“I have just returned home after a voyage to South America in one of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s cargo boats. When we left Montevideo we heard that France and Germany were at war, and that there was every possibility of Great Britain sending an ultimatum to Germany. We saw several steamers after leaving the port, but could get no information, as few of them were fitted with wireless and passed at some distance off. When about 200 miles east of Rio, our wireless operator overheard some conversation between the German cruiser _Karlsruhe_ and a German merchant ship at anchor in Rio. It was clearly evident that the German merchant ship had no special code, as the conversation was carried on in plain German language, and our operator, who, by the way, was master of several languages, was able to interpret these messages without the slightest difficulty. It was then that we learned that Great Britain was at war. The German cruiser was inquiring from the German merchant ship what British vessels were leaving Rio, and asking for any information which might be of use. We also picked up some news of German victories in Belgium, which were given out by the German merchant ship. It was clearly evident that the _Karlsruhe_ had information about our ship, and expected us to be in the position she anticipated, for she sent out a signal to us in English, asking us for our latitude and longitude. This our operator, under the instructions of the captain, declined to give. The German operator evidently got furious, as he called us an English ‘swine-hound,’ and said, ‘This is a German warship, _Karlsruhe_; we will you find.’ Undoubtedly he thought he was going to strike terror to our hearts, but he made a mistake. “That night we steamed along without lights, and we knew from the sound of the wireless signals that were being flashed out from the German ship that we were getting nearer and nearer to her. Fortunately for us, about midnight a thick misty rain set in and we passed the German steamer, and so escaped. Our operator said that we could not have been more than 8 or 10 miles away when we passed abeam. Undoubtedly our wireless on this occasion saved us from the danger from which we escaped.”