were bidden to dinner at Moellendorff's, so we put on our best
clothes and set out in an ancient cab. Blenkiron had fetched a dress
suit of mine, from which my own tailor's label had been cut and a New
York one substituted.

General Liman and Metternich the Ambassador had gone up the line to
Nish to meet the Kaiser, who was touring in those parts, so
Moellendorff was the biggest German in the city. He was a thin,
foxy-faced fellow, cleverish but monstrously vain, and he was not very
popular either with the Germans or the Turks. He was polite to both of
us, but I am bound to say that I got a bad fright when I entered the
room, for the first man I saw was Gaudian. I doubt if he would have
recognized me even in the clothes I had worn in Stumm's company, for
his eyesight was wretched. As it was, I ran no risk in dress-clothes,
with my hair brushed back and a fine American accent. I paid him high
compliments as a fellow engineer, and translated part of a very
technical conversation between him and Blenkiron. Gaudian was in
uniform, and I liked the look of his honest face better than ever.

But the great event was the sight of Enver. He was a slim fellow of
Rasta's build, very foppish and precise in his dress, with a smooth
oval face like a girl's, and rather fine straight black eyebrows. He
spoke perfect German, and had the best kind of manners, neither pert
nor overbearing. He had a pleasant trick, too, of appealing all round
the table for confirmation, and so bringing everybody into the talk.
Not that he spoke a great deal, but all he said was good sense, and he
had a smiling way of saying it. Once or twice he ran counter to
Moellendorff, and I could see there was no love lost between these two.
I didn't think I wanted him as a friend--he was too cold-blooded and
artificial; and I was pretty certain that I didn't want those steady
black eyes as an enemy. But it was no good denying his quality. The
little fellow was all cold courage, like the fine polished blue steel
of a sword.

I fancy I was rather a success at that dinner. For one thing I could
speak German, and so had a pull on Blenkiron. For another I was in a
good temper, and really enjoyed putting my back into my part. They
talked very high-flown stuff about what they had done and were going to
do, and Enver was great on Gallipoli. I remember he said that he could
have destroyed the whole British Army if it hadn't been for somebody's
cold feet--at w