The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1915-02-26

| boats, the torpedo station and the
| 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
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 Supplying man
ner. A wall went up from the nations
1t was clear that human agency was
behind all this destruction, and it was
equally clear. because of Emil Gluck's
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sailors were withdrawn from all for
tifcations and war vessels. And even
world disarmament was seriously
considered at convention of the pow
ers held at The Hague at that time
And then Silas Bannerman, secret
service agent of the United States,
leaped into world fame by the arrest
of Emil Gluck. At first Zimmerman
was laughed at, but he had prepared
his case well, and in a few weeks the
most skeptica1 were convinced Of
Emil Gluck's guilt. The one thing.
however, that Silas Zimmerman 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 busi-
ness at the time of the destruction OF
Mare island; and it is true that on
the streets of Vallejo Emil GIuck was
pointed out to him as a 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 on
the instant there flashed into his mind
the connection between Gluck and the
destruction. 1t was only hypothe-
sis, but it was sufficient. The great
thing was the conception of the n.y.
pothesis, in itself an act of uncon-
scious cerebration-a thing as unacr
countable as the flashing, for instance,
into Newton's mind of the principle of
The rest was easy. Where was
Gluck at the time of the destruction
along the Atlantic seaboard?" was the
question that formed in Bannerman's
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 ne ascertaineG
that Gluck had been in New York city
during the epidemic of the shooting
Of police officers. Where was Gluck
aow?" was Bannerman's next query.
And as if in answer came the whole
sale destruction along the Mediter-
'anean. Gluck had sailed for Europe
month before. Bannerman knew that
t was not necessary for Zimmerman
o go to Europe. By means of cable
messages and the cooperation of the
European secret services, he traced
fluck's course along the Mediterran-
AN and found that in every instance
conceded with the blowing up of
cast defenses and ships. Also, he
earned that Gluck had just sailed on
he Green Star liner Plutonic for the
United States.
The case was complete in Banner
mans mind, though in the interval of
yaiting he wound up the details. In
his he was also assisted by George
rown, an operator employed by the
Wood system of wireless telegraphy-
When the Plutonic arrived off Sandy
look, she was boarded by Bannerman
'om government tug and Emil Gluck
as made prisoner. The trial and the
onfession followed In the confess
ion, Gluck professed regret for one
ling only, namely, that he had taken
is time AS he said, had he ever
that he was to be discovered
8 would have worked more rapidly
nd accomplished thousand times the
sstruction he did
His secret died with him, though It
now known that the French govern
emit managed to get access to him and
fered him a billion francs for the In
,ntion whereby he was able to direct
pleasure and closely to confine cleo