Dear Mr. Couch,--I am very much obliged to you for your prompt reply to my last letter. Now I beg to place in your hands some questions in addition to my last letter. Have the goodness to leave as soon as possible for Firth of Forth, ascertaining about the following:--Which parts of the Fleet are in or off the Forth since November 5. Only the vessels of the First and Eighth Destroyer Flotilla, or which other men-of-war of any kind else? Where is the Second Destroyer Flotilla now? Have there been mobilising tests of the Flotillas and coast defences in the Firth of Forth? What are the Flotillas doing or proposing now? What number of Royal Fleet Reserve Class A are called in now for the yearly exercise? Where do they exercise? Are any of these men kept longer than a fortnight? I think it will be necessary to stay some days at Firth of Forth for gathering information about those questions. I should be much obliged if I could be informed as soon as you have got satisfying statements about one or several of these points. Do not wait to answer until you have found out all I wish to know. Enclosed £10 as travel expenses for the last and this journey. Please tell me in the next letter after having returned to London your expenses that I can hand you the balance if the £10 should not do it. I beg you to keep yourself ready, if possible also in the near future, to run over immediately to any place as soon as rumours as to extraordinary preparations of material and personal are running. In such a case please do not wait until you have received an order from me, but leave on your own accord, and at the same time send your address and make your doings known to me with particulars of the reason.--Yours truly, Richard. I have given this letter in full for several reasons. Parrott was not definitely charged with giving information to Germany, but the letter is obviously the work of a German, and, moreover, a German who was working in London--for it was posted in the Eastern district! It suggests, moreover, that the Germans suspected that some naval movements were on foot, and were willing to pay handsomely to get the news; it will be noted that Parrott was practically given _carte blanche_ to spend what he liked without waiting for authority from his master. A subsequent examination of his banking account showed that he had paid in about fourteen £5 notes, some of which had been in circulation in Germany. He had also been in Hamburg and Flushing, two centres of German espionage.