But -they held a whispered conversation in -German--I caught enough of their words to be sure -of that--and then told me I might go. But -before the door was unlocked, the bearded man -apologized, as nearly as I can remember, in -the following words:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope you will forgive our rough -conduct, but we are engaged in very important -government work, and when we saw you -looking through the glass at us and apparently -listening to our conversation, we presumed you -were a German spy. You have satisfied us that -you are all right, and we recommend that, as -you love your country and wish to aid us to -win the war, you keep this affair strictly to -yourself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was astonished and more confused than -ever. That statement convicted them of -something on the face of it, but of what I -could not conjecture. The idea that a -responsible secret agent of the government should -make such a speech as that under any -circumstances was simply ridiculous. I was mighty -sure they were not doing work for the -government. They were trying to cover something -up, but what I could make no rational guess.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I decided not to remain in the hospital any -longer than it would take to get my few -belongings together and pay my bill. I was afraid -they would discover the loss of the paper I had -stolen. Well, I got out of that place so rapidly -that I had everybody staring at me who beheld -my movements.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I went to a hotel, but I am dead sure I was -followed. In the morning when I went down -to breakfast I was conscious of being watched. -I telephoned to my friend, but while in the -booth I glanced about with apparent -unconcern and caught one of my shadowers looking -in my direction over the top of a newspaper -from a seat in the hotel lobby. I met my friend, -but said nothing to him about my adventure. -I wanted to get back home as soon as possible. -I wasn't in condition physically to undergo any -great strain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At last I was on the train and speeding -toward home, but hadn't covered more than -half of the journey when I discovered that -one of my shadowers was making the journey -with me. He got off when I got off and for -several days had a room in one of our local -hotels. I talked the matter over with father -and we came to the conclusion that I had fallen -into a nest of the kaiser's spies. We examined -the paper I had taken from the table in the -laboratory of the Toronto hospital and I made -a copy of it. Then we went to the chief of -police and I told nay story to him. He said the -matter ought to be taken up with government -officials and asked me to let him show the -mysterious paper in my possession to them. I had -expected this, and gave him the paper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A few days later I read in a newspaper -that the hospital had been raided by government -agents. Also, I saw nothing more of the -fellow who had followed me from Toronto after -I made my report to the chief of police.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, what do you think of all this? Isn't -it some adventure? I'm sending to you, just -for your amusement, a copy of the drawing on -the paper that I stole from the hospital -laboratory. Can you make anything out of it? It -may afford you some diversion during long, -dreary watches in camp, trench or dugout."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="dots-and-dashes"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER X</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">DOTS AND DASHES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Not more than a minute after reading this -letter and examining the slip of paper -that accompanied it, Irving said to himself:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This drawing is very similar to the cubist -tattooing on the arm of Lieut. Tourtelle."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He studied over the matter a little more and -then added:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe that both were made from the -same copy, or original."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little more puzzling over the problem -caused him to supplement thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It looks very much as if Tourtelle and the -soldier who bared his arm over the table in -the hospital laboratory are one and the same -person."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The suggestion startled the boy as a realization -of the logical sequence flashed in his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gee whillikens!" he exclaimed. "That -means that his story about being an art student -and about the tattooing of that picture on his -arm by one of his fellow students is a fake. But -why should he have faked it? Why wouldn't -the truth have served his purpose just as well?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was at battalion headquarters, -awaiting orders, which were expected to come after -sundown, to move forward into the trenches. -While reading the letter he was seated on the -log of a tree that had been literally uprooted -by a concentrated shell fire at this point a week -or two before. Nobody else was interested in -what he was doing and he was too much -preoccupied to feel much interest in anybody right -now except the mysterious Lieut. Tourtelle and -his equally mysterious "amputation souvenir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now," continued the boy, resuming his -reasoning soliloquy, "if he told me a fake story -about being an art student and having one of -his fellow students copy one of his pictures on -his arm, what was the motive? He wanted to -deceive me, of course, but why? I'll have to -leave that question unanswered for the present, -I'm afraid. If I could get at his real reason -for wanting that picture tattooed on his arm, -I might feel some encouragement in trying to -get at his motive in deceiving me. There's no -doubt the picture on his arm is practically the -same as the copy on this paper. I shouldn't -wonder if they were the same size, drawn with -precisely the same dimensions. Supposed to -represent a basket of eggs spilling down stairs. -What a ridiculous title. I'm sure I'd have -hard work picking out the basket and the -smashed eggs. It looks to me almost as if -someone had pinned this paper up on a wall and -fired a lot of eggs at it--and hit it, too, every -crack. After all, it's the best title to a cubist -art picture I ever heard of. I remember our -teacher gave us a talk about that kind of art -and showed us some copies of cubist paintings -in magazines at the time when everybody was -gossiping--yes, that's the word--about cubist -art. And we surely had a lot of fun over it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tourtelle told me that another student -tattooed that picture on his arm. Bob's -description of the scene in the hospital laboratory -makes that 'second looie' look very much like -a liar. I take it from this letter that both of -those men were pretty well advanced in years. -Art students as a rule are younger people. -Moreover, students wouldn't act so strangely -just because they suspected somebody of -secretly watching them at their work. Then, -again, Bob says the government raided that -hospital. What for? Enemy agents, of course; -there could be no other reason. And this raid -followed Bob's report of his experience to the -police. Plain as daylight. And yet, what -possible connection can there be between enemy -spies and cubist art? I give it up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving would have liked to make a report of -some kind concerning the web of strange events -that clung in confusing tangle to the mystery -of the ridiculous tattooing recently peeled from -the amputated arm of Lieut. Tourtelle, but the -more he studied over the matter, the more -probable it appeared to him that such action on his -part would be unwise. His conclusions must of -necessity be exceedingly vague. He could not -figure out a motive in any way explaining the -apparently eccentric ideas and actions of the -"hobby ridden second lieutenant." Yes, that -phrase characterized Tourtelle exactly when -the spy suspicion contained in Bob's letter was -dismissed, and undoubtedly the average officer, -unless he be of a very suspicious nature, would -take that view of it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd be laughed at if I made a report of -this affair without being able to place my finger -on anything more definite than I seem to be able -to single out now," he concluded. "So I guess -I'll have to keep this thing to myself or else -whittle my wits to a sharper point than I have -been able to whittle them thus far."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About an hour after nightfall Irving returned -to the front line trenches together with -seventy-five or a hundred other soldiers who -constituted a relief shift, to take the place of a -like number of tried and muscle-cramped boys -whose capacity for efficient service was in need -of recuperation. The sector was quiet on this -occasion and the relief exchange was effected -without notable incident. In fact, conditions -were such that it was considered safe to permit -most of the soldiers to sleep under ground of -sentries here and there along the trenches and -in listening posts out in No Man's Land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Irving did not "sleep a wink," although -general conditions were favorable for sleep in -the dugout where he wrapped himself in a -blanket and attempted to follow the reposeful -example of half a dozen comrades with little -on their minds save the ordinary routine of -bloody battle in the past and prospect of much -more fight and blood in the future. No -mystery racked their minds, and they rested -peacefully enough. With Private Ellis, however, it -was different, and in a very few minutes after -he lay down a plausible solution of the puzzle -that had been teasing him for several hours -popped into his brain with startling suddenness -and rendered sleep about as impossible to -him as peaceful surrender was to outraged -Belgium.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the excitement of the first thrill was -over, Irving was unable to trace the process by -which he arrived at his conclusion. After all, -"process" is too slow a word to use in this -relation. "The first thing he knew," his mind -had jumped from the rough pen sketch of the -cubist art drawing in his pocket to the tattooed -copy as he had seen it on Tourtelle's arm. A -moment later he found himself almost weirdly -interested in the recollection of a marked -difference in these two copies which had not -impressed him before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then came a new thrill of eagerness, followed -by incredulity, then eagerness and incredulity -battling for supremacy, over a suspicion that -would not be downed in spite of its almost -laughable character. Could it be possible? -Yes, no, yes, no--back and forth the contradictions -swung. But one thing was certain; Irving -recalled it distinctly: In the maze of -configurations of "distorted cubes" were myriads -of dots and dashes, dots and dashes. What -could they mean? If the theory which forced -itself upon him was correct there was only one -reasonable solution of the whole mystery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boy in the dugout could scarcely contain -his excitement as the seemingly logical -explanation of the mystery "dotted and dashed" -itself into a position of settled conviction in his -mind.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="irving-tells-the-sergeant"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IRVING TELLS THE SERGEANT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Dots and dashes, dots and dashes, dots -and dashes," kept running through Irving's mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He took Bob's letter from his pocket and -drew from the envelope the paper containing -his cousin's copy of "The Basket of Eggs -Spilling Down Stairs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bob drew this in a hurry, or at least he had -no appreciation of the value of minute details -which, I believe, are more important than a -thousand baskets of eggs," the young soldier mused -as he gazed at the cleverly drawn, but rather -inaccurate, copy in the light of the trench lamp. -"He disregarded most of those clots and dashes, -except in a few places, thinking, I suppose, that -continuous lines would do just as well. And he -was right so far as the picture is concerned. -In fact, I believe those dots and dashes that -were on Tourtelle's arm detracted from the art -of the artist, if I may pose as an art critic; but -for the purpose intended they are absolutely -essential.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, I wish I could get hold of an officer -who would listen to me and maybe I could start -an investigation that would result in something -worth while. But Sergt. Wilson, who messes -in here, is out with some other men in a listening -post and I'm sure it would be better to approach -the lieutenant through him. That means I've -got to wait here probably until morning before -I can get this great weight of responsibility off -my mind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And that was exactly what he did. He lay -there thinking over and over again the events -of his own and his cousin's adventures -concerning Lieut. Tourtelle. There was no use of his -attempting to slumber, and it was not long -before he gave up the idea entirely. However, -he was in no great need of sleep, inasmuch as -he had almost reveled in the luxury of rest ever -since he was ordered to the field hospital for -treatment of his shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Through all the rest of the night, Irving -continued to review and analyze the strange case -of "freak art." And perhaps it was fortunate -that he had ample opportunity to do this, for -it is quite possible that otherwise he would -not have had certain important points -sufficiently in mind to make a strong and -convincing case when at last he found opportunity to -make his report.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It seems to me those dots and dashes explain -Tourtelle's anxiety to keep that tattooing -on his arm," the boy mused. "Now, if he's a -spy, he was putting over just a clever 'con -game' when he sent for me and begged my -forgiveness and then asked me to do him a favor. -After all, I've got to admit that that fellow is -pretty smooth. No, I don't think he overdid -it at all. I did think it a little strange when he -followed his plea for forgiveness with a request -that I do him a favor. But the favor was so -simple, although unusual enough, goodness -knows, and there appeared to be so little -opportunity for him to trick me into something I -wouldn't like to do, that it seemed foolish for -me to hesitate. It looks now as if he tricked -not only me, but the surgeon and nurses, too. -I wonder what that surgeon would say if he -knew that a spy had made clever use of him to -prevent a very deep enemy plot from going to -pieces at a time when the bottom was about to -drop out of it. He'd be a lot sorer, I bet, than -he was when I contradicted him after he said -Tourtelle's mind was wandering under the -anæsthetic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'A Basket of Eggs Spilling Down Stairs'--that's -some name for a painting. I wonder -what's behind it. Now, it's just possible that -that name's written somewhere in cipher in the -picture, and maybe a key goes with it and that -key applied to the name will produce the -message he's carrying to the enemy. I suppose -he'll watch his opportunity and--</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My goodness!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving uttered this exclamation aloud and -the sound of his voice awoke one of the sleepers -in the dugout, who asked what was the matter. -The soliloquist replied "nothing," that he had -merely startled himself with a "bright idea," -whereupon the awakened soldier grumbled, -"You're a nut," and rolled over and went to -sleep again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder if the sergeant will call me a nut, -too, when I tell him my story," Irving reflected -a little apprehensively. "In spite of the way -everything fits into everything else as logically -as can be, the whole account is bound to sound -a good deal like a fairy story. Sometimes I -feel like giving it up and casting the whole -affair out of my mind, but--but--I can't. Now, -that idea that made me burst out like a 'nut,' as -that soldier called me, fits in just as pat as can -be with all he rest. It looks, it looks, yes, sir, -it looks just as if Tourtelle was trying to -surrender out in No Man's Land the other night -when we were scouting there together. I don't -know how I can prove it, but it's plain enough -to me, unless my whole theory falls down, and I -don't see how it can."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last, shortly before the break of day, -reliefs were sent to the various sentry posts, -and Sergt. Wilson returned to the dugout with -several other men. Irving seized the first -available opportunity to tell the "non com" that he -had some important information that he wished -to "get off his mind," and they withdrew to -one side of the underground room to talk the -matter over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes Private Ellis had Sergt. Wilson -interested by his simple, direct method -of presenting his subject. In fifteen minutes, -the boy had finished his narrative and turned -over his cousin's letter to the officer to read. -The latter pored with intense interest over not -only the epistle but the accompanying copy of -the mysterious "Basket of Eggs Spilling Down -Stairs." Presently he said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've got something very important here, -Ellis. I'm going to see Lieut. Osborne right -away. I think you had better come along. -Unless I'm badly mistaken this matter will get to -the major in a very short time and something -important will be doing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sergeant climbed up out of the dugout -into the trench, and Irving followed, and soon -they were making their way to another similar -excavation which was the headquarters of -Lieut. Osborne.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="quizzing-a-spy"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">QUIZZING A SPY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sergt. Wilson's prediction that Private -Ellis's spy story would go to the major of -the battalion was more than realized. Affairs -moved rapidly from the time when the -non-commissioned officer got a clear idea of the -importance of the situation. He and Irving -made a rapid transit from their trench cave -to the dugout where Lieut. Osborne was -stationed, and there the story was repeated. The -lieutenant was interested at once and took the -matter up with the captain. The latter -instructed the lieutenant to remain at the -telephone until he could communicate with his -superior officers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There followed a wait of rather nervous -expectancy for Irving. It really was not more -than half an hour, although it seemed much -longer to the young soldier who made the -original complaint. At last, however, came a ring -of the muffled telephone bell, and Lieut. Osborne -lifted the receiver to his ear. He listened -a minute or two, then hung up the receiver and -said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ellis, you and I are ordered to proceed to -the hospital and confront this young spy of -yours with the fact that we have the goods on -him. The captain communicated with the -major, and the major with the colonel; so, you -see, your story has gone up to the head of the -regiment. Sergt. Wilson, I am going to leave -you here in my place while I'm gone. I hope to -be back before nightfall. If I'm delayed longer -than I expect to be, I'll communicate with you -by 'phone. Ellis, we'll start at once. The -colonel has ordered an automobile to be ready -to meet us at the nearest relief station back of -the lines. Come on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes the officer and the private -were racing through the nearest communication -trench, which was deep, sinuous and well -camouflaged, on past the second and third lines -to the relief station just beyond a small inn -covered with a growth of trees and a thicket of -tall bushes. The promised automobile was -waiting for them, and they were soon speeding -away toward the field hospital which, in the -last hour, as a result of Private Ellis's story, -had become a center of very serious interest in -a strange admixture of an elaborate spy system -and "high art."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Osborne and his companion were both -apprehensive lest they find the second -lieutenant in condition so weakened that it would be -inadvisable to subject him to the strain of a -"third degree." They discussed this possibility -on the way, and the officer decided that he -would broach the subject gently in order to -avoid the danger of defeating their purpose -through a physical and mental collapse of the -patient.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Lieut. Tourtelle proved to have -withstood the shock of the operation much better -than might have been expected. They found -him looking really bright and vigorous. -Apparently he had had the best of care and had -rested well. Nevertheless, Lieut. Osborne -called a nurse aside and asked her to administer -a stimulant to him, as he had important -business with the patient under instructions from -the commander of the regiment. The nurse did -as requested without arousing any suspicion in -the "cubist art spy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is quite a surprise to receive a visit -from a superior officer under such -circumstances, and I'm sure it's very much -appreciated," Tourtelle remarked after he had -answered several questions put by Lieut. Osborne -regarding his condition and the attention he -was receiving.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The occasion fully warrants our coming to -see you," the superior officer replied in a -purposely peculiar tone of voice. Tourtelle noticed -it and looked inquiringly at Lieut. Osborne.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Private Ellis told me about that art souvenir -that was peeled off your arm and I have -come to see it," continued the leader of the -"visiting expedition."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tourtelle shot a furtive, searching glance at -each of his callers. These glances did not -escape the observation of either the officer or -the private, for both were looking for evidence -of this sort; but they were well on their guard -and did not betray, by the slightest expression, -any evidence of what was going on in their minds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course you have it here," Lieut. Osborne -continued in tone of assurance. "Ellis tells me -he laid it by the side of your pillow and asked -the nurse to call your attention to it after you -came out from the effects of the anæsthetic."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Plainly enough Tourtelle was struggling -within himself over something, and his -visitors did not have much trouble convincing -themselves what it was. But finally he settled -the problem tentatively in favor of the evident -inevitable and replied:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, of course, I have it here, only I hate to -unpack it; but if your curiosity over a freak -idea is uncontrollable, I must submit. I'm very -jealous over that affair, because the average -person is utterly incapable of appreciating it -and would only laugh at me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you needn't be afraid of our doing -anything of the kind," returned the lieutenant -reassuringly. "We're deeply interested, both -of us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You must be profoundly interested if you -can leave your places at the battle front just to -inspect a sample of what most people would -call freak art. You didn't call a truce and sign -an armistice just for this, did you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The lieutenant realized by this time, as -Irving had realized before, that he was dealing -with a young fellow of no puny intelligence. -Tourtelle, although signifying willingness to -do as requested, was evidently fencing with -weapons of jest and banter, intended to be -accepted as conversational pleasantry. He -made no motion as yet to produce the box -containing the tattooed section of skin packed in -salt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," the visiting officer replied quietly; -"but I'm sure you won't disappoint me after -I've gone to the trouble to get permission from -the colonel to come here and see that remarkable -curiosity that Ellis says you possess. Where -is it?--under your pillow?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Osborne made a move as if to reach -under the pillow. The patient made no motion -to object; he maintained a passiveness of -manner which the inspecting officer accepted as an -admission as to the whereabouts of the article -of interest. The next moment the box was -produced from its "hiding place," for Irving and -the lieutenant were certain that when Tourtelle -put it under the pillow his purpose was -primarily to conceal it from inquisitive eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The officer opened the box and poured the -contents out on a paper lying on the floor. Then -he picked out the "cubist parchment" and -gazed at it with deep interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By the way, Lieut. Tourtelle," he said after -an inspection lasting a minute or two, "would -you mind telling me what these dots and dashes -mean in this work of art? They look to me -like letters of the Morse telegraph code."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As he spoke he looked sharply at the soldier -on the cot, whose face in an instant became an -interesting study of struggling effort to appear -calm and curious and only superficially -concerned. Irving realized, however, that -Lieut. Osborne was getting down to business without -any preliminary foolishness.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="tourtelle-admits"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">TOURTELLE ADMITS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Nonsense," replied Tourtelle, with -remarkable calmness, after what must -have been a desperate effort at self-control. -"Nothing of the kind. I drew the original -picture and I don't know the first thing about -telegraphy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But it's here," Lieut. Osborne insisted. -"I've had a course in wireless and can read the -code like a book. Let me read some of it to -you--'h-e-f-c-k-a-w-r-t-m-c-a-a-b-l'--and so on, -all around every one of these cubes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is that so?" exclaimed the patient, rising -slightly on his remaining elbow, but falling -back. "Let me see it. I never noticed that. -Bickett must have put one over on me if you're -right. Bickett was the student who tattooed -the picture on my arm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where was that tattooing done?" asked -Lieut. Osborne.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In our room in Montreal," replied Tourtelle, -without hesitation. "He and I roomed -together and attended art school."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're sure it wasn't in a laboratory of a -hospital in Toronto?" was the inquisitor's next -query.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was too much for the bedridden "second -looie." He opened his mouth as if to speak, -but his jaw dropped and remained in its -lowered position half a minute as if paralyzed. -At last, however, he managed to find his voice -again, but it came with a succession of -stammers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wh--wh--why," he said, with a brave -enough effort to transform confusion into -astonishment. "Wh--wh--what do you mean? I--I -don't understand you. You talk like a sphinx. -I hope you're not questioning my word. I can't -understand what your motive can be. But -maybe you're making sport of me. If I told -you that I was born in--in New Brunswick, -would you try to make out it was in Saskatchewan?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not unless the fellow who was seized out -in the hall and dragged into the laboratory -should appear suddenly and contradict your -statement," the investigating officer answered. -"By the way, did you know the hospital was -raided by government agents a few days after -the tattooing operation?