full sail. Germany was using every man at her disposal to
transport wounded and prisoners from the battle region which we
were drawing near.

A smoky haze ahead indicated Konigsberg. The mouth of the Pregel
bustled with activity, new fortifications were being everywhere
thrown up, while indistinct field-grey figures swarmed over the
plain like ants. We glided through forests of masts and rigging
and slid up to a pier opposite great sagging warehouses behind
which the sun was setting.

As I picked up my bag to go ashore, a heavy hand fell on my
shoulder and I was asked to wait until we were boarded from the
police boat which was puffing alongside. My detainer, a government
inspector, a man of massive frame with deep set eyes and a shaggy
black beard, refused to say more than that the police wished to see
me. They had been signalled and were coming to the boat expressly
for that purpose.

American ammunition had not begun to play its part in German public
opinion at that time, and, moreover, America was being hailed
everywhere in Germany as a possible ally against Japan. Therefore,
although only a few days previously Russian guns had been booming
less than a dozen miles away, and Konigsburg was now the base
against Rennenkampf, my presence was tolerated, and I finally
managed to get lodgings for the night after I had found two hotels
turned into hospitals,

I spent the following day trying to obtain permission to pass the
cordon of sentries outside the city, but I received only the advice