SPIES OF THE KAISER
CHAPTER I
HOW THE PLANS OF ROSYTH WERE STOLEN
"But if the new plans for our naval base at Rosyth have already beensecured by Germany, I don't see what we can do," I remarked. "What's theuse of closing the stable-door after the horse has been stolen?"
"That's just what we generally do in England, my dear old Jack," repliedmy friend. "We still think, as in the days of Wellington, that oneEnglishman is worth ten foreigners. But remember the Boer War, and whatour shameful ignorance cost us in men and money. Now, as I explainedlast night in London, the original plans of Rosyth leaked out some timeago, and were actually published in certain Continental papers. Inconsequence of this, fresh plans have been prepared and adopted by theLords of the Admiralty. It is one of these which Reitmeyer informs myfather is already in German hands."
"But is not Reitmeyer a German himself?" I asked.
"He's a naturalised Englishman," replied my friend Ray Raymond, drawinghard at his pipe as he stretched himself lazily before the fire of theinn-parlour. "It was he who gave the guv'nor a good deal of theinformation upon which he based those questions he asked in the House."
"The Government refused to admit that German spies are at work inEngland," I said.
"Yes, Jack. That's just why I'm down here on the Firth of Forth--inorder to accomplish the task I've set myself, namely, to prove thatGerman secret agents are at this moment actively at work amongst us. Iintend to furnish proof of the guv'nor's statements, and by exposing themethods of these inquisitive gentry, compel the Government to introducefresh legislation in order that the authorities may be able to deal withthem. At present spies may work their will in England, and the law ispowerless to prevent them."
I was standing with my back to the fire facing my friend, who, abarrister like myself, shared with me a set of rather dismal chambers inNew Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, though he had never had occasion topractise, as I unfortunately had.
As he sat, his long, thin legs outstretched towards the fire, hepresented the appearance of the typical athletic young Englishman, agedabout thirty, clean-shaven, clean-limbed, with an intelligent andslightly aquiline face, a pair of merry grey eyes, and light brown hairclosely cropped. He was an all-round good fellow, even though his lifehad been cast in pleasant places. Eldest son of Sir Archibald Raymond,Bart., the well-known Cardiff coal-owner who sat for East Carmarthen, hehad been with me at Balliol, we had read together, and though he nowshared those dingy London chambers, he resided in a prettily furnishedflat in Bruton Street, while I lived in rooms round in Guilford Street,Bloomsbury, in my lonely bachelordom.
He had been adopted as candidate for West Rutland at the next election,and his party predicted of him great things. But the long-wished-forGeneral Election was still afar off, therefore, with commendablepatriotism, he had taken up the burning question of German spies inEngland, which had been so lightly pooh-poohed by both the PrimeMinister and the Minister for War. His intention was, if possible, tocheckmate their activity, and at the same time reveal to the public thefool's paradise in which we are living now that "the Day"--as they callit in Germany--is fast approaching--the day of the invasion of GreatBritain.
-- Miles N.E. of Dockyard. Half-closed redoubt for infantry--Platforms for machine-guns at angles--Wrought-iron palisading at bottom of ditch.
G (in plan.) "Ferry Hills" Fort--Earth and concrete--Very deep ditches, flanked by counterscarp galleries and a stone caponier--Casemated--Probable armament--Two 9.2-inch guns, six 7.5-inch guns--Wrought-iron fraise below counterscarp.
H (in plan). Evidently intended for use against torpedo-boats and destroyers--To mount ten 4-inch quick-firing guns--Wrought-iron palisading in ditch well covered from seaward--Gorge closed by stone wall (two tiers of loopholes for musketry), flanked by caponiers with machine-guns.
I. A large and formidable work armed with--
Portion of translation of the German spy's report upon the new naval base at Rosyth.
After Sir Archibald had put the questions in the House, the purport ofwhich most readers will remember, he had been the recipient of manyletters pointing out the presence of spies--letters which, if published,would have no doubt created a great sensation. Many of these statementsRay and I had, during the past two months, closely investigated on thespot, and what we had discovered held us both amazed and alarmed.Indeed, we had secured evidence that although spies were openly at workin certain of our eastern counties collecting all sorts of informationwhich would be of incalculable importance to an invader, yet the chiefconstables of those counties had actually been instructed fromhead-quarters to close their eyes to the movements of inquisitiveforeigners!
