The Benson signal., 1916-11-11

piece of flexible cellulOid or an Ordi-
nary Photographic film which makes
an ideal telephone lnuffler, speaking
trumpet or listening cone when rolled
up. Also, the confetti "patronen" or
cartridges that prove so essential in
trailing are frequently used. These
small cartridges filled with white, pink
or pale blue confetti or small pieces
OF paper and small piece of mirror
glass form important paraphernalia to
quarry for miles after miles of crowd
ed streets or from trolley cars to trains
and even through the maZes of busy
office buildings, as the following will
show.
To the outsider these tricks of the
profession may seem childish and ex-
treme. Yet the WilhelmstraSse brains
of the great imperial secret service
prefer those methods and they prove
the most efficient after ALL
After making sure that he carries
his regular equipment the spy goes to
his office or rendezvous for his daily
assignment, unless he has an unfinish-
Ell task that requires no further in
structions. Cafes or cigar stores are
the best places. From waiter or at
tendant or some lounging customer he
receives verbal orders or information
that reveals his days task. Spies, be-
cause of the nature of their work and
their personal peculiarities, are never
trusted beyond their daily task.
For instance, one morning the sleuth
is to meet colleague at q certain
bank for the purpose of observing the
doings OF two foreigners that are sus-
pected of being ammunition agents.
Sleuth A follows one man. At the
next street corner the man turns and
his trailer also turns, and in SO doing
streaks the wall of the building with
peculiar purple chalk, of color not
used generally. He keeps on following
his man and at every corner he marks
the building SO deftly and so inconspl-
cuOusly that bystander does not no.
tice it. AS long as the object keeps
walking straight ahead the trailer only
marks one side of the corner but if
the object turns he marks both sides of
the corner, showing that he has turned
to the right or left. If then the object
should board Il car, the Sleuth will
crush one of the white confetti car
tridges with his fingers and the perSis-
tent little pieces of paper fall to the
street and stick in the creviceS between
the cobblestones or the paving blocks,
or even cling tenaciOuSly to the as
phalt, defying both sweepers and
brooms for hours. If the object changes
cars the trailer will drop pink cluster
of confetti and the chalk marks will
tell the story rs they alight.
When the sleuth Is relieved that eve-
ming he does not have to leave his OBJ
ject out of his sight. The sleuth that
relieves him will merely take up the
thread from the bank and will, as a
rule, in incredibly short time locate his
man in any part of the city. This is
much more easily done in European
cities, as the Streetcar systems are not
so intricate and the streets are usually
paved with cobblestoneS or bricks. The
telephone is not so readily available
abroad In Berlin, for instance, there
are the most pretentious homes and
thousands of shops and stores without
telephones.
When the chalk mark is missing the
second or relay sleuth is convinced
that his predecessor on the case or the
present incumbent of the case is in the
block. He walks back after making
certain that he did not take car at
that point, which would be revealed by
the confetti on the ground. If the OBJ
iect and the trailer are in the block
they will be soon seen or flock OF
confetti will show near the entrance.
These means are not always avail