The Washington herald., 1914-11-01
KAISER'S SPIES
few in BRITAIN
Only One Case Out of Hun
dred Investigated Re-
suits In Arrest.
BRITONS ARE SHARP-EYED
Party Sent to Intercept Signal Men
Find Those individuals Are Noe
tunal Anglers Batting Hooks.
,ecial Gable to The Washington Hs-ah.

Special Gable to The Washington He1h
London. Oct 1.-The routine of watch
ing the coast is apt to pail and become
tedious after some weeks. Recently,
however. the British soldier has found a
new sport to help pass the tedium of
the long days and longer nights. It is
| more enthrealling than cricket or foot
! ball and requires greater acumen COM
bined with more prolonged physical ef-
| fort.
The new game is called spy-hunting.
! There is a variation of the sport known
as mares nesting"
One thing is certain. For every au-
thentic case Of spying there are at least
! ninety-nine cass OF mares nests. Some
Of them are the progeny OF the fertile
! Imagination OF nervous local inhabitants:
| others have a prima facie appearance Of
| deeply laid plot The military au-
thorities who are responsible for the va
rious areas have to sift out the evil
dence in each case and lay deep and
willy plots in the endeavor to catch the
supposed spy red-handed. Nor is this as
easy as II might at first appear. for the
man who is clever and cunning enough
10 be engaged as a spy, is usually clever
enough to appear perfectly innocent and
harmless when his case comes to be in
vestigated
But the innocence is often only skin
deep. The unsuspecting Briton IS be-
ginning to be extremely sharp at detect
ing the fly in the honey pot On the
other hand. II often occurs that many
weary nights Of vigil are wasted on a
ridiculous denuement.
One amusing instance occurred in
certain Eastern county as late as last
night. For three weeks a certain mys-
terious light had been noticed operating
from a boat on one Of the Broads in the
County Norfolk. Sometimes 1t took the
form Of a bright acetylene lamp: at
others, a less bright yellow light would
appear, varied by a red light
Halt Supposed Spies.
Several nights of careful watching
failed to discover any receiving station in
the vicinity and eventually 1t was decided
to hold up the supposed signaler. A
carefully selected party was sent out,
every precaution being taken to cut off
every possible means of escape by land
or sea-
Silently two boatloads Of Territorials
padded up to the suspected boat, one
coming alongside simultaneously on each
side. The men used their hands to propel
the boat. so as to avoid the noise of
dipping paddles, or of oars in rowlocks.
Hands up" was the crisp order that
broke upon the still air. Half a dozen
TliieS were pOheu III AEOlI OF Ine noses
Of the two occupants of the boat, who
nearly tainted in their alarm.
They turned out to be two enthusiastic
anglers down for their annual holiday,
their signaling apparatus consisting
Of an ordinary carriage lamp and cycle
lamps. As the anglers brought these
lamps into use every time they rebaited
their hooks, the Flash signals were ac-
counted for.
A dozen crestfallen and disappointed
soldiers returned to their bivouacs after
expressing in no measured terms their
opinion OF angling as q nocturnal pastime.