Catoctin clarion., 1914-03-12

greatest of all knaveries. 1t is made
possible only by the tribute that the
strong have exacted from the weak.
So, by relieving the German govern
ment of it's funds, shall be assisting
the cause of humanity"
We were in Berlin. The Morocco
affair had stirred all Europe, and
war between the Teuton and the Gaul
was believed to be imminent. All
Berlin was aflame with enthusiasm.
Nikolai, passing patriotic process
sion. laughed scornfully.
"And this the folly Of these silly
sheep of which the government hopes
to reap the advantage by an unpar-
donable attack on France" he said.
1T would be a charity to prevent It,"
Prevent war?" l exclaimed.
Nikolai turned to me. What
makes war possible?" he asked.
Money" | answered promptly.
And the German governments war
fund is"
I'm the fortress Of Spandau," I ex-
claimed, suddenly enlightened.
Everybody knows that after France
had paid Germany huge monetary
indemnity in 1871, the Teutoaic gov
ernment set aside war fund OF sew
eral million pounds In gold, which was
immured in the recesses Of the for
tress of Spandau, nine miles from Ber-
lin. And it was this sum that Nikolai
contemplated raiding.
Iconfess the audacity of the scheme
staggered me. Even knowing Nikolai
as | did, the idea appeared to me in
creible Yet here was this one man
calmly proposing to loot the treasures
of the kaiser, and those buried in the
recesses Of one of Germany's most
powerful fortresses.
The evening papers were full OF war
news. Among other items we cleaned
that the guns Of Spandau were about
to be dismounted and sent to the
frontier, to help overawe the French
government 1t was the policy Of
Germany to obtain her ends peace
fully II possible. In consequences,
the publication of these items, as cal
culated to terroriZe France, was
rather encouraged. The papers teemed
with stories Of the preparations for
mobilization.
Among other things we read that a
cargo of shrapnel shells was to be
hurled to Spandau, and thence to be
conveyed with the guns to a waste
territory in Alsace, used by the gov
ernment for war manoeuvres on
large scale. Extensive firing practice,
we learned, was to be carried on
there, and II the French government
did not then come to terms, the mimic
war would be converted into reality.
Nikolai was morose on the follow
ing day. think the magnitude of his
scheme was now better realized by
him. Together we haunted the VIC
unity of the freight yards.
Those shells will arrive from the
Krupp factories" he mediated. sum
mers, 1t will be our task to convey
them to Spandau In person"
"But how?" asked.
Nikolai smiled. 'In bureaucracy"
he answered, everything is possible"
And he made an appointment to meet
me at the freight yards at seven
o'clock that evening.
That was the hour at which the spe-
cial train, bearing the load of shells,
was due to arrive. Everything goes
by clockwork in Germany, and punct-
ually at seven o'clock the train en-
tered the station, the great shells
openly displayed in the cars. Upon the
engine was a representative Of the
Krupp works.
Disguised as a mechanic, I waited,
terrified lest at any moment some OF
the officers should inquire my busi
ness. But they were too much abb
sorbed with the affairs in hand. A
tall officer in uniform, wearing crossed
swords upon his shoulders, stepped
forward among those waiting and dis.
played an order. l gasped; 1t was
Nikolai himself.
He beckoned me and said, with as
sumed roughness:
II want you, my man, to help unload
this cargo at its destination" Then,
turning to the officers assembled, he
added
You see, gentlemen, 1t Is the en-
peror's special order. These shells
must be run in to Spandau this eve-
ming or ! cannot answer for the con-
sequences"
They did not scrutinize the paper
hard. They saw the signature of the
kaiser and saluted. Then, turning to
the station agent, Nikolai commanded
that the train be shunted to the priv
ate line which runs direct to the
fortress.
Half an hour later the train was
in motion. Nikolai and I rode upon
the engine, our solitary companion be.
ing the driver, whose duty would be
completed when he had taken the
train to its destination. A brief run
brought us within sight of the frown.
ing fortress, bastion strong enough
to have defied centuries of time and
all the artillery Of any hostile army
Yet Nikolai had set himself to capture
its treasures!
The train ran right within the walls
and halted in wide square inside
around which the great black hulks
of the guns loomed like some prehis
toric monsters. Soldiers were pass
ing busily to and fro; none of them
however, paid any attention to US
They had their orders, and In Ger