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wasn't for the air that Lanny had come, nor yet on account of Heine's Harzreise. They sat on an

outdoor platform of a little inn looking up a valley to a mountain that was Austria; Lanny saw

that the slopes about him were not too precipitous, nor the stream in the valley too deep. He

remarked to his companion: "There's probably a lot of illegal traffic over these mountain

paths."

"Not so much as you might think," was the reply. "You don't see the sentries, but they're

watching, and they shoot first and ask questions afterward."

"But they can't do much shooting on a stormy night."

"They know where the paths are, and they guard them pretty closely. But I've no doubt some

of the mountaineers take bribes and share with them. The Jews are running money out of

Germany by every device they can think of. They want to bleed the country to death."

That didn't sound so promising; but Lanny had to take a chance somewhere. When they

were back in the car, safe from prying ears, he said: "You know, Hugo, you're so irritated with

the Jews, and yet, when I hear you talk about the ideals of National Socialism, it sounds exactly

like the talk of my friend Freddi Robin whom I've told you about."

"I don't deny that there are good Jews; many of them, no doubt; and certainly they have

plenty of brains."

"Freddi is one of the finest characters I have ever known. He is sensitive, delicate, considerate,

and I'm sure he never had a vice. He was giving all his time and thought to the cause of social

justice, exactly as you believe in it and have explained it today."

"Is he still in Dachau?"

"I want to talk to you about him, Hugo. It's so important to me; I can't have any peace of

mind while the situation stands as it is, and neither can anybody who knows Freddi. I'd like to

take you into my confidence, and have your word that you won't mention it to anybody else,

except by agreement with me."

"I don't think it'll be possible to get me to take an interest in the affairs of any Jew, Lanny. I

don't even care to know about him, unless I can have your word that you won't tell anybody

that you have told me."

"You certainly can have that, Hugo. I have never mentioned your name to anyone except my

wife, and this time I didn't even tell her that I was planning to meet you. I've told everybody I

was coming for the purpose of buying some pictures from Baron von Zinszollern."

On that basis the young Aryan athlete consented to risk having his mind sullied, and Lanny

told him he had positive information that Freddi was being tortured in Dachau. Lanny

intimated that this news had come to him from high Nazi sources; Hugo accepted this,

knowing well that the rich American had such contacts. Lanny drew a horrifying picture, using

the details which Göring had furnished him; Hugo, a fundamentally decent fellow, said it was

a shame, and what did they expect to accomplish by such proceedings? Lanny answered that

some of the big Nazis had learned that Lanny's wife had a great deal of money, and were

hoping to get a chunk of it—money they could hide in New York, and have in case they ever

had to take a plane and get out of Germany. Irma had been on the verge of paying; but Lanny's

English friend, Rick, had said No, those men were betraying the Socialist movement of the

world, and nobody should furnish them with funds. It had occurred to Lanny that he would

rather pay money to some of the honest men in the movement, those who took seriously the

second half of the party's name, and would really try to promote the interests of the common

man.

In short, if Hugo Behr would spend his vacation helping to get Freddi out of Dachau, Lanny

would pay him five thousand marks at the outset, and if he succeeded would pay him another

five thousand, in any form and any manner he might desire. Hugo might use the money for

the movement he was building, and thus his conscience would be clear. Lanny would be glad

to put up whatever additional sums Hugo might find it necessary to expend in order to interest

some of the proletarian S.A. men in Dachau in bringing about the escape of a comrade who had

the misfortune to have been born a Jew. They, too, might use the money to save National

Socialism.

"Oh, Lanny!" exclaimed the young sports director. "That's an awfully serious thing to be

trying!"

"I know that well. I've been hesitating and figuring it for a year. But this news about the

torturing decided me—I just can't stand it, and I'm willing to run whatever risk I have to. It's

something that ought to be stopped, Hugo, and every decent Nazi ought to help me, for the

good name of the party. Is that guard you told me about still there?"

"I'd have to make sure."

"I don't ask you to tell me anything you're doing, or thinking of doing. I have complete

confidence in your judgment. It'll be up to you to make some friends in the camp and decide

who are the right ones to trust. Don't mention me to them, and I won't mention you to anybody,

now or later. We'll carry this secret to our graves."

"There'll be the question of getting your man over the border."

"You don't have to bother about that part of it. All I ask is for you to deliver Freddi to me on

some dark night at a place agreed upon, and without anybody to stop me or follow me. I don't

want to rush you into it—take your time, think it over, and ask me all the questions you want

to. Let's have a complete understanding, so that you'll know exactly what you're getting in

for, and each of us will know exactly what we're promising."