In the investigations upon which Ray Raymond had embarked with suchenthusiasm, and which I am now permitted to chronicle in these pages, hehad taken only two persons into his confidence--myself and Vera, thepretty, fair-haired daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Vallance, theAdmiral-Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard, to whom he was engaged.
Indeed, from the first I suspected that it had been her influence thathad roused him to action; she who had promised him her assistance, andwho had pointed out how, by watching and unmasking the spies, he mightrender his King and country signal service.
At dusk that day we had, on arrival from King's Cross, left our baggagewith the hall porter of the North British Hotel in Edinburgh, hadtravelled from the Waverley Station to Dalmeny, and descending thehundred or so steps to the comfortable Hawes Inn, at the water's edge,had dined there. Thence we had taken the old ferry-boat over to NorthQueensferry, on the opposite shore, where, in the rather bare parlour ofthe little Albert Hotel, directly beneath the giant arms of the ForthBridge, we were resting and smoking.
Outside the November night was dark and squally with drizzling rain;within the warmth was cheerful, the fire throwing a red glow upon theold-fashioned mahogany sideboard with its profuse display of china andthe two long tables covered with red cloths.
PORTIONS OF MAP OF NEW NAVAL BASE AT ROSYTH DISCOVERED INPOSSESSION OF A SPY.
The notes, here translated from German, were written on the BritishOrdnance Map.]
From my boyhood days, I, John James Jacox, barrister-at-law, had alwaysbeen fond of detective work; therefore I realised that in the presentinquiry before us there was wide scope for one's reasoning powers, aswell as a great probability of excitement.
I was thoroughly wiping my gold pince-nez, utterly failing to discoverRay's reason in travelling to that spot now that it was admitted thatthe Germans had already outwitted us and secured a copy of at least oneof the plans. Suddenly, glancing up at the cheap American clock on themantelshelf, my friend declared that we ought to be moving and at oncestruggled into his coat and crushed on his soft felt hat. It then wanteda quarter to ten o'clock.
In ascending the short, steep hill in the semi-darkness, we passed theNorth Queensferry post office, beside which he stopped short to peerdown the dark alley which separated it from the Roxburgh Hotel. Inoticed that in this alley stood a short, stout telegraph-pole, carryingabout sixty or so lines of wire which, coming overhead from the north,converged at that point into a cable, and crossed to the south beneaththe mile-broad waters of the Forth.
Ray was apparently interested in them, for glancing overhead he sawanother set of wires which, carried higher, crossed the street and ranaway to the left. This road he followed, I walking at his side.
The way we took proved to be a winding one, which, instead of ascendingthe steep hill with its many quarries, from the summit of which thewonderful bridge runs forth, skirted the estuary westward past a numberof small grey cottages, the gardens of some of which appeared to rundown to the broad waters whence shone the flashing light of the Beamerand those of Dalmeny, the Bridge, and of South Queensferry.
The rain had ceased, and the moon, slowly struggling from behind a bigbank of cloud, now produced a most picturesque effect of light ands
hadow.
The actions of Ray Raymond were, however, somewhat mysterious, for onpassing each telegraph-pole he, by the aid of a small electric torch hecarried in his pocket, examined it carefully at a distance of about sixfeet from the ground.
He must have thus minutely examined at least fifteen or sixteen when, atthe sharp bend of the road, he apparently discovered something of whichhe was in search. The pole stood close beside the narrow pathway, and ashe examined it with his magnifying-glass I also became curious. But allI distinguished were three small gimlet holes set in a triangle in theblack tarred wood about four inches apart.
"Count the wires, Jack," he said. "I make them twenty-six. Am Icorrect?"
I counted, and found the number to be right.
Then for some moments he stood in thoughtful silence, gazing away overthe wide view of St. Margaret's Hope spread before him.
