Had the German Officers' Club been under observation, could this have possibly been done without the cognisance of the authorities? The authorities knew of all that was in progress, but calmly looked on, and, as usual, did nothing. The downfall of England was being plotted, but what did they care, so long as all went smoothly and they enjoyed their own social standing and their own emoluments. There is an air of refreshing candour and simplicity in the official statement that no alien enemy is permitted to reside in a prohibited area without a special licence granted, after his case has been carefully examined, by the police. Now, we know that proprietors and managers of hotels and licensed premises, as well as prominent residents, are usually on good terms with the police. It would surely be to their interest to cultivate good relations with them. And as the Lord Chancellor has assured us that the Germans are people of "greater astuteness," it is only reasonable to suppose they would be particularly careful to entrust their spying work in this country to only the smartest and most crafty emissaries. One can imagine that a really clever German spy "bent on business" has had but very little difficulty in hoodwinking the honest man in blue, and obtaining from him the "permit" required for his signalling, or other work on the coast. The experiences of the last four months at Liége, Antwerp, Mons, Rheims, Ypres, and other places, has taught us that it is not always the alien who is the spy. In each of those towns men who had lived for years as highly respectable and law-abiding citizens, and whom everyone believed to be French or Belgian, suddenly revealed themselves as secret agents of the invaders, acting as their guides, and committing all sorts of outrages. In our own country it is the same. There are to-day many who have lived among us for years, and are highly respected, only waiting for the signal to be given to commence their operations. It is true that bombs from German air machines have been dropped on English ground--one fell in a garden at Dover and damaged a cabbage, or maybe two--also that Zeppelins flew over Norfolk and dropped bombs, but so far no air fleet from Germany has given the signal for German spies to start their arranged work of destruction in our midst, for the enemy has declared with its usual cynical frankness that their army of spies will only start their dastardly work when all is ready for the raid and the fleet of Zeppelins sail over London and give the signal. CHAPTER V HOW SPIES WORK The German spy system, as established in England, may be classified under various heads--military, naval, diplomatic, and also the _agents provocateurs_, those hirelings of Germany who have, of late, been so diligent in stirring up sedition in Ireland, and who, since the war began, have endeavoured, though not successfully, to engineer a strike of seamen at Liverpool and a coal strike.