‘Did you not receive my second message?’ he demanded in tones as angry as before.
‘No, Your Excellency,’ the other assured him earnestly. ‘No other message has arrived.’
‘Bah!’ snarled the sham Marshal. ‘What nonsense is this? Do you mean to tell me that an order of mine has not been obeyed? I gave instructions that the executions were to be postponed, and that I myself was coming here. God in heaven! Am I served by a parcel of fools or traitors or what?’
The governor pathetically strove to convince him that no message had been received. In this he was supported by Major Wilhelm and Fraulein Heckler, who had been with him most of the night. Sir Leonard gathered that von Strom had sent Wilhelm and Marlene with the order that the executions were to be advanced to dawn, and that they were to stay themselves, see them carried out, and at once carry the intelligence to him. Wallace did not know what Schönewald was doing there and, of course, could not ask. He noticed that the young Nazi’s face was pale and drawn. It was obvious that he had been assisting in an event that was utterly hateful to him. The pretender waved them all aside, and strode forward to the scaffold. The Baroness von Reudath, who had been the one chosen to suffer first, and whom he had been just in time to save, sat now on a chair that had been procured for her. She appeared dazed, her face was as white as a sheet, but she looked up at him bravely. Dora Reinwald, still standing between her guards, was as pale, but her face was as serene as ever, her great eyes full of defiance.
‘Has the great Marshal of State actually relented?’ she asked mockingly. ‘Are we really to be left with our heads?’
‘You are, fraulein,’ he rejoined, and turned to the baroness. ‘Later on I will endeavour to express my sorrow for the ordeal you have been forced to undergo. At present it is my desire to take you from here as soon as possible. Do you think you are fit enough to travel?’
The wondering, amazed relief that now shone in the eyes of both brought a lump to Sir Leonard’s throat. He turned to a guard, and bade him fetch the woman Hanni.
‘I am quite all right,’ Sophie assured him. ‘I am only anxious to leave this horrible place as soon as possible.’
Hanni arrived and, throwing herself on her feet before her mistress, clasped her in her arms, laughing and crying at the same time as she strove to express her happiness. At the order of Sir Leonard the two ladies, who had so barely escaped a terrible fate, were escorted to the car, which they entered. Cousins continued to keep well in the background, but immediately assisted Hanni in administering to them, refusing to answer the questions which Dora asked him. Sophie was still too dazed to bother about anything but the wonderful fact that she had miraculously escaped a hideous death.
Sir Leonard was eager to be away, but did not wish to show undue haste for fear that doubt might even now be roused. He noticed that Marlene Heckler seemed to be showing a great anxiety to address him, but adroitly managed to avoid her. He still retained his pretence of anger, which caused the men to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. Fraulein Heckler at length succeeded in forcing herself on his attention. He looked at her through narrowed eyes; then turned abruptly; began to pace to and fro.
‘What do you want?’ he demanded, as she kept step by his side.
Her first words proved to him that she was on more confidential terms with von Strom than he had suspected.
‘Why have you done this, Excellency?’ she asked. ‘When I persuaded you to give orders for the two to be executed at an earlier hour than sunrise for fear that that little Englishman was organising an attempt at rescue, you agreed with great alacrity. You seemed then anxious that the baroness and her companion should die as soon as possible. What has made you alter your mind? Are you indeed setting them free or have you another scheme in your mind?’
‘What right have you to question me regarding my intentions?’ he demanded harshly. ‘You go too far, Fraulein Heckler.’
‘But,’ she cried in dismay, ‘you have never objected before. Have I not always served you well and faithfully?’
‘You have. That, however, does not give you the right to be impertinent. I have changed my mind regarding the Baroness von Reudath, and that is the end of it.’
She was silent for some seconds, and he noticed from the corner of his eyes that she continually cast concerned and puzzled glances at him.
‘Has the little Englishman been caught yet?’ she asked at last.
The supposed von Strom laughed stridently.
‘You were very sure that he was an Englishman, were you not?’ he asked.
