Perhaps several of them had done that.

It is a way soldiers have.
As for the arch spy or propagandist, he did not come forward and introduce himself as such, and though a few selected suspects of German antecedents were searched and catechised by Mr.Conne and others, no one was held.
And there you are.
Rumors of this kind are always in circulation and the Secret Service people run them down as a matter of precaution.

But though you can run a rumor down and stab it through and through you cannot kill it.

It now appeared that this German agent had sailed from Mexico and would land at Brest--with a message to some French statesman.

Also it appeared that he had stolen a secret from Edison and would land at Dieppe.