The Encounter with a Spy
WITH hardly a sound Sub-lieutenant Webb made his way to the side of
his sleeping chum, and roused him effectually and silently by the
simple expedient of grasping him firmly by the hand.
"'Ssh!" cautioned Tom.
Side by side the two officers crawled to a place of vantage from
which the three men could be kept under observation.
"By Jove!" thought Osborne. "Two German officers and our old pal
Alfonzo. Jabbering away in German, too; and I don't understand the
lingo. Now if they were to try Spanish----"
"Ach, friend Georgeos Hymettus!" exclaimed the senior Hun officer in
execrable English. "Your German a disgrace is. You kultur have
neglected. We confused are in your explanations. Therefore, since we
talk not Spanish nor Greek it will be more easy to talk in der
accursed English. You say you no haf der list of ships?"
"No," replied Perez, or, to give him his true name, Hymettus. "It no
safe. Me no trust ze writing. Carry all here," and he tapped his
forehead significantly. "S'pose me caught and nodings found in ze
writing. Zen, nodings doin' as ze Englise say."
Thereupon, with great fidelity the Greek spy named the British
war-ships on the station and their probable destinations. One
exception was the _Portchester Castle_. Either the name had slipped
his memory, or else he was ignorant of her presence in the Bay of
Gibraltar. He then proceeded to detail the names of British and
foreign merchantmen at Gib. and their probable date of departure,
which information the Germans jotted down in a notebook.
An off-shore wind, rustling across the sand-dunes, rendered a
considerable portion of the following conversation inaudible, but the
chums could see that a sum of paper money changed hands.
"U-boat officers!" whispered Webb, taking advantage of the hush of
the grass. "Game to tackle them?"
"Yes, I'm game," replied Osborne, "but it can't be done yet. I'll
explain later. Steady!"
The spy and the Huns were on the point of separating.
"Till Friday," cautioned the senior German officer. "Meanwhile tell
Gonales dat we be off Alminecar on Wednesday, an' dat we vos have
more petrol. Leben Sie wohl, Georgeos. Do not from dis place move
make until twenty minutes."
The Huns moved off diagonally in the direction of the shore. Before
they had gone very far two greatcoated seamen jumped to their feet
and saluted. Osborne, then, was wise in not attempting to tackle the
officers, since there were members of the submarine's boat's crew
within easy hailing distance. Silently the Germans pushed off in a
collapsible canvas boat, and were rowed seaward until they were lost
to sight and hearing of the British officers.
True to his instructions, Georgeos Hymettus remained at the spot
where he had parted with his uniformed confederates. He was
stealthily counting the notes he had received as the price of his
espionage, as if to make sure that he had not been cheated by his
Teutonic paymasters. Rapidly Osborne revolved the situation in his
mind. With the assistance of his chum the capture of the solitary spy
ought to present no special difficulties; but, having laid him by the
heels, the question arose, what could they do with him? The spy was
in Spanish territory, and, if the facts became known, his arrest
constituted a breach of neutrality. Again, between them and the
Neutral Ground were the Spanish Lines, through which it would be
almost a matter of impossibility to conduct the captive without
detection by the Civil Guards. On the other hand it would be a
thankless task to give the Greek over to the Spanish authorities. Not
only would it mean delay, when it was imperative that Osborne and his
chum should return to the ship as soon as practicable, but the
chances were that the Spanish officials would refuse to keep the
fellow under arrest, since he had been merely engaged in conversation
with two subjects of a friendly power. In Spain, especially in the
southern part, the officials are notoriously pro-German, having
succumbed to the wiles and pecuniary charms of the Hun agents.
"I'll risk it," decided the Lieutenant. "Even if we don't succeed in
planting him down in Gib. it will give him a rare fright."
He pointed towards the unsuspecting Greek. Webb nodded. Stealthily
the twain advanced, treading on the soft sand and avoiding contact
with the dry driftwood that abounded in the grass.
Without warning Georgeos Hymettus turned and saw two forms
approaching through the gloom of the starlit night. He took to his
heels, doubtless imagining that he was about to be attacked by some
of the numerous robbers who, under the guise of beggars, infest the
countryside.
Swift of foot though the Greek might be, the two Englishmen were
swifter. Before the fugitive had covered a hundred yards he realized
that escape by means of flight seemed hopeless.
He was almost on the point of stopping and feigning surrender when
Osborne's foot tripped over a projecting stone, sending the
Lieutenant sprawling in the grass. Webb, springing aside to avoid the
prostrate form of his chum, shouted to the spy to give in.
Promptly the Greek held both hands, with the fingers outspread, high
above his head.
"That's sensible," declared Tom, and incautiously he turned to see
how his companion was progressing. Like a flash of lightning the
spy's right hand sought his voluminous sash, and grasping a long,
keen-bladed knife he slashed viciously at the Sub's chest.
