Despite Stoessel’s war on the press, Nojine had some friends in Port Arthur’s high command. When he heard of Stoessel’s plan to use the hospital ship to get vital information out of Port Arthur, he immediately thought of Daniel, who had mentioned that he would accompany the boat.
He told his contact, Smirnoff’s aide, about Daniel. What better decoy to use as a spy than a foreign correspondent who had no direct ties to Russia?
Nojine approached Daniel the day before the boat was to leave.
“Daniel, I have a great opportunity for you.”
“I hope you’re not going to try to get me to stay. My mind is made up.”
“Not at all. How would you like to turn this voyage into a real coup for your newspaper?”
Daniel shrugged, amazed himself that he wasn’t more interested.
Nojine continued, “Stoessel has some information he must get out—”
“Hold on! Are you suggesting I act as a spy for Stoessel, of all people?”
“I think this could be extremely beneficial to you.”
“Why don’t you do it?”
“They’d rather have a foreigner in order to distance themselves in case—well, just as added insurance. Besides, someone has to stay behind to report the fall of Port Arthur.”
“How would this be beneficial to me?”
“You name it, Stoessel will give it to you in return for your services.”
Daniel leaned forward, growing more interested by the minute. “Are you sure?”
“You can talk to them yourself. Smirnoff’s aide will meet us in an hour at Saratov’s.”
An hour later, Daniel, Nojine, and Captain Zinkov sat at a table in deep discussion.
Zinkov explained what he wanted. “We captured a Japanese officer and under interrogation he revealed information about troop movements. The Japanese have recently landed eight thousand troops. We need to apprise Kuropatkin of this situation, for it will have a direct effect on his operations. Another contingency of troops will be landing before the end of the year.”
“Don’t you think that using the Red Cross boat in this way will place them at risk?”
“You, of course, would have to be willing to take all responsibility upon yourself. On the remote chance that the boat is scrutinized, the Japanese will no doubt accept your story that you acted completely on your own. We wouldn’t do this if we thought there was any danger at all to the passengers. Even you should be perfectly safe disguised as one of the wounded. However, a disguise should be a last resort. We feel it would be best if no one else on the boat knows of the situation. Their ignorance will give you the best cover.”
“Well, I’ll play that one by ear,” said Daniel.
“Does that mean you’ll do it?”
“I’ll expect certain compensation.”
“Of course. What did you have in mind?”
“A guarantee of free movement at the front. I’ll be going to Mukden after the boat excursion, and I want to cover Kuropatkin’s spring campaign. And I want an exclusive interview with Kuropatkin himself.”
“The assignment to the front, we can arrange. But it is difficult to speak for General Kuropatkin.”
“Come now, Captain. I’ll be taking a great risk here; surely you can arrange one tiny interview. Remember, the general should be quite grateful to receive the information I’ll be carrying.”
“All right, Mr. Trent, you have my word on it.”
“Then it’s a deal.”
“The ship will be leaving tomorrow morning with the tide. Stop by my office before then for the documents.”
The captain bade the two correspondents a good evening and left. Nojine folded his arms together with a self-satisfied grin on his face.
“Was I not right? A real coup, eh?” he said.
By now Daniel was completely caught up in the thrill of such an adventure, not to mention the prospect of great material for future articles. He had been toying with the idea of writing a book about his war experiences in Manchuria; now he was certain he’d have all the ingredients for a bestseller. Any initial reluctance he might have had was quickly fading into thoughts of glory.
“How can I thank you?” Daniel said, eyes glinting.
“Dedicate your book to me.”
“You’ve got it, my friend.” Daniel forgot for the moment that he’d already promised himself that if he did write a book he was going to dedicate it to Mariana.