Afterwards we moved forward. Passing along, he examined each of theother poles, until we descended the hill to the Ferry Toll, where thehigh road and wires branched off to the right to Dunfermline. Then,taking the left-hand road along the shore, where ran a line oftelephone, we passed some wharves, gained the Limpet Ness, and for afurther couple of miles skirted the moonlit waters, until, of a sudden,there came into view a long corrugated-iron building lying back from theroad facing the Forth and fenced off by a high spiked-iron railing. Theentrance was in the centre, with nine long windows on either side, whileat a little distance further back lay a small bungalow, evidently theresidence of the caretaker.
"This," exclaimed my friend without halting, "is the much-discussedRosyth. These are the Admiralty offices, and from here the tracing ofthat plan was obtained."
"A rather lonely spot," I remarked.
"Over yonder, beyond that ruined castle out on the rocks, where OliverCromwell's mother was born, is the site of the new naval base. You'llget a better view from the other side of the hill," he said in a lowvoice.
"Who lives in the bungalow?" I inquired.
"Only the caretaker. The nearest house is on top of the hill, and isoccupied by the second officer in charge of the works."
Continuing our way and passing over the hill, we skirted a wood, which Iafterwards found to be Orchardhead Wood, passed a pair of lonelycottages on the right, until we reached a lane running down to thewater's edge. Turning into this lane, we walked as far as a gate whichcommanded the great stretch of broad, level meadows and the wide baybeyond. Leaning over it, he said:
"This is where the new naval base is to be. Yonder, where you see thelights, is Bruce Haven."
"Tell me the facts regarding the stolen plan as far as is known," Isaid, leaning on the gate also and gazing away across the wide stretchof moonlit waters.
"The facts are curious," replied my friend. "As you know, I've been awayfrom London a fortnight, and in those fourteen days I've not been idle.It seems that when the first plan leaked out and was published abroad,the Admiralty had two others prepared, and into both these a commissionwhich came down here has, for several months, been busily at workinvestigating their feasibility. At last one of the schemes has beenadopted. Tracings of it are kept in strictest secrecy in a safe in theoffices down yonder, together with larger-scale tracings of the variousdocks, the submarine station, repairing docks, patent slips, anddefensive forts--some twenty-two documents in all. The details of thedefensive forts are, of course, kept a profound secret. The safe has twokeys, one kept by the superintendent of the works, Mr. Wilkinson, wholives over at Dunfermline, and the other by the first officer, Mr.Farrar, who resides in a house half a mile from the offices. The safecannot be opened except by the two gentlemen being present together. Theleakage could not come from within. None of the plans have ever beenfound to be missing and no suspicion attaches to anybody, yet there aretwo most curious facts. The first is that in July last a young clerknamed Edwin Jephson, living with his mother in Netley Road, Shepherd'sBush, and employed by a firm of auctioneers in the City, was picked upin the Thames off Thorneycroft's at Chiswick. At the inquest, the girlto whom the young man was engaged testified to his strangeness of mannera few days previously; while his mother stated how, prior to hisdisappearance, he had been absent from home for four days, and on hisreturn had seemed greatly perturbed, and had remarked: 'There'll besomething in the papers about me before long.' On the body were foundfourteen shillings in silver, some coppers, a few letters, and a folioof blue foolscap containing some writing in German which, ontranslation, proved to be certain details regarding a fortress. Averdict of suicide was returned; but the statement in German, placed bythe police before the Admiralty, proved to be an exact copy of one ofthe documents preserved in the safe here, at Rosyth."
"Then the Admiralty cannot deny the leakage of the secret?" I remarked.
"No; but the mystery remains how it came into the young fellow'spossession, and what he was about to do with it. As far as can beascertained, he was a most exemplary young man, and had no connectionwhatever with any one in Admiralty employ," replied Ray; adding, "thesecond fact is the one alleged by Reitmeyer, who was, in confidence,shown a photograph of one of the larger plans."
"Then spies are, no doubt, at work here," I said.
