"See!" he exclaimed, pointing to tracks that ran in and out of the gateway. "The car"s home is here!"
"What car?"
"The car which used to meet the German maid at Metfield," was his matter-of-fact reply. "For the present we know sufficient. We must look sharp if we are to be in Beccles before eight. If we"re not there before, it will be of no use."
So we hurried back to our own car, and our driver, by taking a by-path, brought us out upon the main road again at Thorpe Market, and just after half-past seven we pulled up before the hotel in the old Suffolk market town of Beccles, under the shadow of the stumpy square old church tower.
The car was garaged, and after a drink we went forth for a walk along the quiet old-world streets, until suddenly upon a corner we came to the post office, a large old-fashioned two-storied house with steep tiled roof.
"Wait about here," my companion said; "a dark-haired man in a light grey overcoat and golf-cap will probably come to post a letter just before eight. He has a dark brown beard, and usually wears a white m.u.f.fler.
When he comes follow him, and see where he goes. He may know me, so I must keep out of sight."
Therefore I lit my pipe, and idled up and down, keeping the letter-box in view. In the window, directly above it, was a clock which showed it then to be a quarter to eight. I took a pretended interest in the small shops near, until about four minutes to the hour a closed motor-car swung round from the direction of the Public Hail, and pulled up before the post office.
From it two men alighted--one a youngish fair-haired man, and the other, dark-bearded and much older, wore a thick grey overcoat and a white m.u.f.fler. He was the man of whom I was in search.
I entered the office directly after the pair, on pretence of buying stamps, but already the elder of the two had handed in a letter to be registered, the address of which I failed to discern.
Both seemed to be in a great hurry, for as soon as the receipt was written out they re-entered the car and drove back in the direction they had come, leaving me standing helpless on the opposite side of the road.
Immediately I returned to the hotel where Ray was waiting, and reported to him, whereupon he seized his hat, and walking with me back to the post office halted in the centre of the road examining the wheel-tracks, which were still quite plain upon the damp roadway.
Then, as he walked back, he said:
"Do you know, Jack, that this town Beccles has been decided upon by the Germans as the head-quarters of the Army Corps which lands at Weybourne?
It"s a natural position, standing upon high ground and commanding the whole of the surrounding country. Signals made from that church tower yonder could be seen very far afield."
Then, as we sat together in the coffee-room of the hotel, eating a hasty meal, he remarked:
"We"ll go back to Cromer to-night, but I shall go to town to-morrow.
You"ll wait till my return, won"t you?"
So I was left alone for nearly a week; and on his return he announced that we must at once shift our quarters to Lowestoft. So south we went that same night, arriving at midnight, and putting up at the many-balconied Empire Hotel.
The town interested my companion not at all, but from there we went forth each day on long motor excursions, scouring the whole country as far south as Aldborough and as far west as Bury St. Edmunds. All the roads round Southwold, Bungay, Saxmundham, Stow Market, and many other towns we reconnoitred, apparently always with the same object--to discover wheel-tracks of a mysterious car.
The garages of every town Ray visited alone, but his inquiries always met with the same negative result.
Late one afternoon, however, when on the road between Wymondham and Diss, he suddenly shouted to the driver to stop, and jumping out, examined the track of wheels. The road, however, was hard at that spot, and it was some time before he could decide whether the car had travelled north or south.
"They"ve gone north!" he declared with satisfaction; therefore we continued to follow them towards Wymondham, where they had drawn up at the "Old Green Dragon," and gone forth again, striking into a by-road which led to Bracon Ash.
"Ha!" he cried, when he saw this, "so they"re busy at work--that"s plain!"
But by this time the light had faded, and much to our chagrin we were again compelled to give up the hunt, and find our way over by Hempnall, and so through Bungay back to Lowestoft.
Next day we were early back again at the spot, but heavy rain had unfortunately fallen all night, so the tracks had been obliterated.
After another week of unsuccessful journeying we were, one day, about half-way between Norwich going towards Aylsham, when my friend"s keen eyes caught sight of a wheel-track coming out of a narrow by-road.
We halted, and descending he examined them minutely, declaring that they were what we were in search of, and quite fresh.
Therefore, considerably excited, we were soon upon the trail, following the car through Aylsham and North Walsham until, on the road that led towards the sea at Happisburgh, it suddenly turned into another byway.
Here Ray decided to pull up and follow on foot, which we did for nearly two miles, until we saw before us the railway line which runs between North Walsham and Yarmouth. We had left the road, for there, pulled up before us, was the car I had seen at Beccles, and on ahead were the two men, one of whom I recognised by his grey coat and white m.u.f.fler.
They were beneath the railway bridge, carefully examining it.
"They"re marking that down on their plan for destruction," remarked Ray between his teeth. "All these connections will be destroyed when they land. But, by heaven! we"ll be even with them yet!"
We watched them in secret for a full half-hour, as they examined the railroad at several points, and when they had driven off we followed them along a road where ran six lines of telegraph into Happisburgh.
"Those wires," remarked Ray, "form one of the direct cables to Germany.
They pa.s.s through Beccles, so you may rest a.s.sured that they"ve surveyed it well!"
At Happisburgh the tracks turned to the left, and thence again to the right to Walcot, but just as we were pa.s.sing over a low hill we saw that the car on before us had stopped. The two men were photographing the country from Paston, inland towards Witton.
We drew up and watched their movements.
Then they went on, and we followed, parting company with their tracks at the cross-roads, they going westward, while we struck north, until we found ourselves once again in Cromer for the night.
That evening we made an amazing discovery at the hotel. Erna s...o...b..rg was staying there alone under the name of Madame Hirsch! Ray first saw her seated in the reading-room, and called me. I peered in at the door and recognised her in a pale blue silk blouse and black net skirt, lying back in a chair reading an ill.u.s.trated paper. She was evidently quite unsuspicious of our presence.
Ray was sorely puzzled. Next morning he sent a wire to Mrs. Hill-Mason"s house in Charles Street, and before noon had received a reply from her at Bournemouth saying that Fraulein s...o...b..rg had left her service a fortnight before.
"German spies are pretty active in East Anglia, old chap, as you"ve seen with your own eyes," he remarked to me.
In order that the woman should not notice us, we told the chauffeur to meet us out on the Norwich road, after which we travelled to quaint old Aylsham, where we idled away the day, spending the afternoon playing billiards at the "White Horse."
More than once during the day my companion examined the road outside for traces of wheel-tracks, but there were none like those of the car of those secret agents of Hermann Hartmann.
I noticed that Ray had brought with him a small brown brief-bag, an unusual thing for him to carry. But that morning he had placed it in the car with instructions to the chauffeur to move it on no account.
At four o"clock that afternoon he received a telegram, which he read through twice, and placed on the fire, remarking:
"From Vera. She"s received the thanks of the Admiralty for her report.
They promise to make inquiry. Probably they"ll send somebody over who can"t speak a word of German!"
We dined at half-past six off cold meat and pickles, but not until midnight did we set out upon the road, travelling north in the direction of Cromer, until we came to the cross roads at Hanworth, where we halted and Ray got down to examine the road. Wheel-tracks were there leading back to Roughton, and these we followed until, near the entrance to the village, now in complete darkness, we descended, Ray lifting out his precious bag.
"You"ve got your revolver?" he asked, when we had gone a hundred yards or so.
I replied in the affirmative, for nowadays I always carried it.
"Well, we are going to get into that house at Roughton I pointed out to you," he said. "I intend to have a look round."
"You mean to break in? Suppose we"re caught!" I exclaimed.