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
The town interested my companion not at all, but from there we went
forth each day on long motor excursions, scouring the whole country as
far south as Aldborough and as far west as Bury St. Edmunds. All the
roads round Southwold, Bungay, Saxmundham, Stow Market, and many other
towns we reconnoitred, apparently always with the same object--to
discover wheel-tracks of a mysterious car.
The garages of every town Ray visited alone, but his inquiries always
met with the same negative result.
Late one afternoon, however, when on the road between Wymondham and
Diss, he suddenly shouted to the driver to stop, and jumping out,
examined the track of wheels. The road, however, was hard at that spot,
and it was some time before he could decide whether the car had
travelled north or south.
"They've gone north!" he declared with satisfaction; therefore we
continued to follow them towards Wymondham, where they had drawn up at
the "Old Green Dragon," and gone forth again, striking into a by-road
which led to Bracon Ash.
"Ha!" he cried, when he saw this, "so they're busy at work--that's
plain!"
But by this time the light had faded, and much to our chagrin we were
again compelled to give up the hunt, and find our way over by Hempnall,
and so through Bungay back to Lowestoft.
Next day we were early back again at the spot, but heavy rain had
unfortunately fallen all night, so the tracks had been obliterated.
After another week of unsuccessful journeying we were, one day, about
half-way between Norwich going towards Aylsham, when my friend's keen
eyes caught sight of a wheel-track coming out of a narrow by-road.
We halted, and descending he examined them minutely, declaring that they
were what we were in search of, and quite fresh.
Therefore, considerably excited, we were soon upon the trail, following
the car through Aylsham and North Walsham until, on the road that led
towards the sea at Happisburgh, it suddenly turned into another byway.
Here Ray decided to pull up and follow on foot, which we did for nearly
two miles, until we saw before us the railway line which runs between
North Walsham and Yarmouth. We had left the road, for there, pulled up
before us, was the car I had seen at Beccles, and on ahead were the two
men, one of whom I recognised by his grey coat and white muffler.
They were beneath the railway bridge, carefully examining it.
"They're marking that down on their plan for destruction," remarked Ray
between his teeth. "All these connections will be destroyed when they
land. But, by heaven! we'll be even with them yet!"
We watched them in secret for a full half-hour, as they examined the
railroad at several points, and when they had driven off we followed
them along a road where ran six lines of telegraph into Happisburgh.
"Those wires," remarked Ray, "form one of the direct cables to Germany.
They pass through Beccles, so you may rest assured that they've surveyed
it well!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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