Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-14

| mad the good fortune TO meet
Gen. Sir George Milne, commander
IN chief of the Army of the Black Sea.
Learning of my knowledge Of the
section surrounding the Black Sea
and of my Willingness TO serve there,
Sir George obtained for me an APP
pointment as special service tntellt-
gence officer, assigned to general
Headquarters at Constantinople. This
service, while 1t did not involve actual
fighting, the world then being at
peace, was to provide me with many
adventures.
1t was also TO give me an intimate
knowledge of the political situation
in Asia Minor and to bring me into
close contact with the varied races
Of that region, descendants of the
hordes which since the dawn of his
tory have surged up against the vast
barrier of the Caucasus like angry
waves against rocky coast. each
leaving its representatives in the iso-
lated valleys.
It is even said that in valley in
the western portion of the southern
slopes of the Caucasus there is today
an isolated tribe whose language is
the Gaelic of Scotland To this tribe
the bagpipes and kits have come
down from their ancestors of long
ago, said to have been Scottish cru
saders who lost their way in those
mountains In attempting to go from
Palestine to Europe by land.
On my return to the Near East,
after a short stay in Constantinople,
] went by boat TO Batum in Trans
Caucasa, and thence by rail to Ttfits,
its capital. From that city I made
frequent trips into the surrounding
section, Investigating the state of
the country and seeing that the terms
OF the armistice regarding disarma-
ment were carried out by the Turks.
The country was still in state of
unrest, due to the attacks made by
the Tartars upon the Armenians
with. it is suspected, the support of
the Turks.
On one of these trips I had gone to
Ears, near the Turco Russian from
tier. with the intention of proceeding
to or beyond the boundary. AS 1 was
about to continue my journey south
wards, I acquired documentary evil
deuce Of great Importance as to the
Turkish military support of the Tar
tars at Kars. While considering
these. I also observed certain facts
myself which caused me Gnstead of
going forward as the railway people
expected) to go over to the points"
when our train was coming of the
siding where It had been standing.
and. having then run the train right
across on to the main line, TO GO back
the way We had come. as hard as we
could, to try TO catch the commander
in-chief at Baum. For this I had
very good reasons, and luckily acted
instantly, without giving any sign of
my inten tion.
THE first indica ton I got of trouble
was when saw, through the
window of my carriage, some very
Turkish-looktng Tartars take loco
motive off a siding and run it down
TO the points" where a short branch
ran to the boiler filing pump.
These men looked to me so suspi-
cious that T watched them carefully,
and saw them, as soon as the front
wheels Of the locomotive passed the
points, deliberately force the lever
over. and by so doing derail the loco
motive, blocking the access Of all
other locomotives to the water sup
ply. They then moved to another
location on another locomotive on an
other siding, with the obvious intention
of carrying out a similar maneuver at
the main line points, and so blocking
the main line to AIexandropol and Tifiis.
which was a single strack only, and
formed our only means Of communfca-
ton with our base.
It was the merest chance that /
happened TO notice them at all, as
the whole thing was done quietly,
and. had I not been of suspicious
turn of mind, I should never have
watched them nor Immediately have
grasped their intentions. However,
by the time they reached the second
locomotive our train was already on
the move, and I was standing over
the points, with my pistol drawn.
They had evidently had their orders
- let our train go on towards the