Читать книгу Secrets of German Espionage - Bernard Newman - Страница 22

The adherence of the Germans to the mass principle ought to have received a shock from the fate of Captain Stewart, a British Intelligence Officer who operated in Germany prior to 1914. Stewart was the traditional British type of spy, highly intelligent, a volunteer for dangerous duty, and a brilliant individualist. For many years he worked, effecting some remarkable coups; he was indeed one of the most successful spies in Europe.

He was at length assigned to a task of great complexity, and the War Office decided he would need an assistant. Stewart protested that he had obtained his best results single-handed, and was quite confident of his ability to complete the new task. The War Office assured him, however, that they had available a capable and reliable assistant.

Some years earlier a director of a famous whisky distillery had informed a friend at the War Office that he employed a commercial traveller in Germany, a German who enjoyed especially favourable facilities for espionage and who, he believed, would be open to persuasion. The German drummer was tactfully approached, and for a consideration agreed to betray his country. He rendered good service, for though he was not brilliant his information was always sound, and he thoroughly earned the moderate sums paid him. When Stewart had studied the man’s record, in fact, he had to agree that here was the promise of a capable assistant.

Unfortunately an epoch-making event had intervened in the life of the German commercial traveller, unknown to either Captain Stewart or the War Office. The German had married; and, what was more, he had married the daughter of a German naval officer! His new family connections may have rearoused the latent patriotism within him. At any rate, he had no compunction about betraying Stewart to the German authorities.

The British officer had only served a part of his term of imprisonment when he was pardoned by the Kaiser. Unfortunately he was killed during the first weeks of the 1914 war, and British Intelligence suffered a severe loss. His case has been freely debated in espionage quarters ever since, and German spy schoolmasters have often based their lessons on his success. Many of them, however, do not appear to have recognized the basic essential of his exploits, the fact that he worked alone.