"That cannot be denied," was his reply. "This neighbourhood opens up awide field of investigation to the inquisitive gentry from theFatherland. Knowledge of the secrets of the defences of the Firth ofForth would be of the utmost advantage to Germany in the event of aninvasion. The local submarine defences and corps of submarine minershave been done away with, yet the entrance of the estuary is commandedby strong batteries upon the island of Inchkeith, opposite Leith; theForth Bridge is defended by masked batteries at Dalmeny at the one endand at Carlingnose at the other, while upon Inchgarvie, the rock beneaththe centre of the bridge, is a powerful battery of six-inch guns. Thetrue strength of these defences, and the existence of others, are, ofcourse, kept an absolute secret, but Germany is equally anxious to learnthem, as she is to know exactly what our plans are regarding this newnaval base and its fortifications."
"But if the new base were established, might not the Forth Bridge beblown into the water by the enemy, and our fleet bottled up by thewreckage?" I ventured to remark.
"That's just the point, Jack," my friend said; "whether the Rosyth worksare carried out or not, the Germans would, without doubt, use theirbest endeavours to blow up the bridge; first in order to cut directcommunication between north and south, and secondly, to prevent Britishships using St. Margaret's Hope as a haven of refuge."
"And even in face of the document discovered upon the auctioneer'sclerk, the Government deny the activity of spies!"
"Yes," said Ray in a hard voice. "A week ago I was up here, and examinedthe safe in the offices we've passed. I was only laughed at for mypains. I must admit, of course, that no document has ever been missing,and that the safe has not been tampered with in any way."
"A complete mystery."
"One which, my dear Jack, we must solve," he said, as we retraced oursteps back to North Queensferry station, where we luckily caught a trainback to Edinburgh.
Next morning we travelled again to Dalmeny, and in the grey mist hired aboat at the slippery landing-stage opposite the Hawes Inn. Refusing theassistance of the boatman, Ray took off his coat and commenced to row tothe opposite shore. His action surprised me, as we could easily havegone over by the steam ferry. It was high tide, and by degrees as we gotinto mid-stream he allowed the boat to drift towards one of the sets offour circular caissons in which the foundations of the gigantic bridge,with its bewildering masses of ironwork, were set.
Against one of them the boat drifted, and he placed his hand upon themasonry to prevent a collision. As he did so, his keen eyes discernedsomething which caused him to pull back and examine it more closely.
As he did so, a train rumbled high above us.
With curiosity I followed the direction of his gaze, but what I sawconveyed to me nothing. About two feet above high-water mark a stoutiron staple had been fixed
into the concrete. To it was attached a pieceof thin wire rope descending into the water, apparently used by thebridge workmen to moor their boats.
Having carefully examined the staple, Ray rowed round to the other threecaissons, a few feet distant, but there discovered nothing. Afterwards,with my assistance, he pulled back to the Dalmeny side, where, at thebase of one of the high square brick piers of the shore end of thebridge, the third from the land, he found a similar staple driven. Thenwe returned to the pier and crossed to North Queensferry.
My friend's next move was to enter the post office and there write upona yellow form a telegram in German addressed to a person in Berlin. Thishe handed to the pleasant-faced Scotch postmistress, who, on seeing itin a strange language, regarded him quickly.
Ray remarked that he supposed she did not often transmit messages inGerman, whereupon she said:
"Oh, yes. The German waiter up at the Golf Club sends them sometimes."
"Is he the only German you have in North Queensferry?" he inquiredcasually.
"I've never heard of any other, sir," replied the good woman, and thenwe both wished her good-day and left.
Our next action was to climb the Ferry Hill at the back of the postoffice, passing the station and Carlingnose Fort, until we reached theclub-house of the Dunfermline Golf Club, which commands a fine prospectover the wide estuary eastward.
No one appeared to be playing that morning, but on entering the club wewere approached by a fair-headed, rather smart-looking German waiter.His age was about thirty, his fair moustache well trained, and his hairclosely cropped.
I made inquiry for an imaginary person, and by that means was enabled toengage the man in conversation. Ray, on his part, remarked that he wouldbe staying in the neighbourhood for some time, and requested a list ofmembers and terms of membership. In response, the waiter fetched him abook of rules, which he placed in his pocket.
