ing their real occupation by
engaging in business, utilizing their time as they waited for the war to
come by gathering for Germany all of our trade and commercial secrets.
Some of these spies have even become naturalized, and they and their
sons pass for good American citizens. In some cases they have even
Americanized their names. Insidiously and persistently they have worked
their way into places, sometimes into high places in our chemical
plants, our steel factories, yes, even into high places in our army and
navy and into governmental positions where they can gather information
first-hand. In no other country has it been so easy for them, because of
this one fact: so large a proportion of Uncle Sam's population is of
German birth or parentage. Why here in New York City alone there are
more than three-quarters of a million persons, either German-born
themselves or born of German parents. Many of them, the vast majority of
them, probably, are loyal to America, but think how the plenitude of
German names makes it easy for spies to get into our army and navy.
Besides that, they employ evil men of other nationalities as spies, the
criminal riffraff,--Danes, Swedes, Spaniards, Italians, Swiss and even
South Americans,--all of whom are free to go and come as they choose in
this country."

"I never realized before," said Jane, "how many Germans there were all
about us."

"In an effort to locate this particular band of naval spies," continued
Mr. Fleck, "we have combed the apartment houses and residences along
the Drive. Three places in particular are under suspicion. The apartment
of the Hoffs is one of these places. They moved in there thirty days
after this country went to war. Ordinarily, where the occupants of an
apartment are under suspicion, we take the superintendent of the
building partly into our confidence and plant operatives in the house,
or else we hire an apartment in the same building. In this case neither
course is practicable. The superintendent of your building is a
German-American and we dare not trust him, and there is no vacant
apartment that we can rent. We have been watching the Hoffs from the
outside as best we could. Carter, who has had charge of the shadowing,
accidentally happened to overhear you give your address. He had procured
a list of the tenants and remembered the location of your apartment. It
struck him at once that you would be a valuable ally if you would
consent to work with us."