VII

Hugo did his thinking right there in the car. He said it was a deal; but when Lanny asked him

how he wanted his first payment, he was afraid to take the money. He said he wouldn't dare

to carry such a sum on his person, and he had no place to hide it; he was a poor man, and

had no right to have money, but Lanny, a rich man, did, so keep it for him until the job was

done and the danger was over. Lanny said: "I am touched by your confidence."

They worked out their arrangements in detail. Neither would ever visit the other's hotel.

When Hugo wanted Lanny he would telephone, and always use the code name of "Boecklin."

They agreed upon a certain spot on a well-frequented street, and whenever they were to meet,

Lanny would stop at that spot and Hugo would step into the car. They would do all their

talking in the car, so there could never be any eavesdropping. All this having been agreed

upon, Lanny drove his fellow conspirator to Dachau and left him near the concentration camp,

so that he might start getting in touch with his friend.

The art expert telephoned the American consul in Munich. He had taken the precaution to

meet that gentleman on his previous visit and to invite him to the Detaze show. Now he took

him to dinner, and over a bottle of good wine they chatted about the affairs of Germany and

the outside world. Lanny contributed an account of the riots in Paris, and the consul said that

this kind of thing proved the need of a strong government, such as Hitler was now furnishing to

the German people. The official was sure that the excesses of the Regierung had no great

significance; National Socialism would soon settle down and get itself on a living basis with the

rest of Europe. Lanny found this a sensible point of view, and his conversation showed no

faintest trace of Pinkness.

Incidentally he mentioned that he was in Munich to arrange for a picture deal with Baron

von Zinszollern. He wondered if the consul knew anything about this gentleman, and his

reputation in the community. The reply was that the baron bore an excellent reputation, but of

course the consul couldn't say as to his financial situation. Lanny smiled and said: "He is selling,

not buying." He knew that the consul would take this inquiry as the purpose for which he had

been invited to dine; it was a proper purpose, it being the duty of consuls to assist their fellow

countrymen with information. They parted friends, and the official was satisfied that Lanny

Budd was in Munich for legitimate reasons, and if later on Lanny should get into any sort of

trouble, the representative of his country would have every reason to assist him and vouch for

him.

Lanny stayed in his room the rest of the evening and read the Münchener Neueste

Nachrichten from page one to the end. He learned a little of what was happening in Germany,

and still more of what the Nazis wanted the Germans to believe was happening. The

Reichsführer was in the Rheinland, attending the wedding of one of his Gauleiter. He was

stopping at the Rhein Hotel in Essen, and had visited the Krupp works and conferred with

several of the steel magnates. That was in accord with what Hugo had said; and so was the fact

that Minister-Präsident General Göring was accompanying him. Flying in the rear cabin in a

plane was the best of occasions for one man to whisper into another man's ear; and what was

Göring telling Adi about plots against him, and the urgent need to disband the S.A. and avert

the "Second Revolution"? Lanny put his imagination to work; for it was a part of his job to

point out these things to Hugo and have Hugo pass them on to discontented members of the

S.A. in Dachau. From the leading editorial in the newspaper Lanny followed the campaign now

going on against those evil persons who were described by the German equivalents of grouches,

knockers, and smart Alecks, soreheads, muckrakers, and wet blankets.

VIII

Late at night Lanny was summoned tothe telephone. There being none in his room, he went

downstairs, and there was the voice of "Boecklin," saying: "Can I see you?" Lanny replied, "Ja,

gewiss" which in American would have been "Sure thing!"

He went to his car and picked up his friend at the place agreed upon. "Well," said Hugo, "I

believe it can be arranged."

"Oh, good!" exclaimed the other.

"I promised not to name any names, and there's no need of your knowing the details, I

suppose."

"None in the world. I just want to know that I can come to a certain place and pick up my

friend."

"There's only one trouble: I'm afraid it will cost a lot of money. You see, it can't be done by a

common guard. Somebody higher up has to consent."

"What do you think it will cost?"

"About twenty thousand marks. I can't be sure what will be demanded; it might be twenty-

five or thirty thousand before we get through."

"That's all right, Hugo; I can afford it. I'll get the cash and give it to you whenever you say."

"The job ought to be put through as soon as it's agreed upon. The longer we wait, the more

chance of somebody's talking."

"Absolutely. I have certain arrangements to make, and it's hard for me to know exactly how

long it will take, but I'm pretty sure I can be ready by Friday night. Would that be all right?"

"So far as I can guess."

"If something went wrong with my plans I might have to put it off till Saturday. Whenever

you are ready for the money, you have to let me know before the bank closes."

All this was assented to; and after dropping his friend on a quiet street Lanny went to one of

the large hotels where he would find a telephone booth, and there put in a call for Jerry