Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1916-09-01
1t Was Very
Plain to Her
BY SADIE oLcoTT

more, II there Is anything stirring |
want 10 be In IT, When the pan-Euro-
pean war broke out was travelling In
the Balkan states and made the ac'
quaintance Of the wife Of one Of the
chief diplomats, / don't specify be-
cause there Ia lot In this story that
1t wouldn't do for me to reveal, In
deed | shall endeavor 10 tell II In
way that my own identity shall not
be known.
From my friend the diplomats wife
heard great deal about the struggle
between the entente and the central
powers 10 secure the adhesion Of the
different Balkan states. | was i'm.
pressed with the fact that there was
lot Of chicanery going on and was
seized with desire to take a hand
IN 1t, for the representatives Of each
side were ready to pay any price for
information as TO what the other side
was going TO do, | dropped a hint TO
the diplomats wife that | would like
10 try my hand at diplomacy, which
she understood to mean spying,
rhe very next day ! received an in
vitation to call nc certain embassy.
| was received by the secretary Of
legation, He was the most clean cut
man | had ever met, very handsome,
with certain impressiveness about
him that Is Undesirable. | made up
my mind then and there that whether
or no / succeeded In diplomatic mis-
sion ] would bend all my energies TO
securing him for my own sweet self
Mr., Faunteroy | will call him
told me that the entente allies were
IN great doubt which way the Bulgari-
an cat would jump, He expressed the
idea in the choicest language, but |
don't remember his words. He wish
ed me to go to Sofia and gain the con-
tidenCe of some Bulgarian magnate
and worm out of him which side King
Ferdinand was going to declare for,
! prolonged the interview with Mr..
Fauntleroy as long as possible, all the
while giving him such little hints to
attract him to myself as woman
keeps ready for the purpose. When,
however, l could think Of no more
points on which to ask instructions |
babe him goodby and set out for So
fla
was some time getting the informa-
ton | desired for there was only one
person who knew what the king had
decided to do, and that was the king
himself Indeed, got the information,
not from a person, but from my own
observation. Sometimes the plaineSt
thing to n woman is that for which
she can give no reason. | soon knew
that King Ferdinand would take the
German side. How | knew it | can
not tell you. though it was as plain as
the nose of the kings face, and every
one who has seen him or his picture
knows that his nose is not to be mis-
taken for any other nose.
Returning to Mr.. Fauntleroy / told
him that the king would jump toward
Berlin. When | was asked the source
of my information l said that | had
succeeded in making hiding in a
room where the king had received a
deputation Of Bulgarian magnates,
who had come to protest against his
maiestys taking sides with Germany,
and was convinced that he was fool
ing them. Mr.. Fauntleroy asked me
how knew the king was fooling them,
and l replied, Just as any woman
knows when man is not to be
trusted
Mr.. Fauntleroy said he reckoned |
was not cut out for spy, though he
offered to pay me for my work. de-
clined to take anything.
"But,' / added, "Mr Fauntleroy, If
you act on what l tell you you will
gain credit in your profession
l gave him pleading look. as though
l was awfully interested in his sue
cess, and | really think he believed l
was interested for him and not my
self. He endeavored to persuade his
superior and other diplomats to send
word to London and Paris that King
Ferdinand was about to declare for
the central powers. But none of those
great men could see what was A B @
to me, and when the king did join the
Germans they were all very much as
tonished, and the powers they repre-
sented were caught in position for
which they were by no means pre-
pared.
There was one, however, who could
say, 81 told you So" That was Mr.
Fauntleroy He had taken the precau-
ton to enter a protest to his govern
ment against trusting King Ferdinand
and recommending certain movements
of troops in view of Bulgaria's action.
1t was risky for him to do this, for it
must be done over his chiefs head.
Judge of the secretary's delight when
his chief was ordered home and he