Seeing that the game was up, von Eckenhardt gave in with a good grace, boasting, however, that having done a great deal of work for the Fatherland he was ready to pay the price, although it was a misfortune that he had not been able to do all that he had hoped to accomplish.
His assistants had already fled—one, out of perhaps half a dozen, was arrested twenty-four hours later in a sailor's home at Leith; the others got clear away. So hurried had been their departure that the house was left untouched. A systematic search revealed the presence of a secret wireless apparatus cunningly concealed in a bricked-up chimney corner; while, amid the mass of documents impounded by the police, experts discovered the system whereby von Eckenhardt was able to communicate with the utmost freedom with the German Admiralty.
"A smart move, that of yours, Aubyn," commented Gilroy, as the officers made their way back to the flotilla. "I really thought you had gone off your head."
"It wouldn't be the first time people thought that," rejoined Terence. "But I don't think we've done anything to brag about."
"What? Not laying that dangerous spy by the heels?" asked the engineer-lieutenant in surprise.
"Perhaps," replied Gilroy, with a grim smile. "But the point is, we've all been taken in by the rotter. Suppose at the court-martial they inquired the reason why we went to Tuilabrail? We'll have to admit that we were very nicely taken in, in more senses than one. Then they'll make us sit up."
The "sitting up" part of the business began immediately upon their return to their respective destroyers, for a signal was made by the admiral cancelling all shore leave.
At four that same afternoon—being Saturday 23 January, 1915—orders were received for the flotillas to weigh and proceed to a rendezvous off the Isle of May.
Speculation was rife amongst officers and crew as to the significance of this move. No one guessed what was taking place at Tuilabrail House: that the secret wireless was being made use of to send grossly misleading information to Berlin; and that the authorities had great hopes that the German swift armoured cruisers would be lured into making another raid on the supposedly defenceless East Coast.