`She would do that well, for she had brains as well as looks. Gott im Himmel, what a woman! In Munich, in the old days, the help she gave me was invaluable. And what beauty! Her only rival in all Germany was Marlene Dietrich and they might easily have been sisters. What a lucky fellow you are to have gained her love. But that is another reason for my giving you my protection. It would be ungrateful of me to deprive her of you. I did my utmost for her to save Hugo Falkenstein. I could have, had he not been so proud and courageous; but he stood up to the Fьhrer in defence of his people and so signed his own death warrant. Erika never forgave us his death and went over to the enemy. That was a bad day for all her friends and those of us who loved her. I suppose that in order to do this hospital job she has had to take British nationality?'
Gregory shook his head. `No. She declares that only cowards rat on their own country in the middle of a war. By rights she should be in a concentration camp as an enemy alien. But the big country house which has been turned into a hospital, where she works, is owned by a friend of ours, Sir Pellinore Gwaine Cost. He has great influence with the, Government and has gone surety for her. She has agreed that if she can become my wife she will regard Britain as her country; but until then, having been born a German she will remain a German.'
'Ah, how like her!' Goering smiled. `Clever, brave, beautiful and a true patriot. Well, I only wish that I could send you back to her. But that is out of the question. Still, there is room and to spare in this lovely home that I have made. You can remain here as my guest; anyway, until those accursed Russians overrun and pillage it of my treasures. For you the war is over. You have only to kill time as best you can until the final collapse. That applies too, of course, to the man you brought with you. The two of you can amuse yourselves consulting the stars and drawing horoscopes.'
Gregory smiled back. 'Herr Reichsmarschall, I am more grateful than I can say for your clemency and kindness. If I succeed in getting back to Erika and tell her of this she, too, will always bless your name. I only wish, though, instead of idling here for the next few months I could be of some use. I mean, play even a small part in bringing about the cessation of hostilities.'
For a long moment Goering remained silent. Then his eyes lit up and he leaned forward. 'Teufel nochmall I believe you might if we played our cards cleverly. The Fьhrer will listen to no-one these days except the astrologers and fake magicians with whom he surrounds himself. Their predictions are the one things which can still influence his decisions. Gott im Himmel! This is an idea! Stupendous! Kolossal! I'll make him a present of you and your Turkish mountebank.'
24
The Devil's Court
GREGORY jerked back his head as though he had been hit between the eyes and held up a hand in protest. `God forbid! I'd rather you had me shot here and now than send me to the Fьhrer’s headquarters.'
The Reichsmarschall's eyebrows arched into his broad forehead. `What an extraordinary thing to say. As a secret agent you must be used to acting a part and I thought you to be a brave man. Why are you so terrified of coming face to face with the Fuehrer?'
`I'm not,' Gregory replied sharply. `But, as his headquarters is now in Berlin, if I stay there for any length of time all the odds are that I'll run into Gruppenfьhrer Grauber. It was I who bashed out one of his eyes. With the other he would recognize me in a second. He has threatened that if ever he gets me he'll keep me alive in agony for a month before what's left of me gives up the ghost. That's why I'd prefer a bullet now.'
`One does not have to be a coward to dread such an end,' Goering admitted. `And from what I've heard of Grauber he enjoys doing that sort of thing. But you needn't worry. Grauber is now on the Russian front.'
`What in the world is he doing there? Is he no longer the head of the Gestapo Foreign Department, UA-1?'
`No. I assume he saw a good chance of getting a step up when his Chief became an Army Commander. He did, too. He got himself promoted to Obergruppenfiihrer, and Himmler took him with. him as his Chief of Staff when he moved to Russia.'
`But he can't know the first thing about running an Army Group.'
`Of course not, but he is just the man to carry out Himmler's ideas of fighting a war. He has decreed that the commanding officer in any town or village who fails to hold it is to be shot. And behind the lines he has mobile squads of S.D. troops whose job it is to shoot out of hand any officer or man they come upon who is walking away from the front.'
