Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-07
Copyrioht 1918, UV the Public Lcdgcr Co,
Copyright by Robert n. McBridc & co.
CHAPTER " Continued

T HELD in my hand badge of the German
secret police.
You cannot penetrate far behind the scenes
in Germany without coming across the traces
of section seven Of the Berlin police presi-
dency, the section that is known cuphemis-
tically as that of the political police. Os-
tensibly it attends to the safety of the
monarch, and of distinguished personagcs
generally. and the numerous suite that used
to accompany the Kaiser on his visits 20
England invariably included two there
top-hatted representatives of the section
The ramhcations of Abteilung Seben arc,
In reality. much wider. 1t does such work in
connection with the newspapers as is even
too dirty for the German foreign office to
touch. comprising everything from the
launching OF personal attacks in obscure
blacltmailiuG sheets against inConvenicnt poll
tciaus to the escortng of unpleasantly truth
ful foreign correspondents to the frontier.
1t is the obedent handmaiden of tho intel
ligence department of both War Office and
Admiralty in Germany, and renders faithful
service to the espionage which is constantly
maintained on officials, politicians, the clergy
and the general public In that land of care
full organization.
Section seven is a vast subterranean de-
partment. Always working in the dark, its
political complexion Is II handy cloak Tor
blacker and more sinister activities IL IS
frequently entrusted with commissions of
which 1t would be ineNpedcnt for official Ger
many to have cognizance and which, accord
ingly. official Germany can always safely
repudate when occasion demands,
thrust the pin of the badge into my braces
and fastened Il there crammed the rest Of
the dead mans effects into his bag, stuck his
hat upon my head and threw his overcoat on
my arm picked up his bag and crept away,
In another minute / was back in my room.
hrain afiama with the Nre OF n great
enterprise
Here, TO my hand, lay the key Of that
locked land which held the secret of my lost
brother. The question l had been asking
myself, ever since had first discovered the
dead mans American papers of identity, was
this Had ] tho nerve to avail myself OF
Semlin's American passport to get into Ger
many? The answer to that question lay in
the little silver badge, / knew that no Ger
man official whatever his standing, what
ever his orders would refuse passage to the
silver star OF section seven. 1t need only
he used too, as n last resource, for had my
papers as n neutral Could | but once set
foot in Germany, I was quite ready to de-
mend on my wits TO see me through. one
advantage, knew. l must forego. That was
the half-letter in its canvas case.
If that document was of Importance to Sec
tion seven of the German police, then it
was Of equal, nay, of greater Importance to
NV country If ! went, that should remain
behind in safe keeping.
"Neyer before, since the war began" |
told myself, "can any Englishman have had
such an opportunity vouchsafed to him for
getting easily and safely into that jealousy
guarded land as you have now You have
pIentv of money, what with your own and
his" and / figured Semlin's wad of
notes, "and provided you can keep your head
sufficiently to remember always that you are
a German once over the frontier you should
be able to give the Huns the slip and try
tIa trail Q Nrn nTVfg
"And maybe" / argued further $50 easily
ia ones better judgment defeated when one
il young and set on n thing, 'naybe in
German surroundings, you may get some
sense into that mysterious Jingle you got
from Dicky Allerton as the sole existing
clue to the disappearance OF Francis"
Nevertheless I wavered. The risks were
awful | had TO get out of that evil hotel
i'm the guise OF DIR. Semlin, with, as the sole
safeguard against exposure, should l fall in
with the dead mans employers or friends,
that slight and possibly imaginative resem-
hlance between him and me: / had to take
such measures as would prevent the fraud
from being detected when the body was dis
covered in the hotel; above all, had to as
certain before ] could definitely resolve TO
nush on into Germany. whether Semlin was
already known TO the people at the hotel
or whether-as l surmised to be the case
this was also his first visit to the house in
the Vos int TuintJe
NV '" any case. / was quite determined in
nv own mind that the only way to get out
81 the place with Semlin's document without
considerable unpleasantness If not grave
danger. would be to transfer his identity
and effects to myself and vice versa When
I cav the way little clearer could decide
whether TO take the supreme risk and ad-
venture myself into the enemy's country
Whatever l was going TO do, there were
not many hours of the night left in which
20 act, and / was determined to be cut of
mat house OF III omen before day dawned.
n I could get clear of the hotel and at
The same time ascertain that Semlin was
ss much a stranger there as myself. / could
decide on my further course Of action in the
greater freedom OF the streets of Rotter.
dan one thing was certain; the waiter had
let the question of Semlin's papers stand
over until the morning, as he had done In
my case, for semiin stu had his passnGkf
In hia possession
Aitsr AZ Il ssmlla vi unxnoun Il the