Except in the case of the traitor spy, one does not quite understand
why a spy should necessarily be treated worse than any other
combatant, nor why his occupation should be looked upon as
contemptible, for, whether in peace or war, his work is of a very
exacting and dangerous kind. It is intensely exciting, and though in
some cases it brings a big reward, the best spies are unpaid men who
are doing it for the love of the thing, and as a really effective step
to gaining something valuable for their country and for their side.
The plea put forward by the German spy, Lieut. Carl Lody, at his
court-martial in London, was that "he would not cringe for mercy. He
was not ashamed of anything that he had done; he was in honour bound
not to give away the names of those who had employed him on this
mission; he was not paid for it, he did it for his country's good,
and he knew that he carried his life in his hands in doing so. Many a
Briton was probably doing the same for Britain."
He was even spoken of in our House of Commons as being "a patriot
who had died for his country as much as any soldier who fell in the
field."
To be a really effective spy, a man has to be endowed with a strong
spirit of self-sacrifice, courage, and self-control, with the power
of acting a part, quick at observation and deduction, and blessed
with good health and nerve of exceptional quality. A certain amount of
scientific training is of value where a man has to be able to take the
angles of a fort, or to establish the geological formation, say, of
the middle island under the Forth Bridge, which was shown by Graves to
be readily adaptable for explosion purposes.
For anyone who is tired of life, the thrilling life of a spy should be
the very finest recuperator!