I had Kim pack a case of medical
instruments and told him to have everything in readiness to leave
Berlin that night, on the Orient Express. He was necessary to my
plans and was to accompany me. A messenger from Wedel brought a few
final verbal instructions, my funds and sealed instructions. I was
bidden to keep away from all official German intercourse in
Constantinople. Wedel might have saved himself the trouble of that
word of caution for I knew enough of the subtle Oriental mind to keep
away from anything that would raise the slightest suspicion in regard
to my identity. If I pride myself on anything, it is a knowledge of
Eastern character. With the instructions were a thousand marks cash
and a draft for 5000 marks on the Ottoman Bank of Constantinople that
had been deposited in my name.
It may strike the reader as curious that I took Kim with me, but I
knew he could be of tremendous use to me in Constantinople. In
addition to speaking his _Kaffir_ dialects, he knew Arabic. Any negro
boy who could speak Arabic could learn almost anything in
Constantinople, which abounds in black men of all tribes and
nationalities. Among the servants of every household, Kim would find
many compatriots from whom he could get information, impossible for
any European to obtain.
After an uneventful trip to Constantinople, I took preliminary
quarters in the Brasserie Kor, a quiet, second-rate hostelry on the
Rue Osmanly.
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