Page:The web (1919).djvu/257

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His classification card named him as G. V. Gaber. When interrogated as to all these matters, he admitted that the initial "G" ought to have been "Y," because that was the way Yulius was pronounced, anyhow, in his country. At the same time he left a card over his door signed J. V. Gaber. He declared that he was a German, also an Austrian, also a neutral, but had sympathies with Russia. To others he said that his name was Von Gaber; that he was an alien, but would go where he liked. He had taken out first citizenship papers, but had registered for return with the Austria-Hungarian Consul. A. P. L. got this multifold party on the carpet, but on his statement that he intended to go to New York, the prosecution seems to have been dropped, although the dossier was forwarded to New York after him.

There was a draft evader in Boston by the name of R——, who did not file his questionnaire. He was found at his home by an agent of A. P. L. and agreed to accompany the latter. It was the intention of the operative to turn over his man to a policeman, but policemen seemed to be rare in Boston, for in two miles not one was sighted. The draft evader then evaded yet more, and was not found for several days thereafter. The man's mother, however, when found, averred she had not seen her son for two months. A plain patriotic talk was made to her with the result that after a while, she found the said son and turned him over to the authorities for service in the army.

Boston Division in one case revoked the credentials which it had issued to an operative. The man's name was Oscar F——, and the position seemed to go to his head. He took to borrowing money right and left, once getting as high as fifty dollars on a touch of one of the special agents. He admitted that he was probably the best secret service agent in the country, and told people he was getting $3,000 a year and expenses. After that he usually touched his listener for $5.00. Oscar was doing well until they let him out. His name ended in "ski."

Boston, being near the Northern seaboard, heard of a good many cases of mysterious light signals. One operative in the Lynn district was sure he had seen dots and dashes coming across the bay at night in the approved fashion of mysterious night signals. They put a telegrapher on the case but he