◆ SpookStack

carsra, uripod, and accessories u bit oof containers, and em in tter the had often ret. ed th Necessary action in't..: mind's nd had lain the basis for - It had become my fre- went habit to drive out to reat Palls to spend a peaceful half-hour, and on the way I nad marked down & sult able for the action it had now become necessary. I parked the car on a deserted stretch of road with the Potomac on the left and a wood on the right where the undergrowth was high and dense enough for concealment. I doubled’ back a couple of hundred yards through the bushes and got to work with - the trowel A few minutes tater I re emerred from the wood doing up my fy-butions and drove back home, where I fiddled around in the garden with the trowel before going in to lunch, As far as inanimate obtects were concerned, 1 was clean as a whistle. I was now in @ position to give attention to the escape problem. As it had never been far from my mind in the Drevious weeks, I was able to make up my mind before the end of the day. My decision was to stay put. 1 was guided by the consider: tion that unless my chances o} survival were minimal, my clear duty was to fight It out. There was little doubt that 1 would have to He low for a time. and that the tlme might be prolonged and would surely be trying. But at the end of it there ‘might well be. oppor- tunity of further service. The event was to prove me right. The problem resolved itself into assessment of my chances of survival. and I judged-them to be considerably better than even T enjoyed an enormous advan- tage over people like Fuchs, who had litte or no know ledge of Inteliigence work. For my part, Thad worked for IL years in the Secret Service. Por seven of them I had been’ in fairly senior position, and for eight I had worked ‘in closest collaboration with M.I.5. For nearly two years I had been intimacely linked to the American Services and had been in desultory relationship with them for another eight. I felt that I knew the enemy weil enough to foresee in general terms the moves he was likely wo -make. ‘ q Tt was also evident that there must be many people in high Positions ln London who would wish very much to see my Inno fence established “They would be inclined to give me the bene-. ft of any doubt going. and It was my business to see that the room for doubt was spacious. Vhat evidence. to my know. ledge. could be brought against me ‘ ‘There were the early Lefty ing associations in Cambridge. They were widery- known, so there was no point {n conceal ing them. — But had never Joined the Communist Party ja England, and It would sureiv te dificult to prove 18 vears afer the ‘event that I had worked illegally in Austria, especially to View of the sickening fact that - Most of my Vienna friends were undoubtedly dead. . There wax the nasty’ tive sentence In Krivitzky’s evidence. mun activity 1hhe Vienna then the comple: eak wi my — Commun! friends by cultivstion of mai3f closely vation jai in don and Berlin. Then the choice (of all places) of Franco Spain tp which, to carve up 8 fournalis- Uc career ; then the entry into tthe Secret Service with Bur- ‘ help and my emergence whe ice a8 aD, expert antigoviet a ant. Communist work; and fnaily my fore-knowledge of the action to be takes against Maclean and the latter's escape It was an ugly picture. I was faced with the-iwescapabie con. clusion’ iat could tot hone to prove my innocence, That conciusion did _ not depress me junduly. A strong resumption of my guilt might good enough for an Intel gence officer, enough for # lawyer, needed was evidence. The chain of circumstantial evidence that might be brought st_ me Was uncomfortad!: T examined eac! single ling of the chain. 1 thought I could break it: and if every link was broken singly, what remained of the chaln ? Despite ail appearances, 1 thought my chances were good. My next task was to get out Into the open and start scattering the seeds of doubt as far and wide as I possibly could. The next few days Dienty of opportunity. office. Pateraon..and £ of little else, and Mackenzie the embassy security oficer} folned our deliberations from ime to time. I do not think that Paterson had an inkling of the truth at the time, bu: I am less sure of Mackenzie. On occasion I thought I caught a shrewd glint in his eye, My part ‘in the discussions was to formulate a theory which covered the known facts. and ‘hammencit ‘home ,until it eesti Ti must be borne tn mind that ~“Wgesememeae The opening was the decision of Mis. which | have already described as foolish, to withhold certain Dapers from Maclean and to put his “movements under surveillance. Taking that as a starting-point, made oa reconstruction of the case which Was at least impossi disorove. Tt ran thus The. evidence of showed that Maclean hai working for at least 16 He was therefore an experi. enced and competent operator, Such @ man. ever on’ guard. would be quick to notice that certain categories of pa Were being withheld from him and to draw disquieting conely- si step would be to check whether he was being fo! lowed As he was being followed. he would not take long to dis- cover the fact. But. while these discoveries would alert Maclean to his danger. they also put him in @ quandary; The object ot was to trap him with a Sovlet co without a Soviet chances 0} greatly di nven me by rivizky id been years, His next surveillance tn company tact: yet . contact his escane would minished, ° While he was sti!) medita ing this problem. the act God occurred. “Bur: into his room—his old comrade {7 could produce no evidence that there had been an old association between Burress - and Maclean. bul the fact that they had gone together made it tory reasonable assump- n