Traitors' Gate gs-7

by Dennis Wheatley

  With a brief word of thanks, Grauber turned to Gregory and snapped: 'Now! What are you up to in Budapest?'

  Gregory knew that he could not bluff Grauber; but he hoped that he might keep the mind of the Police Captain open by replying, I see no reason why I should submit to being questioned by you; but the sooner this matter is sorted out the better. It is evident that when you attacked me you mistook me for someone else. I am a Frenchman and I own a truffle farm in Perigord. I am here to sell my truffles.'

  'A fine story!' Grauber sneered, 'And now I will tell you why I am here.'

  'Thank you.' Gregory shrugged. 'But as I have never met you before I am not in the least interested.'

  'Ah! But you will be! I am here because word reached my office a few days ago that a conspiracy is afoot in which a little clique of Hungarian magnates is plotting to bring pressure on their Government to sell out to the English.'

  Gregory managed to keep his face expressionless; but Grauber's words were a sickening blow. His fears, that a leak to the Nazis would result from the casual disregard of security displayed by Count Zapolya's friends after the first big meeting at the Nobles Club, had proved well founded. He could only pray that so far Grauber had not secured any actual evidence against the members of the Committee, and hope for a chance to get a warning to them. Meanwhile the plump, pasty-faced German was going on:

  'To run into you was a real stroke of fortune. On your past record as a secret agent, I would wager Reichsmarschall Goering's cellar against a bottle of sour claret that you are at the bottom of this plot.'

  'You are completely wrong. I know nothing whatever about it.'

  'Oh, yes, you do! There is no war activity in Budapest which would bring a man of your calibre here, but such big game as this is just your meat. Now; I want the names of everyone you have met since you arrived in Hungary.'

  'If I had anything to hide I would not tell you; but during the fortnight I have been here I have met scores of people. My first few days were a little dull but I got into conversation with all sorts in the bars and at the swimming pools, and if you know how hospitable the Hungarians are you will appreciate that soon I had not a dull moment. There is hardly a night that I have not been to a party, and…'

  'Enough!' Grauber cut him short. 'It is useless to try to fog the issue by giving me a list of names a yard long. I want those of the people who know you to be an Englishman.'

  'There are none; for the simple reason that I am not one.'

  At that moment there came an interruption. The Sergeant poked his head round the door and announced the arrival of the car sent to collect Grauber. Two of his aides-de-camp had come in it, tall pink cheeked young Gestapo men; as the Sergeant stood aside they entered the room, clicked their heels and saluted.

  Grauber gave them a nod and waved a hand towards Gregory. 'Heershaft, we are in luck this evening. Allow me to present to you Mr. Gregory Sallust, the most skilful and dangerous of all British operatives. He has personally killed several of our colleagues and been responsible for the death of many

  more. It was to him that I owe the loss of my eye, and in due course I mean to pluck out both of his with my own hands. However, at the…'

  Simulating intense anger, Gregory suddenly burst out, 'This is fantastic! Not a word of it is true! My name is Etienne Tavenier, and I am a retired Major of the French Army. I have documents to prove it.'

  'Documents!' sneered Grauber. 'Do you take me for a child? Of course you would have come provided with documents, but not one of them will be worth the paper it is written on.'

  Gregory knew only too well that, as soon as Cochefert was sufficiently recovered to be brought in on the matter, to continue the pretence that he was Tavenier would be completely futile. Moreover, as it was from the Vadaszkürt that his false passport had reached Lieutenant Puttony, and the Arizona was in the same district it seemed highly probable that the Lieutenant was attached to this station. Should he come on the scene that would equally blow the Tavenier story. But Gregory had no other means of repudiating Grauber's charges; so the only course open to him was to stick to his guns in front of the Hungarian Police Captain, in the desperate hope that some chance to escape might offer if only he could gain a little time. In a further effort to maintain his bluff, he shouted at Grauber:

  'My documents are in perfect order! They have been checked by the police and by that Deuxième Bureau Captain who was about to introduce me to you when you attacked me. If you don't believe me, ask him; or send a telegram to Vichy. They know all about me there.'

