The Sack of Paris

Taihape Daily Times, 26 July 1918, Page 2

The Sack of Paris

I;Y COLONEL SCHEOEDEE (late of the German Imperial Staff,)

(Colonel Schroeder was for many years on the German Imperial Staff, and was frequently detailed, with. the B'aroness Stcilkeim, for special dutj- in connection with Germany's very efficient Secret Service, and it was during his connection with the latter service that he became acquainted with the ramifications of this,, the most perfect, of Germany's organisations. During his connection with this Service he became attached to the Baroness,and what he sets forth in this and the succeeding articles were discovered during the course of joint operations.)

Iwonder what the Kaiser secretly thinks of all that lies behind the socalled "sudden death" of the great German banker Eudolph Thause. Swiss

papers reported the occurrence in September of 1915, and pointed out that the loss of that great financial genius was a blow to Germany greater than the sinking of half a dozen of her Dreadnoughts. Yet the German papers ke,pt silence about it for about twelve months, and then they only printed a brief announcement. Had Eudolph Thause "died" at any other time than this there would have been columns about him, and the world of German finance would have been shaken to its foundations.

As it was Germany must be horribly depressed over the disappearance of this small, spectacled, and" modestly dressed man, behind whose domed forehead lay perhaps the only brain that might have contrived something like order and hope out of the business wreckage and blackness that -soon will have to be faced by the Kaiser and his uniformed fools. THE SHADOW OF DOOM.

His death induces me to hark back to a surprising experience belonging to the period just before the war, ''Have you any English friends in Germany that you know of?" That was the puzzling question the Baroness Steilheim asked me one day in the middle of May, 1914. As it happened I had two very nice English friends, a man and his wife, who were in business in Berlin, and I told the Baroness so.

"■Well, tell them to get out of the country before July," she said, "for it's coming, Schroedor, "it's coming!" The Baroness rose with sparkling eyes, and walked up and down her sitting room as if consumed with excitement.

"Wo shall be ready —ready then," she went on,, "and before Christmas we shall be—look here, Sehroeder, I'll show you something. I'll show you the place where you shall dine with me on Christmas Day if you're very good. I shall have a large party." THE DREAM THAT FAILED She took a booklet from a drawer and handed it to me. It was a beautifully printed description, with pictrues of a famous hotel in one of the principal thoroughfares of Paris. "I shall have a suite of rooms on the second floor. There" She put her finger on one of the illustrations. "That window there with the balcony —that's where I shall sit to watch our troops march by—our troops that will never leave until we are satisfied. And mein Gott"—she struck her hand en the tabic —it'll be a real satisfaction this time. Don't you remember what Bismarck said—'Crush, crush, crush, and leave the women with nothing but eyes to weep with!' " "And now, Sehroeder," she went on, when her excitement had subsided, "you shall go with me to beautiful Paris next week_ I'm going there to make a few final arrangements. You like the little trip, eh? Leave? Oh, that can be easily arranged ! For my chaperon I shall take the Frau Exccllenz von Gunheim. You will enjoy yourself in Paris, eh, Sehroeder?'' And now you shall act as courier, and got the tickets and make all the necessary arrangements for our journey. Apply for your leave to-day.'' I applied for leave of absence on urgent private affairs, which was granted without any difficulty, and the following week I found myself in the Hotel Victoirc, having seen the Baroness and her trvaelling companion the Frau Excellent von Gunheim, settled in a luxurious suite which looked on to the Boulevards.

Frau von Gunheim. or a.s you would say in England, Her Excellence, was a little fair-haired, timid sort of woman, pretty in a pathetic, confiding sort of way, and apparently dominated entirely by the Baroness' superior will power and strength of mind. "Enjoy yourself for?.a couple of days, Schroedor," the Baroness said to me the day after our arrival, "and then we will get to business." I enjoyed myself thoroughly., going about and seeing I stood for some time one morning looking into the windows of a famous jeweller's shop which von Kluck had pro-

mised as-loot to the Baroness, and I found myself: trying to make up my mind, what I would like best of all in

A CHANCE MEETING I was indulging this pleasant way when a man came up and spoke to me in German. "Taking a little holiday, HenCaptain?" he said. "Ah, you don't remember me, I see; I'm quite an insignificant person, but we were introduced at one of the Court balls at Berlin. My name ia Thause." "Oh, of course., I know the name very well," ■ I said. "But forgive •me, won't you, I can't remember you personally at all. Perhaps it's because I meet so many people in the the course of my duties.

For as one of the Kaiser "s immediate attendants I had to meet so many people that it was no wonder that I did not remember this man.

"It's my banker father's name you know, I expect," he said with a laugh. I'm afraid I'm too lazy to earn a reputation for myself. But why not come and have some lunch with me? I'm having a good time over here, but I 'm feeling rather lonely just at present."

