The Cotton Spies
Page 28
CHAPTER 27
Mawle and Fernee sat outside Barber’s office listening to the man shouting at Statham. From what they could hear it was a discussion about accounts.
‘Well at least we are going to be out of earshot and away from General Grumpy,’ said Fernee.
Mawle laughed, ‘you think so?’
‘I was told by his Nibbs yesterday, that I was to go on a jaunt to Baku. Now I knew you wanted to go into Russia to blow things up so I suggested you come with me.’
‘Thank you, Tom. I thought that I had made a wrong decision by volunteering to come out here seeing I’ve been sitting idle ever since my arrival.’
‘Volunteer to come out? Didn’t London send you out here specifically to blow something up?’
Mawle leaned forward in his chair and looked at Barber’s secretary typing. Keeping his eye on the man Mawle spoke out of the side of his mouth. ‘No. I volunteered through a chap, I know in London. We were both in intelligence. I was working on maps at the time and him on matters Russian. We were talking, one day, about the possibility that the Turks or Germans might use the Russian railway to invade Persia and then India. We then discussed how some of our chaps in Arabia are having great fun blowing up the railway and being involved in guerrilla war against the Turks. At sometime I said that blowing things up sounded more fun than working in an office in Whitehall on Indian intelligence matters. My friend, God Bless Him, got me this posting.’
‘Working in an office in Whitehall? Why would they want you, an explosives expert, in the Indian Intelligence department in Whitehall doing maps?’
‘Well I did serve for a while on the North West Frontier before I was in London, so I know about India. I’m not actually an explosives expert, Tom.’
‘I thought all you Australian civil engineers were dab hands at blowing up mountains to build roads or railways.’
‘No, I have never used the stuff. I have never had to.’
Their conversation was interrupted by the office door being wrenched open and as the two captains leapt to their feet. Both men were surprised to see that Barber rather than Statham had opened the door.
‘In here now.’ Barber didn’t bother to return the salutes of either man merely strode back into the room and sat heavily at his desk from where he barked, ‘I hope you are packed for Baku, Captain Fernee.’ Barber switched his attention to Mawle and said brusquely, ‘I am sorry but at this time Captain Mawle you are not going. However, whilst Fernee is away you must be ready to move into Russia with your explosives at a moment’s notice. Now I need to talk to Fernee alone if you please.’
Fernee watched a rather forlorn Mawle disappear out through the door and once the door closed Barber asked Fernee to describe his approach to the Baku trip.
‘I’ll enter Russian Turkestan disguised as a Persian Armenian trader. I will take the two Muslim Indians who accompanied me, as my servants, from India. Both my servants speak Farsi and are capable of passing themselves off as Persians.’
Barber listened intently, and at the end he gave Fernee his orders and instructions. Fernee was: told to contact Major Travis in Krasnovodsk who would give final approval on whether it was too dangerous for Fernee to, proceed to Baku; given letters addressed to known anti-Bolsheviks in Krasnovodsk and Baku; given funds for his trip. The funds provided were to cover not just Fernee’s travel expenses but money for any bribes that he might have make on his journey.
Fernee decided to take no chances with the money being discovered by the Bolshevik guards when he crossed the Turkestan border and had one of his Indian servants, Ali Baig, sew some of the money into the lining of his coat. The larger amount of money Fernee stored in one of the three canvas water bags that he habitually carried with him. Fernee took this decision having been assured that the terrain his party would be travelling through had a good supply of water and that taking three water bags was overkill.
It took three days travel for Fernee and his party to reach the Persian border at the village of Khakistar. Whilst the Fernee party were resting their horses prior to crossing the border into Russia a British Officer came riding in the opposite direction; it was Travis. Travis had only reached Ashkhabad not Krasnovodsk but because of what he had learnt there he was anxious to report back immediately to Meshed. Travis told Fernee the Bolsheviks were worried by the presence of twenty thousand British troops in Meshed who were expected to invade Russia at any moment. Travis said had not disabused the Bolsheviks as to the true number (several hundred) of troops in Meshed but he had told them they were there only for friendly not aggressive purposes.
Travis had met a local Bolshevik government minister who was non-committal about what was happening to the abundant cotton stocks in Ashkhabad. The Bolshevik was prepared to admit the Germans were interested in buying the whole stock. Travis was then warned by the Bolshevik that he would be in danger if he did not leave post haste because there were Turkish agents in the town bent on persuading the local Moslems to support Turkey against the British. Those agents might take the opportunity to kill a known British Officer. Travis’ advice, but not an order, was for Fernee to turn back to Meshed.
Fernee felt confident in his Persian disguise and his Russian linguistic abilities to ignore Travis’ warning about the dangers he faced in Ashkhabad. Travis looked like a British Officer, Fernee did not and because of that Travis decided it was up to Fernee to decide whether to accept his advice. Fernee was too excited by his mission to want a return to Meshed just to: edit a newspaper; draw a map; listen to Barber. He told Travis he was going on to Baku and noticing that Travis did not have a servant Fernee gave him one of his. Fernee then left Travis and crossed the Russian border with his remaining servant, Ali Baig, and headed for the railway station at Kaahka.