  The Hungarian, obviously impressed, nodded. 'Yes. After all, it is quite possible that you are mistaken, Herr Gruppenführer. This man may be whom he says he is.'

  'He is an English spy, I tell you!' Grauber's high-pitched voice rose almost to a scream.

  'I am nothing of the kind!' Gregory yelled back with all the excitability of an angry and injured Frenchman. 'Telegraph to Vichy about me, and you will be made to eat your words.'

  Again the Hungarian nodded. 'Why should we not do that? I will hold the prisoner until morning, and by then we should have a reply.'

  White with fury, Grauber banged his clenched fist on the table. 'I need no telegram from Vichy. I know this man as well as I know my own face in a mirror. And the enquiry I am engaged upon is urgent. As soon as it gets out that he has been arrested the men he has been conspiring with will take fright. They will go into hiding, or try to leave the country. That is why I have got to have the truth out of him here and now.'

  'Since he maintains that he is not the man you think him, I don't see how you can.'

  Grauber gave a short, sniggering laugh, and turned to leer at his two S.S. men. 'We'll get it all right, won't we boys?'

  They both grinned, and the taller said, 'Leave it to us, Herr Gruppenführer.'

  Turning back to the Hungarian, Grauber said abruptly, 'Take us down to a cell and provide us with a piece of cord. We'll string him up by his thumbs to start with and see if that will make him open his mouth.'

  The Hungarian hesitated a moment, then he said, I am anxious to oblige the Herr Gruppenführer, but I don't think I could do that.'

  'And why not, if you please?' Grauber asked him in a suddenly silky voice.

  'For one thing, his identity is still uncertain.'

  'You said that you are anxious to oblige me. You can do so by taking my word about that.'

  I have already stretched a point in allowing you to question him about a matter that has no connexion with the charge on which I am holding him.'

  'Teufel Nochmal! Grauber exploded. 'Is Hungary Germany's ally, or is she not?'

  'Herr Gruppenführer, the fact that our two countries are allied has no bearing on police procedure.'

  'It has, Herr Hauptmann. Our Governments, our fighting services, our police and yours are all pledged to aid each other by every means in their power. I now formally request your help in the carrying out of my duties.'

  Gregory was listening to the discussion with bated breath. He now had little enough to pin his hopes upon in any case, but the outcome of this swift exchange of words meant for him the difference between a few hours' respite and being put to torture within the next few minutes. The palms of his hands were damp with apprehension as he watched the Hungarian's face. It was a strong face, but he feared every moment to see it weaken under the pressure that it was certain Grauber would bring to bear.

  To the German's request he replied. 'I have no wish to withhold my cooperation; but the procedure of the two police forces differ, and to do as you suggest would be contrary to our regulations here.'

  I suppose you mean that, when a prisoner refuses to talk, you are too squeamish to make him?' Grauber sneered. 'Let us put it that in Hungary we do not approve of torture.' 'Do you presume to criticize German methods?' I criticize nothing. I only obey the orders of my superiors.' Grauber was seething with rage. His thin sandy eyebrows drew down in a scowl and his single eye gleamed with malice, as he said, 'Listen, my littl
e Captain. My rank is far superior to yours and should you continue to oppose my wish I am quite powerful enough to insist on your own chief disciplining you. Now! No more nonsense. Send for a piece of cord and lead us to a cell.'

  To Gregory's intense relief the threat had the contrary effect to that he had feared. The Hungarian's chunky face went white but his blue eyes suddenly blazed with anger. Thrusting his chin forward, he snapped, 'This is not Germany! You can't yet ride roughshod over everybody here! Say what you damn well like! I'm not afraid to be judged by my own people for having refused to let you turn my Station into a torture chamber. Now! Get out of here, and be quick about it.'

