Mr. W. Beach Thomas, the _Daily Mail_ correspondent with the British
Army, recounted on October 19th last a strange incident which occurred
at Armentières, where the old and more regular method of warfare then
prevailed. "Two days ago," he wrote, "a civilian was seen to leap over
the parapet of our front trench and run for the German line, which is
not far distant. He was shot dead before reaching it, _and in the
evening the Germans recovered his body_. How had he reached our trench?
Who was he? Was he spy or madman?" Few readers will hesitate over the
answer.
There must indeed be numerous spies at the Front. I am told that in
certain sectors the country people whose homes are still within the war
area are frequently suspected, and wonder has often been expressed that
the military authorities have not long ago ordered them to retire far
to the rear.
I have heard of a ploughman who, for the guidance of Hun airmen,
ploughed two converging furrows pointing directly to the position
of a concealed battery, which was later severely shelled, and of a
seemingly unsophisticated countrywoman who laid out a white sheet on
the ground, wherein to pack her wares for market, hard by another
important position that German planes were searching for. Both these
people turned out to be disguised Boche agents.
The liberty of the _mercantis_, or itinerant merchants, who infest
the rear and rob the French _poilu_ or British "Tommy" by selling him
wretched goods at an exorbitant price should likewise be curtailed.
Spies are to be divided into innumerable categories. Within the limits
of a magazine article it is impossible to do more than touch on the
fringe of this great topic. One could devote two or three chapters of a
book merely to the subject of those spies who, from time to time, are
carried at night-time within the French and British lines by German
airmen, who pick them up again when dawn is about to break. This is the
most perilous game which the spy is called upon to play. It leads to
the most extraordinary adventures and hairbreadth escapes, and some of
these I hope later on to have the opportunity of relating.