WAR STORIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 67, 19 March 1915, Page 11

WAR STORIES.

THE SECOND DEGREE.

(By OLtE-liUK-OIE.)

CHAPTER ll.—(Continued.) For some days now the Commander-in-Chief and his staff had been at the old game of collecting intelligence—official reports, spies' reports, rumours—and endeavouring to sift out the improbable from the impossible, the possible from the improbable, and th e probable from the possible, in order to obtain some foundation on which to build. Thi B was _othing new; but what was novel and disquieting was that, having formed a hasis of probabilities and erected therespon an edifice of future action, he could not proceed or force the pace—h e still tad tc await the lead. From day to day fee burden of information varied. 'Now it pointed to the centre being threatened; now it veered round, and gave the impression that the east was the crucial spot. The Field-Marshal was a capable man and a strong man, but. as his movements showed, he was getting old. Veteran though he was. his bram, always more solid than subtle or brilliant, was not now whai it hid been. Of a virile and masterful nature, he had won success and the confidence of his nation by systematically following up one definite Ene where smaller men might have hesitated between alternatives; whatever course he followed, he followed with his might. In political language he was a "whole-hogger." So far. all the courses he had adopted had proved well chosen. In past years hi 3 had been the responsibility for execution, his would hive leen the responsibility for' failure, and his, consequently, had heen the reward for success. But his had not always been the mind which had conceived the plan adopted. As often happens, the thinker—the master Blind — had - not been the recognised leader. The man who had for long inspired the Field-Marshal was possessed of far more subtlety and imagination than the stolid, dogged individual nov smoking in the hotel -porch. . This man was the General—his Chief of Staff— who had now been absent threes weeks, wounded Friends for years, the two had .together achieved success in other campaigns — success which, though placed entirely to the credit of the senior was almost entirely in conception and partly in execution due to the junior, than whom there could not have been a more loyal subordinate. >"ow that he had been absent during this time of perplexity, the senior realised how much he had owed to the other's brain—how much he had relied upon him. He was not of an ungenerous nature, but this fact lad never before been so d-iven home. The other had hitherto never been absent. Within the last four days the signs had crystallised, and all pointed in one direction. Nearly every report corroborated the fact that there was a great massing of hostile troops just opposite the centre; it seemed an established fact. There were also other reports that hinted at a probable concentration of the foe on the east, farther away from the front, and therefore not so easy to locate. This news had now received so much confirmation that the Commander had decided it to be true, and had made up his plan of action accordingly. Once he had settled what to accept as fact, it had not taken him long to make his deductions, for he knew the general against whom he was fighting. Indeed, it was his estimate of his opponent's character that had almost entirely guided his calculations. In Epite of his natural preference for the concrete as opposed to the abstract, and of his repugnance to the metaphysical, he had learnt to attach value to the personal factor. Psychology was a hobby, almost a mania, with the absent Chief of Staff, and 60 great was his personal magnetism that the senior had, to a certain extent, become saturated with his subordinate's theory. Moreover, he had nothing else to go upon. The enemy's great force in front must be a reint. No one but a fool would show strength where the real effort was to be made. His opponent was no fool —he knew him to be a hard-headed, straightforward, sound fighter. Yes— the threat in the centre was not to be feared —the danger lay in the vague, impalpable force hovering opposite his right, on the east. Having worked this out to his satisfaction, all his energy and all the efforts of his staff had, during the last two days, been devoted to the dispositions necessary in order to mcct —to annihilate—this main attack of the foe. The redistribution had been going on for two days, and was now almost complete. Not only had he discovered his opponent's intentions, but he had almost woven b*3 web in the proper corner; next morning would see it complete to the last thread. True, he was deeply committed by his dispositions, for he conld not now have met a sudden assault on his centre, in spite of superior communications and interior lines; but he was so certain of his premises that this j did not worry him. The great suspense ■was over. He had made up his mind, all measures had been taken, as far as | was humanly possible, and last, but not least, h« trusty lieutenant, the Chief of Staff, was returning to duty this even- ' ttg —would soon be beside him to confer •nd to conform. Vis —it could not be | disguised— to confirm. I The cigar did indeed smoke well. So satisfied was the smoker, and withal so comfortably weary, that, like the telegraph operator, he. too, might have fallm asleep had not the faint hoot of j «■ motor horn aroused him. The horn ■"gain sounded, closer; he heard the i whirr of a motor rapidly approaching, | and the road was lit in the glare of acetylene as a large car drew up suddenly. Out of it stepped a tall man in goggles, wearing a military greatcoat perfectly white with dust. It was the Chief of Staff. Hah" an hour later the two were still fitting in the room. "First-class, sir; I quite see. Couldn't be more clear. We know our opponent, I think, and the east is certainly where he'll attack. Moves going all right?" '"Yes; the whole should be in position to-morrow morning. We've nothing to do here now; the last of my orders went out this evening. I have been actually loafing." "Splendid, splendid." said the other almost gushingly, at last recollecting to take off the goggles, which he had merely pushed up upon entering. As he did so the extreme plain-ess of the face was revealed. A diagonal purple streak across the angle of the forehead did not ■"■prove its appearance. t

