.

[Sidenote: Spies sent in the guise of deserters.]

The thing that for a while made it so difficult for the Allies to know
what to do with the Venizelist army was the almost ridiculous ease with
which, under the peculiar circumstances of its recruitment, it lent
itself to spying purposes. All the Royalists, or their German
paymasters, had to do to establish a spy in the Saloniki area was to
send over one of their Intelligence Officers in the guise of a deserter
from the Greek army to that of Venizelos, and there he was! To send back
information, or even to return in person, across the but partially
patrolled "Neutral Zone" was scarcely more difficult, and it was the
wholesale way in which this sort of thing went on that made it so hard
for the Allies to decide just who the bona fide Venizelists were, and
just how far it would be safe to trust a force to which the enemy still
had such ready means of access.

[Sidenote: Tact and common sense used.]

There was nothing else for the Allies to do but "go slow" and "play
safe" in dealing with the Venizelist army, and, under the circumstances,
there is no doubt that a difficult situation was handled with a good
deal of tact and common sense. Just how trying the situation of the
Venizelists was, however, I had a chance to see one day when I happened
to be at their Headquarters arranging for my visit to the Greek sector
of the Front. Their troops had acquitted themselves with great credit in
some gallantly carried out raiding operations, which must have made it
doubly hard for them to put up with a new restrictive order just
promulgated by the Supreme Command as a further precaution against the
leakage of information to the enemy.

Just as I was about to take my departure, a copy of the new order was
delivered to the Staff Officer with whom I had been conferring about my
visit to the Front. He read it through slowly, his swarthy face flushing
red with anger as he proceeded.

[Sidenote: A series of humiliations.]

"Have you heard of this?" he said, handing me the paper, and controlling
his voice with an effort, "No man or officer of our army is to cross the
---- bridge without a special permit from General Headquarters. It is
only the latest in the long series of humiliations we have had to put up
with. Just look at the way we stand. In Athens our names are posted as
traitors who can be shot on sight. Here it isn't quite like that,
but--well (he raised his hand above his