Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-30

| man police demand his papers he must burn
his passport.
| The spy's first care on reaching the large
town nearest to his field of operations is to
consult the doctors as to good air-cure,
| or bath, or mineral springs. Suppose his
work be to report on the roads, bridges
| and present hour resources of mountain
| Gus region. He will need the air-cure.
Eliminating one by one all unntereSting
districts, he will in the end cause the ply
sicians to indicate the very region he must
work In. The good doctor, always hot for
| his commission, gladly recommends him
| hotel or boarding house. Then, wandering
| about the deserted roads, his tale is: Il
\ am at X, a tranquil mountain village,
| taking the air and walk cure. DR.. Y
| recommended me to come here. If the
| climate suits me, 1 shall stay a month"
| From the first. the officer-spy makes ac-
| quaintances with natives whose work
| causes them to go much upon the roads,
| drivers, carriers. country doctors. priests
| and forest guards. Needing exercise, he
| walks with them, treats them to beer,
| cheese and cigars-as every tourist does.
| Seen in such company, he is less likely to
| be suspected
| For note taking he has nothing but a
| very sharp pencil and a packet of cigarette
papers. He writes in stenography, if he
| can.
The first quality of good spy is to
know how to see, and the next is to re-
member. A crooked line and a few hastily
traced words on a bit of cigarette paper
must recall to him accurately the outline
of an earthworks Hills, new footpaths,
springs, rich looking farm houses, bridges
especially IL they are new and not already
In the furnished maps and notes-must be
seen at q glance and indicated on the bit of
fiimsy paper.
He must indicate the crops of the neigh
borhood; the characteristics of small VIII
lagos; the lodging capacity of churches,
markets, public buildings and outhouses:
the present number of bakers, butchers and
grain dealers; the situation of blacksmith
shops and the condition of the roads. Take
bridge. The enemy, retreating might
blow it up. The spy must estimate how
long it would take to hastily repair it,
His day finished, the officer-spy must
secretly, in his bedroom, write out his re-
port and post 1t to one of the innocent
looking addresses furnished him ,by the
second bureau. 'Mademoiselle Lucie Prem
ledonc. 81 rue Breda, Paris"-his lAt5y love,
why not? or Schmidt & Tuever wine mer-
chants. Bercy''-a business letter. for sure;
or DIR. Georges Vasseur, n rue Lafayette,
Paris. reporting progress to his physician.
1t is his most dangerous moment Once
the letter mailed and the cigarette papers
burned the ofticer-spy may sleep-one night.
If he imagines he is suspected ne must
cease work instantly, even return to Paris,
whereas when his work is successfully
fnished-he will find. at the Fiat Mallory,
all the various letters he had sent to the
various fictitious addresses. Aided by the
work of predecessors in the field, it now
becomes his duty to compose up-to-date
map with detailed report of the region he
has visited. Every trif1e counts. 1t may
decide one move-the move of a pawn If
you please-in the terrible game of chess
which will be the next scientific European
war.
n
No legend is more popular than that Of
the aristocratic French or German offlcer
who. in disguise, obtains work as a mason
or carpenter in the fort he wishes to OBJ
serve. Yet few think OF the practical Inn
possibility of such a feat. For how shall
such man know the trade. the slang. the
social ways Of foreign officers? For such