`What an insane way to treat one's troops. But I thought you said that Himmler's Army Group was in the West.'
`So it was until about a week ago. As you know, in the latter part of January the Americans launched their counter offensive in the Ardennes. To relieve the pressure on our troops, von Rundstedt proposed an attack against Strasbourg. The Americans were weak there and the city might quite well have been retaken, but Himmler made a hopeless mess of things; so the Fьhrer kicked him upstairs and gave him command of a more vital sector, our front on the Vistula. General Hausser was ordered to take over in Alsace, but Himmler did not bother to wait for him and tell him what was going on. He cleared out bag and baggage with his staff, leaving only a dirty laundry basket full of unsorted reports for Hausser to make what he could of.'
`This becomes more and more fantastic.'
`Oh, it's the truth all right. Can you wonder that I've long since washed my hands of the whole business? Anyhow, Himmler is now on the Russian front and Grauber with him. All through December the Russians had been quietly preparing one of their great offensives. They launched it on January 12th. Within ten days they reached the Baltic coast east of Danzig and cut off another twenty-five of our divisions that the Fuhrer had forbidden to retreat. Guderian, the Panzer expert, who is now Chief of Staff, wanted General Weichs to command the last troops of the Replacement Army that were being sent to fill the gap that had been torn in our front; but in such a crisis the Fьhrer decided that Himmler was the only man he could trust, so der treue Heinrich got the job.'
`You feel confident then that I shan't run into Grauber if, as you suggest, you send me to the Fuhrer's headquarters in Berlin?
'I'm sure you won't. I have a highly competent Intelligence service of my own that keeps tabs on all my dear colleagues. If any fish as big as Grauber is moved to another job I am informed of it at once. I would warn you if you are likely to be in any danger and you could come back here.'
`But do you really think there is the least chance of my being able to influence the Fьhrer.
Goering shrugged. `It is impossible to say. But it is an indisputable fact that the only things he takes any notice of these days are Bormann's poisonous whispers and the predictions of his astrologers. I've no great hopes that you could persuade him to ask for an armistice; but you never know… Since the bomb plot his health has been steadily deteriorating. He still rules the roost because everybody is terrified of him. But mentally he's gone to pieces. He eats practically nothing and is kept going only on drugs. He lives in constant fear of assassination and is harassed by the belief that everyone except a handful of his toadies is scheming to betray him. The strain upon his mind must be appalling and at times he must long to free himself from it. That's why I feel there is just a chance that a determined man like yourself, who can make use of this occult hocus-pocus, might succeed in tipping him over the edge and getting him to put an end to it all.'
`How about the astrologers?' Gregory asked. `It's certain they'll do everything they can to prevent a newcomer breaking through their ring and getting at him.'
`Yes. That is a problem. The jealousy and hate of the people who make up the Fьhrer’s court have to be seen to be believed. And my stock with him is so low that he may not take my word for it that you are a wizard of the first order; so refuse to see you.'
`Perhaps then it would be better if I were not presented as an occultist, but was sent to him in some other capacity; then, out of the blue as it were, make some startling prediction that comes off a few days later. That is, if M
alacou can provide me with one.'
`That is certainly an idea. You are a shrewd fellow, Sallust.' Goering picked up the magnum, saw that it was empty, dropped it back into the ice-bucket and said, `I don't think I'll order another. We've talked enough for tonight, and to good purpose.- The more I think about this plan the more I feel that there is a lot to it. We'll go to bed now; but we must both put our wits to work on how to make you Adolf's new blue-eyed boy. We'll talk again tomorrow.'
When Gregory got to the room he shared with Malacou he found him asleep, so did not disturb him. Next morning he told him how Goering had, after all, recognized him but spared him, and of the Reichsmarschall's idea of sending them to Hitler's headquarters.
Malacou's dark eyes gleamed with excitement. `I knew something of this kind would happen. The stars foretold it and the stars never lie.'