"Well?" I asked, as we descended the hill.
"To me," my friend remarked, "there is only one suspicious fact aboutthat man--his nationality."
The afternoon we spent out at the naval offices, where I was introducedto the Superintendent and the second officer, and where I stood by whilemy friend again examined the big green-painted safe, closelyinvestigating its lock with the aid of his magnifying glass. It wasapparent that those in charge regarded him as a harmless crank, for soconfident were they that no spy had been able to get at the plans thatno night watch had ever been kept upon the place.
Through five consecutive nights, unknown to the caretaker, who slept sopeacefully in his bungalow, we, however, kept a vigilant watch upon theplace. But in vain. Whatever information our friends the Germans wantedthey seemed to have already obtained.
Ray Raymond, however, continued to display that quiet, methodicalpatience born of enthusiasm.
"I'm confident that something is afoot, and that there are spies in theneighbourhood," he would say.
Nearly a fortnight we spent, sometimes in Edinburgh, and at othersidling about North Queensferry in the guise of English tourists, for theForth Bridge is still an attraction to the sightseer.
Upon the German waiter at the Golf Club Ray was keeping a watchful eye.He had discovered his name to be Heinrich Klauber, and that before hisengagement there he had been a waiter in the basement cafe of the Hotelde l'Europe, in Leicester Square, London.
His movements were in no way suspicious. He lived at a small cottagenearly opposite the post office at North Queensferry with a widow namedMacdonald, and he had fallen in love with a rather pretty dark-eyed girlnamed Elsie Robinson, who lived with her father in the grey High Streetof Inverkeithing. As far as my observations went--and it often fell tomy lot to watch his movements while Ray was absent--the German washardworking, thrifty, and a pattern of all the virtues.
One evening, however, a curious incident occurred.
Ray had run up to London, leaving me to watch the German's movements.Klauber had returned to Mrs. Macdonald's about eight, but not untilnearly eleven did he come forth again, and then instead of taking hisusual road to Inverkeithing to meet the girl Robinson, he ascended thehill and struck across the golf-course until he had gained its highestpoint, which overlooked the waters of the Forth towards the sea.
So suddenly did he halt that I was compelled to throw myself into abunker some distance away to escape detection. Then, as I watched, I sawhim take from his pocket and light a small acetylene lamp, apparently abicycle-lamp, with a green glass. He then placed it in such a positionon the grass that it could be seen from far across the waters, andlighting a cigarette, he waited.
The light on the Oxcars was flashing white and red, while from distantInchkeith streamed a white brilliance at regular intervals. But thelight of Heinrich Klauber was certainly a signal. To whom?
He remained there about half an hour, but whether he received anyanswering signal I know not.
Next night and the next I went to the same spot, but he failed to put inan appearance. Then, in order to report to Ray, I joined the morningtrain from Perth to London.
On arrival at New Stone Buildings I telephoned to Bruton Street, butChapman, his valet, told me that his master had slept there only onenight, had received a visit from a respectably dressed middle-agedwoman, and had gone away--to an unknown destination. Therefore I waitedfor a whole week in anxiety and suspense, until one morning I received awire from him, despatched from Kirkcaldy, urging me to join him at onceat the Station Hotel in Perth.
Next morning at nine o'clock I was seated on the side of his bed,telling him of the incident of the lamp.
"Ah!" he exclaimed after a pause. "My surmises are slowly provingcorrect, Jack. You must buy a bicycle-lamp down in the town and a pieceof green glass. To-night you must go there at the same hour and show asimilar light. The matter seems far more serious than I first expected.The enemy is no doubt here, in our midst. Take this. It may be handybefore long," and he took from his kit-bag a new .32 Colt revolver.
By this, I saw that he had resolved upon some bold stroke.
That evening, after an early dinner at the hotel, we took train to NorthQueensferry, and on alighting at the station he sent me up to thegolf-links to show a light for half an hour; promising to meet me laterat a certain point on the road to Rosyth.
