"Shortly after that the _Nürnburg_ joined the rest of von Spee's squadron, but without the _Fusi Yama_. It was naturally concluded that the Huns had removed her valuable cargo and, finding her slow speed a hindrance, had scuttled her. "At any rate the million and a half had vanished. The under-writers paid up as cheerfully as they could, and wrote off the _Fusi Yama_ as a total constructive loss. "Now this is where the affair has a personal note. Here let me remark that I bind no one to secrecy over the matter, nor do I make any attempt to do so; but I would like to point out that not only your own but your comrades' interests will be at stake if, even incautiously, you discuss the matter with outside friends or strangers. "There was on board the _Fusi Yama_ a man named Williams, whom I knew when I was down on my luck in Manitoba. There was a bit of a scrap in camp, and he said I'd done him a good turn. Incidentally, his home in England--or birthplace rather--was close to mine. "Williams was a dare-devil sort of fellow, and when the crew of the _Fusi Yama_ were placed on board the _Nürnburg_ he had the audacity to disguise himself as a Chinaman, with the result that he was retained by the Huns as a servant. I expect he played up to that, but it was a risky thing to do, although he certainly had features of a Mongolian type. He wore a false pigtail, which might have been fatal to him had Fritz taken it into his head to pull that. They did the next best thing; they cut it off, which saved Williams from further anxiety on that score. "All the time he was keeping his eye on the bullion, so to speak. "Then a Jap squadron got on von Spee's track and hustled him along. The _Nürnburg_ had taken her prize into an unfrequented lagoon in the Marshall Archipelago, and was preparing to transfer the gold when von Spee heard that not only the Jap squadron but the Australian warships were converging on him. "So the _Fusi Yama_ was hurriedly scuttled in the lagoon in about fifteen fathoms, with the bullion and specie in her strong-room. Williams was the only human being, except the _Nürnburg's_ crew, who saw the deed done, and he made good use of his eyes and wits. "Having found out what he wanted, Williams looked out for an opportunity to part company. It was no easy matter, and not until 14th September, when von Spee's squadron was lying in Talcahuano Harbour, did the supposed Chink succeed in getting ashore. "On 1st November von Spee's vessels sunk the _Good Hope_ and _Monmouth_ in action off the Chilian coast, and about six weeks later the German squadron was destroyed off the Falklands, so had the gold been placed on board the _Nürnburg_ we should not be sitting in this room to-day. In my opinion Sturdee's action and the Zeebrugge business were the two smartest bits of work the British Navy ever did during the war."