"For supposing I were on his job in Germany and an entire
stranger suddenly sprang up out of nowhere, hailed me in excellent
English, and then (even if he didn't know the particular riddle I used
as pass-word) conducted himself like a confederate, made no attempt to
arrest me or interfere with me, and spoke German with a distinct English
accent, what would I think?"
I debated the answer for some minutes and then it came to me
involuntarily and inevitably.
"I'd be dashed if I'd know what to think! And that's just exactly the
hole this fellow must be in. I may be a fellow Hun and I may be an enemy,
and he has got to make up his mind which. So far I'm quite certain he
hasn't enough evidence either way."
The obvious corollary to this was that he must be presented with evidence
which would make him think me a fellow Hun. Of course this assumed that
he would have some means of getting news of my doings and my movements
and forming conclusions from what he heard. But I thought it a pretty
safe assumption to make. Confederates the man must have, and he would
certainly tell them of the mysterious stranger, and the whole gang as
certainly would make it their business to learn everything about me.
"What would a fellow Hun do in my place?" I said to myself. "Knowing the
breed as I do, he would certainly overdo the patriotic John Bull
business, he would be a little too polite to everybody, and he would eat
like a hog.
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