Two men—not Germans but violently anti-English—had come to him with the suggestion, he said. It was in a very indefinite form as yet, but the idea was certainly worth careful consideration. He wished me to discuss the matter with the two men at my hotel. It did seem a good plan. As I discussed it the next evening with the two men, whom von Papen had sent to me, it seemed entirely practicable and immensely important. Together we went over the maps and diagrams they had brought with them, which showed the vulnerable points of the different canals and railways. After a number of conferences with them and with von Papen, the plot took definite shape as a plan to blow up the Welland Canal. “It can be done,” I told von Papen one day, and together we discussed the details. Finally von Papen looked up from the notes we had been examining. “I think it will do admirably,” he said. “Will you undertake it?” I nodded. “Good,” said von Papen. “I shall leave the details to you—but keep me informed of your needs and I shall see that they are taken care of.” So began the plot which was literally to carry the war into America. My first need was for men, and for help in getting these I appealed to von Papen, who obligingly furnished me with a letter of introduction—made out in the name of Bridgman H. Taylor—to Mr. Luederitz, the German Consul at Baltimore. There were several German ships interned at that port, and we felt that we should have no difficulty in recruiting our force from them. Before I went to Baltimore, however, I did engage one man, Charles Tucker, alias Tuchhaendler, who had already had some dealings with the two men who originally proposed the scheme. Tucker accompanied me to Baltimore, and together we paid a visit to Consul Luederitz. The consul glanced at the letter I presented to him. “Captain von Papen requests me to give you all the assistance you may ask for, Major von der Goltz,” he said, intimating by the use of my name that he had previously been informed of the enterprise. “I shall be happy to do anything in my power. What is it you wish?” Men, I told him, were my chief need at the moment. He said that there should be no difficulty about securing them. There was a German ship in the harbor at the time, and we could doubtless make use of part of the crew and an officer, if we desired. He offered me his visiting card, on the back of which he wrote a note of recommendation to the captain of the ship. But while we were talking this man entered the office and we made our preliminary arrangements there. The following day, a Sunday, Tucker and I visited the ship and after dinner selected our men, who were informed of their prospective duties. I also listened to the news that was being received on board by wireless; for the captain was still allowed to receive messages, although the harbor authorities had forbidden him to use his apparatus for sending purposes.