CHAPTER III
HE SCENTS DANGER AND RECEIVES A LETTER
Tom was greatly excited by his discovery. As he hurried to the office he opened the envelopes and what he found was not of a nature to modify his excitement. Here was German propaganda work with a vengeance. He felt that he had plunged into the very heart of the Teuton spy system. Evidently the recipient of these documents had considered them too precious to destroy and too dangerous to carry.
“He might still think of a way to get them, maybe,” thought Tom.
There was a paper containing a list of all the American cantonments and opposite each camp several names of individuals. Tom thought these might be spies in Uncle Sam’s uniform. There was some correspondence about smuggling dental rubber out of the United States to make gas masks in Germany. There were requests for money. There was one letter giving information, in considerable detail, about aeroplane manufacture.
Another letter in the same handwriting interested Tom particularly, because of his interest in gas engines—the result of his many tussles with the obstreperous motor of the troop’s cabin launch, Good Turn. Skimming hastily over some matter about the receipt of money through some intermediary, his interest was riveted by the following:
“... I told you about having plans of high pressure motor. That’s for battle planes at high altitudes. I’ve got the drawings of the other now—the low pressure one I told you about at S——’s. That’s for seaplanes, submarine spotting, and all that. Develops 400 H.P. They’re not putting those in the planes that are going over now, but all planes going over next year will have them. B—— told me what you said about me going across, but that’s the only reason I suggested it—because the information won’t be of any particular use to them after they bring down a plane. They’ll see the whole thing before their eyes then. But suit yourself. There’s a lot of new wrinkles on this motor. I’ll tell you that, but there’s no use telling you about it when you don’t know a gas engine from a meat-chopper.
“Sure, I could tend to the other matter too—it’s the same idea as a periscope. That’s a cinch. I knew a chap worked on the Christopher Colon. She used to run to Central America. Maybe I could swing it that way. Anyway, I’ll see you.