The Cotton Spies

CHAPTER 26

  ‘I thought we were running the war from India not the damn War Office, Routledge! They should not be sending telegrams to Mesopotamia asking them to ask Meshed to send someone to Baku, should they? They should ask us first,’ General Harris shouted.

  Routledge pursed his lips before replying. ‘The Caucuses and Caspian are in the Foreign Office’s sphere of influence, sir; they probably forgot that General Barber is under our command.’

  ‘I doubt that. As Barber got the request from the War Office we can hardly say no, can we?’ Harris slammed the telegram on his desk. ‘What about sending this Mawle, to blow up the Russian railway?’

  ‘Originally London sent Mawle out here to go on to Persia, sir. Whilst he waited to go to Persia we started using him as an intelligence officer as we were short of staff. The strange thing is he came out via Canada and India rather than via Suez. Apparently he is an explosives expert so the War Office must have already thought about this Russian jaunt months ago. I assume they did not want to tell us too much because his role is secret. When he was here I asked him why he was going to Persia and he told me that he was going to blow up the Russian railway when ordered to do so by the War Office.’

  ‘You never told me this, why not?’

  ‘He was under orders from the War Office who told him to keep quiet. I thought it best to leave him alone as we are under Simla. I suspect Mawle has already told Barber the real reason for his being in Meshed. The request to send Fernee to Baku perhaps is merely London using this trip as a cover for Mawle’s covert activity against the railway.’

  Harris looked exasperated and shook his head. ‘All this secrecy and then one department doing this and another department doing that; nobody talks to anybody till after whatever is done, is done. Beats me how we are meant to win the war. So if we allow, or support, Mawle to go then he goes under our authority not the War Office’s.’

  ‘Can we justify that?’

  Harris smiled, ‘the railway that Mawle is to blow up is in Turkestan and Turkistan is in India's sphere of influence. Is that not right?’ Routledge wagged his head. ‘So that gives India control. Do we let Mawle go with Fernee and let him take explosives?’

  ‘Because Mawle is only a captain we can’t risk him creating a conflagration with the Bolsheviks all on his own. So Barber must have the final word on any explosive activity that Mawle undertakes. I think Fernee is capable of identifying potential rail and bridge targets as part of his intelligence mission. I suggest it is too early for Mawle to accompany him so we keep this mission small and low key. If Fernee finds on his mission that the Huns or the Turks are ready to cross the Caspian on their way to invade India then Barber can always order Mawle to blow up the railway – that makes such a mission military.’

  ‘I agree we have to trust Barber’s judgement based on Fernee’s intelligence from Baku. I think you must make this clear when you telegraph our approval to send only Fernee to Baku.’