Dragon's Teeth

by Sinclair, Upton;

“That is what the rank and file get. What is that in your money?”

  “About ten cents.”

  “Does that sound so very extravagant?”

  “The men in our American army get about ten times that. Of course both groups get food and lodgings free.”

  “Pretty poor food for the S.A.; and besides, there are all the levies, which take half what anybody earns. Our lads were made to expect so much, but now all the talk is that the Reich is so poor. The propaganda line has changed; Herr Doktor Goebbels travels over the land denouncing the Kritikaster and the Miessmacher and the Nörgler and the Besserwisser—” Hugo gave a long list of the depraved groups who dared to suggest that the Nazi Regierung was anything short of perfect. “In the old days we were told there would be plenty, because we were going to take the machinery away from the Schieber and set it to work for the benefit of the common folk. But now the peasants have been made into serfs, and the workingman who asks for higher pay or tries to change his job is treated as a criminal. Prices are going up and wages falling, and what are the people to do?”

  “Somebody out to point these things out to the Führer,” suggested Lanny.

  “Nobody can near the Führer. Göring has taken charge of his mind—Göring, the aristocrat, the friend of the princes and the bunker landlords and the gentlemen of the steel Kartell. They are piling up bigger fortunes than ever; I’m told that Göring is doing the same—and sending the money abroad where it will be safe.”

  “I’ve heard talk about that in Paris and London,” admitted Lanny; “and on pretty good authority. The money people know what’s going on.”

  VI

  They were high up in the foothills, close to the Austrian border. Auf die Berge will ich steigen, wo die dunkeln Tannen ragen! The air was crystal clear and delightfully cool, but it 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 wants 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 contacted 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 Münchner 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 to the 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 Pendleton, Pension Flavin, Cannes. It takes time to achieve such a feat in Europe, but he waited patiently, and at last heard his old pal’s sleepy voice.

  Lanny said: “The Detazes are ready, and I’m waiting in Munich for you. I am buying some others, and want to close the deal and move them on Friday. Do you think you can get here then?”

  “By heck!” said Jerry. It was Wednesday midnight, and his voice came suddenly awake. “I can’t get visas until morning.”

  “You can hunt up the consul tonight and pay him extra.”

  “I’ll have to go and make sure about Cyprien first.” That was a nephew of Leese, who did truck-driving for Bienvenu.

  “All right, get him or somebody else. Make note of my address, and phone me at noon tomorrow and again late in the evening, letting me know where you are. Come by way of Verona and the Brenner, and don’t let anything keep you from being here. If you should have a breakdown, let Cyprien come with the truck, and you take a train, or a plane if you have to. I have somebody here I want you to meet on Friday.”

  “O.K.” said the ex-tutor and ex-soldier; he sort of sang it, with the accent on the first syllable, and it was like a signature over the telephone.

  IX

  Baron von Zinszollern possessed an Anton Mauve, a large and generous work portraying a shepherd leading home his flock in a pearly gray and green twilight. It seemed to Lanny a fine example of that painter’s poetical and serious feeling, and he had got the price down to thirty thousand marks. He had telegraphed Zoltan that he was disposed to buy it as a gamble, and did his friend care to go halves? His friend replied Yes, so he went that morning and bought the work, paying two thousand marks down and agreeing to pay the balance within a week. This involved signing papers, which Lanny would have on his person; also, an influential Nazi sympathizer would have an interest in testifying that he was really an art expert. Incidentally it gave Lanny a pretext for going to the Munich branch of the Hellstein Bank, and having them pay him thirty thousand marks in Nazi paper.

  At noon the dependable Jerry telephoned. He and Cyprien and the camion were past Genoa. They would eat and sleep on board, and keep moving. Lanny told him to telephone about ten in the evening wherever they were. Jerry sang: “O.K.”

  A little later came a call from “Boecklin,” and Lanny took him for a drive. He said: “It’s all fixed. You’re to pay twenty-three thousand marks, and your man will be delivered to you anywhere in Dachau at twenty-two o’clock tomorrow evening. Will you be ready?”

  “I’m pretty sure to. Here’s your money.” Lanny took out his wallet, and handed it to his friend beside him. “Help yourself.”

  It was improbable that Hugo Behr, son of a shipping clerk, had ever had so much money in his hands before. The hands trembled slightly as he took out the bundle of crisp new banknotes, each for one thousand marks; he counted out twenty-three of them, while Lanny went on driving and didn’t seem to be especially interested. Hugo counted them a second time, both times out loud.

  “You’d better take your own, also,” suggested the lordly one. “You know I might get into some trouble.”

  “If you do, I’d rather be able to say you hadn’t paid me anything. I’m doing it purely for friendship’s sake, and because you’re a friend of Heinrich and Kurt.”

  “I ay all the emphasis you can on them!” chuckled Lanny. “Mention that Heinrich told you how he had
taken Kurt and me to visit the Führer last winter; and also that I told you about taking a hunting trip with Göring. So you were sure I must be all right.”

  Hugo had got some news about Freddi which the other heard gladly. Apparently Lanny had been right in what he had said about the Jewish prisoner; he had won the respect even of those who were trying to crush him. Unfortunately he was in the hands of the Gestapo, which kept him apart from the regular run of inmates. A prison inside the prison, it appeared! The rumor was that they had been trying to force Freddi to reveal the names of certain Social-Democrats who were operating an illegal press in Berlin; but he insisted that he knew nothing about it.

  “He wouldn’t be apt to know,” said Lanny. To himself he added: “Trudi Schultz!”

  It had been his intention to make a casual remark to his friend: “Oh, by the way, I wonder if you could find out if there’s a man in Dachau by the name of Ludwig Schultz.” But now he realized that it was not so simple as he had thought. To tell Hugo that he was trying to help another of the dreaded “Marxists” might sour him on the whole deal. And for Hugo to tell his friends in the concentration camp might have the same effect upon them. Lanny could do nothing for poor Trudi—at least not this trip.

  X

  He drove the car to Dachau, and they rolled about its streets, to decide upon a spot which would be dark and quiet. They learned the exact description of this place, so that Hugo could tell it to the men who were going to bring Freddi. Hugo said he had an appointment to pay the money to a man in Munich at twenty o’clock, or 8:00 p.m. according to the American way of stating it. Hugo was nervous about wandering around with such an unthinkable sum in his pocket, so Lanny drove him up into the hills, where they looked at beautiful scenery. The American quoted: “Where every prospect pleases and only man is vile.” He didn’t translate it for his German friend.