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By this time, Tourtelle, who must have realized -the gravity of the situation, had summoned -all the nerve needed to provide him with a bold -front to meet the emergency. He just sat and -stared blankly at his visitors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why don't you answer?" Lieut. Osborne demanded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because I haven't the faintest idea what -you're driving at," Tourtelle replied, with well -assumed mystification. "But I'm sure of one -thing, or rather one of two things, and that is -that either somebody has put you on a very bum -steer, or you have got things very badly twisted. -You'll have to straighten matters out some way -or else stop this line of questioning, for I don't -know how to answer you except by denying -absolutely more than half you say."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, see here, Tourtelle," returned the visiting -officer severely; "this camouflage of yours -has gone far enough. I came here to get from -you an admission of the main truth and some -additional information. I already have all the -proof needed to convict you of being a spy. -Unless you do what I ask you to do, undoubtedly -you will be courtmartialed and shot. Now, -the question is, do you want to save yourself -from such a fate?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is a grave accusation," Tourtelle -answered icily. "At any rate, I'll listen to the -evidence you have against me. Suppose you -tell me what it is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's right here in this," Lieut. Osborne -replied, unhesitatingly, holding up the section -of skin containing the tattooed outlines of -strange art. "You have here a message of -secret information for someone on the other -side of the Rhine. I want to know whom it is -for and the substance of the message."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But how do you figure that I could get it -into the hands for whom it is intended, -admitting for the sake of argument that you are -correct in your inference?" the soldier on the bed -inquired.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By surrendering to our enemy at the first -opportunity," was the answer. "That's what -you tried to do out in No Man's Land the -night you were wounded."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was a new startler for the wounded spy, -as was evident from the expression on his -countenance. After a few moments of undoubtedly -painful meditation, he continued:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Again, just for the sake of argument, how -could I be certain that you would keep your -word after promising to save my life if I acted -according to your instruction?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All you have is my word for it and your -own common sense. If you give us some -valuable information that could not have been -obtained otherwise, it stands to reason--doesn't -it?--that we'd forget that you'd been a spy, -particularly so if the value of your information -was greater than your menace as a spy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, I'll admit I'm a spy," said -Tourtelle, a little doggedly; "but I'm not going to -tell you anything until I have more authoritative -assurance that I'll not be courtmartialed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't mean to assure you that you won't -be courtmartialed," Lieut. Osborne answered, -hastily. "I mean that I will intercede for you. -Moreover, there is no evidence that can be -produced against you except through Private Ellis -and me. We have the information, and will -either produce it or keep it under cover as we -see fit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But suppose I really have no information -of great value; suppose I'm merely a bearer -of a cipher message, which I can't read and -don't even know the person to whom it is -addressed--what then?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't ask anything impossible," the -inquisitor replied. "All I want is a -straight-forward story from you, with all details. If -you keep anything back or lie to me, I'm very -likely to find it out, and then you'll fare worse -than if you refused point blank to enter into -an agreement with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right," said Tourtelle, "I suppose I -may as well give in, for you seem to have some -real information, although I can't understand -where or how you got it. Anyway, here's my story:</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="tourtelle-s-story"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">TOURTELLE'S STORY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"I must first tell you who I am," -Lieut. Tourtelle began, after some moments' -deliberation. Ordinarily his countenance was -almost expressionless, for he belonged to a -certain type of pulseless-souled humanity that -talks little with the face, except through that -orifice where the tongue wig-wags the signals -of the mind. But on this occasion, he looked -not only serious, but seriously concerned over -his predicament. Before he got farther with -his introduction, however, Lieut. Osborne -interrupted him with this warning:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to urge you, Tourtelle, to be very -careful to tell the truth and the whole truth, -because you are surely going to get yourself -into trouble if you don't. We know a good -deal more than I have told you, and I promise -you that I have some information on which I -can catch you if you tell me any lies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You needn't be afraid of my lying to you," -the spy returned quickly; "for, to tell the truth, -I'm sick of this whole business. I wish I'd -never got into it, and if I succeed in getting out -with a whole skin, I'll admit I'm glad you -caught me.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've done a whole lot of thinking since I -agreed to put this thing over or try to put it -over. There's a lot of difference between -sitting still and dreaming how you love your -father's fatherland before he emigrated, and -plotting in the midst of your fellow countrymen -to help a lot of tyrants whom you've never seen -on the other side o' the world. I didn't think -of that until I got up to my neck in this -business and found it almost impossible to get out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You see, my father was an Austrian, and -my mother was from Alsace-Lorraine. Both -of them died when I was five or six years old -and I was adopted by a brother of my father, -also an Austrian, of course. By the way, my -name is not Tourtelle and never was. That -was just a bit of camouflage, so that I might -pass as being of French descent. My real name -is Hessenburg. My uncle was most bitterly -anti-British in this war, and is yet. He was a -man of considerable means and position in the -business world, was a member of the board -of directors of that hospital in Toronto where -my arm was tattooed. Yes, that hospital was -a hotbed of spies, and I'm glad they raided it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wasn't taken into the confidence of the -high-ups in the spy organization in Canada, but -I know it was a big one. I suppose they thought -I was too young to be trusted with any more -information than was necessary to make me -useful. And for that reason, you see, they did -not translate to me the message that was -tattooed on my arm, and they didn't give me the -key to work out the cipher. Besides, I'm no -telegrapher. You'll understand, therefore, -that they didn't pick much of an expert to -carry their message."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't you know that there were telegraphic -characters in that picture on your -arm?" asked Lieut. Osborne.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, or rather I suspected it pretty -strongly," was the reply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you don't know what the message is?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I don't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Haven't you any idea?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, yes, I have an idea, but it's pretty -vague. I overheard a little of a conversation -not intended for my ears, and from that I got -the notion, or perhaps it's only a suspicion, -that the message contains the British naval or -aeronautical wireless code."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At any rate, it's of great importance," -suggested Lieut. Osborne.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, there's no doubt about that," Tourtelle, -or Hessenburg, assured.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you an artist?" was the inquisitor's -next question.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I am; that is, I was an art student, -and the story I told Ellis about making a hit -with a cubist painting is true. That's what -started the scheme of tattooing a picture -message on my arm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who suggested it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One of the fellows who did the work. He -was something of an artist as well as a chemist.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The fellow with whiskers?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," replied the spy. "I see you have had -a pretty thorough report of that affair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We have. Did you know that the boy who -was seized in the hall and dragged into the -laboratory left with the pen-and-ink sketch of -your painting crumpled up in his hand?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No. Is that what became of it? One of -the men suggested that he must have stolen it, -but I didn't think he was right."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you know they put detectives on his track?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No. Did they?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what they did. And that is probably -the reason why the hospital was raided -a few days later. If they hadn't followed him, -the boy probably would have passed the matter -up and dismissed it from his mind. But he -became restlessly curious and reported the -affair to the police."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hm!" Tourtelle grunted at this elucidation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you mean for me to understand that -you have no idea whom this message is for?" -asked Lieut. Osborne, indicating the section of -skin illuminated with cubist art.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's exactly what I mean," the cubist spy -replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But what were you supposed to do after -you got over into Germany?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Seek out an army officer and tell him my -story. Any officer, I was told, would know at -once what to do with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you speak German?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not much, nor Austrian, either. I studied -German at school and learned enough to be -able to make myself understood on the other -side of the Rhine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come on, Ellis," said Lieut. Osborne, rising -suddenly. "We've got all we want now. I'll -report to the colonel and probably in a day or -two Tourtelle will hear from us again. I'm -going to take this cubist souvenir with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the course of the conversation he had -repacked the section of tattooed skin in the -salt, and as he arose to leave he put the box in -one of his overcoat pockets. Irving followed -him out of the building, and soon they were -speeding back over the road by which they had -reached the field hospital.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="irving-an-orderly"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IRVING AN ORDERLY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"We will go direct to Col. Evans' -headquarters," Lieut. Osborne announced -shortly after the return trip had been begun. -"He asked me to report back to him as soon -as possible."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trip was soon made. The colonel's -headquarters were less than a mile behind the rear -line trenches, and the road to this point was -in fairly good condition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving felt a deep interest in this visit aside -from the bearing it had on the matter under -investigation. He had never seen a colonel's -headquarters and was curious to know what -appearance such a place might present.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was not greatly surprised to find it a -dugout, although he had not pictured it such -in his mind. The first suggestion that had -offered itself to him was that the head of the -regiment probably had stationed himself in the -palatial residence or chateau of some wealthy -fugitive civilian. However, when the truth -appeared to him with the most commonplace -simplicity, he decided that it was the very -thing that he ought to have expected.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The dugout was a two-room affair in the -side of a hill on the outskirts of a small village. -The hill was covered with fruit trees and berry -vines, affording an excellent camouflage. One -of the rooms was occupied by the colonel and -the other by his orderlies. The walls and roof -were of concrete, thick enough to resist heavy -bombing from the air. Other attaches of this -headquarters were housed in several homes of -the otherwise deserted village.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The commander of the regiment received the -visitors in his elaborately furnished living -room, bedroom and dining room. Lieut. Osborne -began at once a rapid account of the -interview he had had with Second Lieut. Tourtelle, -or Hessenburg. The colonel listened -attentively, every now and then casting a sharp -and sometimes lingering glance at Private -Ellis, who had all he could do to suppress the -anxious eagerness he felt relative to impending -developments. Naturally, as he had rather -dubiously offered the original information that -led up to the partial disclosure of extensive spy -activities, he felt as if his whole future -depended upon the full success of the investigation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Osborne opened the box containing -the tattooed message and took it out of its salt -packing. Col. Evans examined it curiously -while the reporting officer explained all he -knew about it, calling attention to the -telegraphic dots and dashes running around the -numerous "cubes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We ought to get somebody who is skilled -in cryptographic work busy on this at once," -said the colonel. "I've been in communication -with the brigadier general's headquarters and -suggested that to them, and now that I have -this in my possession, I'm going to urge it -stronger. I'll get them on the wire again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were seated at a table at one side of -the room, and as he spoke, the regiment -commander cranked the telephone box at his right -and lifted the receiver to his ear. The -conversation was short, for the intelligence -department at the brigade headquarters had been -busy on the colonel's suggestion and already -had found an expert qualified to probe the -mystery of the cubist cryptogram. He would -start at once for the regimental headquarters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just wait here till our cryptologist -arrives," said the colonel, after reporting the -result of his conversation over the telephone; -"and maybe he'll be able to clear up matters -so that we may begin to see bottom."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The expert, Lieut. Gibbons, attached to the -divisional commander's intelligence staff, -arrived half an hour later, and the spy story had -to be told all over again for his benefit, while -he examined curiously the "freak-art -camouflaged message."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I may be able to work this out in a few -hours, and then again, it may take several -days," he said. "I'd better take it with me -back to headquarters and work on it there and -report back results as soon as I get them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The colonel assented to this and the expert -prepared to depart with the cubist cryptogram -in his possession. Then the regimental -commander turned to the officer and the private -and said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lieutenant, you will return to your -company. I will call on you when I wish to -communicate with you again on this matter. -Private Ellis, you will remain here. I can use -another orderly, and, besides, I'd like to have -you close at hand in case of further developments -in this spy investigation. By the way, -can you operate a motorcycle?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," Irving replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good. You can be useful at once. I have -some papers that I want delivered to the -brigadier general. You may follow Lieut. Gibbons' -automobile and learn the way. He goes past -the brigadier general's headquarters."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A motorcycle was soon produced and Irving, -after a hurried examination of it, announced -that he understood it thoroughly. A minute -later he was in the saddle and "lickety-chugging" -along after the intelligence official's -automobile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And meanwhile there was buzzing in his -brain this new wonder with eager expectation:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What was the real purpose of Col. Evans in -keeping him at headquarters"? Was that officer -likely to have further army detective work for -him to do?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Already he was beginning to feel like a -government secret service man, and he longed to -be of further service to his country and the -cause of world freedom in this romantic line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He little dreamed how far beyond the scope -of his saner imagination his patriotic longing -was to be realized.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-startling-announcement"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A STARTLING ANNOUNCEMENT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Three days later Col. Evans summoned -Irving into his dugout office and said to -him: "Well, the cubist cryptogram has been read."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The officer smiled with a kind of grim -exultation as he spoke. Then he added:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it contained very important information."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad of it," the boy answered simply, -although he felt almost as if he would burst -with a "hurrah!" that threatened to explode -within him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course you are," the commander concurred. -"And I suppose you'd like to know -what's in it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Naturally," Irving replied; "but I doubt -very much if you are going to tell me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because, in the first place, it's none of my -business as a private; and, secondly, I presume -it is information of a character that the war -department wishes to keep secret."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Right you are, Ellis. That's the main -reason I put the matter up to you. I wanted to -find out what you thought of it. But there's -another reason why you shouldn't know the -contents of that message, and I'll tell you that -later. Meanwhile, I have another important -matter that I want to quiz you on. Do you -want to go back to the trenches?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm perfectly willing to go back if that is -the best thing I can do," Irving answered -readily. "But I'll say this, that if there's any -other place where I can be of greater service, -I prefer to be sent there. It's a question of -service pure and simple with me. Naturally, -I have my selfish preferences, but I manage to -suppress them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have you any idea where you could be of -greater service than in the trenches?" asked -the colonel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll answer your question in this way: I'm -sure that the time I spent helping to run down -a dangerous spy was put to much better -purpose than it would have been if spent in the -trenches, although I think I did some good -work out in No Man's Land in front of the -trenches. But, of course, there's no more of -that kind of work left for me to do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you sure about that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving looked curiously at the putter of this -question, considered a moment or two, and then -replied:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I'm not; but I don't know of anything more."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Suppose some more of that kind of work -should be found, would you like to do it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Surely."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Irrespective of the size of the task or the -danger?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know how I could find anything -much more dangerous than that skirmish in -No Man's Land," Irving replied slowly. "The -other part of your question I don't wish to -answer rashly. Tell me the task, and I'll tell -you if it's too big for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the very answer I wanted you to -make," said the colonel, almost eagerly. "Now, -suppose we should ask you to go over into -Germany on an important spy mission, how -would that strike you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was something Irving was not looking -for, and he was so astonished that he did not -answer for several moments. Then he said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would strike me all right."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Suppose you were given a credential that -would effect admittance for you into high -official circles--would you go there and attempt -to obtain information that might be available, -because of your credential?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir," Irving replied firmly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you think of that stunt of tattooing -a message in the form of a freak art -production on the arm of Lieut. Tourtelle?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving smiled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course," he said, "it was clever and -under ordinary circumstances ought to have -been successful; but I'd rather not go through -life with a thing like that on my arm. It might -brand me as a freak, if not something worse."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't blame you," returned the colonel, -but as he spoke a peculiar shrewdness lighted -his eyes, causing the boy to wonder a little. -Then he added: "Still, it might be possible -for one to submit to such nonsense if thereby -he might advance a great and worthy cause."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure, that's quite possible," Irving agreed; -"but I don't see how Tourtelle, or Hessenburg, -can claim any such motive."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, but if he had done it for his own country, -the British empire, to advance the cause -of human freedom, what then?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, in spite of the ridiculous appearance -of the picture on his arm, I'd say he ought to -be proud to keep it there. I would. I think -I'd be proud to show it. It would be something -to show and tell about to--to--my great-great-grandchildren -when I got old, you see," Irving -finished with a really illuminating smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think I've quizzed you far enough on this -subject," Col. Evans announced at this point, -throwing off the manner of vagueness that had -hitherto characterized a good deal of his -conversation, and speaking with unmistakable -directness. "I'm now going to ask you to -consent to have that cubist picture tattooed on -your arm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving looked in astonishment at the -commanding officer of the regiment, being scarcely -able to believe his ears. Surely the proposition -was nonsensical. And, yet, this was no occasion -for nonsense. But the boy's wondering -conjectures were interrupted by the officer, who -was adding to his last announcement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After the art work on your arm is finished," -he said, "I'm going to send you into Germany -to find out some things we want to know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes?" Irving responded, with a rising -inflection that carried with it a suggestion of an -interrogation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," the officer continued; "I want you -to take the place of the spy whose tattooed arm -had to be amputated."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="parachute-practice"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">PARACHUTE PRACTICE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Private Ellis looked hard into vacancy -and thought just as hard for half a -minute; then he said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I get you, I think, Col. Evans, all except -one point; and that, I suppose, would come to -me all right if I knew the contents of that -tattooed message."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, you wouldn't," the colonel returned -quickly. "It wouldn't do you a bit of good."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd know whether it's important," Irving -insisted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can tell you that much," was the officer's -reassurance; "and then you're no better off. -It's of vast importance and would be of incalculable -value to our enemies if it fell into their hands."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then there's only one explanation of your -proposition," Irving concluded. "You will -change the dots and dashes so that they will -convey information different from that -originally intended."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good!" exclaimed the colonel. "You'll do -all right. Are you willing to undertake it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am," said Irving.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well. So far so good. Now I'm going -to test your nerve some more. Look out, for -this is going to be a corker. If you drop, you'll -drop hard."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm waiting," said the boy, with a kind of -gritty grin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right. Would you dare make a descent -with a parachute from an altitude of several -thousand feet?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was a tester, indeed. Irving knew it -the instant the last word of the question left the -colonel's lips, but he did not flinch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, I ought to have some preparation -for such a feat," he replied. "I've never -been up in an aeroplane."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To be sure," Col. Evans agreed, with a vigorous -nod. "You'll get all the schooling necessary. -You'll start out on the venture well -equipped. I'm going to send you to the -aviation field near brigade headquarters, and there -you'll learn to do your umbrella stunt. Then -you'll come back here and go through some -more preliminaries. The work of a spy, you -see, is just as much of a science as the handling -of an army."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That ended the interview, and an hour or two -later Irving started in an automobile for the -aviation field with a note from the colonel to -the flying commander. There he was placed -under an expert, and his schooling in the art -of dropping from lofty heights began.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Private Ellis did not clearly understand just -how all this program was to be carried out, -but he had no doubt that Col. Evans had a -complete plan in mind and that the missing details -would fit in well with what had already been -revealed to him. So he went about his new -work confident that the outlook for success was good.