Which inference can a reader make based on the information in the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from The Dark Game.

But how would Hall get that telegram? That would take some doing, he admitted. Then Hall remembered Mr. H., one of his trusted operatives. It was Mr. H. who had alerted MI8 to the suspicious activities of Sweden’s chargé d’affaires in Mexico City, Folke Cronholm. Sharp-eyed Mr. H. had noticed that Cronholm was making frequent visits to the telegraph office, far more visits than one would expect from a representative of the Swedish government, given the limited relationship between that government and Mexico.

Which inference can a reader make based on the information in the excerpt?

A. Folke Cronholm was spying for the Allied nations.

B. Folke Cronholm was a German diplomat.

C. Folke Cronholm was secretly working for the Germans.

D. Folke Cronholm was receiving many personal telegraphs.

Answer: C. Folke Cronholm was secretly working for the Germans.

This inference seems rather reasonable, given the excerpt’s content and the options given. It can therefore be deduced that Cronholm behaved in an odd and secretive manner of a Swedish diplomat hinting towards more Ferrara than he was to perform and that was not conventional diplomatic business.

There are a few aspects in the text which presuppose this conclusion. First, there is Mr. H., who is characterized as a reliable agent, informing MI8, an intelligence agency of Britain, about the work of Cronholm. This suggests that Cronholm show social pertinence that captured the attention of a foreign intelligence service. Second, the excerpt in question does highlight an excessive number of Cronholm’s visits to the telegraph office for a Swedish government representative in Mexico. The above-mentioned pattern of interpersonal communication therefore raises some suspicion to the assertation that Cronholm was merely involved in official business.

Because the story is called “The Dark Game” and because it concerns the MI8 agency most probably involved in spying, it is possible to suggest that Cronholm’s activities were connected to spying. Since the probable setting was World War I in Sweden which did not take sides; and since the English were trailing him, the most plausible assumption was that Cronholm was a spy working for Germany, England’s foe.

The other options are less likely: A, it is unlikely because MI8 would not take any precautions against an ally; B, directly contradicts his assertion that he is a Swedish diplomat; C is possible but does not explain the extent of the suspicion that he raised.