The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1918-01-04
Curiosity Aroused by Actions Of
Foreign Gentleman on kber-
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 stor! in a
GER. 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-
deem, GOO miles from town. North
ward from Edinburgh there are stops
Il while on the Forth bridge, from
whence o look down onto the decks
of iirst-class battleships. and at Dun
| dee. and Montrose.
The old lady boarded the train at
Edinburgh and the porter showed her
into Il non-smoking compartment OF
the day coach. The other passenger
was a foreign gentleman-of what ma
tionality it would be hard to say. but
foreign. As to the lady. she seemed
a harmless old thing some ffty-thrce
years of age. The point is that one
OF the two was really a German spy.
II anyone's first suspicion would
point to the old lady. She owned up
frankly that she enjoyed a gossip, and
found the foreign gentleman quite 4
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 II looks down upon
Il 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 up,
filing the window, shutting out the
view, and annoyed the old lady. who
also wanted to have Il look. More
over, she saw him so 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 emptied
the bulgy part OF his O%vercoar. And
she caught the glimpse Of Il wing. Now
the whole thing WAS clear: there must
have been a message scrubbed rapidly.
folded and made fast and then sud
den release Of Il carrier pigeon.
The Old Lady's Speciality.
And her the foreigner flashed
round to see il the lady had noticed
anything. No. evidently not. She
looked vacant, nodding and half
asleep.
II looked stupid" She said after
ward. hui 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
or rouse the first soldier she saw. But
then the foreigner would sec by her
first movement he was in danger. and
thrown out Of the window. and
drowned in the Forth estuary. She be-
came affable. wondering what had de-
layed 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
that the morning papers would be for
sale by this time mt the boOkstalls. She
felt that a little run on the platform
would ease her limbs after the cramped
compartment. She would buy a paper
for the foreign gentleman also.
Halfway to the bookstall she met
a porter. 1t would be natural to ask
him how long the train stopped.