  Beneath his breath Gregory murmured, 'Well done! Well done! May the gods reward you for your courage.' But a moment later he realized that he was not even temporarily free of Grauber yet. The Gruppenführer had not climbed to his eminence as a Gestapo Chief by bullying alone; he had an extraordinarily flexible mind, and much subtle cunning. Quite quietly he turned to his two aides and said:

  'Heershaft, I have often told you that you can learn much from the errors of your superiors. It is of great importance to us that I should get the truth out of this man Sallust without delay; but as I am placed at the moment I have not a free hand to do so. In my eagerness, I blundered. Observe, please, this Hungarian officer carefully. Look at his broad forehead, his frank expression and his well developed jaw. These are the indications of an honest man, a humanitarian and one who has the courage to stick to his convictions. I should have taken stock of those myself, and realized that I could gain nothing by threatening him. We consider that our harsher methods of obtaining information swiftly are justified by the emergencies of war. But in this the Hungarians differ from us. By refusing to allow us to use our methods of persuasion in his Station, he was only carrying out his standing orders. For that we must admire him. Tomorrow, instead of a complaint, I shall now put in to his superiors a testimonial to his commendable adherence to his duties. To do otherwise would be dishonourable and tend to weaken, instead of strengthen, our ties with our Hungarian allies.'

  After pausing for a moment, Grauber turned to the Hungarian and went on. 'But the Herr Hauptmann will appreciate that delay in examining this man may prove fatal to the success of my mission here. Therefore I cannot doubt that he will agree to a solution which will both enable me to do my duty, and save him from any feeling that he has failed in his. I should have thought of it before. It is so simple. I will sign a receipt for the prisoner and an undertaking that he shall be returned here tomorrow morning in time to face before a magistrate the charge of which he is accused. There can be no objection to that?'

  Again Gregory's heart was in his mouth. The time was still only about ten o'clock. If Grauber were allowed to take him away and wreak his will on him for the next eight or ten hours, all the odds were that he would be returned to the Station a gibbering idiot. Little beads of sweat broke out on his forehead as he kept his eyes riveted on the Captain's face. But a moment later he could breathe again. The Hungarian shook his head:

  'Thanks for the kind remarks, Herr Gruppenführer; but I can't do that. There is still this question of identity to be settled. And, anyhow, I couldn't hand a prisoner over to anyone without a formal authorization.'

  Stymied again, Grauber's small, pale eye darted swiftly from side to side. Gregory knew his mentality so well that he felt sure he could read the thoughts which were now flickering through that unscrupulous brain. He was assessing the chances of a snatch.

  Many a time Gestapo agents had raided homes and hotels on foreign soil, dragged their victim from his bed, slugged him unconscious, carried him down to a car, and smuggled him back into Germany. In this case, counting out the victim, there were three of them to the one Hungarian. Going through the outer office they would have to deal with the Sergeant and the policeman on the door; but they had a car waiting outside. The element of surprise and the use of brute force without scruple might well enable them to pull off a kidnapping and break out.

  Gregory moistened his dry lips with his tongue. His thoughts were moving as swiftly as Grauber's. They might take the Captain by surprise, but not the object of the snatch. He was neither in bed, nor asleep. If they thought they were going to carry him out like a sack of potatoes, they had better think again. He already had his eye on a wooden chair. At his enemy's first move he meant to snatch it up and charge him with it legs foremost. Tough as the pouchy German was, he must go down under such an assault. The two brawny thugs might then get the better of the battle in the room, but by the time they had there was a fair hope that the shindy would have brought half a dozen Hungarian policemen running to the outer office, and that the last word would remain with them.

  Perhaps Grauber realized that too. Perhaps, even, he baulked at the idea of knocking out a Hungarian Police Captain, and forcibly abducting a prisoner from his Station. That was very different from kidnapping some unsuspecting person, and might cause quite a lot of tiresome correspondence between the Chancellories of Berlin and Budapest. After staring for a long moment at the Captain he switched his glance to Gregory, and said:

  'Very well, I will leave you for the night in the custody of the Herr Hauptmann. But don't imagine you are going to get away with the story that you are a Frenchman. There are plenty of people in Germany who know you as Gregory Sallust, and if necessary I'll have witnesses flown in to support my identification of you.

