City for a conference with the German Ambassador there. There were Germans from all parts of Mexico who appeared at that meeting. When B came back, he sought out the acquaintance of the young woman who owned the boat and induced her to sell it to him. The boat then was hauled out and thoroughly overhauled by German sailors who had arrived from the fleet of German ships at Santa Rosalia. The hull was calked, new sails were bent on, the machinery was overhauled, and in general the boat was made ready for her career as a raider.
In the meantime B obtained full armament and instruments for his ship. He had some of his arms on an island seven miles northwest of Matzatlan, but he he] rest of the equipment was taken aboard the Agassiz. This was carried on openly and the news got out to the American Patrol Fleet. A cruiser put in an appearance off the mouth of Matzatlan Harbor. Hence, instead of sailing out with a crew of twenty Germans, only five Germans were put aboard the Agassiz, with two American women and six Mexicans. B figured that the boat would be taken as a harmless trader and allowed to go out. He guessed wrong. The Agassiz made a dash for the open sea. But by this time wireless had brought up two other American warships. They closed in on the incipient raider and signaled her to heave to. Not being obeyed, they planted a shell in front of the raider's bow, which brought her up.
Before the naval men could get aboard the Agassiz, her crew worked as hard as they could to throw overboard everything of an incriminating nature. They also tried to wreck the engine and destroy the bearings in the magneto. The blue-jackets found some rifles and revolvers, some German flags and a secret cipher. From the papers it was learned that B was in hiding at Venados Island. This was on Mexican soil, so he could not be seized.
It was learned that the German Consul at Matzatlan had forced all the crew to take the oath of allegiance to the Kaiser. He had instructed B to capture speedier boats, and after raiding Pacific shipping to work the Southern Pacific, thence to go by the west coast of Africa and north on a dash for some German port, so that he might send to Wilhelmstrasse—Germany's Scotland Yard—the