I lunched with him at Meurice 's, and afterwards told The Baroness about him.

"Thause? Of course, he's the banker's son," she said. "Ive an idea that young man might be of some use. Hisfather is a stubborn oldl blockhead who growls at me, but perhaps I could do comcthing with the son_ ■'

"What do you mean, ~:Vau Baronin, if I may ask?" I ventured to say. "Just >this. Old Thause is against us making war, and it is chiefly because of him that the Kaiser still hesitates, for if our scheme is insisted upon, Thause prophesies great financial trouble. But I say that that cannot come—it cannott —for, of course, we shall overwhelm France, and she will pay. Besides," she smiled at me, and spoke with that curious frankness of hers, "now that things have gone so far I don't want to lose my share. Don't the jeweller"s shops make your mouth water, Schroeder? Perhaps in one of them we may be able to find a little diamond ring for you before Christmas. Ask young Thause to dinner with me "

Of course Ik was charmed to meet two such ladies, especially the Baroness, who put forth all her wonderful charm to fascinate the young man, carrying him off to the Palm Court after dinner for a private chat.

"That young man's no fool," said the Baroness to me after our guest had left. "I think it's a sort of hobby of his to pose as an idle young man, but I can see he knows a lot about. money matters. Indeed, he let out to me that he's here on a little sort of financial deal, as. he calls it, for his father. I put it to him strongly that his father ought to come in with the war party; that there could-be nothing that could stand in the way of victory; that financial ruin was impossible; and I told him I had information that ought to convince the old man.'' "What information, Elsa," I asked. "Why, that General f the best man the French have, is with us. In the event of war he would be in command of wait a minute, I'll show, you.'' The Baroness went into an inner room and returned with a map, not an ordinary map, a war map, secret and confidential, issued only for the use of the German General Staff. "Now we shall go through Belgium, of course, they will allow us passage, for they won't be able to help themselves. Their army could do nothing. Once through B'elgium the rest is easy. See here!" Elsa ran her fingers down a red line on the map. "That is where w r o should advance —through hero. Now General is marked down for this important command in case of war." "Ah. I see! Then General has been bought! Is that it, Elsa?" (This general bears a name so honoured, and has so distinguished himself in the war, that I dare not put down his real name.) "Oh, foolish Schroeder! You really are a little stupid head at times! Of , course he isn't. He's absolutely incor- | ruptiblo, though we've tried him, of course. But I can tell young Thause that he is to be bought, can't I?" "Yes, but how prove it t o Thause? I asked. "Ah, that's better. You have a little sense, after all. Young Thause shall meet the General. I shall wire to Steinhaucr to-morrow morning, and he will send somebody along who will bo useful, and then I think we can get to work with young Thause." Some days later I stopped to look in the w 7 indow of a well-known photographer's shop, and there noticed the portrait of the very general whom Elsa and I had been discussing but a few nights before at the hotel. "No," I decided, as I looked at his strong face, "that man would never be a traitor to his country, to his ■adored Prance, and how then could Elsa persuade young Thause?" "After dinner, Schroeder," said the Baroness to mo that flight, "you will come to my private- sitting room. He will bo there." "He! Who?" I asked "General /' she whispered, and then laughed. After dinner I went up to her sit-

ting room, and she introduced me to General . There he was, the honest looking, straightforward soluior, but now in ordinary evening ureas. He welcomed courteously in German, but witn a strong trench accent. 1 looked at him, haraiy believing my eyes, and then suddenly Elsa burst into a scream of laughter, and General —■ quickly gave me a sign which told me that ne was one Steinhauers men —Steinhauer, the Master Spy, perhaps the most powerful man in tlie fatherland, next to the Kaiser. "Splendid, isn't it?" said Elsa. Don't you think it's a good disguise: ' GERMAN THOROUGHNESS.

Elsa more than hinted that tais extraordinary likeness to the g'ieut French soldier pj3si'i>-y be oi further use when war had begun.

"But," I put in, "now about Monsieur Pointain here He can't go bach to Rouen without his beard! Then, too, if he walked about here in Paria the likeness might be remarked upon, and the newspapers—well, you know what they are for what they call 'a good story.' "

"Oh, it's all quitesimple!" said Elsa. Monsieur Pointain will have a new beard brought here for him to-morrow by Alphonse ,the harvdresser and wigmaker of the Rue de la Paix, after which he will proceed to England on business, where he will grow a fresh one. Pooh, they are so stupid, the English, they will nevftr notice who he is like! Now, you shall run away, Schroedcr, for young Thause will be here directly, and it won't do to have too many in this scene. Pump him when you met him next at Grenilles."

