aive,"
said the General, drawing himself up with a fine hauteur. "But his
identifying evidence is very flimsy. Can you produce any better?"

Suddenly I bethought me of the gold watch in my pocket. It was a
presentation from some two hundred people of small means in an
industrial district in Boston. Three of the aides successively and
successfully damaged their thumbnails in their eagerness to pry
open the back cover. That is a source of considerable satisfaction
to me now; but it was embarrassing in that delicate situation when
my fate hung almost by a thread, and a trifle could delay my
release for days. If the General damaged his own thumb on it, I
feel sure that I would have been remanded back to prison. But,
luckily, the cover sprang open and revealed to the eyes the words:
"From friends at Maverick."

De Leval adroitly turned this to the best advantage. It was the last
straw. The General capitulated. Walking over into the adjoining
room, he wrote on the blue folder: "Er ist frei gelassen." I would
give lots for those folders; but, though safety was by no means
certain, I found I yet had nerve enough to take a venture. When I
was bidden to pick up my papers strewn across the desk, I tried
my best to gather in some of the other documents. Besides the
copies of the letter I wrote to the Ambassador the only thing I got
on my case was this letter, written by Mr. Whitlock to Baron von de
Lancken, the official German representative in charge of the
dealings with the American Embassy. It has the well-known
Whitlock straight-from-the-shoulder point and brevity to it.

BRUXELLES, le 29 Septembre, 1914, EXCELLENCE:

J'apprends a l'instant que Mr. Williams, citoyen Americain
residente a l'Hotel Metropole, aurait ete arrete lundi par les
Autorites allemande.

Pour le cas ou il n'aurait pas encore ete mis en liberte, je vous
saurais gre de me faire connaitre les raisons de cette arrestation,
et de me donner le moyen de communiquer aussitot avec lui, pour
pourvoir eventuellement lui fournir toute protection dont il pourrait
avoir besoin.

Veuillez agreer, Excellence, la nouvelle assurance de ma haute
consideration.

(S) BRAND WHITLOCK. A Son Excellence Monsieur le Baron von
der Lancken, Bruxelles.

Before my final liberation I was escorted into the biggest and
busiest office of all.

Here I was given an Erlaubnis to travel by military train through
Liege into Germany, and from there on out by way of Holland. The