The sun., 1914-09-13

Balkans had given me a thorough dis
taste of the people there. There Is no
mixture of races so dangerous. Based
on my experiences, nearly every maH
thor, is for a small sum traitor and
potential assassin. | had had taste
f Balkan methods, and l didn't want
another.
Won Stdmmor must have noticed my
hesitation. for he Erinned and said:
Nervous about it?'
was. and frankly told him so.
YES, understand your attitude
BESIDES. You have been on the 20 for
quite several months and should have
rest beg of you To consider, though
that You are the only man We have at
our DISPOSAL who can see this thing
through
lie then began to hint in such way
ihat it bccame plain to me that refusal
ON my part would not be at all Ia the
liking of the WlhclmStrassc. Refusal
would mean loss of favor and with it
the choice jobs. As an added induce
mcnt Won Stammor promised double
/ the usual remuneration Frankly this
was a point | considered that the mis-
| sion would not take mo over three or
| four weeks and he had agreed to pay
me 81 800 aside from the bonus always
attached to successful and quick work.
sim. / wasn't sure that ! wanted to
90. | knew there was the danger of
rccogntion, and I knew the kind of
! hot headed people I was going among.
! 1t was far more difficult, far more haz-
ar,lnus, than any mission ! had ever
undertaken in England or France: even
the tremendous responsibilities of the
affair in the Black Forest carried with
| them none of the personal dangers that
this did. Pressed for a decision, ] re-
| uuested some little time to think things
over. Asking me to telephone his home
before o'clock at the latest and let
him know what was going to do Won
Stammor departed.
hope ] am still a Christian, but
contact and intercourse with the mys-
ticism of Africa and India have made
me superstitious. I have curious
habit at momentous times of ndeCisiOn
uf taking two fun packages of cards and
playing Napoloon's solitaire. II | get
il out once in three times | generally
go into the matter in hand without
question. 1t never has failed mo. Twice
in my life I went asainst il; twice I
had bitter cause for regret.
Well. I didn't give Won Stammer his
decision on the moment because |
wanted to try the old test Kim pro-
duced the cards and | began to play
got it out the second time. Going 10
. the telephone ] called Won StammeT
and told him ] would undertake the
mission. He asked me to come at once
To his house, and there ! received fina
instructions and passports, the latter
essential south of the Austrian frontier
At 3 o'clock in the morning | boarded
the Orient express via Vienna an'
made a stopover of a day at Buda-
pest went Immediately to DOnau
strasse % and saw the Austrian agent
-, Kowalsky. From him ! gained points
: that were invaluable to me For in
. stance. he gave me the names of mer
: who frequented certain places in Bel
, grade; men who would be of use to me
Il He also warned me of certain persons
especially women. whom he knew to b'
- in Russian employ. That night
:, caught a train for the Servian capital
we'll satisfied with the results of m!
u visit in Vienna.
Before dinner time the next day
. was installed at the Hotel de Paris Il
y Belgrade Ny rooms had been engage
- for me beforehand and they were tn
most expensive in the hotel-for
reason. / found myself in an elaborat
suite on the first floor. known as tn
;, suite "dos princes" This was a neCes
=, sary show of parvenuism. as money
the first and last word in the Balkans
>, Belgrade and everybody in ii prid
themselves on their up to date Parlsia
style. Everybody lives in the Parisia
way. Army officers, whose pay is in
fntesimal, all live at the rate of Rus
~ sian grand dukes How they are abl
~, to manage this on the official Serva
:, army salaries of 65 cents day woul
., naturally puzzle an outsider. To tn
insider the answer Is Russian gold.
buys anything and everything south {
Budapest with one or two exceptions
- It cannot buy in Montenegro. wher
. patriotism is supreme, nor can it bu
y, what it wants among the Osmans I
=, he sure, it can buy the Turk; but ther
>, is vast difference between an O'
q manli and a Turk.
=, Through my lavish expenditure
= money | soon was very remark'
~ person and courted by all the ga
!. officers of the capital one of the
n number was a Major Schuvoaloff.
:, bon Vlvant and gambler, Major Sch,
Nealof had thr tastes OF iiuSsla
grand duke. ON n mission Of this lir
r n secret agent always likes to find
te man who Is fast" ! knew the Maj
% to be in the Russian pay; kowals(
,r had tipped me off to that, I felt tn
?" II handled the situation right 1t W
n from him could get everything
IF wanted, even though he was taking Il
Of Cars gold.
n; Into the gay life of Belgrade
al plunged. with the Major as my quar-
gave n series Of dinners at the Hot
ly dc Paris. After the dinners there W
Id gambling. invariably lost to I
1t. Major He lost to others, hut ] "
as careful never to win from him.
a fell into the way Of dropping around
he my quarters. Like most Of his set t
les Major was a heavy drink'r When
- face would become very nush' Il a