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HOME TO TRALLEBORG 379
up to me. One said in firm but very polite tones that I must
accompany him to the District Commandant’s office. " Of
course," I said, " I shall be delighted, but I hope you will be
kind enough to let me bring my hand luggage." " Why
certainly," was the answer. On the way to the^^office, which
happened to be close to the platform, the officer remarked :
" Your passport must be examined by the military authorities."
" Why can’t you look at it at once ? " I asked, and handed
him my pass, now soiled and frayed at the edges. " Well,
perhaps I might do so," he answered, and we stopped. He
read the paper with General von Moltke’s name, turned to his
companion and whispered my name in his ear, whereupon
both saluted and held out their hands, which I pressed almost
as heartily as I laughed at the little adventure.
" Aber Herr Doktor, sie mussen uns dock entschuldigen,
wir . .
." {" Really, doctor, you must excuse us, we . . .
")
" Bitte, bitte, das istja reizend." {" But please don’t mention
it, I am delighted.") Thereupon my German eagles also broke
into hearty laughter over their prey.
" Your train does not leave for an hour. In place of the
examination at the office, won’t you come and drink a glass
of beer with us at the buffet ?
"
" Why, of course, I shall be most happy !
" And so the
time passed all too quickly, and we got a lot of fun out of the
little adventure—an adventure which I might have repeated
at every station, had I liked to do so. But it would not do,
war is too serious a matter for jest. My new friends told me
that the conductor had found me very suspicious-looking,
especially on account of my maps and notebook, and had
telephoned from Mannheim. At Heidelberg he had conducted
the officers to my compartment. I assured them that I could
find no words to express the admiration which I felt for the
alertness and vigilance which pervaded the whole of Germany
from frontier to frontier—it seemed like clockwork where every
cog drops into its place with automatic precision, and where
the hours strike their solemn strokes to the fraction of a second.
When it was time to part they saw me into my carriage, and
as the train moved out they gave me a final friendly salute
and bade me God-speed. ^
^ This little episode, which seemed as harmless as it was amusing to us
three " conspirators " whilst we discussed it over our mugs of beer, found
its way into the German press, and was received with much mirth. In the
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