‘Very sure!’ she retorted confidently. ‘I have seen Herr Cousins so many times. Nevertheless, I should not have recognised him – his disguise was so excellent – if I had not been able to lip read. When he sat at the Cafe at Potsdam after I had followed him there, and studied him through the curtain, I saw his lips move. He was whispering poetry to himself and in English. I happen to know that Herr Cousins has a proclivity for quotations and poetry.’
‘That is a poor sort of proof of his identity,’ commented the pseudo-Marshal sarcastically. Nevertheless, he felt an added respect for the girl by his side. ‘However,’ went on Sir Leonard, ‘you happen to have been right in your surmise. The man is Herr Cousins.’
‘He has then been found and arrested?’ she asked eagerly.
‘Arrested!’ he snarled. ‘It seems more as if I were the one under arrest. The man Cousins has come with me to Potsdam. He is in my car as my guest. What do you think of that, Fraulein Heckler?’
For some moments she appeared stupefied with amazement.
‘In your car! Your guest!’ she repeated presently. ‘Do you mean, Excellency, that he it is who has forced you to release the baroness and the other woman? He has discovered something of your great plans and—’
‘Now you have learnt what you want to know,’ he snapped, ‘perhaps you are happy and will leave me in peace.’
‘But is there nothing to be done. Surely—’
‘Leave me, Fraulein Heckler. Perhaps it would be as well if you paid your respects to Herr Cousins. I understand he is quite anxious to meet you. He knew you had seen through his disguise and was apparently quite amused at your efforts to trail him, or have him trailed.’
She bit her lip, and frowned angrily.
‘I should like to shoot him with my own hand,’ she cried.
‘Do not try, I beg of you. It might prove too expensive for Germany.’
She walked away. The governor of the prison found courage at last to address him.
‘You will sign an order for the release of the two ladies, Excellency?’ he asked.
That was a poser. His handwriting would immediately betray him, but Sir Leonard was not at a loss. He waved his hand casually.
‘That will be sent from the Reichstag in the course of the morning. In the meantime you can have the scaffold dismantled. The Baroness von Reudath and her companion will not be executed.’
Sir Leonard walked to the car. Marlene Heckler had preceded him, and was engaged in talking in biting fashion to Cousins. She was extremely annoyed that her discovery of his identity had ended in a manner so tame. The little secret agent was amused. Again and again his face puckered into its scores of happy creases. He was quite certain that he had never been in a more ironically funny position in his career before, and was enjoying every moment of it. Marlene turned away from him, and came face-to-face with Sir Leonard. He was looking up at Colonel Schönewald, who stood by at the moment, and the strengthening light was full on his face. She gasped, stepped suddenly back to be brought up by the car.
‘Grey eyes!’ she muttered, a look of extreme astonishment on her face. ‘They should be—’ A great cry broke from her. ‘You are not—’
She was interrupted by the unmistakable feel of a revolver barrel stuck forcibly in her back.
‘Not another word,’ hissed the voice of Cousins behind her, ‘otherwise this will kill you before you can utter the foolish remark that was on
your lips. Kindly run and enter the car.’
Fraulein Heckler was a wise woman. She also probably thought that it was quite impossible for the man she had discovered to be an impostor to get away from Germany and take with him the people he had rescued. She, therefore, entered the car. There were already four people in the tonneau, but Cousins told Hanni to get out, and forced Marlene to sit by his side, taking care to remind her every now and again by the feel of the revolver that it would be injudicious on her part to contemplate giving the alarm. Colonel Schönewald was the only person near enough to have heard or witnessed what had occurred. Sir Leonard looked at him to find that a puzzled expression on his face, caused by Marlene Heckler’s cry, was now giving way to one of understanding. He resolved on a gamble.
‘I believe you have guessed the situation, Colonel Schönewald,’ he remarked in a low voice.
‘I believe I have – up to a point,’ came the reply in tones as moderate.
