Old Faithful Plot

by Dora Benley

  Dora thought, Oh no! and cringed.

  In an awkward moment Winthrop Benley was shouting at them in fury. He was raising his fist off the steering wheel as Frank hurriedly removed the barrier. Frank was exclaiming in Italian and throwing his arms about gesticulating as he worked. Edward averted his gaze during the whole lamentable proceeding. When Dora was driving she would urge Edward in a situation like this to dive under the seat. But this time her British lord was all too conspicuous in the driver's seat.

  Dora, with a frozen smile on her face, waved at her astonished mother who was gaping in horror at Edward. It would all be up to Viola to concoct a story. Hopefully her parents would agree to act discreet, and Michael would not find out. She could only keep her fingers crossed.

  As soon as her parents disappeared down the drive to the house, Dora opened the car door a crack and shouted to the embarrassed Frank as Edward was about ready to turn onto Bethel Church Road. "Tell Viola to emphasize the Germans who are pursuing us. Edward and I HAD to come here to take on supplies." It was all she could think of, the truth. "And, Frank, please tell her to beg my parents not to tattle tale to Michael."

  Frank nodded and hurried back down the drive to face the Benleys' wrath.

  Dora and Edward drove back downtown to join the Lincoln Highway as it passed the Point where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers joined to make the Ohio River. All around the car smoke rose high into the sky from the steel mills which lined the rivers for miles and miles. They crossed the Point Bridge through the city's west end neighborhoods and finally exited the city where Dora grew up. She gazed behind her sadly wondering when and if she would ever see the place again. These were dangerous times. She and Edward were always engaged in deadly intrigue. It might just catch up to them one of these days all too soon — just as it had almost done this afternoon.

  Chapter 10: Edward Recruits An Army

  Dora and Edward drove through a short stretch of West Virginia to the Pennsylvania/Ohio State line in East Liverpool, Ohio. The land flattened out and became almost straight for countless miles and miles ahead. Dora felt more conspicuous out in the open in the unforgiving landscape and started to look around when they were driving down the highway. Whenever they passed another car, she ducked. At the very least she kept her eyes fixed on her lap and clutched her hands because she did not know what else to do with them.

  "Don't be afraid, darling!" Edward slipped his hand over hers. He squeezed it. "All we have to do is outwit Hitler's agents and those stupid photographers Michael hired. That at least should not be hard." He stared straight ahead and navigated the blue Cadillac v-16 as if it were second nature to him.

  Dora tried to smile. No wonder Edward was Winston Churchill's chief spy. He never seemed to know one moment of fear, and he had been in all sorts of tight situations over the years. He was one of the few soldiers to win a Victoria Cross at the Battle of Gallipoli in the Great War, which otherwise was a disaster. He survived. Most of the rest perished.

  Her fiance had once been trapped in an underground tomb of King Abdullah in Petra when riding in the Syrian Desert with Lawrence of Arabia. He played dead while tomb robbers ransacked the place searching for the fabled Lawrence maps. Somehow Edward managed to survive to escape and prosper. The bad guys could not keep her Edward down.

  Her fiance, Lawrence's adjutant, helped Lawrence win the Battle of Petra by risking his life. A German airplane flown by a Baron Manfred von Richthofen type strafed Edward from the Syrian skies. Edward rolled to avoid the bullets.

  All the Germans under the Kaiser had been after Edward and his friend and mentor, Lawrence. They wanted those military maps so that they could win the big war. Edward had defeated them as he was doing again right now behind the steering wheel of a car headed west across the United States.

  Dora sighed at the trouble she had keeping up with Edward. That had always been true from the day she first met him. During the Great War the German agents had been pursuing her back in Pittsburgh at the same time they were pursuing Lawrence and Edward in the Syrian Desert. She had been hiding most of the Lawrence maps in her bedroom. Edward and Lawrence had sent them to her for safe keeping. Her trolley had jumped the tracks because of a saboteur. She had found a spy in her father's shed on the property in Oakhurst that she and Edward had just visited to resupply earlier today in 1933.

  That hired gun back during the Great War had stalked her all around Downtown Pittsburgh including Kaufmann's lunch room. Edward had always emphasized that she was to be the wife of a soldier and had to learn to act like one despite the fact that she had been raised in ease and luxury as an heiress of a vast fortune which she now had to put to use when she could to help her fiance's cause. Dora shuddered at the memory of the Great War even now. It never left her nightmares.

  When the Germans lost the Great War they kept on pursuing Edward with hardly a break. Even when they changed regimes it did not seem to make any difference. Ever since the very early 1920's Adolf Hitler had his eye on Edward. He had been attempting to steal the maps, the key to world domination, long before he was elected Chancellor of Germany. Now that he was practically the Dictator, he was making bigger and bigger grabs all the time. She and Edward were in more peril now than ever before, but that did not cow her Edward — no way! He was a man above most men. It was impossible to keep up with him though she tried her very best every day. At least right now she had the advantage that he was by her side. She was not alone this time as she had been with the assassin in the shed in Oakhurst back during the Great War.

