He went on to give numerous other minor details and instructions,
elaborating the system, but which might prove wearisome here. I was
in his office all the forenoon, and when he ushered me out I half
expected to be called into von Tappken's presence to be sent on my
first mission. Instead of that, I had to wait five months before I
was given my first work and an exceedingly unimportant thing it was.
During those five months I was kept at a steady grind of schooling in
certain things. Day after day, week after week, I was grounded in
subjects that were essential to efficient Secret Service work.

Broadly, they could be divided into four classes--topography,
trigonometry, naval construction and drawing. The reasons for these
you will see from my missions. My tutors were all experts in the
Imperial Service. A Secret Service agent sent out to investigate and
report on the condition, situation, and armament of a fort like Verdun
in France must be able to make correct estimates of distances, height,
angles, conditions of the ground, etc. This can only be done by a man
of the correct scientific training. He must have the science of
topography at his finger tips; he must be able to make quick and
accurate calculations using trigonometry, as well as possessing skill
as a draftsman. In my mission to Port Arthur, where I had to report
on the defenses, I found this training invaluable.

The same applies to the subject of naval construction. Before
entering the German Secret Service, I certainly knew the difference
between a torpedo and a torpedo boat destroyer, but naturally could
not give an accurate description of the various types of destroyers
and torpedoes. My instructor in this subject was Lieutenant Captain
Kurt Steffens, torpedo expert of the Intelligence Department of the
Imperial Navy. After a month of tutelage under him, I was able to