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His training at the aviation field lasted a -week. During that time he made half a dozen -descents by parachute from various altitudes. -The last descent was from a height of 3,000 -feet. By this time the experience had become -almost as commonplace a thriller as coasting -on a long toboggan slide or "dipping the dips" -at an up-to-date amusement park. He had -never dreamed that descending with a -parachute could become so matter-of-course a -performance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I understand now how circus people can -look on their death-defying stunts without -being awe-struck with their own daring," he -mused after he had floated down the fourth -time at the rate of three-and-a-half feet a -second. "Just think of it: a good swift sprinter -would run a hundred yards in about one-third -the time that I take to fall thirty-five feet. This -is quite a revelation of physical science to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was by nature a very observing youth. -His instructor was something more than a mere -bird-man, for he had studied aviation as a -mathematical, as well as a physical, science. -He showed the boy how to figure out the rate -of falling after being given the diameter of a -standard-made parachute and the weight of the -aeronaut.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The parachute with which the young spy-student -got his experience as a diver from the -sky was one of several supplied for experimental -work following reports that the enemy -had perfected a similar device which had -proved successful as a life saver in air battles. -But the experiments of Allied aviators had not -proved sufficiently successful to warrant -providing all air fighters with "high-dive -umbrellas." Descents could be made with reasonable -assurance of safety from aeroplanes flying in -good order, but if a pilot lost control of his -machine the chances were small that he or his -companion gunner or bomb dropper would be -able to leap free from the struts and other -framework with a parachute.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving would have liked to learn to pilot an -aeroplane, but there was not time enough for -him to take up that study. Indeed, before half -the week had elapsed he decided he could like -no occupation better than that of an aviator. -He saw several expeditions start out to meet -the enemy at the front, and also saw them -return, followed by the announcement on two -occasions that several of the British and -Canadian flyers who had gone out to meet the foe, -full of confidence in their own prowess, would -return no more. They had been either shot -down or forced to descend within the enemy's -lines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing was said at the aviation field regarding -the reason for the training that was being -given to Private Ellis. No questions were -asked and Irving did not volunteer any -information. At last the instructor stated to the -boy that he had completed his course and had -learned his lessons well, and that he was now -at liberty to seek further directions from the -colonel. He accordingly returned to the -latter's dugout.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Col. Evans asked him a number of questions, -and then said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want you to return to the field hospital -and get some more information from that spy, -Tourtelle, or Hessenburg. And in getting your -information, remember that you are to impersonate -him on the other side of the Rhine. Now, -this is going to be a test of your spy-intelligence. -Let's see how well equipped you can return -here after your next interview with him. Do -you get me, or must I give you some tips?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't give me any tips, but let me show -you what I can do," Irving replied. "If I fall -down on this mission, you'll know I'm not the -fellow for the job."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right," said the colonel. "I've -telephoned for Lieut. Osborne to come here and -accompany you again. But this time, remember, -you are to do the quizzing, and the -lieutenant is to report to me how efficiently you -went at it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad to be put on my own responsibility, -sir, before I drop down from the clouds into -the midst of the enemy," the boy said grimly.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="studying-to-be-a-spy"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">STUDYING TO BE A SPY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>An hour later Lieut. Osborne arrived at the -colonel's headquarters, and he and Private -Ellis started at once for the field hospital. -There they found Hessenburg, alias Tourtelle, -much improved physically, but not a little -nervous regarding his own rather precarious -prospects. Instead of being an officer helping to -direct, in his small way, the battle against the -autocratic presumption of a great military -power, he was something more than an -ordinary prisoner of war--a trapped spy, who had -conspired with others for the downfall of his -own country. With seemingly genuine repentance, -he exhibited much eagerness to give all -the information possible in order to induce -leniency for himself from a court-martial.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am instructed by Col. Evans to make this -statement to you as coming from him," Irving -announced early in the interview: "He desires -all the information you can give him regarding -your program that was to have been followed -if you had succeeded in making your way -beyond the enemy lines. He has certain plans in -view, the success of which will depend largely -on the correctness of your information. If you -should misinform him, through us, those plans -undoubtedly would fail. Moreover, if any -enemy spy should get a tip through you or -anybody else, that the information supplied by -you was being used to attain important ends, -those ends probably would never be reached.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What we must have from you, therefore, is -the truth, and the whole truth. To insure his -receiving this, Col. Evans has asked me to -inform you that the only thing that can save -you is the success of his plan. If the plan fails, -he will assume that the blame is yours and you -will be shot."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving paused a moment, and Hessenburg -seized the opportunity offered to interpose thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean to say that he will have me shot -for something for which I'm not the least -responsible?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not at all," Irving replied. "You will be -shot for being a spy, which has already been -proved against you. But if you're careful to -tell us the truth, even though I don't cover some -of it with my questions, your chances to escape -that penalty are good."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I understand," said the spy. "Fire away. -I'll do the best I can."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The three were seated about a small table -in a small room selected for the purpose. The -door was closed. Irving drew a note-book and -pencil from his pockets and prepared to jot -down reminders of the information received -by him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"First," he said, "we'll all talk in low tones -to prevent, if possible, anybody's overhearing -us. Now, begin by telling me what was the -extent of your acquaintance with spies in -Canada and their system of operations."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My acquaintance with those people and -their affairs was very limited," Hessenburg -replied. "I can't even say that my uncle was, -or is, a spy, although it would be natural to -suspect him. Government agents watched him -pretty closely, and it's possible that he didn't -actually do anything that would call for his -arrest. But I'm pretty certain he knew a good -deal more than I did. I think he knew all about -my affair and approved of it. To tell the truth, -I believe that it was through him that the spy -organization learned that my sympathies were -treasonable and decided to approach me on the -subject of making a spy agent out of me.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was the man with whiskers at the hospital -who first broached the subject to me: You -seem to have a pretty complete report of that -affair. That man was a physician, and I got -acquainted with him while making business -trips to the hospital for my uncle. He learned -that I was an art student, and one thing led to -another, until he knew I wanted England and -France to be defeated and was willing to do -anything I could secretly to bring that about. -After that it didn't take him long to persuade -me to be the bearer of a tattooed message on -my arm into Germany. The other fellow who -helped tattoo the message was the artist, an -architectural draftsman with considerable skill -at free-hand drawing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What are their names?" asked Irving.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dr. Adolph Marks and Jacob L. Voltz."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is your uncle's name?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ferdinand J. Hessenburg."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What does the 'J' stand for?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Johan."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving put a long string of questions of this -kind, and thus obtained much detailed -information regarding the spy and his family -connections and home surroundings, also concerning -the art school he attended in Toronto. He -made copious notes of the answers, so that the -process of questioning the confessed enemy -agent was necessarily much slower than it -otherwise would have been.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm up against one difficulty that I'd like -to clear away," the inquisitor mused in the -course of his examination of the wounded -"second looie"; "and that is the fact that this -fellow is an artist and I am not. Suppose when -I get over in Berlin, some wise fellow, full of -information from Canada, should ask me to -paint a cubist picture. What would I do? I -must find out if there's any danger of my being -asked to do anything of that sort to test my -identity."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He continued his questioning thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did those two men who tattooed that -picture on your arm know that you were an art -student?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, sure," Hessenburg replied. "That's -how they happened to suggest the art method -of conveying the message."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And how about your credentials, your -identification when you got into Germany? How -were the German officials to know who you -were, that you weren't a fake?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By the message itself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You think your instructors believed that -was enough?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, they said so. We had that question -up for discussion. I raised it myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How did you raise it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wanted them to get word to Berlin by -another route to look out for me, but they said -that would involve a danger that they were -trying to avoid by the tattoo method. If they -tried to get a wireless code message to Berlin, -it might be intercepted and deciphered, and -then a thorough search would be made for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was much relieved by this statement. -There was no reason to suspect Hessenburg of -trying to deceive him in this regard. The spy -could have no grounds to suspect that his -inquisitor was planning to take his place and -carry an altered copy of the cubist message to -the war lords of the enemy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess I'm safe enough in that regard," -he told himself. Then he added aloud:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You think they have no information -regarding you in Berlin?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes--I don't see why they should. I was -informed that the contents of the message -would be all the credential I'd need, that it -would make me so popular among the high-ups -that I could have anything I asked for."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But they wouldn't tell you what was in the -message?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn't ask. I knew better. The plan we -were working on was directly opposed to my -knowing the information I was to carry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The quizzing of Hessenburg continued half -an hour longer, and Irving and the lieutenant -started back for the colonel's headquarters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did I omit any questions I should have -asked?" the spy-student inquired after they -had ridden a short distance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You did fine," Lieut. Osborne replied. "I -couldn't think of another question that I would -have asked."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="last-preparations"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">LAST PREPARATIONS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The next move in Irving's program of -preparation for spy work in Germany -had to do with the tattooing of an altered copy -of the cubist art message on his arm. The -alterations were made by the cryptologist who -had deciphered the original message. He made -the changes after consulting with intelligence -officials, who prepared a system of dots and -dashes that ostensibly conveyed valuable -information. This "information," however, was -not only misleading, but it was of such character -that the deception could hardly be discovered -before the lapse of months and possibly a -year or more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By the time the spy-student had "completed -his course of study" the material, instruments, -and artist were ready for the pictorial -operation. The instruments had been supplied by a -surgeon, the artist had been discovered after a -search by telephone communication with the -various official headquarters of the regiment, -and the material, some pure aniline dye, had -been found in a moving laboratory, or automobile -chemical outfit, maintained for surgical, -sanitation, pure food, and pure water purposes -for the army.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The artist, aided by a surgeon, and the dye -and some sharp-pointed needles, did the work. -It was a long and tedious task, and many rests -were required for the users of the dye-dipped -needles in order to keep their nerves steady and -their judgment sure in the delicate workmanship. -After it was finished, the boy compared -it with the salt-preserved original, and decided -that the result could hardly have been more -satisfactory for the desired purpose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Irving had another session with Col. Evans, -who gave him his final instructions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I haven't given you much of an idea yet -what we want you to find out for us at Berlin, -or wherever you can get the information," said -the commander of the regiment. "We know, -of course, that there is an extensive enemy spy -organization in both Canada and the United -States, and while we are able to get a few of -those fellows now and then, still they're pretty -smart as a rule, and we feel that we have only -scratched the surface. We want their names, -or the name of every leader of consequence -among them. That's what we're sending you -into Germany for. You must realize, therefore, -that the mission on which you are being -sent is one of no small consequence. The -highest officers in the army have been acquainted -with the plan and not only concurred in it, but -offered suggestions for its improvement and -perfection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have learned from Hessenburg what -you are to do when you land on German soil. -You will probably be taken to Berlin or some -important German military point, and there -your message will be read. You will be a hero -in the minds of the highest commanders and -will undoubtedly be granted any favor you ask. -My suggestion is that you ask to be assigned -for study to qualify you for the most -confidential and important work in the enemy secret -service. Tell them you wish to return to -America as a leader in the work and call their -attention to the fact that, as you have become pretty -thoroughly Americanized, or Canadianized, -and lost most of the foreign appearance and -accent of your father, you can pass successfully -as a loyal citizen of the dominion. Then work -your way into the confidence of those who are -directing the spy system of our enemies and -get at their records. Get the names of all the -leaders you can find. You may be able to do -this openly, for your own information when -you return to take up more important work in -Canada and the United States. Give special -attention to the spy activities in the United -States, for we want to show that the pro-German -agents in that country are violating its -policy of neutrality.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, let me tell you frankly why we have -selected you for this work in spite of your -youth. Any man,--I won't call you a boy, for -from now on you must be a man in every sense -of the word,--any man who can put together -the twos and twos you summed up after your -experience with Hessenburg, or Tourtelle, and -after reading your cousin's letter, is a natural-born -investigator. The average person would -have been confused by that evidence; he would -not have had the nerve to form the conclusions -you formed. I'm not saying this to flatter you. -If you feel in the least flattered, you had better -say so at once, and give up the whole scheme, -for there is great danger of your failing and -being shot. Let me tell you why:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The man who has one second's time to -entertain a conceited or self-conscious thought, -devotes just that much time to the undermining -of his own strength. Get me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Absolutely," Irving replied. "I've told -myself that many times, although not in those -words."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now," continued the colonel, "I believe you -told me that you had studied German at -school?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I had one year of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Hessenburg said he knew only a little -of the language?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Does he know any Austrian?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No. His uncle and his father, although -Austrians by birth, lived mostly in Germany -until they emigrated."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good. You will not be under suspicion -because of your ignorance of the German -language. Still, it would be well for you to be -able to make yourself understood and to -understand others from the moment you get into that -country. So I'm going to put you under an -instructor for a few days."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In accord with this announcement, Private -Ellis talked nothing but German for a week -with an orderly of German parentage who had -enlisted with the Canadian army to help "get -the kaiser." By the end of that time he felt -as if he could hold his own, conversationally, at -anything from a kaffee klatsch to a Berliner -royal turnverein, and announced that he was -ready to make his "high dive" into the land -of the enemy.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="second-looie-ellis"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"SECOND LOOIE ELLIS"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Meanwhile activities at the front had -been progressing in a decisive manner, -although familiarity with the progress and its -significance was restricted to an exclusive class, -consisting of certain officers and an army of -industrious workers, who might be classed as -the moles of modern warfare.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The latter were the engineers and workmen -whose occupation at times was a good deal like -that of a miner. It had been their duty to -tunnel, tunnel, tunnel, until you'd think the whole -of the country in this vicinity must be a system -of underground passages that would almost -rival the catacombs of Rome.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This tunneling, or sapping, was one of the -most important forms of strategy in the war. -Undoubtedly in future years, remnants of -many of these underground passages, preserved -for their value as historical curiosities, -will be inspected by thousands of tourists visiting -the scenes of the world's greatest conflict.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Vimy Ridge, near the end of the historic -fight at that long elevation of earth, was a -veritable human anthill. The work of opposing -armies in their efforts to undermine each other -is an exceedingly interesting, if terrible, -operation, and Vimy Ridge furnished an excellent -illustration of this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Early in the fight for possession of the hill -the tunneling began. At the beginning of this -narrative, when Private Irving Ellis and -"Second Looie Tourtelle" were scouting in No -Man's Land, this boring of the elongated mole -on the earth's surface was as much of a fencing -contest as a sword battle between two -seventeenth century Frenchmen. The Germans held -the hill, had taken possession of it and -intrenched themselves on the eastern slope as one -of the strongholds of their advanced positions -in France. The Canadians and the British in -attempting to dislodge the invaders, found -themselves at a considerable disadvantage. There -seemed to be only one way to overcome this -difficulty without a great slaughtering of the -forces of the Allies. This was by boring under -the hill, mining it with trinitrotoluol, touching -off the explosive with electric sparks and -blowing the fortified mound into Kingdom Come.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Who first started the undermining process -may never be known, unless both kept records -of dates and doings along this line. It is -probable, however, that it was begun by the -Canadians, for the opposing army had not as great -incentive for haste as had the Allies. Moreover, -they did not have to go back so far to -start their tunnels, and their subterranean -operations were more of defensive than offensive -character.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Statements from authoritative sources since -the close of the war indicate that this tunneling -contest was somewhat of a "diving" nature. -It was a contest of depth as well as progress. -The Allied engineers began operations at a -certain level and went forward. As they advanced -they listened. It was like an American Indian -putting his ear to the ground to listen for the -approach of distant enemy horsemen, or a -physician examining the chest of a patient with a -stethoscope for "unfriendly" sounds in the -heart and lungs. The engineers carried a sort -of subterranean stethoscope to detect the -approach of enemy tunnelers. The instant they -heard sounds of Prussian engineers boring -their way to meet the sappers of the Allies, they -stopped operations and went back to a new -starting point and began over again, this time on a -lower level. This process was repeated many -times, the Prussians ever planning to get near -enough to the Canadian sappers to enable them -to stop their subterranean operations with high -explosives, and the Allied tunnelers purposing -to plant enough trinitrotoluol under Vimy Ridge -to blow it sky-high.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile, Private Irving Ellis, in -preparation for the greatest event of his young -career, was oblivious to all these activities, -which were destined to culminate in one of the -biggest sensations of the war. He knew in a -vague way that something was going on under -the ground at the front. He had heard more -or less reliable trench gossip to this effect and -had enough real information to assure him that -there was something behind it. Moreover, it -was reasonable, to one of modern warfare -training, to suspect very extensive sapping -activities in positions of this kind. However, -he would have been greatly astonished if an -intimation had come to him of how his own -preparations for a plunge from the skies were -converging in point of time with the preparations -of the Canadians for blowing up Vimy Ridge.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last the occasion arrived for the carefully -planned departure by night of the "boche spy" -with his tattooed message camouflaged in a -"spasm of cubist art," as it was characterized -by the architectural draftsman who helped -copy it on Irving's left forearm. The latter -sat in the rear seat of the aeroplane from which -he had taken his lessons in dropping from the -sky and which was specially fitted up with an -elaborate parachute mechanism of the latest -and most approved development.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Apparently it was an important occasion in -aircraft activities aside from Irving's -scheduled stunt, for a large squadron of machines -was preparing for flight at the same time. -Probably a big raid was about to be made on -the boche lines or some important ammunition -or supply station of the enemy, the boy -reasoned. But no information was volunteered to -him on this subject and he asked none, for it -had nothing to do with his affair. He was -merely to watch for his opportunity, pick his -own time for taking "French leave," signal the -pilot by an agreed touch on the shoulder, "put -up his umbrella," and depart.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving had more than one good cause to feel -elated at the manner in which circumstances -had shaped themselves for an all-around -success of his venture up to the present time. And -not the least of these was the presentation to -him, a few hours before his flight over the boche -lines, of a second lieutenant's commission. -Accompanying this was a note from Col. Evans -wishing him the "best of good fortune," and -concluding thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will take your leave in the same rank -that Hessenburg might have taken his, namely, -as a second lieutenant, if your shrewd -interpretation of developing events had not -intervened. If you have any reasonable degree of -success in this big venture of yours--and I'm -sure you will--I'll guarantee you a first -lieutenancy, and it will take only a continued -exhibition of the good sense and judgment that -I have seen in you up to date to bring you -eventually a captain's commission."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's 'Second Looie Ellis' now," Irving -mused, as he took his seat in the rear cockpit, -strapped himself in, buckled about his waist, -chest and shoulders the parachute harness, and -waited for the pilot to start the motor that -would send them away off on a wild night trip -through the air over a wilder scene of human -slaughter and with one of the wildest spy-plans -in view that ever put thrills into the records of -international secret service agents.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-blowing-up-of-vimy-ridge"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE BLOWING UP OF VIMY RIDGE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The aeroplane in which Lieut. Ellis made -his "get-away" flight was equipped with -two machine guns, one for the pilot and one for -the gunner in the rear cockpit. While practicing -the art of parachute descent, Irving also -acquired some practical knowledge of the use -of a machine gun in the air, not with the idea -of engaging an enemy plane in battle, but in -order that he might put up an appearance of -being skilled in sky fighting if it became -advisable for him to make such pretense in order -to avert suspicion as to the motive of his -"escape." In other words, he must be careful -not to create a suspicion that there was -collusion between him and the pilot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The parachute was folded compactly and -deposited in a cylindrical chamber behind the -rear seat. The mechanism by means of which -this aero life-preserver was put in operation -may be described as follows: Directly in front -of the parachute container was a device which, -when put in action, effected the release of the -giant "umbrella." In front of this device was -a compressed-air reservoir. Within easy reach -of the person occupying the rear seat was a -ratchet-lever, which, when pulled, threw the -seat back to an angle of about forty-five degrees -and jerked open the compressed-air reservoir. -The opening of this reservoir put the release -machinery into action, and this in turn threw -out of the containing chamber the compactly -folded parachute, which automatically, on -being released, spread out and encompassed a -great volume of resisting atmosphere. This -powerful resistance, acting like a hurricane in -a tent, caused the occupant of the rear cockpit -to be jerked along the slanting back of his seat -out into the vast expanse of empty space.