Was that mere folly on the part of the Irish, or was it an astute move, designed to divert the attention of the English Government from the west coast? I had, unfortunately, had no chance to ask Casement about that. A remark I had once heard him let fall, now made me uneasy. What if the Irish had struck their blow prematurely and now the west coast too had been placed under martial law? That might quite possibly knock the bottom out of our plans. We should have to wait and see how things developed. For the present my one concern was to carry out my orders--to be at the right place at the right time. As the plan had originated with the Irish, it seemed to me unthinkable that they should not have made all preparations for my reception. Since they would time the rendezvous by the English reckoning, I had the chronometer set to Greenwich mean time. My plan for the next day was complete, and I could now turn to the further questions, how should I get away again, and what should I do afterwards? I had, at various times, given a good deal of thought to this part of the enterprise, and had a complete plan ready. It was open to me, of course, either to make for a neutral port, or to attempt to return to Germany; but the plan I had determined on was something of a more ambitious character than either of these. It was nothing more nor less than to embark on the career of a commerce raider. My sole real armament consisted of a single machine-gun, which I had obtained permission to retain out of my cargo; but the reader must not begin to laugh too soon. The whole plan was a gigantic bluff, but I had succeeded in convincing my at first incredulous chiefs of its feasibility. I intended, of course, to avoid the larger, faster, and in many cases armed vessels, and confine my attentions to the smaller fry, from, say, 3000 tons downwards. I intended to mount four dummy 10.5 cm. guns, and I had procured before starting a supply of maroons. My plan was, when I fell in with a suitable quarry, to summon her to stop, training one of the dummy guns on her. If she hesitated I would fire a maroon, and it was ten to one that the absence of a splash would not be noticed. If she was still recalcitrant, the whistle of machine-gun bullets over her bridge would show that we were in earnest. In nine cases out of ten I believe that the bluff would have come off. We had every facility on board, in the way of planking, paint, and canvas, for altering our appearance, say, from a well-decked to a flush-decked vessel, and we had an extensive outfit of national flags of all descriptions. There was no reason why we should not emulate, on a smaller scale, the exploits of the famous _Möwe_. I determined now, on the eve of our Irish adventure, to take my men into my confidence regarding this further enterprise, and they responded with an enthusiasm which left nothing to be desired.