Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-09-30

prevent my sending my message from
the steamer except this man who was
following me. I knew he would move
heaven and earth 10 prevent me. It
would be 4 war Of wits between him
and me.
There were many ways in which he
could stop ne. lie might charge me
with being fugitive from justice;
he might make il appear that had
stolen money or some article from him;
he might even murder NE. What WAS
my life worth compared with the in.
tereSts Of an empire? And would not
his sovereign be sufficiently powerful
to protect him il he were Implicated
in my taking on? Suppose l failed TO
send my message ut sea. Would he
not wire confederates in New York TO
arrest me on arrival on any charge he
chose TO invent?
lie went into the wireless ONCE and.
telling the operator that he wished
to send a private message, shut the
door When he came out / knew by
the look on his face that he had
fixed" the operator. Having done so,
he went, away and left me free 20
send all the messages the young man
would transmit for me.
To test the latter / entered his Of
fee and asked him 20 send a message
for me. He made no objection. and
dictated a message to au imaginary
person. In my profession l had found
occasion 10 send teiegraphic messages
myself and had learned the Morse al
phabet. l knew at once that the oper-
ole
out sending my message. Neverthe-
less / pretended not TO suspect him
and paid his charge.
1 hung around that Office. studying
the working of the instrument and eS-
pecially the lock on the door. l watched
for three days FOR an opportunity TO
get wax impression that would en-
able me to make a key, but the opera
tor never left his Office without locking
the door and was never away very
long Mt n time. L often stood on deck
ut night watching the spark over the
office when he was sending dispatch,
longing for just five minutes at the
keyboard myself.
What method the detective had used
with the operator ! did not know, but
It was effective. I became acquainted
with Dick-everybody called the opera
tor Dick-and used all my diplomatic
skill to find out how could outbid my
rival, but failed slgnally. l limited at
n way he might make $500 I could
see an amused look on his face. did
not possess the means TO bid any
higher, and, bidding as l was against
the emperor of Germany, money was
not a factor OF the problem.
We had been five days out and l
had accomplished nothing. l knew
that my shadower must have sent
message to New York that would in
some way put me in limbo on arrival.
My only chance to outwit him was TO
find some means OF leaving the ship
before him on the day OF arrival.
The stateroom opposite mine was
occupied by an old lady who carried
with her travelling clock. ! lay
awake one night listening 10 its tick
ing. and il brought me possible so
luton. l must steal that clock. This
was not difficult, for the old indy's
statCroom door was seldom locked
and every day was hooked open. The
evening before we reached port I
purloined The timeplccc. Then I went
one, 7 put the clock IN II, nailed on ths
lid and put fictitious address on H.
Finding the captain alone in his room,
I took the box to him and told him
that il had been given TO me by man
whose sanity | suspected, TO be de-
Iiycrcd TO the address on Il In New
York lie had told me that It contain.
ed family jewels OF great value, but
I bad recently heard ticking In It
and feared It contained a bomb to
blow up the ship.
The captain, aghast, proposed az
once TO bcrye il overheard, but l sug-
gested that # hc did So and destroyed
fortune IN jewell D." would be held
responsible. This staggered him.
How would 81 d." I asked, "tc
put the box IN . boat and tow It at
the end Of "a long roper"
"Thc very thing" hc exclaimed.
It was midnight. and we were Off
Nontauk Point. The captain ordered
q boat lowered with the box I'm -
and the rope payed ont. lie then
went TO his cabin and 10 sleep, while T
hid myself on deck and when dawn
came pulled iu the bOat-it required all
my strength and just before passing
a steamer cast loose. / caught the at
tentlon Of the steamer and was taken
aboard. She was bound for Boston.
and the same evening from there
cablcd my message TO q London news
paper.
The next morning the world was
startled at rho news that Germany and
Russia were making q deal 20 appro-
pirate a large slice n African ter
ritory and divide g. The publication
~ the news defeated ths project.
which would surely have caused a
European war.
That 7 had furnished the news was
known 10 only few prominent Jour
uailsfs. but n mode ny fortune
sent back the clock J had borrow