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him."
X
It was the Oberleutnant's duty to report to his superior, and mean while Lanny had to wait.
He was deposited at his hotel a few minutes before two o'clock, and called his wife and told
her: "I have seen our friend and he is all right. I think matters can be arranged. Take your
time. "To his mother, his father, and Rick he sent telegrams. "Have seen our friend. Believe
matters arranged." He decided against using code names; if the Gestapo was interested, let
them know what he was saying, and to whom. He called Heinrich and reported: "I think that
matters are being arranged, and I am grateful for the help of yourself and your friends. I have
been asked to keep the matter confidential, so I cannot say any more." That was satisfactory to a
perfect young bureaucrat.
The afternoon papers contained the story of the arrest of Johannes Robin, made public by the
Prussian government. Eighty million Germans, minus the infants and a few malcontents,
would learn that a Jewish Schieber had been caught trying to smuggle money out of the
country on his yacht. Eighty million Germans, minus the infants and malcontents, would
continue every day to believe statements issued on official authority, which statements would be
carefully contrived fiction. It was a new kind of world to be living in, and for the present Lanny
had but one desire, to get out of it.
Irma came home in the middle of the afternoon and he took her for a drive. He didn't feel in
any way bound by promises made to a bandit, so he told her the story, adding: "If you drop a
hint of it to anybody here it may cost Johannes and his family their lives." Irma listened in
wide-eyed horror. It was likе the things you read about the Borgias. He answered that there
was nothing in history to compare it to, because never before had barbarians commanded the
resources of modern science.
"Do you suppose Goring is taking that money for himself?" she asked.
"It's all the same thing," he told her. "Goring is Germany, and Germany will be Goring,
whether it wishes to or not. The Nazis will spend everything the Germans have."
"But the money abroad! What will he do about that?"
"They have a network of agents in other countries, and doubtless they will have more. Also, if
things should go wrong, and Goring has to take a plane some day, it will be nice to have a nest-
egg, and be able to spend a comfortable old age in Paris or Buenos Aires."
"What perfect agony it must be to Johannes to turn all that money loose! My father would
have died first!"
"Your father wouldn't have got into this position. Johannes was too trusting. He thought he
could handle matters by diplomacy; but these fellows have knocked over the conference table.
They have the advantage that nobody can realize how bad they are. If you and I were to go to
Paris or London tomorrow and tell this story, the Nazis would call us liars and nine people out
of ten would believe them."
XI
They went back to the hotel, expecting Freddi to call. But he didn't, and in the evening
Colonel Emil Meissner came to dinner. He had read about the Robin case, and it did not occur
to him to doubt his government's word. He said there had been a great deal of graft and
favoritism under the Republic, but now, apparently, the laws were going to be enforced against
rich as well as poor. This tall, severe-looking Prussian officer expressed polite regret that such
misfortune should have fallen upon a relative of Lanny's. The host contented himself with
replying that he had reason to hope matters would soon be straightened out, and that he had
been asked to consider it confidential. Emil accepted this just as Heinrich had; all good
Germans would accept it.
Emil talked freely about the new Regierung. He had despised the Republic, but had obeyed
its orders because that was the duty of an army officer. Now Adolf Hitler had become his
Commander-in-chief, and it was necessary to obey him, however one might privately dislike his
manners. But Emil was sure that the stories of abuse of power had been greatly exaggerated, and
for malicious purposes. There were bound to be excesses in any governmental overturn; the
essential thing was that Germany had been saved from the clutches of the Reds, and every
civilized person owed the new Chancellor a debt of gratitude for that. Lanny indulged in no
Pink arguments, but said that he and his wife had been greatly impressed by what they had
found in the country.
They waited late for a call from Freddi, but none came, and they went to bed speculating
about it. Doubtless he was avoiding risks, and perhaps also afraid of bothering them; but it was
too bad they couldn't give him the news which would so greatly relieve his mind. Lanny was
prepared to state that he had come upon a wonderful Bouguereau!
