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Show - L NO BY GENERAL J V- ? ,T fj ' 'C, JHE STORY SO FAR: Colonel Flag- will, ctln assistant chief of staff G-2, In aharge of military Intelligence, estimated esti-mated from secret Information that there were 200,000 European troops In Mexico being, prepared for an attack on the United States. Both he and the President were powerless 10 act hecause ' P"hUc INSTALLMENT TWO and congressional opinion which failed to realize the significance of the troops. In an effort to obtain more definite proof, Colonel Flagwill sent Captain Bennlng, daring American Intelligence officer, to the U. S. ambassador In Paris. Here he was told to Impersonate Lieutenant Bromlitz, a former American officer who , ... .. I had planned to work with the foreign agents in Mexico. Expelled from the U. S. army, he had desired to get revenge re-venge for the "insult." Fortunately, Bromlitz had been captured, so Bennkig prepared to visit him In his cell to study his mannerisms. . Now continue with the story. CHAPTER II Continued. Bromlitz, stretched out face down-''' down-''' ward on a cot, raised his face as the steel door opened on the little hole to which he was confined. His alert, beady black eyes searched the face of his visitor, and he sat up as recognition came to his face. "Hello, Benning," he said, his face unaccountably brightening. "So it's you come after me, eh? Well, I'm glad, if I must be hanged, that it's to be an American job." "Merely a little visit, Bromlitz," Benning answered. "I'm not to take you home, but you'll understand my confession of gratification that you've been run down at last. Corporal Hill, the man you killed, was a member of my company." They engaged in a strained conversation. con-versation. Benning prolonged his visit while he studied Bromlitz for his own purposes. He asked many questions of the Bromlitz stay in Luxembourg, which the prisoner answered an-swered freely. He was sharply puzzled puz-zled by the evident good humor that his visit had brought to the fellow. But Bromlitz' parting words cleared up that enigma. "May I ask you a special favor, "Sir, Major Bromlitz, reporting from Luxembourg for duty with General Van Hassek," Beaning said briskly. "Sit down, Bromlitz," the other said without lowering his eyes. "I'm Van Hassek." The Van Hassek uniform was the simple brownish-tinted cotton khaki of this new Mexican army. At the collar was a silver crescent, insignia insig-nia of a lieutenant general. The only other ornaments on his severely severe-ly plain uniform were a glittering order of merit at his left breast and, under it, the iron cross. Some moments passed in which the only sound was the heavy ticking of an immense German clock and the vague hum of traffic In the street below. "Perhaps you can tell me, Bromlitz," Brom-litz," Van Hassek mused without change of voice or posture. "Yes, perhaps you can tell me." A faint smile passed his thick lips as he went on: "I've just come up from the Salon de Espera on a lower low-er floor of the palace where I've installed in-stalled a hospital. Perhaps I should refer to it as my laboratory. In any event, no one ever leaves it alive. equipped, and have very little training train-ing in the team-play of the larger combat elements." "What do you know of its strength?" "There are four army infantry divisions di-visions and eighteen National Guard infantry divisions together with some four cavalry divisions. All are at peace strength and it would take months to put them on a war footing, fully equipped. In total manpower count on 300,000 men within the territorial limits." "Ja, very good. What about their fighting equipment?" "Pitiable, when you consider the whole picture. Their artillery is largely World War vintage stuff. They're short on ammunition, antiaircraft, anti-aircraft, instruments of precision, modern rifles. Their anti-tank weapons weap-ons aren't out of the factories yet. It would take them a year to make the weapons they'd need, if they couldn't purchase them in foreign markets as they did for the World War. But they have a high-class officer of-ficer personnel, thoroughly trained and " "Ja, I know of that," Van Hassek Has-sek interrupted with a dash of im- Benning?" Bromlitz asked as Benning Ben-ning rose to go. The prisoner was suddenly solemn, sol-emn, there was a pleading note in his voice, a beseeching look in his black eyes. "I owe you no favors, Bromlitz," Benning said brusquely. "A very little favor to a man who must die," the other