isis of some sort was at hand.

The commandant changed, in those days, from a bluff, self-confident and
brave soldier to a shrunken craven, trembling at shadows. If he had
known where the danger lay, or what it was, he would have met it
valiantly enough; but he knew scarcely more than did his humblest
soldier. He knew that the peril was very great; he knew that at any
moment his magazines might blow up beneath his feet; he knew that what
he had to guard against was the stringing of wires, the establishment of
a wireless plant. Every stranger must be watched, his registration
investigated, his baggage at all times kept under surveillance. A
stranger carrying a bundle in the streets must always be followed. Every
resident receiving a roomer, a boarder, or even a guest from another
city must make immediate return to the police.

How many times had the commandant read these instructions! And always,
at the last, he read twice over the paragraph at the bottom of the
sheet, underlined in red:

"At all hours of the day or night, two operators will be on
duty at every wireless station, their receivers at their
ears, their instruments adjusted. Should they perceive any
signal which they are unable to explain, especially a series
of measured dashes, they will report the same immediately
to the commandant, who will turn out his entire command and
cause a thorough search to be made at once of all
house-tops, hills and eminences of every sort within a
radius of five miles. All wires whose use is not fully
apparent will be torn down and all persons having access to
such wires will be arrested and held for interrogation.
SHOULD THE SERIES OF SIGNALS BEGIN A SECOND TIME, ALL
MAGAZINES WILL AT ONCE BE FLOODED."

This last sentence, printed in capitals to give it emphasis, the
commandant at Strasbourg could not understand. To flood the magazines
meant the loss of a million marks; besides, why should it be necessary?
What possible danger could threaten those great ammunition store-houses,
buried deep beneath walls of granite, protected from every conceivable
mishap, and whose keys hung always above his desk? He was completely
baffled; worse than that, he felt himself shaken and unnerved in face of
this mysterious peril.

* * * * *

A copy of this order was sent to every fortress in Germany, and it is
therefore not remarkabl