‘Will you really give evidence against her, sir?’ asked Rosemary.
‘Why not? Nothing we will say can make things any worse for her, and it is essential we become acquainted with her surroundings. We will change our disguises here, Gottfried – you have all that is necessary. Then, when dawn breaks, we will make our way to Anhalt Station and, as soon as the early train from Prague arrives drive to the Adlon Hotel – more because it happens to be near than for any other reason.’
‘You must go along to the British embassy, Rosemary,’ continued Sir Leonard, ‘and the sooner the better. You should have gone there direct instead of coming here. It was not very judicious of you to enter a place like this, which on no account must be allowed to fall under suspicion.’
‘She did not come straight here, Sir Leonard,’ Gottfried hastened to explain. ‘he rang me up. I told her to walk up and down on the other side of the road for ten minutes or so and not to enter until she saw an amber light in my window. While she was doing that Cousins and I went out and made absolutely certain that she was not being watched. Then I re-entered and showed the amber light. Even then Cousins kept watch outside for a while.’
Sir Leonard nodded.
‘I am glad you were so careful,’ he observed. ‘All the same it would have been better had Rosemary gone straight to the embassy. Cousins, you had better escort her there now.’
‘Can I do nothing to help,’ she pleaded. ‘It seems to me I have been no use at all up to now.’
‘My dear child, what nonsense! Why, we are indebted to you for supplying the information that first enabled us to act. Since then you have given us several valuable items of intelligence. You have done your job splendidly. Now the embassy is the place for you. You will be quite safe there. It is my intention to give the Chancellor an unpleasant problem to face. He will receive a note from the Ambassador informing him that you have sought the sanctuary of the embassy after escaping from the house of the Baroness von Reudath where you had been confined to your room, having, upon the instructions of the Supreme Marshal, been certified as insane by three German doctors. As you are a British subject, he will demand to know why the embassy was not informed, why you were to be removed secretly to an asylum, and whether it is a fact that another British subject, Bernard Foster by name, is now confined in an asylum. Furthermore, he will state that you have been examined by the embassy doctor – as you will be – and that you have not shown in the smallest particular any signs of insanity. I don’t think von Strom will dare deny the statement concerning Foster. He will be compelled at least to allow English doctors to examine him. Neither you nor Foster are suspected of being members of the British Intelligence Service – we have quite ascertained that – action can be taken, therefore, without any possibilities of embarrassment to Great Britain.’
‘Just a moment, sir,’ ventured Cousins. ‘There are drugs which render a man insane. Don’t you think that, on receipt of the Ambassador’s note, orders will be given to dose Foster so that, when the English doctors arrive to see him, they will actually find him, to all intents and purposes, a lunatic.’
Sir Leonard eyed his brilliant assistant in silence for a few moments; then he slowly nodded his head.
‘You are right, Cousins,’ he agreed. ‘I would not consider even a diabolical act like that beyond von Strom. Before the Ambassador’s note goes, we must get Foster away. He has been taken to Dr Hagenow’s own private mental home at Neu – Babelsberg I gather. Do you know it, Gottfried?’
‘Yes, sir. I was once taken there on a visit by a friend who had a relative inside. It is a beautiful place in grounds enclosed by very high walls, and as difficult to escape as a prison I should think.’
Sir Leonard sighed.
‘We do come up against some snares in our life,’ he murmured. ‘I wish I had a few more men to assist us. However, we must do the best we can. It would be too risky to send for Carter or Shannon who, at the moment, are the only two available at headquarters. Besides, there is no time. I’ll have to think it out. Now then, Rosemary, off you go. Give me some paper, Gottfried. I’ll write a note for her to hand to the Ambassador explaining matters.’ The paper was quickly forthcoming and, for ten minutes, Sir Leonard wrote rapidly. As soon as he had finished he sealed the letter in an envelope, and handed it to the girl. ‘Give that to Sir Charles,’ he directed. ‘And now listen! You go first, Cousins, and keep watch. As soon as Miss Meredith emerges, follow her at a safe distance, but do not speak to her or, in any way, show that you know her. When she is safely inside the embassy, return here. If she is accosted and any attempt made to capture her don’t go to her aid, but approach close as though curious. I don’t suppose anything like that will happen, Rosemary, but if it does, take care that the letter you have does not fall into the hands of your captors. Drop it so that Cousins can pick it up and get away with it. You both understand?’
