Espionage, German -- United States -- Fiction; Germans -- United States -- Fiction; Spy stories
For precautionary reasons Robert Fay had moved his headquarters in
Weehawken to the boat house, the description of which had been given
to Wettig. He worked with the assistance only of a brother-in-law,
Walter Scholz, whom he had inveigled into giving up a position in a
Connecticut city to come to Jersey and help him in the manufacture of
the bombs which were to play havoc with all shipping in Atlantic ports.
The afternoon after Wettig's conference with Grant, Fay, working on
the model of the stern of a ship, hastily covered it with canvas as he
heard the rumble of wheels outside. A wagon drew up and a moment later
a heavy knock shook the weather-beaten boarding of the boat house door.
Fay gave a quick glance around the boat house to see that everything
was covered. "What do you want?" he called.
There was no answer. Fay frowned, and then caught sight of a card
slipping through a crack in the door. He pulled it through and held it
to the light. The eagle of Germany showed clearly. It was the pass card!
Fay opened the door. Outside a laborer, dark, and roughly dressed stood
holding in each hand a suit case. Striding into the boat house he laid
them carefully side by side.
"T.N.T. A hundred pounds even. Dangerous stuff," he announced, rubbing
his hands together. "They gave me orders to stay and help you."
Fay looked at him. "Yes, I was told." He hesitated a moment and stirred
uneasily. His new assistant watched him calmly. Fay broke the silence.
"We who work for Germany are watched constantly. You will therefore
understand if I appear inquisitive. I must assure myself that you are
entirely in sympathy with what I am working for."
The newcomer laughed easily. "If I wasn't I wouldn't be running the
risk of getting pinched by carrying around this T.N.T. But if you want
credentials I can tell you that I have done a few things myself in
connection with the work of the German Government."
Fay looked interested. "Is it so? Then we will work well together."
That his assistant's task had been to land various hired agents of
the German Government in federal prisons for stays ranging from two
to ten years was something that Fay was not yet destined to know and
eager to be back at his work, he put aside further questioning and with
the pride of a fanatic who sees his one idea about to be realized,
described his invention. The canvas covering was thrown off the model
of the ship's stern. The manner in which the bomb could be screwed to
the rudder post, just how the wire line would lead to the rudder and
how the clockwork would gradually wind and wind with the motion of the
rudder until the tightened springs inside set off the plunger which
would cause an explosion of sufficient force to blow the ship from the
face of the ocean was described.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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