Gradny-Sawz's plump face colored.
"Josef, I meant no"
"For the time being, Gradny-Sawz, I think it would be best if you referred to me by my rank."
Gradny-Sawz's swallowed.
"Jawohl, Herr Standartenf?hrer," he said finally.
"Von Wachtstein, do you think you can make it through this revolution we seem to be having out to El Tigre?"
"I'm confident I can, Herr Standartenf?hrer."
"You will go there and take possession of the boat. If G?nther and/or his father is there, they will serve as your crew to take the boat to Magdalena. If they are not there by ten-thirty, you will take the boat to Magdalena by yourself and hold yourself in readiness there for further orders."
"Jawohl, Herr Standartenf?hrer."
"You said, Oberst Gr?ner, that you have someone in Naval Headquarters?"
"Yes, I do."
"Can he be relied upon to notify you of the arrival of the Comerciante del Oceano Pacifico within Argentine waters?"
"Not unless I specifically ask him to. I mean, I receive regular routine reports of all shipping activity, but I think you're talking about learning of her arrival immediately."
"We need to know when she enters Argentine waters and more importantly, where she will anchor. Do you think, Gr?ner, that when the Oceano Pacifico reports entering the River Plate your man has enough authority to order her to anchor in Samboromb?n Bay?"
"I would have to go to Naval Headquarters and explain the situation," Gr?ner said. "My man, unfortunately, owes his allegiance to Castillo."
"You have only one asset in Naval Headquarters?" Goltz asked impatiently.
"Only one in the office of the Harbor Master," Gr?ner said.
Goltz turned to Peter.
"Oberst Gr?ner and I will work this out, von Wachtstein," he said. "We really have until, say, six o'clock tonight. You understand what I'm thinking?"
"I think so, Herr Standartenf?hrer. Presuming I can get out of El Tigre, I should be in Magdalena by five or five-thirty. Oberst Gr?ner will determine the Oceano Pacifico's estimated time of arrival and where she will drop anchor, and he will send that information to me at Magdalena. On your orders, I will take the boat out to the Oceano Pacifico. From that point, we will proceed with the discharge of the materiel aboard the ship as per the original plan."
"You see any problems with that, von Wachtstein? Aside from getting out of El Tigre into the River Plate?" Gr?ner challenged.
"Only finding the Comerciante del Oceano Pacifico at night, Herr Oberst."
"If that looks like a problem, you could delay taking the boat out from Magdalena until first light," Goltz ordered. "I'll have to go out to her myself; and if you think there would be a problem finding her at night, I would have the same problem. Gr?ner, I presume everything else is ready?"
"Yes, it is," Gr?ner replied. "The only possible problems I can see are von Wachtstein getting out of El Tigre, and then finding the ship from there at night."
"We are presuming your friend can order her to drop anchor someplace where it will be convenient to Magdalena and the landing point."
"Where is that, Herr Standartenf?hrer?" Peter asked.
"You'll be advised, Hans, at the appropriate time," Goltz said. "What I will do now is wait here for the Ambassador to arrive. That will be all, gentlemen, thank you."
Gradny-Sawz gave the Nazi salute, and barked, "Heil Hitler!"
Peter had come to the Embassy by taxi from his apartment. Then, there had been any number of taxis on the street. Now there were none in sight on Avenida Cordoba in either direction. There was no other traffic either, vehicles or pedestrians.
The word was apparently out that the revolution had begun.
Further up Avenida Cordoba, he could see the lead elements of the stalled columns of the First Cavalry and the Second Infantry regimentsriflemen on foot, mounted cavalry, and even some horse-drawn 75-mm howitzers.
He was going to have get past those lines anyway, he reasoned. Perhaps traffic was again moving in the areas now controlled by the revolutionary forces. He started walking toward the soldiers.
He had walked two blocks when his ears picked up the sound of a light aircraft. A very low-flying light aircraft. He looked up in the sky, tryingwithout successto spot it.
And then it came from behind him, very low. It was a Piper Cub, wearing the insignia of the Argentine Army. It was no more than a hundred feet over the roofs of the buildings lining both sides of Avenida Cordoba.
I wonder what the hell that's about?
Chapter Twenty-Three
[ONE]
Office of the Naval Attach?
The Embassy of the United States
The Bank of Boston Building
Avenida Bartolome Mitre
Buenos Aires, Argentina
0555 19 April 1943
The event that became known in history books as the Argentine Revolution of 1943 first came to the attention of Lieutenant Commander Frederico Delojo, USN, Naval Attach? (and, covertly, OSS representative) of the Embassy of the United States of America at 0452 19 April 1943.
He was later to remember the precise time and circumstances because he not only made a note of the time but also because he was wakened from a sound sleep in his apartment by a horrendous squealing of tortured tires, followed immediately by the scream of metal tearing asunder.
He jumped out of bed and went to the balcony of his apartment. As he suspected, there'd been one hell of an accident, involving a truck and an automobile. The automobile was a police vehicle. It was equipped with a large chrome-plated (and probably American) siren mounted on the roof. And it had collided with an Army truck, striking the truck as it moved through the intersection.
Then Commander Delojo noticed something odd. There was not just one Army truck, but a number of them, a convoy, presumably under the command of the officer who now appeared, wearing a sword, and accompanied by four soldiers in German-style helmets and field gear. As the officer directed the removal of the injured driver of the police vehicle from his crushed vehicle, another police vehicle, with siren screaming, came racing down the street and very narrowly avoided colliding with the two vehicles now blocking the intersection.
It was followed almost immediately by another police car, siren screaming, which could not stop in time and collided with what Delojo now thought of as Police Vehicle Two.
The intersection was now effectively blocked by the truck and three police vehicles. An Army car, a 1941 Chevrolet four-door sedan, now appeared, and a lieutenant colonel hurried out of the backseat and, with some excitement and waving of his arms, began to order the clearing of the intersection.
Moments later, two sergeants appeared with twenty soldiers in field gear and directed their pushing of the disabled vehicles off the intersection.
As soon as that was accomplished, the convoy of army trucks began to move again. Without thinking about it. Commander Delojo began to count them. Twenty-six trucks passed through the intersection. Each of them was loaded with infantryman in German-style steel helmets sitting shoulder to shoulder and holding their rifles erect between their knees.
This was possibly a routine maneuver, Commander Delojo decided. But on the other hand, it was also possible that the troops were somehow connected with the coup d?tat that everybody expected.
It was worth calling the duty officer at the Embassy, Delojo decided. His telephone was dead.