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One great beauty of this device, when used -for exhibition purpose, was the fact that if it -failed to work, the aviator retained his seat as -comfortably as if nothing had happened. As -a life-saver, of course, this peculiarity had little -or no value, inasmuch as a flyer in distress -would be lost if the parachute failed to pull -him out of his seat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before each of his experiments, Irving had -tested the "sky-umbrella" with a dummy -heavier than himself in order to be certain that -there was no danger of ripping the silken -cloth. A slight tear produced by the strain on -the parachute while he was being dragged from -his seat might become larger during the descent -and cause him to fall with sufficient shock to -seriously injure or kill him. This was really -the only considerable danger in the whole -performance, but it was one that needed to be -guarded against very carefully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Up flew the aeroplane with graceful sweep -and joined the flock of two score other "night -birds" that were starting out on a raid. The -flight to the front lines was quickly made and -without incident of note. In fact, not an enemy -plane arose in the air to oppose the attacking -squadron until the leading flyers were directly -over No Man's Land, brilliantly illuminated -with the fireworks of battle, and then -something happened that must have thrilled every -aviator who witnessed it, accustomed though -he was almost daily to thrills that make the life -of a soldier on land or a Jackie of the navy -seem like a tame existence in comparison.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly there was an upheaval of earth -almost directly below him, followed by another -and another in quick succession; then a regular -concert of upheavals in almost a straight line, -and a very long line at that, evidently, even to -a pair of eyes looking down from a great height -in the air. There was a magnitude in the scene -that could not be mistaken, although the ridge -of land that was visible only a few moments -before looked like little more than an elongated -anthill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My goodness!" Irving exclaimed, though -the noise of the motor and the propeller and the -rush of air about him made it impossible for -him to hear himself. "My goodness! they've -actually blown up Vimy Ridge."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The machine swept on with the flock of -mechanical war-birds, on over No Man's Land -and past the enemy front lines. Meanwhile -Irving gazed down, fascinated by the scene far, -far below. It was a scene of the most diminutive -dwarfs now. The trenches looked like little -more than pen scratches on a dim-colored sheet, -certainly not more than chalk marks, of no -particular color, on a "faded blackboard." And -the people--the soldiers! Yes, he could see -them now, in large numbers. They looked like -ants--no, let's not understate it,--they looked -like mice, small mice, however; and they -arose--on the Canadian side--out of the "chalk -marks" and dashed forward, a very short -distance, it seemed, only a few inches or feet at -the most, but they chopped off their steps so -short that they appeared just to creep along. -Irving was astonished at the clearness of the -night scene under the battle's illumination.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But they made it finally, up the side of the -hill, if indeed any hill remained, and into the -crater--Irving could see an altered condition -following the trinitrotoluol explosions, and -concluded that there must be a long, a very long, -crater--miles of it--in the place of Vimy -Ridge. They were cheering like mad--Irving -knew it, though he could not hear a voice. Yes, -into the crater they went, a myriad of insects, -or wee animals,--they had possession of it--the -enemy seemed not to offer any resistance. -They were whipped, thoroughly--they knew -it. Tons and tons of high explosive planted -under that ridge had blown it to the sky.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, it didn't, either," Irving mused with -a smile of "altitude amusement." "It was -only a flash in the pan. Not a pebble came half -as high as we are, and the sky is hundreds of -miles--umph! How much higher is it? My! if -the world could only get up here and look at -itself, I wonder if things wouldn't go a little -differently. No, I'm afraid not! There'd -always be somebody then trying to grab a bigger -slice of the moon than he's entitled to.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But what am I thinking about? My head -must be getting giddy. That won't do a bit. -I'm on very serious business. The bombing -planes are hovering over the rear line trenches -and dropping their flower-pots on 'em. The -anti-aircraft guns are getting busy, too. There -went one right ahead of us. They're getting -our range. And here comes a fleet of German -planes to meet us. Well, it won't be safe to -wait very long, and it won't be fair to my pilot. -Just as soon as we get well beyond that third -trench there, I'll take my plunge."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving set himself fixedly as if about to make -a mighty leap or a pistol-shot start in a foot -race. As a matter of fact, he was going to do -nothing of the kind. Only a sort of passive -effort was required of him, and yet, his nerves -had never been more tense. He put his right -hand on the release lever and leaned forward, -his left hand almost touching the pilot, and -looked down over the side of the car, then off -toward the approaching enemy squadron, then -at the camouflaged positions of the belching -anti-aircraft guns, then here and there at the -exploding shells in the midst of the invading -fleet, then back again at the ground scene -directly below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly he leaned farther forward and -slapped his hand smartly on the pilot's -shoulder. The latter nodded and turned the nose of -the sky machine downward. This was Irving's -cue. He leaned back and pulled the release -lever as far as it would go.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="behind-the-german-lines"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BEHIND THE GERMAN LINES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The "escape" was successful in every -respect. The boy rocked to and fro all -the way down, like a cork on a billowy sea. -Down, down he went, the scene continuing, in -the glare of innumerable lights of the battle, -almost as bright as day. Irving could see -clearly where he was going, although it was -just beyond the zone of blazing activities. -Between the chosen landing place and the fighting -terrain was a small belt of timber, but the -surroundings were lighted so brilliantly that the -general character and lay of the land could be -determined even from a height of several -thousand feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Reinforcements were being rushed forward -from points farther in the rear. Irving could -see a wave of men advancing toward the lighted -area. It looked as if attempts were being made -to retake the hill, or what was left of it. -Undoubtedly the enemy had lost heavily as a result -of the volcanic explosions and the need of -reserves was pressing at the front.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving landed right in the midst of a -company of advancing men. The lieutenant called -a halt and remained long enough to make -inquiry as to the meaning of the parachute -descent. The boy replied in fairly good -German that he was a spy in the service of the -emperor, and asked to be directed to regimental, -divisional or army headquarters. The officer -assigned a sergeant to accompany the "arrival -from the sky" and, after a tramp of more than -an hour over a highway on which they had to -dodge camions and autos and motorcycles and -troops almost as watchfully as one must dodge -heavy traffic in a warehouse district in a large -city, they arrived at a small town where they -found a brigadier general's headquarters in -what had formerly been the chief municipal -building of the place.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieutenant Ellis was taken in charge here by -an intelligence attache, who, observing the -Canadian uniform worn by the boy, questioned -him as to his identity and mission. Irving was -greatly pleased, as the conversation -progressed, to find that he understood almost -everything his inquisitor said and could answer -intelligibly all the questions put to him. The -conversation, freely translated into English, -was as follows:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who are you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My name is Hessenburg. I am a second -lieutenant in the Canadian army. But I am a -Prussian sympathizer and the bearer of a -message from agents of Emperor William working -secretly for him on the other side of the -Atlantic ocean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To whom is the message addressed?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know. It is in cipher."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then how are you going to find the person -to whom it should be delivered?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was informed that any high officer in the -German army, from brigadier general up, -could tell me what to do the instant he heard -my story."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How did you get past the Canadian and -German lines without being captured; or did -you surrender in battle?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, although that was my plan at first. I -managed to get into the air service temporarily -and dropped with a parachute, from an aeroplane -in the midst of a big battle after we got -over on this side."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The intelligence attache uttered a guttural -something that sounded like an oath. From the -tone and facial expression accompanying it, -Irving mentally translated the ejaculation into -the much milder, "You don't say so!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's true," interposed the sergeant who -accompanied Irving from the scene of his -descent. "I saw him come down. The -lieutenant of my company ordered me to bring him -here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If all this is true, I suppose you'll have to -see the general," the attache concluded. "Just -wait here and I'll find out how long you'll have -to wait. You say your message is important?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I haven't read it," the spy answered; "but -I was informed that it was very important. I -think you'd better help me get it to him as soon -as possible."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The attache left Irving and his companion -seated on a long bench in the orderly room and -entered the adjutant's office. A few minutes -later he came out again and announced that -the message was "on its way to the general" -and an order to "come in" would probably -come out in a short time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The "short time" was more than two hours, -however. The brigadier general had been -napping. Ordinarily his night repose might -fittingly have been called sleep, but the taking of -Vimy Ridge rendered any such peaceful term -inappropriate. It is probable, indeed, that -there were naps for few German officers of -whatever rank, attached to that sector, on the -night of the great battle on the Canadian front. -At any rate, this officer was one of the few, -and he awoke at break of day. One of the first -matters brought to his attention was the arrival -of a spy from America with an important message.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring him in," he ordered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A minute later Irving was standing before -a very burly and very fierce looking individual -in the uniform of a high commanding officer -and saluting him with an appearance of -self-confidence, in spite of a most provoking -nervousness that unexpectedly seized him.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="off-for-berlin"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">OFF FOR BERLIN</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving Ellis recovered his composure -and his nervousness left him in full control -of his faculties as he answered the first -question put to him by the brigadier general. It -was a very simple question, thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are Second Lieutenant Hessenburg of -the Canadian army?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But a subject of Kaiser Wilhelm?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I am not," Irving replied. "I'm a -subject of Great Britain, for my father was -naturalized in Canada. But my sympathies -are over here and when I am old enough, you'll -find my citizenship where it ought always -have been."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There, I got a little truth into my bunch of -lies," Irving interpolated to himself. "My -citizenship will be where it always ought to -have been, and was, and is, and always will be, -as long as I live--in the United States. I spoke -with a double tongue and satisfied my own -conscience at the end. Oh, I can see that I'm -going to be some prevaricator before this -adventure is finished. Really, it never occurred -to me before, but a spy must have the biggest -imagination on earth to be successful. However, -it's a good cause, that's some consolation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before the boy finished this soliloquy, the -brigadier general was asking another question:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you were sent here by some of our -agents in Canada?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With a message?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me see it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving took off his coat and rolled up his left -shirtsleeve, exposing to view the "cubist art" -tattooing recently pricked into the skin with -sharp pointed needles and aniline dye. The -brigadier general gazed at it with deep interest -two or three times; then looked into the spy's -face and said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're all right. You must go to Berlin -at once."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He contemplated the hieroglyphic oddity a -minute longer and then said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My curiosity is keen to know how you got -over here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I flew over," Irving replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How could you manage that? Were you -in the air service?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, during the last few weeks. I was out -with a pilot last night and slipped away with -a parachute in the heat of the battle."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the brigadier general's turn now to -utter something of the explosive character of -an oath. As Irving's schooling and recent drill -in the Teutonic tongue did not comprehend -such ultra-rhetorical figures of speech, he did -not get the full significance of the expletive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it was evident that the officer's outburst -was anything but an expression of anger. -Admiration popped into his eyes and spoke out -of them in "violent harmony" with his oath. -But this overflowing endorsement of the spy's -activities was suddenly interrupted by a -change of manner that caused Irving a little -uneasiness as a new thought took possession of -the burly military man's mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you suppose they think about you -now over in the Canadian lines? They're onto -you now, aren't they? If we want you to return -on another mission over there, you've spoiled -the game by your manner of escape, haven't -you? How could you explain it if they put you -on the grill?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That'll be very easy," Irving replied. "I -waited for the right conditions. We got into -a fight with a couple of German planes and it -was looking pretty bad for us. Then a shell -from an anti-aircraft gun exploded so near to -us that it seemed impossible for us to have -escaped serious damage. Well, two seconds -later I saw the pilot was having trouble with -his engine; so I concluded it was time for me -to take my departure."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The look of gleeful admiration returned to -the officer's face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You handled it well, very well," he said, -with a disagreeable, gloating laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving's sentiments, however, were of much -different nature. He was thoroughly disgusted -with his own "string of falsehoods," as he -characterized the stories he had told to the -intelligence attache and the brigadier general.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know very well that a spy is a personified -fib, pure and simple," he told himself with a -reflective compression of his lips. "I don't -think it's any worse than that, and I don't -think the stories I told were any worse than -fibs. A spy is just a misrepresentation -walking around on two feet. If he doesn't tell a -single fib, it's his business to make the enemy -think he's something he isn't. If he does this -for a bad cause, he's a bad man; if he does it -for a worthy cause, he's a good man, not because -he fibs, but because of the cause he misrepresents. -So long as he doesn't misrepresent the -cause, he ought to be all right. Still, the world -will admire him more if he's smart enough to -get what he wants without telling any downright -li--fibs like the ones I told. I'm going to -see if I can't get along hereafter without fibbing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving worked this reasoning out in his mind -as the conversation with the officer proceeded. -He was much relieved also on finding that he -was able to answer all succeeding questions -without resorting to any gross misstatements -of facts. At last the brigadier general closed -the interview by saying:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll excuse you for the time being. -Meanwhile I'll communicate with my superior -officers and you'll wait under orders of the -adjutant for instructions from me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving returned to the orderlies' room. He -had not eaten breakfast and informed an officer -of the hungry condition of his stomach. This -resulted in his being turned over to an orderly -who conducted him to the officers' mess, where -he was served with a very good meal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess I'm in right," he mused. "They -give me the best feed and show me considerable -attention. The auspices are good. Hope -I can keep things coming my way, and I'll get -what I'm after."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About an hour after breakfast, the adjutant -summoned Irving into his office and spoke to -him, thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We have just received orders to send you -to Berlin. Are you ready to go?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I haven't any luggage to pack," the spy -answered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will be supplied with what you need," -the adjutant continued. "You will also be -accompanied by a young lieutenant who is -recovering from wounds received at the front -and who has been granted home leave for a -month or two. He lives in Berlin. He will be -here soon and go with you to the train."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour later Irving was on a troop train, -speeding away to the northeast, away from the -still thundering battle front and toward the -objective city of his secret-service aims, hopes, -plans and patriotic ambition.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="in-berlin"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IN BERLIN</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Berlin!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The name was well worth the exclamation. -If Irving did not utter it aloud, he -thought it in the "tone of voice" in which it -appears here.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had ridden more than half of the preceding -day, all night and well into another day -with a companion in whom he was able to find -little of sympathetic interest. The fellow, an -infantry lieutenant, about 30 years old, was a -cold-eyed, emotionless individual and about as -cruelly boastful Prussian as one would care to -meet. There was no fate too frightful for an -English soldier in his opinion, and all other -Allies fighting on the side of the British ought -to be reduced to vassalage and forced to pay -tribute to the House of Hohenzollern.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving tried for a while to engage in intelligent -conversation with him, but at last found -this impossible and decided to encourage him -along the line of least resistance with the view -of obtaining as much information from him as -his prejudiced mind was capable of giving. -By discounting every thing uttered with a burst -of passion or with sneer of contempt or tone -of bravado and by watching for inadvertent -admissions, Irving gleaned enough to convince -him that the central allies were not nearly as -confident of winning the war as they wished -the outside world to believe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieutenant Ellis was a good enough spy not -to confine his observations to the one supreme -purpose of obtaining a list of enemy agents in -Canada and the United States. He saw at once, -after landing with his parachute in the boche -lines, that he could be of great service to the -cause for which the Allies were fighting by -gathering a fund of information regarding the -man power, supplies, ammunition and the -general attitude of the people in the kaiser's -country. By the time he reached Berlin, he felt -considerably compensated for the uncongeniality -of his traveling companion during the trip.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They took a horse-cab--there were no -automobile taxis in evidence--and were driven at -a very sleepy gait to a high-class hotel in -Friederichstrasse. The horse behind which -they rode looked as if he might have had a -full meal of oats and corn some time before the -war. There was little in the scenes through -which they passed that impressed Irving as -bearing any indications of the ravages of war, -except perhaps the scarcity of automobiles and -the lack of that spick-and-span condition for -which the streets of Berlin had long been -famous. The boy spy was unable to discover -any quality of excellence at all superior to that -of Buffalo, N.Y., in general appearance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hotel he found well furnished, decorated -and supplied with rugs. The rooms taken by -Irving and his companion were all that a -"particular," if not fastidious, guest would demand. -True, a girl operated the elevator, but the -young spy had learned, through letters from -his cousin, that Canadian girls went much -farther than this in their patriotic efforts, -sharing not a little in the heavy labors of -munition shops and the general industries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving's companion, whose name was Fritz -Vollmer, spoke a few words to the clerk in an -undertone, and the clerk nodded knowingly, -as if to indicate that everything was all right.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"An old friend o' mine," Lieut. Vollmer -remarked as they walked toward the elevator. -"I just told him you were all right in spite of -your uniform, that you'd been a spy over in the -enemy's country and hadn't had time to change -your clothes since you got through the lines. -You won't be bothered about room rent or any -other expenses here. Those will be taken care -of. You're not to change your uniform until -after you've had a session at intelligence -headquarters."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When will that be?" Irving inquired.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This afternoon some time," was the answer. -"I'll go over and make arrangements and then -come back and go with you. Meanwhile we'll -go out and have some lunch."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In spite of Lieut. Vollmer's supercilious -ways and boastful language, the young boche -officer evinced a deep personal interest in his -companion. But undoubtedly the reason for -this was the daring and romantic record that -the young spy had behind him. And this -record necessarily obtruded itself so conspicuously -in Irving's affairs right now that the -vainglorious Teuton could not subordinate it -even when picturing his own "high -excellence." Therefore Lieut. Vollmer's uncontrollable -admiration for the venturesome youth whom he -was companioning was just a result of the -over-awed condition of his own mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They went out to a cafe in Friederichstrasse -and ate a very modest luncheon for which -Vollmer paid fifteen marks. Then they returned -to the hotel, and Irving remained in his room -while Vollmer went to Wilhelmstrasse to -announce the arrival of "the spy" and make -arrangements for presenting him to the proper -official. The boy would have been glad to go -out and stroll through the streets of the capital -of the great war-making nation, but hesitated -to do this because he feared that his Canadian -uniform might get him into needless difficulty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour later Fritz returned and announced -that he had found the proper official to receive -the spy's message. That official, he said, was -eager to meet the kaiser's daring agent, and -would he please return with Lieut. Vollmer at -once?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving assented, and together they left the -hotel. On the way the Prussian officer thrilled -the spy with patriotic fervor which he was able -to suppress only with great difficulty by -informing him that the United States had -declared war against Germany a few days before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"America will bitterly rue the day she took -that action," Lieut. Vollmer declared vengefully.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-reading-of-the-cryptogram"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE READING OF THE CRYPTOGRAM</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was a rather imposing structure with -gray-stone front that Irving and his -companion entered in Wilhelmstrasse as the -headquarters of the globe-encircling spy -system of the terrible German empire. They -walked through the doorway and passed down -the cavernous corridor, with its innumerable -ramifications of mystery, secrecy, penetration. -All of these ramifications were by no means -physical and evident to the inquisitive eyes of -the visitor from across the sea. Most of them, -nearly all, in fact, were pictured in the brain -of Lieut. Ellis, who saw visions of thousands -of communicating branches reaching out into -every part of the civilized world.