They intimated that they did, whereupon he bade the girl good night. Cousins quietly left the flat. A few minutes later Rosemary followed him. When she had departed, Sir Leonard looked up at Gottfried, who had remained standing ever since the arrival of the chief.
‘What I should like more than anything else at the moment, Gottfried,’ he murmured, his grey eyes twinkling, ‘is a large whisky and soda.’ With many apologies the burly Secret Service agent hastened to supply his guest’s requirements.
‘I am afraid, sir,’ he admitted, ‘I have been too interested to think of refreshments. I’m terribly sorry.’
‘There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’ve suddenly developed a thirst, otherwise I shouldn’t have thought of bothering you.’ He took a deep drink. ‘You know, Gottfried,’ he observed, ‘I am not sure that I am altogether glad that Rosemary Meredith escaped. It was the natural thing to do, of course, but it is likely to cause complications, and heaven knows matters are quite complicated enough as it is. I certainly don’t want our job of rescuing the baroness and Dora Reinwald not to mention Foster to be made more difficult than it is. I must confess that I am not too sanguine about the success of the woman Hanni’s visit to the prison tomorrow night.’
‘Do you think,’ asked Gottfried anxiously, ‘that, if you are ordered to appear as witnesses at the trial you and Cousins can go through with it without engendering mistrust? I shudder to think what would happen, if that took place and it was discovered who you are.’
Sir Leonard smiled.
‘It would cause a bit of a sensation, wouldn’t it?’ he chuckled calmly. ‘I have no intention of presenting von Strom with such a triumph, however, and, I’ll see that Cousins does not. We shall be word perfect in our parts by the time we are called upon to give evidence.’
‘How about the fellow Carl who was always spying on the baroness? Won’t he declare that he has never seen you?’
‘On the contrary, he will declare that he has. He is going to supply us with our bona fides.’ Gottfried looked astonished but made no further comment. Sir Leonard drew the envelope containing the Baroness von Reudath’s statement from his pocket. ‘Now,’ he declared, ‘we shall find out all we want to know.’
He opened it, drawing out the several sheets of paper it contained and a smaller sealed envelope which he laid aside for the time being. Sophie had written in German in neat legible handwriting which presented no difficulties whatsoever to the reader. She commenced without superscription or, in fact, without address or date, plunging directly into the narrative she had to tell. Translated, it read:
I, the Baroness, Sophie Wera von Reudath, declare that the following is entirely true in every detail. It is drawn from my own personal knowledge and observation, and is not, in any one particular, obtained from hearsay. My husband, the late Baron von Reudath, was a great personal friend of the present leaders of Germany. He became acquainted with them when they were fighting to obtain recognition and, growing very impressed with the doctrines for the welfare of Germany that they preached, threw in his lot with them, thereby becoming perhaps their firmest and
most steadfast helper. The Baron von Reudath, as is well-known, did a considerable amount of propaganda work for the Chancellor, never sparing himself, and travelling all over Germany to raise support for the cause that, to him, had become almost a religion. But he was not a very strong man, and his hard work told on his health, as a consequence of which he eventually became ill and died. Before that event, however, I had been imbued with some of his enthusiasm and had also helped. I was sometimes admitted to their councils with the other leaders of their party.
