Mysterious

Spy In Tonga

By Dr. Hans Hurlimann,

of Burligstreet 6, Winterthur, Switzerland.

IWAS in Nukualofa in 1951, await ing transport, so that I might return to my home in Switzer land. I had completed a botanical investigation in Tonga, partly for my own interests, and partly in association with the Tongan De partment of Agriculture.

My companion at a party one night in the pleasant little town was a vivacious young Tongan. He entertained me with a story about a “foreign spy.” The latter’s activ ities had just been uncovered, and the Tongan Government was seri ously perturbed.

It appeared that a certain foreign nation was investigating the South Sea Islands, seeking possible bases for naval craft. A ship, keeping carefully out of sight, had been cruising in the Tongan archipelago.

It had put a European ashore on Eua island; and the European had gone up into the mountains, and had marked the trees and had made fire signals at night. The fire signals kept him in communication with the ship. It had been intended to put a party ashore, /but the alarmed people of Eua watched the stranger so closely that that part of the plan failed.

The mysterious European there upon departed from Eua, and had himself conveyed to Tongatabu, and remained in Nukualofa a little while. Then, when the Tongan Government ship Hifofua was about to sail northwards, he stowed him self away on the Hifofua; and he contrived to damage the Hifofua when she was away north, so that the vessel was obliged to run into Suva for repairs. The spy left the Hifofua hr Suva, and thus escaped Tongan justice, and got clear away.

AT first, I was merely bored.

But, as the story unfolded, I became really interested. I began to see some resemblance be tween my recent activities, and those of the mysterious spy.

I had been for some time on Eua, carrying a rucksack and a big knife: making unexplained expeditions into the mountains; marking the trees; going to high and almost in accessible spots to gather certain plants. I had one Tongan servant, and I slept whenever I could on the higher hills, where it was cool, and where he cooked my meals, often on an open fire after dark.

I had heard of some mysterious ship when I returned to Nukualofa, but I knew nothing about it. I knew that the Hifofua had gone about this time on her run to Niuafo’ou, and there had developed

a bad leak which had taken her to Suva for attention.

I had disappeared from Nuku alofa about that time. The small vessel Aoniu had provided me with an unexpected chance to get across to Niuatoputapa island for six weeks, and I had gone gladly, and without notice, to get in some valu able botanical work. I had only just returned from there. The spy story had grown feathers and flown strongly while I was away in Niuatoputapu.

So I disclosed myself to my astonished Tongan friends, right there in the party, as the original spy himself. We fitted the details or my wanderings to the popular story of the spy; and we found that they all tallied. I still can hear their roars of laughter. No one, how ever, could explain the mysterious vessel which, it was said, had hung around Eua for a while; and, of course, we had to accept the Hifofua’s leak as one of the un fortunate Hifofua’s many accidents.