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The names of Bernstorf, Von Papen, Boy-Ed, -and other former leading agents of the -kaiser in the United States flashed through his -mind, and he was curious to know what sort of -men directed their activities from central -headquarters. It was not long before his curiosity -was rewarded with visual evidence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Ellis and Lieut. Vollmer walked up a -broad flight of flagstone steps to the second -floor and into the waiting room of a large suite -of offices. There they were met by a girl of -freshman high-school age, who evidently -served in the capacity of office boy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have the office boys all been drafted for -military service?" Irving asked himself as his -companion answered the girl's questions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were directed to wait a few minutes, -which they accordingly did, and in a quarter of -an hour were ushered into the presence of a -mild-eyed man whose least prepossessing -characteristic was the undependability of the -mildness of his gaze. Irving had not been long in -the room with him before he realized that the -fellow's "gentleness" was a carefully -cultivated "attribute," schemed, plotted, and -devised to qualify him for the shrewdest and most -subtle of government secret service. He was -a large man of good proportions, with a -mustache that stood out like a tooth-brush parted -in the middle and a very fair and well rounded -face. Although he might have passed for -thirty-five years of age, Irving subsequently -learned that he was nearly ten years older. He -answered to the title of "the baron," addressed -familiarly by Lieut. Vollmer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here he is," said the latter, who seemed to -think this was all the introduction needed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving bowed, and "the baron" bowed. -There was no shaking of hands between them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well," said the intelligence official, -indicating thereby that the announcer's duty -was performed and that he might now retire. -Vollmer did as suggested by the manner of the -receiving nobleman, and Irving and his -world-plotting host were alone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have heard your story from Lieut. Vollmer," -"the baron" began. "He said you had -a message tattooed on your arm. Let me see it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving took off his coat, rolled up his shirt -sleeve and exhibited for inspection the "cubist -art cryptogram" on his left forearm. The -official gazed at it closely a minute or two; then -said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just wait a minute and I'll have it read."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He lifted a telephone receiver to his ear and -called out a local number through the transmitter. -Presently he was talking to the desired -department.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Send Kiehler and Joe Weber in here," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three minutes later two middle-aged men -entered. Neither of them was of striking -appearance. In fact, each had a rather stolid -look, but it was not long before Irving realized -that there was some real mechanical, if not -imaginative, ability underneath their apparent -stupidity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take this young man into your office and -read that cipher message on his arm," ordered -"the baron."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two cryptogram readers bowed and one -of them requested Irving to follow. They left -the office and proceeded to another on the top -floor of the building.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a very light suite of rooms that Irving -now found himself in. One room particularly -was supplied with the best of daylight illumination -through a skylight overhead. It reminded -Irving of an architectural drafting room. Half -a dozen men were seated at as many desks -working as diligently over record and -manuscript material before them as so many college -students "cramming" for a trigonometry or -chemistry exam. Irving was conducted to an -unoccupied desk in a remote corner of the room -and there he and his two companions sat down -and the consultation began.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two cryptologists, however, had little to -say. They seemed to have little interest in -Irving save as to the cipher message he had -brought for them to translate. They exhibited -no surprise when the boy spy rolled up his -sleeve and disclosed the manner in which he -had conveyed his message. They seemed to -have become so accustomed to the discovery of -unusual things that nothing could astonish -them. Stolidity of manner was a term that -fitted them exactly, but certainly not unqualified -stolidity. Irving felt almost as if their -eyes burned right into his arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They worked diligently for more than an -hour over the boy's bared arm, frequently -jotting down characters on tabs of paper before -them. At last they finished and informed him -that he might go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go where?" Irving inquired.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Without answering, one of the men picked -up the receiver of a telephone and put it to his -ear. He gave a number to the operator and -soon he was talking to someone. The waiting -boy was sure that the person "at the other end" -was "the baron."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go back to the hotel and remain there for -instructions," the man at the 'phone said -presently, as he hung up the receiver.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving left the building, intending to take a -cab to the hotel. He had scarcely reached the -street, however, when it suddenly occurred to -him that he had no money with him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll have to walk," he mused. "Well, it -isn't very far and I can make it easy before -suppertime. But I wonder if I'll get through -with this uniform. Well, I'll use my nerve and -see what happens."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He started out briskly, but observed as he -went that he attracted attention from a good -many persons on the street, some of them -soldiers. Undoubtedly it was his nerve that got -him through, but he could not avoid several -times turning his head with whatever -nonchalance he could command and stealing -glances to the right and left and behind. After -looking back two or three times, he became -curious regarding the purpose of a middle-aged -man in civilian clothes whom he had observed -in front of the intelligence building as he came -out of the main entrance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder if that fellow is following me?" -he said to himself, a little nervously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He walked a few squares farther, then -stopped and looked into a tailor show-window. -He remained there several minutes, really -interested in the display and the prices. With -a kind of meditative look, he glanced down the -street, but could see nothing of his supposed -shadower. Then he moved on again, turned a -corner, walked half a square, and suddenly -faced about as if he had made a mistake in his -direction and must retrace his steps.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The middle-aged man in civilian clothes, who -was not more than a hundred feet away, turned -almost as suddenly as the boy in Canadian -khaki had turned and entered a cafe that he -seemed about to pass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm being followed," muttered the spy with -a real chill of alarm. "I wonder what's up. -Have they found something wrong with that -message? Did those cryptogram readers -discover that the message had been tampered -with?"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="followed"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">FOLLOWED</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving walked on as if nothing unusual had -occurred to disturb his peace of mind, and -yet nothing more disquieting perhaps had ever -moved the quakings of fear within him. If the -man who had followed him could have looked -into the face of the young second lieutenant in -khaki as the latter passed the cafe, undoubtedly -he would have seen there an expression of -countenance exceedingly interesting to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The day was now rapidly drawing to a close, -and the damp April atmosphere, chilly enough -when the sun was at its zenith, was becoming -cold toward night. Irving had no overcoat. -He had worn only a flying-coat and "cover all," -aside from his ordinary fair-weather garments, -on the night of his ascent in an aeroplane and -descent with a parachute, but he was not -particularly uncomfortable even under present -conditions. Still, he felt that it would be much -more pleasant within four walls of a first class -hotel, even though, as he suspected, the -management was burning coal under war emergency -limitations. So he hurried on, and did -not slacken his pace until he was back at the -hostelry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About a square from the hotel he turned and -looked down the street to see if the middle-aged -man in citizen's clothes was still following him. -Yes, there he was, 200 feet back, sauntering -with a long stride, which rendered it possible -for him to keep pace with the spy without an -appearance of haste. As the latter entered -the lobby and walked toward the elevator, he -said to himself:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll have to bluff it through. I'm not going -to pretend ignorance of the fact that I've been -followed. But I mustn't appear to be afraid -of being watched. I must present the matter -in a different light."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He knocked on the door of Vollmer's room, -but received no response. Then he went to his -own room to wait until his guide returned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll have to wait for him before I can get -any supper," he mused. "I'm in a peculiar -situation, and don't know exactly where I'm at. -I think I'll have to have a plain talk with him -tonight, much as I hate to rest any of my -fortunes on his questionable goodwill."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Vollmer returned at about 6 o'clock -and announced without any formal greeting -that they would go out to supper. Irving -picked up his hat from the bed where he had -thrown it on entering the room and signified -his readiness to go at once.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was eager to begin conversation on the -subject that interested him most, but decided -that he must await a favorable opportunity. -His companion had relapsed again into unsociable -aloofness, and the walk of three squares -to the cafe where they had their luncheon was -made without the passing of a word between them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The meal, too, was eaten almost as quietly. -Irving made a few attempts to draw his -companion into conversation, hoping to lead up -gradually to the subject that was weighing -rather heavily on his mind, but he failed -utterly. At last just as they were about to leave -the restaurant, the young German lieutenant -altered the aspect of affairs very much by -saying:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm going to leave you to your own devices -now, Hessenburg. For anything you want, get -in touch with the baron; he'll give instructions -for taking care of you. They'll probably give -you an army uniform and send you to the front -to fight for the fatherland. I'm on a leave of -absence and am going home to stay there until -my leave expires."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was stunned by this announcement -from his uncongenial guide, who was about to -leave him unceremoniously in the lurch. He -did not know how to reply and so made no -attempt to do so aside from the utterance of a -few conventionalities, such as, "I hope you'll -enjoy your furlough," and "I thank you for -the courtesies you have shown me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Vollmer did not return with Irving -to the hotel, but gave him a limp handshake out -on the sidewalk, tossed a careless "aufwiedersehn" -at him and sauntered away. The -deserted spy went back to his room and passed -an uncomfortable night, tormented with so -many doubts of conflicting nature that he soon -found himself in a very nervous condition. -After he had lain awake an hour or two trying -to clear up the obscurities in his mind, he -decided that the course of thinking that he had -permitted to sway him would result disastrously -even if there was no reason for him to -feel apprehensive of the outlook.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I must throw this out of my mind and get -a good night's rest," he told himself. "If my -nerves are all shot to pieces tomorrow, it'll be -folly for me to attempt to get any satisfaction -from the government officials. They'll see -there's something wrong, dead sure. I'm -proving myself a mighty poor spy, and ought to -have stayed in the Canadian trenches. Of -course, I must expect to run into the most -dangerous situations and depend on my wits, bluff, -and nerve--yes NERVE--to get me out. What -if I am under suspicion? If they have no goods -on me, I'm safe enough so long as I don't -convict myself by a guilty manner. I must be -mistaken in my suspicion that they have found -something wrong in that cubist art message. -They'd 'ave arrested me right away if they'd -discovered the change. I'll probably find -everything all right tomorrow when I talk with the -baron. Why, he may even decorate me with an -iron cross. Hope it won't be too heavy to carry -around, that's all. Or maybe they need all the -iron to make shells with and will give me a -leather cross--no, they need that for shoes; -or a rubber cross--no, they need that to make -rubber heels so they can pussy-foot out in -No-Man's-Land. There! I've got my nerves in -better shape; think I can go to sleep now, but -I do wonder why that middle-aged man in -civilian clothes was following me. I wonder -if he wore rubber heels."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was the way Irving managed to induce -sleep an hour or two before midnight. He -adopted the method very systematically and -determinedly, and it worked. But his slumber -was not as undisturbed as he would have had -it, for he dreamed the most violent and -mysterious of dreams enlivened and peopled with -aeroplanes and booming cannon and minnenwerfers -and parachutes and rubber-heeled -secret service men who followed him so softly, -gently, stealthily that it seemed as if even the -thunder of battle was being toned down to -zephyrs of inconsequential ghostly conflict.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-spy-s-decision"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE SPY'S DECISION</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving arose at daybreak next morning. -In spite of his uneasy night, he was much -refreshed and felt confident that he had good -command of his nerves. This was an important -reassurance, and the young spy decided that he -would not let it get away from him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll tie it down with a string of self-confidence -and a knot of determination," he told -himself resolutely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This way of putting the idea amused him a -little and added to his strength of purpose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"First of all, how about breakfast?" he -asked himself as he combed his hair with a -pocket comb which he carried with him and -regarded the puzzled wrinkling of his brow in -the wash-room mirror.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," he added, as he returned the comb -to its case-and the case to his pocket, "I guess -I'll have to go without breakfast. Not a very -comfortable idea, either, but there seems to be -no way out of it. That fellow Vollmer seemed -to take a malicious delight in forgetting every -one of my comforts. I wish I had something -to do between now and 9 or 10 o'clock. I don't -like to stroll around any more than is necessary -in this uniform."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But there seemed to be nothing for him to do -except remain in his room and wait for his -wristwatch to tick several thousand seconds. -It seemed, too, as if all of these ticks hammered -away right in the center of his brain, always -striking on the same pin-point spot and -irritating his nervous system almost beyond -endurance. At 8:30 o'clock he decided to wait no -longer and grabbed his hat and hastened from -the hotel. Without making particular note of -his surroundings, he set out at a brisk pace for -the building that contained the intelligence -offices which he had visited the day before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile he had forgotten all about the -middle-aged man in civilian clothes who had -followed him through the streets. It had not -occurred to him that the fellow might return -to the hotel and continue his espionage next -day. He had presumed that the man would -make a report to his superiors and the affair -would be taken up again in some other manner -if, indeed, there should be any resumption at -all of the investigation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I'm suspected of being a British spy, -they'll probably arrest me when I report back -at the baron's office," he mused before leaving -the hotel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After walking a square or two, Irving slowed -his pace considerably, realizing that it was still -early and that he probably would have to wait -an hour or more for "the baron" after his -arrival at the latter's office if he continued to -walk as rapidly as he had started. To "kill" -a little of the surplus time ahead of him, -therefore, he stopped and looked into several shop -windows, the last being an "eat shop," which -teased his appetite not a little and caused him -to feel that he could chew a piece of army meat -of the consistency of leather, or rubber, with -a good deal of relish at that moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The suggestion contained in the word rubber, -for which there seemed to be no appropriate -reason in connection with a steaming breakfast, -revived his burlesque musings of the night -before as he was drifting away into a nervous -slumber. The semi-dream pictures in his mind -of a government sleuth on rubber heels brought -him back to his startling experience of the -previous day so suddenly that he turned almost -involuntarily and gazed in the direction from -which he had come.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If he had been a person of superstitious -susceptibility wandering through a country -cemetery in the ghostly moonlight, he could not -have been more apprehensively thrilled by -what he saw. Half a square up the street was -the mysterious middle-aged man in civilian -clothes who had followed him from the -intelligence building to the hotel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gee! I must hustle along and get to the -baron's office as soon as possible," he decided -as he quickened his steps. "I must bluff this -thing through as I never bluffed before. I -must put the matter up to him and find out -what it means."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He hurried on more rapidly than the pace -with which he started from the hotel and did -not slow up again until he reached the building -in Wilhelmstrasse for which he was headed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He decided not to pretend to be ignorant of -the fact that he was being followed; indeed, he -would have retraced his steps and accosted his -shadower if it had not seemed probable that -such a course would have been futile. So, -just as he was passing through the pillared -entrance, he turned and looked again up the -street.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yes, there he was, 150 feet away, sauntering -along as if his greatest object in life was the -sniffing of the damp April ozone. One look -was enough, and the shadowed spy entered the -building and walked up the flagstone stairway.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm going to find out who that fellow is and -what he's up to if such a thing is possible," he -resolved. "I'm going to put it up to the baron -right now and if I'm under suspicion I'll soon -find out and, I hope, drive the suspicion away."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young spy was now exhibiting real qualities -necessary to make a successful army secret -service man.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="making-progress-with-the-baron"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">MAKING PROGRESS WITH THE BARON</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving entered "the baron's" outer office -and asked to see the big intelligence official. -To his surprise, that secret service dignitary -was in, and the caller was requested to wait a -few minutes until he was at leisure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Even the nobility are getting up early to -help win the war," Irving ruminated as he -waited. "Well, that shows a good trait of -character--if they only had a good cause to fight for. -I wonder if they really think they have. I don't -see how they can."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Presently he was informed by an office girl -that "the baron" would see him, and he entered -the latter's private office. The big, usually -mild-eyed official looked at him rather sharply, -he thought, but he resolved not to be overawed -by his dominating personality.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am here," he began, rather abruptly, but -with a bow of seeming respect, "to find out what -is to become of me. I feel lost in this big city. -Lieut. Vollmer left me last night and informed -me that if I wanted anything, I should apply to -you. In the first place, I should like to have -some breakfast."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The baron" seemed to be amused by this -speech. He did not, however, indicate any -particular concern over the hungry condition of -the spy, who had proved himself a daring and -spectacular hero "in the service of the -fatherland." But he smiled and answered in -reassuring tones:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No breakfast? Ach himmel! You shall -have all you can eat, and by the time you have -finished your breakfast, you'll realize how -futile is the English blockade."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What kind of plans have you for me?" -Irving asked, deeming it of no advantage to -enter into a discussion of conditions in -Germany with a man who undoubtedly would -express only the most optimistic views. "I'm -getting impatient, I can't stand it to be idle. -I want something to do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you want to do?" asked "the baron."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Whatever I'm best fitted for. I hoped I'd -been successful enough in the venture just -completed to warrant your keeping me in -something of the same line."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you want to go back to Canada?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd thought some of that, but it doesn't -seem practicable," Irving replied. "You see, -I'm an enlisted soldier now and would be sent -back to the front if I returned. But it seems -to me that I might do some good work in the -United States."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, that's true, you might," "the baron" -admitted, meditatively. "I'll think that over."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Meanwhile," Irving continued, "I'd like -to get rid of this uniform. It causes me no end -of inconvenience. I'm constantly expecting to -be stopped on the street and questioned."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have you been stopped yet?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, but I've been followed. I'd have gone -out and walked around some last evening, but -was followed all the way from here to the hotel. -The same man followed me from the hotel here -this morning."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The baron" appeared to be genuinely surprised -at this statement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't understand that," he said. "What -kind of looking man was it that followed you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He was middle-aged and dressed in civilian -clothes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll find out about this," "the baron" -announced, pressing a button on his desk.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An office messenger between 60 and 70 years -old entered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is Schoensiegel or Blau out there?" inquired -"the baron."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Blau is," replied the messenger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Send him in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The messenger went out and a minute later -an individual who might have passed for an -ordinary plain-clothes man of the police force -entered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Blau," said the intelligence official, "this is -Mr. Hessenburg, one of our friends from -America--Canada. He was with the Canadian -army at the front and broke away to bring us -some important information. He's been here -only a couple of days, but has been followed on -the street by someone, not under orders from -this office. I want you to go outside and wait -until he leaves, and then find out who it is that's -following him and why he's doing it. Maybe -some other department or the police are laboring -under a misapprehension as to our friend's -identity."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gans gewiss, Herr Hauptmann," said Blau, -bowing himself out of the room and indicating -acceptance of his commission. The conversation -was resumed between the spy and "the baron."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll provide you with a uniform and make -you an attache of this office for the present," -the latter announced. "Later I'll take up your -suggestion for keeping you in this branch of -the service and see what I can do. The skill and -daring of your achievements thus far deserves -recognition, I can say that much at least."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was reassured and encouraged by -these words. He was convinced that "the -baron" entertained no doubt regarding the -genuineness of his representations.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not give me employment that will -enable me to advance my efficiency for further -spy work?" the boy suggested.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a good idea," declared the intelligence -official with a look of professional animation -in his eyes. "I think I'll do that. As -soon as you get your uniform, report at this -office and I'll have you assigned to your new -duties. Meanwhile I'll put you on the payroll -and give you an order for a month's salary in -advance. Your bill at the hotel has been taken -care of, but from now on you'll pay that -yourself. Lieut. Vollmer was guilty of an -inexcusable oversight when he left you without money -for your meals and other incidentals. I thought -that was being taken care of."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving thanked "the baron" for the interest -shown in his welfare. Then he took up the -subject on which he had expected to make his -strongest play with the intelligence official.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to speak to you now," he said, -"about a matter that perhaps I should have -brought to your attention sooner. It's about -the message on my arm. I don't know what's -in that message, but it may be that Canadian -officials have taken steps to render worthless -the information I brought to you. Would it -be possible for them to render it of no value -to you if they knew the contents of the -message I brought?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The keen interest that "the baron" manifested -instantly in these suggestions indicated -to Irving that he could hardly have broached -a subject that would command closer attention.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="orders-for-money-and-clothes"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ORDERS FOR MONEY AND CLOTHES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"It would not only be possible for the -Canadian officials to nullify the value to us of -the message you brought, but that is exactly -what they would do if they found out the -contents of that message."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This is the reply "the baron" gave to the -question put to him by Irving at the close of the -preceding chapter. The spy put the question in -accord with a suggestion made by Col. Evans in -the course of his instructions behind the -Canadian lines. The intent of this move was to -obviate suspicion that he had delivered a fake -message when discovery was made that the -information it contained did not answer its -professed purpose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have you any reason to believe that they -discovered the nature of the information you -brought in that message?" asked the high -Prussian official after he had answered the spy's -question.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm afraid I have," the latter replied. -"Why didn't they arrest you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because they didn't know where to find me. -I was lost somewhere in the Canadian army. -They probably had no way of identifying me. -However, they must have made a search for me -when they learned what had been going on--maybe -they're searching yet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know what they learned that a message -of this kind was being brought over here?