THE LOFODEN ISLANDS 288 



arm to read at dull moments ; (3) all, almost without 

 exception, wore German boots and clothes, which 

 are easily recognised by their cut. 



Early in the war Germany had in neutral countries 

 probably ten spies to our one, but though so 

 numerous— now receiving a regular retaining fee — 

 they were not a particularly intelligent body of 

 men. They nearly always hunted in couples, and, 

 apart from the points of recognition I have already 

 enumerated, had a way of standing about aimlessly 

 or whispering in corners much after the manner of 

 spies in the cinematograph. 



Since the majority of these men were engaged in 

 some business in Norway, and the people of that 

 country were, from the years 1914-1917, in a con- 

 stant state of blithering terror of what the Germans 

 would do to them if any severe restrictions were 

 placed on their people, and also since during all 

 this period the Norwegians believed that it was 

 impossible for the Allies to break the power of 

 Germany, nothing was ever done to clear the 

 country of a system which daily produced results 

 highly detrimental to Norwegian interests. These 

 German spies notified (by means of carefully hidden 

 wireless telegraphy) the advent and departure of 

 all Norwegian and foreign ships, and were respon- 

 sible for the sinking of a great part of the Norwegian 

 ships. Though the Norwegian Government was 

 well aware of these activities, they did absolutely 

 nothing to prevent this leakage of news until 1917, 

 when one-third of their whole tonnage (3,000,000 

 tons) had been destroyed. The owners of steam- 

 and sailing-ships were as much to blame as any one, 

 for they really did not seem to care if their ships 



