Graham grunted.
"You can't even eliminate him," Leibermann said. "And not only because of Cletus Marcus Howell. Rawsonif you're right about him being Cavalry, and I think you arewould be furious. Not only would Frade's window into what's going on down here be slammed shut, but there's no telling the damage that would do to Franklin Roosevelt's diplomatic plans for South America. And we would get not one more item, period, from von Wachtstein. And Frade's family here . . ."
"Eliminating Frade was never one of my options," Graham said.
"So what are you going to do?"
"The President of the United States wants to know the identity of Cavalry and Galahad. What do I do about that?"
"You know what I do when I have problems like this?" Leibermann said. "Problems with no solution? I go to bed and get a good night's sleep. Then in the morning, when you wake up, the problems might still be there, but you've had a good night's sleep."
"What is that, Yiddish wisdom?"
"Go to bed, Alejandro," Leibermann said. "Let's see what happens tomorrow."
Chapter Twenty-Five
[ONE]
Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo
Near Pila, Buenos Aires Province
0445 19 April 1943
Se?orita Dorotea Mallin came into the library with Clete. She was wearing a man's silk dressing robe, and her hair was done up demurely in a loose braid hanging down her back.
Beautiful girl.Colonel A. F. Graham thought. Even at this hour of the morning, with no makeup, just out of bed, she sort of glows.
With that came insight: My God, she's pregnant! Of course. That's why Clete's marrying her, and now, rather than after the expected year of mourning for the late el Coronel Jorge Guillermo Frade.
And home for Clete Frade,he thought, remembering his conversation with Leibermann, is where the woman who will bear his child is.
"I didn't mean to disturb your sleep, Miss Mallin," Colonel A. F. Graham said. "Only Marines have to rise at this ungodly hour."
She met his eyes.
"I don't mind, Colonel. I thought I'd see that everybody had breakfast," Dorotea said.
"I'm sure Clete's"
"I don't mind, Colonel," Dorotea repeated, smiling sweetly. "In fact, I insist."
Clete Frade looked amused.
"How much does Dorotea know?" Graham asked.
"We had a long talk last night," Clete said.
"That wasn't wise, Major," Graham said.
"Well, it occurred to me that since Goltz and Gr?ner might try to kill her, I thought she had the right to know why."
He didn't say "Sir" or "Colonel." Obviously, he has been thinking about the same things Milt Leibermann talked about. He may already have made up his mindcertainly, that pregnant young woman has not spent the night encouraging him to go out and do something that may get the father of their unborn child killedand the worst thing I can try to do right now is order either one of them around. Or even order her out of the room. This is his house, and she's, for all practical purposes, his wife. All I can do is hope that when 1 tell him what I want him to do, he's willing to do it.
"On the strength of your assurance that your information about German activities this morning is accurate, Major, I've developed our plan of action," Graham said.
"My information is good," Clete said.
"In addition to the radar Captain Ashton brought with him, there is an aerial camera," Graham said. "The latest word in aerial cameras, and in high-resolution film."
Clete didn't reply.
Suboficial Mayor Enrico Rodriguez entered the library.
What took you so long, Sergeant Major?Graham wondered. You usually appear no longer than sixty seconds after your master. Oh, I see now, you stopped for a quick shave.
"Good morning, Suboficial Mayor," Graham said.
"Buenos dias, mi Coronel," Enrico replied, and took up what Graham had come to expect as his usual stance, leaning against the wall.
"If at all possible," Graham went on, "the United States government does not wish to again violate Argentine neutral waters by sending in a submarine to sink a ship flying a neutral flag," Graham said. "Even a ship like Comerciante del Oceano Pacifico that is itself violating Argentine neutrality."
Clete nodded.
"If I have to say this, this operation was decided upon before we learned about Lindbergh, and about your source's information that the Germans intend to bring into Argentina an enormous sum of money."
"One hundred million dollars, according to my source," Clete said.
Captain Maxwell Ashton III and First Lieutenant Anthony J. Pelosi of the Army of the United States entered the room, both in civilian clothing.
"Have a seat, gentlemen," Graham said. "Se?orita Mall?ns arranging for breakfast."
Dorotea smiled sweetly at him again.
"I asked the housekeeper to lay a buffet," she said. "I hope that will be all right?"
"That will be perfect, thank you," Graham said. "I was just telling Major Frade about the camera," Graham said. "You've checked it out, I hope?"
"Seems to be working perfectly, Sir," Pelosi said.
"When did you become an expert?" Clete asked.
"I don't know about being an expert, but I know how to operate it," Tony said. "I told you I went to photo school in Washington."
"Let's talk about the camera a moment," Graham said. "The problems with aerial photography are threefold. First, the vibration of the aircraft causes obvious problems, in proportion to the distance between the camera and the subject being photographed. Second, the instability of the camera is magnified by aircraft movement, again in proportion to the distance between the camera and the subject being photographed. The third problem is enlargement of the negative. The more enlargement necessary, the more the granules of silver on the film become apparent. The term used is 'grainy.'" He paused and looked at Dorotea.
"I'm afraid I'm boring you with this, Dorotea."
"Not at all. I'm fascinated."
"Nice try, Colonel," Clete said. "But you might as well give up, she's not going to leave."
"That was the furthest thought from my mind. Major," Graham said.
Clete chuckled. "Yes, Sir," he said. "I'm sure it was."
"As I was saying," Graham went on. "Eastman Kodak's experimental laboratory has come up with two kinds of new film. Both considerably reduce the granularity problem in enlargement. The slower film we have is really extraordinary in that regard. But that's daylight film. The second film is much more sensitive; it can record an image in very little light, in almost total darkness. It works well, for example, in moonlight. But the price paid for that is higher granularity. You understand all this, Major?"
"I get the general idea."
"Now, the Signal Laboratories at Fort Monmouth, working with Sperry-Rand, the gyroscope people, have come up with a platform for the camera which is both heavily damped against aircraft vibration and gyroscopically stabilized. The camera platform is designed to mount on a standard U.S. Army Air Corps fuselage floor."