British Secret Service During the Great WarEveritt, Nicholas
History
British Secret Service During the Great War
Everitt, Nicholas
Secret service -- Great Britain; World War, 1914-1918 -- Secret service -- Great Britain
I, however, still argued that if I found the man I should get half the
reward, whatever sum it was. They disagreed; meanwhile the waiter got
intoxicated. Leaving him where he was, we commenced our search and
continued it with vigour and persistence for the remainder of that day
and all the next. I assure you, gentle reader, I never had such an
interesting hunt before, and I have hunted big game in many lands under
extraordinary conditions. That trail, however, was the trail of my life.
About noon next day we ran a suspect to earth in a lonely spot and put
him through the mill with a vengeance. But he conclusively proved his
identity and we were very lucky to escape trouble over the episode. I
think our salvation was that we so frightened the unfortunate captive
that he was glad to be able to leave the town as quickly as possible and
get away from us back home to his little farm inland.
Towards the afternoon of our second day's man-hunt my Hun colleagues
began to hint their suspicions regarding myself and as to my actions.
They had been very ungentlemanly towards me from the first on the
question of dividing the reward. They were very mean over spending money
on drinks and smokes; and, taking one consideration with another, I
thought it far wiser to lean on discretion as the better part of valour.
So as soon as the shades of night once more darkened the land I regret
to have to admit that _I borrowed_ a boat belonging to some native,
whose forgiveness I trust was granted if he ever found it again, and I
left the island, never to set foot in that township again; at least for
the duration of the war.
* * * * *
Entering Germany from the Schleswig frontier was not very difficult
unless one attempted to pass through the custom house, with all its
surrounding formalities and searches. In the angles of the frontier near
Ribe, and on the mainland, of course the whole line was trenched and
guarded, and any attempted passing or even approach was both difficult
and dangerous. But by skipping round either end, at sea on the east, and
between the islands on the west, no insurmountable difficulty presented
itself.
I never attempted a landing on the immediate east side, but I did go
round on the west, and the trip was not worth the risk or the trouble.
There was nothing to learn that one did not already know from scores of
others who had been permitted to pass the lines on business or
otherwise. There was nothing to gain by going again, and I had no desire
to attempt to repeat the experience.
Living on an island which is unnamed except upon the best maps of the
southern Baltic I had a friend--a Danish sailorman who was rarely at
home, but when he did take a holiday from his sea-going wanderings it
was invariably marked for its riotousness on shore or for its devilment
afloat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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