I gained the lonely spot on the golf-course and duly showed the light.Then I hastened to rejoin my friend at the point he indicated, and foundhim awaiting me behind some bushes.
Almost at the moment we met, a female figure came along beneath theshadow of a high wall. She was a poorly dressed girl, but the instantshe addressed my friend I recognised by her refined voice that it wasVera, the dainty daughter of the Admiral Superintendent.
"Elsie is waiting down by the Ferry Barns," she said quickly, in a lowwhisper, after greeting me. "Heinrich has not kept his appointment withher."
"You have the note?" he asked. "Recollect what I told you concerning theman Hartmann."
"Yes," she replied. Then, addressing me, she said, "Take care of thesepeople Mr. Jacox. They are utterly unscrupulous"; and she againdisappeared into the darkness.
Ray and I turned and again walked back in the direction of Rosyth. Butwhen we had gone a little distance he told me to approach the navaloffices carefully, conceal myself in the bushes, and watch until hejoined me. On no account was I to make any sign, whatever I mightwitness.
Though intensely cold the night was not very dark, therefore I was notlong in establishing my position at a spot where I had a good view ofthe offices. Then I leaned upon a tree-trunk and waited in breathlessexpectation. I touched my father's old repeater which I carried andfound it to be a quarter past midnight.
For over an hour I remained there, scarce daring to move a muscle.
Suddenly, however, upon the mud at the side of the road I heard softfootsteps, and a few moments later two figures loomed up from theshadow. But when about forty yards from the offices they halted, one ofthe men alone proceeding.
With great caution he climbed
the spiked railing, and crossing rapidlyto the main door of the offices he unlocked it with a key and entered,closing the door after him. As far as I could distinguish, the man worea short beard, and was dressed in tweeds and a golf cap. Holding mybreath, I saw the flashing of an electric torch within the building.
Fully twenty minutes elapsed before he reappeared, relocked the outsidedoor, and clambering back over the railings, rejoined his waitingcompanion, both being lost next second in the darkness.
I longed to follow them, but Ray's instructions had been explicit--I wasto wait until he arrived.
Half an hour later, hearing his low whistle, I emerged from myhiding-place to meet him and tell him what I had seen.
"Yes," he said, "I know. We have now no time to lose."
And together we hurried back over the road towards North Queensferry.
At the same spot where Vera had met us, we found her still in hiding. Myfriend whispered some words, whereupon she hurried on before us to thesharp bend in the road where stood the telegraph-pole which hadattracted Ray on the night of our first arrival.
We drew back in the shadow, and as we did so I saw her halt and pull thebell beside a small gate in a high wall. Behind stood a white-washedcottage, with a good-sized garden at the rear. One end of the houseabutted upon the pathway, and in it was one small window commanding aview of the road.
Vera, we saw, had some conversation with the old woman who answered herring, and then went in, the gate being closed after her.
Together we waited for a considerable time, our impatience andapprehension increasing. All was silent, except for a dog-cart, inwhich we recognised Mr. Wilkinson driving home from the station.
"Curious that Vera doesn't return," Ray remarked at last, when we hadwaited nearly three-quarters of an hour. "We must investigate forourselves. I hope nothing has happened to her."
And motioning me to follow, he very cautiously crept along the muddypath and tried the gate. It had been relocked.
We therefore scaled the wall without further ado, and, standing in thelittle front garden, we listened breathlessly at the door of the house.
"Get back there in the shadow, Jack," urged my friend; and, as soon as Iwas concealed, he passed his hand along the lintel of the door, where hefound the bell-wire from the gate. This he pulled.
A few moments later the old woman reappeared at the door, passing outtowards the gate, when, in an instant, Ray and I were within, andflinging open a door on the left of the narrow passage we foundourselves confronted by the exemplary waiter Klauber and a companion,whose short beard and snub nose I recognised as those of the man who socalmly entered the naval offices a couple of hours before.
For them our sudden appearance was, no doubt, a dramatic surprise.
The elder man gave vent to a quick imprecation in German, while Klauber,of course, recognised us both.
