The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-06-17
The Woman Spy Of Biarritz

teurs in this class of work. Every time German officer was captured, he boasted with the ease with which his country could find out about the American army and its movements and the most deplorable part of it all was that their knowledge was so remarkably accurate.
 After this had gone on for some time, and the various officers cap tured had corroborated each other as to the knowledge, it was decided that somewhere there was a big leak. An analysis of the statements of these boastful Germans showed us, so di- versified was the information that they had, that the leak must be in a large body of men from our various regiments and divisions.
 It could not be from the prisoners whom they had captured. for the knowledge comprised not only the activities of the trenches but also of the units in the rest and training areas. The only places furnishing the right conditions all around were our two convalescent hospitals, one at Cannes, for the enlisted men, and the other at Biarritz, the Red Cross hospital for the officers. Further examination of the situation brought Fa Il, Ee+1 ,t Cannes were not the ones who were disobeying the orders-so it must be Blarritz.
 Net long after my arrival at Biar- ritz, where ostensibly I had gone to the hospital as a convalescent. I be- gan to hear about the splendid wom- an who was doing so much to help our officers forget the horrors of the war. The men were loud in their praises of her-of how, as the head of committee, she seemed tireless in her efforts; bridge parties. dancing par ties. drives through the nearby hills in the old horse drawn carriages, and
 
 the day Surrounded by the younger set of Biarritz, whose fathers, broth CTS, or husbands were at the frent fighting, this woman seemed never to tire of doing good. Quite natural ly, having had her praises dinned into my ears morning, noon and night, I was anxious to meet her myself. so that I, too, could enjoy her hospi- tality.
 / The opportunity came one day when, as I came out of the water with a brother officer, he suggested that we go to the woman's tent on the beach for drink. The officer, when he learned that I had never met her. volunteered to present me.
 I, too found Mrs. Powell a very charming and pleasant woman. Tall and stately in her simple white gown, and with a most dsarming smile, her jet black hair set eff her delicate white skin stril1ingly. She made beautiful picture as she sat in her tent like queen on her throne and with her own hands mixed the whis- ky-and- sodas for us. Her tent was the Mecca for all the officers on the bench. Here, after a dip in the ocean. one could go for a cocktail or a smoke.
 It was not long before I myself fell under the spell of this woman's s hospitality; nor was there the slight sst suspicion in my mind that she was an intriguing adventures. EX- cept for chance remark that she made, I might have left Biarritz none the wiser as to the identity of the spy.
 On the next day after the introduce tion, while l was sitting on the sand beside Mrs. Powelrs tent, enjoying smoke, a podgy Frenchman passed, on his way to the water. Almost like a ball he looked as he waddled of alternating wide red and yellow stripes running round his body. fairly screamed at us.
 Mrs. Powell turning to another woman, remarked in Spanish:
 How odd he looks! Doesn't he look like a convict?"
 I also thought the Frenchman made an amusing picture, and smiled at Mrs. Powelrs remark. Quick as a flash, Mrs. Powell, noticing my smile, turned to me.
 DO you speak Spanish?" she asked in that language.
 "Yes, little" I replied, alsc iu Spanish.
 The conversation then drifted to the subject of langua ges. We found that we both knew several in com mon; and then. in rather a boastful manner, she said:
 Well, I know one that you can not speak"
 "No?" I replied.
 "oh, yes. but I do! I speak Rus sian"
 Until this remark was made would have sworn that she was what she seemed, a woman devoting hel time and energy to giving us a geo time. But to be able to speak Rus sian-that was different. Any ont who spoke that most difficult of Ian guages and still claimed to be Eng,
 fish warranted at least an invest