Soon after the train left Albany, I joined the trio in the dining car
and, fortunately, we secured a table by ourselves. This was to be the
farewell dinner of four who had widely diverging routes and vastly
different purposes before them. Mr. Fenwick was to sail to Liverpool,
Mr. Fenton and Mr. Barton were _en route_ to the South and West,
and I, as stated in a former chapter, was bound for Copenhagen. How
wonderful it would be if we could meet two months later to compare the
experiences and achievements of each traveler with that of the others!
The effect of my feint was that I was invited to meet with them at
Hotel Belmont in New York, where they had planned a consultation. This
invitation I accepted and agreed to be there as soon as possible after
I would reach the city, not later than eight o'clock.
After a short visit in the lobby of the hotel, we repaired for a light
luncheon to a café in the vicinity, where a private dining room had
been reserved for us and to which refreshments, including cigars and
several bottles of champagne, had been brought. It was not long until
we got down to "merriment and business," as Mr. Fenwick called the
proceedings.
Unfortunate in good fellowship is he who attends such a meeting, if
he has not learned to smoke and to imbibe the nectar of Bacchus, but
this was my plight in the council which had assembled to promote or
influence the labors of Mars. However, I was excused good-naturedly on
the ground that, as I was to sail on the morrow, such indulgence would
unsettle me as a sailor.
Between jokes and drinks, both of which came fast, but of which the
latter came the faster, the discussion turned almost entirely to the
project of starving Germany and her allies into submission.
"Well," said Mr. Barton, after emptying a fair-sized glass of champagne
and blowing a cloud of tobacco smoke across the room, "I think the
best dope is to keep the Yankees thinking the Germans are about to
invade New York with an army of a million men, supported by a fleet of
fifty superdreadnaughts. This will keep them discussing what they call
'preparedness for defense' while England is destroying neutral trade
between America and Europe."
Having made what he considered a capital speech, Mr. Fenwick blinked
his eyes and lilted in an unusually cheerful tone the rag-time he had
hummed several times before:
"Ah'l lend yo' ma hat!
Ah'l lend yo' ma flat!
Ah'l lend yo' ma lovely overcoat of fur!
Ah'l lend yo' everyt'ing Ah've got--excep' ma wife!
An' Ah'l mak' yo' _a present of_ HER!"
The trio laughed merrily and smacked their lips as they sipped the
champagne drawn from a bottle with a long, slender neck. Mr. Fenton
held his glass near his chin and smiled approvingly, shouting, "That is
the spirit of genuine liberality."
To me his smile appeared bland and harmless, but the impression he
made, as he moved the glass up and down, was sinister and betrayed
covert evil and danger. I began to feel uneasy and uncertain of the
situation. This was the first experience of the kind I had ever
witnessed.
Instead of studying me and my motives and purposes, these men became
anxious to tell me of their experiences in the past and what they
had set out to accomplish in the future. Instead of being a plastic
organism in their hands, to be formed into shape and used to accomplish
their desires as they had intended, they were divulging to me what I
wanted to know of them in particular and the work of secret agents in
general.
The school in which I had suddenly become a student was interesting
beyond my power to describe. They howled and roared like raving beasts
that are seeking to devour each other. My eyes and ears were open every
moment, permitting nothing to escape, while I said only sufficient to
keep the trio busy in their eagerness to surpass each other in relating
the smart stories with which detectives are familiar. In this manner I
easily accomplished my purpose, that is, I learned much of the work and
methods of secret agents in America and received the information which
enabled me to find their compatriots in Europe.
At this juncture I also learned that Mr. Fenwick was ultimately to
locate in Holland, where he was to join other secret service men in
keeping a close watch of the movements of goods imported with the
consent of Great Britain from North and South America. He was to
ascertain whether any of these goods were finding their way into
Germany, and, if so, in what quantity and under what conditions.
By this time we had finished our luncheon.
I was ready to leave the table and planned to do so as gracefully
as possible. All I still wanted was some information about the
confederates of Mr. Fenwick in Denmark. This was not difficult to
obtain.
These spies, or secret service men as they called themselves, had
the impression that I was in the same line of work as Mr. Fenwick,
except that I was to operate in Denmark. For this reason they gave
me much information about commercial affairs which were not open for
publication and supplied me with addresses of people in Denmark in whom
I could confide. The session came to a close at about ten o'clock,
after which I hurried to the place of my residence near the Battery,
where I had engaged quarters.