"If I were in your position, mi Coronel, I would feel exactly the same way," Graham said calmly, lighting a cigar. !
Frade nodded. "Proceed, Colonel. I will listen."
"A United States submarine, the Devil Fish, which has been on patrol off the coast of Africa, has been ordered, at best speed, to rendezvous with the destroyer Alfred Thomas, which is here in Buenos Aires. The rendezvous will take place at a point one hundred nautical miles off Punta del Este, Uruguay. Her estimated time of arrival..."
Frade held up his hand. Graham stopped.
"Two things, Colonel Graham."
"Sir?"
"I hope you are providing exact details, not details altered sufficiently to be useless in case you don't trust me to keep them within this room."
"You have my word as an officer, mi Coronel, that I am giving you the facts exactly as I know them."
"Then please proceed in Spanish, mi Coronel, so that Suboficial Mayor Rodriguez may hear what you have to say. He has a nose forto use the delightful phrase I have learned from my sonbullshit."
Graham smiled, and went on in Spanish. "The estimated time of arrival of the Devil Fish is 0900 29 December. A U.S. Navy fleet tanker has been ordered from Panama to rendezvous as quickly as possible with the Devil Fish on her course from the African coast. Once that rendezvous has been made, and there is some question when or if this can be accomplished, the submarine can proceed without consideration of fuel exhaustionat full speed, in other words. So her estimated time of arrival may be as much as twenty-four hours sooner. The tanker is faster than the submarine; it will accompany her to Punta del Este and refuel her again there."
"And if the rendezvous proves impossible?" "Then we fall back to the 0900 29 December arrival time. The submarine can make that time with available fuel on board, and be refueled by the Alfred Thomas.''
"You are confident you can accomplish this without the Germans becoming aware of it?''
"So far as we know, mi Coronel, our communications are secure."
"As far as you know," Frade said. "Have you considered, mi Coronel, that vessels of the Armada Argentina will almost certainly accompany your destroyer, for several hundred miles at least, when she sails from Buenos Aires?"
"The Thomas will engage in certain maneuvers, mi Coronel, to 'test her engines and steering apparatus,' while she is passing through the Bay of Samboromb?n."
"Taking soundings?"
"Yes. Following these maneuvers, she will then test her engines in a high-speed run. She is capable of making at least thirty-five knots. The fastest vessel in the Armada Argentina, the Corvette San Martin, has a top speed of twenty-four, for limited periods. It will be difficult for the Armada Argentina to accompany the Thomas very far."
"I am impressed with your intimate knowledge of the capabilitiesor should I say limitations?of our Armada, mi Coronel." El Coronel Frade nodded, and there was the suggestion of a smile.
"Insofar as getting the radio equipment off your destroyer, mi Coronel," Frade said. "The vessel will be taking aboard foodstuffs, fresh meat, vegetables?"
"Yes, I'm sure it will," Graham said.
"The contract to victual foreign warships has been granted to Servicios de Proveedores Asociados by the Armada Argentina. I doubt very much if the Armada Argentina would question what the people from S.P.A. took off your destroyer after they had delivered the victuals. Or if the S.P.A. refrigerator truck went from the wharf to the Frigorifico del Norte slaughterhouse. And there certainly would be nothing suspicious about a Frigorifico del Norte truck going to Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo."
"Can you arrange that?" Graham asked. "That would be more efficient than funneling the equipment through the Embassy."
"Enrico?" el Coronel asked in turn.
"No problem, mi Coronel. It is done."
"That was easy," Graham said.
"I own S.P.A. and Frigorifico del Norte," Frade said, "and Enrico has many trustworthy friends."
There was a knock at the door, and then it opened. A maid, looking more than a little nervous, stepped inside.
"We require nothing," Frade snapped.
"Mi Coronel, there is a telephone call for Se?or Cletus."
Christ! The Virgin Princess. Worried about me.
"It is a Comandante von Wachtstein, Se?or Cletus."
Frade looked at Clete, his eyebrows raised in question.
"I'll take it, thank you," Clete said.
Curiosity overwhelmed El Coronel Frade. "The German officer? What does he want?"
"I'm about to find out," Clete said, rising to go to the telephone.
"He is a Luftwaffe officer," he heard his father explain to Colonel Graham. "He accompanied the remains of my nephew, who was killed at Stalingrad, here for burial."
"He's also the fellow who warned me those bastards were going to try to kill me," Clete said as he picked up the telephone.
"^Hola?"
"Se?or Frade? This is el Comandante von Wachtstein."
Comandante ?
"Yes. Somewhat belatedly recognizing my extraordinary talents, the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe has promoted me."
"How wise of them. And how nice to hear your voice, mi Comandante.
"How nice to hear yours, Se?or Frade, especially after your unfortunate encounter, which I read about in the newspaper. I called to let you know how pleased I was to hear that you're all right."
"Unfortunately, mi Comandante, Se?ora Pellano is not all right."
"The world seems to be full of vicious bastards, doesn't it, Se?or Frade?"
"It certainly does."
"But life goes on, Se?or Frade. I had another reason to call."
"And what was that, mi Comandante?"
"The day after Christmas, I am having luncheon at the Centro Naval. The Officers' Club, downtown. They have honored me with a guest membership."
"How nice for you, mi Comandante."
"It's a pity you are no longer a serving officer, Se?or Frade. Perhaps, if you were, your father could arrange such a membership for you. It's a lovely place."
"My father is an amazing man, mi Comandante. Perhaps he can arrange a membership for me anyway. Do I understand you are inviting me to lunch?"
"Actually, it was Se?orita Carzino-Cormano's idea. And with your approval, she suggests we ask Se?orita Mallin to make it a foursome."
Clete saw that El Coronel Frade and Colonel Graham were shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation. He smiled warmly at both.
"Under that circumstance, mi Comandante, I gratefully accept your kind invitation."
"Splendid. We will look forward to seeing you at two at the Centro Naval."
"I'll be there, mi Comandante," Clete said, and hung up.
"Isn't your friend sticking his neck way out having lunch with you?" Graham asked.
"Whatever he is, Peter von Wachtstein is no fool," Clete said.
"And don't turn your imagination on, Colonel," Clete continued. "Don't even start to dream up one of your goddamned scenarios if it involves von Wachtstein."
Graham held his hands up in innocence.
"It never entered my mind, Clete."
"Bullshit, Colonel. Just forget it."
"Dorotea?" his father asked.
"Our relationship has changed, Dad."
"Now, Cletus? Under these circumstances?"