In the room was a large camera with a flashlight apparatus, while pinnedupon a screen before the camera was a big tracing of a plan of one ofthe chief defensive forts which the spies had that night secured fromRosyth, and which they were now in the act of photographing.
"A lady called upon you here an hour ago," exclaimed Ray. "Where isshe?"
"No lady has called here," replied the bearded German in very goodEnglish, adding with marvellous coolness, "To what, pray, do we owe thisunwarrantable intrusion?"
"To the fact that I recognise you as Josef Scholtz, secret agent of theGerman Naval Intelligence Department," answered my friend resolutely,closing the door and standing with his back to it. "We have met before.You were coming down the steps of a house in Pont Street, London, wherelives a great friend of yours, Hermann Hartmann."
"Well?" asked the German, with feigned unconcern, and before we couldprevent him he had torn the tracing from the screen, roughly folded it,and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Hand that to me," commanded my friend quickly.
But the spy only laughed in open defiance.
"You intended, no doubt, to replace that as you have done the othersafter photographing them. Only we've just spoilt your game," Raymondsaid. "Both Mr. Wilkinson and Mr. Farrar are, I see from the list,members of the Golf Club where you"--and he looked across to thewaiter--"are employed. On one occasion, while Mr. Wilkinson was taking abath after a game, and on another while Mr. Farrar was changing his coatand vest, you contrived to take wax impressions of both the safe keysand also that of the door of the offices. The keys were made in Glasgow,and by their means the plans of our new naval base and its proposeddefences have been at your disposal."
"Well--there's no law against it!" cried Scholtz. "Let me pass."
"First give me that tracing," demanded my friend resolutely.
"Never. Do your worst!" the German replied, speaking with a morepronounced accent in his excitement, while at the same moment I saw thathe held a revolver in his hand.
In an instant Ray drew his own weapon, but, instead of covering the spy,he pointed it at a small, strong wooden box upon the floor in theopposite corner of the room.
"Gott--no!" gasped the man, his face blanching as he realised Ray'sintention. "For Heaven's sake don't. I--I----"
"Ah!" laughed my friend. "So it is as I thought. You two blackguards,with some of your friends, I expect, have been secretly preparingfor the destruction of the Forth Bridge on 'the Day'--as you areso fond of calling it. The staples are already driven in, and theunsuspicious-looking wire ropes, attached to which the boxes ofgun-cotton and other explosives are to be sunk between the fourcaissons, are all in readiness. The boat from a German merchant vesseloff Leith, signalled at intervals by your assistant Klauber, has beenbringing up box after box of that dangerous stuff and landing it at thebottom of this garden; so that within an hour of receiving the code-wordfrom your chief, you would be able to wreck the whole bridge and blow itinto the water!"
The spy endeavoured to pass, but seeing Ray's determined attitude, heldback, and my friend compelled him to lay down his weapon.
"Jack," said my friend, "just see what's in that box."
I at once investigated it, and discovered within only innocent-lookingtin boxes of English biscuits. The three tins at the top I lifted outand placed on the floor, but those below I found were filled withcircular cakes of what looked like felt, about an inch in thickness,each with a hole through it, and with a small cavity for the receptionof the detonator. I showed it to Ray, pointing out that, packed withit, were several smaller tins, like boxes of cigarettes.
"Yes. I see!" he exclaimed as I opened one. "Those are the detonators,filled with fulminate of mercury."
"Let us pass!" cried both the spies.
"Not before you are searched shall you leave this house!" was the quickreply. "If you resist, I shall fire into one of those boxes ofdetonators, and blow you to atoms."
"And yourselves also!" remarked Klauber, his face pale as death.
"It will at least prevent our secrets falling into your hands, and atthe same time bring the truth home to the British Government!" was myfriend's unwavering answer.
Next moment both men made a dash towards the door, but I had drawn myweapon and was upon my guard. There was a flash, followed by a deafeningreport, as Ray fired at the box, aiming wide on purpose.
Then the two spies, seeing that they had to deal with a man who was apatriot to his heart's core, realised that their game was up.
Sullenly Scholtz put down his weapon, and I searched both men.
