antics of a monkey. The others were coming back, the
deputy-commandant with an angry light in his dull eye. 'Speaking to
the prisoners is forbidden,' he shouted.

I looked blankly at him till the lieutenant translated.

'What kind of fellow is he?' said Dolly in English to the doctor. 'He
spoils my game and then jabbers High-Dutch at me.'

Officially I knew English, and that speech of Dolly's gave me my cue.
I pretended to be very angry with the very damned Englishman, and went
out of the room close by the deputy-commandant, grumbling like a sick
jackal. After that I had to act a bit. The last place we visited was
the close-confinement part where prisoners were kept as a punishment
for some breach of the rules. They looked cheerless enough, but I
pretended to gloat over the sight, and said so to the lieutenant, who
passed it on to the others. I have rarely in my life felt such a cad.

On the way home the lieutenant discoursed a lot about prisoners and
detention-camps, for at one time he had been on duty at Ruhleben.
Peter, who had been in quod more than once in his life, was deeply
interested and kept on questioning him. Among other things he told us
was that they often put bogus prisoners among the rest, who acted as
spies. If any plot to escape was hatched these fellows got into it and
encouraged it. They never interfered till the attempt was actually
made and then they had them on toast. There was nothing the Boche
liked so much as an excuse for sending a poor devil to 'solitary'.

That afternoon Peter and I separated. He was left behind with the
lieutenant and I was sent off to the station with my bag in the company
of a Landsturm sergeant. Peter was very cross, and I didn't care for
the look of things; but I brightened up when I heard I was going
somewhere with Stumm. If he wanted to see me again he must think me of
some use, and if he was going to use me he was bound to let me into his
game. I liked Stumm about as much as a dog likes a scorpion, but I
hankered for his society.

At the station platform, where the ornament of the Landsturm saved me
all the trouble about tickets, I could not see my companion. I stood
waiting, while a great crowd, mostly of soldiers, swayed past me and
filled all the front carriages. An officer spoke to me gruffly and
told me to stand aside behind a wooden rail. I obeyed, and suddenly
found Stumm's eyes looking down at me.

'You know German?' he asked sharply