`Aren't you a little scared at the thought of having to face him and, perhaps, influencing him into committing some act that may come back on us like a boomerang?' Gregory asked. `I don't mind confessing that I am.'
`Yes; I have not concealed from you that our lives will be in danger. Towards the end of April things look very black for both of us; but I have good hopes that we will survive. This present project causes me no special fears for myself, because I am convinced that I shall outlive Hitler. After that, my horoscope is obscure. To me there comes danger from an impulse of my own. There is a possibility that I may lose my life in an attempt to save someone else. As I am not of the stuff of which heroes are made, I cannot see myself making such an attempt; so perhaps my death may be the result of an accident. But sometimes one survives such periods of danger with only an injury; as was the case with you at Peenemьnde.'
They spent most of the day discussing Goering's idea and how best to prepare for it; then, shortly before midnight, Kaindl came to fetch Gregory. On their way the Colonel congratulated him on the excellent show he and Malacou had putt up the previous evening and said he felt sure that they need not fear to be sent back to Sachsenhausen. At that, Gregory smiled to himself and again expressed his gratitude to Kaindl for having rescued them from their harsh' captivity.
Two minutes later they entered the Reichsmarschall's study at the top of the house. It was as large as a small church and at the far end Goering was sitting at a desk the like of which
Gregory had never before seen. It was of mahogany, inlaid with bronze swastikas and twenty-five feet long. On it stood two great gold candelabra and a huge inkstand of solid onyx. Behind it sprawled the formidable figure, tonight dressed in the silks of a Doge of Venice and with the Phrygian cap crowning his broad forehead. With a smile at Gregory, he said:
`Sit down, both of you; and you, Kaindl, listen carefully to what I have to say.'
When they were seated, he went on, `As one of my fellow pilots in our fighting days I know that I can trust you, and I am. about to confide to you a secret that might land us both in a packet of trouble should it ever get out. We all know that the war is lost, although it is treason to say so. During the past six months scores of people in bars and tram cars have been picked up by the Gestapo and shot for saying no more than that. But we must face facts, and I've thought of a way by which there is just a chance that we may hasten the end of this senseless slaughter.
'Herr Protze here, and his friend the Turk, claim to have occult powers; so I intend to send them to the Fuhrer, as there is just a possibility that they may be able to influence him into asking for an armistice. But for two criminals on parole to gain the Fьhrer’s confidence would be far from easy; so I mean to practise a deception upon him. Herr Protze will become a member of my personal staff with the rank of Major. The Turk will accompany him as his batman.
`Now, the only danger to my plan is from people who saw the two of them perform for us last night. Have you any idea how many of them know that Herr Protze and the Turk are on parole from Sachsenhausen?'
Kaindl raised his eyebrows in surprise. `None of them, Herr Reichsmarschall. I naturally supposed you would not wish it to be known that they were convicts; so I have told no-one from where they came.'
`That is excellent. Then you have only to put it about among the household that Herr Protze is one of my staff officers who has been for a long time abroad. You can explain the fact that he was confined to his room with his man for the past week by saying that they had to be for many hours together to carry out their occult operations, and that they will continue to share a room while here for the same reason. Meanwhile, I'll see that it gets to the ears of all who dined with us last right that Herr Protze is in fact a Major of the Luftwaffe. You, too, can help in that.'
`Jawohl, Herr Reichsmarschall.'
`The next thing is uniforms. Get a tailor out here from Berlin first thing tomorrow morning and tell him that he must supply everything necessary within forty-eight hours. Finally there is the matter of instruction. You have not been with me very long, but long enough to have met most of the people at the Fuhrer's H.Q. It is important that Hen Protze should be as fully informed about them as possible. He will be attached as an extra adjutant to General Koller. I will, of course, see Koller about that myself. But he will not be in our secret; and I shall not introduce his new adjutant to him until Major Protze has his uniform and you have given him some idea of the duties he will be expected to perform. Is that all clearly understood?
'Jawohl, Herr Reichsmarschall. You may rely on me to do my utmost to assist Major Protze in any way I can.'
