The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1918-01-04
Curiosity Aroused by Actions of
Foreign Gentleman on Aber-
deem Express.
DOES SOME SWIFT Thinking
Looking Stupid 10 Her Speciality, and
When Officers Grab the Spy He
Looks at Old Lady
and Signs.

London.-The best spy story in a
.onS time ON from Il medical Off
e n Of the big guns of his corps
and profession. 1t is all about the
Aberdeen Express, one Of the worlds
quickest long-distance runs. You leave
London after the theater, go to bed
IN the train. have a cup of tea in bed
at Edinburgh. and breakfast in Aber-
deen, GO miles from town. North
ward from Edinburgh there are stops
a while on the Forth bridge, from
whence % look down onto the decks
of first-class battleships. and al Dun
dee. and Montrose.
The old lady boarded the train at
Edinburgh and the porter showed her
into a non-smoking compartment Of
the day coach. The other passenger
was a foreign gentleman-of what ma
.ionality il would be hard to say. but
foreign. AS to the lady, she seemed
A harmless old thing some fifty-thrce
years of age The point is that one
OF h two was really Il German spy.
and anyone's first suspicion would
point to the old lady. She owned up
frankly that she enjoyed 4 gossip, and
found the foreign gentleman quite i
good fellow. As to his nationality.
the accent gave no clue. she pumped
him perseveringly.
A few stops from Edinburgh the
train stopped on the Forth bridge.
From the trains one looks down upon
a naval base Of first-rate consequence.
A spy. making rapid summary OF the
capital ships in full view. might pick
up important information.
The foreign gentleman stood IN,
filling the window. shutting out the
view. and annoyed the old lady. who
also wanted to have u look. More
over, she saw him go through a long
fumbling procedure which puzzled her
extremely. What on earth was he up
to? The only thing she saw was the
last swift movement which elnptied
the bulgy part of his overcoat. And
she caught the glimpse Of Il wing. Now
the whole thing WAS clear there must
have been Il message scrubbed rapidly.
y ail Isij IiSI sIiAh LH1ti sun
den release OF Il carrier pigeon.
The Old Lady's Speciality.
And her the foreigner flashed
round to see II the lady had noticed
anything. No. evidently not. She
looked vacant, noddins and half
asleep.
II looked stupid" she said after |
ward, but that's my speciality"
She must have done some very swift
thinking before he had time to turn
round. Her first impulse was to run !
along the corridor and find the guard
rouse the first soldier she saw. But |
then the foreigner would sec by her
first movement he was in danger, and
she did not want to be strangled.
out Of the window. and
drowned in the Forth estuary. She be-
affable. wondering what had de- |
the train so long. He expressed
noble sentiments concerning the allies
and contempt for Germany.
But as the train pulled into Dundee |
the old lady expressed her conviction
the morning papers would be for
by this time mt the boOkstalls. She |
felt that a little run or the platform
would Gus her limbs after the cramped
compartment. She would buy a paper
for the foreign gentleman also.
Halfway to the bookstall she met
a porter. It would be natural to ask
how long the train stopped.