1920: America's Great War-eARC Read Online Free PDF Page B

to laugh, and even the normally formal General March chuckled. “Mr. Secretary,” Luke said, “the Zimmerman message is damning, but is it true?”
    “A good question indeed,” said Lansing with an audible sigh. “And, yes, we believe the message is true. We have been able to verify it through a number of sources, including British intelligence and a drunken German diplomat who apparently didn’t give a care what we thought. Tomorrow, you will carry this news as quickly as possible to General Liggett in California so he can do whatever can be done to stop the Germans.”
    Luke turned to General March who shook his head and added. “Yes, Lieutenant, telephone or telegram would be much, much faster, but we have no way of sending it in code and any message sent in the clear would cause a panic if it was overheard or seen by an operator. You are to deliver the information by hand to General Liggett and he will also be informed that it is to be kept extremely confidential while we try to make plans to either forestall the attack or, in General Liggett’s case, try to defend against it.”
    “Sir, it’ll still take me a week to get to San Francisco, even by the fastest train.”
    Lansing chuckled, “Hardly. In the guise of a test of the reliability of airplane travel, General March has been setting up a series of airplanes for you. If all goes well, you’ll leave at dawn and be at the Presidio with General Liggett in a couple of days at the most.”
    Martel gulped. If all didn’t go well, he might be part of a failed experiment. He had never been in an airplane and hadn’t counted on taking a crash course on their capabilities, no pun intended.
    March smiled slightly. “You are packed, aren’t you?”
    “Yes sir, I am, and I was traveling light anyhow. May I ask why you’ve chosen me for this assignment?”
    Lansing smiled. “Because you’re here and because Mrs. Tuttle vouches for you.”
    March continued, “That and the fact that General Liggett also knows you and trusts you. You understand the situation, and you’ve seen the German Army rather up close if I recall correctly.”
    Martel relaxed. “I think I’m honored, General, Mr. Vice President. However, may I suggest we forewarn General Liggett by an innocuous telephone call or an equally innocuous telegram from, say, me, to a third party, like Captain Eisenhower or Patton? It could for instance, say something suggesting an ‘imminent storm coming from the south?’”
    Even though long-distance phone calls from Washington to California had been established in 1915, the quality was inconsistent and there were always wires going down. And there was always the possibility of operators listening in on a conversation from the White House. The use of a pair of third parties to give at least a broad warning to Liggett was intriguing and Lansing concurred with Martel’s suggestion. That way, General Liggett wouldn’t be totally ambushed.
    Lansing patted him on the shoulder. “Get your bags. Mrs. Tuttle knows you’re leaving with us. We have one other thing for you to see so General Liggett will understand what we’re up against.” Lansing smiled grimly. “Lieutenant, we’re going to the White House to see the president.”
    * * *
    It was almost ten by the time they arrived at the darkened White House and it took a few more minutes to get through the uniformed Secret Service guards, even though their boss, the Secretary of the Treasury, had briefed them on their pending arrival. The Secret Service had only begun protecting the president after the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, and were very serious about the job. The White House’s Chief Usher, Ike Hoover, was not present.
    Two other men met them. One was Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Douglas White, an old and frail Louisianian who’d been appointed by President Taft in 1910, two years before Wilson’s first term.
    The second was the president’s personal physician, Dr. Cary