Goering nodded. `Thank you, Kaindl. I felt sure I could. You may leave us now.'
The Colonel stood up, clicked his heels, bowed sharply from the waist and marched off down the long room.
When the door had closed behind him Gregory smiled and said, `My congratulations, Excellency, on the speed with which you have thought of a good way to put me in contact with the Fьhrer in a respectable guise.'
After drawing heavily on a long cigar and exhaling the smoke, Goering replied, `It was the best plan I could think of, but I'm not altogether happy about it. We shall be gambling on your ability to act and talk like a staff officer.'
`Oh, you needn't worry about that,' Gregory laughed. `But, unwittingly, you have demoted me. At home I have the rank of Wing Commander which, as you know, is the equivalent of Lieutenant-Colonel.'
'Indeed!' Goering gave him a sharp glance. `How does that come about?
'It was simply a matter of convenience; so that I could be usefully employed during the long spells I have spent in England between my missions.!
'Where did you work
'Air Ministry Intelligence,' lied Gregory smoothly. `There were lots of other fellows in it who, like myself, had no flying experience: lawyers, schoolmasters, journalists and so on.'
`I see. Yes, that's the case with us, too; and why I can send you in without General Koller who, by the by, is my Chief Liaison Officer at Fuhrer H.Q. or any of my other staff officers being surprised to learn that you have never seen active service with the Luftwaffe.'
`I thought as much; but there remains one nasty snag. What am I supposed to have been doing all the five years the war has been on? It is going to be thought very strange that I won't have a single acquaintance in common with any of your other people. And I dare not lie by stating that I was in this or that department as it might easily emerge that I was not.'
For a moment Goering remained deep in thought, then he asked, `Do you know anything about pictures or objets d'art?'
`As much as the average educated man, but not enough to discuss such matters with an expert.'
`But you have traveled, I take it, and at one time or another visited most of the famous galleries?
'Oh yes. Florence, Madrid, Vienna, Munich, Brussels and the rest. I've been to nearly all of them more than once.'
`Good. That's quite enough. Ever since 1940 I've had eight or ten men going round Europe for me, picking up these sort of things.' The Reichsmarschall waved a hand vaguely round, indicating the Gobelin tapestries on the walls a
nd the Bull cabinets filled with priceless Meissen. `You can have been one of them and spent most of the time in some of the remoter places, say Bulgaria and the Crimea. I've a splendid collection of jeweled ikons. You could have found a lot of those for me. But don't be too specific; give the idea that you were also on the lookout for Byzantine armour, silk Persian rugs and golden trinkets found in the tombs of ancient Greece. I've masses of all these things and you can spend a day or two examining and memorizing some of them before you go to Berlin. If you had been one of my collectors and I'd a personal regard for you, now we've been pushed out of all those countries from which I used to extract these little presents there would be nothing at all unnatural about my taking you on as an extra adjutant.'
Gregory nodded: `That will provide an excellent cover, herr Reiclzsnrarschall, It's quite certain that no-one at Fuhrer H.Q. is going to ask me to give an expert's opinion on such things at a time like this. But it is going to be more than a few days before Malacou and I will be ready to go into action.'
'Why?,
`Because, having Kaindl, and later General Koller, brief me on the men we'll meet there is not enough. If we are to stand any chance at all of putting this over, we'll need the birth dates of as many as possible of them and all the particulars that can be raked up about their pasts. Malacou will draw their horoscopes while I digest all the down-to-earth stuff; but that will take time.'
`How long?'
`A fortnight at least. Let's say till the end of the month.'
`Very well. My Intelligence Bureau has dossiers on all these people. I'll have them sent to you. And from now on, of course, you are free of the house. The Turk had better continue to have his meals in your room; but as soon as you have your uniform you can have yours in the mess, then you'll get to know my officers. When I'm dining at home I'll ask you to my parties, as the greater number of important people you meet and talk with the better. Now; is there anything else?
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