Tm qmte fit again and up to any amonnt of -work—dying for it?' Aa he spoke and moved in a nervous, jerky way, hie face worked. He warn an ugly man. ' "Glad to hear it, but there is nothing —absolutely nothing—to do at present. Everything is nearly ready." "Almost archipret, in fact?" said the Chief of Staff. But the other did not quite folio**-; he was not very quick. He said: "Eh?" "Ready, sir—quite ready V '"Yes, I eaid co. In half an hour we shall have a 'Future* map in here, and you can see the final position of the troops. In the meantime have a wash and get some food; 111 run through these dispatches." He looked at.his assistant almost sentimentally: "It's good to Bee you again. That obituary notice startled mc a bit, though." "Oh, that? Yes. it may sound conceited, but I had that put "in myself, on the off-chance of its getting round to them. It won't do much harm if the old man opposite"—he waved his hand vaguely round the room—"thinks that I am—gone. Eh?" The Field-Marshal really chuckled. He was literally purring with content His conception had been indirectly and tactfully, but none the less actually, approved; for the execution he needed no approval. Both were smiling—the Commander because his scheme has been accepted by his subordinate, the subordinate because he was sympathetic and liked his Chief, and because he had insight and knew why the old man was smiling. There was a step at the door, and a senior officer of the General Staff entered quickly. "You must see this at once, sir," he «aid to the Field-Marshal, as he handed him a paper. . The business must have been very pressing, for the last comer was too perturbed to be startled by the resurrection of the defunct Chief of Staff now looking at him so pleasantly across the table. The Commander-in-Chief read the message deliberately, then re-read it. When he handed the slip of paper to the Chief of Staff all the complacency had faded from his face. There was no deliberation about the latter-s perusal. When he returned the paper he, too. had ceased to smile. - . .-.^_,.__s_fc_! The two were again alone, the "ReldMarshsl glum and silent, the Chief of Staff striding up and down the room, and whistling under his breath in that dreary way which may betoken consternation, astonishment, but not joy. The little paper which had so upset them did not bear a long message. On the top was the dispatch from headquarters at home typed out in cypher. The message was not from anywhere in the theatre of war—it had come all the way from the capital, presumably originating in the enemy's. Underneath was the transcription. The purport of it was that the commander against whom they were fighting had been dead for two days, and bad been succeeded by a junior—practically unknown—officer, whose name was given. The wire concluded: "This is absolutely authentic. We know nothing of new man." For some minutes neither spoke, for both felt the blow—the one more keenly from a naturally more personal point of view, because of all his efforts and ~-h<*—' ing of the lasti few days; the other, untouched by such consideratiot-B, could look at tits matter in better perspective. Ne*ejL_el«_B, he seemed now far the more excited of the two. The How was too cruel for e-en-"the Field-Marshal to bear quite unmoved—it was abaoJute unhsavai. The mind be had gauged, whose workings he thought he knew co well, had for two days ceased to exist! For more than forty-eight hours he bad itsea. pitting himself against a fresh brain, a strange will —and unknown quantity! His plans might be good or tbey might be worth nothing, for nothing did he know of the new personality. In h„ Intelligence Bureau were pigeon-boJes fox all the likely senior* on the other side, and in them datstssiers full of information. For this nnknovn man there was not on"y no dossier—those woa not even a pigeon-bole.'' Such an appointment seemed unthinkable, and yet the wire was explicit—fatally so—and the information beyond doubt correct. It was a facer; his mind was blank. Two things only did he at onoe realise: that this news •probaHy nullified all his efforts, and that he was hopeltesly at sea again, more so than ever. He sat there sullen. As is the case with some stolid nature"., a •reverse only made him sulky *-d obstinate. The expression on his face was now almost mulish. The other, with The more Tesilient mind, was the first to speak. "What was this man's name, sir!" "What does that matter? We don't know him." The tone of irritation betrayed age. "I think I know something." "Very well, read it again yourself," | grunted the senior, almost throwing the slip over to 'him. "I am not sure I i know how to pronounce Ms outlandish i name." The General snatched up the paper, re- j read it greedily, and then muttered: I "There is one letter more, but it must be the same." Turning, he continued: I "Have you ever met him, sir?" ' "Tee, I believe I have. I once met a man in tlie service with a name very j j like that, but it was ages ago —when I ! was attache in " j "By —! Have you? What was he like?" | j broke in tbe General in a shout, excitement conquering his manners. j i "Good Heavens, man. what acne you I I shouting for? What do his looks matter? I never knew him." I I "I apologise, sir; I'm afraid I was ' ; rather excited," responded the other, ' suddenly calm as his chief became the ; reverse; "but I do believe he is a man I once knew, and I want to fix it" The Field-Marshal's ohtldishne-s died away; he knew the other's worth. "Well, well, if that's it! Let mc see —it was so long ago, I only recollect the general impression he gave was unpleasing. Oh, yes—l remember now; he had red hair —bushy red hair." "Yes?" in a suppressed voice. "Do you want more?" The other nodded. j "He bad, I think, a sort of foxy look ' —long pointed nose." "Yes?" "I can tell no more. He was an inferior sort of fellow. I did not know ' him well, and didn't want to." The Chief of Staff now sdemed suddenly and unaccountably pleased with himself. "That is enough; three eowoborative details would fix it sufficiently i for a bookmaker; it is a certainty. That's my man! Can you spare half an hour, sir? I mean, can you wait 'half an i hour before taking any steps, and let ' things run on as they are?" His eye twinkled; he knew tbe answer i before it came. I "Wait hadf an hour Wait half a year! We don't know what to do now, _nd I I .don't see how we shail know ia twenty balf-bouiBl" J

"Yes, I hope we shall, air. Give mc half _n hour -with a t-rmoke in the poirch and ni give yon that man's nature, and we shall know which way he ie going to jump—oentre or east. Eh?" "Very weH," was the querulous assent "I oriy .hope you succeed. A nice mess itbis personal equation busine» has te-nded tiß-'m now!" But the General had dieappeared.. Half an hour is not much time in which to- -recall the events of nearly forty years ago. (To be concluded in to-morrow's issue.)