Springing backwards Webb avoided what would otherwise have been a
fatal blow. As it was, the sharp steel ripped his coat from lapel to
waist, while so much energy had Georgeos put into the blow that his
arm swung outwards behind him.
The Sub was quick to counter. Throwing himself upon the ground, he
gripped his antagonist by the ankles. With a crash the fellow
measured his length on his back, while Webb, following up the attack,
seized him by the throat.
Over and over the two rolled, Hymettus striking blindly with his
knife, while Tom, shifting one hand, strove to pin the spy's right
arm to his side and render him incapable of dealing further
dangerous, but fortunately ineffectual, blows.
By this time Osborne had regained his feet, and was awaiting an
opportunity of coming to his chum's assistance. It was no easy
matter, for in the starlight it was hard to distinguish betwixt
friend and foe as they writhed and rolled in a close embrace.
The glint of steel prompted Osborne to take the risk. At any chance
moment a thrust might bury the weapon in Webb's body. Both combatants
were obviously becoming exhausted. Their quick breaths sounded like
those of a pair of dogs spent after running a long distance, while,
in addition, the Greek was snarling like a wild beast.
Grasping a favourable moment, Osborne took a flying kick at the knife
as for a brief instant it paused in mid-air. The weapon flew a dozen
yards, the bright blade twirling and scintillating in the dim light
ere it vanished from sight in the soft sand.
With the loss of the weapon the Greek ceased to offer resistance.
Upon that knife he had relied to win clear; it was the mainstay of
his defence.
"What you was do?" he whined in broken English, for he had already
recognized his assailants. "Me harmless Spanish caballero."
"We'll see about that," retorted Osborne. "The question is: are you
coming quietly or are you not?"
"Where?" asked the spy.
"To Gibraltar."
"What for ze reason?"
The Lieutenant thought it best to ignore the question. With Webb's
assistance he set the spy upon his feet, securely bound his arms
behind his back by means of his shawl, and, cutting off a portion of
the latter, effectually gagged the prisoner.
Osborne listened intently. There was nothing to show that the Spanish
Civil Guards had been alarmed by the noise of the struggle.
Everything seemed quiet. There was a fair chance of being able to
pass the captive through the Spanish Lines without detection,
especially as it was now close upon dawn and the sentries apt, in
consequence, to relax their vigilance.
All went well until the two officers and their prisoner were within
fifty yards of one of the guard-houses that mark the termination of
Spanish territory and the commencement of the Neutral Ground. There
were no signs of any of the sentries; and Osborne was beginning to
congratulate himself upon the successful issue of his attempt, when a
cock-hatted, gaudily uniformed man sprung seemingly from the ground.
Levelling his rifle he called upon the British officers to halt,
following up this order by a warning shout to others of his comrades
within the block-house.
"It's all right," declared Osborne in his halting Spanish. "We're
bringing back a deserter."
"Do not be in a hurry," was the exasperating reply. "Have you any
papers bearing the Alcalde's signature for the prisoner's removal?"
The thought flashed across the Lieutenant's mind that it was more
than likely that none of the Spanish guards could read. Education in
Spain, he remembered, is in a very backward state, barely ten per
cent of the population being able to read or write. As president of
the mess on board the _Portchester Castle_ he had in his possession
several receipted bills. The most imposing of these he produced for
the Civil Guard's inspection. At the same time he noticed that others
of the Spaniards were about to remove the gag from the spy's mouth.
"Get them to hang on a minute, old man," he exclaimed, addressing
Webb. Then tendering the document to the inquisitive soldier, he
ostentatiously displayed a handful of coins.
The natural cupidity of the man was unable to resist the bait. "Palm
oil" would have done the trick had not the spy contrived at that
moment to slip the bonds that secured his wrists. With a deft
movement he produced the bundle of English Treasury notes that had
been paid him by the German submarine officers, at the same time
fumbling with the knot that held his gag in position.
Before Webb, whose attention had been centred upon restraining the
rest of the Civil Guards, could prevent it, the spy had freed himself
from the gag, and was protesting in voluble Spanish that he was an
Andalusian who had been kidnapped by English brigands.
Hopelessly outbidden, for the Greek was doling out pound notes in a
most lavish fashion, Osborne realized that he had been beaten at his
own game. The climax came when Georgeos Hymettus scattered a handful
of paper money in the dim light, and while the Spanish troops were
scrambling for the spoil he took to his heels.
Since it was useless to follow, Osborne and Webb watched him till he
vanished in the darkness. Then silently they waited until the morning
gun from the citadel announced that the fortress of Gibraltar was
open until the setting of the sun.
"A pretty pickle!" remarked Osborne. "Nothing done, your undress
uniform ripped to ribbons, the spy gone, and we ourselves have to
face the music for having overstayed our leave. Rotten, I call it!"
"Don't know so much about that'," remarked Webb, the cheery optimist.
"We've discovered something that will be of interest to the
authorities, and, after all, we've had quite an exciting adventure.
Some night, eh, what?"