After my husband’s death, I automatically took his place. It became a habit of the Supreme Marshal of State to hold the most confidential discussions in my house. I took part in some of these. There were times, however, when he, the Chancellor, and the Minister of Propaganda, excluded me from their deliberations and conferred together behind locked doors. The subject of their discussions on these occasions was, I believe, the complete subjugation of all opposition parties in the Reichstag. Directly the Chancellor obtained full power, he set about planning secretly to place Germany once again in the position among the nations she had once occupied. He was resolved that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles should be revoked, but, before he was in a position to act at all defiantly, it was necessary for him to recruit a strong army, navy and air force. These, I was assured, were for defensive purposes only. I was told that when Germany declared her intention of ignoring the treaty it was very likely that France, Italy, perhaps Poland and Russia as well, would take aggressive measures. To guard against anything of that nature it was essential to equip and train a powerful force secretly. I had several long arguments with the Supreme Marshal concerning the matter. I pointed out to him that it was Germany’s duty to respect her obligations, no matter how hard they were. He would reply to that, sometimes by falling into a rage; sometimes by pointing out to me that I myself had often spoken of the harsh manner in which Austria had been treated, and had said that she could not be blamed, if she endeavoured to throw off the shackles in which she was bound. That is true I had said it. I still feel very keenly that Austria was made the scapegoat and, of all countries, suffered the most.
About the time that these new plans were being formed the Supreme Marshal began to show in no uncertain manner that his interest and confidence in me was not altogether due to my brains and judgment. His attentions became more and more intimate as time went on, and, he often attempted to make love to me. I was forced, on several occasions, to remind him of his wife. She, I might as well state, had enquired, I believe, why it was necessary for him to continue to hold private conferences in my home after the Baron von Reudath had died. I understand that she pointed out to him that times and his circumstances had changed. Whereas he had commenced using the house of the Baron von Reudath when he had no convenient place of his own, matters had vastly altered. Apart from his private rooms at the Reichstag, there was his own palatial residence. Why could he not use that for his secret conferences? It will be seen that my position was becoming embarrassing. What reply he made to his wife, I am not in a position to state, but he continued to use my house almost as though it was indeed his own. In addition, his visits became more frequent and were not always due to conferences. Eventually I decided that I should have to leave the country. I had no regrets. In spite of the fact that I had married a German, I had never been able to feel myself a German subject. My heart is, and always has been devoted to my country, Austria.
I told him of my intention, and he was very much upset. He begged me to remain in Germany, and promised that, if I did, he would not pay me any attentions distasteful to me. In addition, he declared that he had need of what he called my cool, calculating brain. I allowed myself to be persuaded to stop. I feel now that his purpose in reporting his entire confidence in me from that time on was to keep me in the country under his power. As I had been entrusted with secrets of such importance, he felt he could insist on my remaining in Germany; if despite his injunctions I went, he could revenge himself on me by accusing me of treachery. I did not realise that then, of course. I have felt it ever since he showed such violent opposition to my leaving Germany even on a holiday. I know I am in great danger; that at any moment, I may be arrested, and tried for treason. It is because of this that I have decided to write these lines with the enclosed information and place the document where it can be found if anything happens to me, for it may be necessary for the sake of Europe and the world at large that all be made public before very long.
When confiding in me the matters of which I am writing, he made me take a vow that I would never divulge them. Before doing so I asked him if they were of a nature aggressive to Austria or other countries. He assured me they were not. I accepted his word and readily took the oath he imposed. As time went by, however, I began to feel he had lied to me; feared that a scheme conceived on a scale so gigantic must mean that, despite his declaration, his intentions were of an offensive character. But I had given my oath and until I was certain that he had misled me, could not break it. Since my suspicions were first roused I have searched diligently for what I have described as the link in the chain of knowledge, the link, in other words, that will prove to me beyond a shadow of doubt that directly Germany is fully prepared she will declare war. In my heart I know that I have been fooled; yet I feel I cannot break my vow without the proof I need. In writing these lines I am trusting to the honour of the great service I have suddenly discovered to my delight and gratitude, is ready to help me. I am confident that no attempt will be made to obtain this document unless I am arrested or killed. In conclusion I declare that I am not in the espionage service of Austria, am not in any way connected with the Austrian government. All desires to help my country and fears on her behalf are actuated entirely by my love for her. I ask the recipient of this to communicate at once with Vienna, giving all details as set down in the enclosed papers, if I am murdered, or arrested and executed. Sophie Wera von Reudath.
Sir Leonard looked up at Gottfried as he finished reading, and his grey eyes, for once in way, were eloquent of his thoughts.
