III.
THE PLAN.
I slept like a log, and only awakened when Tiel came into my room next morning, bringing my breakfast on a tray. He had sent the servant over to the farm for milk, he explained, and while I ate he sat down beside my bed.
"Can you talk business now?" I asked.
"This afternoon," said he.
I made a grimace.
"I naturally don't want to waste my time," I observed.
"You won't," he assured me.
"But why this afternoon rather than this morning? You can send the servant out for a message whenever you choose."
"I hope to have a pleasant little surprise for you in the afternoon."
I was aware of the fondness of these secret-service agents for a bit of mystery, and I knew I had to humour him. But really it seems a childish kind of vanity.
"There is one thing you can do for me," I said. "If I am to kick up my heels in this room all day—and probably for several days—I must have a pen and ink and some foolscap."
After his fashion he asked no questions but merely nodded, and presently brought them.
The truth was, I had conceived the idea of writing some account of my adventure, and in fact I am writing these lines now in that very bedroom I have described. I am telling a story of which I don't know the last chapter myself. A curious position for an author! If I am caught—well, it will make no difference. I have given nothing away that won't inevitably be discovered if I am arrested. And, mein Gott, what a relief it has been! I should have died of boredom otherwise.
If only my window looked out to sea! But, unluckily, I am at the back of the house and look, as it were sideways, on to a sloping hillside of green ferns below and brown heather at the top. By opening the window and putting my head right out, I suppose I should catch a glimpse of the sea, but then my neighbours would catch a glimpse of me. I expostulated with Tiel as soon as I realised how the room faced, but he points out that the servant may go into any room in the front part of the house, whereas this part is supposed to be closed. I can see that he is right, but it is nevertheless very tantalising.
On that Saturday afternoon Tiel came back to my room some hours later, and under his quiet manner I could see that he bore tidings of importance. No one could come quicker to the point when he chose, and this time he came to it at once.
"You remember the affair of the Haileybury?" he demanded.
"The British cruiser which was mined early in the war?"
He nodded.
"Perfectly," I said.
"You never at any time came across her captain? His name was Ashington."
"No," I said, "I have met very few British officers."
"I don't know whether you heard that she was supposed to be two miles out of her proper course, contrary to orders, did you?"
"Was she?"
"Ashington says 'no.' But he was court-martialled, and now he's in command of a small boat—the Yellowhammer. Before the loss of his ship he was considered one of the most promising officers in the British service; now——!"
Tiel made an expressive gesture and his eyes smiled at me oddly. I began to understand.
"Now he is an acquaintance of yours?"
Tiel nodded.
"But has he knowledge? Has he special information?"
"His younger brother is on the flagship, and he has several very influential friends. I see that my friends obtain knowledge."
I looked at him hard.
"You are quite sure this is all right? Such men are the last to be trusted—even by those who pay them."
"Do you know many 'such men'?" he inquired.
"None, I am thankful to say."
"They are queer fish," said Tiel in a reminiscent way, "but they generally do the thing pretty thoroughly, especially when one has a firm enough hold of them. Ashington is absolutely reliable."
"Where is he to be seen?"
"He went out for a walk this afternoon," said Tiel drily, "and happened to call at the manse to see if he could get a cup of tea—a very natural thing to do. Come—the coast is clear."
He led the way downstairs and I followed him, not a little excited, I confess. How my mission was going to develop, I had no clear idea when I set forth upon it, but though I had imagined several possible developments, I was not quite prepared for this. To have an officer of the Grand Fleet actually assisting at our councils was decidedly unexpected. I began to realise more and more that Adolph Tiel was a remarkable person.
In the front parlour an officer rose as we entered, and the British and German uniforms bowed to each other under circumstances which were possibly unique. Because, though Ashingtons do exist and these things sometimes happen, they generally happen in mufti. I looked at our visitor very hard. On his part, he looked at me sharply for a moment, and then averted his eyes. I should certainly have done the same in his place.
He was a big burly man, dark, and getting bald. His voice was deep and rich; his skin shone with physical fitness; altogether he was a fine gross animal, and had his spirit been as frank and jovial as his appearance suggested, I could have pictured him the jolliest of company in the ward-room and the life and soul of a desperate enterprise. But he maintained a frowning aspect, and was clearly a man whose sullen temper and sense of injury had led him into my friend's subtle net. However, here he was, and it was manifestly my business not to criticise but to make the most of him.
"Well, gentlemen," began Tiel, "I don't think we need beat about the bush. Captain Ashington has an idea, and it is for Lieutenant von Belke to approve of it or not. I know enough myself about naval affairs to see that there are great possibilities in the suggestion, but I don't know enough to advise on it."
