The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-09-01

Afterwards, though it had now
grown dark, the emperor, by the pow
erful headlamps of the three cars,
thoroughly examined the Americans
airplane, the aviator explaining every
detail.
From that moment for months after
wards the kaiser was constantly talk
ing of aviation. He commanded pho
tographs of various types of airplanes,
together with all literature on the sub
ject, to be placed before him. Indeed,
he sent over to Britain, in secret, two
officers to attend the airplane meetings
held at Doncaster and Blackpool,
where a large number of photographs
were taken, and duly found their way
to his table.
The. Dancing Mistress Visit.
I have recalled the emperor's first
sight of an airplane in flight, in COM
pany with Herr Anton Reitschel and
Professor Vambery, because of an in
cident which occurred that same day.
Just before midnight the emperor was
giving me certain instructions to be
sent to Carlton House Terrace when
the door opened without any knock of
permission, and upon the threshold
there stood Frau Kleist.
"Have l your majesty's permission
to enter?" she asked.
"Of course, of course" replied the
emperor, turning in his chair. "Come
in and close the door. 1t has turned
quite cold tonight. Well?" he asked,
looking at her inquiringly.
The court dancing mistress hesitated
for a second. Their eyes met, and in
that glance l say complete understand
ing.
MAY l speak in confidence with your
majesty?" she asked, advancing into
the oom Except the court ladies she
was the only female at court whom
the sentries stationed at the end of
the corridor allowed to pass to his
majesty's private cabinet.
But Frau Kleist had access every
where. Her eyes were the eyes of the
emperor. Many a diplomat, %financier,
military or naval commander has been
raised to position of favorite because
he first secured the good graces of the
ex-ballerina. And, alas many a good,
honest man has been cast out of the
Potsdam circle into oblivion because
of the poisonous declaration of that
smiling, bejeweled old woman.
"Of what do you wish to speak?" in
quired the emperor.
"Of the Reitschel affair."" was the
old woman's low reply.
At her words the kaiser frowned
slightly, and dismissed me. l bowed
myself out, and closed the door upon
the emperor and his clever female spy.
That she should have at that late
hour come from Potsdam-for, looking
down into the courtyard, I saw the
lights of her big Mercedes-showed
that some u%nderhand work was in
progress.
By handling, as I did, hundreds of
secret reports which reached the en-
peror / had learned much concerning
Herr Anton Reitschel, and from old
Won Donaustauf, master of ceremonies,
I had also been able to obtain certain
missing links concerning the intrigue.
Reitschel, a burly, ro~und-faced, fair
haired Prussian of quite superior type,
held the position of chief director Of
the German-Ottoman bank in Constan-
tinople. His duty for the past three
years had been to conciliate the sultan
and to lend German money to any in
dustrial enterprise in which any grain
of merit could possibly be discovered.
He had been singled out, taken from
the Dresdner bank, and sent to Con-
stantinople by the kaiser in order to
J play Germany's secret game in Turkey
ESPECIALLY that of the Bagdad rail-
way-and to combat with German gold
Great Britain's diplomacy with Tewfik
Pasha and old Abdul Hamid, in view
of "The Day" which the emperor had
long ago determined should soon dawn.
AS old Won Donasstauf had put it:
"Our employer intends that, notwith-
standing Britain's policy in the near
East, Germany shall o o rule from
Berlin to Bagdad. Herr Reitschel is
in reality charged with the work of
'Germanizing' the Ottoman empire"
That l already knew by the many Sc
cret reports of his which arrived so
constantly from Constantinople.
Truly the game which the emperor
: was playing in secret against the other