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Jew, and a sort of relative to a whole family, well known to the Hellsteins. He had gone into

Germany to try to save a member of their race, and had risked his life in the effort, so he

couldn't have had better credentials. He told them that he had expected to be the next victim

laid on the whipping-bench, and had been saved only by the good luck that an officer friend had

got word about his plight and had arrived in time to snatch him away. They did not find this

story incredible.

Lanny didn't wait to hear their decision as to the payment of ransom to the Nazis. He

guessed it might require some telephoning to other capitals, and it was none of his affair. They

asked if the story he had told them was confidential, and he said not at all; he thought the public

ought to know what was happening in Naziland, but he doubted if publicity would have any

effect upon the extortioners. Olivie, in between outbursts of weeping, thanked him several times

for coming to them; she thought he was the bravest and kindest man she had ever known—being

deeply moved, she told him so. Lanny was tempted to wish she had said it in the presence of

his wife, but on second thought he decided that it wouldn't really have helped. Nothing would

help except for him to conduct himself like a proper man of fashion, and that seemed to be

becoming more and more difficult.

VII

Lanny's duty was done, and he had time to woo his wife and try to restore her peace of mind.

When she found that he was trying not to tell her his story, her curiosity became intensified;

he made up a mild version, based upon his effort to buy Freddi out of Dachau, which Irma knew

had been his plan. He said that he and Hugo had been arrested, and, he had been confined in

the very gemütlich city jail of Munich. He could go into details about that place and make a

completely convincing story; his only trouble had been that they wouldn't let him communicate

with the outside world. It was on account of the confusion of the Blood Purge; Irma said the

papers in England had been full of that, and she had become convinced that she was a widow.

"You'd have made a charming one," he said; but he couldn't get a smile out of her.

"What are you waiting for now?" she wanted to know. He told her he had had a conference

with Furtwaengler, and had a real hope of getting Freddi out in the next few days. He

couldn't think of any way to make that sound plausible, and Irma was quite impatient, wanting

to be taken to England. But no, he must stay in this hotel all day—the old business of waiting

for a telephone call that didn't come! She wanted to get away from every reminder of those

days and nights of misery; and this included Freddi and Rahel and all the Robin family. It

made her seem rather hard; but Lanny realized that it was her class and racial feeling; she

wanted to give her time and attention to those persons whom she considered important. Her

mother was in England, and so was Frances; she had new stories to tell about the latter, and it

was something they could talk about and keep the peace. It was almost the only subject.

There being more than one telephone at the Crillon, Lanny was able to indulge himself in the

luxury of long-distance calls without a chance of delaying the all-important one from Berlin.

He called his mother, who shed a lot of tears which unfortunately could not be transmitted by

wire. He called Rick, and told him in guarded language what were his hopes. He called Emily

Chattersworth and invited her to come in and have lunch, knowing that this would please Irma.

Emily came, full of curiosity; she accepted his synthetic story, the same that he had told his wife.

The episode of Solomon Hellstein was all over Paris, just as Göring had predicted; Emily had

heard it, and wanted to verify it. Lanny explained how he had been under detention in Berlin,

and there had got the facts about what was being done to the eldest of the half dozen banking

brothers. Also Lanny wrote a long letter to his father, telling him the real story; a shorter letter

to Hansi and Bess, who had gone to South America, along with Hansi's father—the one to sell

beautiful sounds and the other to sell hardware, including guns. The young Reds hadn't wanted

to go, but the two fathers had combined their authority. The mere presence in Europe of two

notorious Reds would be an incitement to the Nazis, and might serve to tip the scales and defeat

Lanny's efforts to help Freddi. The young pair didn't like the argument, but had no answer to

it.

VIII

Early in the morning, a phone call from Berlin! The cheer ful voice of Oberleutnant

Furtwaengler announcing: "Gute Nachrichten, Herr Budd! I am authorized to tell you that we

are prepared to release your friend."

The man at the Paris end of the wire had a hard time preserving his steadiness of voice.

"Whereabouts, Herr Oberleutnant?"

"That is for you to say."

"Where is he now?"

"In Munich."

"You would prefer some place near there?"

"My instructions are that you shall name the place."