"PREPARE FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION"
THE Admiral's secretary at Auldhaig stood at the Commander-in-Chief's
elbow. It was close on lunch-time, and the Admiral had still a bulky
though fast diminishing pile of documents either to sign or initial
before he could complete his morning's work. But, being mortal, even
the Commander-in-Chief was hungry, and consequently short-tempered.
"What is it, Elphinhaye?" he demanded tartly. "Can't you deal with it
yourself?"
"'Fraid not, sir," replied the secretary, still proffering the
newly-arrived telegram.
"What is it?" asked the Admiral again. "Who's it from?"
"Entwistle? Never heard of him."
The secretary coughed deprecatingly. He was slightly surprised and
pained to think that his worthy chief had not heard of the famous
Secret Service agent.
"Oh, yes; now I do," corrected the Commander-in-Chief. "He was
barging about down in Cornwall over that von Gobendorff case, when I
was Senior Officer at Trecurnow. Well, what is it now?... By Jove!"
The telegram had been dispatched from York. It read as follows:--
"To S.N.O., Auldhaig. For your information and necessary
action:--Discover Captain Fennelburt, R.A.F., to be Leutnant Karl von
Preussen (_vide_ dossier 445). He has dispatched the following
cablegram to Admiralty, Berlin: 'Q-boat disguised as U 251 left Leith
on 9th for Hoorn Reefs."
"Someone's let the cat out of the bag," declared the
Commander-in-Chief. "It's an absolute mystery to me how intelligence
does leak out. Now, what's to be done, Elphinhaye? What Q-boat does
the message refer to?"
"Q 171, sir," replied the secretary, never at a loss to supply the
requisite information. "She was the old _Tollerdale_, and was adapted
at Leith in January last."
"Who's her commanding officer?"
Elphinhaye had to consult a current Navy List.
"Morpeth, sir. George Morpeth, an R.N.R. officer with the D.S.C."
"By Gad! Morpeth! I knew him at Trecurnow," exclaimed the Admiral.
"Smart fellow, but a bit of a rough diamond. I've no doubt that he
can take care of himself, but all the same----"
"We could wireless him, sir."
"And warn every Fritz on this side of Germany," declared the
Commander-in-Chief. "No, no, Elphinhaye. We must think of a better
plan--one that, with luck, will entail a clean sweep of every Fritz
who dares to poke his nose outside his kennel."
Twenty minutes later the joyful signal was received by the Nth Light
Cruiser Squadron and the Z Destroyer Flotilla:--
"Raise steam for thirty knots and prepare for immediate action on
clearing harbour."