Morning came, and the papers had editorials about the case of the Jewish Schieber; in
Hitlerland all news stories were editorials, and were full of rancid hatred and venomous
threats. At last the sneaking traitors were feeling the stern hand of the law; at last the vile
Semitic parasites were being shaken from the fair body of Germania! Der Angriff was
especially exultant. Here was proof to all the world that National Socialism meant what it said,
that the stealthy influence of the Jewish plutocracy was no longer to rule the Fatherland!
Lanny translated the words, which really seemed insane in their virulence. "Mr. Mouth doesn't
sound so pleasant in print," he remarked.
Breakfast, and still no call from Freddi. They didn't like to go out until they had heard from
him. Irma had her hair dressed and got a manicure; Lanny read a little, wrote a few notes,
roamed about, and worried. They had a luncheon engagement at the Berlin home of General Graf
Stubendorf, and they had to go. Irma said: "Clarinet can call again; or he can drop us a note."
Driving to the palace, they were free to discuss the various possibilities. Goring might have had
Freddi arrested; or the Brownshirts might have picked him up, without Goring's knowing
anything about it. Freddi was a Jew and a Socialist, and either was enough. Irma suggested:
"Mightn't it be that Goring wants to keep the whole family in his hands until he's ready to put
them out?"
"Anything is possible," said Lanny; "except that I can't imagine Freddi delaying this long to
call us if he is free."
It rather spoiled their lunch. To tell the truth it wasn't an especially good lunch, or very good
company—unless it was enough for you to know that you were the guest of a high-up Junker.
The General Graf's attitude was the same as Emil's; he was a cog in the Reichswehr machine, and
he obeyed orders. His special concern was getting his home district out of the clutches of the
Poles; he knew that Lanny sympathized with this aim, but even so, he could talk about it only
guardedly, for the Chancellor had given the cue by a pacific speech, so it was the duty of good
Germans to let the subject of boundary lines rest and to concentrate on the right of the
Fatherland to equality of armaments. Having expressed regret over the plight of Lanny's
Jewish relative, the General Graf Stubendorf talked about other friends, and about the
condition of his crops and the market for them, and what did Lanny's father think about the
prospects for world recovery?
Lanny answered with one part of his mind, while the other part was thinking: "I wonder if
Freddi is calling now!"
But Freddi wasn't calling.
19
No Peace in Zion
I
WHEN Mr. and Mrs. Irma Barnes had visited Berlin a year previously, they had been the
darlings of the smart set, and all the important people had been glad to entertain them. But
now the social weather had changed; a thunderstorm was raging, and nobody could be sure
where the lightning might strike. The story of Johannes Robin was known to the whole town;
and who could guess what confessions he might have made, or what might have been found in
his papers? Many persons have dealings with moneylenders which they don't care to have
become known. Many have affairs of various sorts which they prefer not to have looked into by
the Secret State Police, and they carefully avoid anyone who might be under surveillance by
that dreaded body.
Moreover, Irma and Lanny were worried, and when you are worried you are not very good
company. Another day passed, and another, and they became certain that something terrible
must have happened to Freddi. Of course he might have been knocked down by a truck, or
slugged and robbed by one of the inmates of an Asyl für Obdachlose who suspected that he
had money. But far more likely was the chance that a Jew and Socialist had fallen into the
clutches of the Brown Terror. Their problem was, did Goring know about it, and if so was it a
breach of faith, or merely a precaution against a breach of faith on their part? Would Goring
be content to keep his hostage until the bargain was completed? Or was Freddi to remain in
durance for a long time?
The more Lanny thought about it, the more complications he discovered. Could it be that
there was a war going on between the two powerful Nazi chiefs? Had Goebbels becomes furious
because Goring had taken the prisoner? Had he grabbed Freddi in order to thwart Goring and
keep him from carrying out his bargain? If so, what was Lanny supposed to do? What part
could a mere man play in a battle of giants—except to get his head cracked by a flying rock or
uprooted tree? Lanny couldn't go to Goebbels and ask, because that would be breaking his
pledge to Goring.