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know enough to feel that there is grave -danger that they made such a discovery."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How did you find that out?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This way: One of the boys in the company -to which I belonged received a letter from his -cousin in Canada that told almost the whole -story, and I read the letter. That cousin told -a long story about his going to Toronto to visit -some friends and getting sick while there. He -was taken to a hospital--</span><em class="italics">our</em><span> hospital, by the -way--and while he was convalescing, he strolled -out in the hall and saw the tattooing operation -on my arm. The two men who were doing the -work saw him standing there and gazing -through the glass door, and they rushed out, -collared him, and dragged him into the laboratory. -But he satisfied them that he was merely -a curious onlooker and they let him go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"However, they had him watched, and after -he left the hospital he was followed everywhere -he went. He communicated with government -officials and a week or two later the hospital was -raided. This is all the information the letter -contained, but it is possible that they compelled -somebody to reveal the contents of the message -that was tattooed on my arm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very possible," agreed "the baron," leaning -forward with a look of hard and harsh -concern in his eyes. "And where were you in the -meantime?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On my way on a transport for England. -The spy in the hospital, I suppose, did not -observe me very closely. Fortunately I had my -coat off and perhaps he did not identify me as -a soldier. At any rate, I was not interfered -with, and I am here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No doubt of that," returned the intelligence -official rather absently; "and you brought the -message. Well, all we can do is remember the -circumstances you have just related and take -them into consideration if developments don't -prove satisfactory. I'm glad you told me about -this, for it may prevent a lot of confusion. It -wouldn't be well for you to venture back into -Canada with that picture on your arm. You'd -be picked up as a deserter, and the intelligence -officers wouldn't be very slow finding out that -you were the fellow they've been hunting for -ever since the raid on that Toronto hospital. -As a matter of fact, I doubt if you can be of -much use to us in any of the countries of our -allied enemies with that thing on your arm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have an idea to remedy that," said Irving -with a smile that suggested something of a -novelty in his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is that?" asked "the baron."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Peel this picture off and graft some new -skin in its place."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The intelligence official laughed, but he was -interested as well as amused.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That isn't a bad idea at all," he said. "On -the whole I am inclined to take you seriously. -You seem to have a scientific turn of mind, and -that always appeals to an intelligent German. -I'm going to put you to work under the -direction of a man who will give you a thorough -tryout, and we'll find out what you're good for. -You seem to be ambitious and intelligent and -have a good record behind you. Go ahead now -and show us what you're worth."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This announcement and the accompanying -instruction delighted the spy beyond measure. -If his recent experiences had not schooled him -in the very wise habit of self-restraint, his first -joyful impulse might have got him into trouble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just wait a minute and I'll fix you up with -an order for some money and some clothes," -said "the baron" after a few moments of silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He picked up a pen and busied himself filling -out a form and writing a note on a letterhead of -the department. These he folded and placed hi -separate envelopes. The envelopes he -addressed and handed to the spy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There, that's all today, I think," he said. -"Whatever you need hereafter will be taken -care of by Mr. Herrmann. Inquire outside and -you'll be directed where to go to have this order -cashed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving thanked him and left the office. Ten -minutes later he was outside the building with -a comfortable roll of bank-bills in his pocket. -As he started up the street with directions in -his mind for reaching the quartermaster's -office, he saw Blau on the opposite sidewalk and -was reminded of the instruction given that -intelligence operative to shadow the young spy's -shadower.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="before-breakfast"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BEFORE BREAKFAST</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving dismissed from his mind for the -time being the mystery concerning the -middle-aged man in civilian clothes who had -followed him through the streets on two -occasions. His fears regarding the incident were -dispelled, for he felt that Blau, the intelligence -operative on the opposite side of the street, -would take care of that matter very efficiently. -Everything was coming his way now, and he -in his mission than he had felt at any other time -walked alone; with greater confidence of success -since landing with his parachute.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a ten minute walk to the quartermaster's -headquarters. At the entrance of the -building, his curiosity concerning the game of -"shadow chase shadow" which he presumed to -be going on behind him was aroused by a -sudden reverting of his mind to the subject, and -he turned and looked down the street by which -he had come. There was Blau, half a square -away, but the "middle-aged man in civilian -clothes" was not in sight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder if he got onto the fact that -somebody was directed to watch him," Irving mused. -"But that ought not to have stopped him. He -had nothing to fear from an agent of another -department if he was engaged in legitimate -government business."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The spy delivered his requisition for a -soldier's uniform and was given in turn an order -on the supply house and directions how to reach -it. Then he left the building and took a car for -the place where he was to get his suit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Blau took the same car, but the "shadow" he -had been ordered to "shadow" was not there -unless he had disguised himself so successfully -that Irving was unable to recognize him. The -operative appeared to be somewhat puzzled, -too, but he made no sign of recognition to the -soldier in enemy uniform, and the latter -maintained a like pretense of unacquaintance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour later the spy was clad in a first -lieutenant's uniform and on his way back to the -hotel. Blau kept within hailing distance of -him, but his shadowing seemed to be futile, for -the "middle-aged man in civilian clothes" had -not appeared in any recognizable guise or -disguise. Indeed, Irving was certain that nobody -except the operative had followed him since he -came out of the quartermaster's office and -started for the store-rooms.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The applicant for an army uniform was -required to enlist for service in the army before -it could be supplied. Irving was not surprised -at this, but he was very much surprised by the -kind of uniform given him. It bore the -insignia of a first lieutenant's rank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's certainly generous on the baron's -part," he said to himself. "I don't understand -it. I didn't read his note to the quartermaster, -nor the quartermaster's order. Maybe they -would have afforded some explanation. Maybe -I shall have to earn my rank and meanwhile -will go about like an automobile for which a -license has not been issued but bears a tag -'license applied for.' Maybe that's my case -here--first lieutenant's commission applied for. It -looks kind of irregular, but I suppose 'the -baron' knows his business. Anyway, mine is a -special case all around, however one looks at it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When he filled out his enlistment papers, of -course Irving signed the name of Adolph -Hessenburg, late of Toronto, Canada, and on -the "history sheet" that he had to fill out he -entered data given him by the boy of the -original tattooed cubist-art message. Then he was -granted the use of a room where he discarded -his Canadian uniform and put on his new -Prussian military disguise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He felt that he was disguised now as he at -no time had hoped to be since planning his spy -expedition into the heart of the kaiser's -kingdom. He surely must have the full confidence -of the Prussian officials with whom he had come -into contact, or he would not have been elevated -to the military rank and position of trust that -now were virtually his.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was particularly pleased with the ease -he had experienced in picking up the idioms -of the German language. He had an excellent -memory and scarcely a word or a phrase that -was taught to him at school or behind the -Canadian lines, or that he had heard since landing -with a parachute on territory held by the -Prussian armies, had failed to make a lasting -impression on his mind. Moreover, he was very -quick to put ideas together and in that way get -their associated significance; so that he -skillfully "figured out" the meaning of not a few -words that he had never heard before they were -used in conversation with him by "the baron" -and other persons with whom he came in -contact. And he was almost as quick and skillful -in his use of those same words for the -expression of his own ideas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After leaving the quartermaster's supply -depot, Irving visited a haberdashery and -bought several suits of underwear, shirts, -collars, and socks, and then returned to the hotel. -As he entered his room and deposited his -bundles on the bed a funny thing happened.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stopped short--true, he could not have -gone much farther without falling over the bed, -but nevertheless there was a decided "shortness" -to his "stop."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My goodness!" he exclaimed, clapping his -hand to his appetite region. "I haven't had any -breakfast yet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Which being a sufficiently thrilling climax -for the closing of a chapter, we will carry the -reader over in suspense to the next.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="at-work-in-the-spy-office"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">AT WORK IN THE SPY OFFICE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving laughed and felt hungrier than ever. -The humorous relaxation afforded him great -relief from the nervousness of his morning's -activities, which had been associated enough -with doubt and apprehension to make a coward -run and a brave man extremely cautious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, that's a good one," the young pseudo-boche -lieutenant continued in soliloquy. "Here -it's nearly 2 o'clock and I haven't eaten my -breakfast, and meanwhile I'd forgotten all -about it. And I'm as hungry as a bear. I -wonder if the British blockade has left enough food -in the kaiser's kingdom, to fill up the vacuum -inside of me. I think I'll go and find out. -That'll be worth-while information to carry -back to the Canadian commanders."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So out he went to a restaurant two squares -away, where he had small difficulty in getting -all he wanted to eat, the only qualification -being that he had to pay prices so out of proportion -to his income that he instinctively began -to figure out the financial problem of how to -make his salary carry him through to the end -of the month.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm starting out too swell," he concluded -after several minutes' reckoning. "I'll have to -eat at cheaper restaurants and get a cheaper -room. That makes me think I don't know how -much my room at the hotel is going to cost me; -but it's bound to be pretty steep. Anyway, I -don't care, so long as I can pull through on my -salary. I don't want to carry any of this money -with me when I go back to the other side of -No-Man's Land."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving did not ask how much the hotel was -charging for his room. He merely announced -that he would check out that evening after -engaging quarters in a comfortable rooming -house in a semi-residence district near the -Tiergarten. Economy was not the only motive that -caused him to make this move. Being now in -German uniform, he reasoned that he might be -able to throw off of his trail the "middle-aged -man in civilian clothes" who had been shadowing -him, if he changed his living address also. -As a further precaution he made this change -late in the evening.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning he reported for duty at the -office of "Mr. Herrmann" as he had been -instructed by "the baron" to do. Mr. Herrmann -proved to be in charge of a suite of offices in the -intelligence building in which were employed -more than a hundred persons, most of them -men, varying in ages from 20 to 70. Irving, for -want of detailed information regarding their -duties, classed them all as clerks, stenographers -and typists at first glance, and this in general -was a very good classification, although many -of them performed special work that entitled -them to ranking positions of greater dignity. -And he had not been employed there more than -two or three days when he learned that half of -them held such ranking positions together with -salaries proportionate to the grades of work -they did.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can you operate a typewriter?" asked -Mr. Herrmann after conducting the new employe -through one large and several smaller -work-rooms under his superintendence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With two fingers," Irving replied with a smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Learned it at home, eh? Well, you won't -need a lot of speed. I understand your -education in German is not very far advanced."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not very far," the spy replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can you read the script?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I can work it out. I know the letters, -but they come to me rather slowly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll make it all right after a few days' -practice. I'm going to set you at work first -copying some translated cipher messages." (The -boy's heart began to thump eagerly, but -the thumping became a weaker reflex pattering -as the superintendent continued.) "They -don't amount to much. We get masses of -indifferent material from numerous sources, but -we keep it all carefully cataloged, indexed, -and cross-indexed several times. Any little -insignificant item of information may be worth -a good deal to us at any time. That's one secret -of the great value of the German spy system. -Now I'll leave you with this budget of -communications and let you work it out with your -own intelligence. That's one way we have of -finding out what a man is worth."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving longed to ask him how he protected -such an intricate system of concentrated -information from leaks that might be of value to the -enemy, but wisely refrained.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll find that out by keeping my eyes and -ears open," he told himself. "I mustn't ask -any questions except such as bear directly on -my duties and are calculated to promote my -efficiency."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He sat down at the desk assigned to him and -was soon diligently, eagerly at work. His -eagerness, however, was a well-camouflaged -secret.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-startling-recognition"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A STARTLING RECOGNITION</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>For two weeks Irving continued his work in -the record offices of the great German -espionage system. His experiences there -during this time were without special incident, -except that they evolved before his mind a -continuous motion picture of scientific detail far -more intricate, comprehensive, and deep-reaching -than he could ever have imagined.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There could be no doubt that "the baron," -Mr. Herrmann, and the staff of experts, clerks, -stenographers, and typists looked upon the -"parachute hero" as a bona fide fatherland -loyalist. The story of his "camouflaged -escape" by parachute from an enemy aeroplane -to deliver a cryptic-code message that he -carried all the way from America had circulated -among them, and the glee with which they -commented on his skill and success indicated the -intense feeling with which they, one and all, -regarded the cause for which the Teutonic race -was fighting--the supremacy of the empire -founded by Prince Bismarck. Irving discovered -also another important human factor in -this relation, namely, that the initiated -members of the great spy organization of the central -powers could discuss among themselves the -secrets of their system without becoming in the -least gossipy; hence, the danger of their -inadvertently dropping hints of important state -matters never intended for "outside ears" was -small indeed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A more secretive group of employes it would -be difficult to imagine. Moreover, their secrets -seemed to be grouped in sections and degrees. -And the most peculiar feature of the whole -system, perhaps, was the fact that few instructions -were given, defining these sections and degrees. -Irving received none himself, and in all the -time he was connected with the bureau he -learned of nobody else who had been told what, -or what not, to do or say in this regard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here seems to be another instance of the -requirement of instinctive understanding," he -told himself a good many times. "They seem -to give me credit of being an extremely -intelligent fellow. Well, I hope I exceed their -estimate of me. If I do, they may find it necessary -co revise their system somewhat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The degrees of secrecy Irving learned in the -course of a week or more were of a graduated -character. For instance, he soon discovered -that he might talk about his own work to any -and all other members of the force, but all of -them outside of his class would not discuss their -work with him. After he was advanced to the -next higher grade of work he found, as he had -already had reason to suspect, that there were -two degrees of the great spy system within the -"circumscribed freedom" of his intelligence. -This "freedom" was circumscribed by a -prohibition, forbidding him to discuss any spy -subject to anybody outside the office except on -special direction from superior authority.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving progressed rapidly in his work. He -exhibited such ready comprehension of details -and purposes that he was soon marked by the -entire office force as a "coming man" in the -government secret service. Undoubtedly his -spectacular method of transit from the -Canadian to the German lines helped materially to -boost along his growing reputation, but it would -also be unfair to put too much emphasis on this -feat of daring and skill. Irving really deserved -much credit for innate ability.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In his efforts to create a general feeling of -satisfaction and confidence in order to ward off -any suspicions which might arise regarding his -purpose and motives, the young spy did a good -many things that almost caused in him a -rebellious boiling over of patriotic sentiment. He -did much to perfect a filing system that had -been neglected because of illness of the man -previously in charge, and offered a number of -suggestions for certain other efficiency -improvements which brought forth complimentary -notice from Superintendent Herrmann. -But all the time, while doing these things, -Irving kept in mind the big purpose of his mission -which outmeasured so greatly in importance -his services to the enemy that his feelings of -self-reproach for the aid he was incidentally -giving the kaiser's spy machine were short-lived.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Evidently it was the purpose of Mr. Herrmann -to advance his spy pupil as rapidly as -possible. Undoubtedly he was under orders to -do this from "the baron." Although the -reason for this method of procedure had not been -stated in so many words, the understanding -seemed to be clear enough that it was the -purpose of the department to send him back to -America equipped for very important work at -an early date.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three weeks after he entered the office he -began to accumulate the information for which -he had been sent. He then was given access to -the card-index system of the great world-spy -organization. It was like a city-library -catalog, with references to files of interminable -data buried away in metal boxes in a large -vault.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In his work with this catalog and files he was -associated with a man whose countenance was -strangely familiar to him from the first. He -tried to assume that there was merely a -resemblance in the face of this man to that of some -other man he had known on the Canadian front -or at home, but such assumption failed to -satisfy him. He could not drive away the feeling -that he had met this fellow somewhere since he -dropped from the sky with a parachute behind -the German battle lines, but although he -studied over the matter for hours while busy -with his work he was unable by such efforts to -solve the mystery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The solution came during a period of -relaxation, as the solution of many mysteries come. -On the third day since his last advancement in -the service, while making entries on certain -catalog cards, there recurred to him a mental -picture of his experiences with the unidentified -man who had shadowed him through the streets -while he was still in Canadian uniform. Two -weeks before he had dismissed this incident -from his mind, being convinced that the man -had given up his quest, whatever it was.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the returned picture did not rest long -peacefully in his mind. It was followed closely -by a thrill that almost made him drop the card -that he held in his hand. He looked quickly, -almost involuntarily, at his associate worker, -who was bent over a task at his desk.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving knew at once that he was not mistaken. -Before him was the "middle-aged man in -civilian clothes" who had shadowed him more -than three weeks before from the intelligence -building to the hotel where he was living and to -other places in the city.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-surprising-offer"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A SURPRISING OFFER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Emil Strauss was the name of Irving's -coworker in the card index room. One -could hardly say that he was either an agreeable -or a disagreeable fellow. He had little to -say. It was generally understood that he was -very efficient in his work and ranked as one of -the leading, if not the leading, experts in the -department.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Strauss was not a typical Teuton in appearance. -Irving thought he looked as much like an -Irishman as a German, that he might have -passed for either or a Swede. He was of -medium height, somewhat slender of build, and -had a smooth, round face, out of which shone -two piercing black eyes--that is, they shone -and pierced when the camouflage of heavy -eyelashes and eyebrows was lifted. Otherwise one -would have noticed almost everything else -about him first.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no doubt in Irving's mind as to -his identification, but he caught not even a -surreptitious glance of recognition from the fellow -at any time. He attended strictly and diligently -to his own business, and the spy did likewise -from the moment of his recognition of the -man. He was determined his new associate -should see no evidences of uneasiness in him as -a result of this development.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three days elapsed after Irving's last -advancement to the card-catalog division, and -still the conversations between him and his -working companion were of the "yea, yea, nay, -nay" character. Finally, however, the boy -decided to attempt to draw Strauss into -conversation. He did this by reference to humorous -incidents in the war as brought out in cartoons -and pointed paragraphs in Berlin newspaper -and magazines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was somewhat surprised, and pleased -also, to note that the "middle-aged man in -civilian clothes" did not meet his advances with -coldness or indifference. The fellow proved, -indeed, to be much more polite than it had at -first seemed possible. He appeared to enjoy -Irving's palaver, for the youth was something -of a wit, but preferred to listen rather than talk -himself. Finally, however, he grew more -communicative and manifested something of -interest in his associate's personal affairs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They're telling some great stories about -you around here," he said one day as they were -preparing to go out for lunch. It was the first -time they had quit work for the noon hour at -the same time. Usually Irving went first and -his companion went out after he returned, -although Strauss was virtually "his own boss" -and came and went as he chose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, they're a bunch of gossips around -here," Irving replied with a deprecating smile. -"And you know what magnified stories gossips -turn out when their tongues get busy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Strauss smiled mysteriously and said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, for that matter we are all gossips, even -the quietest of us sometimes. All you have to -do is to get us off on the subjects that we are -well informed about and you'll soon find out -how our tongues can wag at both ends."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's pretty hard for me to imagine your -tongue wagging at both ends," Irving returned -with more meaning in his mind than he -expressed in his tone of voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because you seem to enjoy listening more -than talking."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am engaged in a secret business," Strauss -explained, lifting his shaggy brows slightly and -darting a sharp glance at the other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, so am I," Irving returned quickly. -"But I like to talk."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So I observe," said Strauss with veiled -significance, which the boy did not try to -penetrate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just to be sociable," the spy added by way -of explanation and to prevent the conversation -from lagging.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Strauss did not appear to be so talkatively -eager. They were in the locker and wash -room during most of this exchange of words, -and nothing further was said between them -until they were outside the building. The catalog -expert then spoke first.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where do you eat?" he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, any place," Irving replied. "I've been -in two or three restaurants around here. -There's a good one down in the next block."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That suits me," said Strauss.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They walked along in silence half a square, -and then the boy's mysterious companion put -to him the most inquisitive query that the spy -had listened to from this man since he became -acquainted with him:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When do you expect to go back to America?