Grenilles was a fashionable boulevard cafe where Thause and I used t*. see each other nearly every afternoon, and on the following day he came in as usual, nodded to me, and, as was his frequent custom, came to sit at my table.

We were sitting in a corner, there was no one near enough to overhear us, and he leant across the table and spoke to me in a low voice.

"'I had my eyes opened last night when I met the Frenchman," he said, "and I'm going to send a strong letter to my father. Come with me and you shall see me post it, and then you can tell the Baroness. And, look her;-, Schroeder, I like you, and I caxTput you on to something good.- I've told the Baroness, and she's, going to put two thousand pounds into it. (I translate the German into English money for the sake of clearness.) "Have you got the same amount at your dis-

posal? If you have, put it in, too, an<*

I'll go tlie same, and we ought to make three or four times that amount What do you say?" A GOLDEN PROSPECT.

il wondered what on earth he was driving at, and I asked him right out. "You know the Bivoli Theatre?" ho said. ""Well, that's for sale. It's a white elephant, nobody's ever made any money in it, hut we could make a fortune there." "How?"

"It can he bought for thirty thousand, but five or six thousand need only 1 • paid clown and the rest in instalments to be arranged by a mortgage en the property. Understand? We pay, say, six thousand pounds down now, and when we," he tapped himself on the chest," "when we take Paris I don't think the owners will apply for the remainder of their instalments, eh? So we shall get a very valuable property for six thousand pounds."

' 'Allowing everything you say,'' I replied, "we know nothing at all about theatres. Besides, you say yourself 'that it's always been a white elephant, and that nobody's ever made any money there."

"No, but the Baroness and I will see to it that we do. I've promised to got my father to withdraw his opposition to war on the consideration that he makes money out of it —the old man will be sure to want that. So the Baroness has promised to get him certain banking privileges in connection with the campaign, and that will settle father, And as regards our making money lout .the |B)ivoli Theatre, well, we can get a manager who'll do all the running about for us, and there'll be no opposition, so it'll be quite a simple job." "No opposition? Why, we shall be bound to keep a lot of the theatres open for the sake of our own soldiers, alone! "

"Yes, but the Baroness is going to see to it that the Bivoli will be the j fashionable theatre. Others within easy distance of it will be shut up, and the Kaiser will have his gala per- j formanee there—that the Baroness will sec to. Can't you see that there j will be money simply dropping into our laps?" i "Well, the think looks sure," Ii said. "I'll go in with you to two . thousand pounds. The Baroness has ' got a large letter of credit, and she'll j lend it to me." j

For Elsa never travelled without •' i large sums of money to her credit, never knowing when she might want : to bribe or perhaps buy. [

So, feeling that fortune was waiting for her. I went with Thause to the Post Office, where he sent off the letter to his father..

| "That'll fetch the old gentleman!" I said Thause, chuckling. "He'll make enough out of the campaign to ensure himself against any possible risk of being ruined, so you 'll. &§£ that his opposition will be withdijfcn .all right. Let me have the money to-morrow, and then I'll pay it in and deposit the receipts with the Baroness." THE EIVOLI THEATEE. "It's the most certain thing we've ever came across, Schroeder?" said the Baroness when I had handed her Thause's signed receipt for the money for the purchase on account of tho Eivoli Theatre. "We shall make a fortune there. It'll be our property for ever, .property /bought by (good ■' Germans before tho war. It'll never be returned, of course." ; We wont the next (lay to look at ; tho Eivoli Theatre, and Elsa nodded as we stood outside the portico, ' "Yes," she said| "I shall make | this the fashionable theatre of Paris. I We'll soon have it open again. What's j that man putting up there?" The theatre, a rather mounrful-look-ing structure, had evidently been closed for some time, and just at that instant a bill-sticker, came up and started sticking a bill on the portico itself. "What's this? Surely that can't be •right, Schroeder? Look!" i Just in front of us was a bill, and .on it, in great, staring letters, were i the words: — | MONSIEUE DUICHCHE J Having purchased this Theatre, will shortly open it under his personal direction, with himself in an Entirely New Play. Further particulars will be duly announced. Monsieur Duichche was one of tho ' most popular Parisian actors of tho day, and Elsa and I looked at each other blankly. "Monsieur Dulfhche!" she said. "I can easily get to see him. I must fino out. Go, Schroeder, to the cafe and look for Thause. I waited at the cafe all that afternoon, but Thause never appeared, and when I met the Baroness that night at the hotel she beckoned me into her private sitting-room. "1 went straight away to call on a great friend of Monsieur, Duisehehe, whom I know well," she said, "and it's quite right—he has bought the theatre. We"re too late. Where's Thause, Thause and our money—at least, my money—that two thousand (Continued on page 3.)