Number 70, Berlin: A Story of Britain's PerilLe Queux, William
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Number 70, Berlin: A Story of Britain's Peril
Le Queux, William
War stories; World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction
"I do. My husband always declared the arrangements in Holland to be
perfect--and they are perfect, even to-day, while we are at war in
England--the great Ruler of the Seas, as she calls herself, has already
fallen from her height. Britannia's trident is broken; her rulers know,
and quite appreciate the fact. That is why they establish a censorship
in order to keep the truth regarding our submarines from what they term
the man-in-the-street. As soon as he knows the truth--if he ever will--
then Heaven help Great Britain!"
"Meanwhile we are all working towards one end, my dear Molly--victory
for our Fatherland!"
"Certainly. We shall conquer. The great Russian steam-roller--as the
English journalists once called it--is already rusty at its joints. The
rust has eaten into it, and soon its engineers will fail to make it
move--except in its reverse-gear," and the woman laughed. "But tell
me," she added: "of what does the evidence against Sainsbury exactly
consist?"
Lewin Rodwell reflected seriously for a few moments. Then he slowly
replied:
"Well, there are several things--things which he will have great
difficulty in explaining away. I've taken good care of that. First,
there is the letter from the Dutch Insurance Company sending him a
ten-pound note. Secondly, there is a letter from a certain Carl
Stefansen, living at Waxholm, on the Baltic, not far from Stockholm,
asking for details regarding the movements of certain regiments of
Kitchener's Army, and thanking him for previous reports regarding the
camps at Watford, Bramshott and elsewhere. Thirdly, there is an
acknowledgment of a report sent to a lock-box address in Sayville, in
the United States, on the second of last month, and promising to send,
by next post, a remittance of five pounds in payment for it. A letter
from Halifax, Nova Scotia, also requests certain information as to
whether the line of forts from Guildford to Redhill--part of the
ring-defences of London--are yet occupied."
"Forts? What do you mean?"
"Those forts established years ago along the Surrey hills as part of the
scheme for the defence of the Metropolis, but never manned or equipped
with guns. They cost very many thousands to construct--but were never
fully equipped."
"And they are still in existence?"
"Certainly. And they could be occupied, and turned to valuable account,
at any moment."
"A fact which I can see they fully appreciated at Whitehall, and which
will lend much colour to the charge against this inquisitive young
fellow--who--well--who knows just a little too much. Ah! my dear Lewin,
I never met a man quite like you. You can see through a brick wall."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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