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good!" Irving said to himself. "Sounds -as if he's going to open up. Maybe I'll get -something out of him after all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He little dreamed how much that something -was going to be.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know," he answered aloud. "I -haven't received any orders yet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'd better begin to find out then," was -the expert's advice uttered in tones of startling -sharpness. "I suppose you know it's up to you -to decide that matter yourself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes, I suppose so," Irving replied with -a matter-of-factness of manner, which was -anything but expressive of what was going on -in his mind. The fact is, he was a little -disturbed by the last remark of his companion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll have to undergo a surgical operation -before I start back," he added.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that?" inquired Strauss. "Were -you wounded?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," Irving replied. "But I must get rid -of a mark of identification and go back as -another person."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Strauss nodded a stoical sign of interest. -They were now at the entrance of the -restaurant for which they were headed, and the -conversation ceased until they were seated at a -table in one corner of the room and well -removed from other lunchers. After they had -been served they resumed their discussion of -Irving's proposed operation in subdued tones.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It must be a curious growth on your body -that you should have to remove it in order to -avoid identification," Strauss remarked as he -spread a "knife-end" of war-time "butter" on -a piece of black bread.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, it isn't a growth," Irving replied. "It's -that cubist art picture on my arm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I see," Strauss grunted. "But," he -added, "I don't just see how an operation there -is going to do you much good. What are you -going to have done--have your arm cut off?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No--have the skin peeled off."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ach," grunted the card-catalog expert. -"That will leave a scar."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not if I have some other skin grafted in -its place."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite an idea. Where do you expect to get -the other skin to graft there?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"From some part of my body," Irving replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ja wo-ohl," said the other slowly, with a -suggestion of doubt in his voice not contained -in the phrase. "But that would leave a scar on -your body, and if some sharp fellow tried to -identify you as the person who brought that -tattooed message ever here the scar might help -him to explain the disappearance of the -picture on your arm."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, that's true," Irving agreed. "But the -chance of anything of that sort is small. -Anyway, I'd have to find somebody who would give -me a section of his skin four inches by two."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There are thousands of patriotic Germans -who are willing to give their lives for their -country," reasoned the expert. "It ought not -to be hard to find somebody who would give a -few inches of skin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are very logical," the spy observed. -"Perhaps there's somebody in our office who -would make such a sacrifice for his country."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll do it myself," declared Strauss quickly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In view of the fact that the latter appeared a -few weeks previously to have regarded him -with very grave suspicion, Irving had to admit -to himself after this offer that the spy-cataloger -was more of a mystery than ever.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="skin-grafting"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXIV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">SKIN GRAFTING</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Your offer is very kind," Irving said with -emphasis intended to express warmth of -feeling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No--patriotic," Strauss declared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No doubt of that," the spy admitted; "but -a man can be patriotic and kind at the same -time, can he not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, but this is all patriotism."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well, I'll accept your offer," Irving -announced. "But I doubt if Mr. Herrmann -will allow it. You are a very valuable man in -the office, and the operation would surely make -it necessary for you to lay off a few days. He'll -probably insist that an office boy or clerk or -stenographer make the patriotic sacrifice in -your stead."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That'll suit me--just so there is no delay in -finding someone who's willing," Strauss replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving proved to be correct in his prophecy -of the probable attitude of the superintendent -toward the proposition. Mr. Herrmann -objected strenuously for the reason suggested by -the spy and he took it on himself to find a -person who would supply the skin to be grafted. -Two days later he reported success and -preparations for the operation were begun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But everybody connected with these preliminaries -had an important lesson to learn regarding -the proper method for a layman to -approach a matter of science. None of them, of -course, knew anything, except in a very -general way, about skin grafting. Irving had -assumed that it was a simple process, and, as a -matter of fact, it is, if we accept the principle -of the simplicity of all things. But what -startled him most was the simplicity of the -error he had fallen into.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Herrmann gave Irving a note to the -superintendent of one of the city hospitals and -directed him to go there and make arrangements -for the operation. He was authorized -to state that a young soldier who had lost one -of his legs in the first battle of the Marne had -promised to furnish the needed four-by-two -inches of skin to replace the tattooed -integument on his arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The spy did as instructed and was turned -over to a member of the surgical staff. The -latter listened to the boy's story and his -suggestions and then inquired:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At what college of physicians and surgeons -did you get your degree?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving no doubt flushed like a schoolboy. He -realized that the member of the hospital staff -was laughing at him, and this confused him -more than a veiled suspicion that he was a -Canadian spy would have done.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The college I graduated from was that of -mother's home remedies," he replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought so," nodded the surgeon with a -smile. "Let me see--you are in the intelligence -department, are you not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Doing important work, aren't you?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Work that requires sharp wit?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Supposedly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, sharp wits never assume anything -without some information to back them up. -Your ideas of skin grafting are a good deal -like a child's. In the first place we shan't need -anybody to supply any skin. Sorry to -disappoint the young patriot with really -commendable spirit of loyalty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving looked his surprise.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll supply all the skin we need," the -surgeon continued.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But it is important that there be no scars," -Irving insisted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There won't be any, or so slight that they'll -be hardly noticeable," was the surgeon's -reassuring reply. "Let me explain the process to -an unscientific keen wit of the government's -intelligence department."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The surgeon lifted the spy's bared arm with -his left hand and began his explanation, -indicating with one finger now and then the -various moves necessary as he described the -process.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With a razor," he said, "we will cut an -outline around this hideous art of yours. Then -we'll peel off the atrocity and cremate it over -an alcohol flame. Next we'll peel a strip of the -same length and three-fourths of an inch wide -just below here, leaving the upper end of the -strip attached and twisting it around so that -it will lie midway between the edges of the raw -space where the tattooing was. Then we'll cut -under the skin along both sides to loosen it an -inch or more back and draw the loosened skin -to the piece in the center and make a hair -suture. The reason we must run a strip of skin -over the middle of the raw area is because this -area will be too wide for stretching the skin at -the sides over it. Skin that is stretched too -tight will die. The narrow raw place produced -by the peeling of the strip down over the wrist -can be covered by pulling together the edges of -the skin on both sides after running the razor -back under it a short distance. Quite different -from the process you imagined, isn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, it is," Irving admitted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I bet you thought all that was necessary was -to peel off a piece of skin and lay it on the raw -place after this cubist art picture had been -removed. Isn't that true?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe--something of the kind. I hadn't -thought it out in detail," Irving replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, you hadn't. You'd have been too -scientific for a secret service operative, -wouldn't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can't secret service people be scientific?" -Irving inquired.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you think about it?" asked the -surgeon. "You ought to know more about it -than I do. But I'll tell you what my frank and -unscientific opinion in the matter is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That government secret service is 1 per cent -information and 99 per cent bluff."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a little strong on the side of the -bluff," said the spy, smiling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But there's something to it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now you need this much science to prevent -your bluff from getting you into trouble. When -you attempt to bluff a scientific man be sure not -to bluff along the line of his knowledge and the -line of your ignorance. By the way, when do -you want that operation performed?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The sooner the better," Irving replied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How about now?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This almost took the boy's breath away, but -after a few minutes he answered:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's all right, I suppose, but I'd better -call up my office first and tell the boss what's -doing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well; here's a telephone. Call him up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving did so and in a few minutes had -authority to "go ahead and have it over as soon -as possible."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-tapping-on-the-window"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE TAPPING ON THE WINDOW</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Irving slept under an anæsthetic during -the operation. He objected at first to the -administration of ether, but the surgeon insisted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't want you to make any trouble," he -insisted. "Remember you're not a scientific -youth and might do something ridiculous. If -I'm going to perform this operation you must -take orders and obey them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That settled it; Irving acquiesced. When -he recovered consciousness he found himself in -a hospital bed with his left arm bandaged and -feeling a good deal like a limb of a tree, or -anything else with a like degree of life. He -remained in bed until the next morning, when -his arm was put in a sling and he was permitted -to move about as he pleased, although directed -to remain in the hospital. Two days later he -was allowed to leave the institution, but was -instructed to return daily for examination and -redressing of the graft.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He returned at once to the intelligence office -and reported the success of the operation. The -chief surgeon had informed him that his arm -might be taken out of the sling in about a week.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>During this period Irving was in the office -much of the time, although he was able to be of -little service with the use of only one arm. Still, -he found it possible to add a good deal to his -knowledge of the system of which the government -was planning to make him an important -agent, and this was, on the whole, quite -satisfactory to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The youthful spy's plans for carrying out his -mission for the British government had been -developing rapidly since he became a member -of the staff in the German intelligence office. -And not a little of this development had been -quite unforeseen by him. His original plans, -therefore, underwent considerable change as -time and experience advanced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For instance, he decided not to attempt to -make a list of names of leading enemy agents -in the United States and Canada to take back -with him. This had been his original purpose. -He now regarded it as unwise, unsafe. He -would depend on his memory to retain a store -of information of this kind. So he watched and -examined and probed and memorized, going -over the information he had accumulated many -times in his leisure hours in order to keep it -fixed and unmistakable in his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think I could go back to school and memorize -history dates as I never did before," he -told himself one evening about a week after -the skin-grafting operation. "Gee! I never -realized I had such a memory. I can run off a -string of dope as long as the tune the old cow -died on, just like saying the ABC's."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving had forgotten the "tune the old cow -died on," but the expression stuck in his mind -as a relic of nursery days.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One of the divisions of service in the -intelligence department that interested the spy -particularly was the telegraphic division. It came -as an intermediate grade in his course of -instruction, and he was required to learn to read -the ticking of the telegraph instrument. -Fortunately, a few years before, he had learned the -alphabet while amusing himself with an -amateur wireless outfit, and it now required -comparatively little time for him to develop a fair -degree of proficiency as a key-listener.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can never tell when it'll be greatly to -your advantage to be able to read the telegraph -instrument," Mr. Herrmann explained. "In -fact, that may be one of your most important -occupations in America--tapping wires, for -instance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Indeed, the spy caught a number of messages -of incalculable importance while pursuing his -studies in this division and made careful note -of them in his mental repository.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About a week later he had a novel "telegraphic" -experience, which, in turn, was to -have an important bearing on his fortunes as a -spy in the enemy's country. The affair took -place in the rooming house where he was living. -While he endeavored to get out in the evening, -as a rule, and mingle with citizens of all sorts -and descriptions, in order to absorb as much -general information as possible, still he retired -almost every night in good season, and not -infrequently went early to his room to study, -rehearse, memorize and plan. In this manner he -endeavored to improve every opportunity to -make his excursion a success.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had just finished one of these solitary -sessions in which several leading newspapers -and magazines played an important part, and -was about to lay them aside and prepare for -bed, when his attention was attracted by a faint -tapping sound. At first he gave little heed to -it, presuming, in a semi-conscious way, that it -was occasioned by a continuous breath of air -and a tiny, loose pendant of some sort in the -exterior construction work of the house. But -it continued in a strangely familiar way and -seemed to grow a little louder very gradually.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly, Irving sat up straight and listened -rigidly. Anyone observing him in this attitude -could not have failed to be impressed with the -feeling that an alarm of some character was -thrilling his every nerve center.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My goodness!" was the exclamation that -smothered itself within him. "What in the -world can that mean? Yes, no, yes--somebody -is trying to communicate with me. He's using -the telegraphic signal. He's asking me to -answer, to indicate in some way that I am getting -his message. He says he's a friend. He knows -I'm a British spy. But maybe it's a trap to -catch me. What shall I do? If he's a friend -he surely ought to know better than to expect -me to make such an admission. But he says he -has important information. What--what in -the world shall I do? I may be in very great -danger. Here is certainly the test of my life."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-revelation"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXVI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A REVELATION</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"I have an important message for you. I -am a French spy. I must get this message -to you. Answer me in some way. Heave a -big yawn or clear your throat and I'll know you -hear me and get what I'm saying. I merely -want to make sure you are what I think you -are. I don't dare reveal myself to you for fear -that I may be mistaken and you'd turn me over -to the government."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These words were tapped off, alphabetically, -with a small instrument, probably a pencil, on -the window overlooking a court inclosed by the -building on three sides. After a pause of half -a minute, following the appeal just recorded, -the dot-and-dash tapping continued thus:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am looking through the shade of your -window and can see that you are listening -attentively; so you need not reply. Just -continue to listen, and I shall know everything is -all right.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When you leave for America you will be -supplied with a message in cipher, prepared by -me, for a certain agent of the kaiser. That -message will bear the appearance of having -been written by a friend of yours to you, but it -will contain information in invisible ink for -your benefit as a loyal agent of the Allies. This -information will be of great value to the Allies, -supplying them with material for undermining -the Teutonic spy system in England, France, -and America, which recently declared war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is all. I merely wished to advise you -of what you will find written with invisible ink -on the paper that will be placed in your -possession when you set out on your return to -America."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The tapping ceased. Irving remained like a -statue in his chair for several minutes. Then -he arose, went to the window and pulled the -shade aside. The court was dark, save for a -solitary dim light out at the entrance. He -could just faintly discern the steel structure of -the fire escape near the window.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the way he got up," he half -muttered. "He stood there on that landing while -he tapped his message. I wonder who he is and -how he spotted me. He must be a very clever -fellow. I really believe he's what he -represented himself to be; and yet, it may possibly -be a trap to catch me. However, I don't see -what I can do except await developments."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went to bed and slept better than might -have been expected under the circumstances. -But he had become so used to critical situations -by this time that he felt almost capable of -sleeping peacefully on the "edge of the earth" with -a torpedo for a pillow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next day the mystery of the window-telegraph -spy bothered him a good deal, even more -than it did immediately after the fellow had -"dotted and dashed" his message on the pane -of glass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder who he was?" he repeated many -times. "I wonder if he's somebody I'm in close -touch with every day?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The suggestion caused him to watch -narrowly every person in the office with whom he -did business for the German government. But -the more he watched, the more unsatisfactory -the situation became. He continued his furtive -outlook several days, but finally admitted to -himself that the prospect of his efforts solving -the mystery was anything but bright.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the spy's preparations for a new -excursion out into a broad field of international -espionage were rapidly drawing to a close. The -surgeon at the hospital who had performed the -skin-grafting operation on his arm pronounced -it sufficiently well healed, first, to warrant -taking the limb out of the sling, and then, a week -later, for the removal of the bandage. There -were a few slightly rough places here and there. -around the edges of the patch, and one small -scar at the lower end of the middle strip of skin -where it had been twisted to cause it to lie -"right side out" through the middle of the -larger patch and make the latter complete by -meeting the outer edges that had been undercut -and drawn to it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All things considered, Irving was well -pleased with the course of events during his -sojourn in the German capital. Although a -number of situations had developed with rather -dangerous aspect, he had pulled through all of -them with apparent success. While he was -still reporting daily at the hospital for the -dressing of his arm his lieutenancy commission -was acted upon in the war office and was -delivered to him through Mr. Herrmann.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last the day arrived for a windup of the -young spy's affairs in the intelligence offices, -and he was summoned into the presence of "the -baron" and Superintendent Herrmann. A -third man also was present to receive the young -espionage student. He wore a navy uniform -and was introduced as Capt. Bartholf of the -submarine service.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will go with Capt. Bartholf on board -his boat," "the baron" announced, addressing -"Lieut. Hessenburg." "He will land you on -the coast of Spain and from there you will go -to a German consul and devise a method for -getting you to Mexico and from there into the -United States.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By the way," the high intelligence official -remarked, suddenly interrupting himself and -addressing Superintendent Herrmann; "how -about that letter that was being prepared for -Lieut. Hessenburg to take along?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll see," replied Herrmann, as he started -for the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring Strauss in with you," "the baron" -called after him. "I may want to ask him some -questions."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Strauss!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The name echoed in Irving's brain with a -succession of significant thrills. What did -Strauss have to do with the preparation of the -letter he was to take with him? Was it possible--?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He did not finish the sentence in words, but -the idea was there and remained uppermost in -his mind during the remainder of the session -in "the baron's" office. Presently Herrmann -returned, accompanied by the card-catalog -expert, who carried an envelope of ordinary -business-correspondence size in one hand. This -envelope he laid on the desk in front of the -intelligence chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The latter picked it up, looked keenly at -Strauss and asked with like sharpness of voice:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This paper was prepared entirely by you, -was it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," the cataloger answered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it has been in no other person's hands -at any time since you began work on it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you vouch for the accuracy and -thoroughness of its preparation?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's all. You may retire."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Strauss left the room. "The baron" turned -to Irving, handed him the letter, and said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This innocent looking missive is of vast -importance. It is addressed in cipher to a very -important person in America who is high in the -confidence of the United States government. -You have learned how to read this cipher and -will work it out for yourself. That is all. -Good-by. I wish you a continuation of the success -that has been yours in a remarkable degree -heretofore."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving took "the baron's" offered hand and -then left the office accompanied by Capt. Bartholf. -As he went the name of Strauss -continued to ring in his head, together with this -startling conviction:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The catalog expert was the French spy who -had tapped the "telegraph message" on his -window at the rooming house!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-submarines"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXVII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE SUBMARINES</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Lieut. Ellis of the Canadian army, alias -Lieut. Hessenburg of the German army, -had quite enough to think about as he left the -office of "the baron" in company with the -submarine commander. Out in the reception room -the latter took leave of him, saying, "Meet me -at the Kaiserhof at 9 o'clock tomorrow -morning"; then the youthful spy, with a -counter-spying commission from the enemy, went to his -desk and began to make arrangements for his -departure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Herrmann selected from the office force -a former soldier who had lost one arm, and to -him Irving made a brief statement of the work -he had been doing so that his successor might -continue where he had left off. For a short -time he debated in his mind whether to go to -those of his fellow workmen with whom he had -been more intimately associated and bid them -farewell, but he decided that this would not be -in harmony with the "community conduct" of -the officials and employes of the bureau. In -fact, he had observed little in the association of -the office that had suggested real community -life. Everybody connected with the intelligence -bureau seemed either to have been born -with a cold furtiveness of manner or to have -developed an espionage attitude of this sort in -the atmosphere of the greatest spy system the -world had ever known.