‘A woman worth saving,’ he observed; ‘a woman I am proud to serve.’
Gottfried, who, at his invitation, had read over his shoulder, nodded.
‘I hope I have the pleasure of meeting her someday,’ he murmured, ‘Young Foster is amazingly lucky to have won the love of a woman like that.’
‘He certainly is,’ agreed Wallace.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Witnesses for the Prosecution
Sir Leonard tore open the second envelope, and withdrew the contents. Immediately he and the Berlin manager of Lalére et Cie became absorbed in that which was so clearly set out before their eyes. It was evident to them at once that here was no description of a scheme conceived for defensive purposes. From first to last the plan spoke of aggression. Throughout Germany, in workshops, factories, business houses men had for well over a year been secretly drilled and trained to carry arms. In schools and colleges the same exercises obtained until it was evident that Germany had become, on a greater scale than ever before, a vast military organisation. And not only men and boys, but women and girls as well underwent the training. At the same time, in several remote districts, hosts of aeroplanes and airships were being constructed and, while apparently little attention was being paid to the building of major warships, every new liner was being framed of armoured steel and made powerful enough to carry guns of a heavy calibre, thus assuring Germany of a fleet of speedy, dangerous cruisers. Above all a large number of submarines of great range and strength had already been constructed and more were being built. It was the intention of the Chancellor and his advisers to bring in conscription as soon as they were in a position to show their hand, then a force of five hundred thousand men, equipped with heavy and field guns, tanks, machine guns, and supported by a great air fleet, would move quietly to within easy distance of the Austrian frontier. An equal army similarly equipped would secretly take up its position near the French frontier while smaller
ones would arrive in the neighbourhood of Czechoslovakia and the Polish Corridor. The baroness had even been made acquainted with the manner in which such vast bodies of men were to be moved without causing comment. The manoeuvres were necessarily to be carried out by degrees; they would take months to be completed, but Sir Leonard was unable to forbear expressing his admiration for the brain that had conceived an undertaking of a nature so gigantic. The people of Austria, France and Czecho-Slovakia would have awakened one fine day to find themselves invaded by vast, well-equipped armies against which they would be ill-prepared to defend themselves and their countries.
It was a mighty scheme, wonderfully conceived, but its greatest warrant of success was not the numbers of men, guns, aeroplanes, tanks and the submarines that would roam the seas, as much as the deadly gas invented by Hans Mohrenwitz and the wireless ray of Joachim Brau. The Baroness von Reudath included the formula of the gas and full details of the ray. No wonder, reflected Sir Leonard, that she was in such deadly peril. Gottfried drily commented that it was amazing what fools even the greatest and most ambitious of men will make of themselves because of infatuation for women. It was almost unbelievable that the Supreme Marshal of Germany could have confided to the girl who had taken possession of his senses matters of such vital and world-shattering importance. The gas was guaranteed to penetrate all but specially constructed masks and suits. It was stated to be able to enter the body through the pores of the skin and roots of the hair, and was swift in its deadliness. Sophie wrote of both the gas and wireless ray from the point of view of their being weapons of defence, but neither Wallace nor Gottfried took any account of that. They regarded the whole scheme, and they could hardly do otherwise, as a vast plan of attack. Joachim Brau had successfully demonstrated that his ray effectively disabled the ignition system of a petrol engine. It caused the entire magnets to melt within the space of less than two minutes, while it had an effective range of three miles and could be transmitted directionally in the manner of the beam wireless system. It did not take a great deal of imagination to conceive the use of such an invention in time of war. Not only would it put armoured cars and tanks out of action, but an invisible barrier of these wireless rays would stop the engines of enemy aircraft, and cause them to be hurled to destruction. Moreover the baroness stated that Brau’s invention would penetrate any normal type of screening system. The only possible way to avoid its disabling effect would be to fit aeroplanes with engines of a compression ignition type which are without magnets or coil. The ray had been conceived on the basis that interference between wireless and an electrical ignition system is mutual.
Wallace Intervenes Page 16