implored. "Let me tell you, Benning, and you mustn't say no. Your coming here has greatly relieved my mind. I was suspicious that I must have been betrayed to the French, but now I know it was the American secret service that caught up with me. A small distinction you say? But an important one to me. The one fine thing in my life has been, Benning, a girl, whom I hoped soon to marry. Please will you take a message to her at Luxembourg? Tell her I was killed by a train, drowned tell her anything but the truth. She must think me dead. Out of her loyalty she might wait for me through empty years, and she's too ' fine for that ordeal. Please let her think I'm honorably dead and can't ever return. You'll do that for me, please, Benning!" W Y 1 f 111 patience. "But it takes modern equipment and plenty of training to fight a battle these days. Now, tell me another thing, Bromlitz, would the mass of Americans stick together togeth-er in event of invasion?" Benning pondered briefly and answered, an-swered, "I'm sure you can count on it that they will, sir." "But what if they were overrun suddenly? How long would they stand up under terrific military punishment pun-ishment when they had their chance offered them to to buy their way back to peace?" "Excellency, is it probable that anyone would be audacious enough to attack the United States on her own soil?" Benning asked. "I mean when her potential resources in wealth and manpower are taken into consideration?" Van Hassek snapped out, "That's precisely why she must be attacked on her own soil, because of her latent la-tent strength." Benning pretended perplexity and countered, "I'm not sure I understand under-stand just what Excellency means." "I mean it was America's stupid intervention that wrecked the world in the Great War." "But didn't her strength turn the balance in the last war. Excellency?" Excellen-cy?" "Strength, bah!" Van Hassek scoffed. "Not for more than a year after the United States jumped into the war did her soldiers fire a shot in battle. Then only after the French supplied her with cannon, the British Brit-ish with rifles, helmets, and gas masks, and both sides conducted a military kindergarten to instruct her divisions in the art of war. Ja, CHAPTER HI A tramcar took Benning from the Colonia Station in Mexico City to Plaza Mayor, whence he crossed the broad Mexican thoroughfare to the great stone hulk of the Palacio Na-cional. Na-cional. He accosted a gendarme and asked directions to General Van Hassek's headquarters. The policeman shook a puzzled head and answered, "I've heard of no such general in Mexico, senor." "Perhaps," Benning suggested, "you can direct me to General Ruiz." The Mexican's face lighted up, and he spoke almost in awe, "Si, senor, if your credentials are important im-portant enough you may find General Gen-eral Ruiz in the President's suite at (he palace." Benning smiled inwardly as he turned to the Porto Mariano and en- "Sit down, Bromlitz." but they are only spies and traitors who must die by one means or another. an-other. For some months I've been watching them at the moment they leave the world, yet I'm more mystified mysti-fied now than ever. So you tell me, Bromlitz, if you can, is death the end of us?" "Your pardon, Excellency," Benning Ben-ning answered. "I'm not a chaplain." chap-lain." The other chuckled, and with a vitality vi-tality in his mirth that was not that I of an ailing man. "The profession of arms is so vast and intricate, Bromlitz, I've given up all hopes of mastering it in detail," de-tail," Van Hassek rejoined. "Besides, "Be-sides, I find occasional diversion in other lines of thoughts. So many, many people must die of violence within the next year or two that I've been trying to satisfy myself wheth- that was her latent strength!" Van Hassek got up abruptly 'and with an amazing agility. He went to his desk and touched a call button. but-ton. The captain from the anteroom responded promptly. "Captain Schroff," Van Hassek instructed, in-structed, "I'm very well satisfied with Bromlitz. You may have him report for the time being to Colonel Bravot. Later I may have more important use for him." CHAPTER IV Benning found himself assigned to a stuffy little room that was piled high with American newspapers and magazines. Half a dozen other offi-; cers were engaged in reading these publications. Each day this group was required , to make a summary of American nress oDinion as affecting Mexican tered the palace. Many times since arriving at Vera Cruz he had