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, he disliked very much to leave the -place for the last time without passing at least -an "aufwiedersehen" to the one person there -who he felt certain was a friend of the great -cause of human liberty for which the allied -nations were fighting. But Strauss seemed -disposed to ignore him if possible. He passed -several times near the expert's desk, but the latter -pored more diligently than ever over his work. -Once Irving caught his eye and attempted to -pass him a look of intelligent meaning, but -Strauss turned away quickly, and Irving left -the building without saying good-by to one of -the occupants.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A very cold-blooded business," he told -himself. "My! I'm glad to be out of there. I'm -afraid I'm not built along cold enough lines -for a spy even in behalf of a great and -meritorious cause. That fellow Strauss is an ideal -spy. He must be the best any nation ever -produced. He certainly has worked himself into -a powerful position of confidence with the -enemy. But that was some chance he took when -he tapped that message on my window. I -wonder if he expected me to discover who he was -after he told me he was the fellow that prepared -the letter that was to be given to me. And -when he assured the baron that nobody else had -had the letter in his possession, nobody else -remained for me to suspect. Well, he must know -now that I spotted him; but he surely exhibited -extremely wise caution when he refused to -recognize even a significant look from me. -Good-by, Mr. Strauss, or whatever your name is. You -were too shrewd to let me shake your hand, and -cold judgment tells me you were right. I hope -after the war is over I may take a trip to -Europe and look you up. But, judging from the -way you looked at me, or avoided looking at -me, I'm afraid you'd take advantage of the -opportunity to give me a calling down such as few -people have ever received. I'd probably feel -the knives of your sarcasm making ridiculous -mince meat out of me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning, promptly at the appointed -hour, Irving was at the information desk of -the Kaiserhof, asking for Capt. Bartholf. The -latter was in his room waiting for the young -intelligence officer. Two hours later, -arrangements having been made for the transfer of -baggage, the captain and the lieutenant were -on board a train and headed for one of the -principal submarine ports of the German coast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trip was uneventful, except that it -afforded Irving an opportunity to make a study -of the character of an official representative of -the policy of ruthlessness of the military -government of Germany. Capt. Bartholf was a fit -exponent of this policy and exceedingly -efficient because of the intelligence with which he -could disguise the barbarous nature of his -ideas. Hours before they reached the port of -their destination, the spy was convinced that -an enemy who fell into the clutches of this -sub-sea commander might as well toss hope to the -fishes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't believe he'd take a prisoner if he -could help it," Irving mused as a climax to his -conclusions. "I'd never surrender to a man -like him if I knew in advance what kind of -fellow he was. It'd be a finish fight even -though there were no hope in it for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They arrived at the seaport in the evening -and took rooms at a hotel. Two days they -remained in this city. The captain explained the -delay by saying that he was awaiting orders -to start on a raiding cruise. Finally the orders -arrived, and he announced that they would go -on board at once.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Half an hour later they were at the docks, -where a dozen U-boats were lined up, some of -them taking in provisions and oil, or -undergoing inspection and minor repairs. Irving's -eyes were busy with new objects of interest at -this submarine harbor, for he had never before -seen an undersea craft. Eagerly he took in -the scene, regarding the various objects with -more than the calculating interest of an -international spy; and while in the act of boarding -the vessel in which he was about to take his -first submarine trip, he almost forgot, as the -romantic thrill of the experience went through -him, that he was surrounded by enemies in -whose hands his life would be worth only a -volley of rifle balls if his real identity were -revealed to them.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="kamerad-again"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXVIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"KAMERAD!" AGAIN</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Shut off the power."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving was in the conning tower with -Capt. Bartholf and Lieut. Voltz of U-31 when -the latter, who was at the periscope, gave the -foregoing order through the speaking tube.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had been out all night and half the -preceding day, running much of the time on the -surface of the ocean in order to make the best -possible speed. Irving had not a clear idea -where they were, but presumed that they must -have passed a considerable distance beyond the -western end of the English channel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieut. Voltz gazed again into the glass of -the periscope after giving his order to the -engineer. He had had his hand on the lever at -his right and with this had turned the periscope -tube so that his eye could sweep the horizon. -Now, however, he had discovered something, -and he no longer moved the lever except -occasionally little more than a hair's breadth in -order to keep the object of interest in view. -After a few moments of further careful -examination and reference to the telemeter -attachment to determine the distance away of the -discovered object, he called again into the -speaking tube.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go down four fathoms."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then turning to Capt. Bartholf, he said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There are two vessels about five knots a -little south of west from here. One is probably -a convoy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Run about three knots closer and take -another peep," the captain ordered. "Did 17 -and the 23 sight them also?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think so. Seventeen just went under."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving understood this question and answer -to refer to two other U-boats that accompanied -No. 31 on this trip. Meanwhile the latter -submerged to the depth ordered by Lieut. Voltz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Twenty minutes later the periscope was -again a few feet out of the water with the -lieutenant's eye glued to the glass and his right -hand working the lever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me have a look," said the commander.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He gazed a minute into the glass and then said:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm going to try to get that convoy first -and then the other, which appears to be a -hospital ship."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving shuddered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The order was again given to submerge. The -lieutenant seemed to be doing all the work of -lookout, pilot and operating master, for he was -busy at the steering wheel, periscope, and -speaking tube almost simultaneously much of -the time. All these were within easy reach from -one position. The "sub" arose several times -near enough to the surface to enable the -lieutenant or the captain to take a peep at the -prospective prey, and then down again it would go. -At last, under direction from the captain, the -lieutenant gave this order through the speaking tube:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have the men slide a torpedo into one of -the forward tubes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Eager to witness this operation, Irving -sprang to the stairway and was soon down on -the lower deck. There he saw several members -of the crew remove the safety attachment from -the nose of a sixteen-foot phosphor-bronze -torpedo, which was seventeen or eighteen inches -in diameter, and slide it into a tunnel-like hole -in the midst of a maze of operating machinery. -A minute or two later the order was given to -"shoot," and out it went, under initial -propulsion from a compressed air engine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the order to submerge was given again, -and away they went southward at full speed -under three fathoms of water. Ten minutes -afterward the periscope peeped up over the -surface of the sea once more, and Capt. Bartholf -had his eye glued eagerly to the glass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A moment later he gave a yelp of delight, -and Irving knew that a hit had been scored.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We've hit 'em both fine!" the commanding -officer exclaimed. "One of the other boats -must have fired a torpedo about the same time -we did. Both of those ships are going down."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not regarded safe to show the hulks -of the submarines above the water yet, -however, for fear lest the convoy hit one or more -of them with a shell as a last living act of -revenge. But they did not have to wait long, -however, for the doomed vessels sank rapidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then all three submarines showed themselves -on the surface and Irving was delighted to -observe that apparently all of the sailors, -soldiers and nurses that had been on the hospital -ship and the convoy were now in lifeboats, -which were being rowed with frantic -desperation away from the U-boat-infested spot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Follow them up and let's see what they look -like," Capt. Bartholf ordered, with a kind of -gloating glee.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All three captains seemed to be of like mind, -for all three U-boats took the same course and -ran up close to the crowded lifeboats. Several -officers and members of the crew of each of the -submarines appeared on the outer deck to view -the results of their uncontested victory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly there came from one of the boats a -call that thrilled and chilled Irving with a sense -of awed familiarity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kamerad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Where had he heard that cry in that tone of -voice before? He could not decide on the -moment, and yet he was apprehensive of an -unpleasant discovery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The captain of U-31 determined to investigate -and ordered the lifeboat from which the -hail proceeded to come alongside. The -occupants could do nothing more sensible than obey. -As it approached a young man with an empty -left sleeve arose and repeated his appealing cry, -and Irving almost dropped in his tracks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The one-armed fellow was Adolph Hessenburg, -alias Tourtelle, the former Canadian -lieutenant of the tattooed cubist art -cryptogram. Undoubtedly he was being sent to -England to be held there for a determination of his -fate after information had been received -regarding the success or failure of his -substitute spy's mission within the German lines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="accidents-will-happen"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXIX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>If anybody had observed the precipitation -with which Irving dived down the hatchway -of U-31 a moment or two after he recognized -the "cubist art spy," there is no doubt that -the observer would have been impressed with -the mystery of the proceeding. As it was, all -of his boche companions on the outer deck -were too much interested in seeking an -explanation of the "kamerad" cry from the midst -of a boatload of enemy soldiers and sailors to -give attention to anything less than the -explosion of a bomb on their own vessel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Irving meanwhile picked up a sou'wester -that he found on the lower deck, put it over -his head so that it partly covered, shaded, and -hence considerably disguised his face, and then -returned to the outer deck. True, the weather -was not stormy, but the air was chilly and the -"cloudburst hood" added considerably to his -comfort.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The real Hessenburg had been assisted on -board and was being questioned by Captain -Bartholf. Irving heard the latter ask him his -name, and then suddenly something happened -which the trembling spy has ever since declared -undoubtedly saved his life and some very -important information for the Allies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What caused the sudden lurch of the -submarine was not subsequently disclosed. -Possibly one of the men below, accidentally or -thoughtlessly moved a lever or wheel that -resulted in a momentary spasm of mechanical -action. At any rate, all on the outer deck were -dancing around for several seconds to preserve -their balance, and one of them was not as -successful as the others. That was Hessenburg, -who was thrown violently against the low railing -so that he struck his head on one of the iron -standards or posts.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Evidently he was seriously injured, for he -did not attempt to rise. The pallor of his face -and the glassy look in his eyes indicated that -he had fainted. He was carried below and -restoratives were administered to him, but -these did not bring back more than barely -enough life to reassure his caretakers that the -concussion on his head was probably not fatal.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The run from the scene of the sinking of the -British hospital ship and convoy to the Spanish -coast was made in about eighteen hours, and -before noon of the day following, Irving was -landed on a bleak and desolate spot on the Bay -of Biscay. Meanwhile, he had thankfully -observed the slowness with which the former -"cubist art spy" recovered. Although he found -it necessary several times to be at the bedside -of the patient, the latter showed no signs of -recognition; indeed, he at no time before Irving -was put ashore indicated that he had fully -recovered from the stupor which followed the -shock of his fall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The story of how Irving found his way to a -Spanish settlement and subsequently got in -touch with a British consulate and thence again -with the Canadian army is of little interest -compared with the thrilling events heretofore -narrated. Suffice it to say that in due time -success met his efforts to get back with the -Canadians, who retained unshakable possession -of Vimy Ridge, and that the information he -was able to turn over to his superior officers -brought him recognition and honors from very -high sources.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">BOYS' COPYRIGHTED BOOKS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Printed from large, clear type on a superior quality of paper, -embellished with original illustrations by eminent artists, and -bound in a superior quality of book binders' cloth, ornamented -with illustrated covers, stamped in colors from unique and -appropriate dies, each book wrapped in a glazed paper wrapper -printed in colors.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold">ARMY BOYS SERIES</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold">By Major Andrew S. Burley</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>1.--Uncle Sam's Army Boys on the Rhine, or, Bob Hamilton -in the Argonne Death Trap.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>2.--Uncle Sam's Army Boys in Italy, or, Bob Hamilton Under -Fire in the Piave District.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>3.--Uncle Sam's Army Boys in Khaki Under Canvas, or, Bob -Hamilton and the Munition Plant Plot</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>4.--Uncle Sam's Army Boys with Old Glory in Mexico, or, Bob -Hamilton Along Pershing's Trail.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold">NAVY BOYS SERIES</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold">By Jasper Martin--Gunner's Mate</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>1.--Uncle Sam's Navy Boys with the Submarine Chasers, or, On -Patrol Duty in the North Sea.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>2.--Uncle Sam's Navy Boys Afloat, or, The Raid Along the -Atlantic Seaboard.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>3.--Uncle Sam's Navy Boys in Action, or, Running Down Enemy -Commerce Destroyers.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>4.--Uncle Sam's Navy Boys with the Marines, or, Standing Like -a Rock at Chateau Thierry.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold">OVER THERE SERIES</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold">By Capt. Geo. H. Ralphson</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>1.--Over There With the Marines at Chateau Thierry.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>2.--Over There With the Canadians at Vimy Ridge.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>3.--Over There With the Doughboys at St. Mihiel.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>4.--Over There With Pershing's Heroes at Cantigny.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">Popular Copyrights</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Here you will find the best works of the most popular authors, -the choice late fiction books that have had big sales at high -prices. Former prices were $1.50 to $1.60 per volume. The -books are well made, printed right from the original high price -plates, and each contains jacket in colors.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>LIST PRICE, 75 CENTS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Adventures of Captain Kettle. Cutliffe Hyne -<br />Alias "The Night Wind". Varick Vanardy -<br />Apaches of New York. Alfred Henry Lewis -<br />Around the World With Josiah Allen's Wife. Marietta Holley -<br />Arsene Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes. Maurice LeBlanc -<br />Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar. Maurice LeBlanc -<br />Bat. Edward Marshall -<br />Battle (The). Cleveland Moffett -<br />Black Motor Car (The). Harris Burland -<br />Broadway Jones. George M. Cohan and Edward Marshall -<br />By Right of Conquest. Arthur Hornblow -<br />Call of the Heart (The). L. N. Way -<br />Champion. John Collin Dane -<br />Chorus Lady (The). John W. Harding -<br />The Country Boy (The). Homer Davenport -<br />Crag Nest. T. C. DeLeon -<br />Devota. Augusta Evans Wilson -<br />Diamond From the Sky (The). Roy L. McCardell. -<br />Double Cross (The). Gilson Willetts -<br />Easiest Way (The). Eugene Walter and Arthur Hornblow. -<br />End of the Game (The). Arthur Hornblow -<br />Faro Nell and Her Friends. Alfred Henry Lewis -<br />Garrison's Finish. W. B. M. Ferguson -<br />Gertrude Elliott's Crucible. Mrs. George Sheldon Downs -<br />Girl Question (The). John W. Harding -<br />Girls of Silver Spur Ranch. Grace McGowan Cook and Anne McQueen -<br />Greater Joy (The). Margaret Blake -<br />Her Heart's Gift. Oliver Kent -<br />Her Right Divine. Oliver Kent -<br />Honor of His House (The). Andrew Soutar -<br />House by the Lock (The). Mrs. C. N. Williamson -<br />In Old Kentucky. Edward Marshall -<br />Inspiration. Carol Gordon -<br />International Spy (The). Allen Upward -<br />Jess of the River. T. C. DeLeon -<br />Katherine's Sheaves. Mrs. George Sheldon Downs -<br />Kindling. Charles Kenyon and Arthur Hornblow -<br />King of the Camorra. From the Italian of E. Serao -<br />Land of the Frozen Suns. Bertrand W. Sinclair -<br />Man's Code (A). W. B. M. Rerguson -<br />Mask (The). Arthur Hornblow -<br />Master of Fortune (A). Cutliffe Hyne -<br />Matthew Ferguson. Margaret Blake -<br />Modern Heloise (The). Alfred Buchanan -<br />Mrs. Linthicum and Mary Jane. Charlotte Hay Meredith -<br />My Lady Cinderella. Mrs. C. N. Williamson -<br />Nation Famous New York Murders. Alfred Henry Lewis -<br />New England Folks. Eugene W. Fresbrey -<br />Night Wind's Promise (The). Varick Vanardy -<br />Old Homestead (The). Novelized from the Great Play -<br />Paid in Full. John W. Harding -<br />Price (The). George Broadhurst, Arthur Hornblow -<br />Quo Vadis. Henryk Sienkiewicz -<br />Raw Gold. Bertrand W. Sinclair -<br />Real Boys. Judge Henry A. Shute -<br />Redeemed. Mrs. George Sheldon Downs -<br />Return of the Night Wind. Varick Vanardy -<br />Rogue's Heiress (The). Tom Gallon -<br />Round Up (The). John Murray and M. M. Miller -<br />Silver King (The). Alfred Wilson Barrett -<br />Sins of Society. Cecil Raleigh -<br />Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer. Cyrus Townsend Brady -<br />Souls of Men (The). Martha M. Stanley -<br />Story of Paul Jones (The). Alfred Henry Lewis -<br />Spendthrift (The). Porter Emerson Browne and Edward Marshall -<br />St. Elmo. Augusta Evans Wilson -<br />Step by Step. Mrs. George Sheldon Downs -<br />Strongheart. F. R. Burton -<br />Surry of Eagle's Nest. John Esten Cooke -<br />Sweet Danger. Ella Wheeler Wilcox -<br />Talker (The). Marion Fairfax and Arthur Hornblow -<br />Thoroughbred (The). Edith MacVane -<br />Three Daughters of the Confederacy. Cyrus Townsend Brady -<br />Time, Place and the Girl (The). John W. Harding -<br />Traffic in Souls. Eustace Hale Ball -<br />True Detective Stories. A. L. Drummond -<br />Voice of the Heart (The). Margaret Blake -<br />Warrens of Virginia (The). George Cary Eggleston -<br />Wasp (The). Theodore Goodridge Roberts -<br />Watch-Dog (The). Arthur Hornblow -<br />White Rose of Memphis (The). W. C. Falkner -<br />Wolf (The). Eugene Walter -<br />Writing on the Wall. Edward Marshall</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold">By</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold x-large">Mrs. George Sheldon Downs</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">Katherine's Sheaves</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>A Great Novel With a Great Purpose</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Katherine's Sheaves is altogether delightful, a charming piece -of fiction, a beautiful romance. One must admire the book for its -characterization, its brilliant pictures of life, and its dramatic -situations, but still more for its philosophy and wisdom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The story is a dramatic one, abounding in strong situations.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The plot is well conceived and carried out, the style easy and -the characters likable.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold">12mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 75 cents.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">Step by Step</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Judged as a story pure and simple, "STEP BY STEP," is -altogether delightful. But it is not merely a charming piece of -fiction. Ethical in its nature, the underlying thought shows -throughout the lofty purpose and high ideals of the author, and -exhales a wholesome atmosphere, while the element of romance -pervading it is both elevated and enriched by its purity and -simplicity.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold">12mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 75 cents.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">Gertrude Elliot's Crucible</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It is a readable story, clean, wholesome, and high in moral -tone--optimistic and constructive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It has an alluring plot, and is well and skillfully worked out. -The incidents are dramatic, and therefore always striking, and -the entire romance will hold the attention of the reader.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold">12mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 75 cents.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">Redeemed</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Dealing with divorce--the most vital problem in the world -today--this book tells how a pure-minded woman is divorced -from her Husband, upon a flimsy pretext, because he wishes to -marry again. How he suffers when he learns that he has thrown -away the true disinterested love of a noble woman and how he -craves that love again, makes a vivid, forceful story of an -intensely modern significance.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold">12mo, Cloth, Illustrated. Popular Edition, 75 cents.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold x-large">Late Rebound Fiction</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">By H. G. WELLS</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>MR. BRITLING SEES IT THROUGH. -<br />WIFE OF SIR ISAAC HARMAN. -<br />RESEARCH MAGNIFICENT. -<br />BEALBY. -<br />NEW WORLDS FOR OLD. -<br />WHAT IS COMING. -<br />ITALY, FRANCE AND BRITAIN AT WAR. -<br />GOD, THE INVINCIBLE KING.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">By GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON, Author of "Graustark," Etc.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>FROM THE HOUSETOPS. -<br />GREEN FANCY.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">By THOMAS DIXON, Jr.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>FALL OF A NATION. The sequel to "Birth of a Nation."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">By A. H. MAHER</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>SHEPHERD OF THE NORTH.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">By ALICE BROWN</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>THE PRISONER.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="bold">By JEFFERY FARNOL. Author of "The Broad Highway."</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>OUR ADMIRABLE BETTY. -<br />THE DEFINITE OBJECT.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">BOYS' COPYRIGHTED BOOKS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Printed from large, clear type on a superior quality of paper, -embellished with original illustrations by eminent artists, and bound -in a superior quality of book binders' cloth, ornamented with -illustrated covers, stamped in colors from unique and appropriate dies, -each book wrapped in a glazed paper wrapper printed in colors.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold">MOTOR BOAT BOYS SERIES</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span>By Louis Arundel</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>1.--The Motor Club's Cruise Down the Mississippi; or, The Dash -for Dixie.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>2.--The Motor Club on the St. Lawrence River; or, Adventures -Among the Thousand Islands.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>3.--The Motor Club on the Great Lakes; or, Exploring the Mystic -Isle of Mackinac.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>4.--Motor Boat Boys Among the Florida Keys; or, The Struggle for -the Leadership.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>5.--Motor Boat Boys Down the Coast; or, Through Storm and Stress.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>6.--Motor Boat Boys' River Chase.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold">THE BIRD BOYS SERIES</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span>By John Luther Langworthy</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>1.--The Bird Boys; or, The Young Sky Pilots' First Air Voyage.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>2.--The Bird Boys on the Wing; or, Aeroplane Chums in the Tropics.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>3.--The Bird Boys Among the Clouds; or, Young Aviators in a Wreck.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>4.--Bird Boys' Flight; or, A Hydroplane Round-up.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>5.--Bird Boys' Aeroplane Wonder; or, Young Aviators on a Cattle Ranch.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold">CANOE AND CAMPFIRE SERIES</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span>By St. George Rathborne</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>1.--Canoe Mates in Canada; or, Three Boys Afloat on the -Saskatchewan.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>2.--Young Fur Takers; or, Traps and Trails in the Wilderness.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>3.--The House Boat Boys; or, Drifting Down to the Sunny South.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>4.--Chums in Dixie; or, The Strange Cruise in the Motor Boat.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>5.--Camp Mates in Michigan; or, With Pack and Paddle in the Pine -Woods.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>6.--Rocky Mountain Boys; or, Camping in the Big Game Country.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold">M. 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