The Ordway new era., 1915-02-19

DOatS, tN9 IOTpeuO Stdlloh ahu 49,
great magazine at the eastern end OF
the island Returning westward again,
and scooping in occasional isolated
magazines on the high ground back
from the shore, he blew up three
cruisers and the battleships Oregon.
Delaware. New Hampshire and Florida
the latter had just gone into dry
dock. and the magnificent dry dock
was destroyed along with her.
1t was frightful catastrophe, and a
shudder of horror passed through the
land. But it was nothing to what was
to follow. In the late fall Of that
year, Emil Gluck made a clean sweep
of the Atlantic seaboard from Maine
to Florida. Nothing escaped. Forts,
mines, coast defenses of all sort. tor
pedo stations. Notwithstanding
went up. Three months afterward. in
midwinter. he smote the north shore
of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar
to Greece in the same stupefying man.
ner. A wall went up from the nations.
1t was clear that human agency was
behind all this destruction. and 1t was
equally clear, because Of Emil Glucks
impartiality. that the destruction was
not the work OF any particular nation.
One thing was patent, namely. that
whoever was the human behind it all,
that human was a menace to the
world. No nation was safe. There
was no defense against this unknown
and all-powerful foe. Warfare was
futile-nay. not merely futile. but
itself the very essence OF the peril.
For twelvemonth the manufacture OF
powder ceased and all soldiers and
sailors were withdrawn from all for
tiflcations and war vessels. And even
a world disarmament was seriously
considered at convention Of the pow.
ers held at The Hague at that time.
And then Silas Bannerman. a secret
service agent of the United States,
leaped into world fame by the arrest
Of Emil Gluck. At first Bannerman
was laughed at. but he had prepared
his case well, and in few weeks the
most skeptical were convinced OF
Emil Glucks guilt. The one thing,
however. that Silas Bannerman never
succeeded in explaining. even to his
own satisfaction. was how first he
came to connect Gluck with the atroci.
GUS crimes. 1t is true, Bannerman was
in Vallejo on secret government bust.
ness at the time Of the. destruction Of
Mare island: and 1t is true that on
the streets of Vallejo Emil Gluck was
pointed out to him as q queer crank:
but no impression was. made at the
time. 1t was not until afterward, when
on q vacation In the Rocky mountains
and when reading the first published
reports Of the destruction along the
Atlantic coast. that suddenly Banner
man thought Of Emil Gluck. And OF
the instant there flashed into his mind
the connection between Gluck- aad The
sis, but 1t was SUFFICIENT The great
thing was the conception Of the hy
pothesis. in itself an act of uncon
scious cerebration-a thing as unac
as the flashing. for instance
into Newton's mind Of the principle Of
The rest was easy. Where wac
Gluck at the time OF the destruction
along the Atlantic seaboard?r was the
question that formed in Bannerman'a
mind. By his own request he was put
upon the case. In no time he ascer.
tanned that Gluck had himself been
up and down the Atlantic coast in the
late fall Of 1910. Also he ascertained
that Gluck had been In New York city
f7nr{nD tho ~ ko
OF police officers. Where was Gluck
now?" was Bannerman's next query.
And as II in answer came the whole.
sale destruction along the Mediter
ranean. Gluck had sailed for Europe a
month before. Bannerman knew that.
1t was not necessary for Bannerman
to go to Europe. By means of cable
and the cooperation of the
European secret services. he traced
Gluck's course along the Mediterran.
can and found that in every instance
1t coincided with the blowing up OF
coast defenses and ships. Also, he
learned that Gluck had Just sailed on
the Green Star liner Plutonic for the
United States.
The case was complete in Banner.
mans mind. though in the interval of
waiting he wound up the details. In
this he was also assisted by George
Brown, an operator employed by the
Wood system Of wireless telegraphy.
When the Plutonic arrived of Sandy
Hook. she was boarded by Bannerman
from government tug and Emil Gluck
was made prisoner. The trial and the
confession followed. In the confes.
sion. Gluck professed regret for one
thing only. namely, that he had taken
his time. AS he said, had he ever
dreamed that he was to be discovered
ne would have worked more rapidly
and accomplished a thousand times the
destruction he did.
HIS secret died with him. though It |
Is now known that the French govern.
ment managed to get access to him and |