  'Anyway, when you are brought into court tomorrow morning, I mean to accuse you of the murder of Obersturmbann Führer Fritz Einholtz, and others, and to apply for a warrant for your extradition. When you have been handed over to me we'll talk again. First you'll tell me all about this conspiracy; then I'll take you back to Germany. In six months' time you will still be alive, but for five months and twenty-nine days you will have been wishing that you were dead.'

  A Night of Surprises

  Chapter 13

  Even when Grauber and his two henchmen stamped angrily from the room Gregory could not be certain that the wily Gruppenführer would not suddenly turn on his heel and return to try some new trick for getting possession of him. But the sound of trampling feet across the outer office faded, and after a last minute of dreadful suspense he felt that temporarily, although only temporarily, by sticking to his bluff, he had got the better of his enemy. Turning to the Hungarian, he said in the heavily accented and faulty German that he had used since being brought into the Station:

  'Captain, I cannot be sufficiently grateful to you for your protection from those thugs. It is appalling to think that in their own country they have the power to torture anyone they choose merely on suspicion. How good it is to find that here in Hungary you still maintain the same traditions of justice which we have for so long cherished in France.'

  The Captain made a grimace. 'These Germans are beasts, but the Russians would be worse; so we must put up with them. Fortunately they are not our masters; so even if it were certain that you were an English spy I would not have allowed them to torture you. But make no mistake about it, if they can prove you to be the man they think, and demand your extradition for crimes committed in Germany, we shall have to hand you over to them.'

  'God forbid that should happen! But it may.'

  'Do you mean that you are, as they say, a British agent?' the Captain asked with a frown.

  Gregory hated to have to deceive him, but in doing so lay his only chance to take advantage of the short respite that he had been granted. Throwing out his hands in a typically French gesture, he exclaimed:

  'No! No! Do not think that, I beg. I meant only that I may have difficulty in persuading your magistrates that I am Commandant Tavenier. You have been more than a friend; so I will be frank with you. When I suggested that a telegram of enquiry about me should be sent to Vichy I was seeking only to gain time to save myself from being tortured there and then. If one were sent it would do me no good. It would confirm that I am Tavenier but declare me to be an enemy. The truth is that I am a de Gaull
ist. I served with the Free French Forces in England, and landed with the British when they made their raid on St. Nazaire. I was wounded and left for dead. De Gaullist sympathizers hid me until I recovered, but I am listed by Vichy as a traitor. That is why I made my way secretly to Switzerland and then to Hungary. You see, I dare not appeal to the French Government; and how, otherwise, can I prove that I am Tavenier? The thought that I may fail to prove my identity fills me with terror; but it means that the Germans' word will be taken that I am this man Sallust.'

  The Captain nodded. 'I see. In that case your situation is certainly a most dangerous one.'

  'If these accursed Germans once get hold of me they will tear me into little bits.'

  'I fear you are right.'

  'Yet I am innocent. My only crime is that I believed, like many thousands of my countrymen, that, for the honour of France, all of us who were able to do so should fight on.'

  I appreciate that. It is tragic for you that a resemblance to another person should have landed you in this appalling mess.'

  Having won the Hungarian's sympathy, Gregory felt that the time had now come to play a card that might just prove a trump. After a moment he asked, 'What exactly is the charge against me?'

  'With having created a disturbance in a public place and inflicted bodily harm upon the Gruppenführer and a Captain Cochefert who was with him.'

  'But it was the Gruppenführer who assaulted me.'

  'That is a matter in dispute. It will be decided on the evidence of the washroom attendant when the case comes up before a magistrate in the morning.'

  'As I understand it, then, the Gruppenführer has been charged too, and will have to appear in the dock with me?'

  'Yes; and Captain Cochefert also, if after treatment in hospital the doctors consider him well enough to do so.'

  'Why, then, should you have released the Gruppenführer and detained me?'

  The Hungarian shrugged. 'Your circumstances are very different. He is a high official in the police force of an allied country. His word that he will appear when summoned is sufficient. You, on the other hand, are both a foreigner and a temporary resident here. If you were allowed to go free you might take the first train in the morning out of Budapest.'