No, if he went to anybody it must be to Goring. But was he privileged to do this? Had it been
a part of the bargain that the Minister-Prasident of Prussia and holder of six or eight other
important posts was to lay aside his multifarious duties and keep track of the misfortunes of a
family of Jewish Schieber? All Goring was obligated to do was to let them alone; and how easy
for him to say: "Mr. Budd, I know nothing about the matter and have no desire to." Was Lanny
to reply: "I do not believe you, Exzellenz!"?
It seemed clear that all Lanny could accomplish was to center the attention of the Gestapo upon
the Robin family. If they set out to look for Freddi they would have to inquire among his friends.
They might ask Lanny for a list of these friends; and what could Lanny say? "I do not trust you,
meine Herren von der Geheimen Staats Polizei"? On the other hand, to give the names might
condemn all these friends to concentration camps. The wife of Johannes was hiding with one
of her former servants. The Gestapo would get a list of these and hunt them out—Jews, most of
them, and doubtless possessing secrets of Johannes and his associates. Who could guess what they
might reveal, or what anybody might invent under the new scientific forms of torture?
II
Lanny and his wife attended the very grand inauguration ceremonies of the Minister-Prasident
of Prussia. They were met by Ober-leutnant Furtwaengler and introduced to Ministerialdirektor
Doktor X and General Ritter von Y. They were surrounded by Nazis in magnificent uniforms
covered with medals and orders, behaving themselves with dignity and even with charm. Very
difficult indeed to believe that they were the most dangerous miscreants in the world! Irma in
her heart couldn't believe it, and when she and Lanny were driving afterward they had a bit of
an argument, as married couples have been known to do.
Irma was a daughter of civilization. When she suspected a crime she went to the police. But
now, it appeared, the police were the criminals! Irma had listened to Lanny's Red and Pink
friends denouncing the police of all lands, and it had annoyed her more than she had cared to
say; there were still traces of that annoyance in her soul, and Lanny had to exclaim: "My God,
didn't Goring tell me with his own lips that he would find a hundred of Johannes's relatives
and friends and torture them?"
"Yes, darling," replied the wife, with that bland manner which could be so exasperating. "But
couldn't it have been that he was trying to frighten you?"
"Jesus!" he exploded. "For years I've been trying to tell the world what the Nazis are, and now it
appears that I haven't convinced even my own wife!" He saw that he had offended her, and
right away was sorry.
He had been through all this with his mother, starting a full decade ago. Beauty had never
been able to believe that Mussolini was as bad as her son had portrayed him; she had never
been able to think of an Italian refugee as other than some sort of misdoer. Beauty's own
friends had come out of Italy, reporting everything improved, the streets clean, the trains running
on time. Finally, she had gone and seen for herself; had she seen anybody beaten, or any signs of
terror? Of course not!
And now, here was the same thing in Germany. Wherever you drove you saw perfect order.
The people were clean and appeared well fed; they were polite and friendly—in short, it was a
charming country, a pleasure to visit, and how was anybody to credit these horror tales? Irma
was in a continual struggle between what she wanted to believe and what was being forced
upon her reluctant mind. Casting about for something to do for poor Freddi, she had a bright
idea. "Mightn't it be possible for me to go and talk to Goring?"
"To appeal to his better nature, you mean?"
"Well, I thought I might be able to tell him things about the Robins."
"If you went to Goring, he would want just one thing from you, and it wouldn't be stories
about any Jews."
What could Irma say to that? She knew that if she refused to believe it, she would annoy her
husband. But she persisted: "Would it do any harm to try?"
"It might do great harm," replied the anti-Nazi. "If you refused him, he would be enraged,
and avenge the affront by punishing the Robins."
"Do you really know that he's that kind of man, Lanny?"
"I'm tired of telling you about these people," he answered. "Get the Fürstin Donnerstein off