  To try to distract herself, Dora turned on the car radio. She did not want to disturb Edward's concentration with endless woman's prattle when he was driving. The news came on. She found herself listening again to a key point in Franklin Roosevelt's Inaugural address from back in March. They were playing it for the benefit of the audience of listeners out there in America who might not have heard it the first time:

  So first of all let me assert my firm belief. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Nameless unreasoning unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

  "Winston could not say it better himself," Edward piped in as the newscaster recited all the efforts Roosevelt was making as he started to roll out his New Deal for the United States. Even despite his preoccupation with the distractions of the road and the endlessly tricky ways of Hitler's spies, Edward could not drown out FDR's words in his thoughts.

  "I guess there are a lot of people afraid right now." Dora wrapped her cashmere sweater more firmly about herself and buttoned it up to the neckline. There was a distinct chill in the air despite the fact that it was already June.

  As they entered Massillon, Ohio men along the roadside were keeping themselves warm with little fires they lighted with gathered brush and piles of wood. When the homeless and unemployed saw Dora and Edward pass by in a fancy car, they looked up hopefully, wondering if they might have some spare change. These men were afraid of not eating far more than they were afraid of Hitler's spies. But Dora bit her lip with the fear that soon Hitler might not leave these innocent people alone either despite the fact they were on the other side of the Atlantic. They would have to be afraid both of starving and of the German dictator.

  "Nobody needs to be afraid if they keep focused on the job at hand." Edward again patted her hand. "That is something I always tell my soldiers. Even these men along the road do not need to be standing there looking lost. I can find work for them right now."

  Edward suddenly pulled the car over to the side of the road and leaped out. It was hard to keep up with how fast Edward's thoughts flowed when he got going.

  "I was wondering
if you men could do a job for me." Edward approached them in his best officer style and always with that overwhelmingly upper crust British accent.

  "Yes, sir!" Three of them stood straight up at attention, hanging on his every word.

  "I bet you were all soldiers in the last war." Her fiance smiled at them.

  "You bet!" They proclaimed in unison and then recited their ranks and units.

  Edward shook their hands. "Honored to meet you. I am Colonel Sir Edward Ware of His Majesty's Mid-East Division." He introduced himself. "I am here today on my latest mission to America."

  He glanced back at Dora still sitting in the car gazing at him in wonder. She could not take her eyes off how Edward acted like a leader among other men despite the fact that he himself was being pursued by gunmen and secret agents.

  She raised her gloved hand and waved at the crowd.

  "My wife and I are going to be eating dinner at the Lincoln Highway Cafe up at the next corner," Edward told the crowd.

  Dora and Edward had already gobbled up the little Viola had time to pack for them, mostly cheeses and crackers with bottles of Coke as snacks. Viola had even included a bottle opener and napkins.

  The out of work men all nodded knowing the place and town well. After all, they lived in it.

  "I was wondering if you could all do a job for me."

  They nodded eagerly.

  "Search around on the immediate streets and see if you can find strangers who do not belong here. Two speak German only and look like foreigners. They act like it, too. The others are nuisances from New York with big, gaudy, in your face cameras. They are wearing fedora hats with bands around them. Let me know if you catch sight of them." He slipped twenty dollars to each man as payment. "Report to me at the cafe as soon as possible."

  The locals all smiled and nodded at him, glad for the money greasing their palms for a change. Dora was reminded of the fact that people would do anything for money. Especially men as out of work and hopeless as these, men that FDR was addressing in his inaugural address about the "Only thing we have to fear is fear itself". Well, Edward had done his best today to fight back against the Germans and push the fear away for now.

  Chapter 11: Wooster, Ohio: Riceland Golf Course

  Edward drove the blue Cadillac V16 behind the cafe that he had mentioned to the hirelings and parked it there. Once seated inside he glanced askance at the meatloaf platter, the special for the day, and made a face. The bill of fare was certainly not approved by the resident cook, George, at Ware Hall in the south of England. Dora could remember meals in the cavernous dining room in the Great Hall lined with suits of armor that Edward's father, Sir Adolphus Ware, had collected. A huge stone fireplace covered one wall. It smacked of the medieval. Meals were presented by servants — course after course of French cooking — bespeaking Edward's aristocratic background — certainly nothing as simple as this!

  Dora dropped her fork when Edward excused himself to wash his hands in the men's restroom. She thought she saw someone staring through the window at her. That made chills go up her spine. But it could not be the men in the trenchcoats who had practically cornered them at Gettysburg. Instead she caught a glimpse of a lady's dark eyes.

  Dora did not bother to mention the incident to Edward when he returned to the table. The apple pie a la mode with vanilla ice cream melting all over it was staring the British "sir" in the face, again all very American. At least it was filling. She had to force an apologetic smile.

  As they were being served coffee instead of tea and Edward was wincing down at his cup, the three men he had hired along the road showed up to give their report — the coast was clear. They had not found anybody in town meeting his description. They escorted Edward and Dora back to their car. They even opened the door for Dora.

