Spies of the Kaiser: Plotting the Downfall of England — John Shaqi
Spies of the Kaiser: Plotting the Downfall of EnglandLe Queux, William
History
Spies of the Kaiser: Plotting the Downfall of England
Le Queux, William
Espionage, German -- Fiction; Great Britain -- History -- Invasions -- Fiction; Intelligence service -- Fiction; Spy stories
So we hurried back to our own car, and our driver, by taking a by-path,
brought us out upon the main road again at Thorpe Market, and just after
half-past seven we pulled up before the hotel in the old Suffolk market
town of Beccles, under the shadow of the stumpy square old church tower.
The car was garaged, and after a drink we went forth for a walk along
the quiet old-world streets, until suddenly upon a corner we came to the
post office, a large old-fashioned two-storied house with steep tiled
roof.
"Wait about here," my companion said; "a dark-haired man in a light grey
overcoat and golf-cap will probably come to post a letter just before
eight. He has a dark brown beard, and usually wears a white muffler.
When he comes follow him, and see where he goes. He may know me, so I
must keep out of sight."
Therefore I lit my pipe, and idled up and down, keeping the letter-box
in view. In the window, directly above it, was a clock which showed it
then to be a quarter to eight. I took a pretended interest in the small
shops near, until about four minutes to the hour a closed motor-car
swung round from the direction of the Public Hail, and pulled up before
the post office.
From it two men alighted--one a youngish fair-haired man, and the other,
dark-bearded and much older, wore a thick grey overcoat and a white
muffler. He was the man of whom I was in search.
I entered the office directly after the pair, on pretence of buying
stamps, but already the elder of the two had handed in a letter to be
registered, the address of which I failed to discern.
Both seemed to be in a great hurry, for as soon as the receipt was
written out they re-entered the car and drove back in the direction they
had come, leaving me standing helpless on the opposite side of the road.
Immediately I returned to the hotel where Ray was waiting, and reported
to him, whereupon he seized his hat, and walking with me back to the
post office halted in the centre of the road examining the wheel-tracks,
which were still quite plain upon the damp roadway.
Then, as he walked back, he said:
"Do you know, Jack, that this town Beccles has been decided upon by the
Germans as the head-quarters of the Army Corps which lands at Weybourne?
It's a natural position, standing upon high ground and commanding the
whole of the surrounding country. Signals made from that church tower
yonder could be seen very far afield."
Then, as we sat together in the coffee-room of the hotel, eating a hasty
meal, he remarked:
"We'll go back to Cromer to-night, but I shall go to town to-morrow.
You'll wait till my return, won't you?"
So I was left alone for nearly a week; and on his return he announced
that we must at once shift our quarters to Lowestoft. So south we went
that same night, arriving at midnight, and putting up at the
many-balconied Empire Hotel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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