Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/199

 and partly to discover whether any enquiry would be made regarding them, but so far the white village attracted no attention. Stranleigh picked up his men at Hamburg, Amsterdam, Antwerp and Cherbourg, and steamed leisurely across the Channel, favoured in his design by a peaceful summer calm.

Guided by the Start light, the yacht cast anchor off Lannacombe Cove, a manœuvre which the captain had tried several times from his base in Salcombe Harbour. The men landed without mishap or molestation, and were conducted to their tents, while the yacht stood out to sea, and entered the Salcombe Estuary in daylight.

The invaders, amply provided with money, were sent to their various coastguard stations in batches of about half a dozen, marching to different railway stations, thus to attract as little attention as possible. Week by week their reports came in, written in French, German or Dutch. On an average there were three men of the same nationality at each station, and they had all been warned that continuous pay and avoidance of trouble lay in keeping their mouths shut. Being naval and military men, well disciplined, this injunction was strictly obeyed. At the end of a couple of months, Stranleigh gave them all leave of absence on full pay, they to