These cards were presented by two German officers in search of fraudulent passports. They were sent by Von Papen and Mudra (German Consul at Philadelphia), who both frequently directed such officers to Ruroede for this purpose
The other pregnant fact about the Von Knorr memorandum was that the eyes of Justice rested on the name of Werner Horn and lingered long enough to fix that name in memory. Here first swam into its ken the man who tried to destroy the international bridge at Vanceboro, Maine, and whose story is one of the most romantic and adventurous of all the German plotters!
One last touch in this drama: A few moments ago we left Von Wedell—ambitious, timorous Von Wedell—on the high seas bound for Norway. But Fate was after him. Ruroede’s moment of weakness—his moment of pique, when he swore he would not shoulder all this bitterness alone—had set her on his trail. A cable message to London, a wireless from the Admiralty, and then—this entry in the logbook of the Bergensfjord for Monday, January 11, 1915:
All male first and second class passengers were gathered in the first-class dining saloon and their nationality inquired into.
About noon, the boarding officer of the Cruiser —— (English) went back and reported to his ship. About 0:45 P. M. he came over with orders again to take off six German stowaways and two suspected passengers. These passengers were according to ship’s berth list as follows:
1. Rosato Sprio, Mexican, Destination Bergen, Cabin 71, second-class....
Rosato Sprio admitted after close examination to be H. A. Wedell. Claimed to be a citizen of the United States....
Dr. Rasmus Bjornstad claimed to be a Norwegian....
As both passengers apparently were travelling under false pretense, the Captain did not feel justified to protest against the detention of the two passengers. These were accordingly ... taken off and put on board the Auxiliary Cruiser ——.