orts across the North Sea from Germany, to the East Coast of
England, either East Anglia or, as in this plan, in Yorkshire. They
had in Germany nine embarking stations, with piers and platforms,
all ready made, and steel lighters for disembarkation purposes or for
actual traversing of the ocean in case of fine weather.

They had taken the average of the weather for years past, and had come
to the conclusion that July 13th is, on an average, the finest day
in the year; but their attempt would be timed, if possible, to fall
on a Bank Holiday when communications were temporarily disorganised.
Therefore the nearest Bank Holiday to July 13th would probably be that
at the beginning of August; it was a coincidence that the present war
broke out on that day.

The spies stationed in England were to cut all telephone and telegraph
wires, and, where possible, to blow down important bridges and
tunnels, and thus to interrupt communications and create confusion.

Their idea of landing on the coast of Yorkshire was based on the
following reasons:--

They do not look upon London as strategically the capital of England,
but rather upon the great industrial centres of the north Midlands,
where, instead of six millions, there are more like fourteen millions
of people assembled in the numerous cities and towns, which now almost
adjoin each other across that part of the country.

Their theory was that if they could rush an army of even 90,000 men
into Leeds, Sheffield, Halifax, Manchester, and Liverpool without
encountering great opposition in the first few hours, they could there
establish themselves in such strength that it would require a powerful
army to drive them out again.

Bringing a week's provisions with them, and seizing all the local
provisions, they would have enough to sustain them for a considerable
time, and the first step of their occupation would be to expel every
inhabitant--man, woman, and child--from the neighbourhood and destroy
the towns. Thus, within a few hours, some fourteen millions of people
would be starving, and wandering without shelter over the face of the
country--a disaster which would need a large force to deal with, and
would cause entire disruption of our food supplies and of business in
the country.

The East Coast of Yorkshire between the Humber and Scarborough lends
itself to such an adventure, by providing a good open beach for miles,
with open country in front of it, which, in its turn, is