Part 9 (1/2)

I made an obvious conjecture 'I suppose there are forts and coast defences? Perhaps he thought you would see too much By the way, he saw your naval books, of course?'

'Exactly Of course that was s in the least To begin with, there _are_ no forts and can be none in that first division, where the islands are

Thereon Borkum to defend the Ems; but it's very unlikely, and, anyway, I had passed Borku else to defend Of course it's different in the second division, where the big rivers are There are probably hosts of forts and mines round Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven, and at Cuxhaven just at theabout theoes in would see as much as me Personally, I o on shore And, good Heavens!' (Davies leant back and laughed joyously) 'do I _look_ like that kind of spy?'

I figured to entleazines, with a Kodak in his tie-pin, a sketch-book in the lining of his coat, and a selection of disguises in his hand luggage Little disposed for , too

'About this coast,' resumed Davies 'In the event of war it seems to me that every inch of it would be i estuaries first, which, of course, ht you would say that their s that mattered Now, in tiation of these They're buoyed and lighted like streets, open to the whole world, and taking an immense traffic; well charted, too, as millions of pounds in commerce depend on theh, intersected, as I showed you, by threads of channels, tidal for the most part, and probably only known to salliot of Bartels

'It strikes ht depend on these, both in defence and attack, for there's plenty of water in theht tide for patrol-boats and sh I can see they take a lot of knowing Now, say _ere at ith Germany--both sides could use them as lines between the three estuaries; and to take our own case, a small torpedo-boat (not a destroyer, h from the Jade to the Elbe and play the deuce with the shi+pping there But the trouble is that I doubt if there's a soul in our fleet who knows those channels _We_ haven't coasters there; and, as to yachts, it's a lish yacht to play at; but it does so happen that I have a fancy for that sort of thing and would have explored those channels in the ordinary course' I began to see his drift

'Now for the islands I was rather stuh there are lashi+ngs of sand behind the channels, yet there seeuard or attack

'Why shouldn't a stranger rah them? Still Dollmann had his headquarters there, and I was sure that had soood, for that strip of Frisian coast adjoins the estuaries, and would also forets, which could travel unseen right through from the Ems to the Jade, and so to the Elbe, as by a covered way between a line of forts

'Now here again it's an unknown land to us Plenty of local galliots travel it, but strangers never, I should say Perhaps at the aps between the islands for shelter froain, it was my fad to like such places, and Dollmann cleared me out He's not a German, but he's in with Germans, and naval Germans too He's established on that coast, and knows it by heart And he tried to drownand anxiously

IX I Sign Articles

IT was not an easy question to answer, for the affair was utterly outside all round the sea, and its actual scene a region of the sea of which I was blankly ignorant There were other difficulties that I could see perhaps better than Davies, an enthusiast with hobbies, who had been brooding in solitude over his dangerous adventure Yet both narrative and theory (which have lost, I fear, in interpretation to the reader) had strongly affected hnesses, tricks of manner, sudden bursts of ardour, sudden retreats into shyness,up a char to see the earies of youth

Not that I drea the story of his wreck as an hallucination His clear blue eyes and sane simplicity threw ridicule on such treatment

Evidently, too, he wanted ht well have influenced my opinion on the facts, had he been other than he was

But it would have taken a 'finished and finite clod' to resist the attraction of the man and the enterprise; and I take no credit whatever for deciding to follow hi So, when I stated o

'There are two main points that I don't understand,' I said 'First, you've never explained why an _English intruders; secondly, your theory doesn't supply sufficient ation of those channels, but it's not enough You say he wanted to drown you--a big charge, requiring a big ot a strong case' Davies lighted up 'I'ranted--until we find outI never saw hiainst the cabin roof

'You mean that you'll come?' he exclaio back and clear up the whole thing I kno that I want to; telling it all to you has been such an immense relief And a lot depended on you, too, and that's why I've been feeling such an absolute hypocrite I say, how can I apologize?'

'Don't worry about h; but I should like to know exactly what you--'

'No; but wait till I just make a clean breast of it--about you, I mean You see, I ca alone; not that two are really necessary forthe boat in the ordinary way, but for this sort of job you _do_ want two; besides, I can't speak German properly, and I'ht, it's a case for sharp wits, if ever there was one; so I thought of you You're clever, and I knew you had lived in Germany and knew German, and I knew,' he added, with a little aardness, 'that you had done a good deal of yachting; but of course I ought to have told you what you were in for--roughing it in a small boat with no crew I felt ashamed of myself when you wired back so promptly, and when you came--er--' Davies stammered and hesitated in the hus 'Of course I couldn't help noticing that it wasn't what you expected,' was the delicate summary he arrived at 'But you took it splendidly,' he hastened to add 'Only, so h of you to co you with hare-brained scheled business There were reasons, there are reasons still'--he looked nervously at led business' I had thought a confidence was co, and was disappointed 'I was in an idiotic state of uncertainty,' he hurried on; 'but the plan grew onto the life and beginning to enjoy yourself All that about the ducks on the Frisian coast was hu tiht I ive you the best time here I could Then Bartels turned up--'

'Stop,' I put in 'Did you know he ht turn up when you sailed here?'

'Yes,' said Davies, guiltily 'I knew he ht; and now it's all co before he had finished I had grasped the wholeinto scores of little incidents which had puzzled ize,' I protested 'I could make confessions, too, if I liked And I doubt if you've been such a fool as you think I', and it has been the h that I haven't rebelled and bolted We've got a good deal to thank the weather for, and other little sti to try your cure at all'

'My cure?' said Davies; 'what in the world do you mean? It was jolly decent of you to--'

'Never mind! There's another view of it, but it doesn't matter now

Let's return to the point What's your plan of action?'