Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-02-05


war. But that would not do. The idea
Of a merchant came to me, but ! dis
missed the idea of a prosperous mer-
chant. for it would necessitate making
business connections, a careful and
slow process the fulfillment of which
would consume entirely too much
time.
finally decided tc travel as a physi-
clan or. TO use the Turkish word, a
Haklm A Hakim is always accorded
respect, even reverence, by Turks and
Arabs. This character determined
upon. | went to the telephone and re-
quested the service intelligence de-
partment to give me letters of intro
duction to the German hospital and the
Pera hospital in Constantinople. They
were SEMI to me signed by the au-
thorities of the Charlie in Berlin
and described that l was going to
study tropical and Asiatic diseases
and requested that the hospitals give
me every facility for reseach work.
| had Kim pack a case of medical
instruments and told him to have
everything in readiness to leave Ber-
lin that night, on the Orient Express.
He was necessary to my plans and
was to accompany me. A messenger
from Wedel brought a few final verbal
instructions. l was hidden to keep
away from all official German inter-
course in Constantirople. Wedel might
have saved himself the trouble of that
word of caution, for l knew enough
to keep away from anything that
would raise suspicion in regard to my
identity. If | pride myself In anything,
it is a knowledge of Eastern char
acter. With the instructions we're a
thousand marks cash and a draft for
5000 marks on the Ottoman bank of
Constantinople that had been depos-
tied in my name.
1t may strike the reader as curious
he could be of tremendous use to me
In Constantinople. In addition to
speaking his Kafir dialects, he knew
Arabic. Any negro boy who could
speak Arabic could learn almost any
thing in Constantinople, which
abounds in black men of all tribes and
nationalities. Among the servants of
every household, Kim would find many
compatriots from whom he could act
information impossible for any Euro
pean to obtain. B
Preliminaries.
After an eventful trip to Constan-
tinople, l took preliminary quarters in
the Brasserie Kor, a quiet, second-rate
hostelry ON the Rue Osmanly. l went
to an unpretentious place to avoid at
tracing any particular attention. Had
l put up at an expensive hotel there
would Immediately have been queries
about me. Who is this stranger? He
seems to have money. If it isn't his
money. whose money is he spending?
1t is not well to invite a Turks sus-
picion.
AS I was totally un%acquainted with
Constantinople, | used the first week
for getting familiar with the geogra-
ply of the city. 1t was necessy hat l
learn the location of the various lega-
lions and the residences of high court
officials. The next week | found lodg-
ings In the center of the district
of court residences and began to seek
out the haunts and places of rendez-
vous of demi-mondaines, favorites and
hangers-on of the Turkish officials.
On the second day of my arrival, l
had presented my credentials and let
tiers at the German and Pera hospit-
ais, and had my name entered as a
visiting honorary surgeon. Every day
thereafter, rain or shine, l made 1t a
point to spend some time at these
hospitals, and it was we'll that l did.
Once a day and often twice l would
sign the book at the hospital and /
believe the signature DR.. Franz Won
Graver appears on the record books
of the Pera and German hospitals in
Constantinople, at least one hundred
times. Was / not fulfilling my duties
as a physician doing research work?
/ finally located myself in the resi-
dent district of Pera where ! rented
a small residence. typical of the we'll
TODD Turk of the middle class and
quite in keeping with my assumed
character. An elaborate residence
would have aroused immediate sus-
picion, for there is no country on earth
where curiosity and suspicion is SO
easily reused as in Turkey.
A Different Field Of Operation.
Kipling. who knows the east SO well,
portrayed Port Said as the dwelling
place of concentrated wickedness. He
is right, but / do not think has has ever
visited STEAMBOAT. In STEAMBOAT there
is with no exception the most on
glomerate mixture of nondescript ma
tionaIities on the face of the earth.
Not only are all nationalities repre-
sented but breeds of men that defy
all pathological research, hideous in
their conglomerate intermixtures. If
an Albanian bandit, himself a mixture
of Greek and Nubian mulatto, has