From the pocket of the exemplary waiter I drew forth a rough plan,together with some scribbled notes in German, which afterwards proved tobe a description of the forts on Inchkeith, while from the pocket ofScholtz I secured the tracing he had stolen from Rosyth.
Then we allowed both the secret agents of the Kaiser to pass out, muchto the consternation and alarm of the deaf old Scotchwoman, who had, attheir request, posed as the occupier of the cottage, but who, in perfectignorance of what was in progress, had acted as their housekeeper.
A swift examination of th
e premises revealed no trace of Vera. But wefound in the cellar below the room where we had found the spies a greatstore of gun-cotton and other high explosives of German manufacture,intended for the wrecking of the bridge; while in an old batteredportmanteau in one of the upstairs rooms we also found, all ready forconveyance to Germany, a quantity of prints from the photographicnegatives in the room below--photographs of nearly the whole of theplans of Rosyth, and more especially of its proposed forts--which themen had been in the habit of abstracting at night and replacing in thesafe before dawn.
Ray Raymond was in active search of something else besides, and atlength discovered what he sought--two German military telegraphinstruments, together with a complete and very ingenious arrangement forthe tapping of wire.
"By Jove!" exclaimed my friend, who took a keen interest in all thingselectrical. "This will now come in very handy!"
And on going outside to the telegraph pole against the wall, heclambered up it and attached wires to two of the insulators. Thendescending, he screwed a little brass box upon it into those same threeholes in the black wood which had attracted him on the night of ourarrival, and a moment later began manipulating the key.
"Good!" he exclaimed at last. "I've picked up Inverkeithing, and askedthem to send the police over at once. We mustn't leave the place andrisk the spies returning for any of their paraphernalia. Thedisappearance of Vera, however, worries me. I sent her here with a notepurporting to come from the chief of the German Secret Service inEngland, Hermann Hartmann; but she has vanished, and we must, as soonas the police arrive, go in search of her."
So completely had we unmasked the spies that I stood puzzled and amazed.
Ray, noticing my attitude, made explanation.
"Several of my surmises in this case proved entirely correct," he said."My first suspicion was aroused that if spies were about, they wouldprobably prepare for tapping the telegraph lines, and, as you know, Isoon discovered evidence of it. Then those staples in the foundations ofthe bridge gave me a further clue to the work in progress, a suspiciongreatly strengthened by the signal light shown by the man Klauber. Thetwo men who held the safe keys being members of the Golf Club aroused atheory which proved the correct one, and on tracing back the career ofthe waiter I made a remarkable discovery which left no doubt as to hisreal profession. It seems that while employed at the Cafe de l'Europe inLondon, he lodged at the house of Mrs. Jephson, in Shepherd's Bush, andbecame extremely friendly with the widow's son. Now you'll remember thata few days before the poor fellow's death he was absent mysteriously,and on his return he told his mother in confidence that there wouldshortly be something in the papers about himself. Well, the truth is nowquite plain. During his absence he evidently came up here. YoungJephson, who knew German, had found out that his German friend was aspy, and had no doubt secured the document afterwards found upon him asevidence. Klauber was ignorant of this, though he suspected that hissecret was out. In deadly fear of exposure, he then plotted to silencethe young Englishman, inducing him to walk along the towing-path betweenHammersmith and Barnes, where he no doubt pushed him into the river.Indeed, I have found a witness who saw the two men together in KingStreet, Hammersmith, on the evening of the poor fellow's disappearance.The plan which Reitmeyer saw is, I find, fortunately one of thediscarded ones."
"Extraordinary!" I declared, absorbed by what he had related. "But whileyou've wrested from Germany the secrets of some of our most importantdefences, you have, my dear Ray, temporarily lost the woman you love!"
"My first duty, Jack, is to my King and my country," he declared,sitting on the edge of the table in the spies' photographic studio. "Ihave tried to perform it to-night, and have, fortunately, exposed theGerman activity in our midst. When the police arrive to view this spies'nest, we must at once search for her who is always my confidante, and towhose woman's wits and foresight this success is in no small measuredue."