‘I also believe that you would rather almost anything happen than that those two innocent ladies were brutally executed. Now I am holding in my pocket an automatic. I am an excellent shot and it would be easy enough to kill you. I do not wish to do that, and candidly I do not think it would be of much use if I did. Can I ask you to give your word to say nothing in order that the two ladies may escape the fate to which they have been sentenced.’
‘The reasons you have advanced are hardly adequate enough,’ murmured Schönewald, ‘to cause a German officer to forget his duty. Are there no others?’
Sir Leonard nodded at the two cases strapped to the back of the car.
‘I have a trunk full of reasons there,’ he declared dryly, ‘If anything happened to the contents, Germany would suffer a severe loss.’
Schönewald’s eyes stared in fascinated fashion at the box indicated.
‘Do you mean to say—’ he began.
‘I do,’ interrupted Sir Leonard, ‘and I shall not hesitate to act if you do not give me the promise I require. I do not intend to allow myself to be baulked now.’
Schönewald clicked his heels together and gave the stiff little bow of the Prussian officer.
‘My car is here, Your Excellency,’ he declared. ‘Yours is rather crowded. I will esteem it an honour if I may be allowed to offer you accommodation in mine. You have my word that I will say nothing.’
Sir Leonard smiled.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A Trunk of Priceless Value
Sir Leonard gave orders to Reichmann, then walked with the Nazi officer to a touring car standing near the guardroom. Hanni was called, and told to take her seat next to the driver. Schönewald and Wallace sat side by side in the back. The gates were opened. Commands were barked as the two motors left the courtyard, the troops sprang to the salute, which Sir Leonard gravely returned. A few seconds later Wannsee Prison was left behind. They were a mile or more away before anything was said. Schönewald then looked at his companion.
‘I don’t know who you are,’ he observed in English, ‘but I presume that, as the other man, Cousins, is a member of the British Secret Service, you also are of that corps. I don’t think I have ever seen a more amazing disguise. It is a great tribute to Fraulein Heckler that she saw through it.’
‘Ah! Those eyes,’ sighed Wallace in his own voice. ‘I was afraid they might give me away.’
‘I should never have noticed. Marlene is a wonderful woman.’
‘She is. Would you mind telling your driver to stop? I want to have a chat with her and with the others.’
Schönewald obliged. The second car, following fifty yards or so behind, pulled up. Inviting Schönewald to accompany him, Sir Leonard walked to it and opened the door.
‘I am sorry we have had to kidnap you in this manner, Fraulein Heckler,’ he remarked in German, ‘but I am afraid your own perspicacity is responsible. However, you will be released as soon as we reach the frontier. I am afraid I cannot allow you or Colonel Schönewald to go before then.’
‘You will be stopped long before you get to the frontier,’ she retorted.
‘I do not think so,’ he replied easily. ‘You see, we have the real Marshal with us, and it would be a great pity if any hasty action caused harm to overtake him.’
‘You have His Excellency with you!’ she repeated in dumbfounded tones. ‘Where is he?’
‘In one of the trunks you probably noticed strapped on behind.’
She cried out in great consternation. ‘Let him out!’ she pleaded. ‘Oh, let him out! He will die.’
‘I do not think so. Still, we’ll have a look to see how he is getting on. I am afraid he must find his position rather cramped and uncomfortable, but that cannot be helped.’
She was tremendously upset by the revelation. She stormed and threatened; then turned to cajolery and pleading, but Sir Leonard shook his head alike to all.
‘You will gather,’ he remarked, ‘that any foolish action on your part may well be fatal for the cause of Germany. I advise you to make no attempt to raise the alarm, therefore.’
‘But can’t you see it will take a long time to reach the frontier. You cannot possibly keep him cooped up in his ignominious position until you get there.’
‘I am afraid there is no help for it. We will do the best we can for him.’
‘Who are you?’ she demanded.
He smiled.
‘Keep your voice low, please. The driver happens to be His Excellency’s own man. It would be as well if he did not hear. You have penetrated Herr Cousin’s disguise, fraulein. Now it is up to you to discover who I am – if you can.’
