TEXT:Their leader is George Washington himself. A man who's come down to us in history as someone who is incapable of telling a lie, succeeds as a commander in no small measure because of his capacity for deception. A British general will later claim that Washington did not outfight his enemies, but out-spy them.Now his French allies come under deadly threat, and only his secret army of spies can save them from disaster. In New York, an estimated 20% of the population is still loyal to the British. Food costs a re up 8%. One young woman in five is a prostitute. To the British, New York merchant Robert Townsend is a loyalist. A member of the loyalist militia, he writes for the loyalist press. But to Washington's spy network, his code name is "Culper Jr.," a fact t hat was only discovered in 1939. Culper's gang will change the course of the war.By July 1781, New York is buzzing with rumor. A French fleet has been sighted off Rhode Island. News leaks out that the British plan to send warships from New York for a surprise attack. Culper must get word to Washington to somehow stop the British fleet. The spies use invisible ink. An advanced formula unknown to the British, the ink is made from gallic acid. It can only be revealed by brushing the paper in liquid iron sulfate.The next link in the chain is Austin Roe, a tavern owner from Long Island. His contact, Abraham Woodhull, picks up the message and buries it at a secret drop. Another agent, Ann Smith Strong,then uses her laundry as a secret code. It signals a sailor who picks up the message and takes it to Washington.

譯文:他們的領袖正是喬治·華盛頓本人。理查德·諾頓·史密斯[喬治梅森大學 歷史學家]：“在歷史敘事中，他給我們的印象是不善謊言，可他居然曾經憑借詐敵本領當過一名極其成功的情報頭子。”一位英軍將軍后來宣稱華盛頓并非勝于軍事實力而是情報能力。當時法國盟軍正受到致命威脅，只有他的秘密間諜組織能夠救他們于水火。在紐約，據估計仍有20%的人口效忠英國，食品價格上漲了8個百分點，每五名年輕婦女中就有一名妓女。在英國人眼里，紐約商人羅伯特·湯森是效忠英王者，他是效忠軍的成員還為效忠者出版社撰稿。但在華盛頓的間諜網中，他的代號是小考伯，這一事實直到1939年才被公諸于世。考伯的團隊將會改變戰局走勢。1781年7月，一則傳言在紐約鬧得沸沸揚揚，有人在羅德島海域見到了法國艦隊的蹤跡。有消息透露，英軍計劃從紐約派遣艦隊展開突襲，考伯必須將消息傳給華盛頓以便設法阻止英國艦隊。間諜們使用的是隱形墨水，一種英國人一無所知的高級配方。墨水由沒食子酸制成，只有將紙蘸上硫酸亞鐵溶液才能看到字跡。情報網的下一環是奧斯汀·羅伊，一位來自長島的小酒館主，他的接頭人亞伯拉罕·伍德哈爾。獲得情報后將它埋在了一個秘密交換地點，另一個間諜 安·史密斯·斯特朗，用她晾曬的衣服作為行動代號，通知一名水手領取情報并轉交給華盛頓。