inquired in-quired about Van Hassek to find the name unknown. It meant that Van Hassek, a real master of the Mexican Mexi-can forces, was entrenched behind a stout incognito, moving his pawns in the name of young Ruiz, the new dictator who had been placed in power by a swift, furious, and mysterious mys-terious coup d'etat of European planning. An elevator shot Benning to the fourth floor. He presented his credentials cre-dentials to a staff officer with easy assurance. So far, his carte d'iden-tite d'iden-tite had passed him without question. ques-tion. The staff officer directed him down a tiled corridor that rang with the clatter of military typewriters and all the hum and buzz of a general gen-eral headquarters. He was escorted into a large re- j ception room at the far end of the palace. The staff officer got to his feet grudgingly, k "I'll see if Excellency wishes you to report to him personally," he said in German. He left the room, but was back in a few moments to say, er that will be the end of them. "You mean that many will die in war, I take it, sir," Benning suggested. suggest-ed. "Millions,:' Van Hassek answered, stifling a yawn. His pudgy arms thrust into the air over his head, his heels stretched forward, and he squirmed erect in his huge chair. "You were, I'm advised, an American Amer-ican army officer," Van Hassek said, now speaking briskly in German. "I'm told there are serious charges standing against you in the United States." Benning said: "I hope you'll not judge me by that, General Van Hassek. Has-sek. Despite my past misfortunes I'm a soldier, sir, and hold the view that there is no other profession worthy of a man. That being so, when circumstances beyond my control con-trol placed a price on my head in one country, haven't I the right to And service in another?" "Ja a soldier is always a soldier, Bromlitz," Van Hassek answered with an approving nod. "I enjoyed my three years in China as much relations. Outwardly a peaceful enough job, but one that Benning knew to be a vital part of Van Hassek's Has-sek's war machinery. During the next few days Benning Ben-ning kept pretty much to himself, though cautiously making friends with the Austrian, Captain Fincke, who sat at his elbow. A bit at a time he meant to gather the information infor-mation he had come for. If long risks had to be taken in order to secure important secret informations, that would have to wait until he had the lay of things at headquarters. Mexico City, Benning observed in his off-duty strolls, was serene and untroubled. Mexican troops themselves had undergone a transition. They had shoes on their feet and discipline m their ranks and were used largely as labor troops. Except for patrols &nd a daily guard-mounting there was no daily martial display in the city. , , Ruiz, holding the military rank of colonel-general, was an imposing figure, erect, lean, dashing. His uniform uni-form was always vivid and he was forever attended by flashily uniformed uni-formed aides and orderlies. Benning Ben-ning thought Ruiz must have been picked for appearance as well as his susceptibility to control, in order to put on a show that would catch and hold the Mexican imagination. tTO BS COXTIXVKD) as my station in Vienna; ana Mexico Mex-ico is even more to my liking because be-cause there are big events shaping , up Tell me in your own way, Bromlitz. Brom-litz. what you think of the American Ameri-can army's fighting capacity.' Benning pondered briefly and decided de-cided upon the full and unequivocal truth which, after all. could only confirm con-firm what Van Hassek must already Hyou mean the American readiness readi-ness for a sudden war, that i. nothing noth-ing short of Pitiable, sir. The United States land forces are scattered n mall garrisons, are not properly "General Van Hassek will see you at once, Major." Benning found himself in an immense im-mense chamber whose rich furnishings furnish-ings ran a riot of vivid colors. His eyes centered in some perplexity J upon the solitary figure in the room, I a man sprawled in a deep crimson i leather chair placed at one side of an immense blackwood desk. Was this Van Hassek? The recumbent re-cumbent man's figure was lost in , shapeless folds of fat. His wide, squarish head was as bald as a billiard bil-liard ball, his face was a network of wrinkles, thick jowls cascaded from jaw and chin. Moreover, he ap-nared ap-nared wholly inanimate, a listless gaze fixed in some strange detachment detach-ment on the beautifully frescoed V ceiling. I |