The baroness and Dora Reinwald had not once removed their eyes from his face since he had appeared at the door of the car. They were almost overwhelmed by the knowledge of what this man and his companion had dared for them. The fact that he was not the Supreme Marshal whom he had actually overcome, kidnapped, and impersonated in order to save them from execution, filled them with an amazed wonder, and a gratitude beyond expression. They had by this time recovered a little from the effects of their terrible ordeal, but it had left its mark on them, and it was obvious that it would require time and attention to efface from their minds the memory of their nightmare experience. Sir Leonard cut short their faltering attempts to thank him, enquired anxiously how they were feeling, and insisted on their both drinking a good proportion of the brandy he had thoughtfully provided. The colour began to steal back into their cheeks after that.
While Sir Leonard stood on the alert, his automatic in his hand, Cousins and Reichmann opened the cases at the back in order to ascertain how von Strom and his orderly were faring. The cars had drawn up well to the side of the road among the trees. As the hour was little past five, the road was practically deserted; nevertheless, Cousins was urged to hurry. He turned to Wallace one of his fascinating grins on his face.
‘They are both conscious,’ he announced, ‘and apparently very little the worse for wear. If their eyes could kill, though, I’d be a dead man now. “Eyes that sleep, that dream, that love; Eyes that hate, that curse, that kill; Eyes that speed the owner’s will; Eyes that—”’
‘All right, Jerry,’ interrupted Sir Leonard. ‘That is enough about eyes. It is time we got on.’
The baroness looked anxiously at him.
‘What have they done with Herr Foster?’ she asked. ‘Is there any hope of your being able to help him also?’
He smiled encouragingly at her.
‘We are going to get him now, Baroness,’ he assured her. ‘In a little more than half an hour I hope that he will be free and with us.’
Their passengers still arranged in the same manner, the two cars rapidly covered the distance to Neu-Babelsberg. Dr Hagenow’s private mental asylum stood in a secluded spot on the verge of the park, surrounded by high walls, in which a pair of wrought-iron gates, presided over by a burly-looking fellow who might have been an ex-pugilist, prevented ingress or egress except to a large mansion situated in beautiful grounds. Schönewald made
no objection to accompanying Sir Leonard within. Once the custodian had been roused, the sight of His Excellency himself caused that worthy to open the gates at once without hesitation. The car was driven through, went on up the drive, and came to a standstill before the imposing front doors. The saloon had remained outside the walls under the watchful eyes of Cousins and Reichmann. Hanni had stopped with it. The supposed arrival of the Supreme Marshal threw the sleeping place into a state of excitement and bustle. The night staff, still on duty, called Dr Hagenow, who, on being informed of the identity of his august visitor, almost went into a state of panic. Schönewald watched the flurry with an enigmatical smile on his face. Sir Leonard felt that it would be interesting to be able to read his thoughts. Dr Hagenow burst into the room into which his visitors had been shown, mumbling apologies, and endeavouring to get some order into the garments he had obviously donned in a great hurry. Wallace cut his excuses short.
‘Bring Herr Foster, the Englishman, to me at once,’ he ordered curtly. ‘I am taking him away.’
‘Taking him away, Excellency!’ repeated the doctor stupidly.
‘I said taking him away. Is there any reason why I should not?’
‘No, no, of course not, Excellency. I will see that he is brought at once.’
‘Do!’ Hagenow hurried away. Sir Leonard looked at his companion. Suddenly he held out his hand. ‘Thanks, Schönewald,’ he said simply in his natural voice.
The Nazi officer looked puzzled; nevertheless, he grasped the other’s hand warmly.
‘Why are you thanking me?’ he asked in English.
‘There are a score of ways in which you could have turned the tables on me since we entered this place. Yet you have refrained. I am alone here, armed with only an automatic. It would have been quite an easy matter for you to have given the alarm, and afterwards captured the others outside.’
‘I gave my word,’ Schönewald reminded him somewhat stiffly. ‘I was more or less on parole. You trusted me, and that is all there is to it.’
Wallace Intervenes Page 24