"What is the suggestion?" I asked in a very dry and non-committal voice.
Captain Ashington, I noticed, cleared his throat before he began.
"The fleet is going out one evening next week," he said; "probably on Thursday."
"How do you know?" I demanded.
He looked confidentially at Tiel.
"Mr Tiel knows the source of my information," he said.
"I should like to know it too," said I.
"I can vouch for Captain Ashington's information," said Tiel briefly.
There is something extraordinarily decisive and satisfying about Tiel when he speaks like that. I knew it must be all right; still, I felt it my duty to make sure.
"Have you any objections to telling me?" I asked.
Tiel stepped to my side and whispered—
"I told you about his brother."
I understood, and did not press my question. Whether to respect the man for this remnant of delicacy, or to despise him for not being a more thorough, honest blackguard, I was not quite sure.
"Well," I said, "suppose we know when they are going out, they will take the usual precautions, I presume?"
Ashington leaned forward confidentially over the table.
"They are going out on a new course," he said in a low voice.
I pricked up my ears, but all I said was—
"Why is that?"
"On account of the currents. The old passage hasn't been quite satisfactory. They are going to experiment with a new passage."
This certainly sounded all right, for I knew how diabolical the tideways can be round these islands.
"Do you know the new course at all accurately?" I inquired.
Captain Ashington smiled for the first time, and somehow or other the sight of a smile on his face gave me a strongly increased distaste for the man.
"I know it exactly," he said.
He took out of his pocket a folded chart and laid it on the table. The three of us bent over it, and at a glance I could see that this was business indeed. All the alterations in the mine-fields were shown and the course precisely laid down.
"Well," said Tiel, "I think this suggests something, Belke."
By this time I was inwardly burning with excitement.
"I hope to have the pleasure of being present just about that spot," I said, pointing to the chart.
"Or there," suggested Ashington.
"Either would do very nicely, so far as I can judge," said Tiel. "How many submarines can you concentrate, and how long will it take you to concentrate them?"
I considered the question.
"I am afraid there is no use in concentrating more than two or three in such narrow waters," I said. "Squadronal handling of submarines of course is impossible except on the surface. And we clearly can't keep on the surface!"
Captain Ashington looked at me in a way I did not at all like.
"We run a few risks in the British navy," he said. "D—n it, you'll have a sitting target! I'd crowd in every blank submarine the water would float if I were running this stunt!"
"You don't happen to be running it," I said coldly.
Tiel touched me lightly on the shoulder and gave me a swift smile, pleasant but admonitory.
"The happy mean seems to be suggested," he said soothingly. "There's a great deal to be said for both points of view. On the one hand you risk submarines: on the other hand you make the battle-fleet run risks. One has simply to balance those. What about half a dozen submarines?"
I shook my head.
"Too many," I said. "Besides, we couldn't concentrate them in the time."
"How many could you?"
"Four," I said; "if I can get back to my boat on Monday, we'll have them there on Thursday."
Tiel produced a bottle of whisky and syphons and we sat over the chart discussing details for some time longer. It was finally handed over to me, and Captain Ashington rose to go.
"By the way," I said, "there is one very important preliminary to be arranged. How am I to get back to my boat?"
"That will be all right," said Tiel confidently; "I have just heard from Captain Ashington that they have arrested the wrong man on suspicion of being the gentleman who toured the country yesterday. The only thing is that they can't find his cycle. Now I think if we could arrange to have your motor-cycle quietly left near his house and discovered by the authorities, they are not likely to watch the roads any longer."
"I'll fix that up," said Captain Ashington promptly.
"How will you manage it?" I asked.
"Trust him," said Tiel.
"But then how shall I get back?"
"I shall drive you over," smiled Tiel. "There will probably be a dying woman who desires the consolations of religion in that neighbourhood on Monday night."
I smiled too, but merely at the cunning of the man, not at the thought of parting with my motor-cycle. However, I saw perfectly well that it would be folly to ride it over, and if I left it behind at the manse—well, I was scarcely likely to call for it again!
"Now, Belke," said Tiel, "we had better get you safely back to your turret chamber. You have been away quite as long as is safe."
I bowed to Captain Ashington—I could not bring myself to touch his hand, and we left his great gross figure sipping whisky-and-soda.
"What do you think of him?" asked Tiel.
"He seems extremely competent," I answered candidly. "But what an unspeakable scoundrel!"
"We mustn't quarrel with our instruments," said he philosophically. "He is doing Germany a good turn. Surely that is enough."
"I should like to think that Germany did not need to stoop to use such characters!"
"Yes," he agreed, though in a colourless voice, "one would indeed like to think so."
I could see that Adolph Tiel had not many scruples left after his cosmopolitan experiences.