  She got out her purse and tore off three sheets of paper. On each she wrote a note to her father to hire these men. She asked each of their names and addresses and included them along with the address of her father at the top of each. She handed each of them a sheet of paper and directed them, "If you need a job, take these notes to the South Hills of Pittsburgh and go to the house of Winthrop Benley at 3121 Bethel Church Road. It's the big house down the long drive in the woods. Tell him I sent you. I'm his daughter, and he will give you jobs at one of his factories because I recommended you."

  They thanked her with tears in their eyes and shook her hand again and again — Edward's too — but Edward was impatient to be off. He hurried all the way to Wooster, Ohio without stopping. Next to the Riceland Golf Course was a hotel, restaurant, and gas station. He pulled into the parking lot late and turned off his running lights.

  Apparently it was just in the nick of time. As Edward started to rummage around in the backseat to see what was where in the darkening parking lot, she noticed two misfits who definitely looked as if they did not belong there in the middle of nowhere Ohio. The duo were strolling along the walkway in front of the hotel. The lady was dressed to kill in the latest of European fashions. After spending time in England and Paris, Dora knew the difference between American and European fashions. The stranger was wearing a tightly fitting suit dress with a broadly striped top in dark colors with countless strands of pearls hanging around her neck. Her belt was tightly cinched around her waist. Her white cap that looked to Dora like a signature Coco Chanel creation, featured an emblem that Dora could not make out from here.

  The mysterious creature was walking beside a gentlemen dressed to the hilt in a fashionable suit with all the trimmings. Both were even wearing gloves! The gentleman flaunted a walking stick. What gave them both away for sure was that they seemed to be speaking German. As they both passed in front of their darkened car neither glanced at Dora crouching down in the front seat. Not that they would be able to see much. Edward had deliberately parked underneath a maple tree with a lot of low branches that would help to both shade and conceal their car tomorrow morning — and provide cover right now, too. Their lights were off. They were not very noticeable. And neither she nor Edward were speaking. The alarming couple turned sharply to the left and strutted off.

  Dora glanced back over her shoulder at Edward who was so busy rifling through the luggage he acted as if he had not seen anything. She wanted to warn him that Hitler had a new set of agents here who looked more savvy and more dangerous than the first group — and who had obviously picked them out back at the Lincoln Highway Cafe. But she did not want to raise her voice to avoid attracting attention. It was a very tense situation just sitting there in the front seat with her stockinged knees knocking together. She could not flee. She might even attract attention by ducking down beneath the windshield. And above all things she had to keep mum.

  She did not know what Edward was searching for. He kept on mumbling very low to himself, which was dangerous. If she interrupted him he might curse aloud. She had done it before by mistake and did not want to repeat the faux pas. But she wished he would get back to the front seat. She wondered if they should stay here overnight with such dangerous types at the same roadside stop.

  Then suddenly things got much worse. As she helplessly sat there looking straight ahead at the disappearing couple speaking German to each other, four more men appeared. They were sauntering down another hallway on the outside of the lodging. All six — the fashionably dressed duo speaking German and the four other men — met at an intersecting corner. Immediately they broke into animated conversation. Four of them were clearly speaking German. Two in the background were trying to follow what was going on, but could not join in. They just nodded dumbly.

  Dora wished she had a pair of binoculars. Edward usually traveled with them. They were standard army issue. These suddenly arriving four men coming out of nowhere looked all too familiar. She could not say exactly what it was — their hair, their stance, their clothes, their height. She was positive she had run into them before in the very recent past. Were two of them w
earing trenchcoats? Two carrying cameras?

  "Edward," she burst out. She just could not help it. "Don't say a word. Just creep back into the front seat. Let's drive away from here. Quick!"

  "That damned porter on the ship!" Edward grumbled to himself. "You distracted me all too much at the dock. We had to catch a cab and all. I never made sure he handed me my mapmaking equipment, my mechanical pencil and such."

  "Edward, your pencil is not important right now. Believe me it is not. We have got to think about our lives. Get up here and drive now! If you do not, I may step on the gas for you. You might even get left behind," Dora warned.

  She did not remember using such high-handed tactics with her fiance before. But this was an emergency.

  "What the name of God are you fussing about now, darling?" Edward sighed. "Can't you get a handle on your nerves?" He looked up.

  She pointed toward the gang of six at the corner of the intersecting outside hallways of the hotel. Edward paled. Without any need for more urging or exclamations, Edward leaped into the front seat. As quickly and quietly as possible he took off through the parking lot and back onto the Lincoln Highway hopefully without being noticed.

  When they were well away from the roadside motel, Dora exclaimed, "Were those Michael's two photographers and Hitler's toughs that we ran into in Gettysburg and somehow now they are all together? Somehow they introduced themselves?" Dora exclaimed in horror.

  Edward nodded. "You had better believe it. It looks like a nightmare for sure."

  "Edward . . ." She was not sure why he had not mentioned the other two whom she had gotten a pretty good look at.