e circumstance.

_My trial was to be held in secret._

I was made to take up a position some distance from the table and
immediately opposite the central figure who was acting as chairman and
inquisitor-in-chief. The soldiers formed a semi-circle around me, the
only open space being immediately before me.

At this date I often reflect upon the strange and sorry sight I must
have presented. I was dressed in a frock coat which was sadly soiled, a
white waistcoat extremely dirty and blood-stained, and trousers sadly
frayed at the bottom where the searchers had ripped off the turn-ups. I
was without a shirt, having torn this up to bandage my head, which even
now was swathed in a dirty, blood-stained dressing, while the buttons
had become detached from my under-vest so that the soiled ends flapped
over my waistcoat. My face was none too clean, being besmirched with
smudges, since I had been denied the luxuries of soap and towel, and it
was covered with a stubbly growth. Altogether I must have been the most
sorry-looking, if not revolting specimen of a spy ever arraigned before
that immaculate Tribunal.

It is useless to relate the trial in extenso because there were so many
details which were completely void of interest except to me and my
judges. Although every word, passage, and scene is burned into my brain
I have only committed the most important episodes to paper. The
proceedings opened with the chairman holding forth in monotone German.
Seeing that I took no notice of his tirade he paused. We were soon to
come to grips. He fired at me in English:

"You understand German?"

"No!"

"Well, we think you do!"

"You are at liberty to think what you like, but the fact remains that I
don't!"

Seeing that I was not to be over-awed by his arrogance or to be
brow-beaten he modified his attitude. This spirited bout sobered the
tribunal, and the trial proceeded more smoothly, except for a few
outbursts now and again which were sharp and pointed while they lasted.

"Well, we will provide you with an interpreter," he continued in a more
placid tone, "but we still hold the opinion that you can speak and
understand German!"

There was delay for a few minutes. Then the door opened and a second
later my interpreter stood beside me. How it was I did not jump into the
air I do not know, because the man summoned to assist me was none other
than the mysterious prisoner with whom I had been talking in the mute
alphabet.

This