"I suppose that has happened now and then," said Lanny, showing a coming on disposition, but not too much.
"What I should like to have is, not an agent, but a friend; a gentleman, whose sense of honor I could trust, and who would not be indifferent to the importance of our task in putting down the Red menace in Germany, and perhaps later wiping out the nest where those vipers are being incubated. Surely one does not have to be a German in order to approve such an aim."
"I agree with you, Exzellenz." "Call me Göring," commanded the great one. "Perhaps you can understand how tired one gets of dealing with lackeys and flatterers. You are a man who says what he thinks, and when I box with you I get some competition."
"Thank you, Ex—Göring."
"I am sure you understand that we Nazis are playing for no small stakes. You are one of the few who possess imagination enough to know that if you become my friend you will be able to have anything you care to ask for. I am going to become one of the richest men in the world—not because I am greedy for money, but because I have a job to do, and that is one of the tools. We are going to build a colossal industry, which will become the heritage of the future, and most certainly we are not going to leave it in the hands of Jews or other Bolshevist agencies. Sooner or later we shall take over the industry of Russia and bring it into line with modern practices. For all that we need brains and ability. I personally need men who see eye to eye with me, and I am prepared to pay on a royal scale. There is no limit to what I would do for a man who would be a real associate and partner."
"I appreciate the compliment, my dear Göring, but I doubt my own qualifications for any such role. Surely you must have among your own Germans men with special training—"
"No German can do what I am suggesting to you—an American, who is assumed to be above the battle. You can go into France or England and meet anybody you wish, and execute commissions of the most delicate sort without waste of time or sacrifice of your own or your wife’s enjoyment. Be assured that I would never ask you to do anything dishonorable, or to betray any trust. If, for example, you were to meet certain persons in those countries and talk politics with them, and report on their true attitudes, so that I could know which of them really want to have the Reds put down and which would rather see those devils entrench themselves than to see Germany get upon her feet—that would be information almost priceless to me, and believe me, you would have to do no more than hint your desires. If you would come now and then on an art-buying expedition to Berlin and visit me in some quiet retreat like this, the information would be used without any label upon it, and I would pledge you my word never to name you to anyone."
III
Lanny perceived that he was receiving a really distinguished offer, and for a moment he was sorry that he didn’t like the Nazis. He had a feeling that Irma would be willing for him to say yes, and would enjoy helping on such international errands. Doubtless the General had invited her to lunch in order that he might size her up from that point of view.
"My dear Göring," said Irma’s husband, "you are paying me a compliment, and I wish I could believe that I deserve it. To be sure, I sometimes meet important persons and hear their talk when they are off their guard; I suppose I could have more such opportunities if I sought them. Also I find Berlin an agreeable city to visit, and if I should run over now and then to watch your interesting work, it would be natural for you to ask me questions and for me to tell you what I had heard. But when you offer to pay me, that is another matter. Then I should feel that I was under obligations; and I have always been a Taugenichts—even before I happened to acquire a rich wife I liked to flit from one place to another, look at pictures, listen to good music or play it not so well, chat with my friends, and amuse myself watching the human spectacle. It happens that I have made some money, but I have never felt that I was earning it, and I would hate to feel that I had to."
It was the sort of answer a man would make if he wished to raise his price; and how was a would-be employer to know? "My dear Budd," said the General, in the same cautious style, "the last thing in the world I desired was to put you under any sense of obligation, or to interfere with your enjoyments. It is just because of that way of life that you could be of help to me."
"It would be pleasant indeed, Exzellenz, to discover that my weaknesses have become my virtues."
The great man smiled, but went on trying to get what he wanted.
"Suppose you were to render me such services as happened to amuse you, and which required no greater sacrifice on your part than to motor to Berlin two or three times a year; and suppose that some day, purely out of friendship, I should be moved to present you with a shooting preserve such as this, a matter of one or two hundred square kilometers—surely that wouldn’t have to be taken as a humiliation or indignity."
"Gott behüte!" exclaimed the playboy. "If I owned such a property, I would have to pay taxes and upkeep, and right away I should be under moral pressure to get some use out of it."
"Can you think of nothing I might do for you?"
Lanny perceived that he was being handled with masterly diplomacy. The General wasn’t saying: "You know I have a hold on you, and this is the way you might induce me to release it!" He wasn’t compelling Lanny to say: "You know that you are holding out on me and not keeping your promise!" He was making things easy for both of them; and Lanny was surely not going to miss his chance! "Yes, Göring," he said, quickly, "there is one thing—to have your wonderful governmental machine make some special effort and find that young son of Johannes Robin."
"You are still worried about that Yiddisher?"
"How can I help it? He is a sort of relative—my half-sister is married to his brother, and naturally the family is distressed. When I started out for Berlin to show my Detaze paintings, I had to promise to do everything in my power to find him. I have hesitated to trouble you again, knowing the enormous responsibilities you are carrying—"
"But I have already told you, my dear Budd, that I have tried to find the man without success."
"Yes, but I know how great the confusion of the past few months has been; I know of cases where individuals and groups have assumed authority which they did not legally possess. If you want to do me a favor I shall never forget, have one of your staff make a thorough investigation, not merely in Berlin but throughout the Reich, and enable me to get this utterly harmless young fellow off my conscience."
"All right," said the Minister-Prasident; "if that is your heart’s desire, I will try to grant it. But remember, it may be beyond my power. I cannot bring back the dead."
IV
Back in Berlin, Lanny and his wife went for a drive and talked out this new development. "Either he doesn’t trust me," said Lanny, "or else I ought to hear from him very soon."
"He must pretend to make an investigation," put in Irma.
"It needn’t take long to discover a blunder. He can say: I am embarrassed to discover that my supposed-to-be-efficient organization has slipped up. Your friend was in Dachau all along and I have ordered him brought to Berlin. If he doesn’t do that, it’s because he’s not satisfied with my promises."
"Maybe he knows too much about you, Lanny."